Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1899-06-08

OF getting away.
! Don skip Explain yourself. Dc
you mean to say that this slip Of paper
Will help usi What does it meant r.
Read il aloud Read it aloud beg
and pray to You to read it aloud. "
did so. Gunga Dass listened de-
hghtedly and drew an irregular line in
the sand with his fingers.
'See now 1t was the length of his
gun barrels without the stock. | have
those barrels. Four gun barrels out
from the place where caught crows
straight out do you follow mel Then
three left All. how well | remember
when that man worked il out night aft
Ell night Then nine out, and so ON.
Out Is always straight before you across
the quicksand. He told me so before
killed him {"
But if you knew all this why didn t
you get out beforeT'
81 did not know it. He told me that
be was working it out year and half
ago and how he was working it out
night after night when the boat had
gone away and he could get out near
the quicksand safely. Then he said that
we would get away together. But / was
afraid that he would leave me behind
one night when he had worked il all
out, and so / shot him. Besides, it is
not advisable that the men who once
get in here should escape. Only /, and
| am Brahman.
The prospect Of escape had brought
Gunga Dass caste back to him He
stood mp walked about and gesticul9ted
violently Eventually | managed to
make him talk soberly. and he told me
bow this Englishman had spent STA
months night after night in exploring,
inch by inch, the passage across the
4uicksand how he had declared il to
be simplicity itself mp to within about
DO yards Of the river bank after turning
the flank Of the left horn of the hoEse-
shoe. This much he had evidently not
completed when Gunga Dass shot him
with his own gun.
In my frenzy of delight at the posi-
bilities Of escape | recollect shaking
hands effusively with Gunga Dass after
we had decided that we were to make
an attempt to get away that very night
II was weary work waiting throughout
the afternoon.
About 10 O'Clock, as far as l could
judge. when the moon had just risen
above the lip of the crater, Gunga Dass
made move for his burrow to bring
ont the gun barrels whereby to measure
our path All the other wretched in
habitants had retired to their lairs long
ago The guardian boat drifted down
stream some hours before, and we were
utterly alone by the crow clump GuDga
Dass, while carrying the gun barrels,
let slip the piece of paper which was to
be our guide. | stopped down hastily to
recover it, and as | did so / was aware
that the diabolical Brahman was aim
ing a violent blow at the back of my
head with the gun barrel 1t was too
late 10 turn round. must have received
the blow somewhere ON the nape of my
neck A hundred thousand fiery stars
danced before my eyes, and | fell for
ward senseless at the edge of the quick
sand.
When recovered consciousness, the
moon was going down, and | was sensi-
bic of intolerable pain in the back Of
my head. Gunga Dass had disappeared
and my mouth was full of blood. / lay
down again and prayed that | might
die without more ado. Then the un-
fury which | have before
laid hold upon me, and |
staggered inland toward the walls of
the crater. II seemed that some one
was calling TO me in whisper, "Sahibl
Sahibl Sahibl" exactly as my bearer
used to call me in the mornings
| fancied that / was delirious until a
handful of sand fell at my feet. Then !
looked up and saw head peering down |
into the amphitheater-the head OF
Dunnoo, my dog boy. who attended to
nv collies. As soon as he had attracted 1
nv attention he held up his hand and |
showed a rope. motioned, staggering
10 and fro the while, that he should |
throw IL QoNu. ~ was a NNNiAN " Il
leather punkah ropes knotted together,
with loop at one end. slipped the
loop over my head and under my arms;
heard Dunnoo urge something forward;
was conscious that was being drag
zed. face downward. up the steep sand
slope. and the next instant found my
elf, choked and half fainting, ON the
and hills overlooking the crater. Dun
100. with his face ashy gray in the
implored me not to stay.
nut to get back to my tent at once.
1t seems that he had tracked Pornic's
footprints IA miles across the sands to
he crater; had returned and told my
ervants, who fatty refused TO NEEDLE
With any one, white or black. once
allen into the hideous village Of the
lead. whereupon Dunnoo bad taken
ne Of my ponies and a couple of punkah
opes, returned 10 the crater and hauled
ne out, as have described.
To cut a long story short Dunnoo is
ow my personal servant on gold
nohnr a month, a sum which | still
IL. L. 4