Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-06-04
The Story of the Second Discard.

CHAPTER VIII.

at this method of describing his defal-
cation and flight, the renegade adventur-
err was not abashed, IT went further
south to see whether there might be any
thing doing in my line there. But, what
with peace conferences, everything was
dull as ditchwater.. So 1 took boat over
to Cape Town, and had a look in at the
little war Germany was carrying on In
Namaqualand. But the niggers there
wanted me to take cattle and such truck
for my good guns and that was too dan
gerous. / then drifted north by degrees
as far as the French Congo.
Business was brisker there, but by bad
luck the Froggies got wind of me while
was selling off a consignment of Long
Danes 1 had bought wholesale from
caravan further north. They dropped on
me in bunch. 1 got away by the skin
of my teeth, and with no more than
could carry about me, which was chiefly
food.
i've been hard pushed IN my time, but
those fellows broke all records as hus-
tiers. / was so closely hunted that even
my guides gave up and abandoned me.
you don't know Darkest Africa,
Arendsen, but do and 1 tell you 1 felt
mighty mean when found myself strand
ed there, in a mangrove swamp on the
edge of an impossible river, with the
bloodhounds hard at my heels. There
was, at the end Of my tether, with no
prospect but a drumhead courtmartial, .
firing-party, and a shallow trench In the
mud where the land-crabs burrow."
He shrugged his shoulders in creeping
distaste of the picture he had recalled to
memory.
II had calculated that had about an
hour more to live when l saw fellow
come calmly sailing down-river out of the
heat-haze in a canoe. Think of what that
meant to me then, Arendsen!
when he was nearly abreast Of me
saw from his dress that he was white
man, and hailed him, but he took no no
tice. 1t gave me a sickish feeling TO
think that he might pass by on the
other side, like the Levite. of scripture,
when all I wanted of him was lift
across.
81 felt pretty desperate then, tell you.
or / wouldn't have done what l did.
dived into the moving mud and struck
out at top speed after that deaf man, cry
ing on him for Gods sake to wait for me.
He didn't-because he was dead.
"I saw that before 1 clambered on
board. I picked up the paddle and made
a Decline for the bank. 1 had an idea,
an inspiration. reckoned that had still
half an hour to the good, and what dye
think 1 did?'
Arendsen adopted bored expression.
and shook his head.
II dropped stone dead there, Arendsen.
1 became a corpse. 1 said the long good
by to poor old Dominic Seager, and in a
damned hurry. 1t was the only way to
prevent the Frenchmen from following me
to finish.
''It had to be a quick change, of course,
and I hadn't leisure to sort out my few
belongings, so l slowed them about the
body wholesale as soon as I'd emptied
its pockets. left 1t completely equipped
for Identification, and as for appearance
it had been so messed about by the mig
gers that 1t might have passed for any
one in the wide world.
Then tramped about in the mud a
bit, first in my own boots and then with
bare feet, snapped twigs and branches
and left all the marks of a life-and-death
struggle. dug out for the nearest cover,
and chung to a leafy bough scarcely dar-
ing to breathe.
'Tn half a minute the first of the
Frenchmen's blacI-boys were yelping
about the body, and their zap brought up
the rest of the expedition at dog-trot.
There was a great palaver over their
find, and they seemed disappointed to
think that they hadn't been there In
time to shoot me themselves. They never
doubted that it was me, for the first thing
ever, they were we'll enough pleased tc
think they had heard the last of me,
and so had their niggers dig a neat hole
in the mud and tuck poor old Dominic
tidily into it.
I'm the end the Frenchmen turned tail
and made off, in a desperate hurry to get
back beyond the German border. AnS
1 was saved. I was saved!
well, after I'd quoted down again,
l began to wonder who I was now,
and what I'd better do next. This is
where you begin to come in, Arendsen.
I've brought you up to the moment when
first opened the papers 1 had inherited
from the dead man. There was heap
of them in the canoe, besides what I'd
found in his pockets.
THAT fellow must have been born I'M
lucky. He held royal flush of the finest
at the identical instant when he was put
out of action. It's mine now"
He was speaking excitedly now, as he
recalled the prospect which had been
tempting enough to bring him back with
In reach of Black Dirck, and that indi.
vidual also would seem to have been in
fected by his obvious faith in his errand.
At any rate, he did not take any advan-
tage of the fact that Seager had once
more pocketed his revolver and produced
in it's place the package of papers.
The black-bearded man studied docu-
ment after document until he had mas
tered all the details of his fellow scOun-
drel's scheme. And he could not but ad-
NIT to himself that it was a very feasible
one, so strong, in its sheer simplicity, that
failure seemed almost impossible.
Scager filled the dead mans shoes to
perfection as far as outward appearance
went, might even have been the original
of that faded photograph, many years
old, which was included in the collection
Miles Quaintance, the uncle who had been
minded to make his nephew a multi-mil-
lionaire on such curious terms, was safe
ly buried, and. in any case, had never
set eyes on him. Neither had the girl
who now remained chief factor in the