Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-04-27

He feit the Jaws close, but their rows of
yellow fangs never touched his arm, for
there was that between them which held
them some little space apart. Then he
cast himself on one side and to the ground.
leaving the weapon in the reptiles throat.
For u few moments it shook its horrid
head, while Otter watched gasping Twice
it opened its great jaws and spat, and
twice it strovo to close them. Oh, what If
it should rid itself of the knife or drive it
throug: the soft flesh of the throat Then
he was lost indeed. But this it might not
do, for the lower blade caught upon the
jawbone, and at each effort it drove the
sharp point of the upper knife deeper to-
ward its brain. Moreover, SO good was
the steel and so firm were the hide lashings
of the handles, shrunken as they were
! with the wet, that nothing broke or gave
- Now he will tramplc me or dash me to
pieces with his tail, J" said Otter But as
yet the snake had no such mind Indeed
in its agony it seemed to have forgotten
the presence of it's foe 1t writhed upon
the floor of the cave, lashing the rock with
its tail, gasping horribly the while Then
suddenly 1t started forward past him. and
| the tough hide rope about Offers middle
ran out like the line from the bow of a
7 "HoAebohV NHNii thC pun ROIt
home in the quarry.
Thrice the dwarf spun round violently
then he felt himself dragged in great
jerks along tho rocky floor, which, happily
for him, was smooth. A fourth jerk, and
once more he was in the waters of the
pool-aye, and being carried to its remot-
est depths.
Now, that man is fool" thought OF
ter, ''who tics himself to such a fish as
this, for it will drown me ere it dies. -
Had it been any other man doubtless
this would have been so But the dwarf
! was as nearly amphibious as human be-
ing can be, and could dive and swim and
| hold his breath-aye, and see-beneath
the surface q. well as the animal from
which he took his name. Never did these
gifts stand their owner in better stead
than during the minutes of this strange
duel. Twice the tortured reptile sank to
the bottom of tho POLAND its depth was
great-dragging the dwarf after him,
though, as it CHANGED between each dive
it rose to the surface, giving him time to
breathe. A third time it dived, and Otter
must follow it, on this occasion to the
mouth of one of the subterranean exits of
the water, into which the dwarf was
sucked. Now the brute turned, heading
up the pool with rush like that of a salm-
OH, and Otter, who had prayed that the
line would break, now prayed that il
might hold, for he knew that even no
could never hope to swim against that I'M
dertow
1t held, and once moro they rose to the
surface, where the reptile lay lashing the
waters in its pain, blood pouring from its
mouth and nostrils. Very glad was the
| dwarf to be able to breathe again, for dur
ing that last rush he had gone near to snf-
location. He lifted his head, inhaling the
air with great gulps, and saw that the
banks of the pool were lined with speeta-
tors, who shouted and surged in a state of
! mad excitement. After that he did not
see much more for awhile, since just then
1t seemed to occur to the crocodile for the
first time that the man alongside of him
was the cause of his suffering. At least it
wallowed round, causing the waters to
boil about its horny sides, and charged
him. With its fangs it could not bite.
Therefore it struck at him with its tail
Twice Otter dived, avoiding the blows,
but the third time he was not so success
full, for the reptile followed him into the
deep water and dealt him fearful blow
before he could either sink or rise. He
felt the rough scales cut into bis flesh and
a sensation as though every bone in his
body was breaking and his eyes We're
starting from his head. Family and more
family he struggled, but in vain, for now
life and sense were leaving him together,
and everything grew black.
But suddenly there came change, and
Otter knew vaguely that once more he
was being dragged through the water and
over rock. Then darkness took him, and
he remembered no more
When he awoke again, it was to find
himself lying on the floor of the cave, but
not alone, for by his side, twisted into u
last and hideous contortion, was the snake
god--dead! The upper blade of the doub :
knife had worked itself into its brain, and
with dying effort it sought tho den
| where it had lived for centuries dragging
Otter with it, and there expired how or
when he knew not. But the dwarf had
triumphed. Before him lay the ancient
terror of the People of the Mist, the SYM
Dol and indeed the object of their worship,
slain by his skill and valor.
Otter saw and understood, and, bruised
and shaken as he was, his heart swelod
with pride, for had he not done de- |
single handed such as was not told of in
the stories of his land? 'Oh, that the Daas
were here to see this sight!'' he said as he
crawled along the length of his dead enc
my and seated himself upon its fat and
loathsome head. "Alasl he cannot" he
added, but l pray that my watching
spirit may spare my life; that l may live
to sing this song of the Staying of the devil
of the People of the Mist. Wow That
was Il fight. When shall man sec such
anothers And lol save for many bruises
and the cutting of the rope about my mid
die, am not greatly hurt, for the water
broke the weight of his tail when he smote
me with it, After ALL it is well that the
line held, for it served to drag me from
the pool as it dragged me into it, and 9TH
erwise | had surely drowned there. Sec,
though, it is nearly done with" And
taking that end of it in his hand which
issued from the jaws of the crocodile he
broke it with jerk, for, with the excep-
ton of half a strand, it was frayed through
by the yellow fangs. Then, when he had
recovered himself little and washed the
worst Of his hurts with water, Otter set
himself to consider the position. First,
however, he made an utterly Intellectual
effort to cxtact the great knives Ten men
could not have moved them, for the upper
blade was driven many inches deep into the
bone and muscles of the reptiles massive
head. But for this indeed it would soon
have shaken itself clear of them. But, as
it was, every contortion and crashing of
its jaws had only served to drive the steel
in deeper-up to the hilt indeed.
Abandoning this attempt, the dwarf
crept cautiously to the mouth of the cave
and peered up at the farther banks of the
pool, whence he could hear shouts and see
i men moving to and fro, apparently in q
state of great excitement
Now, am weary of that pool" he said
to himself, land if / am seen in it the
arrows and kill me. What shall l do,
then? | cannot stay in this place of stinks
with the dead devil and the bones of those
whom he has devoured until die of hun.
ger. Now, this water must come from
somewhere. Therefore it seems best that
| should follow it awhile, searching for the
spot where it enters the cave 1t will be
dark walking, but the walls and the floor
are smooth, SO that [ shall not hurt N.Y.
self, and if 1 find nothing 1 can return
again and strive to escape from the pool
by night
Having decided upon the adventure, OF
ter began to carry it out with characters
tic pronnptness, the more readily, indeed,
because his long immersion in the water
had chilled him, and he felt WEAKNESS
creeping over him as result of the terri
bic struggle and emotions that he had
passed through Coiling the hide rope
about his middle, which was sadly cut by