Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1898-08-04
/ L.

When Mount had finished speaking
he sat and stared gloomily into the
fire. 1t was evident that he was
weary-more so than I should have
expected in man who was usually
pretty we'll indifferent to danger.
But for real nerve-straining work
which makes your courage ooze out of
your finger tips, there is nothing like
living for week or two in constant
expectation of-you don't know ex-
actly what; when any minute some
thing may spring out of somewhere
and take you where you least expect
it. You can't give it name, ard you
can't quite explain, but the result in
the end is loss of nerves.
I felt quite shivery myself as sat
there watching Mount. Everything
was so deathly still, and over every
thing and around everything and
through everything there lay that hor :
rible, dark, unclean fog. 1t lurked in
the corners of the place. making the
shadows deeper. 1t got into ones
throat and into ones eyes, and de-
pressed one like an evil dream. And
as I sat there, listening vaguely,
shuddercd; and, remembering Dor
theim's face as had last seen it,
shuddered again.
How long the intense silence had
lasted I don't know. 1t might have
been five minutes, it might have been
an hour. Anyhow, after certain
lapse of time, L became dimly con-
scious of faint, regular noise, like the
gentle scraping of boats gunwale
against the side of the barge as it
swayed gently on the tide.
I could not say how long the noise
might have been going on, or when it
had began. 1 simply remember that
gradually, quite gradually, became
aware of it, and then all of a sudden,
with start, 1 realized the meaning of
it.
Mounts two boats were, I knew, laid
up for the winter under canvas on the
upper deck, but the noise was unmis-
takably made by boat scraping
against the barge. And-well, and
there was Dortheim!
I leant forward in my chair and
touched Mount on the arm. 1 saw
him start convulslvely at the pressure;
and his farther hand slid into his coat
pocket. The mans nerves were posi-
lively ou the rack.
sListen!" I whispered, holding up
my finger to enjoin silence.
We both sat with strained ears, and
there it came again-scrape, scrape!
bump, bump!-at regular intervals.
Mount sprang from his chair and
crept noiselessly to the hatchway. 1
followed close behind, having armed
myself with thick stick. Together
we crouched in the shadow of the
door, while Mount gently slid back
the bolts. The door was one that
opened outwards, thus affording any
one coming from within partial pro-
tection-a fact that Mount has to be
thankful for for the rest of his days.
He thrust the door open sharply, and
stepped out into the darkness with his
arm we'll to the front, and at that in
slant there was a crash, tinkle of
broken glass, and something liquid
and burning splashed on my hand.
heard yell of rage from Mount, and
saw him spring forward.
'Vitriol" he said. And with that
I, too, sprang out, with my head low
and covered by my arm.
Two figures were struggling and
twisting in the blackness on the edge
of the upper deck. I could hear the
hard breathing, and see confused
mass whirling about perilously near
the edge, but which was friend and
which foe could not make out at first.
AS my eyes got accustomed to the
darkness, saw that Mount had got
one hand twisted in his assailant's
collar, while with the other he held
the mans left wrist high in the air.