The Southern herald., 1914-03-20

Frenzy seized US then and We Ma,
and hammered upon the walls NM.
gave forth a changing reverbefsH..
1t was growing warmer. Our IL.
were scorched, and streams Of sS...
poured from our bodies. The wsl..
in the skin, devilishly left thera !,
prolong our agonies, had long sIns.
been exhausted. Now the sides Of m.
monster were glowing hot. Our ~.
was scorched; our CLONES began I.
peel from our bodies. We were hH
ing into a merciful insensibility n,
suddenly the wild screams of The ",
shippers changed to shrill cries Of 4,
ror: / heard the thunder of hoOh.
with a last effort l flung myss,
against the door; it yielded, and m
out into the arms of mounted from
er white as myself. l crouched al N,
feet, drawing in the fresh air, cools,
than ice in comparison with the inI,,
no, and tainted.
"You have both had a fortunate a.
cape" said the magistrate next non
ing, when Nikolai and l awoke ban
daged and trussed, in cool beds placed
on his veranda. Our hair had bes,
cropped, our eyebrows and lashes hss
been singed to the roots. Anothm
two minutes and we should have baeo
too late to save you. Luckily the DO
lice traced you to that Eurasian hotd
and were astute enough to track your
route to the temple. 1t is three yean
since such an event occurred In IL
dia, but the old fanaticism is moi
dead, and every year, at Juggernsut
time we are on the watch for similar
occurrences. Happily one Of As
rogues has turned kings evideDca
and we know all the circumstances
"But the high priest-the Swami
l gasped
The magistrate smiled.
"That was no priest" he said. Taa
you possessed any knowledge Of Bnh
minism you would have known thsl
the Brahmin priest is a mild and saint
ly man, incapable Of such practices
and, above all, that the laws Of bis
religion absolutely forbid him to cross
the black water as they call the
ocean. No true Brahmin priest has
ever been, or ever will appear, beyond
the seas.
1--WE know the fellow well, and
though he has escaped our clutches
again, we hope soon to lay hands upon
him. He is a man Of the lowest caste
and employed in many dubious do
vices, In this case he seems to have
been hired to entrap a couple Of En-
ropeans or Americans for the secret
sacrifice which those fanatics hoped 70
hold in their Jungle"
He paused and smiled; then, going
to drawer, he took out a sealed
package.
did he make any stipulation with
you regarding rubies?" he asked.
l bowed my head in shame.
Cheer up" said the magistrate
blithely. Better men than you have
been taken in by the same device. All
the jewels upon the Juggernaut were
replaced by spurious gems about the
time of the first century of the Chris
tian era-except three treasured
stones, the size of pigeons eggs, which
are closely guarded Those three arc
In the eyes and upon the forehead !
see that they still remain in plas
upon the idol. Doubtless he forebore
to speak to you about them The
stones which you removed were made
In Birmingham, and placed there thlea
years ago by the last victim-who did
not come Off as fortunately as you
did"
Il did not tell him that the three
real gems had at last followed the
path Of all the rest. But when | think
OF how we were doubly betrayed-hoH
we offered our lives to enrich The
pockets of the false Swami with three
millions of dollars worth Of rubies-
sometimes l still think that will rake
nell and earth to find him and have
one little half hour with him alone