Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1884-03-26

ment courier, he was in constant re-
quest as detective, and, for tracking
down either wild beast or a criminal.
he had no equal in Bengal.
Gliding into the room as nois elees]y as
shadow, he made low saIaam, and
said in bis own languages:
''May the humblest of his servants
speak to the Sahib ?" (master.)
There was nothing particularly hum
BILE, it must be admitted, in the speakers
bearing; on the contrary, he held him.
self erect, and looked the Commissioner
full in the face with the air of man
who knew his own value. and had some-
thing to tell which he felt to be worth
hearing; but Mr.. Sparks, with whom
Ismail was an old acquaintance, ap-
peared to understand these signs per-
fectly, and said:
"What has Ismail to tell I am
listening"
IT have been at the village of Ram
ganj, answered the Mahratta, laying
a slight stress upon the last word.
t'Ramganj echoed Mr.. Sparks.
"Ah, to be sure; the place where that
crocodile's been eating up so many
people,"
"Are yon quite sure, Sahib?" asked
the Hindu; keenly watching the effect
of his words, that it was crocodile
that did it,"
The Englishman started, and looked
tixedly at lsmail's immovable face.
''Ttat's how I heard the story told"
rejoined he. elf it wasn't a crocodile
what was it?''
''Did the Commissioner Sahib," in
quired Ismail, fever hear of q crocodile
being so nice in his eating as to devour
none but women, and only suca women
as had plenty of silver bangles on?''
Again Mr. Sparks gave a slight start,
and the sparkle Of his eye showed that
be was beginning to guess the riddle,
but he took care to make no Interrupt
ton, seeing that Ismail wished to have
the pleasure of telling the whole story
himself,
II went to the village" continued
Ismail, 'sand talked with the people.
Then l dived into the river (my lord
knows that I can find my way through
water as we'll as through thickets), and
at the bottom l came upon a noosed
rope"
The Commissioner nodded with the
air of man who understood the whole
affair perfectly, but still he said moth
ing.
''The Sahib understands how it was
done, proceeded the Hindu. "When
any woman worth robbing went into
the water, the moose tangled her feet,
and the robber, hidden among the
bushes on the opposite bank, dragged
her down and drowned her, and then
plundered the corpse at his LEISURE"
81 see," said Mr.. Sparks. "Well,
Ismail, you know there's a government
reward OF thousand rupees ($50O), for
every murderer brought to justice; see
what you can make of this CASE"
''The Mahratta's black eyes flashed
fire, for $500 is more 30 a Hindu than
SIS, 900 to white man, and such q
chanceas this did not come to him every
day. He went out without word, but
Mr.. Sparks felt satisfied that there
would be news of the criminal before
long.
Ismail plunged at once into the sur.
rounding jungle, aud tr@versed at q
pace which few men could hay kept up
over such ground and in such climate,
till he came in sight of Ramganj, but
instead of entering the village he struck
down by-path to the river, swan across
went slowly down tie opposite side till
he came to two bamboo clumps close
together, and cropping in the water
beside them, pulled up rope.
His next move was to hunt out a big
stone, upon tho sharp edge OF which he
nc nod In b S. L L II j
only by one strand. One slash Of his
long, sharp knife would have done the
work much quicker, but Ismail doubt.
less had his reasons for what he did.
Then placing the stone in the shallow
water, with the sharp size uppermost,
and the rope lying right across it, he
vanished in the tnicket.
An hour had passed since his disap.
pesrance, and night had already set IN,
when dark figure came creeping up to
the same spot, and pulled at the hall
severed cord, which instantly parted in
his hand.
The man started, and held up the
broken ends to the light of the rising
moon. but finding them rough and
frayed, as if by constant rubbing, and
feeling the sharp edged stone lying Just
underneath, he appeared satisfied that
it must have been an accident, and
knelt down to knot the cord together
again.
So engrossed was the villain with his
treacherous work that he never lifted
his head to look around him, but even
had he been less preoccupied he would
scarcely have heard the noiseIess football
of one who had been tracking the tiger
and the antelope through their native
jungles ever since he was ten years old.
The rogue was still quite unsuspicious
of harm, when a tall shadowy figure
rose behind him as suddenly as if it had
started up through the earth, and ire.
mendous blow from a bamboo club, fall.
ing upon his bowed head like a thunder.
bolt, felled him seneeless to the earth.
That very night the crestfa!len robbie,
was sent off to the nearest British sta
ton, escorted by strong guard of ma
tive policemen, to be tried and exc
cuted, as he deserved, while Ismail re-
ceived from the hands of the Commits
sioner himself, together with warn
commentator of his shrewdness, tn,
thousand rupees which he had so well
earned. %5
| Try it Once.