Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-10-24

derstand. l lighted a pipe and had
thoughtful smoke was fairly puzzled
when suddenly a thought struck me, an,
turning round measured the distanc
from the edge of the well to the tomb
1t was 20 feet. Allowing s. feet fo
the thickness of the wall, about 80 fee
would separate me from the inner cham
ber Gould there be any means of com
munication? Looking about, 1 sool
found long bamboo, which 1 cautious
ly put down the well, feeling along tn
side of the stonework. Lower and low
er l went, when suddenly, sure enough
the resistance of the wall ceased, and
could detect an opening, evidently
passage, and quite big enough to admit
man, as it felt to be about feet square
The mystery was solved The MAJ
lived in the tomb and issued forth, dis
guised as spirit, frightening the vii
layers from coming out at night, ant
under cover of the darkness he commit
ted the unexplained robberies and muir
ders I had heard of throughout the dis
trict
IC1i Stl1SuOu Will l1lSHU NOIh
made my way to my pony and canter
ed off to complete my pretended jour
ney. I had now to devise some means
of getting hold of this human water ra
without asking that the tomb of the
priest be opened.
That evening, having hit upon plan
l retired to rest as usual, and abou
midnight stole quietly forth, knowing
full well that I should not run across
any villager. Fhad ON long overcoat
in the pockets of which had pair o1
handouts, some strong fishing twine
and a hunting knife. Underneath
wore nothing but native cloth around
my loins, as I intended to penetrate the
retreat Of the spirit
[ reached my station in safety unob.
served and then commenced my solitary
watch. Before, however, I concealed
myself carefully removed the platters
of rice so that the Mussulman, not find
ing them, should depart for the village,
leaving the well to my attention. Twas
now ready for action, my knife belted
round my waist, with the handouts
and fishing line fastened to me so as
not to impede my movements under
water.
I had not been waiting very long
when again l heard the sound of splash
ing, followed by the long drawn sigh,
and then, as before, the figure appeared
On the edge of the we'll After waiting
little while, it moved off in quest of
the platters Of food, and when he failed
to find them a good round oath in Hin
doostanee convinced me that my scheme
had not improved his temper
Without wasting any time he moved
off toward the village, and as soon as he
was out Of sight came from my hiding
place ready for action. Taking off my
coat and contenting myself with the
minimum of clothing, I prepared for
my voyage of discovery. 1t was un-
pleasant to think of, as I knew not
what obstacles I might meet in that
dark, subterranean passage, but l had
determined upon carrying out my
scheme; SO, muttering brief prayer, i'll
I dived
Ihad no difficulty in finding the open
ing, and after exploring it for a few
yards came back for a final breath and
then went down for good. There was
no room in the passage for stroke with
my arms, SO l kept them stretched out
in front of me to feel my way and pro-
tect my head, contenting myself with
using my legs as a means of progress
sion. At length, after what seemed to
nae very long time, my hands struck
a fiat surface, and groping around, I
found it was clear overhead. I shot up
then and found myself in small cham
Der, evidently Abdul's den.
In one corner was a mat, with some
clothing, and Oh niche an oil lamp
burned, shedding sufficiently bright
light around. Scattered here and there
were cooking utensils and little fire.
place, and hung on the walls were
couple of murderous looking dahs-na-
tive knives. Beside them was something
from which 1 recoiled in horror--a
piece of twisted gut a couple of feet
long, with loop at one end, evidently
the strangling apparatus used by this
villain in disposing Of his victims.
Carefully putting the dails ont II
sight, I proceeded to arrange my plans
for the coming struggle. The man
would come up as did in the well-like
opening and would have to crawl into
the room through an aperture in the
wall. This was where my attack should
be made. The water was a couple OF
feet below the level on which I stood
and showed surface about 3 feet
square, and I decided to knock him on
the head and if possible stun him, as /
did not desire to risk struggle with SO
desperate a character under such Cir
cumstances.
Suddenly the water was disturbed,
and I had only time to dart across the
floor for dah and return when there
was gurgling and swishing of water,
and q dead fowl was flung into the
room. Almost instantly dark form
appeared at the aperture, and without
giving him time to rise I brought the
back of the heavy dab down upon his
head He rolled over like log, and
half regretted not having given him a
chance to fight However, the recollec-
tion of the murdered child, so vividly
brought home to HE by the sight of the
strangling cord, hardened my heart,
and in a moment I had the brute hand
cuffed behind his back and his ankles
lashed together.
In few minutes he came to, and
never shall I forget the look of aston
ishment succeeded by rage which came
over him. His struggles were tremend.
dous, and it was we'll for me that 1 had
neglected 10 precaution for my OWL
safety. His mind was set upon getting
at the dahs which l had removed, and
his eyes were turned from one place tC
another, seeking them. After some min
utes, finding his efforts ineffective, he
lay still, palaa1g for breath, occasion.
ally letting off steam in horrible oaths
in Hindoostanee and Burmese.
I now informed him that, although
in urdress uniform, l was police Off
cer and arrested him for robbery an0
murder and detailed to him one or two
of his atrocities. His threats were now
turned to prayers and supplications, ano
he offered me untold wealth if I woulG
but let him Off This put new idea
into my head, and upon searching ]
found various necklaces, bracelets and
packages Of precious stones, the spoils