Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-02-18

sand, and It was twice as wide as It
had been. The water was still rum
ming out somewhere, but IL 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 depr1ving 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 1T abundantly and filed it with
twining threadlike roots, and they
must have skiilfuify 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 tTav-
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 reoedfng of the water-Iine,
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; II 1t
was merely draining itself through the
sand to some subterranean channel.
he was lost, but If 1t was flowing
away through any passage like the
one by which he had entered, there
was still a chance of escape-a very
small chance. When death is at the
gate the tiniest loophole looks wide
enough to crawl through
The surface of the pool subsidized,
but there was no Ioophole: and as the
traveller watched. hope sank in his
heart, like the water in the hollow of
the sand; but Baraka slept on peace
fully, curled up on her side like a lit
tie wild animal. When the pool was
almost dry the traveller crept down
to the edge and drank his fill, that he
might not begin to thirst sooner than
need be; and just then day dawned
suddenly and the warm darkness gave
way to a cool light in a few moments.
Immediately, because IT was day.
Baraka stretched herself on the sand
and then sat up; and when she saw
what the traveller was doing she also
went and drank as much as she could
swallow, for she had understood why
he was drinking as soon as she saw
that the pool was nearly dry When
she could drink no more she looked
up at the rocks high overhead. and
they were already white and red and
yellow In the light of the risen sun;
for in that country there is no very
long time between dark night and
broad day.
Baraka sat down again. on the spot
where she had slept, but she said
nothing. The man was trying to dig
a little hole in the wet sand with his
hands, beyond the water that was
still left, for perhaps he thought that
If he could make a pit on one side.
some water would stay in it; but the