Henderson daily dispatch., 1937-05-15
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LPRA 0OREP CLIPT
, EDGAR WZlZZALE
and ROBERT CURHS

mot more than couple Of yaros
behind her. she saw Joplin's face.
His eyes were fixed on her, alert
and watchful; his chin was thrust
forward and his lips drawn back as
though he were snarling. He was
moving slowly and cautiously to-
ward her, with the noiseless move
ment of cat preparing to spring.
With a startled grasp she sprang
lonto the deck and ran blindly to-
ward the side of the barge. She
heard JopIin's sudden rush up the
steps. and the sound Of his heavy
footsteps on the deck, felt some
thing strike her toe, staggered, and
crashed headlong. Instantly she
scrambled to her feet. She heard a
thud, caught glimpse Of Joplin
sprawling on the deck, and was
suddenly aware of fingers closing
around her left ankle. Before they
had gripped it firmly. however. she
swung her right foot, hacked at
the gripping fingers with her heel,
heard a grunt of pain, and felt the
fingers loosen their grasp. With a
[sudden jerk she wrenched her
ankle free. A second later she was
over the side and saw the black
swirling water rushing to meet
her.
The water was very cold, and
she seemed to go down to a ire
mendous depth. But she always
said that. barring fish, ships and
torpedoes, she was as much at
home in the water as anything that
ever entered it, and there was
good deal of truth in the state
ment.
AS she plunged below the sur
face it flashed into her mind that
there was no more cause for panic
because she was in the water as
result of jumping off barge at
night into the River Thames. than
if she was there because she had
jumped off the diving board Of a
bathing pool in daylight. She gave
a couple of vigorous kicks. rose to
the surface, took a few swift
strokes toward the lights on the
bank, and glanced back.
She saw the barge few yards
away, and on the deck, black
figure silhouetted against the sky,
she saw Joplin. He was poised,
ready to plunge in after her, and
she was just about to turn away
and devote all her energies to the
task Of swimming when she saw
Mrs. Joplin's massive figure appear
and move swiftly toward her hus-
band. She saw Mrs. Joplin grasp
his arm and pull him backward,
and Joplin straighten himself and
turn toward her. For a few Sec
onds they stood there, two gesticu
lating silhouettes; and then, as the
man turned away, stepped to the
side, and again seemed on the
point of jumping, he was again
jerked backward. Mrs. Joplin's
arm swung, her fist made contact
with her husbands jaw, and he
suddenly seemed to sag and waver
and crumple, and was transformed
into shapeless mass on the deck
close to Mrs. Joplin's feet.
Jacqueline swan. But she had
not swum many strokes before it
dawned on her that swimming in
the Thames at Greenwich was a
very different proposition from
swimming IN a bathing pool. She
noticed that already, although she
had been in the water only few
seconds, she had drifted down.
stream a considerable distance and
was well out Of her direct course
for the bank. A few more strokes
and she realized that her progress
downstream was far more rapid
than her progress toward the
bank. She remembered with just
the faintest twinge Of uneasiness
Mrs. Joplin's remark about being
ished out at Tilbury. AS she swan
on, putting every ounce of energy
into her strokes, her uneasiness in
creased. She was making prac-
tically no Roadway, and the tide
seemed to be doing as it liked with
her, sweeping her along irresisti-
bly,, and never allowing her to get