The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-05-10

| In the neck. was not 10 DO TePulsea "
| stunned Both creatures were giving
/! vent to the most frightful screams of
rage and pain.
| All this tho young officer observed at
| brief glance, almost lnstantancously,
| and he realized that In half inlnute
| more the tiger would be intido the how
dab He glanced over his shoulder. and
saw the horses break lose from Joel
Spanish and bolt into the Jungle. Then he
| faced round again, his rifle leveled.
| The elephant was close upon him.
| laundering forward with shrill trumpet
| ing, with its scarlet fringes and trap
pings Tapping in the air, and the silver
! bosses and golden bells jingllng merrlly
| There was not second to lose. Jack
took steady aim and pulled the trigger,
and with the loud report he sprang back
out Of harms way.
lie had fired at n distance OF dozen
feet, and he put the bullet Just where he
wanted It to 90. The tiger, shot through
the head, relaxed Its hold and fell to the
ground: 1t struggled for an instant and
lay quite still. The elephant dashed on
bllndly, disappeared over the verge of
the steep bank and hurled Itself with a
| tremendous splash into the waters of tho
| Jarree
Though highly elated by his success
| for the killing Of one's first tiger Is a
| feat to be remembered-the young OIL
| GERS immediate concern was for the oc-
| cupants Of the howdah. He knew that
! they must be in peril Of their lives. and,
| indeed no heard eager cries for help as
he forced his way through the trampled
| reeds.
He responded loudly. and when he
reached the top Of the bank ne saw
thrilling scene. The elephant was three
or four yards out from shore, submerged
all but his head. The howdah had come
undone-the straps had probably parted
and 1t was drifting away on the current,
threa tening to sink with the weight OF
the Hindoo and the girl, who were sun
inside Of 1t.
Just then. however. they e1trlcated
themselves and struck out for the shore,
side by side, the man assisting his com
panlon with one hand. But either they
were poor swimmers or their clothing re-
tarded them, and 80 Jack, seeing thaS
they were making but slow and painful
progress, leaped down the bank ana
plunged into the river.
His help was timely and welcome. He
relieved tho Hndoo of the girl, brought
her safely to shore. and then went back
to assist the man, who was lighting nara
to keep his head above the surfa &C., !.
.'Sahib, but for you must sink, ne
said family, In f1uent English. my cum
,nerb,nd has slipped down and my onAles
are entangled in the folds"
Don't struggle-tnke 1t calmly" Jack
replied: support yourself on my shout
der with one hand"
Tho Hindoo had scarcely obeyed the In
junction when he uttered low cry OF
alarm, the meaning Of which was Instant
ly discovered by Jack. His blood turned
chill as he saw down the stream, and
within two or three yards OF MIN. mar,
Shiny head and the apex of scaly PACK
rise to the surface. 1t was q mugger-
-, do l,,,o, aofipp rrnrOiil6 or tho
Indian rivers. The horrid reptile, seeming
its prey, approached the two swimmers,
who had no chance Of escaping It,
The young officer shouted at the top OF
his voice, in the vain hope of terrifying
the creature. There was shrill clamor
from the bank, mingled with Wonaans
scream.
Then, unexpectedly, che sharp report OF
a rifle rang out. Tho mugger, hit IN Its
most vulnerable point, the eye dashed
right and left in furious paroxysm OF
pain, and then sank like stone. leav-
HE can't harm you now, sir" called
familiar voice.
The speaker was joel Spanish, who had
abandoned the pursuit OF the horses and
returned In time to fire the lucky shot.
He calmly put aside his rife. and several
minutes later he was helping the young
officer and his companion ashore.
A mutual start OF recognition, sig
niflcant and warning glance that was
exchan ged swiftly between Joel Spanish
and the Hndoo. passed quite unnoticed
by Jack.
Meanwhile, during the brief time oc-
cuped by the rescue, number of spec
tators had arrived on the scene. These
comprised half a SCORE OF native beat
ers, who were mostly engaged In prod
ding the death tiger with poles and
second elephant who bore three distin-
misunderstanding persons In gilded how
dab.
command and one OF the occupants Of
the howdah, a richly dressed Hindoo
with fat. sensual, good-natured coun-
tenance descended to the ground. Jack
knew him at once, having see him on
previous occasion in Cawnpore, It was
no other than Mana Sahib, prince of
Blthoor, at that time regarded as the
stanch friend of tho English.
Having shaken tho water from his
dripping clothes and thanked his res
cuer in warm terms for the service done
| to himself and his daughter, tho Hndoo
engaged In conversation with Mana Sa-
| hib The young officer was a master of
Hindustanee, In which tongue they spoke
but no could not overhear what they We're
saying.
AS yet he had not had good look at
tho two persons whom he had put under
a debt OF gratitude and he now examined
them with interest, Tho man was prob
ably between fifty and sixty vars of age,
with coal black eyes, a complexion Of
pure copper and dark beard and mus
tache slightly tinged with gray. His lux
ur!ous attire and the precious stones that
sparkled In the silk and satin folds, his
blase bearing and air of dignity and
| hanteur. above all the difference shown
| to him by Mana sahib--these indicated
him TO be % high rank. perhaps superior
| to the Mana himself.
The girl whose olive solored skin was
| of lighter tint than any Hindoo woman
| Jack had ever seen, possessed daz-
| cling beauty. She could have been no
more than eighteen and the wet garments
of Dacca muslin that chung to her figure
showed It's superb outlines, Flashing
| Jewels held up her raven hair, and We're
set In tho carved gold Of her bangles and
| anklets
''she's ike picture from the Arabian
| Nights and us pretty In her own way
as Madge Estcourt," Jack said to him
self, thinking of the fair girl who was
separated from him, and who was to be
| t,f. MI Pa 40,