Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1888-08-11

Commissioner full in the face with the
air of a man who knew his own value,
and had something to tell which lie
felt to be worth hearing; but Mr..
Sparks, with whom Ismail was an old
acquaintance, appeared to understand
these signs perfectly, and said:
"vhat has Isnail t. tell? l am
listening
81 have been at the. village Of Ram
ganj," answercd'thc AIahratta, laying
slight stress upon the last word.
"Ramganj?" echoed Mr.. Sparks.
"Ah, to be sure; the place where that
crocodile's been eating up so many
people
Are You quite sure, Sahib?" asked
the Hindu, keenly watching the effect
of his words, "tllat it tcaS Il crocodile
that did it?"
The Englishman started, and looked
lixedly at IsInal's immovable face.
That's how | heard the story told"
reioincd he. "If it wasn't IL crocodile
what was it?"
Ibid the Commissioner, Sahib," in
quired Israil, lever hear of a croco-
,lilc being so choice in his eating as to
devour none but women, and only
such women as had plenty Of Sitcer
bangles on"
Again Mr.. Sparks gave aslight start,
and the sparkle of his eye showed that
he was beginning to guess the riddle,
but lie took care to make no Interrupt
ton, seeing that lsmail wished to have
the pleasure of telling the whole story
himself.
II went to the village" continued
Ismail, "and talked with the people.
Then | divcd into the river (my lord
knows that can find my way through
water as we'll as through thickets J,
and at the bottom came upon q
noosetl rope.
The Commissioner nodded with the
air of Il man who understood the
whole affair perfectly, but still he said
nothing.
1.-The Sahib understands how it was
DONE" proceeded the Hindu. "NNhen
any woman worth robbing went into
the water, the moose tangled her feet,
and The robler, hidden among the
bushes on Tie opposite bank, dragged
her down and drowned Yer, and then
plundered the corpse at his leisure
81 see," said Mr. Sparks. "Well, Is
mail, you know there's Il government
reward fathousand rupees 5000 for
every murderer brought to justice; see
what you can make of the case"
The Mahratta's eyes flashed fire, for
five hundred dollars is more to Il
Hindu than five thousand to a white
man, and such a chance did not come
to him every day. lie went out with
out a word, but Mr.. Sparks felt salts
fled that there would be news of the
criminal before long.
Ismail plunged at once into the sur
rounding jungle, and traverscd it at a
pace which few men could have kept
up over the ground and in such Il eli
mate, till he came in sight of Ramganj,
but instead of entering the village he
struck down by-path to tile river,
swan across, went slowly up the OPP
posite side till he came to two bam-
boo-clumps close together, and cropping
in the water beside them, pulled up a
rope.
His next move was to hunt out a
big stone, upon the sharp edge of
Which he sawed the cord to and fro
till it held only by one strand One
slash of his long, sharp knife would
have done tile work much quicker, but
Ismail doubtless had his reasons for
what he dill Then placing tile stone
in the sallow water with the sharp
side uppermost, and the rope lying
right across it, he vanished into the
thicket.
A hour had passed since his disap-
pearance, and night had Already set in,
when dark figure came creeping up
TO the same spot, and pulled at the
undiscovered 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 slarp-edged stone lying
just underneath, he appeared satisfied
that it must have been an accident,
and knelt down to knot the cord to-
getlcr again.
SO engrossed was the villain with
his treacherous work that lie never
lifted his head to look around him, but
even had he been less preoccupied lie