St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-08-16
CHAPTER XI.



1t was about II o'clock. The clouds had
pegun TO dissolve in dlenching showers.
Mingled with the rain there fell huge hail
stones which shot into the waters of the
folba and ratified over the rocks down its
SIDES like the stream of lead from a mitrail-
leuse- The firing from the embraSures had
ceased Why waste ammunition on the
IugitlVeS? The Foiba would only give them
up as corpSeS-if even it did that.
AS soon as Count Sandorf fell into the
torrent he found himself swept hopeleSSly
into the Buco. In few moments he
prSsed from the intense light with which
the electricity filled the ravine into the pro-
foundeSt darkness. The roar of the waters
mad taken the place of the roll of the
thunder. For into that impenetrable cavern
there entered none of the outside light or
sounds.
''HelpI7
There was cry. 1t was Stephen Bath
DRY. The cold of the water had called him
back to life, but he could not keep himself
afioat, and he would have been drowned
had not vigorous arm seized him as he
was sinking.
Il am here, Stephenl Don't be afraid!'
Count SandOrf was by his side, holding
him with one hand while he swan with the
other.
The position was critical. Bathory could
hardly use his limbs. They had been half
paralyZed by the stroke. Although the pain
OF his burnt hands had been sensibly less
ened by their plunge into the cold, the state
OF inertia into which he had been thrown
did not allow of his using them. Had San
dorf abandoned him for a moment he
would have been drowned; and yet San
dorf had enough to do to save himself.
There was the complete uncertainty as to
the direction which this torrent took, the
place it ended, the river or sea into which
II flowed. Had even Sandorf known that
the river was the FOiba the position could
not nave been more desperate than if he
Knew what became of its impetuOuS waters.
bottles thrown into the entrance of the cav
ern mad never come to sight again i'll any
stream Oh the IStrian peninsula, perhaps
from their having been broken against the
rocks IN their course, perhaps from having
been swept below into some mysterious rift
in the earth'S crust.
The fugitiveS were carried along with eX-
IRENE rapidity-and thus found it easy to
keep on the surface. BathOry had became
unconscious. He was quite helpless and
motiOnleSS in the hands of Sandorf. who
fought well for both, but felt that all would
soon end i'll his sinking from sheer eXhauS-
ton. To the danger of being dashed
against some projecting rock, or the side of
the cavern, or the hanging prominenceS Of
the roof. there was added that of being
sucked down into one of the whirlpools
which fOamed in many a corner where a
sharp angle of the bank gave the current a
sudden curve. Twenty times were Sandorf
and his friend seized in one of these LIQUID
nd 81 " CYax fr 70
in the manner of the maelStrom. Then
they would be spun round by the gyratOry
and then thrown off from the
edge like stone from sling as the eddy
broke.
Half an hour went by under such circum-
stances with death imminent, each minute
and each second. Sandorf, endowed with
Superhuman energy, had not yet yielded
in diSpair. He rejOiced that his companion
was almost senSeleSS. Had he retained the
instinct of self-preServatiOn he would Strug-
gle, and then SandOrf would be obliged to
leave him to his fate, or both would be
. Nevertheless, this state of affairs could not
continue very long. Sandorf'S strength be-
gan to fail him. Every now and then as he
BathOry's head his own would
sink back into the liquid pillow. Suddenly
respiration became difficult. He gasped
for breath, he was choking, he was wrest-
ling with asphyxia. Often he had to let
20 of his companion, whose head sank in
stantly; but invariably he managed to grip
him again, and that amid the wild racing
Of the waters which, Shouldered back and
piled on each other by the occasional mar
rowing of the channel, Numbered along in
fOam-
At last Count SandOrf thought that all
was lost. BathOry slipped from his grasp.
He tried TO rescue him. He could not He
had lost him; and he himself was dragged
down to the torrents bed.
4 violent shock nearly broke his
shoulder. He stretched out his hand in
His fingers closed on clump
Of roots which were swinging by.
The roots were those of a tree trunk be-
ing brought down by the torrent Sandorf
fastened onto this raft and dragged himself
back to the surface of the Foiba. Then
while he grasped the roots with one hand
he sought for his companion with the other.
A moment afterwards Bathory was
seized by the arm, and, after a violent eff
fort, hOiSted on to the trunk. where SandOrf
took his place beside him. Both were for
time saved from the danger of drowning,
but they had bound up their destiny with
that of their raft. and given themselves
over to the capriceS of the rapids of the |
Buco.
SandOrf had not lost his consciousness for |
4 moment. He made it his first care to make |
sure that BathOry could not slip from the |
tree. By excess of precautiOn he placed |
himself behind him, so as to hold him in |
his arms. In this position he kept watch |
for the end. At the first glimpse of light |
that penetrated the cavern ne would see |
what the waters were like as they emerged. |
But there was nothing as yet to show that |
they were near the end of this wonderful |
stream.
However. the position of the fugitives |
lad improved. The tree was about twelve !
feet long, and the spreading roots were now |
and then struck against the projections. If !
It were not subjected to a very violent |
shock its stability in spite of the irregulari- |
ties of the stream seemed to be assured. Its |
speed could not be less than nine miles an |
hour, being equal to that of the torrent that |
bore it.
SandOrf had recovered all his GOODNESS. |
He tried to revive his companion, whose |
lead rested on his knees. He found that |
MS heart still beat but that his breathing |
was difficult. He bent over and tried to |
breathe a little air into his lungs. Would |
hat the preliminaries of asphyXia had not |
injured him without hope of relief!
Soon BathOry made slight movement. |
More marked expiratiOns came from his |
parting lips. At last few words escaped |
rom his mouth.
''WifeI Ny boyI Mathiasr'
His whole life was in those three words. !
stephen, do you know me? do you |
NOW me?" asked Sandorf, who had to |
shout TO make himself heard above the wild |
umult with which the torrent filed the |
'aultS of the BucO
Eyes! Yes! know you! Speak, Speak, |