The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1905-03-04
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D'ri and /
By Irving BACHELOR
Author Of 'Eben Holden" Darrell Of
tho Blessed Isles" Etc.
1901. by Lothrop Publishing Company
CHAPTER III.

We left the logs and walked to
Cornwall, and took a sloop down the
river. 1t was an American boat, bound
for Quebec with pipe-staves. 1t had
put in at Cornwall when the storm be-
gan. The captain said that the other
sections of our raft had passed safely.
In the dusk of the early evening a
British schooner brought us to.
wonder what that means?" said
the skipper, straining his eyes in the,
dusk.
A small boat, with three officers,
came alongside. They climbed aboard,
one OF them carrying a lantern. They
were armed with swords and pistols.
We sat in sileLce around the cockpit
They scanned each OF us carefully in
the light OF the lantern. 1t struck me
as odd they should look SO closely at
our hands.
"Wha' d. We want?" the skipper de-
manded.
This man. said one of them, point
ing to Drl. He's a British sailor. We
arrest him"
He got no farther. D'ri's hand had
gone out like the paw OF a painter
and sent him across the cockpit Be-
fore knew whaa was up. l saw the
lank body of Dri leaping backward
into the river. heard splash and
a stroke OF his long arms, and then
all was still. | knew he was swim
ming under water to get away. The
officers made for their boat My blood
was up, and l sprang at the last of
them, giving him a hard shove as he
was climbing over, so that he fell on
the boat, upsetting it. They had bust
ness enough then for little, and be-
gan hailing for help. l knew l had
done foolish thing, and ran forward,
climbing out upon the bowsprit, and
off with my coat and vest, and dived
Into the dark water. swan under as
long as l could hold my breath, and
then came up quietly, turning on my
back in the quick current, and float
Ing so my face only was above water
1t had grown dark, and could
see nothing but the glimmer of
the stars above me. My boots
were heavy and dragged hard. l was
going fast with the swift water, for at
first had heard great hubbub on the
schooner; hut now its voices had grown
faint. Other sounds were filling my
ear.
After dark it is wierd business to be
swimming in strange water-the throne
OF mystery, OF a thousand tcrrors. 1t
is as ii ones grave, full of the black
ness OF the undiscovered country, were
pursuing him and ever yawning be-
meath his body. And that big river is
the very tiger of waters, now stealing
ON pussy-fcoted, now rushing with cat
like swiftness, Kissing and striking
with currents that have in them
mighty sineWs. l was now companion
Of those cold-mouthed monsters of the
the river bottom, many Of which l
had seen. What if one should lay hold
on me and drag me under? Then l
thought of the rapids that might
smother me with their spray or dash
me to hidden rocks. Often l lifted my
ears, marvelling at the many voices
of the river. Sometimes l thought l
heard roaring like that of the Sault,
but it was only ripple growing into
t1eecy waves that rocked me as in a
cradle. The many sounds were above,
below, and beside me, some weird and
hollow and unearthly. l could hear
the rocks rolling over in their sleep
on the bottom, and, when the water
was still, sound like the cropping of
lily-pads away off on the river mar
gin. The believing Of COW terri
fed me as it doomed over the sound
Ing. sheet Of water. The river rang
like mighty drum when a peal of
far thunder beat upon it, I put out
my hands to take stroke or two as
l lay on my back, and felt something
floating in the water. The feel of it
filled me with horror. swan faster;
1t was at my heels. l knew full we'll
what my hand had touch ed-a human
head floating face downward: 1 could
feel the hair in my fingers. I turned
and swan hard, but it still followed
me. My knees hit upon it, and then
my feet. Again and again could
feel it when l kicked. Its hand
seemed to be clutching my trousers. |
thought should never get clear of thu
chastity thing. ] remember wonder
ing if it were the body of poor D'ri.
turned aside swimming another way,
and then felt it no more
In the dead of the night I heard
suddenly a kind of throbbing In the
breast of the river. 1t grew to noisy
heartbeat as l listened. Again and
again l heard it, striking, FLASHING,
light football, and coming nearer.
Somehow got the notion of giant,
like those Of whom my mother had
told me long ago, striding in the deep
river. could hear his boots dripping
as he lifted them. got an odd fear
that he would step on me. Then I
heard music and lifted my ears above
water. 1t was voice singing in
the distance-it must have been a
mile Off--and what had taken for q
near football shrank away. knew
now that it was the beat of oars in
some far bay.
A long time after l ceased to hear
1t, something touched my shoulder and
put me in a panic. Turning over,
got a big mouthful of water. Then I
saw it was gang of logs passing me,
and quickly caught one Now, to me
the top side of log was as easy and
familiar as rocking chair. In mo-
ment was sitting comfortably on my
captive. A bit Of rubbish, like that
the wind had sown, trailed after the
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