Evening star., 1898-05-28

the rail, but, as ill-luck would have II,
ouin and the Portusne.Eroiied straight to
crash into the boat whlAN the lost native
| had padded over from the mainland. 1t
capsized at once. and The rope by which it
| the water, where each let go of the other
that they might have the better chance
| for life.
but a hazy recollecttoh!! He remembered
| striking out blindly and catching hold of
one end Of the upset boat He pulled him.
self farther along the f4eel-he was too
| stunned and bruised to, climb on top-and
| then the tempest tossed and tumbled him
| from wave crest to wave hollow for a space
| that seemed eternity. half suffocating him
| with foamy spray, and making him believe
shouted as hard as he could, but the awful
| scream Of the gale Knocked his puny eff
forts. Once. by purpie flash of light
| ming, he saw the barge rolling heavily
| half mile or SO behind him, with the black
| mass Of the island still farther to the rear.
| Then pelting rain came down and the
storm perceptibly abated. The motion of
| the boat was not SO rough, and Quin pluck
| ed up courage and hope he clung fast
| to the keel and was borne rapidly along
on the broad bosom of the Brahmaputra.
| The night was dark and he could scarcely
| see an arms length in front of him. He
| had no doubt that both Silva and his native
| confederate were dead. but this caused him
| no elation. He was worried about the
| barge. Had the hole in the bottom been
| bored deep enough to admit the water?
| Would the native crew be able to weather
| the storm?
"If I lose that cargo of animals" he
| said to himself. TN be a ruined man"
Just then dull glitter caught his eye,
| anu, looking closely, he was startled to
see dark figure astride the middle of the
| boat. He realized the truth at once. The
| Portuguese had been at the other end of
| the boat all the time. He knew that Quin
| shared the refuge with him. and he was
advancing to kill him. The next sudden
| lightning flash revealed the merciless face
| Of Antonio Silva. In one hand was the
| knife he had picked up the deck of the
| barge.
| "1'll send you to feed the fshesr'
There seemed no hope, and Qun tried
| to resign himself to death. He would have
| had some chance with a weapon, but he
| was too exhausted to fight empty-handed
| or to swim away from the boat and trust
to the mercy of the river. With a dread
fascination he watched his relentless foe
| creeping nearer and nearer along the keel
| the knife raised to strike.
| But an instant later, when Silva was al
| most within reach, a heavy drift log pound
ed end first against the side of the boat
| AS 1T sheered off Quin struck out for it
and caught it at the middle. He heard a
| cry Of rage, and then he was swept away
with the rapidly moving log through the
darkness and the waves. leaving the Portu-
| guese and the boat hopelessly behind in
| the race.
A few more words will bring this narra-
| tive to a fitting close. Quin stuck to his
| log for an hour in spite Of the buffeting of
| the storm. Then, In the early dawn he
was seen and picked up by a small steam
| launch, in which were Captain Sandy Mich
on and five native policemen of Goalpara.
| Mutual explanations were made and the
| captains story was a thrilling one While
riding toward town on the previous night
ne had been waylaid by Silva and two
@ hiIea humans, forced to write the deceiving
| ShI,t
serted bungalow. He managed to escape
at daybreak and reached Goalpara three
hours after the departure of the barge
| Without loss of time he procured the
launch and the police, and started in pur-
suit. He had found safe shelter during the
storm, resuming the search after it was
ne he Was of the optnion that he had
| Such proved to be the case. The Star of
| Delhi was found stuck on bar four miles
up the river, and very little exertion was
Iequirea TO get her off. Cargo and crew
| We're safe, machinery and paddles were un-
| injured and Carruthers had suffered moth
| ing more serious than /, slight concussion
OF the brain. Launch and police were sent
PACK 10 Goalpara and Capt. Nic.loll took
command of the barge, which got up steam
| without delay Nothing was learned of the
native who had been carried off by the SER
| pent, but few miles down stream the boat
was seen from the deck Of the barge, living
on the sandy shore of the river So there
was every reason for believing that Silva
had escaped with his life. 1t would have
been useless to search for him. and no stop
| was made.
The ruffian had laid his plans carefully.
and there was no mistaking his purpose
He had intended to anchor the barge at
the island, and hoped to have the hole in
the bottom completed by the time the sig
nal brought his confederates from the
| mainland, where the man had probably
been lurking for a day or two. But for
| GUMS vigilance the precious pair would
| nave escaped in the boat first cutting the
barge FREQ. on the chance that she would
| sink and fill in midstream. Whether the
| Portuguese had acted with the connivance
| or at the instigationi Of Moss and Craw-
icy, or whether his sole motive was revenge
| Tor the loss of the lions he had stolen in Af-
rlca. was question which Qun's subse-
| quent investigations failed to answer Nor
We're the natives ever found who had
helped Silva to waylay Capt. Nicholl in the
| jungle.
The Star Of Delhi made quick run to
| Hooghly, and the valuable cargo of ami
mails was promptly shipped to England
| They arrived three weeks before the rival
| firms lot. and yielded Karl Hamrach & Co
tremendous profit But in this case Quin
was not inclined to apply the old saying,
AIS well that ends we'll" He had
| double score to settle with Antonio Silva
and sooner or later. he vowed, the day Of
reckoning should come.
| (THE END)