Evening star., 1898-07-23

| ragged because the English are coming to
attack him.
There was a sharp exclamation from
Sooloo, who had crept near to listen.
An English force comng" Quin asked,
in surprise.
Yes: Are you ignoran OF what happen
ed in August?''
Entirely so. I have been in the Jungle
since June
II viii tell you briefly" said Gunpat
Singh. EARLY last August Bio Salah,
with a force of rebels, attacked the gov
ernment station at Dakar. They killed the
| officer in charge and five other men burned
the town and looted the treasury. And now
the soldiers are coming to take revenge"
How near are they?"
Last night, sahib, they were within l.ss
| than two days march"
The, They will arrive too later groaned Quin.
I'VE are lostr'
No; you have a chance of escape" said
the Sikh. Listen well; every moment adds
to our peril. l was a fool to desert. and
am SICK OF this wretched existence If
snow you how to save your lives, will you
40 40 an IN your power TO persuade the Eng
nsh 10 grant me a full pardou?"
Gladly, Quin answered. Il agree TO
&je conditions-I will carry them cut. 1
pledge you my word.''
bond Ihe s sab sahibs 5:;, word is as good his
then He produced a knife, AMI quickly
cut the letters from the arms OF both pr:s-
oners, aiterward giving the weapon to
DSiiiiu you, III Inat corner,
will find plank of the flooring loose" he
added. Underneath is a secret passage
which was never finished 1t will lead Won
10 open ground, near the main gate of the
tort. Inc night is dark, and you should he
able to creep on the sentry and kill linn
without noise. Then let yourselves out hy
the small gate to one side and flee % the
north In the morning you will likely find
the English soldiers"
Heaven bless you, my good fellow,'
sald Qun- But won't you come with us ."
No, | shall remain Gunpat Singh re-
pled perhaps | may lend secret aid in
some way TO the English when they attack
Tell the commanding officer that The fort
cannot be taken easily; that 1t is very
strong, and proof against rife-tre AMI
shells"
I'll tell him, If meet him." promised
gum Meanwhile, take care of Yourself"
i Will do nothing to attract suspicion"
was the reply. Il must be off now. Nav
you be fortunate, sahibr
Brief farawells were exchanged and then
the sikh crept from the room closing the
door softly behind him.
TO the prisoners, so recently in the shad-
ow OF certain death, the interview that mad
just terminated seemed almost like dream
But when they proceeded without DELAY to
examine the flooring and found a wide
plank that lifted up, the hope of escape
grew substantial; for underneath was an
excavation about three feet deep.
They listened for a moment to make sure
I,
they let themselves into the hole, replacing
the plank above them as we'll as they
could. With Sooloo leading, they crapt on
hands and knees through the sitting, Pitch
black subterranean passage, which mad eyi-
IDENTIFY been dug long time beore At last
a gray g}immer of light was sean ahead
and moment later they reached the open
air, emerging in a copse of thick grass
The night was dark, bu. after the deeper
gloom of the tunnel they could see their
surroundings clearly. A considerable dis
tance behind them lay the fort buildings.
and about thirty feet straight ahead, over
broken ground, was the main gate I'm the
stockaded wall, facing toward the north
Ard leaning against 1t was the dark form
or the Dyak sentry; as he stirred OCCASION
ally the barrel of his rifle cleaned.
Now comes the worst part" said Ouin
THAT fellow must be settled without noise.
But how are We going to do 1t. ?"
Leave 1t to me-" replied Sooloo Give
me your knife, and I will creep upon him
like serpent. He shall know nothing till
he feels the steel. When you hear a low
whistle, then come quickly"
1t was doubtful plan, but the onIy one
feasible. Putting the knife between his
teeth in such @ position that the blade
would not sparkle, Sooloo started off crawl
ing fiat on the ground Qun watched him
until he had vanished from sight in the
gloom, and then he spent several minutes
OF narrowing anxiety. He knew what Soo-
loo was capable of, but, nevertheless, he
was aware that the odds were strong
against success-that in all probability the
sentry would detect the approach of the
creeping figure.
Great was his relief, therefore, when he