Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-06-08

lay and counted them. It was evident that
1t had suddenly occurred to him that the
girl must cross here II she wished to return
to her protectors. The expression of relief
on his face when he found that none of
the canoes was gone was ample evidence
of what was passing in his mind. He turn
ed and spoke hurriedly to the headman
who had followed him out Of the jungle,
and with whom were several other blacks.
Following Malbrhn's instructions, they
launched all the canoes but one. Malbihn
called to the guards in the camp, and
moment later the entire party had entered
the boats and was padding upstream.
Meriem watched them until bend in the
river directly above the camp hid them
from her sight. They were gone! She was
alone, and they had left n canoe In which
lay paddle She could scarce believe the
good fortune that had come to her. To delay
now would be suicidal to her hopes.
Quickly she ran from her hiding place
and dropped to the ground. A dozen yards
lay between her and the canoe.
Upstream, beyond the bend, Malbihn or
dered his canoes in to shore. He landed
with his headman and crossed the little
point slowly in search of n spot where he
might watch the canoe he had left at the
landing place. He was smiling In anticipa-
tion of the almost certain success OF his
stratagen-sooner or later the girl would
come back and attempt to cross the river
in one OF their canoes.
1t might be that the idea would not occur
to her for some time They might have to
wait day, or two days but that she would
come II she lived or was not captured by
the men heA had scouting the jungle for
her, Malbihn was sure.
That she would come so soon. however.
he had not guessed, and so when he topped
the point and came again within sight of
the river he saw that which drew an angry
oath from his lips-his quarry already was
half way across the river
Turning he ran rapidly back to his boats,
the headman at his heels. Throwing them.
selves in, Malblhn urged his padders to
their most powerful efforts. The canoes
shot out into the stream and down with
the current toward the heetng quarry. She
had almost completed the crossing when
they came In sight of her.
At the same instant she saw them, and
redoubied her efforts to reach the opposite
shore before they should overtake her
Two minutes start of them was all
Meriem cared for Once in the trees she
knew that she could outdistance and elude
them
Her hopes were high-they could not
oyertake her now-she had had too good n
start of them
Malbihn, urging his men onward with
stream of hideous oaths and blows from
his fists, realized that the girl was again
slipping from his clutches. The leading
vet a hundred yards behind the fleeing
Meriem when she ran the point Of her craft
beneath the overhanging trees on the shore
of safety.
Malbihn screamed to her to halt. He
seemed to have gone mad with rage at the
realization that he could not overtake her;
and then he threw his rifle to his shoulder,
aimed carefully at the slim figure scramp-
ling into the trees, and fired.
Malbihn was an excellent shot His
misses at so short n distance were Nirt'i-
ally nonexistent nor would he have
missed this time but for an accident oc-
curing at the very instant that his finger
frightened upon the trigger-an accident to
which Meriem owed her life-the proVi-
dental presence of water-logBed tree
trunk one end of which was embedded in
the mud of the river bottom, the other end
floating just beneath the surface where the
PROV of Malbihn's canoe ran upon 1t as he
fired.
The slight deviation of the boats direc-
tion was SUFFICIENT to throw the muzze OF
the rifle out of alignment The bullet
whizzed harmlessly by Meriem's head, and
an instant later she had disappeared into
the foliage of the tree.
There was smile on her lips as she
dropped to the ground to cross a little
clearing where once had stood native vii
lage surrounded by It's fields The ruined
huts still stood in crumbling decay The
rank vegetation of the jungle overgrew the
cultivated ground Small trees already had
sprung up in what had been the village
street but desolation and loneliness hung
like a pail above the scene
To Meriem, however, 1t presented but
place denuded of large trees which she
must cross quickly to regain the jungle
upon the opposite side before Malbihn
should have landed.
The deserted huts were to her, all the
better because they were deserted. She
did not see the keen eyes watching her
from a dozen points. from tumbling door
ways, from behind tottering granaries In
utter unconsciousness of impending danger
she started up the village street because II
nffarah the clenrest nnthWaY to the Jungle.