Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-07-27

ana the maid out OF the tangl when
there was a splash in the water close
by, announcing the arrival of Payton's
parachute. l heard one of his men
swear horribly at the fix in which they
found themselves, for the water, with
soft mud under it, must have beer
three feet deep.
In a moment l thought of trying to
take them at a disadvantage, shooting
them down before they could extricate
themselves. But l could not see their
exact location. and, looking around.
my eye lighted upon a pile of great
rocks which rose above the brushwood
not more than thirty rods from where
we stood.
Come" 1 said, taking Miss Gray
mans hand; "we shall be safer on
those rocks"
She was trembling like a leaf, and
the maid could hardly stand.
Miss Grayman," l said, putting all
my heart into my words, you must
please have confidence in me. l have
left your father in the aero, and I hope
that he, with plenty of help, will be
able soon to reach us. In the mean
time trust in me. l would give up my
life to protect you, and L know that l
can protect you. l am an officer in the
service of the United States govern
ment, and the secretary of the treas
ury himself is with your father in the
aero. You know that we have de
stroyed Payton's Chameleon. and he
himself will soon be in our hands"
During this speech I had been hurry
ing them toward the rocks, for l heard
in the marsh and knew that they were
fast e~xtricating themselves. My words
had the happiest effect upon Miss
Grayman. She glanced at me with the
first cheerful look that l had seen upon
her face.
"What is your name, pleaseY'
81 am Lieutenant John Allan Of the
revenue service and in command of
the expedition fitted out by Secretary
Grantham FOR your rescue"
"Ljeutenant Allan she replied, you
hav We performed an act of splendid dar-
ing. 5Ta7 God reward you for it."
My heart thumped against my ribs,
but I msde no attempt to reply. In
stead l quickened our steps. In a few
minutes more we had reached the
rocks.
There was q clear space around them,
and they we're rough and ~precipitous.
Gan excellent fortifcation," l said to
myself.
The highest point may have been
forty feet above the surrounding plain
l Immediately scrambled up, drawing
the girls after me. When we reached
the top we found a slight depression
in which we could conceal ourselves
from the eyes of any person elo
while from the rim l could command
the approaches on every side. l placed
Miss Grayman and Susan where they
! were perfectly protected and then, pis-
toll in hand, crept to the edge and
carefully looked yer In the direction
, of the marsh.
Afar off l saw the Osprey speeding
away on the course that 1 had given
her and which they had evidently bee.
unable to control. The Chameleo,
still hung tattered overhead, slowl
circling. l had scarcely raised N,
head a little higher when l caugh
sight of Payton in the brush, calm,
and g~esticulating to his men, who 500,
came into sight behind him. The.
mud, and a more savage looking tri,
l never beheld. To my dismay I say
that they all carried rifles.
1 had no weapon but my automati,
pistol, which contained ten shots, be
sides twenty in my belt. 1t was
slight preparation for a siege, but
had the advantage of the natural for
tification of the rocks.
And now a new cause of anxiety
presented itself. 1t was evident tina
the Chameleon was gradually beine
brought to earth. l say signals ex
changed between her and Payton. His
men on the Chameleon had seen US
and I saw from their motions that they
were pointing us out.
He knew how to manage his cam
paign. He sent his two men around
to the northeast and northwest sides
while he himself guarded the south
Then we were surrounded.
The question o was, How large a
reinforcement would Payton receive
when his aero succeeded in landing!
Miss Gayman thought five had fallen.
In that case our enemies would mum
Der only five IN all, and Payton's ac,
cession of force would be two men,
Still, 1t would be terrible odds, since
they had guns and 1 only e pistol.
The open ground around US was suf
fciently broad to require several min
utes for a runner to cross it. My
task was to keep a sharp watch on all
| sides and prevent an approach.
/ ran round the parapet, as l may
call 1t, peering out in every direction.
Miss Grayman, c-omprehending what /
was about and seeing my difficulty,
offered to aid me. / refused at first,
fearing to expose her to q shot, but
she eagerly insisted, and l let her take
the northern side, instructing her TO
peep through the interstices IN the
broken rocks, but not to show even her
head.
Presently q shot came from the
northeast side and spattered on the