OCR Text |
Show ' ' (I A JAPANESE SPY. BY LEO WESTMEATH CRANE. It u low-eaved place where emtio em-tio bad once been stabled. Ho Tol and the man and twenty-odd other now occupied It. Trucking out (mm his bed a stran I of draw having a tasseled end, the cunning Ho Tol began dragging It dell-eoteljr dell-eoteljr over the face of the man betide be-tide him, cautiously, ready at the slightest alarm, to drop dawn In feigned slrcp With n sigh and a convulsive con-vulsive movement the man turned to eek relief, twisting Into i new pose. Hut ever followed the strsw. Ho Tol trembled; the man might do a tho'i-and tho'i-and thing other than that desire I. Ho Tol caught his breath at wllh a Utile puffing of the llpe the man our-mured: our-mured: "Please do not, O Hanal" The words were Jnpanesel Japanese! Japan-ese! Vet the mm was dressed as n coolie, and was within the Husslan Unco beyond Harbin "Ilctter for him had he been born dumb," muttered Ho Tol, laughing moment later In cunning triumph. "Si r-ln five days nl most will I be or. the rond back to my country." At ttiln gray dawn Ho Tol and his bedfellows were nrnused The eoarae oaths of n soldier atartled them from leep They wero marched, r gaping, stumbling stum-bling company, to n place near the THKV 1IKNT TO LIFT TUB TIM1IKII river bunk, whero each was served a portion jf rite; and when this food had been devoured ravenously, the day'i work upon the bridge began, Tho brldgo waa u part of that slender slen-der thread which tho Husslan spider had swung from continent to continent. conti-nent. Ho Tol and his twenty-odd bedfellows, bedfel-lows, though but to many atoms In the mfltlons to bo ensnared, were for the moment Invaluable to those wan wished communication quickly sstab- -When they wore set to work, Ho Tol sought out the man whose cry be ha I heard In the night. They bent to lift tho samo piece of timber, and they v. carried It, stepping from trestle to tres tle oyer tho river. When at a safe distance from the watching soldier, Ho Tol began: "Whero Is your home, brother!" "In tho country about I'el-Thang." "Ahaa I knew you for a. stranger. Tho people thero are to to dlffcro: t. from tho rest of ns." "I had not noticed" replied ths other man slowly. "They are to like the Japanese!" ' When Ho Tol said this he watchej ' the man keenly. "I have hot known those people," be said, simply. .' "Is It so," eagerly went on Ho Tol, ' assuming great enthusiasm. "When were ou In that country, my friend?" blandly asked the other. 'That Is I bavo heard as much,' corrected Ho Tol, In same haste. "1 have never been to far south as this bsforo. I am from tho upper bills. Boveral traders once camo through my country, nnd they told me many things. The Japanese are Indeed a mighty people. peo-ple. Think of their blowing up that brldgo when tho tcntrlea were at both ends of It. You should be proud-There proud-There Is something about your oyes ' The growl of a soldier closo ay caused Ho Tol to closo his little argument argu-ment so sharply that his teeth coull bo heard to click together. Night and loneliness fettled down upon the rlrer. Thirty tired men sat about n fire. Gossips, whllo not unknown In th.il country, are generally found among those who hat 6 foresworn the virtuous virtu-ous life. A low of these wore apait and talking. "In my mind there Is a grave feeling feel-ing concerning the bridge," said Yeng Sol. "It will soon bo Untuned. Then we will rest, my brothers." "Thore may be other bridges," sago-ly sago-ly tcmnrked tho man at Ho Tol's side "Then let us pray there may be other fools," rejoined Yeng Sol, groaning groan-ing at the ery thought. "I do not think I havO worked to since I was a child, and then i knew no better" "Or It may chance that this same bridge will need new mending," suddenly sud-denly tpat out Ho Tol, and Joggling the arm of the one next to tilm, be called out as If Joetlng, "Eh, brother, what do you think?" i "I do not understand when a brldgs j Is And, Is It not fixed?" "Pooh " growled Ho Tol. "Have you not had the stomach nche twice?" "That may be," admitted the other "I doubt If he ever had two such palna as this bridge has Buffered," coolly put In Yeng Sol. "It would re-,t re-,t quire a new man to wreck tho bridge, and such men are. scarce. The man who" "Well, veil, let us hear It again," submitted one of the group, who had mure than once listened to Yeng Sol's recital of this great happening. Yeng Sol grumbled n bit to himself. w.t he could not resist the temptation to talk, and began. "It was night and raining The river came booming along, asking for corpses, the water snarling up at the upiorls of the bridge, each wavelet like the clean white fang of a wolf A spy had crawled out among the lower bridge Umbers, carrying with him a bundle of devil's powder, Stt Just before be fired It. a soldier sa him by a wink of the lightning There waa a shot Then the most terrlrlc nolses were born The gods themselves could not mske greater thunder evei when drunk Neil morning the bride lookd like n camel whose tmck has been broken by n lieam The man who caused It all mis found toued In tin fishing nets below the village." Ho Tol shuddered once during this recital. The thought of n man cling lng to nulling net nil night, only to Mini death In tho dawn, chilled him At that point the man he watched liM laughed. Ho Tol could not relish tha laugh The mind of him was troubled The man knew til in now for a meddle some fellow Yet he knew the man for a spy! Ilui he must have proof facts. Kor lh deliverance of one accursed spy woull the Husslan grant him liberty, to that ho might Journey to the upp-tr hills During the early hours of the third morning tho changing of the guard, when sentries nro most drowsy tin man sought lo run the outpost. It was during one of the sleepless vigils o! HoTnl The nlr was bitterly cold. The man slipped out nt tho shed door. Hoi Tol eagerly followed tho man. Ho had gone toward tho river. Ho Tol saw him searching the bank for something. After awhile ho came upon a boat. Ho Tol listened to the faint dipping of the oars as ths boat brushed s.iy Into tho dark. "He will drift down upon the bridge," muttered Ho Tol, musing In hit cunning way 'That boat was left for him It Is all arranged. There are soldiers' at both ends of the brldgo It I tell them they will earn tho reward, and I will go bark to the sheds with , those dirty pigs. No I must do some- . thine" A puffing noise caused him to cease planning and glance about In nsrvoui elarm. A lino of empty cars waa mov lng over Iho railroad toward the bridge. Ho Tol hurried after tho moving train. Nimbly he swung himself upon ono of the last cars and lay at full length on Us top Boon a low rumbling rum-bling told him they had passed the bridge's end and were crossing tbe river. Waiting until some distance from shore, he slipped down to tho beams of tho trestle. There waa nothing noth-ing now to bo seen but a few shadowy timbers, beneath which an Inky current cur-rent surged with a low Incessant sobbing. sob-bing. Ho Tol had begun to curse himself for a froien fool, when a faint swishing swish-ing sound came to his ears. A long shadow drifted swiftly out of ths black and snuggled In under the brldgo. He could hear tho toft rubbing of a boat I.Ike a fat toad he plumped down In the stern The boat danced a trifle, as if surprised, the water plashing be neath It. Thero was not n sound from tho man In ths bow. Kach stared silently nt the black shape of the other; each waited for a vicious shot from tho law glrdlo of the bridge. It did not come. A moment later they had slipped away on the river marsh. Ho Tol gathered himself together he raw the man's shape waver and, with a low cursing they grappled In tho center of the swaying boat. The mnn Hung To Hoi backward nnd fell upon him. The boat tipped and staggered stag-gered as a drunken thing. Ho Tol's head went wholly under. He made a furloua effort, choking ho drew up his legs the boat writhed struggled froo of them both went dancing away. A Husslan officer who liked fish for his breakfast sent his ordorly with llie rlvermen to their nets. "Ah-haal A man!" cried one of the nshcrs, pointing to n bending pole. Tlioy dragged Into the boat an uncouth, un-couth, half-drowned object. It was seen that Uie man's haud clutched an other clammy burden caught In ths sagging net. With winio diniculty they releued tho second mass from tho man's Imbedded Im-bedded fingers. When brought to shore and toasted back to living, ho was asked of this. "My brother he could not swim His head waa heavy I could not hold him up ' ho gaspod. Twlco during the Inquiry he fainted from exhaustion. At ono tlmo the surgeon sur-geon sincerely bellevod him to bo dead. And all the rest of the day he lay huddlod In a corner, weeping bitterly bit-terly for the brother lie hod been tin-ablo tin-ablo to save. After a long tlmo this became monotonous, and ths soldiers, ceasing their questions, kicked him and hU borrow out Into the cold. Three nights later, according to the story of Yeng Sol, who Is a very holy man, the gods again became drunk, nnd nfter much bellowing, left the brldgo a second time as a camel whose back has bsn broken by a beam, The upper hills are yet waiting for Ilo Tol (Copyright. 1KX by Jiseph B. Dowles) |