Evening star., 1917-10-21

hence | found myself standing at ten
minutes to IL up on the H platform.
watching the red tail-light of the local
disappear into the night. There was no
one to meet me. Then, l realised to the
full. that with four miles of lonely Eng
land before me there hung above my
head mysterious threat-a vague
menace.
What was the matter with which |
was warned not to interfere? Might
. not, by my mere presence In that
place. unwittingly be interfering now?
With the stationmasters directions
humming like refrain in my ears, l
passed through the sleeping village and
out on the road. The night was excep-
tionally clear. and before me the pain
stretched as an unbroken thread OF
silvery white twining a sinuous way up
the bracken-covered slope. to Where,
sharply defined against the moonlt
sky, a coppice, in grotesque Silhouette
marked the summit.
There is nothing more deceptive than
a straight road up a hill, and hal1 an
hours steady trampinS saw me put
approaching the trees.
| had, SO far, resolutely endeavord 70
keep my mind away from the idea OF
surveillance. Now. as l paused to light
my pipe, ! perceived something move,
in the shadows of a neighboring bush.
This object was not unlike a bladder;
and the very incongruity of It's appear
ance served to revive all my apprehen-
sions. Taking up my grip as though l
had noticed nothing of an alarming ma
ture, l pursued my way up the slope,
leaving trail of tobacco smoke In my
wake, and having my revolver secreted
up my right coat sleeve.
Successfully resisting a temptation to
glance behind, l entered the cover of the
coppice, and, now invisible to any one
who might be dogging me, stood and
looked back upon the moonlit road
There was no living thing in sight
the road was empty as far as the eye
could see. The coppice now remained
to be negotiated, and then, II the sta
tionmasters directions were not at
fault. Uplands would be visible beyond
Taking, therefore, what l had designed
TO be final glance back down the
hillside, l was preparing to resume my
way. when | saw omething-somethin
that arrested me.
IL was a long way behind-so far that
had the moon been less bright l could
never have discerned it, What II was l
could not even conjecture; but 1t had
the appearance of n vague gray patch.
moving-not along the road, but
through the undergrowth-in my di-
rection.
For a second my eyes rested upon II.
Then I saw a second patch-a third-a
fourth
Six,
There were six gray patches creeping
up the slope toward me,
4 fear. unlike anything 7 had known
before the quest of the Prophets slip
per had brought fantastic horror into
my life. came upon me. Revolver in
hand. / ran-ran for my life toward the
gap in the trees that marked the cop
pice end. And. as 1 went. something
hummed through the darkness beside
my head-some projectile. some veno-
nous thing that missed its mark by
bare inch
Painfully conversant with the un-
canny weapons employed by the hash
ishin, / knew now. beyond any pos
sibility of doubt, that death was be-
hind me.
pattering. like naked feet. sounded
on the road, and. without pausing IN
my headlong career. / sent random
shot into the blackness.
The crack of the pistol reassured me.
1 pulled up short, turned and looked
back toward the trees.
Nothing-no onei
Breathing heavily, I crarnnled my ex-
charged the empty chamber of the re-
volver-and started to run again to-
ward light that showed over the tree
tops to my left
That, if the mans directions were
right was Uplands-tf his directions
4 shril whistle-minor, eerie, in ris-
ing cadence-sounded on the dead 81.
lence with piercing clearness! Six
whistles-seemingly from all around
me-replied.
Some object came humming through
the air and I ducked. wildly.
On and on I ran-iying from an un-
known, but, as warning instinct told
me. deadly, peril-ran as a man runs
pursued by devils
The road bent sharply to the left,
then forked Overhanging trees con-
cealed the house, and the light, though
high up under the eaves-was no long
er visible. Trusting to Providence to
guide me Alright, l plunged down the
lane that turned to the left and, almost
exhausted, saw the gates before me
saw the sweep of the drive and the
moonlight cleaning on the windows,
None of the windows was illumi-
mated.