Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-01-08
THE PEOPLE
 OF THE MIST.
By H. RIDER HAGGARD.
ICopyright, le9o, py the Aubnoi
 CHAPTER XXIII.

holding his double bladed knife ready in one hand, Otter swam to the month of tho snakes den. As he approached it he per ceived by ttc great upward force of tho water that the real body of the stream en- tered the pos.l from below, the holc where tho crocodile lived being but supplement tary exit, which doubtless the river fol- lowed in times of flood
 He rcachci the mouth of the tunnel without any great difficulty, and watch ing his opportunity lifted himself on his hands and slipped through it quickly, for he did not desire to be seen by those who were gathered above. Nor indeed was he seen, for his rcd fringe and the goatskin cloak had been washed away or cast of in the pool, and in that light his black body made little show against the black rock beneath.
 Now he was inside the hole and found himself crouching upon a bed of sand, or rather disintegrated rock, brought down by the waters. The gloom of the place was great, but the light of the white dawn, which had turned to red, was gathering swiftly OH the surface of the pool without as the mist melted and was reflected thence into tho tunnel. So it came about that very soon Otter, who had the gift, not uncommon among savages, of seeing in anything short of absolute darkness, was able to make out his surroundings with toIcrablc accuracy. The place in the corner of which he squattcd was cave of no great height or width, hOllowed in the solid rock hy the force of water as smooth ly as though it had been hCwn through it by the hand of man-in short, an enor- nous natural drain pipe, but constructed of rock ia>tCal of earthenware. In the bottun uf this drain trickled stream of wafer nowhere moro than six inches in dt pth, on either side of which, for ten feet or moro, lay thick bed of debris, ground small How far the cave stretched, of course he could not sec, nof as yet could he discover the whereabouts of its hideous occupant, though traces ol its presence were plentiful, for the saI dy floor was marked with its huge footprints, and the air rocked with an abominable stink.
 Now, where has this evil spirit gone?" thought Otter. He must be near, and yet can scc nothing of him. Perhaps he lives farther up the cave,' and he crept a pace ur two forward and again peered into the gloom.
 Now he perceived what hitherto escaped him-namCly, that some eight yards from the mouth of tho tunnel n table shaped fragment uf stone rose from its floor to within six frct of the roof, having on it's hitllcr side I sluping plane that connected its summit with the stream bed beneath. Doubtless this fragment, or powder, being of some harder material than the surround ing rock, had resisted the wear of the rushing river the top of it, as was shown ny tho high water marks on the sides of the cave, being above the level of the tor rent, which. although it was now repre- stutCd only by n rivulet, evidently at cer- tain SCaSOns of the year poured down with krt&t force and volume.
 Here iS a bed on which a crocodile might sleep" thought Otter, creeping a little farther forward and staring at the mass of rocE, and more especially at n tri- angular sLapcti object that was poised on the top of tl.c sluping plane, and on some- thing which lay beneath it. Now, if that thing be another stone" thought Otter again, "how comes ii that it does not slip into the water as it should do, and what is that upon V Aich it rCst>:' and he took stc, to one >i32 to prevent his body from intcrct pting any portion of the ray of light that uomcmt"rily shODC clearer and pierced the C;lrlncs5 Of the cave to q greater dis tancc.
 Then he looked sgain and almost fell in his horror, for now he could see all. The thing that he had taken for a stone set upon the rock table was the head of the dwCltIr ill the waters, for there ill it two dreadful eyes gleamcd with a dull and | changing fire as the light struck on them. | Moreover, he discovered what was the Ob- jcct which lay under the throat of the rep tile. It was tho body of that priest whom i Otter had taken with him in his leap from | the statue, for he could see its face pro- jcCting on one side.
 Perhaps if I wait awhile he will begin to eat him" reflected the dwarf, remcm- boring the habits of crocodilcs and then ] l can attack him when he rests and sleeps aftcrward.' And acting on the thought he stood still, watching the green fire as it | throbhtd and quivCrcd, waxed and waned | in the monsters eyes.
 How long he remained thus Otter never ] knew. At least after time he became | conscious that the eyes had taken hold of him and were drawing him toward them, | though whether tho reptile saw him or not he could not tell. For a space he struggled against this unholy fascination. 1 Then, overcome by dread, he strovo to fly back to the pool or anywhere out of reach l of those dcYilish Orbs Alas! it was toe late No step could he move backward no, not to save his life. Now he must gc on. It was as though the water dwclleI had read his mind and drew the foe to- ward itself to put the matter to the test ! he have walked again of the head of tho colossus-and the eyes glowed more dread fully than ever as though in triumph Then ill his despair he sank to the ground i hiding his faco in his hands and grooming in his heart.
 This is a devil that have come to fight devil with magic in his eyes" ht thought And how can l do battle against the king of evil spirits, clothed 1T the shape of a crocodilc:"
 Even now when he could not see then he felt the eyes drawing him. Yet, ai they were no longer visible, his courage and mind came back to him sufficient, to enable him to think again.
 Otter" he said to himself, If you stay thus soon, tho magic will do its work
 Your sense will leave you, and that devi
 will eat you as a cobra devours mecrcat
 Yes, he will swallow you, and his inside will be your grave, and that is no end fo
 one who has been called a god. Men, lc
 alone gods, should die fighting. whethe
 it he with Othcr men, with wild beasts l with snakes or with devils. Think now
 if your master, the dcliyercr, saw yol
 crouch thus like toad before an adde
 how hc would laugh and say: Ho! |. thought this man brave. HO! He talkeC
 very loud about fighting the water dwell CT, hc who came of line of warriors, bu now laugh at him, for I see that he i
 but a CrUssbTCd cur and a coward Yes
 yes you can hear his words, Otter Say
 now, will you bear their shame and si here until you are picked up and swal
 lowedf"
 Thus the dwarf addressed himself ant
 it seemed to his bewiIdered mind that tn words which he had imagined were true and that Leonard really stood by an,
 mOcEcd him. At the least he sprang [,
 his feet, and crying Never, baas.' $
 loudly that the cave rang with tho cchOc
 of his shout he rushed straight at the foe
 holding the two hladcd knife in his righ
 hand.
 , The crocodile, that had been waiting fo
 him to fall insensible as had ever bee