s into the foaming sea onward they bore amidst the roaring mass of water with a speed and force which nothing could resist and striking the stem of the foremost vessel crushed her beneath their from the huge which the sinking wreck occasioned arose a shriek so loud and shrill � the of a hundred drowning creatures blended into one fierce yell � that it rung far above the war cry of the elements and echoed and tiu it seemed to pierce air sky and ocean but what was that � that old gray head that rose above the water s surface and with looks of agony and screams for aid with the waves one look and he had sprung from the vessel s side and with vigorous strokes was swimming towards it he reached it he was close upon it they were ms features the old man saw him coming and vainly strove to his grasp but he clasped him tight and dragged him beneath the water down down with him j down his les grew fainter and fainter until they wholly ceased he was dead he had killed him and had kept his oath he was the sands of a mighty desert and alone the sand choked and blinded him its fine thin entered the very oi his skin and irritated him almost to madness gigantic masses of the same material carried forward by papers of the wind and shone through by the burning sun stalked in the distance like pillars of living fire the bones of men who had perished in the dreary waste lay scattered at his feet a fearful light fell on everything around so far as the eye could reach nothing but objects of dread and horror presented themselves vainly striving to utter a cry of terror with his tongue to his mouth he rushed madly forward armed with supernatural strength he through the sand until exhausted with fatigue and thirst he fell senseless on the earth what fragrant coolness revived him what sound was that water it was indeed a well and the clear fresh stream was running at his feet he drank deeply of it and throwing his aching limbs upon the bank sunk into a delicious trance the sound of approaching footsteps roused him an old gray headed man forward to his burning thirst it was he again he wound his arms round the old man s body and held him back he struggled and shrieked for water � for but one drop of water to save his life i but he held the old man firmly and watched his agonies with greedy eyes and when his lifeless head fell forward on his bosom he rolled the corpse from him with his feet when the fever left him and consciousness returned he awoke to find himself rich and free to hear that the parent who would have let him die in jail � who had let those who were far dearer to him than his own existence die of want and the sickness of heart that medicine cannot cure � had been found dead on his bed of down he had had all the heart to leave his son a beggar but proud even of his health and strength had put off the act till it was too late and now might the club his teeth in the other world at the thought of the wealth his had left him he awoke to this and he awoke to more to recollect the purpose for which he lived and to that his enemy was his wife s own father � the man who had cast him into prison and who when his daughter and her child at his feet for mercy had them from his door oh how he cursed the weakness that prevented him from being up and active in his scheme of vengeance he caused himself to be carried from the scene of his loss and misery and conveyed to a quiet residence on the sea coast � not in the hope of recovering his peace of mind or happiness for both were fled forever but to restore his prostrate energies and on his darling object and here some evil spirit cast in his way the opportunity for his first most horrible revenge it was summer time and wrapped in his gloomy thoughts he would issue from his solitary lodgings early in the evening and wandering along a narrow path beneath the cliffs to a wild and lonely spot that had struck his fancy in his seat himself on some fallen fragments of the rock and burying his face in his hands remain there for hours � sometimes until night had completely closed in and the long shadows of the frowning cliffs above his head cast a thick black darkness on every object near him he was seated here one calm evening in his old position now and then raising his head to watch the flight of a sea or carry his eye along the glorious crimson path which in the middle of the ocean seemed to lead to its very verge where the sun was setting when the profound stillness of the spot was broken papers of by a loud cry for help he listened doubt l of his having heard aright when the cry was repeated with even greater vehemence than before and starting to his feet he hastened in the direction whence it proceeded the tale told itself at once some scattered garments lay on the beach a human head was just visible above the waves at a little distance from the shore and an old man wringing his hands in agony was running to and fro shrieking for assistance the invalid whose strength was now sufficiently restored threw off his coat and rushed towards the sea with the intention of plunging in and dragging the drowning man ashore hasten here sir in god s name help 