The Arvada enterprise., 1920-03-11
CHAPTER X.

pulled into the black water.
CHAPTER x.
The less Of Rene.
There was the echo Of an oath, Q
harsh. cruel laugh. the crash Of
plankins, q strange, half-human cry
Of fright from the negro-that was all.
The sudden violence Of the blow must
have hurled mo high into the air, for
I struck the water clear Of both boats,
and 20 far out IN the stream that
when I 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 interviewed 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 % and the shore, more
like shadow than q reality. Yet now,
lighting to keep my head above water
and not TO b swept away. was able
to realize instantly what had occurred.
I had been mistaken; Kirby had not
hed down the river; instead he had
craftily waited this chance to attack
10 at 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 30 soon a.
the night became dark enough. he had
hidden the stolen craft in some covert
along shore to await our coming.
Then he sprang on %, % 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 ningins mo headlong.
What had been the tate Of the
others I could not for the moment de-
termine. The darkness Swallowed ev-
erything. the bulk Of the keslboat
alone appearing In the distance, and
that shapelessly outlined. The craft
bore no light. and had It not been for
voice speaking I doubt Il I could
have located even that. The rowboat
could not be distinguished 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
Il . good Job: do you see that fel-
low anywhere!"
"Naw." the response . mere growl.
Hes goner. ! reckon: never knowed
whit hit him. jedgin' from the way
he upended It."
swell. then he isn't likely to bother
us any more. Suppose he was the
white manr
"Sure he wus: II wus the Niger
vho 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 I furst
gripped Their girl. don't reckon a.
she wus hurt ct all: leastwise I never
aimed fer ter hurt her none."
"Has she said anythingf''
mot q Id twitter; maybe she's
tainted. dunno. but that's Their way
females do. What shall I do with
the bird. Kirbyf"
"Oh. hold ON to her there awhile.
long A. she's quiet. I'm going 10 try
the steam again. and get outside Into
the biz river. H. man, but this
hasn't been such Q bad night's work"
The steam began to sizs, settling
swiftly into q rhythmic chuGging. as
the revolving wheel began to churn
up the water astern. Confldent Of
being safely hidden By the darkness.
I permitted the current to bear me
downward. my muscles aching pain.
fully from the struggle. and with no
other thought 10 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-
tlnusd to believe that I had actually
sunk beneath the surface. some fa-
ture carelessness o. their part might
yield me an unexpected opportunity to
serve Rene. The few words overheard
had made suficiently plain the stu
alton. Poor Sam had already found
freedom In death. crushed between the
two collidins boats, bat the girl had
been graspsd In time and hauled unin.
jursd aboard the heavier craft. This
had been the object Of the attack-to
gain possession Of her. Very evidently
I had not been sesa closely enough
to Be recognized By Kirby. In . meas.
ure this afforded No Q decided advan.
tags. provided W ever encountered
each other aSain-and ! meant that
We should. The account between ID
was not closed BY this incident: far
from It. There in hat black water.
struggling to keep aAoat. while being
swept Fesistlsssiy out iAto The river,
WitA 10 immediate offset before me
0eopt b reanaia eaoeealed b. ~