The Irish standard., 1896-11-14


I'd q tlt$ anxiety q
the viiols
.kihe. a,y,sokc VA q sutld en sens OF
II terror KNOCKING at her hear !. b the
LIGHT az TIE moon which pene
through i SINAI L window IN the hut She
sskaxp s3ei1nan extended bY her side;4fof
81 ]. short space 81 time she heard nothing
Il nut the noise of his loud snores. when
sufld enIy i sort OF shutting sound in
I. Il siie. tie room struck her as something
/ strange. III seemed as though some ani-
nal was crawling along the floor, and
as she looked with trembling expect
ancy toward the directio hence Y. IT :
Il cane, the face OF q ong slow ytxrosc
beside Sleinan from the other s'de 9.
the low bed on hich she lay She ne held he
her heeath. hardly daring to keep nee
4 eyes fixed on him lest the sinfensltyso or
b her gaxe should draw Ion s- 81
20 herself. A fash Of somethins bright.
Ii long-drawn groan, q short struggle.
y and then pillow flung over the mouth
/. which was still capable of%cry1ng OUT ef','
/ for help, and brawnyi muscular arms.
pressing it firmly down till the conyui-
4 sive heaving ceased, snd all was still as
death. 'Tijah closed her eyes with
one deep shuddering sigh and tainted.
When she regnined her senses. she
feared to move or look ut first, tlreading
what CHASTITY sight would meet her.
I, She put out her hand and felt about
cautiously. The dead form OF Slelm;en
was still beside her; the pillow rested!
over the face; In the room no sound,
but below q stealthy passing to and
fro-Tong and his wife preparing to
get rid Of the body.
"'Tiiah paused, thinking what to do:
then she rose slowly and crept outside.
THE door Of the house was open. and
Tonr had evidently lust gone. out She
caught up q sarong- (skirt) which lay
near her on the floor. and flung II over
her head: then, without q backward
Glance sha fed Through the doorway.
and as faat al her terror- stricken limbs
would carry her down to the seashore.
Il took no time to unfasten the koleh,
and in a few moments she had grasped
the middle and had set out in her tinv
boat to row over the miles Of sea which,
Inv between her and her parents home
IN Ma1acca IT was frail bark for
safety; but she felt she could trust to
It sooner than to those bloodthirsty
creatures she had left behind. A long
:. way she rowed, and the next day when
the sun got up and scorched her, she
pulled in her paddle and rolled herself
in her sarong and lay down in the bot
tom of the boat and slept. She was
aroused by the movement Of her cookie
shell. It was night; breeze had
sprung M and q suuall was coming;
white crests tipped the waves and
heavy bank of clouds obscured the star
light. and in a few moments a black
nail OF darkness enveIoped her. The
wind struck the fragile craft, whirling
f. wildly round. and before she could
seize the paddle to try and steadyit, tho
boat capsized, and she was flung into
the angry sea. She struck out boldly
and SWAN until her hands touched the
upturned bark, to which she chung, en-
deavoring to right it.. Poor girl! sho
knew not where she was, how far from
shore, how long her strength would
last. and whether there was any hope OF
succor.
At last the squall passed over and the
water became comparatively calm. but
the moon had not risen and she, could
see nothing She began to get exhaust
ed and felt tEat she could not hold on
much longer and would sink and drown
unless Fuan Allah took pity on her.
She thought sadly that she was young
to die. and prayed for help. a small
thing as light as a feather touched her
cheek-a mosquito, sent to save her
life. When she heard the sound which
Tuan cursed just now she knew that
land mist be quite near, for mosquito
never flies. out to sea. She let go her
anchorage, and, making one more eff
fort, swan bravely on, and very soon
her feet touched the beach.
meanwhile those cruel ,nurderers
Ind finished their work. and before day.
light dawned had got rid of every trace
Of their iii doing. The neighbor-s in
uuired what had become of Sleiman and
whv he had come and gone 50 sud-
denly. ...s~
...nL ,:s 49,. 81, }. ,.r+ 1,,,,.,.;a11,r.