Evening star., 1899-03-04
PART Differentiation.

being disconcerting, was tolerably deep,
and but for the fact that the final blow
from the flooring had shot him against TIE
opposite side Of the pit, and so broken his
descent at the expense of his elbows and
heels. he might very well have landed awk-
wardly and broken a limb or his back in
the process. But Capt. Owen Kettle was
not the man to waste time over useless
lamentation or rubbing of bruises. He was
on fire with fury at the way he had been
tricked. and thirstfng to get loose and be
revsnged. He had his pistol still in its
proper pocket and unchanged, and if the
willy Rad had shown himself anywhere
within range Just then, it is a certain thing
that he would have been shot dead 10
square the account.
But Kettle was, as / have said, wedSed
in with darkness and for the present, ie-
venge must wait till he could see the man
he wanted to shoot at. He scrambled to
his feet and fumbled in his pocket for
match. He found one, struck it on the
sole of mis- trim white shoe, and recon-
noitered quickly.
The place he was in was round and bot
tle-shaped. measuring some ten feet across
its floor and tapering to small square
where the trap gave it entrance above. 1t
was q prison clearly, and there was evil
dence that it had been recently used II
was clear, also that the only official way or
enlarging a prisoner was TO get him up by
ladder or rope through the small opening
to which the sides cOnverged overhead.
Moreover. to AL common seeming, the place
was simply unbraakable, at least to any
creature who had not either wings or the
power Of crawling up the underside nf a
slant like fly.
But all these things flashed through Ket-
tles brain in far less time than 1t takes to
read them here. He had only two matches
in his possession, and he wished to make all
possible use of the irst, so as TO keep the
second for emergencies. And so he made
his survey with the best of his intelligence
and speed.
The walls of this bottle-shaped prison
were OF brick, built without visible mortar,
and held together Gt seemed probable) by
the weight of earth pressing outside them
But just as the match burned his fingers
and dropped to the floor, where 1t prompt
ly expired. his eye fell upon an opening in
the masonry. 1t was a mere slit, barely
three inches wide, running vertically up
and down for some six courses of the
brick, and 1t was about chin high above
the ground He marked this when the light
went out, and promptly went to it and ex-
plOred it with his arm. The slit widened
at the other side, and there was evidently
a chamber beyond. He clapped his hands
against the lip of the slit, and set his feet
against the WALL and pulled with the ut
most of his strength. II once he could
widen the opening sufficiently to Chamber
through, possibilities lay beyond. But from
the weight OF wall pressing down above,
he could not bulge a single brick by so
much as a hands breath, and so he had to
give up this idea, and stewing with rage,
set about further accommodating.
The darkness put his eyes out of action,
but he had still left his hands and feet,
and he went round with these, exploring
carefully.
Presently his search was rewarded. OPP
poste the opening he had discovered before
was another slit in the overhanging wall
of this bottle-shaped prison, and this also
he attacked in the hope of wrenching free
some Of the bricks. He strained and pant
ed till it seemed as though all the tendons
of his body must break. but the wall re-
manned whole and the slit unpassab,e; and
then he gave way. almost child1shly, 10
his passion of rage, and shouted insults
and threats at Rad el Moussa in the vain
nope that some one would hear and carry
them.
And some one did hear, though not the
persons he expected.
A voice. mufled and foggy, as though it
came from a long distance, said IN sur
prise, why, captain, have they got you
Under cove- of the darkness. Kettle
blushed for shame a his outcry- That you
Murray? | didn't know you were here
How did you guess i; was me?
The distant voice chuckie1 foggily. I've
heard YOU giving your blessing to the
hands on board. sir, once or twice, ana
recognized some Of the words. What nave
they coIlarcI you for? You don't photo
graph Have you been messing around
with some Elrl?''
curse your impuGence. just you remsm-
ber your position and mine. I'll have re-
spect from my officers, even II am IN
.,Beg pardon. sir. Sorry 1 forgot myself.
1t shan't occur again.
You'll go to your room for three days
when we get back on board
AYE, aye sir
Il decided that before left the ship. l
can't have my officers staying away from
duty without leave on any excuse And
II they have such low tastes as 10 DrlhS
themselves on the level OF common, mop
headed portrait painters ana photographers
they must pay for II
What were you run in for?'
.Srhere ps'yT' yoG are. then! And did they bring
you straight along hereF
YES sir And lowered me down in a
bowIine 10 his cellar"
so much change out of them. They drop
ped me. and some one will have a heavy
bill to square up for over that. DO you
know whose house this is?'
"Hayen't a. notion. After I'd been here
an hour or 50 some heather sneaked around
TO a peephole in the wall and offered TO
take off a message TO the ship, on pay
ment. 1 hadn't any money, so had 10
give up my watch, and before I'd written
half the letter he got interrupted and had
TO clear off with what there was. Did
he bring OF the message, SIT
He did, and | came ashore at once. You
remember Rad IL Moussa?'
The man that consigned all that parcel
of figs for London
That man. / considered that as he'd
been doing business with the steamer he
was the best person to make inquiries of
ashore. So i came TO him and asked where
/ could find the kady TO bail you out. He
shufFied n bit. and after some talk admit
ted that he was the kady, and took palm
oil from me in the usual way, and then
I'll not deny that we had trifie of a dis
agreement. But he seemed TO simmer down
all right. said he'd send along for you, and
after a bit OF time said you'd come, and
wouldn't walk through the house and see
you myself. The crafty Old fox had got
his BOBBY trap rugged in the meantime. and
then l walked straight into 1t, like the
softest specimen of blame fool you can
imagine"
Rad el Moussar' came the foggy COM
ruent. BY JOve, captain. 1 believe we're
in an awkward place He's the biggest
man in this town far and away and about
the biggest blackguard also, from what
I've heard He's merchant in every line
that comes handy, from slaves and palm
fiber to horses and dates. He runs most of
those pearling dhows that we saw swelter-
ing about at the anchorage, and he's got
q little army of his own, with which he
raids the other coast towns and the cara