The Argosy, Vol. XXV, No. 3 — page 141: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE RIVER OF DARKNESS. 525 ‘‘ It’s gone,’’ he cried savagely. ‘‘ The bag is gone. Who has taken it?” They glared at each other with fierce mistrust. ‘Ah, look! look !’’ shrieked Canaris suddenly. ‘‘ The black wretch !”’ and springing across the raft he flung himself on Bildad and grasped him with both hands savagely by the throat. Melton and Guy tore him away by main force, and there beside the African lay the bag—empty. | Bildad’s lips were full of crumbs, and halfa cracker was still clutched in one grimy hand. ‘Kill him. Throw him in the river!’’ shrieked the Greek, who was fairly beside himself with rage and hunger. “He is out of his mind,” said Guy gravely. ‘‘ He took them in his delirium. Not one is left ;’’ as he shook the bag in the air. Sir Arthur made another piteous appeal for food, and Guy took the half cracker from Bildad’s hand and gave it to him. ‘“ None left !’’ repeated the colonel blankly. ‘‘ What are we going to do? We'll starve in two days. I feel now as if I was on fire inside.’’ ‘‘ All our rifles are gone, ‘too,’’ said Guy suddenly. ‘‘ Bildad has thrown them overboard, The crafty scoundrel feared we would shoot him for steal- ing the crackers, and he threw away the guns on purpose. There was method in his madness, after all.’’ ‘The fiend !’’ hissed Canaris between his teeth. ‘‘ And it was I who saved his life for this. If I only had known! If I only had left him to | perish in the lake !’’ ‘Hark! I hear rapids or something ahead,’’ said Guy at that instant. For the moment this diverted their attention from poor Bildad, who lay in a half stupor unconscious of all that was taking place. The sound that Guy had heard was close at hand, and ina moment the raft was flung heavily upon a sand bar and remained there motionless. The channel made a sudden, sharp turn, and the current being too swift to round the sharp angle, dashed with a sullen splash against the shore. Guy grasped the torch and staggered forward on the beach. It was the first time his feet had trod land for more than a week. ‘‘ Here is a shore and rocks beyond it,’’ he exclaimed. ‘‘I see acavern, too, in the face of the cliff.’’ He continued to move forward with uplifted torch. Suddenly he paused and uttered aloud cry. A terrible roar echoed through the cavern a second later, and then witha single bound a great tawny beast sprang out of the shadows, and striking Guy to the earth with one blow of his mighty paw, threw himself furiously on the prostrate body. CHAPTER XXXV.—BILDAD Drinks NEw LIFE. THE stricken man had no time to utter another cry. The lion—for such it seemed to be—paused a moment, with uplifted head, snarling angrily. The torch had been flung back a yard or more toward the water, and was spluttering on the damp sand. Comicooolkks (S@