The Portland daily press., 1889-07-27
THE PRESS.
SATURDAY MORNING, JULY 81.
IN A CLEFT STICK.
fCoNTINUED.l

his wife. And now he was on his wav to the
mere with his mates, with Skokan, whom a
warning against him had reached, but who
nevertheless, believing in bis previous fidelity
had given the warning no credence. His
other mates trusted him, too. Novak and
Jarosh. Zinka was sure of it, and it panied
him the more 10 think that he had betrayed
them.
They were making their way now through
the thckets downward from the higher
ground A few hundred steps and they were
ON the edge of the wood. narrow ribbon
of meadow lay before them, and beyond it,
surrounded with rushes and reeds, the black
surface of the wide mere black because the
sky was strewn with thick, dark clouds
through which the rays of the moon. that
had just risen, glimmered only now and then
for moment. Two of the poachers undid
the bundle of rods which they had brought,
bound them in pairs in the form of cross.
and fastened upon their ends strong nets
which they took out Of their bags. The nets
thus constructed they fastened to the ends
of the two poles. A few words spoken
softly, and then they silently took different
ways to the different parts of the mere.
The mere, lying in a hollow, was in the
form of an acute-angled triangle, whose
sharpest angle pointed toward the west.
The dam at the other end lay toward the
east. The poachers came out Of the wood
directly against the apex of the triangle.
Skokan limped along the northern side and
with him Jarosh with the net. On the south
ern side were Zinka and Noyak. They all
looked for the places where the openings in
bushes offered path into the water.
Three of the pOachers had no suspicion at
that moment that in the thick leafy branches
of the alders that stood dark around the bord-
ers of the pool, and in the shadows OF the
tangled willows, were hidden the Counts
gamekeepers and woodmen Only Zinka
knew that, and the upbraidings of his con-
science tormented him. For moment he
thought that he might take MS mates away
with shudder the fourteen years military
service and the lost arms and legs. When he
reached the pond the chill of the water was
comforting to his feyered blood. Oily fif-
teen steps from the rushes the water was
clear, where the carp come to feed in the
night. There the poachers let down their
nets, in which when they were after short
time lifted from the water, there were always
several large fish.
Zinka's hand trembled as he lifted the Slip
perry carp out of the net and put them into
his bag. Every instant he expected that the
gamekeepers and woodmen hiding them
selves amid the alders would present them
selves before his eyes. Novak's face bright
ened with pleasure at the size of the fish.
Skokan and Jarosh were fortunate, too. On
both sides of the water the carp were travel
ing out of the mere of their lord and master
the Count into the bags of the poachers.
In the valley round the mere not a sound
of living thing was audible; only the reeds
bent by the wind, rustled together, as did
the dark leaves Of the alders, and the tangled
branches of the willows bending. down over
the rushes; and at a little distance, the
ceaseless whispering Of the pine forest was
audible. The darkness was profound. But
the quick eyes of the poachers, accustomed
to the gloom, and practiced to recognize OBJ
jects in the darkness, cautiously stole around,
even at the busiest moments of their labor
spying keenly, and seconded by sharp hear
ing, to observe the approach of any danger.
Suddenly the boot of an owl sounded through
the silence of the night. 1t floated over 10
Zinka and Novak from the north. Both of
them instantly, as IL they had been struck
by shot from an invisible weapon. dropped
their fish, stopped down to their necks in the
reeds. A short time and again the boot was
repeated. Novak crouched against the
reeds, softly and silently drew the net to
himself cut off the net from the rods with a |
he softly let the rods and the pole go in the |
water He knew that the boot Of the owl |
had really come from Skokan, who, in dim |
simmer OF the moons rays peeping for
with his quick eye gun barrel gisten among
the branches of the alders. In an instant he
had guessed that the mere was surrounded
and had given the OWLS boot as a warning
sign to his companions to take flight,
Crouched against the high reeds, the |
poachers could not now see what was being |
done around the mere. They could not see |
the gamekeepers creeping out of the thick |
bushes on both sides, near the apex OF the |
mere nor how they came along the banks in |
order to cut off the retreat to the woods.
The fC roster and the gamekeepers, in the |
hands of one whom the long gun had glis- |
tened, waited, listening breathlessly to hear |
the water splash somewhere in the pool.
They had recognized the owls boot as an |
imitation and knew that that was sign for
flight among the poachers, whom they had
seen arrive and wade into the pool. The
one Of them who recognized the limpinlg
Skokan had permission from the forester to
shoot at him. At the others they were not to
shoot under any circumstances.
The poacliers, guessing that the game |
keepers would walt for them near the upper
part of the pool, crouching down to their
necks in the water, wading cautiously along |
by the reeds In an eastward direction, dowii-
ward toward the dam, in hope of getting out
of the mere and taking flight to the wood.
Saving their bags filled with carp was not
to be thought of. They let them go in the
water. and the carp struggled and wriggled
in the bags until they succeeded at last In
getting out the same way they went in
Softly and cautiously the poachers crept
along through the water, so as not to disturb
III.
ing. Skokan and Jarosh, having waded first
of all about thousand steps by the side OF
the rushes, crept out afterward into the deep.
There, hidden by the darkness, and by the
mist which rose from the mere. they swan
silently straight forward in the dark, where
1t was impossible for any human eye to des-.
cry them from the bank, downward toward
the dam. When they reached it they crept
In among the alders, pushed their way
through them to the top of the dam. crossed
. oil clInnpd behind
the thicket, where they were safe. They
were not together. Neither knew anything
of the other. Skokan, with his lame leg,
had dropped behind in swimming. At that
moment the wind for an instant cleared the
clouds from the sky around the moon, and
the moon, few days past the full, shone out
clearly over the mere and. the wide woods:
On the southern side of the mere, about
half way to the dam, Novak crept out OF the
rushes, leaped up on the bank, and like
frightened stag shot with monster strides
across the meadow into the woods and dis
appeared. The gamekeepers saw him plain
~. but it was impossible to catch him.
Zinka. too, had crept far from the place
where they had caught the carp, and waited
for the clouds to cover the moon to take a
similar flight to the woods He was greatly
distressed, both with anxiety about his com
panions and with the pain that his wound
gave him. The bandage had slipped OIL It,
and the sand and the mud had got In. His
foot had swollen considerably. and panied
him so cruelty that more tnan once Ne was
near swoonng. He wetted his face with the
cold water to keep away the sensation of
faintness Meanwhile he awaited momen-
tarily, with feverish terror. the report of a
gun, which would bring down one of mis-
mates either to the earth or to the depths of
the mere Crouched up to his neck in the
water against the lofty reeds. he folded his
hands, swollen with the cold water, and
looking up into the sky, in which the black
clouds hurried in dark flight from west to
east, prayed with a wild fervor.
70, God, give my mates chance OF getting
away safelyw
scene in impenetrable darkness. Zinka
raised himself. But scarcely had he got
upon his feet when he became aware of a
burning pain which seemed to mount from
his wound to his head 1t was impossible to
tread upon that foot. But fly he mustl The
gamekeepers would let him go if he cried
out but that he dared not do, lest his mates
should know that he had betrayed them.
Anxious TO avail himself Of the momen-
tary gloom, he waded cautiously out of the
water and the thick, sticky mud, and parting
with his hands the rustling reeds, emerged
at length on the high bank, and. limriDg,
made his way. with long springs, toward the
woods.
Suddenly again the clouds broke. The
m0on sh0ne ont in all her hriphtnass light