The Irish standard., 1909-08-28


the world through me. But now, be-
cause we must die, you hate me. I
understand. If you do not kill me
you will die first; and when you are
dead shall kiss you many times, till
die also. 1t will be very easy. l am
not afraid"
The man sat quite still and looked
at the dark streak by the edge of the
pool where the water had wet it when
the falling boulder outside had sent in
little waves. He could see it dis.
tinctly. Again there was silence for
long time. Now and then Baral1a
loosened her only garment about her
as she sat, 80 that 1t might dry more
quickly; and she quietly wrung out
her thick black hair and shook it over
her shoulders to dry it, too, and
stuck her two silver pins into the
sand beside her
Still the traveller sat with bent head.
gazing at the edge of the pool. His
hands were quite dry now, and he
slowly rubbed the clinging moisture
from his revolver. Some men would
have been thinking, in such a plight,
that II starving were too hard to bear,
bullet would shorten their sufferings
In the end; but this man was very full
Of life. and the love of life, and while
he lived he would hope.
He still watched the same dark
streak where the sand was wet; he
had not realized that he had been so
far from 1t till then, but by looking at
1t long time in the starlight his sight
had probably grown tired, so that he
no longer saw it distinctly. He raised
himself little on his hands and
pushed himself down till 10 was quite
clearly visible again, and he looked at
the rock opposite and up to the stars
again. to rest his eyes. He was not
more than yard IRON the water now.
The place was very quiet. From far
above slight draught of air descended,
warm from the rocks that had been
heated all day in the sun. But there
was no sound except when Baraka
moved little.
Presently she did not move any
more, and when the traveller looked he
saw that she was curled up on the
sand, as eastern women lie when they
sleep, and her head rested on her
hand; for her garment was dry now,
and she was drowsy after the walk
and the effort she had made. Be-
sides, since there was no escape from
death. and as the man did not love
her. she might as we'll sleep II she
could.
He had been certain Of the distance
between his feet and the waters edge
as he sat; it had been.a yard at the
most. But now 1t was more: he was
sure that 1t was yard and half at
the least He rubbed his eyes and
looked hard at the dark belt of wet
sand, and 1t was twice as wide as it
had been. The water was still rum
ming out somewhere, but It was no
longer running in, and in an hour or
two the pool would be dry The trav-
eler was something of an engineer.
and understood sooner than an or
binary man could have done. that his
enemies had Intentionally stopped up
the narrow entrance through which
he had to come, both to make his es.
cape impossible. and to hasten his end
by depriving him of water. The fallen
boulder alone could not have kept out
the overflow Of the spring effectually.
They must have shoveled down mass
es OF earth, with the plants that grew
In IT abundantly and filled it with
twining threndlikc roots, and they
must have skillfully forced quantities
of the stuff into the openings all round
the big stone, making regular dam
against the spring, which would soon
run down In the opposite direction.
They knew, of course, that Baraka
had led him to the place and had gone
In with him, for she had left all her
outer garments outside, and they
meant that she should die also, with
her secret. In a week, or fortnight,
or month, they would come and dig
away the dam and pry the boulder
aside. and would get in and find the
white bones of the two on the sand,
after the vultures had picked them
clean; and they would take the trav-
eler's good revolver, and his money,
He thought Of all these things as he
sat there in the dim light, and watched
the slow rcceding of the water-line,
and listened to the girls soft and reg.
ular breathing. There was no death
IN her dream. as she slept away the
last hours of the night, though there
might not be many more nights for
her. He heard her breath, but he did
not heed her. for the water was sink.
Ing before him, sinking away into the
sand. now that 1t was no longer fed
from the opening
He sat motionless, and his Thoughts
ran madly from hope to despair and
back again to hope. The water was
going down, beyond question; If it
was merely draining itself through the
sand to some subterranean channel,
he was lost, but II 1t was flowing
away through any passage like the
one by which he had entered, there
was still chance of escape-a very
small chance. When death is at the
gate the tiniest loophole looks wide
enough to crawl through.