The Winslow mail., 1901-03-07

u was JuHSle NllldSe lHdl lldt
been troubled of late by man-eating
tiger, and they hoped to bag the brute
before pushing on to Goalpara to join
the barge. The village was on the bor-
ders OF Naga territory, and under the
rule OF those savage tribesmen, but
QuIn hadno fears of his personal safety
since he was on terms of friendly in
tlmacy with the chief Howsata.
Il hope | am wrong about the raid -
he told Carruthers. at would have
| been mad act and sure to lead to the
dispatch of column of soldiers against
the Nagas. And that means a bloody
little war;
twilight when they reached the viii
lage. and to their surprise they saw
no glow of evening fires and no haze
OF purp.e smoke lowering among the
trees, heard not the whisper of a hu-
man voice. They entered the little
street. and thrust their heads into half
a dozen of the bamboo huts. The place
was deserted, forsaken. There was no
sound but the rustic of the night WING.
Queer business this" said Carruth
rs. The people have fed. But why ?
An, have it! The man-eater has been
Paying havoc with them, and claiming
more Victims
They've been gone "a hours. should
Judge" Quin broke in, as he poked a
heap of dead ashes. "But l doubt if
they abandoned their homes on account
of the tiger. More likely Howsata has
caied them to arms-summoned them
to his stockaded town.
TO resist an avenging column of
soldiers, eh? Then that blaze we saw
did mean Naga raid?" asked Carruth-
ers.
Yes; I'm convinced of that now"
Its not healthy neighborhood to
be in. We had better get out of the
hills as quickly as possible"
Tomorrow" replied Quin, ''we'll
start down country. But we must stop
the night here. Fetch some wood, Car
ruthers. Well want blaze in case Mr..
Strips should contemplate making his
supper off one of u.s.
They chose one of the largest huts
for their shelter, and seating himself
IN the doorway Quin unpacked the food
that he carried in a hayersack. Car
uthers soon returned with an armful
of wood, which he put softly on the
ground.
They haven't all gone" he whis-
pered. There's fire just been kim
died over yonder-you can see the
light of it plainly"
Just then, as Quin rose to his
feet, the silence was suddenly shat
terd by a hoarse cry. 1t was a cry
of horror and alarm, and the two who
heard it echo through the lonely
darkness felt their blood run cold for
an instant. With one accord they
snatched their rifles and fastened in
the direction of the sound, toward
the far side of the village.
They dived in and out among the
huts, Quin leading the way. They
were guided by a little column of
fiame-lit smoke ,and they were close
to it when a pistol cracked sharp
ly, urging them to greater speed.
brief glimpse of a man vanishing
into the dark cul tain of the jungle.
Between the two last huts of the vii
lage a campfire was burning, and
within a few feet of it, fiat on his
back, lay young officer. His khaki
blouse was dabb.ed with blood from
a stab in the breast, and over his left
temple was a bullet wound.
Its all up with him!" cried Quin.
'He has been robbed and murdered,
no doubt by his servant. See here"
pointing to a severed strap, "some-
thing has been cut from his belt.'
"Ihe poor fellow is breathing"
cried Carruthers, "and the ball seems
to have glanced off his skull"
"Then he has a chance. Do what
you can for him-take nv flask of
brandy. I'm going after the scoun-
drel who did this
"You won't catch him." exclaimed
Carruthers. Better oe careful"
But Quin was already out of hear
ing. There was method in his SEEM
ing madness, and he soon proved his
theory to be right. For as he struck
into the narrow winding path that
led southwark from the village, the
swapping of twig fell on his ear
from no great distance ahead. The
fugitive also was following the path.
He was afraid. as Quin had surmised,
to plunge into the dark Businesses of
the jungle.
For 200 or 800 yards the silent,
crafty chase continued. and the pur-
suer gained on his quarry. There
was rustling of dry reeds, and the
form of man-doubtless the officers
treacherous Hindoo servant-crossed
a bar of moonlight that had pene-
trated the matted foliage.
Now the moon shone broad and
clear On the parched bed of a nullah,
and Quin discreetly halted by the
trunk of tree. Seeing or hearing
nothing of the fugitive, he concluded
that the fellow had gained by a squirt,
SO he waited for a few seconds and
then crept down the path, fully ex-
posed in the silvery glare.
He had crossed the bottom of the
nullah and was mounting the farther
slope, when the unexpected happened.
From behind a rock 20 feet ahead,
that lay just where bright moonlight
and deep shadow merged, man rose
with gun at his shoulder And he
was not a Hindoo-that much was
certain.
.'HandS mn" SnorIed n c+raDralx 70