—
der. Then he turned and fled for the
other side of the lake.
He could not remain idle on the
lake for fear of being tipped over by
that swarm of crocs, and he dared not
. go ashore and reveal himself now he
knew the Hindus were fanatics and
secret worshippers of a forbidden
god. He had dropped in upon the il-
legal rites of a Hindu sect who be-
lieved in making human sacrifices, and
it seemed that one of Jim’s own coun-
trymen was destined to fill the lead-
ing role.
Something must be done about it,
but first of all he had to find some
spot where he could think.
The back of the lake was in total
darkness, and there he discovered a
narrow ledge about four feet above
the water, where he managed to pull
himself up into comparative safety.
For the first time he noticed a nar-
row archway to one side of the god.
It seemied to lead to a small tunnel,
and he at once ~uessed that was the
way out, the way by which the secret
worshippers reached the cave from
the surface.
It was good to know there was a
way out, but the knowledge was not
much good to him just now. He
could never hope to get through that
horde and escape, and hc had made
up his mind that he would make no
effort to escape until he had saved his
fellow countryman.
Some other way must be found. He
racked his brains, and wished that he
had not lost his revolver down in
Calcutta. Thinking he was going to
travel through only peaceful country,
he had not troubled to obtain another.
He had only his bare hands and his
wits to aid him.
The Hindus had risen from their
knees, and were crowding forward
round the prisoners. Something was
going to happen.
Jim crouched miserably on his
ledge. What could he do against
fifty or sixty men? :
Ghatra Chand let out a hoarse
laugh as he made towards the pris-
oners.
“Now, sahib. Show us how the
sahibs die, and die happy, knowing
you are bringing good luck and pros-
perity to all the plantations in the dis-
trict.”
Many hands seized the white man
and loosened his halter.
Handley Sahib fought like a fiend.
He must have known there was no
chance for him if they once got him
in the water. He fought tooth and
nail to prevent this from happening,
using hands, feet, and head.
The crowd of Hindus rocked and
swayed about the tall, lean figure they
were trying to drag down to the
water, where the hungry crocs waited
with many splashes of impatience.
They triumphed by sheer weight of
numbers, and dragged him to the
brink. The next second he would
have been hurled down the slight
slope.
“Stop!” boomed a voice from the
center of the lake. Stop, dogs!”
The grip of the fanatics on their in-
tended victim relaxed. Their knees
wobbled, their eyes grew big as they
- started towards the strange interrup-
tion.
Out there on the shadowy part of
the black lake a figure was standing
on the water, the tall figure of a white
and open-necked shirt.
man wearing the usual khaki shorts
There- was
nothing unusual about the garb of
this mysterious person, but the mar
vel was that he was standing on the
water, moving forward with slow, de-
liberate strides.
It was dark enough out there for
the canoe-shoes that supported Jim
- Brewster to be unnoticed. He deliber-
ately kept back in the shadows as he
pointed his finger at the Hindus.
“Release Handley Sahib at once!
Set him free.”
The Indians recoiled from the edge
the Water-Walker, sliding nearer.
“Back before you're shot.”
Just for a moment Ghatra Chand
thought there was a revolver in the
boy’s hand; he recoiled a step or two.
Jim Brewster darted in towards the
shore with all possible speed, wending
his way in and out among the croco-
diles, who were raging at this delay.
Handley was not a yard from the
water’s edge.
“Roll into the water, Handley!”
he yelled, and heaved a sigh of relief
when he saw the man move.
Na,
tay,
“1,
rs? nn,
Joan areatte i. vob we
Salhi A hea
Cama
wetar ad
ridin
Ad
OR
whi, Slide
nein
: A
« TOUGH
3 WORM,
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- > N
whic en
Little Nancy bird up in the tree has caught her breakfast but Brother Jim is
still hunting his. It looks as if the worm might get away yet, too. If you
want to know what really is going to happen, cut out the picture. Carefully
fold dotted line 1 along its entire length; then dotted lines number 2 and 3.
Be sure to fold each section underneath accurately. When completed, turn
over and you will find a surprising result.
of the lake, 21l except Ghatra Chand,
who remained where he was, staring
towards the shadowy form which had
challenged him in his own strong-
hold. He had paled a little, but the
torchlight showed an ugly scowl on
his face.
“Who are you to venture into the
temple of the Many-Handed One?”
he demanded.
“Never mind .bout that,” rasped
But now the torchlight was fully on
the intrepid youngster, and not only
Ghatra Chand, but the others of his
followers could see the canoe-shoes
which made it possible for Jim to per-
form this seeming “miracle.” Ghatra
Chand also noticed that the lone
white boy was empty-handed.
With a yell of fury he darted for-
ward, and his followers swept out in
a yelling band from the shelter of the
|
big idol, where they had darted at the i
first sight of the Water-Walker. AL |
“It is a trick. He is but a young ye
sahib and unarmed!” shouted the ! i
Hindu leader.
Splash! Handley had rolled into
the water just as Jim glided alongside.
There was an excited flurry of ugly
snouts being thrust towards the
bound man, but Jim was quicker.
Stooping, he exerted all his strength
and lifted Handley clear of the water,
only just in time.
The next second he was standing
’midst a raging, champing horde of
crocs, any one of which could have
knocked him over with a thrust from }
its long, scaly head. :
Luckily for Jim and the man he
carried in his arms, the crocs were
suspicious of each other. They be-
lieved one of their own number had
snatched the prize, and they began to
fight. Not one of them for the mo-
ment connected those long, canvas
canoe-shoes with anything human. i
The rush of the Hindus had been i
so fierce that one of the foremost was
pushed into the water by the others.
Wildly he clawed at the rock to get i
out, but he was not quite quick !
enough. There was a flurry of scaly |
crocodile backs, a snapping sound, and ¥ |
i
|
1
|
|
Spe clr
then the brutes really had something LEAS
to fight over. 3
During the confusion Jim darted
across the width of the lake to his
ledge, thrust Handley up on it and |
_pulled himself after him. |
“Gosh!” breathed the other. “That
was a near thing. Who are you?
When I saw you standing on the
water like that I was as scared as the i
Hindus.”
Jim laughed a little grimly as he
told his amazing story and the older
man’s face showed surprise at the
recital. Across the other side of the
lake the horde of Hindus was yelling
and raging, some of them dancing
> with wild fury on the edge of the
water, but not one of them dared at-
tempt to cross that stretch of lake.
There were no boats in the Temple
of the Many-Handed God.
While Handley rubbed the cramp
from his limbs he told Jim that his
name was Ralph Handley and that he
owned a tea plantation about 6 miles
distant. He had been travelling the
Habi River with some of his men on
a duck-shooting expedition, when
they had been seized by this ex-over-
seer of his.
“I've lived not six miles from this
mountain for ten years,” he declared,
“and I never knew anything about
this underground lake or about this
accursed temple. Now I come to
think of it I can remember stories of
men mysteriously disappearing, but 1
thought nothing of it at the time. 1
bet my last dollar they’ve been fed to
the crocs in this lake.”
Several of them were swimming
around below the ledge, puzzled by
the movement caused by the water
that dripped from Jim's canoe-shoes,
which he had taken off and placed |
near the edge. |
“They brought you down through
that tunnel over there?” questioned
Jim. “I thought so. But we’ll never
get out that way. Ghatra Chand will
have the entrance blocked. What
are we going to do?”
By this time it must have been
black night up above, and Handley
ANIMAL CRACKERS
By Lane
DOG-GONE IT." some-
THINGS STUCK IN
AW]
i, 1 gt
THIS BLACK PEPPER NOW TC GET JiM'S
WiLL OO THE
TRUNK IN THE HORN
AND / 17
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Copyright 1930, by Dell Publishing Co., Fuc.
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