The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1914-08-12

WEB 10 Keep uef ueAu ABOVE HlteE
Instantly the firing ceased; on one
side because there were no more car
I3tridges on the other for fear ofihitting
| the one person who had made this pufs
suit necessary.
Kathlyn struggled between the Gle.
phant which carried ;Ramabai and Pun
tdita and the boat oribarge which held
the eager Umballa and his soldiers.
The mahout. terrorized. had slid on
and taken to his heels ingloriously.
Thus Ramabai could do nothing to aid
kathlyn. Nor could the elephant rid.
den by the colonel and Bruce be man:
aged. III e
Umballa was quickjto see his ,adyan:
tage and, laughing, he urged his men
toward the helpless girl. The colonel
raised his rifle and aimed at Umballa,
but there was no report. only click
which to the frantic mans ears sound.
ed like the gates Of hell closing in be-
hind him. ~
Forward" shouted Umballa.
She was his again; he would have
the pleasureiof taking her from under
the very eyes of her father. and lover.
His star never faltered.
Bruce stood up in the howdah, ready
to dive; but the colonel restrained
him.
Don't waste your life! My God, we
can't help her! Not a bullet in either
gun. Gods curse on all these worth.
less stones men call guns! There.
he's got her! Not shell left! Kit,
Kit" The scolonel broke down and
cried like child. As for himself,
hot irons could not have wrung a tear
from his eyes; but Kit, In the hands Of
that black devil again!
Colonel" said Bruce. I'm going to
get some cartridges"
He realized then that Kathlyn's fu.
ture depended upon him alone. The
colonel was broken man. So he
struck the elephant, which numbered
ashore! The moment Kath1yn was
safe in the barge Umballa would prob
ably give orders to resume firing. He
could do so now wlthimpunity.
The soldiers drew Kathlyn into the
barge. Umballa saw that she was
wounded in the fleshy part of the arm.
Quickly heisnatched off the turban of
one Of the soldiers. unwound 1t, and
began to bandage Kathlyn's arm. {
The man, for all his oriental craft.
ness, was still guileless enough to ex-
pect some sign Of gratitude from her;
but as he touched her she shrank in
loathing. His anger famed and he
flung her roughly into a seat.
Suffer, then. little fool"
Meantime the colonel and Bruce dis.
mounted and tried TO stem the tide of
fleeing COOLEST but 1t was no more ef-
fectiye than, blowing against the wind.
They found, however, an abandoned
pack containing cartridge cases, and
they filled their pockets, calling to
Ramabai and Pundlta to follow them
along the river in pursuit of Umballa's
barge, which was now being rapidly
/ poled upstream They. might, be able
to pick OF enough soldiers, sharpshoot-
! Ing, to make 1t impossiblejto man the
barge. They were. both dead shots,
and the least they could do would be
to put the fight on q basis of equality
SO far as numbers were concerned. /
The colonel forgot all about how
! weak he was. The rage and despair
in his heart had once more given him
a fictitious strength.
| THE curse, the curse. always the
curse!"
Don't ,youqbelleve that, colonel 1t
is only misfortune. Now I'm going, to
pot umballa. That will simplify every;
thing. Without head the soldiers
Will be without cause, and they'll
desert Kathlyn us quickly as our
coolies deserted us"
Where is Ahmed?"
Ahmed? l had forgotten all about
him! But we can't wait now. He'll
have to look out for himself. Hark!"
Squealing and trumpetlng and thun.
dcrous crashing in the distance.
wild elephant" cried the colonel.
the old impulse wheeling him round.
But the younger man caught hold Of
his arm significantly.
The soldiers poled diligently; but
against the stream, together with the
clumsiness of the barge, they could
not make headway with any degree Of
speed. It was not long before Bruce
could see them. He raised his rife
and let go; and In the boat Umballa
felt his turban stir mysteriously. The
report which instantly followed was
enough to convince him that he In par
ticular was being made a target. He
crouched behind Kathlyn, while two or
three of the soldiers returned the shot,
aiming at the clump Of scrub from
which a film OF pale blue smoke is.
sued. They waited for another shot,
but none came. ~
The reason was this: the herd OF
wild elephant which Bruce and the
colonel had heard came charging al.
most directly toward them. smashing
young trees and trampling the tough
| underbrush. Some Of them made for