The fury of the storm had passed. The rumble of
thunder was distant now. The flashes of lightning came at greater
intervals, and with a pale glow instead of the dazzling brilliance of
the nearer flashes. Through a great rift in the cloud-bank the moon
showed, calm and serene above the mad rush of black waters.
For a single instant Alice gazed into the up-turned face of the Texan,
and in that instant she saw his lips curve into the familiar cynical
smile. Then he calmly let go the reins and slipped silently beneath
the black water, as the released horse scrambled to the top. Beside
her, Endicott uttered an oath and, tearing at the buttons of his
slicker, dashed the garment to the ground. His coat followed, and
stooping he tore the shoes from his feet and poised on the very edge of
the flood. With a cry she sprang to his side and gripped his arm, but
without a word he shook her roughly away, and as a dark form appeared
momentarily upon the surface of the flood he plunged in.
Alice and Bat watched as the moonlight showed the man swimming with
strong, sure strokes toward the spot where a moment before the dark
form had appeared upon the surface. Then he dived, and the
swift-rushing water purled and gurgled as it closed over the spot where
he had been. Rope in hand, Bat, closely followed by the girl, ran
along the edge of the bank, both straining their eyes for the first
sign of movement upon the surface of the flood.
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