The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-09-01

hlulnE place Dut you.
mo. no one but me-aui yod.'
THE words and tone caused ne to
start. He was looking Stfaight a. me,
with his small black eyes swapping vol-
umes of hate. and his face needed no
helping words to tell me that he i'm
piled that had taken his boarded saw
ings.
II don't suppose | ever before be-
came angry so quickly But to be
called a thief was "A new thing to me
and it was with great difficulty | re-
strained myself from assaulting him
at once. But, remembering what
close friends we had been so many
months. and that he had really lost all
he had ever had, I stifed my anger
and tried to reason the matter. But
my change from anger to apparent
friendship seemed only to anger him
more. and | had spoken but few
words when he interrupted me with:
"'Oh. you thief! Before. | believed
you were the thief, now know you
are
This was too much. Blinded by pas
sion, I struck him one blow, knocking
him scnseless. and he lay on the
however. He soon rcgained his senses,
but to my surprise. instead of rescnting
the attack. ne turned and walked rap
idlv to the house turning once at the
door to shake his fist and swear Ven-
geanCe.
AS it stll lacked considerable Of
sundown. | took stroll to collect my
thoughts ana cool off. | expected this
would he the end of friendship and
CompaniOnship between Pierre and I,
but to my surprise, on my return, I
found him preparing the evening meal
as if nothing had happened. l was
Still more surprised when he came for
ward with outstrctChed hand and Of
fered an apology for his hasty words
and behavior.
Still, his actions and words did not
somehow, appear genuine. But even
| if l had known him to be deCeiving me,
! would not have believed him as cap
able of horrible revenge and treachery
as subsequent events proved him to
be. However. things seemed to fall
back into their natural order again
| Pierre decided to remain and began
his saving all over again. This time
| however, he had a new hiding place. or
| which he did not tell me, thus con-
| frming me in my opinion that his
| friendly words were false and that he
! still mistrusted me- in spite of his as
| Sartions to the contrary.
"Well. things went on in this way
| for six months or more, when one day
| Pierre invited me to go on a tiger
| hunt. Now, although I had so long
been in India and so near the jungles,
| | had never pulled Il trigger on one
of the beautiful demons. So now. glad
| Of the chance, | accepted Pierre's in
vitation. coming as it did when | was
! unuccupied with other business.
| Our preparations were soon COM
| pleted, and early one morning we
| started for the place, which was a
| jungly spot several miles from our viii
| la. Our party was made up of Pierre,
| myself and two natives who were along
to manage the elephants on which we
| We're perChed.
| AT Pierres suggestion climbed
| into his howdah that we might the bet
| ter converse. SO in this manner we
went on until near the jungle, when one
| Of our natives. who, mounted on my
elephant, had been ahead reconnoiter-
inG, returned with the news that signs
were plenty of big game being near. He
had discovered the carcass of an ami
NAL which had evidently just been
| killed by some wild beast. However. it
was not touched, which would indicate
that the beast which killed it had been
obliged to leave it for some urgent
reason and might soon return.
No
excitement, and hastily dismounting
from Pierre's howdah. I climbed quick
ly to my own. But l had scarcely
settled myself inside when the ele-
phant. trumpeting shrilly, began acting
Queerly and plunged suddenly forward
To add to the aWkwardnesS of my pre-.
dicament, the native guiding the ami.
NAL, instead of checking the brute's
mad career, slid quickly to the ground
and was taken at once into the Other
howdah.
II would have followed his example
but to my horror ! beheld them turI
quickly about and make off rapidly il
the opposite direction.
"I suspected. of course, that some
thing was wrong and thought that pos
sibly this was a mad elephant they haC
procured with which to practice
practical joke on me. They win doubt
less come to my aid when they hav,
had their FUN | thought.
with every instant the elephant wa
plunging more wildly than ever. and i
seemed to me as if the howdah mus
be torn clear from his back as h
passed with terrible speed under tn
low hanging limbs. | dared not jump
as | knew not where | was nor wha
direction to take i'm order to reacl
home again.
Il thought also the elephant might
before demoishng the hOwdah, carr,
me towards human assistance.
But these thoughts were rudely in
teTrupted. With a Jerk, which cam
near sending me out on my head, tn
: elephant halted, and raising his trun
high in the air, let out a blood curd
ling screech, but whether of fear o
anger / could not tell
Horror of horrors Looking straigh
! ahead, | saw an open space, In the cen
ter of which and creeping towards m
! slowly, terribly slow, was a writhin
; object with horrible, scintillating eyes
which, seeming to emit green rays q
I phosphorescent light, held me as by
A spell-hypnOtized
Y by a great effort / threw off m
lethargy and stopped for the rife
J. which had been slowed i'm the howdai
But horrible discovery! There wer
1 no rifles there. ! decided that the
$ must have been removed by the nativ
while he was riding ahead What wa