Richmond planet., 1930-12-13

had been dropped in the earlier part
of his flight. There was nothing to
do but wait till morning came.
The horror of the night Of fear and
pain was a memory that John North
ington never forgot. But at last 1t
came to a close.
When the gray cold dawn crept like
a ghost between the rank green in
terstices of the awakened forest, the
man turned his attention 20 the bust
ness Of going on. The girl, weakened
beyop" protest or help, lay laxly in
his AIS only grooming family from
time to time as he made his way
carefully to the ground below. Once
there, he set her gently down, but
she was beyond walking.
For a while he let her rest on the
soft mat of rotted leaf-mold that
formed the jungle floor. Then, very
gently, he took some remnants OF his
tattered shirt and did his best for the
wound in her arm. The girl only
moaned family.
When he rose from his crude at
tempt at first aid, he heard a sud-
den cracking of underbrush, off to
his right. He Strengthened to atten-
ton, listening. The girls eyelids
fluttered open. A look OF unspeak-
able terror overspread her face.
"They hafe fin our trail senor,"
she whispered hopelessly. A cultural
CRY came, in weirdly carrying ulula-
tons, as if borne from tree to tree
by some devilish agency from an un-
seen world.
With desperate determination, John
Northington seized the wounded girl
once more and lifted her to his
shoulder.
Suddenly the woods seemed alive
with gruesome shouts and hair
raising yells. They seemed to come
from all directions at once. Blndly,
with no thought of direction but with
the wild desire of O strong man for
action in danger, carrying the girl
Imply dangling over his shoulder, he
leaped forward.
The lower limbs of the trees whip
ped across his face and body pitiless-
ly as he plunged ahead, aimlessly.
The sounds seemed to be closing
in on him.
His breath came in gaSps. Blood
streamed from the cuts on his face
and blinded him. The girl had ceased
to cry out at the singing blows on her
tender flesh, where the low, swinging
boughs caught her.
Suddenly the CLEAN Of water caught
the light and was reflected to the
half blinded sight of the man.
With a last desperate squirt of
strength, John Northington, the
moaning girl held firmly by his left
arm, broke through the tangled bar
rier Of rank trcpic underground sep
arating him from the muddy bank of
the stream.
He found himself at one end of the
horn of the same crescent shaped
stretch of black slime from which he
had made his hurried flight the pre-
vious night.
The scattered ash of a huge fire,
near the tree-line and toward the
center of TIE stretch of clear space,
gave mute evidence of the recent
presence Of the sinister group whose
lone sentinel stood on guard at the
prov of the beached pirogue.
The pirogue lay Immediately before
the fleeing man high up en- the horn
of the black beach at the point where
he had burst through. The sentinel,
wrapped in his gray green cloak, was
standing facing the upper stretch of
the river, his bow held loosely in his
arm.
At the sudden noise behind him he
wheeled bringing the weapon, already
up to his shoulder.
simultaneously, John Northington
dropped the girl unceremoniously on
to the soft pelts strewing the bottom
Of the long ~unoccupied pirogue. Even
as she fell, he leaped forward.
The nearness and sudden surprise
of the attack were too much for the
guard. Quick as he was, he was too
slow for that panther-like move. His
arm was automatically flung high
and wide by tn; quick lunge accom-
panied with a terrific blow to the
chin. The deadly arrow, winged with
the scarlet feathers of death, sang
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