The Irish standard., 1897-08-21
t10RACf hnnfSLt1- VnCnElL,
Copyright. 1896. by J. B. Llpp,ncos Col

= }. D. LppincoW Col
,ington to render you service which he
thought half your fortune would
scarcely repay; he, with devilish clever
meas, played upon the feelings of u nerv-
GUS woman and bounded her to your
arms; he made capital out of your shat
tered nerves; he"
Enough" said Gerard, hoarscly; II
am satisfied. My God! how cruelty
that fiend has used me! And" his voice
failed-"and my little Mark is in his
bloody hands! Come! not second is
to be lost"
He flung his clothes upon his lanky
person, and sputtered out his fears.
Dcmetrius, he felt assured, would hast
Ell to the island, hold Mark as hostage,
and make what terms lie pleased. saw
the force of this reasoning. AS he said,
not moment WIS to be wasted.
"NLr. Gerard" said I. "you must stay
here. Let me act for you. shall take
Jap with me, and you can rely upon my
mothcr-wit to rescue Mark and bring
Demetrius to the gullows. You arc
not"
Hugo" he rejoined, impres.ively,
"you think / am "a coward, not fit for
such desperate adventure as this will
prove. My lad, fate plays queer tricks
with US. That night at Red Gulch
paralyzed my nerves. This nights work
has undone the mischief. Tn ready,
by Jupiter, to encounter that monster
single-handed. And, Hugo, l mistrust
that hot head Of yours. My child's life
is at stake. Demetrius is desperate.
If it comes to choosing between Marks
| life and the capture of the Greek, how
could hesitate? You might precipitate
more bloodshed God knows there has
been enough. Come"
! A few minutes later we were on our
way, Gerard walking with fcverish
strides ahead. The nurse was left with
| Burlington.
"Je-roosalcm!" whispered Jap to me,
"yell letmc have one crack at the son of
gun, Mr.. Livingston, won't We, now?"
II want more than one myself, Jap.
| But I'll try and remember you"
l had formulated in my own mind n
| plan which dared not share with Mark
| Gerard. Left to himself, foresnw THAT
he would sacrifice justice to his love for
the boy--that the Greek would go scot
free, to enjoy his ilI-gottcn gains. And
| such 4 thought was eXasperuting.
Taking advantage, therefore, of my
patrons long strides, dropped to tho
rear and submitted my scheme to the
worthy Jap lie was good enough to
approve 1t nightly, and eagerly
J proffered his assistance.
! 'If we don't corral the cuss, Mr.. Liv-
| ingston, swear Tll-1'll never be able
! ter kiss Danish Mary ngan-and enj'y
| It,"
T. told him to be Of good cheer and to
carry out my instructions to the letter.
Before we crossed the low sand-lnncs
which lay between the marshes and tho
sea, Jap extinguished the lantern, and
we held brief council of war. Itwas
friendly cover of the fog. THE whitest
and largest of flags of truce.
'It would be wise" said ], "to advance
IN open order. The hut is provided with
large-bore duck-gun, and n charge Of
swan-shot might excite Il panic"
"I'll take the CENTER" said Gerard,
"and do the talking"
"1'll take the left" said Jap, IAN do
the cussin'."
"And I'll take the right" said ]. "und
keep my mouth shut"
The fog was now so thick that an OBJ
ject dozen yards away could not DC
seen at all.
1.-THE first thing to determine il
! whether the Greek is here" observed
Gerard. care you ready? Then
march,"
Our commanders -chicfhnHc nj the
identical spot where had stood u few
hours before, and l henrd him sigh
heavily MS lie realized that the boat was
on the wrong side of the channel. The
Greek had returned.
"Dcmetrius," he yelled, shrilly,
"come out"
II am here" was the instant reply.
I waited for no more, but ran noise
lessly for some fifty yards to the right.
1t was bitterly cold, but stripped Off
coat, wuistcoat and boots. Then, hold
ing my gun in my left hand, pushed
through the tulcs and entered the icy
water. The channel was deep, and, at
the place had selected, broad swim
was inevitable
When ] reached the island removed
my dripping undcrclothes and stole for
ward, naked MS an Indian. / feared
that the swish Of wet cloth might be-
tray my approach, and, besides, tho
clinging garments might impede the
free use of my limbs. Dcmetrius must
be taken, if possible. alive. and de-
cided to leave the gun within reach and
to trust to my muscles and II knife
which thrust between my teeth.
| What passed between master "a nd man
while was executing these manemvers
] learned subsequently. Demetrils. us
we had expected, submitted a cut-and-
dried proposition, worthy. ] must adj
NIT. of his subtle brain.
He denied nothing mud conceded
nothing, but his conditions implied adj
mission Of guilt Briefly. they were as
follows: Gerard and his party were to
return to the house and stay there He
! and Mark would take the morning train
TO the city. There, in San Francisco,
he would lcnve the boy Mt some hotel
| he naturally did not specify the hotel
end 20 his way. If-he laid great en-
phasis upon the conjunction-if any
treachery were attempted. by telc-
| graphic communication with the po-
| lice, or otherwise, he sworc solcmnIy TO