contract with a pile as he was leaving, so instead
of running all night as he had intended doing, he hauled up and remained
at Blois, much to the satisfaction of the citizens who entertained him
in the most pleasant manner.

The following afternoon he started for an all night run, in order to
make up for lost time. At nightfall the weather grew intensely cold
and ice soon covered all exposed parts of his dress. A small, but
powerful lamp on the bow of the tender, gave him plenty of light and
that evening furnished the means of some amusement. Along the frozen
road which follows the river bank for quite a distance, he heard the
clattering of the sabots of a belated peasant, who was singing to keep
his courage up. Paul darkened the lamp by putting a piece of rubber over
it, and when the profile of the peasant stood clear between him and the
sky, he suddenly removed the rubber and turned, the light full on the
man, at the same time sounding an unearthly blast on his bugle. The
startled peasant uttered no sound; but the distant clinking of his
sabots down the road, told how badly he was frightened.

About four o'clock that morning, Paul felt his dress touching bottom,
the current slackened, and he knew he had wandered into a false channel.
With some difficulty, he assumed an upright position and the moment he
did so, found his legs grasped as in a vise.

He was caught in the quicksand.

With a feeling of horror he felt himself settling, settling in the
treacherous sands, until he was slicked down nearly to the neck, his
face almost even with the surface, the dark water gliding by him like
some slimy serpent into the night.

The tender swung round with her bow pointing toward him, the strong
light from the bull's eye glaring him in the face with its blinding
rays. The little boat seemed to realize the awful situation and she
tugged at the cord which fastened her to the dress, as though struggling
to free him. From the moment the sands were felt, he' had worked to
free himself, only to find that the effort sunk him deeper. He began to
think he was not going to get out; that his time had come and not a
trace on earth would be left to tell of his dreadful end. But his was
not a nature to give up until the last gasp. The thought struck him
that there was some chance for life by fully inflating the dress which,
would have a tendency to lighten and give him more buoyancy. He seized
the air tubes and in the