Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1925-10-02
CHAPTER XII
In Which Hugh Drummond
Arrives at MAVERICK Hall

lne nedVy coat ne was wearing, and
the fact that he rolled sideways clear
Of the steering-wheel as soon as the
man let go Of him with his hand. Had
he remained behind the wheel he must
with the car and at that point where
the river narrowed to come through
the piers Of the bridge the water was
over twenty feet deep. He had suffi-
cient presence Of mind to take a deep
breath as the car shot downward !;
then he felt the water close over his
head. And If before his struggles to
move had been ferce-nOW that the
end seemed at hand they became des
perate. The desire to get clear-to
give one kick with his legs and come
to the surface reused him to one SUI
perhuman effort. He felt as if the
huge heave he gave with his legs
against the fioor-boards must send him
flying to the top; afterwards he real
lied that this vast effort had been
purely mental-the actual physical re-
suit had been practically negligible
But not quite, it had done something,
and the coat did the rest.
With that one last supreme throw
for life his mind had overcome the
effects Of the poison to the extent of
forcing his legs to give one spasmodic
little kick. He fiOated clear Of the
car, and sloWly-hOw slowly only his
bursting lungs could testify-the big
coat brought him to the surface. For
a moment or two he could do nothing
save draw in deep gulps Of air; then
he realized that the danger was not
yet past. For he couldn't shout, he
could do nothing save float and drift,
and the current had carried him clear
Of the bridge out Of sight Of those on
top. And his mind was quite clear
enough to realize that the coat which
had saved him, once it became sodden
would just as surely drown him.
He could see men with lanterns on
the bridge; he could hear them shout
ing and talking. And then he saw
boat come back. from the ship that had
passed through just before he went
over the edge In his car Surely
they'd pull down stream to look for
him, he thought in an agony of futile
anger; surely they couldn't be such
fools as to go on pulling about just by
the bridge when it was obvious he
wasn't there. But since they thought
that he was at the bottom in his car,
and blasphemous language was al
ready being waited at them by the
skipper of the vessel for the useless
delay, with a sinking heart Drummond
saw the boat turn around and disap.
pear upstream INTO the darkness. Men
with lanterns still stood on the bridge,
their lights, and he was drifting
farther every minute. 1t was Just a
question of time nOw-and 1t couldn't
be very long either. He could see that
his legs had gone down we'll below the
surface, and only the air that still re-
mained in the buttOned-up part Of his
Overcoat kept his head out and his
shoulders near the top. And when
that was gOne-the end He had done
all he could; there was nothing for ii
now but wait for the inevitable finish.
Then a sudden change in his imme-
diate surroundings began to take place.
At first he could not realize what had
happened; then little by little it began
to dawn on him what had occurred.
Up to date the water in which he
hoated had seemed motionless to him
he had been drifting in 1t at exactly
the same velocity as the current. And
now, suddenly, he saw that the water
was going past him. For a moment
or two he failed to understand the
of the fact; then wild
hope surged up In his mind. For a
time he stared fXedly at the bridge,
and the hope became a certainty. He
was not drifting any farther from 1t:
he was stationary; he was aground.
He could feel nothing; he could see
the one stupendous fact
that he was aground. Life
took on another lease-anything might
happen now. II only he could remain
there till the morning they would see
him from the bridge, and there seemed |
no reason why he shouldn't. The |
water still flowed sluggishly past him,
broken with the faintest ripple close to
his head. SO he reasoned that 1t must |
be very shallow where he was and |
being an inCurable optimlst, he con-
templated his next meeting with |
Peterson.
But not for long. Starting from his
waist and spreading dOwnwards to his
feet and outwards through his shoul- |
ders to his hands there slowly began |
to creep the most agonizing cramp. |
The torture was indescribable, and the |
sweat dripped off his forehead into his |
eyes. And gradually 1t dawned on |
aim that the effects Of the poison were |
wearing off. Sensation was returning |
% his limbs; even through his agony |
ne could feel that he was resting
against something under the water.
Then he heard a strange noise, and
eal1zed that 1t was he himself groan-
ng with the pain. The use Of his
'o1ce had come back. He spoke a
entence aloud, and made certain.
And then DrummOnd deliheratplv de-