The rustler., 1891-09-18

II
a. the end Of his journey. an& I'd him
self u the charge of the diamund Els
spirits rase considerably ~ the hour of
the trains departure drew near with
out any appearances Of the ''shadowcr@
In the station. nrown rcmained On the
platform until the last moment then.
with ferxent sigh ~ relief. be entercd
the railway carriage The train was
just moving OF when the door was sud
denly opened y brcathlcss porter
dashed In handbag and parcel of rugs-
followed by q still more hreatnless
traveller The door was shut. the engine
shr1elSed the last departing signal the |
train moved from hale station In one
corner Of the carriage Sat Brown; In
another-the farthest ON the opposite
side - sat the man with the black
whislcrs'
How often-in fancy I'VE place our
selves In heroic situations and there-
in fancy act with invariable heroistn.
II i quite different. however, when the
heroic situation il n reality; our conse-
quent actions are liable 10 b. quite diff
fcrcnt. too The position In which
brown now found himself might well
have appalled, the bravest lie was
alone In a railway carriage with a
scoundrel who had followed him from
London; brown had utterly ahan-
doned surmise since last night and nc
cepted each idea as an absolute Ger
tainty-the object In this scoundrels
view was the capture Of the valuable
; diamond. which was at that very mo-
ment ON Browns person. A long jour
ney lay before them and Brown was
, unarmed At this review of the situa-
! ton his heart sank; he drew back i'm
/ stinctively into the corner. His eyes
: suddenly met those OF the other man; n
deep flush suffused his face. which
. seemed TO find reflection in the others.
= brown hastily took up Baedeker and
a affected TO read, the man opposite
. simultaneously did the same. A trans
!; parent unrcality on both sides. Browns $
furtive glances invariably caught
: quickly withdrawn though they were r.
/ those OF the other man levcled ON him
n While this went ON, the slightest
r. change OF position, the least movement
II in the opposite corner made Brown
n start. Might II not herald the approach
@ of dangerP spring n rush. the at
u tack
e The tension was terrible; to remain
e inactive almost impossible. Brown
d had an inspiration, a. man in ex
l. trcmity sometimes has. Though IN
was not armed he would pretend to be
g. That might do something; produc
" hesitation or delay, at least Accord
lc lngly he deliberately assumed bold
even threatening demeanor. CastinI
lc IA truculent glance across the carriage
ol he plunged his hand into his pocket
ie affecting to grasp an imaginary revoI
yer. To his intense delight the rus
took immediate effect The man OF
posite gave an unmistaxable start, an
shrank back into his corner. So fal
so good. But how TO keep up the pre-
tense? What to do next? At thl
crisis the whistling of the engine SUE
denly distracted Brown. Goo
heavens. lie had forgotten the Ion
tunnel! They were coming to it nov
His eyes, with quick, involuntar
movement. sought the lamp. II WI
not lighted!
Entrapped! Doomed! The wilde:
thoughts rushed confusedly 10 h
brain. With n shrek the train plunge
noisily into the tunnel, into darkness
The din and rattle outside con traste
sharply with the silence within Il
carriage. Crouched in his eorne
Brown. his hearing sharpened to agoni
ing acuteness, listened for stir,
rustic, the sound Of human breathiT
pY drawing nearer to him. Every momel
fancy detected step. stealthy, ca
like movement His imaginatio
'ou after the neglect Of a lifetime was no
taking ample revenge. Uncontroli'
hB AM uncomfortable were Its wild flight
me- Every railway murder of which he hi
ne ever heard flashed upon him with 9
ne' the ghastly details The spring upc
'ge the victim, the struggle, the deaf
ho stroke. the body thrown out on q
an rails. How idly he had read of the
~ things happening to other mcnl Il
10 now to realize himself rs the victil
IN his. the body! Absolute panic seiz
yP- upon him; hardly knowing what
' ,ei- was doing, he tried softly to open {
MS door. 1t was locked, however. /
," movements must have been hear
est there was stir ut the other end of t
u. carriage. The fatal moment h
us' come, the assassin was advancing
Us Us the attack In the extremity of
tne terror Brown sank swiftly ON the flo
ne and crawled under the seat
ms For what length Of time he crouch
'ho there. half stifled, scarcely daring
the breathe, Brown knew not. Agony Cd
not measure time. A sudden and ,
ore traordinary rush of air made his hei
ind first stand still, and then sent the bio
IN coursing wildly through his veins. I