The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1906-04-12
for The Term of His Natural Life

By CLARKE

NOaA9 ~ u
more severe commandment than Major
Vickers. Now, severity had already
reached its height, so far as he was
concerned; so the unhappy nan took
final resolution-he would XII, himself
Ignorant that the sights al sound:
about him were symptoms of the fna
abandonment of the settlement, and thai
the Lady-bird was sent down to bring
way the prisoners. Rufus Dawes de
cided upon getting rid Of that burden
OF lie which pressed upon him so heav
lly- For six years he had hewed wood
and drawn water; for six years he had
hoped against hope; for six years ht
had lived in the valley of the shadow OF
DEATH He dared not re%capitulate t.
himself what he had suffered. Indeed
his senses were deadened and dulled by
torture. He cared to remember only one
thln6-that he was a prisoner for life
In vain had been his first dream of free
dom. He had done his best, by good
conduct. to win release; but the "villainy
of Vetch and Rex had deprived him oil
the fruit of his labor. Instead of gain
ing credit by his exposure of the plot or
board the Malabar, he was himself
Ia IL COnutulucu, III spite VI
his reservations of innocence. The
knowledge of his 'treachery," while il
gained for him no credit with the au
thorities, procured for him the detesta'
ton and ill-will Of the monsters among
whom he found himself. On his arrival
at Helrs Gates he was a marked man, a
pariah among those beings who were
pariahs to all the world besides
In the meantime. the settlement was
in a fever Of excitement. In. less tina
three weeks from the announcement
made by Vickers, all had been got ready
The commandant had finally arranged
with Frere as to his course of action
He himself would accompany the Lady.
bird with the main body. His wife and
daughter wers to remain until the sail
ing OF the Osprey. which Mr.. Frere wa,
to bring up as soon as possible. "I will
leave you a corporal's guard, and ter
| prisoners as a crew." Vickers said. "Yor
| can work her easily with that number
To which Frere had replied that he could
do with Eve prisoners If necessary. for ht
knew how to get double work out OF the
lazy dogs.
Near Philips Island. on the north sids
of the harbor, il situated Coal Head
where d party had been lately at work
This party, hastily withdrawn by Wick.
ers to assist In the business of devasta.
| ton, had left behind 1t some tools and
| timber, md at the eleventh hour a boats
crew was sent to bring away the debris
The tools were duly collected, and the
| pine logs-worth twenty-five shillincs
| apiece IN Hobart Town-duly RATED and
/ chained. The timber was secured. and
/ tn. co1victs, towing 1t after them. pulled
| for the ship just as the sun sunk. In
/ the general relaxation of discipline and
| haste the raft had not been made witt
as much care as usual. and the strons
current against which the boat was la
boring assisted the negligence of the con
| victs. The logs began to loosen, and
/ though the onward motion of the boa,
kept the chain taut, when the rover.
slackened their exertions the mass part
ed, and Mr.. Troke, hooking himself or
to the side of the Lady-bird, saw a hinge
log slip out from its fellows, and dis
appear into the darkness. Gazing afte,
1t with an indignant and Disguised stare
as though 1t had been a refractory pris
| oner who merited two-days' SOLITARY,
he thought he heard a cry from the di
| rection in which it had been borne. III
would have paused to listen, but all his
| attention was needed to save the timber
and to prevent the boat from being
swamped by the struggling mass. at hel
stern.
The cry had proceeded from Ruff:
Dawes From his solitary rock he had
watched the boat pass him and make
| for the Lady-bird mcdaniel, and he had
| decided that the moment when the gath
ering gloom swallowed her up should bt
/ the moment when he would plunge int
the surge below him. The heavily la,
boring boat grew DINNER and DINNER
as each tug Of the oars took her further
from him. Presently, only the figure Of
Mr.. Troke in the stern sheets was Wis
ibIe; than that also disappeared, and a.
the nose of the timber raft rose on the
swell Of the next wave, Rufus Dave.
flung himself into the sea.
He was heavily irored, and he sunl
| like a stone. He had resolved not Il
attempt to swim, and for the first mo
ment kept his arms raised above hi.
head in order to sink the quicker. Blu
as the short, sharp agony of sufocatior
caught him, and the shock of the ic,
water dispelled the meutal intoxicatior
Under which he was labering, he desper
ately struck out, and despite the weigh
of his irons, gained the surface for al
instant. As he did so, all bewildered
and with the one savage instinct Of self
preservation predominant over all othel
thoughts. he became conscious of a mug,
black mass surging upon him out of tn,
darkness. An instant's buffet with tn,
current, al Intellectual attempt to div,
beneath it, a horrible sense that tn,
weight at bis feet was dragging hin
down-and the huge log, loosened from
the raft, was upon him, crushing him be
meath its rough and ragged sides. TIL,
log passed completely over him, thrust
ing him beneath the water, but his hand
scrapii sg along the splintered side, cam'
in contact with the loop of hide rop'
that yet hung round the mass, and h.
clutched it with the tenacity Of a death
grip. In another instant he got his hea,
above water, and, making good his hold
twisted himself, BY a violent effort
across the log.
For q moment he saw the lights from
the stern windows of the anchored YES
sells low In the distance: Grummet Rocl
disappeared on his left; then, exhausted
breathless. and bruised, he closed hi
eyes, and the drifting log bore him swift
ly and silently away into the darkness
At daylight the next morning. Mr.
Troke, landing on the prison rock, focn,
it deserted. The prisoners cap wa
lying on the edge of the little cliff, bu
the prisoner himself had disappeared
Pulling back to the Lady-bird, the intel
ligent Troke pondered on the circum
stance, and In delivering his report +
Vickers mentioned the strange cry h
had heard the night before. "It's m.
belief, sir, that he was trying to swim
the bay" he said. He must ha' gon
to the bottom anyhow. for he couldn'
swim Eve yards with them irons"
Vickers, busily engaged in getting un
der way, accepted this very natural sup
position without question. The prisone
had met his death either by his &C
or by accident. 1t was either a suicid
or attempt to escape. and the forme
conduct of Rufus Dawes rendered tn
latter explanation a more probable one