"boss"-becoming aware that a certain township on the river was affording a field of activity for some political malcontents, had detailed a native inspector of the Criminal Investigation Department to shadow their movements, and further to ascertain whether they were in the habit of meeting clandestinely for purposes of of cooperation. Warrants of arrest were already in existence for the more notorious among them, but to take isolated action against this or that individual meant soaring the rest of the covey away, and this was obviously impolitic if by the exercise of a little patience the whole band could be rounded up at some rendezvous. The native detective had carried out his duties most efficiently. So discreetly had he performed the task allotted him that the malcontents, although always on the look-out for police surveillance, had noticed none, and in consequence were under no apprehensions concerning their immediate safety. This being the case, they soon grew bold enough to meet together at irregular intervals and at different rendezvous. So cautiously were the arrangements for such reunions conducted that it was not until they had already forgathered three or four times that Inspector Jyotish Senhimself a loyal Bengali-was in a position to anticipate their movements and forestall their mantions. However, his opjungaity came at last, and hangirening he arrived post haste at his English superior's quarters with the welcome information that the conspirators were shortly expected to assemble at a certain little house overlooking the river. Already his C.I.D. constables-in disguise-were unostentatiously watching this quarter of the bazar, and at a word from them the regular armed police could rapidly surround the building. The whole of Jyotish's bandobust was excellent, with the single exception that he omitted to send for a police-boat to picket the river itself. To do him justice, time was short and the police - boat at the other end of the town; and further, under ordinary circumstances no shipping ever anchored in the vicinity of the suspected house, and the river, of course, was far too swollen at this time of year for a man to think of escape by swimming. However, this tactical omission on the Inspector's part was to undo the hard work of a fortnight, because the anarchists who never took any chances had arranged a line of retreat by way of the river, engaging for this purpose a native boatman, who had orders to lie up under the bank some fifty yards away from their meeting-place. No sooner did the Superintendent of Police and his armed constables appear at the head of the street that led to the river bank, than the seditionists dashed through the garden behind the house, and shooting down the two plainclothes policemen who were stationed there, leaped into their boat and were borne The rapidly down-stream. "Very good, babu-gee," the man replied doubtfully; "but they have only to turn, overhaul, and run us down at their pleasure." 'Cannot you lead them upon some shoal or sand-bank?" inquired the Bengali, his shrewd brain quickly adapting itself to conditions that were utterly foreign to it. "See, your boat draws but a few inches of water, and the steamer must draw many feet." "Fool!" soreamed the anarchist passionately, as they swept nearer the police-boat, "do something or I will kill thee!" and he thrust his automatio pistol into the trembling man's face. This proved the last straw to the boatman's nerves, for, dropping his steering-oar overboard in a panic, he flung himself prostrate at the bottom of the dug-out and oried for mercy. A second later some freak of the current had seized the rudderless barque in its grasp, and had driven it at full speed upon a partially submerged mud-flat, which at normal times probably formed part of the now flooded and almost invisible river bank. The boat having plenty of way on, was carried well home into the middle of the yielding ooze, where it stuck fast but did not capsize. All this happened-far more swiftly than it takes a pen to describe it-within a quarter of a mile of the Vampire, to whose crew the fate of the dug-out was plainly visible in the moonlight. The Policeman paused irresolutely for a second, for the immediate tactical situation seemed rather baffling. "How in the name of everything riparian am I to get close up to them across all that mud?" he reflected. "I can't open fire on them until I've made certain they're the chaps we want, and not then until I've given 'em a chance of surrendering.' becoming rendering." He despatched a serang to fetch him the ship's megaphone with a view to hailing them, but before the man could return the anar "God knows, I dare not trifle with the police," whined the fisherman, rapidly becoming terror-stricken at the prospect of an undesired conflict with the Law, to which he now seemed committed. chists disclosed their identity with a burst of fire from their automatic pistols. The Vampire was now almost opposite the stranded dug-out, and about one hundred and fifty yards away from it, the river rushing, rough, hissing, and foam-flecked, between them. The anarchists' fire was concentrated on the launch's bridge, and as the result of a lucky shot the serang at the wheel rolled quietly under his steering apparatus. Uncontrolled, the Vampire swung off her course at once, and again bade fair to become the toy of the elements. The Subaltern, how. ever, seized the abandoned wheel and drove her bows into the current anew. At this fresh strain upon them, her indignant engines banged and rattled as though they were going to fall through her bottom. "Wait till I get a chance of a shot back at the swine!" raged the Hun-Child, scarlet in the face between his fury and his unaccustomed labours. "Thank God, here's another lascar.... Here . . . take hold you..." and handing over the wheel to a native sailor, he ran to join the Assistant Superintendent, who was mustering his half-dozen constables amidships. shaped sweep of land where the bank was softest, and this had automatically resulted in the formation of a kind of promontory, where the firmer ground up-stream still stood fast. The Policeman's discriminating eye now rapidly took in the possibilities of this topographic situation, and steering the Vampire into the comparatively slack water below this newly-formed and natural breakwater, he cast anchor there, and waited to see how she took the strain. Thrice they were obliged to pay out more cable, but at length the launch ceased drag. ging down-stream, and came to a fairly firm anchorage. "I'm pushing off in the dingey," explained the Policeman hurriedly as he strapped his revolver to his belt; "if we hug what's left of the bank we ought to be able to drift straight down on the top of those chaps. You might stop on board and look after things while I'm away." "Be d-d if I do!" replied his frankly insubordinate special constable, and a minute later both of them fell pellmell among the serangs and police sepoys in the rocking rowboat below. Although the water under the bank had been slack By this time-as a result of enough to admit of the steamthe Subaltern's saving of the launch anchoring there, it was situation the steam -launch as the Hun-Child remarked had crawled several hundred tersely-"no immoral joy-ride" yards above the stranded dug. in the open dingey. The moout, and here Fortune began ment they cast off from the to favour the representatives launch a hissing swirl carried of the Law. The flood had them over the top of the soooped out a great crescent- flooded bank, and bore them nearly a quarter of a mile inland. Here, however, the current becoming weaker and more erratic, the serangs were able to row an indirect course, which took them appreciably nearer the anarchists, who still lay below them down-stream. These latter could be seen making desperate efforts to refloat the dug-out, but it appeared to be irrevocably fixed where it had first grounded. At intervals both sides sniped each other in the moonlight, but with no effect that was apparent. Meanwhile the dingey was rowed back to a strategic point from which it seemed probable-after observing the course of minor flotsam as it passed that the current would eventually carry them straight down upon their prey. Bidding the serangs ship their oars and draw their knives, the Policeman steered the little boat into the very heart of the next eddy, simultaneously announcing his intention of "letting her rip." He let her rip, with the most astonishing results for all concerned. The dingey slipping into the eddy sprung round twice like a teetotum, and then in a flash before either friend or foe knew exactly what had happened, she had charged the dug-out broadside on, with all the accuracy and velocity of a well-directed torpedo. After that, as the Hun-Child said -borrowing metaphor from 'Alice in Wonderland'-"most things twinkled." To describe with any degree of lucidity the varying fortunes of a life-and-death struggle which took place by moonlight in three or four feet of mud and water between the late occupants of two capsized boats is obviously no easy task. Suffice to say that the Subaltern more than once realised his ambition of a "heartto-heart talk" with his foes. Firearms-as such-played little part in the mêlée, because nearly all of them were jammed with mud and thus rendered useless. The police, however, were using the butt in such cases as the collision had not parted them from their carbines. Where they had lost these weapons they drew their bayonets from their belts and stabbed; the anarchists struck back with pistol - butt, oarblade, and in two cases with Russian sword walking-sticks. The Hun - Child was being rather badly punished by two heavily-built men, who had collared him low and dragged him down. With great promptitude he had kioked the first in the stomach when attacked, and blacked the second's eye; but having lost his rifle he was unable to inflict mortal injury upon his assailants. They for their part were attempting to use their superiority in weight and numbers to thrust his head under the mud with the object of smothering him, At one time it looked as though their efforts might be crowned with success, for the Subaltern was built on the lines of a light-weight 'chase rider rather than a wrestler, whereas both the Bengalis turned the scale at twelve or thirteen stone. For chists disclosed their identity with a burst of fire from their automatic pistols. The Vampire was now almost opposite the stranded dug out, and about one hundred and fifty yards away from it, the river rushing, rough, hissing, and foam-flecked, between them. The anarchists' fire was concentrated on the launch's bridge, and as the result of a lucky shot the serang at the wheel rolled quietly under his steering apparatus. Uncontrolled, the Vampire swung off her course at once, and again bade fair to become the toy of the elements. The Subaltern, however, seized the abandoned wheel and drove her bows into the current anew. At this fresh strain upon them, her indignant engines banged and rattled as though they were going to fall through her bottom. "Wait till I get a chance of a shot back at the swine!" raged the Hun-Child, scarlet in the face between his fury and his unaccustomed labours. "Thank God, here's another lascar.... Here . . . take hold you and handing over the wheel to a native sailor, he ran to join the Assistant Superintendent, who was mustering his half-dozen constables amidships. shaped sweep of land where the bank was softest, and this had automatically resulted in the formation of a kind of promontory, where the firmer ground up-stream still stood fast. The Policeman's disoriminating eye now rapidly took in the possibilities of this topographic situation, and steering the Vampire into the comparatively slack water below this newly-formed and natural breakwater, he cast anchor there, and waited to see how she took the strain. Thrice they were obliged to pay out more cable, but at length the launch ceased dragging down-stream, and came to a fairly firm anchorage. "I'm pushing off in the dingey," explained the Policeman hurriedly as he strapped his revolver to his belt; "if we hug what's left of the bank we ought to be able to drift straight down on the top of those chaps. You might stop on board and look after things while I'm away." "Be d- -d if I do!" replied his frankly insubordinate special constable, and a minute later both of them fell pellmell among the serangs and police sepoys in the rooking rowboat below. the Although the water under bank had been slack enough to admit of the steamlaunch anchoring there, it was -as the Hun-Child remarked tersely-"no immoral joy-ride" in the open dingey. The moment they cast off from the launch a hissing swirl carried them over the top of the flooded bank, and bore them |