The Clio messenger., 1919-12-11
CHAPTER X.
The Loss Of Rene.

The Loss Of Rene.
There was the echo Of an oath,
harsh, cruel laugh, the crash Of
planking, strange, half-human cry
of fright from the negro-that was all.
The sudden violence of the blow must
have hurled me high into the air, for
l struck the water clear Of both boats,
and so far out In the stream that
when l came again struggling to the
surface I was in the full sweep Of the
current, against which / had to strug-
| gle desperately. In the brief second
that intervened between Sans shout
of warning and the crash Of the two
boats I had seen almost nothing
only that black, menacing hulk, LOOM
ing up between us and the shore, more
like a shadow than reality. Yet now,
| fighting to keep my head above water
and not to bo swept away, was able
to realize instantly what had occurred.
I had been mistaken; Kirby had not
fled down the river; instead he had
craftily waited this chance to attack
us at q disadvantage. Convinced that
we would decide to make use Of the
rowboat, which he had left uninjured
for that very purpose, and that we
would venture forth just so soon as
the night became dark enough, he had
hidden the stolen craft in some covert
along shore to await our coming.
Then he sprang on US, as the tiger
springs on his prey. He had calcu-
lated well, for the blunt prov of the
speeding keelboat had struck us
squarely, crushing In the sides Of our
frail craft and fiinging me headlong.
What had been the fate of the
others I could not for the moment de-
termine. The darkness shadowed ev-
erything, the bulk Of the keelboat
alone appearing In the distance, and
that shapelessly outlined. The craft
bore no light, and had 1t not been for
a voice speaking I doubt II could
have located even that. The rowboat
could not be distinguished-it must
have sunken, or else drifted away, a
helpless wreck. The first sound my
ears caught, echoing across the water,
was an oath. and question: "By
II good job; do you see that fel-
low anywhere"
"Naw," the response q mere growl.
Hes a goner, I reckon; never knowed
whut hit him, jedgin' from the way
he upended It,"
"Well. then he isn't likely to bother
us any more. Suppose he was the
white man?"
"Sure he wus; 1t wus the niger
who was up ahead. We hit him, an
he dropped in tween ther boats, an
went down like stone. He never
yeeped but just onct, when l furst
gripped ther girl. don't reckon as
she wus hurt ct all leastwise l never
aimed fer ter hurt her none."
HAS she said anything"
"Not a Id twitter; maybe she's
tainted. dunno, but that's ther way
females do. What shall I. do with
the bird, Kirby?"
"Oh, hold on to her there awhile,
long as she's quiet. I'm going to try
the steam again, and get outside into
the big river. H, man, but this
|
The steam began to sizz, settling
swiftly into a rhythmic chugging, as
the revolving wheel began to churn
up the water astern. Confident of
being safely hidden by the darkness,
l permitted the current to bear me
downward, my muscles aching pain
fully from the struggle, and with no
other thought In my mind except to
keep well out Of sight of the occu-
pants of the boat. To be perceived by
them and overtaken In the water
meant certain death, while II they con-
tlnued to believe that had actually
sunk beneath the surface, some fu-
ture carelessness on their part might
yield me an unexpected opportunity to
serve Rene. The few words overheard
had made sufficiently plain the stu
alton. Poor Sam had already found
freedom In death, crushed between the
two colliding boats, but the girl had
been grasped In time and hauled unin-
jured aboard the heavier craft. This
had been the object of the attack-to
gain possession of her. Very evidently
I had not been seen closely enough
to be recognized by Kirby. In meas
ure this afforded me decided advan-
tage, provided we ever encountered
| each other again-and I meant that
we should. The account between us
was not closed by this incident; far
from It. There In that black water,
struggling to keep afloat, while being
swept resistlessly out into the river,
with no immediate object before me
except to remain concealed By the