The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1898-07-22

light OF the moon WHICH Foii~'
tbrouoh a small window in the hut she
saw SIeiman extended by her side; 1o1
. short space of time she heard notA-h@
Int the noise of his loud SHORES, NAe'-
suddenly a sort of shutting SOUND II
side the room struck her as somethihG
strange. Itseemed as though some an
NAL was crawling along the hoor' ana
as she looked with trembling eAPeet-
ancv toward the direction whence II
came. the face of Tong slowly rose
beside Sleiman from the other side o.
the low bed on which she lay. She hela
her breath, hardly daring to keep hei
owes fixed on him lest the intensity OF
her gaze should draw longs afternoon
10 herself. A flash Of somethi : Drlgh''
y long-drawn groan, short struggle
and then pillow flung over the mouth
which was still capable of crying Out
for help, and brawny muscular arms
messing it firmly down till the convui-
sive heaving ceased, and all was still as
death. 'Tijah closed her eyes with
one deep shuddering sigh and tainted
When she regained her senses, she
feared to move or look at first, dreadlng
what CHASTITY sight would meet hef-
She put out her hand and felt about
cautiously. The dead form OF Sherman
was still beside her; the pillow rested
over the face; in the room no SOUND,
but below a 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
Tong had evidently just gone out. Sh"
caught up a sarong (skirt) which lay
near her on the floor, and flung it over
her head; then, without backward
glance, she fed through the doorway,
and as fast as her terror-stricken limbs
would carry her down to the seashore.
1t took no time to unfasten the koleh,
and in a few moments she had grasped
the paddle and had set out in her tiny
boat to row over the miles of sea which
lay between her and her parents homo
in Malacca. 1t was frail bark Tor
safety; but she felt she could trust 20
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; a breeze had
white crests tipped the waves and .
heavy bank of clouds obscured the star
light, and in a few moments q black
pail of darkness enveloped her. The
wind struck the fragile craft, whirling
it wildly round, and before she could
seize the paddle to try and steady it, t!lc
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! she
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 that she could not hold on
much longer and would sink and drown
unless Tuan Allah took pity on her.
She thought sadly that she was young
to die, and prayed for help. 4 small
thing as light as 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 must 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 murderers
had finished their work, and before day
light dawned had got rid of every trace
of their i'll doing. The neighbors in
quired what had become of Sleiman and
why he had come and gone so sud
denly.
"'Oh,' said Tong, he left hurriedly;
he took 'Tijah with him and went away
IN the kloeh at daybreak to catch a
steamer which would pass there going
to Singapore
ut was a very mysterious affair, and
no one could make out the truth; but
when the police had given up all search,
finding they could prove nothing, quite
unexpectedly the murder was found
out. A man of the village went int
ho r1e, To = 7
he walked down to the creek to was
after bis food. Coming back throu@,
the swampy mangrove near the river h
| noticed very great swarm of flies!
They were like cloud, they were So
thick. What have we here? he
thought; some dead animal, perhaps.
| and went to see. Sunk in the mud where
| the river washed over it at high tide he
found a barrel, from which proceeded
very nauseous smell. His curiosity
was aroused, so he put in his hand:
| feeling something hard. he drew it out
1t was skull, the skull of a man, and
projecting from the upper jaw was a
long tooth, like a, tusk. 'Aha!' he cried ::
'Sleiman!'
| AAo "ehC anu tolu Inc ponce, and they
came and took the casl1, and the muir
der was proved, because the clothes
and the tooth were. those of Sleiman.
So Tong was hanged, and his wife is
in prison now in China Jail in Singa-
pore. She will never come out till she
dies.
"And 'Tijah is my wife, and love her
and she loves me, and we are very hap
Ply. She is grateful to the mosquito
THANK you for your story, Mat,