The Savannah morning news., 1901-03-25

Leaping at the tree. he cIambered to the
top by means Of the spiky fragments Of
Limbs that protruded from the sides
some Of which broke ia his grasp. The
trunk was hollow inside and as he
lowered himself down he caught a brief
sight of the leopa rdess bounding toward
n4m with flaming eyes and open jaws.
The next instant there was quivering
thud, and the rotten old stump Of tree
snapped of at its base by the force with
which the angry beast launched herself
against it, topped and fell heavily Quinn
vaguely realized what had happened. as
he found himself rolling over and over
with a speed that increased every sec
ond.
The impetus of the log was Irresistible.
Nothing could check it. Reaching the
lower brow Of the hill it leveled
the cops Of saphngs like weeds, and
was through them. Then a drive out
into empty space, a fall on something
that yielded. and after that-the end.
1t came with a tremendous splash, and
the cool. surging water. as it enveloped
and closed over Quin. braced him to a
sense Of his peril. He held mis- breath.
walls Of his prison. They seemed to
glide away from him-his limbs were free.
A short struggle with hands and feet,
and ne shot like a cork to the surface
Keeping himself ahoat. he first filed
his lungs with air. then looked about him
He was I'm the middle of a sluggish creek
about thirty yards wide. On one side was
the verge Of the thick gloomy African for
est, and on the other rose the hill. But
what was that at the base of it, crafty
hidden away against the shore almost
screened from view by the wide-spreading,
bushy boughs that dropped low over the
water? The dusky outline of a queer yes
sel-the futter OF white garments-a flash
or two of steel.
Bin Mahommedl' muttered Quin; and
none too soon he took shelter on the
farther side Of the log. which was drift
ing nearby.
Cultural voices broke the silence. and
a heavily charged musket roared. A
clug sang close over Quin's head. Crack!
Crack!-two more shots missed him mar
rowly, and he heard angry shouts.
This is getting a bit too hot" he
concluded, and drawing a fun breath he
let go of the log and dived. He swan
rapidly under water, came up beneath
leafy branches that dipped to the surface
and gained solid ground without being
observed.
you black scoundrelsp' he said. shak-
ing his fist toward the opposite bank.
You think I'm drowned but youll find
out your mistake before you are many
hours older
The rest is another story Quin fol-
lowed the creek down to its mouth at the
Gumba river. and shouted for a boat 10
take him across to the camp, where Selim
had already arrived Sellm's rifle had
missed fire when he shot at the leopard
ess. he explained, and thinking II was all
up with Quin he hurried back with the
news.
An hour later, as luck would have It,
boatload of men belonging to II. NJ s.
Scorpion hove in sight. They were look
Ing for block ivory, and their wishes were
gratified to the full. When the Arab
dhow dropped down the creek toward
evening, crammed with slaves, 1t was at
tackled by the combined force OF the Brit
ish tars and Zanzibaris. But few of the
Arabs escaped. A number were killed, and
the boat and her cargo were taken
Among the prisoners was Bin Mahommed
himself. the notorious slave runner, and
he confessed to the trick he had attempt
ed play on Quin His object was two
fold-to plumber the camp in the absence
of its defenders. and to secure an unmo-
Tested passage down to the sea with his
load of black ivory.
Bin Mahommed went to the Isle of Penn
ba to stand his trial before prize court,
and Quin and Carruthers met with splen-
did success in their quest for wild ami
mails. The two leopard cubs were uti-
mately secured after the dam had been
caught alive in trap cunningy contruct-
| ed by the Zanzibaris.