Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1912-04-17
7as knocked over and fell atop Of

Lue QuletuS 10 the murQeTer-bu dmtH
able intention which was, however,
doomed to Illustration. With almost
inconceivable swiftness the group Of
lascars had become mere tangle of
arms and legs, a melange of strug-
Cling limbs and bodies. Where heI
had thought to find a single prostrate
form, there were six struggling in con-
fusion on the deck.
For thought he stayed his finger
on the trigger, waiting to pick out the
undermcst and slay him first of ALL.
unwilling, furthermore, to waste one
of the four invaluable cartridges re-
naming in his revolver. And then
Unexpectedly the tragedy seemed over
and done with altogether. J.
From the bottom Of the heap Of bod
les a terrible cry of mortal anguish
shrilled loud; and almost at once the
mob seemed to resolve into its orig
Einal elements. Five lascars crawled,
arose, or flung themselves away from
the sixth, who lay inert, prone, limbs
still twitching, knife buried in his
back. t
For thought the tableau held
there in the pure brilliance Of the
moonlight; the half dozen standing
figures, O'Rourke space apart from
the rest, and two bodies, the one face
down, Quick with face to the stars,
each with its dread background; a
black stain that grew and spread slow
ly upon the white, dazzling
planks.
Quietly the tallest of the lascars
moved forward, knelt and drew the
knife from the back Of his dead fel-
low. He Strengthened up, facing
O'Rourke without tremor, his eyes
afire, and wiped the blade Of the kris
on his cummerbund.
"Do not shoot, sahib,". he said
smoothly in excellent English. do
not shoot, sahib, for it is l who have
avenged. This dog" and with his toe
he stirred the thing at his feet, ran
amok. Now he is dead"
This was the serang who spoke.
O'Rourke eyed him coldly through a
prolonged silence. At length, THAT
seems quite evident" he admitted
coolly. "Pick up that body and throwi
1t overboard!" he commanded sharply.i
In obedience to a sign from the Sc
rang, two of the lascars seized the
body. A subsequent splash oversideI
told the Irishman that his order had
been carried out. But he heard it,
abstractedly, confronted as he was
with problem whose difficulty wasI
not to be underestimated, the probleml
embodied In the statuesque, impertrr-
bable serang.
1t was hard to know what to do,
what to believe, what action to take.j
If he were right in his surmise, the SCI
rang should rightly be shot down in-
staptly, without an instant's respite.t
Yet the heartless brutality upon which,
his theory was based made him hesi-t
tate. II was difficult to believe that
the serang had been able to accom-
plish what O'Rourke was inclined TOT
credit him with; that he, the wielder
Of the kris, the murderer Of Quick
thrown off his feet by the 1rishman's
attack, had deliberately involved his
fellows with him in his fail and profit
ed by the confusion to slay one upon
whom he could throw the blame fori
all that had happened.
The weapon quivered in O'Rourke'sf
grasp. More than once In that brief
debate he was tempted to shoot the
fellow on suspicion. Yet he held his
hand: he could not be positive. With
every circumstance against him, he
might still be telling the truth. The
whole horrible affair might boil down
to nothing. more than an insane crime
OF crazy Malay. one who, as the se-
rang claimed, had run amok."
He had not made up his mind when
his thoughts were given new turn
by new complication, in the shapet
of Mrs. Prynne herself. That lady
came up the companion steps with mol
apparent hesitation, no fear or appre-
hension; quietly and confidently alert,
on the other hand, she was visiblyi
armed and prepared against danger I'M
whatever form she might have to en-
counter 1t.
She came directly to the adventurer,
without 80 much as glance for the.
group of lascars or the grim evidencesI
of tragedy upon the deck. O'Rourkei
shut his teeth with evaporation
Whatever he decided to believe Of the
serang, whether his judgment said of
the man, Guilty" or mot Guilty" ne
dared risk nothing with the woman
present. He could not tell what hell
Of murder and mutiny he might not let
loose upon the Rance. did he makel
one ill-advised or hasty move. Alone,
he could have faced the situation with
equanimity; with the woman by his
side, he felt as though handcuffed.
"You are hurt, Colonel O'Rourke@T
"a mere scratch, madam-an inch