The Washington times., 1912-08-22
CHAPTER TX.
Flight and Fear.

Ut Is possible that Hollins, like all
mkurderers, had very little clear
idea Of what he was doing the first
quarter of an hour that elapsed
after he had killed his victim.
Murders such as his, committed on
the spur of the moment, are the acts
of men whose reason has been tenn
porarily destroyed; the things which
Immediately succeed are involuntary,
and result from the pressing necessity
Of mechanical action.
The mind, reduced to the condition
of a machine, which goes blindly for
ward even though the hand of the ma
chinist has been suddenly forced away
from the controlling lever. performs
certain functions and compels the
body to act in conformity with them.
Thus Hollins, sweating away in the
binding and scorching sunlight. was
for that time, at least, no more than
an animal whose sole instinct 1t was
to hide the evidence of it's guilt.
But in spite of all this, he worked
systematically and with strict atten-
tion to the needs of the moment He
drew out the remainder or the heather
and bracken from the fissure and saw
the diamonds still glittering like
points of fire as they hung dangling
from the frond OF fern in the cool
shade beneath.
He produced from his pocket the
line Of stout string of which he had
spoken to Lloyd, attached to 1t the
hook which he had cut on their way
back to the plateau, let 1t down into
the fissure with steady hands, care
fully caught the necklace, detached it
from the fern, and drew 1t up to the
light and himself.
His next action was characteristic
he detached the diamonds from the
hook and line. gave one quick glance
at them as II to assure himself of
their reality, and then carelessly
tossed them upon his tunic as If they
were of no more value than string
of glass beads.
his. His, not to be shared with any
one; his and only his in all the world !;
his, at the price of mans life. He
would have time enough and to spare
later wherein to make close tnspec-
ton of them; at present he had more
pressing needs.
In the very moment when he was
compelled by the devil OF murder with
in him to dash the life out OF his com
rade with one blow of the heavy stone.
Hollins had seen something in one of
those rare illuminations which only come
at the great crises of life. He was kill
ing Lloyd at the very edge of what
would be Lloyds grave;
The assure across which the younger
warder lay and from which he was
drawing out the heather and braCken
was long enough and wide enough to
take in his body, and it's depth ap-
peared to be considerable. Within it
Hollins meant to lay his victim.
He stood straddle-legged across it,
looking down into its cool depths.
Ferns grew out of it's sides here and
there; he caught sight of lizard that
came creeping out of a crevice and
crawled away on its belly along a mar
row ledge. 1t seemed very deep and
very quiet
He picked up a pebble near his feet
and dropped 1t plumb into the depths
beneath him. 1t seemed to be some
time before he heard ii fall, with a
faint trickling sound. on whatever 1t
was that formed the flood of the sub
terranean cavern into which the assure
opened
Hollins could not conceive that any
human eye could penetrate into those
depths: that any human hand would
ever open out the crown of the noun
tain. The dead man, in his opinion.
might sleep there undistrubed until
the last trump echoed across the des-
olated moorlands.
His eve selected the best place where
in to drop the body. He bent down,
seized Lloyd under the armpits, and
half twisting himself round, slipped his
head and shoulders over the opening.
Then he transferred his grasp TO the
dead mans ankles. and, suddenly Mt
ing the legs, he shot him head foremost