The record-union., 1896-08-09


Ill
In the morning [ rose as usual, early.
feeling better than l had done since
Wrottesley died. | reused Valley and
then went to the doctor to wake him:
but he lay so sound asleep that I
thought it kinder to let him rest after
his long ride. So l drew back and went
with Dick to battle. We took our time.
ana returned to find the doctor still
abed; whereupon we entered his tent.
AS passed the opening L noted that
he had not changed his position since L
had looked in two hours before L hap
pcned to catch Dicks eye as I gazed at
the figure in the hammock. We neither
spoke, but going to the sleeper my
companion laid his hand on the doc
tors brow. Then he uttered one word.
without anything of surprise or com
ment:
"Deadr"
So 1T was that the third victim of
tate % had passed away. The circum-
stances We're an exact repetition of
those that had accompanied his pred
ecessors. No mark or sign of violence.
no tell-tale weapon. The man had gone
to rest in the prime of life, hale. hearty
and IN perfect health Now he Law
dead. And that was all.
1t would prolong my story unneces-
sarlly We're L to detail all the Incidents
OF that day. We realized that We had
beheld fresh victim to the awful the
lnscrutable vengeance which was beine
hufled at us by some unseen hand. We
knew that, as with the others, a medical
examination would point but to a mar
ural cause of death We believed in
our hearts that the truth, could we only
discover it,would point to a very differ
ent tale.
HOW were we to test our theorias2
HOW oury mystery meath the flood of
truth! we drew up the report we know
SO Wen, and sent it off. And then we
heiu council of war. 1t was evident
thal the murderer-if murderer there
Were-must be astute, must have a Sc
cret means of inflicting death unknown
TO medical skill, and sought to work his
VIII on white men wherever he found
tnem, so that they Were alone. The two
nights when nothing had happened had
been those when Valley and | had kent
together. We agreed that had we sen-
arated then we should have met our
u,
means could we take to remain together
WhlIe our mysterious enemy should be-
HeVe us to be apart? We discussed the
propIefh at length, and at dusk retired
" iest, edch TO MS own tent leaving the
palroi OUTSIDE In ignorance of our in
eehtlohs. AS soon as / had closed the
entrance, and fastened it securely. too.
lay down on my stomach, and by dint
VI huch struggling succeeded in forcing
my oody underneath the double skin of
canvas at the back of the tent. and
aIter having aScertained that | was not
being watched, [ turned to Valleys
quarters and wriggled under his canvas.
until L stood by his side We had AL
ready agreed as to our course of action
IL mad succeeded in. evading the nm
seen eye that we felt convinced was
watching us it was probable that an at
tempt would be made on the supposed
solitary occupant of one of the tents. IF
1t CHANGED that Valleys tent was the
one visited, one of us was bound to see
and deal with the Dacoit, thug, or what
ever he was. We had carefully loaded
our reVOlVerS, and had agreed to take
1t In turns to watch and sleep. We had
pledged ourselves not to make a sound
during the night, unless it became nee
essary to rouse the sleeper.
AS soon as L Joined Valley, he ex-
tlngu1shed the lamp. 1t was a clear
nlght, and 1t was possible to distin-
gulsh the furniture and various objects
IN the tent distinctly. In consideration
OF my weakened state / was to have the
Ilrst rest L accordingly lay down on
the bedstead, while Valley sat on his
camp stool. was tired out and soon
fell into dreamless sleep. VALLEY
told me subsequently that it took quite
1lVe minutes to wake me when my time
was up; but I speedily pulled myself
together. and rose to allow of his taking.
his turn of bed. 1t occurred to me as T
moved to the seat he had occupied that
his position had been far too prominent
for our purpose. 1t was absolutely
necessary, if our vigil was to have anv
chance of success, that any intruder
should not see that he was being
watched as soon as he entered the tent
L shifted the stool on one side. and
carefully moved the drawers and bath
away from the side of the tent. so as
to leave sufficient space to conceal my
self between them and the canvas.
Then, with spare rug to lay on. and a
kit-bag for my back, L slowed myself
behind the furniture, fairly concealed.
but able to command a view of any,
thing that might transpire.
There is nothing more trying or more
exhausting than a solitary vigil One
soon tires of keeping the faculties on
the alert, and hears all sorts of imagin-
airy sounds, sees all kinds of non-exist-
ent things. AS l lay wedged in that
eighteen inches of recess. | fancied T
could discern all sorts of hideous out
lines, and kept hearing whispered voices
and mysterious breathings. But my
judgment prevailed, and 1 restrained
my impetuosity. And so the minutes
sped on, seeming hours, and nothing
happened. Then a new terror struck
me: | felt that / was being watched T
could not see anything. No particle of
evidence offered to justify the idea, but
l could not shake it off. I did not pic
ture human eye gazing at me, but I
felt its impact. consciousness crept
over me that l was being played with.
L realized the sensations of the mouse
when 1T is interrupted in its gnawing by
the intuition of the cats eye falling OF
it-before it has seen the cat / longed
to initiate the ostrich and bury my head
in the sand, that 1 might not see my
hunter when he disclosed himself But
1 reasoned myself into healthier state
of mind, and overcame the terror which
engrossed me. 1t was absurd to show
the white feather. After all, however
mysterious the recent happenings might
appear, they could not be supernatural.
Thus 1 reasoned with myself, losing
count of time, until my state of health.
or my fears, or the mental strain proved