| OCR Text |
Show CHAPTER X Continued 11 Still worse was to follow. Caesar, the second In command among the maroons, owned a nondescript black dog of the spaniel type, which ranged over the Island as It pleased, and on the very next evening, shortly after dark, we heard, from the woods at the southerly end of the Island, a sudden igonlzlng yelping, which censed almost as abruptly as It began. In the darkness, dark-ness, the sound was positively terrify-In, terrify-In, sugxestln8 a11 kinds of unseen tortures, tor-tures, and Caesar by daylight as brave a man as you could find, refused to go to the rescue of his pet. In the morning we searched for him, but In Tain; the dog had vanished as completely com-pletely as though the earth had swallowed swal-lowed him. The maid was triumphant ; her story itas now substantiated, and Indeed by this time It did seem as If somebody or something man or spirit was haunting the Island. Yet realizing the difficulties of exploring the mangrove swamp, we took nc action save to be Id before nightfall, to lock up the goats and the poultry, and on the ground floor to make sure that door and windows win-dows were thoroughly barred. One thing, however, we did not do. We took no heed of our herd of half-irild half-irild cattle, which roamed the island it will. That they also might be attacked at-tacked never crossed our minds; yet It was on the succeeding evening that another tragedy was added to the list. We had Just finished supper ; dusk was falling; and Helen and I were debating whether or not we would take onr customary stroll, which we had abandoned since the night of the hurricane. hur-ricane. She had asked me whether I really believed there was danger, when her question was suddenly answered for her by a great bellowing of cattle. Running to the door, I could see six or eight of them, barely visible in the dim light, dashing at full tilt toward the house, as if they felt that here at least they might find protection. I seized my gun and went out, wishing greatly that Cudjo, the leader of the maroons, were with me, but there had been much talk of a rebellion among the slaves and he had gone up the river, the day before, on a scouting trip, to see what he could learn In the way of news. Caesar and Bill, however, how-ever, were already on hand, like my-' my-' self, with their rifles In their hands. The three of us stood close together, casting doubtful glances at the black shadow of the woods. Caesar, usually usual-ly brave as a lion, for once hesitated. "What think?" he asked me. To tell the truth, I should have been very glad to retire Into the house, but since he had appealed to me in this way, I did not wish to be quoted afterward after-ward as having counseled prudence.' And, as a matter of fact, to retreat, like frightened chllden, because of a stampede of cattle In the darkness, appeared the very height of cowardice. And so, with a resolution I was far from feeling, and with what was, J fear, that species of false bravery . which comes from the dread of being thought afraid. I replied: "I think we onzlit to go ahead. Come on. boys, and we'll clear up this mystery for fwd and all." Thus appealed to. two old fighters like Rill and Caesar could not well demur, anil at once, as the light was e"'h instant growing dimmer, we wr.lked rapidly tov?ard the border of ;he trees. At the edge of the thicket e halted, cocked our rifles, made fW that our knives and pistols were in readiness; then, spreading out a bttie. slowly advanced among the fees. There were no sounds anywhere, any-where, save the faint tread of our own '""(steps; and I was beginning to feol wiewed courage and rather to pride "lvself upon my decision when we f'Jddcnly emerged Into a little clear-lc?. clear-lc?. and as we did so I pave an uncontrollable un-controllable start I could not have 'tid that I had seen anything, yet, fan-Wul fan-Wul as It mny sound. I had a feeling ftat some one had been in that elear-ln;-' but a moment ago ; and In spite f myself 1 felt my hair actually bris-1,:S bris-1,:S on my scalp. At the same moment mo-ment Caesar, whose eyes were as keen s those of a lynx, gave vent to a low wclamatlon. At once I hastened to side, and found him and Bill peer-loe peer-loe Intently toward the farther side of the clearing. "Look like one of cattle." said Cae- "Maybe somebodv hide. We fcre go?" f rf this time, though I am far from !K!tiS the statement boastfully. I had "'"me wrought up to such a pitch of "moment that now. Instead of being J'f frightened to death, I was In a 'e of nbsolute recklessness. 'With erse "Come on!" I advanced, taking nhice of the faint light that still pranie.l the clearing, though all be-its be-its boundaries was dark and si-jt si-jt as the grave. I r'"' wait to see whethpr or not ii !""wp''- for as I say I was fair-a fair-a side myself with the tension o! !;o!e "fair; hut. as a matter of ... h(-!,0?r and Kill wore close at s: iTs' iuui ln n moment wo wore - ""n:; h.v the silent heap upon the j nr-o of the cattle: no d.nih' . "1lt- 't ny in a strangely cn- PUioti. with forelegs extend-s extend-s If a last ,i,.st!Tte effort a: ami wit,, ,.! thrown back. n " me. ut!i):itnr:il!y far. I r, . -! !l1 fo if the atil!)):il were k... ' "":. tiien. In my mindc-l ' 'I horror, utteroU a cry, for By ELLERY H. CLARK Copyright 1525 br Bctb.-Men-lU Co. WNU Service Its strange and unnatural attitude was now explained ; the heifer's neck had been broken. Its throat was torn and bleeding terribly, so that the ground about was soaked with blood. With courage suddenly evaporated. I threw a terrified glance at the forbidding blackness of the woods. Surely this was not the work of human hands, and at the moment I could have sworn that I saw something moving in the trees and heard the snapping of a twig. It was enough. Thoroughly panic-stricken, panic-stricken, all three of us dashed headlong head-long across the clearing nnd through the woods beyond; nor did we stop there, but kept on running until we were once more within a stone's throw of the house. Then, indeed, we pulled up, and gazed at one another, not, 1 think, ashnmed of ourselves, but thoroughly thor-oughly demoralized and at a loss to account for this new tragedy. We found McAllister eagerly awaiting await-ing us. but there was little we could do to relieve his anxiety. For a long time we talked. McAllister held stubbornly stub-bornly to the theory that this was the work of men who came from the mainland main-land in a boat: yet this seemed hardly possible, for besides the strong probability prob-ability of our seeing them there was the added puzzle of the heifer with Its broken neck and bleeding throat. But to this McAllister answered that the animal's neck was broken by Its fall. Caesar and Bill laid the whole blame on evil spirits. In some way conjured con-jured hither by the murdered obi man. possibly all the way from Africa. I, for my part, was frankly puzzled, and could suggest no theory at all. With morning, and the cheerful sunshine, sun-shine, the events of the night seemed Incredible, and It was without fear that we started to revisit the grove. To my relief, Cudjo had returned from his scouting trip, reporting all quiet among the slaves, and he. disposed to ridicule 0U1 story, went with us to the woods. His face, as he bent over the body of the heifer, was a study, for he was a man of unusual Intelligence, and the superstitious Imaginings of his race meant nothing at all to him. Tet while he discarded the Idea of anything any-thing supernatural, he was at a loss to tell who had done the deed. The heifer's neck interested him Immensely, Immense-ly, and over it he shook his head. "This afternoon." he announced, "we hunt Island. All men, all armed, all keep together. If nothing, then come evening, I watch here. I and one other man, If get him." I admired his courage nnd his decision, de-cision, and felt that with him as a companion com-panion I was ready to take the risk. But when I volunteered he shook his head. "Master no let you," he said decisively. "Think too much danger. Master no let me, if tell him. So no tell him. No get other man, come alone." But this doubt of getting another man stung Caesar, ln spite of his belief be-lief In ghosts. "I go," he announced quietly, and Cudjo nodded, well pleased. That afternoon, with the consent of Andrew McAllister, we made careful preparations and explored, as thoroughly thor-oughly as we could, the mangrove swamp, with the exception of one particularly par-ticularly tangled spot to the westward of the house, which McAllister promised prom-ised to make his special care. When we wended our way homeward, without with-out results, we felt tolerably certain that it was not ln the swamp that our foe was lurking. But where then on the island could he conceal himself? The treetops. indeed, would serve, but their smooth trunks rose, without a branch, for many feet, and we had only to stand niid look upward to know that the most skillful of us could not scale them. No. the mystery remained re-mained unsolved, and its shadow cast a gloom over the entire household. Nor did I, to tell the truth, feel entirely en-tirely easy ln my mind over Cudjo nnd Caesar; yet they were both mature ma-ture men. expert nnd resourceful, and I did not dare to offend them by Informing In-forming McAllister of their plan. Fortunately For-tunately for its success. McAllister retired re-tired early, and watching, not without nnxiety. from the doorway, I saw the two figures emerge from their quarters quar-ters nnd melt silently Into the darkness. dark-ness. For some time. Indeed. I waited outside, half wishing to go. unbeknown, unbe-known, to their assistance, and to take up a position near them in case they needed reinforcements. But after an hour had passed, and no sound broke the stillness of the night. I went in. and was soon sleeping soundly. I do not know what woke me. It may have been a pure coincidence, or it may have boon through some mysterious mys-terious agency which wo do not wholly understand, but In an Instant I was broad awake. It was perhaps an hour before daybreak. I calculated, and fooling fool-ing that Cudjo would no longer disapprove dis-approve my coming. I decided to dre. steal out and join thorn in the wood, to hoar the story of their vigil. As I loft the house, a shadow from the maroon ma-roon quarters joined me. and I was not sorry to reoegnize Biff Bill, w'.n the rifle in his hand. Ills face looked troubled and anxious, and wholly I asked him why he was abroad so early. I ,ri'overed that he had been awakened awak-ened m the Rime strar.-e r.-.ar.r.er i jvjw'f. Kvldoi-.tly. too. he folt that it 'ivlM,!, d evil, for he muttered !.? pivlie-.ively. "Scmell.k.i lad happen soon." We had traversed perhaps half the distance to the woods when of a sudden, sud-den, and the more dreadful because without warning, there arose on the morning air a most frightful shriek, high-pitched, heartrending, the scream of a man ln agony. Then came the sharp report of a rifle, and a second later an Imploring cry rang out, twice repeated, "Help! Help! Oh. God" and then nbsolute silence. It was too much for overwrought nerves; coming as the climax of a series of lesser misadventures, mis-adventures, It was indescribably terrifying, terri-fying, and I felt no surprise as I saw Bill turn and fairly take to his heels. And though I did not follow his example. ex-ample. I take no credit to myself; I would gladly have done so had not pride prevented ; and stubbornly, with teeth set and heart hammering-against my ribs, I pressed on toward the woods, thankful that at last a faint light was beginning to show around me. If I was to die, I wished to meet death face to face, not to be struck down In the dark. I reached the edge of the clearing without mishap, and, peering forth, kuew Instantly that the worst had happened. In the center of the glade, face downward, lay the body of Cudjo ; a little nearer, lust on the edfre of the I Do Not Know What Woke Me. clearing, a head and shoulders, projecting pro-jecting from the undergrowth, betrayed be-trayed the hotly of Caesar. A hasty examination destroyed the last vestige ves-tige of hope both men were beyond be-yond all aid. Caesar, I judged, had been struck down from behind with awful force; while it was only too evident that Cudjo had met his deatii by the same hands that had slain the hapless heifer. I felt my brain going; never before had I believed in vampires vam-pires or warlocks, yet now I did, and for an instant I was actually convinced con-vinced that here was the work of some ghostly visitor from beyond the grave. Then, in a flash of reason. I somehow some-how regained my power of control. We had searched the island ; nothing was there. This deed had happened within a few moments ; if done by visitors from the mainland, they could not yet have escaped. As fast as my legs would carry me, I dashed through the strip of woods that led to the seaward point ; and then. I could have shouted at the sight of It there was a canoe of cottonwood, its single occupant making his paddie fly. It was light enough for me to see that he wore a scarlet handkerchief about his head, and even in the dim light I had the Impression that he was not a negro but a white man. I threw my ritle to my shoulder, aimed at the base of the man's neck, and pressed the trigger. My aim was true, for at the report ne half leaped to his feet, dropping his paddle and clutching at the air, then plunged over the side, upsetting the canoe ln his fall, and floated, struggling strug-gling feebly, but without, as it seemed to me, any real notion of what he was doing. With a feeling of relief that this mysterious murderer was at las'. ; laid low. I started to run to the spot ! where the boats lay moored, bu! , throwing a hasty glance over my shoulder, I stopped in my tracks, fot even as I looked I saw his body rise half out' of the water as if Impelled by some force from beneath the waves, then swiftly and silently disappear from sight, to rise no more. I needed no explanation ; some one of the huge sharks that haunted the lagoon had secured a meal, and the Identity of the mysterious murderer would never become be-come known. The effect of the affair on McAllister McAllis-ter was remarkable. The solving o the mystery lifted an enormous weight from his spirits. My killing of the marauder ln the canoe especially pleased him ; I was in the highest favor; and again and again he praised my skill with the rifle. "What a gift !" he would say admiringly. "What a bonny gift !" And again, "Where might I be now. if I hadna written you to come and join me?" He was so pleased, Indeed, that I had not the heart to Impart to him the doubts that still remained In my mind, for the more I thought about it the less I could arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. That this mysterious visitor visi-tor was the murderer seemed plain; and yet, if It was against our household house-hold that he had designs, why had he slain the dog? Why had he slaughtered slaugh-tered the heifer? What possible object ob-ject was there ln thus alarming our garrison and putting us on our guard? The theory which I at last adopted ns the most probable was that this was a madman, seized with some blood lust, and prowling about in the darkness, like a beast of prey, to gratify grat-ify his murderous frenzy. For twenty-four hours quiet reigned. Then, at breakfast, Helen told us that her maid had, during the night, been almost frightened to death. She had awakened in the darkness, had heard n faint scraping noise outside her room, and while she had lain there, quaking at these cautious, hardly audible au-dible sounds, something she was sure of It had peered In at the window. It was, she thought, a large man with very broad shoulders; she had screamed, and immediately the visitor had vanished. Of course none of us took this seriously, for almost all the blacks are Imaginative to the highest degree. So instead of allowing ourselves our-selves to become disturbed, we heard the story with a smile. Thus the next night came sultry, unbearably hot, with a high moon peering occasionally through drifting clouds. For some time I tried to sleep, but finally, overcome by wakefulness. I determined to resort to my expedient of the ropj; nnd slipping on my lightest light-est clothing I armed myself, dropped noiselessly to the ground, nnd was Just starting to walk away when I heard a noise as if of a door closing, is though some one were entering or leaving the house. Flattening myself against the wall, I waited, nnd presently pres-ently a figure came Into view, not. needless to say. that of a ghost or demon, de-mon, but the bent and commonplace form of McAllister, carrying a spade In his hand. I could scarcely believe my eyes. What new phase of the mystery was this? Evidently McAllister was impelled im-pelled by some motive more direct than that of mere sleeplessness, for he proceeded, with a swift and certain step, townrd the mangroves. And sud rienly It flashed over me. This wa the spot he had examined himself nnd from which he had excluded the rest of us on the day when we had searched the Island. As cautiously a-possible. a-possible. I waited until he had (lis appeared ; then stole hastily after him (TO BE CONTINUED.) |
