Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-06-28

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and outstretched hands.
"Have you got it?' he painted. Evil
you not let me look at it also? I swear ths
will return it?"
"Got what? Return what?" asked.
"That which you have in your hands. ]
will help US BOTH" He stretched out hi
long, brd-like talons, trembling with eager
ness.
'I could never find it," he continued
"He had secreted it about his person. There
fore shot him, but nevertheless I was un
able to obtain il"
Gunga Dass had quite forgotten his littl
fiction about the rife bullet. received tn
information perfectly calmly. Morality j
blunted by consorting with the dead who ar
alive.
"What on earth are you raving about
What is it you want me to give you?"
'The piece OF paper in the notebook.
will help us both. Oh, you fooll you fool
Can you not see what it will do for us? W,
shall escape!'
His voice rose almost to a scream and h,
danced with excitement before me. I OWL
was moved at the chance OF getting away
Don't skip. Explain yourself Do you
mean to say that this slip of paper will helI
us? What does 1t mean?"
Read it aloudl Read it aloud! I beg
0uO pray W yOu 70 IedO IL
WHAT THE PAPER MEANT.
I did so. Gunga Dass listened delight.
edly and drew an irregular line in the sand
with his fingers.
"See now! 1t was the length Of his gun
barrels without the stock. 1 have those bar
rels. Four gun barrels out from the place
where caught crows. Straight out; do you
follow me? Then left-Ahl how we'll 1 re-
member when that man worked it out night
after night. Then nine out, and so on. Out
is always straight before you across the
quicksand. He told me SO before killed
him."
''But if you knew all this why didn't you
get out before?"
II did not know it. He told me that he
was working it out year and a half ago
and how he was working it out night after
night when the boat had gone away and he
could get out near the quicksand safely.
Then he said that we would get away to-
gether. But I was afraid that he would
leave me behind one night when he had
worked it all out, and so shot him. Be-
sides it is not advisable that the men who
once get in here should escape. Only I, and
am Brahmin."
The prospect of escape had brought
Gunga Dass' caste back to him. He stood
up, walked about and gesticulated vio-
lently.
Eventually managed to make him talk
soberly, and he told me how this English
man had spent six months, night after night,
in exploring, inch by inch, the passage
across the quicksand; how he had declared
it to be simplicity itself up to within about
20 yards of the river bank after turning the
flank of the left horn of the horseshoe.
This much he had evidently not completed
al L.
gun.
In my frenzy of delight at the possibili-
ties of escape recollect shaking hands ef-
fusively with Gunga Dass after we had de-
cided that we were to make an attempt to
get away that very night. 1t was weary
work waiting throughout the afternoon.
THE ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE.
About 10 o'clock, as far as I could Judge,
when the moon had just risen above the lips
of the crater, Gunga Dass made a move for
his burrow to bring out the gun barrels
whereby to measure our path. All the other
wretched inhabitants had retired to their
lairs long ago. The guardian boat drifted
down stream some hours before, and we were
utterly alone by the crow-clump. Gunga
Dass, while carrying the gun barrels, let
slip the piece of paper which was to be our
guide.
stopped down hastily to recover it, and
as did so was aware that the diabolical
Brahmin was aiming violent blow at the
back of my head with the gun barrels It
was too late to turn round. I must have re-
ceived the blow somewhere on the nape of
my neck. A hundred thousand fiery stars
danced before my eyes and fell forward
senseless at the edge of the quicksand.
When recovered consciousness the moon
was going down, and was sensible of in
pain in the back of my head.
Gunga Dass had disappeared and my mouth
was iull of blood. 1 lay down again and
prayed that I might die without further
ado. Then the unreasoning fury which I |
had before mentioned laid hold upon me,
and staggered inland toward the walls Of
the crater.
in whisper, "Sahib! Sahlbi Sahib!' ex- |
actly as my bearer used to call me in the |
mornings. fancied that 1 was delirious |
until handful of sand fell at nv feet. |
Then I looked up and saw a head peering |
down into the mphitheater-the head of |
Dunnoo, my dog boy, who attended to my
,ollies. As soon as he had attracted my
attention he held up his hand and showed
! rope. motioned, staggering to and fro
he while, that he should throw it down.
SAFETY AT LAST.
It was a couple of leather punkah ropes
znotted together, with loop at one end.
clipped the loop over nv head and under
ny arms; heard Dunno urge something for
ward; was conscious that I was being
ragged face downward, up the steep sand
lope, and the next instant found myself
,hoked and half fainting on the sand hills
overlooking the crater. DunDoo, with his
ace ashy gray in the moonlight, implored
ne not to stay but to get back to my tent at
,nce.
1t seems that ne had tracked Pornic's
footprints IA miles across the sands to the
rater; had returned and told my servants,
Who fatty refused to meddle with anyone,
White or blace, once fallen into the hideous
Village of the Dead; whereupon Dunnoo
lad taken one of my ponies and a couple of
'unkah ropes, returned to the crater and
lauled me out as have described.
To cut long story short Dunnoo is now
ny personal servant on gold mohur a
nonth-a sum which I still think far too
title for the services he has rendered.
Nothing on earth will induce me to 60 near
hat devilish spot again or to reveal its
more clearly than have DONE
)f Gunga Dass have never found a trace,
or do wish to. My sole motive in giving
his to be published is the hope that some
ne may positively identify, from the de-
ails and the inventory which have given
bove. the corpse of the man in the olive
reen hunting suit.
mith, Vassnr, Wellesley and Bryn Mawr.
These are the great colleges for women.
Place, at Gambler, O., thoroughly
1olf for nno oF fhav, |