FICTION IN BRIEF.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2507, 25 May 1893, Page 4

FICTION IN BRIEF.

OVERTAKEN BY FATE, By Iza Duppus Hardy, Author of “ Oranges and Alligators,” “Love in Idleness,” “Hearts or Diamonds?” &c. [All Rights Reserved]. ( Concluded.) nome. "Why, I didn’t know there was any one else up the river to-day,” aaidDick, standing up and looking back acres' the bay. “ 1 here is a fellow been after ' O _tois too, I suppose. Wonder if he’s potted any. Is it Pete Hawkshaw ? No, looks like a stranger. And as a stranger Dick gazed indifferently on his mortal enemy. At that distance, and altered as Paul Komer was, Dick Derwent, although far-sighted, did not recognise him in the least. „ “ I say, Nora!” he exclaimed suddenly; "that fellow had bct.er look out! Those sharks are making right for the boat, and, by heaven, there r re a dozen of them. “ Hullo there !” he .houtedaloud. "Look out! Sharks \" Romer saw the sh-rk", heard the warning and pulled his best; but before he could get clear of the danger, a o .eat shark charged full at the boat a.iu almost ca psized it. He struck at it with an , but the creature seized the oar in :' s ible i iws and bit i clean in half, vhilst anot.ie still larger one drove against the., aid*, and, as the b<-..t lurched, fairly t ;e a piece ait of the gunwale. He drew hi.-, r volver and fired r\ . t into those horrid ja .s; but as nedid so, others of the fierce cr. atu.os -row A-d round, pus. ingat the boat so lh..t it ... i > jd over dangerously. He stood up in the rocking boat, a. d fired again, into tue miust of his horrible assailants, but in vair ; ough one was wounded, the rest him, hustling each otherin savage a,.gern-ss for theirprey. Suddenly Romer threw down the piste, caught up his rifle, and levelled it straight at the two horrfied watchers on the shore! "By heaven ! he’s gon- >--d with terror!” exclaimed Dei vent, and with a swift movement he flu _ Nora behind him, so as to secure her cAiJty—if indeed at that distance they wer, seriously mdangered by what he deemed a sudden access of insanity. But Nora knew too well that this was no madman's act—that in that moment of mortal peril, Paul Romer made one last effort to achieve his long-deferied revenge. The sharp crack of a rifle clove the air; the bullet sped wide of the mark, and buried itself in a tree some yards from where the Derwents stood! Romer had hardly time to see that his aim had failed, when the horrible head of one of those fierce monsters of the deep rose up right under the boat and tilted it on one side. It heeled over ; and in a second it capsized ! There was a cry of horror from Dick Derwent, but not a sound from the doomed man as he flung up his arms and fell. Only asplash—a rushing, as the sharks came crowding round! only a white flash of water churned to foam ! Then the spray tossed up was red —blood-red. And never a sign was seen again of Paul Romer. Fate had overtaken him when the object of his pursuit seemed in his very grasp. In one minute he and the surging passions of his fiery hate, and his dark schemes of revenge were blotted out of existence ; and the waves rolled on placidly as if that ghastly stain on them had never been ! THE LAZIEST WORKERS. The Hindoos of British India, partly from theenervatinginfluence of climate, and partly from the peculiarity of their physical temperament, are generally indolentand listless. It is told of Lord Dalhousie that, having requested a servant to pour some waterfrom a basin, he declined, on the plea that it was contrary to his caste. The Marquis sternly drew out his watch, and said : "It is now' so-and-so o’clock; if before so-and-so I am not obeyed, I shall discharge not only you, but every man of your caste in Government House.” And his threat is said to have proved effectual, for in many cases the distinctions of caste among servants are carefully maintained because they are so slothful, and encourage in every way the disinclination to undergo fatigue. Wages are naturally low, and it is only by the exercise of the most rigid care and frugality that the Hindoo workman or labourer and his family can live. They certainly limit their wants to suit their means ; and, instead of seeking by harder work to better their circumstances, they are content to dwell in miserable huts, to feed on pulse and chupatties, vegetables and ghee, or oil, tobacco and betel-leaf being their only luxuries. JEREMIAH’S TROUBLES. Mr. Jeremiah Giffen lay sweetly sleeping the other morning, in enviable unconsciousness of the fact that the train by which he should have reached his office in the City had long since hurried on its way. Matilda Jane was hard at work, cleaning, as silently as possible, the staircase leading to J. G.’s sleeping room. It was past nine o’clock. By-and-bye Jeremiah’s eyelids rose. His gaze fell on the ticking timepiece on the wall, and he knew his train was gone, What must he do ? His first thought was to kill Matilda Jane, who, by this time, had left the stairs to do some other job. Then his mind wandered to the office door, far away in the City, and he saw the clerks all grouped outside, waiting for the office keys ; for Mr. Giffen, clerk in charge, always made a point of locking the doors at night. To a methodical man like Mr. Jeremiah Giffen unpunctuality was worse than death, and for him, above all men, to miss his usual train brought exasperation with the very thought. Quickly he tumbled into his clothe?, believing he would catch the next train, which left at ten o'clock. It was then nine thirty-five. Down the stairs he bawled to the cause of all his woe, Matilda, to have his hat and gloves and morning paper waiting to his hands. The girl, alarmed at Jeremiah’s angry voice, went to find the hat and gloves, and morning news, forgetting all about the lump of scouring soap that lay invitingly upon the middle stair. As soon as he could Mr. Giffen rushed in hot haste from his room, his cravat between his teeth, and both hands struggling with his collar-stud. It invariably happens, when one is in haste, that one’s collar-stud, or stiffened collar-holes, or both, refuse to yield one jot. It was so in Mr, Giffen’s case. Mr. Jeremiah’s face was red, and white, and blue, in turns. Half choked with rage he paused upon the landing-place, where after a series of unparalleled contortions, he won the collar finht. Down the stairs he rushed, and when he gained the middle step his actions changed, for if his speed had been great before, it now assumed a lightning flight. Mr. Giffen trod upon Matilda’s soap, and without a pause the chase began. Whether Jeremiah or the soap was first to land below it would be hard to tell. However, there he lay panting and groaning on the tiled floor. If a portion of Mr. Giffen’s body had felt the effect of his extraordinary excursions, so had every joist and rafter in the house. For one fleeting instant it was as if an earthquake oscillation had come upon the scene. Mr. Jeremiah Giffen’s weight was nigh upon twenty ctone. At first he laid the blame upon himself, but when he saw the flattened lump of soap twirling beside him on the floor, he took all in at once. All thought of City toils fled from his burning brain, and his only wonder was why Matilda Jane should live. Then, when she bent above his wounded form, and these sweet accents fell upon his ears : “ I’opesas’ow you are not hurt, sir. What a pity you didn't look, sir, afore you leapt,’’ He quietly uprose, paid Matilda Jane hei wages, and mildly pushed her into the street