Then William Cecil Clayton, Lord Greystoke, removed his hand from beneath the coat, and with a coin tight pressed within his palm where none might see it, he looked at Jane Porter.
He did not dare open his hand.
"Quick!" hissed Spider."My Gawd, let's see it."Clayton opened his fingers.Spider was the first to see the date, and ere any knew what his intention was he raised himself to his feet, and lunged over the side of the boat, to disappear forever into the green depths beneath--the coin had not been the 1875 piece.
The strain had exhausted those who remained to such an extent that they lay half unconscious for the balance of the day, nor was the subject referred to again for several days.
Horrible days of increasing weakness and hopelessness.
At length Monsieur Thuran crawled to where Clayton lay.
"We must draw once more before we are too weak even to eat,"he whispered.
Clayton was in such a state that he was scarcely master of his own will.Jane Porter had not spoken for three days.
He knew that she was dying.Horrible as the thought was, he hoped that the sacrifice of either Thuran or himself might be the means of giving her renewed strength, and so he immediately agreed to the Russian's proposal.
They drew under the same plan as before, but there could be but one result--Clayton drew the 1875 piece.
"When shall it be?" he asked Thuran.
The Russian had already drawn a pocketknife from his trousers, and was weakly attempting to open it.
"Now," he muttered, and his greedy eyes gloated upon the Englishman.
"Can't you wait until dark?" asked Clayton."Miss Porter must not see this thing done.We were to have been married, you know."A look of disappointment came over Monsieur Thuran's face.
"Very well," he replied hesitatingly."It will not be long until night.I have waited for many days--I can wait a few hours longer.""Thank you, my friend," murmured Clayton."Now I shall go to her side and remain with her until it is time.I would like to have an hour or two with her before I die."When Clayton reached the girl's side she was unconscious --he knew that she was dying, and he was glad that she should not have to see or know the awful tragedy that was shortly to be enacted.He took her hand and raised it to his cracked and swollen lips.For a long time he lay caressing the emaciated, clawlike thing that had once been the beautiful, shapely white hand of the young Baltimore belle.
It was quite dark before he knew it, but he was recalled to himself by a voice out of the night.It was the Russian calling him to his doom.
"I am coming, Monsieur Thuran," he hastened to reply.
Thrice he attempted to turn himself upon his hands and knees, that he might crawl back to his death, but in the few hours that he had lain there he had become too weak to return to Thuran's side.
"You will have to come to me, monsieur," he called weakly.
"I have not sufficient strength to gain my hands and knees.""SAPRISTI!" muttered Monsieur Thuran."You are attempting to cheat me out of my winnings."Clayton heard the man shuffling about in the bottom of the boat.Finally there was a despairing groan."I cannot crawl," he heard the Russian wail."It is too late.You have tricked me, you dirty English dog.""I have not tricked you, monsieur," replied Clayton.
"I have done my best to rise, but I shall try again, and if you will try possibly each of us can crawl halfway, and then you shall have your `winnings.'"Again Clayton exerted his remaining strength to the utmost, and he heard Thuran apparently doing the same.Nearly an hour later the Englishman succeeded in raising himself to his hands and knees, but at the first forward movement he pitched upon his face.
A moment later he heard an exclamation of relief from Monsieur Thuran.
"I am coming," whispered the Russian.
Again Clayton essayed to stagger on to meet his fate, but once more he pitched headlong to the boat's bottom, nor, try as he would, could he again rise.His last effort caused him to roll over on his back, and there he lay looking up at the stars, while behind him, coming ever nearer and nearer, he could hear the laborious shuffling, and the stertorous breathing of the Russian.
It seemed that he must have lain thus an hour waiting for the thing to crawl out of the dark and end his misery.It was quite close now, but there were longer and longer pauses between its efforts to advance, and each forward movement seemed to the waiting Englishman to be almost imperceptible.
Finally he knew that Thuran was quite close beside him.
He heard a cackling laugh, something touched his face, and he lost consciousness.