6 I ißnr® HUE IFMWJItM! sr cvP ROBERT U IWi BTOy/ nimmvow er KAY WAIIM (ofrnc»r /fca ay A.cfnctu/ic * Co. SYNOPSIS. The story opens with the shipwreck of the steamer on which Miss Genevieve I.Tiiic, an American heiress, 1 ,nr ih water spring. Miss Leslie fared an unpleasant situation. They planned their campaign. Blake re covered Ids surveyor's magnifying glass, thus Insuring Ire. lie started a jungle fire, killing a large leopard anil smoth ering several cubs. In the leopard's cav ern they built small home. They gained the cliffs by burning the bottom of a until it foil against the heights. The trio secured eggs from the cliffs. CHAPTER Xl.—Continued. Miss Leslie siglicd. "Why did you speak of them? 1 am still hungry enough to eat more eggs—a dozen — that is. if we had a little salt and but ter." > "And a silver cup and napkins!" added Blake. "About the salt, though, we'll have lo get some before long, ami pome kind of vegetable food. It xion't do to keep up this whole meat menu." "if only those little bamboo sprouts were as Tood as they 100k —like a kind of asparagus!" murmured Mists Leslie. "I've heard that the Chinese eat them," saiil Winthrope. "They oat rats, too," commented make "Wo might at least try them," per sisted Miss Leslie. "How? Raw?" "1 have heard papa tell of roasting corn when he was a boy." "That's so; and roasting-ears are better than boiled. Win, 1 guess we'll have a sample of bamboo asparagus a la Los-lee!" Winthrope took the penknife and fetched a handful of young sprouts from the bamboo thicket. They were heated over the coals on a grill of green branches and devoured half raw. "Say," mumbled Blake, as he rum inated on the last shoot, "we're getting on some for this smell hole of a coast house, and chicken ranch and vege tables in our front yard. We've got old Bobbie Crusoe beat, hands down, on the start off, and he with his shipful of stuff for handicap!" * "Then you believe that the situation looks more hopeful, Mr. Blake?" "Well, we've at least got an exten sion on our note for a week or two. But I'm not going lo coddle you with a lot of lies, Miss Jenny. There's the fever coming, sure as fate. I may stave it off a while; you and Win, ten to one, will be down in a few days— and not a smell of quinine in our commissary. Then there'll be dysen tery and snakes and wild beasts— No; we're not out of the woods yet, not by a—considerable." thrope, "I must say, you're not very encouraging." "By Jove, Blake," muttered Win "Didn't say I was trying to be." "But, Mr. Blake, I am sure papa will offer a large reward when the steam er is reported as lest. There will be ships searching for us —" "Wore not in the British channel,! and I'll bel what few boats do coast there don't nose about much these coral reefs." "I fancy it would do no harm to erect a signal," said Winthrope. "Only thing that would make a ■how is Miss Leslie's skirt," replied Blako. "There is the big leopard skin," per sisted Winthrope. To his surprise the engineer took the suggestion under serious consideration. "Well, l don't know,"he said. "If We had a water background, now. But against the rocks and Irees—no; what we want is white. I'll tell you—when Miss Jenny sets to and makes herself « dress of that skin, I'll fly her skirt to the zephyrs." "Mr. Blake! I really think that Is cruel of you!" "Oh. come now; that's not fair! I wouldn't have safcl a word, but you Baid you wanted to help." "1 beg your pardon, Mr. Blake. I I did not quite understand you. I really do want to help—to do my share —" "Now you're talking! You see, it's not only a question of the signal, but of clothes. We've got to figure auy fway on needing new ones before long. Look at my pants and vest, and Win's too. Inside a month we'U all be in hide—-or in hiding. That's a joke, Win, me b'y; see?" "But in the meantime —" began Mies Leslie. "In the meantime we're like to miss ■ chance or two of being picked up. ' jj^ He at Once Began Experiments in the Art of Pottery. just because we've failed to stick out a signal that'd catch the eye twice as far off as any other color than scar let. Do you suppose I worked my way i up from axman to engineer, and did not learn anything about flags?" > "Rut it is all really too absurd! I do not know the first thing about sew ing, and I have neither thread nor needle." "It's up to you, though, if you want to help. My sisters sewed mighty soon after they learned to toddle. 'Bout time you learned — There, now; I did not mean to hurt your feelings. You're made a fair stagger at cooking, and I bet you win out on the dressmaking. For needle you can use one of these long, slim thorns—poke a hole, and then slip the thread through, like a shoemaker." "Ah, yes; but the thread?" put In Winthrope. "The cocoanut fiber would hardly do," said Miss Leslie, forgetting to dry her eyes. "No. We could get fairly good fi bers out of the palm leaves; but cat gut will be a whole lot better. I'll slit up a lot for you, fine enough to sew with. And now, let's get down to tacks. No offense—but did 'either of you over learn to do anything useful in all your blessed little lives?" "Why, Mr. Blake, of course I—" "Of course what?" demanded Blake, aa Miss Leslie hesitated. "We know all about vour cooking and sewing. What else?" "I—l see what you meant. I fear that nothing of what I learned would be of service now." "Boarding-school rot, eh? And you, Winthrope?" "If you would kindly name over what you have in mind." "Um!" grunted Blake. "Well, it's first of all a question of a practical— practical, mind you,—knowledge of metallurgy, ceramics, and how to stick an arrow through a beef roast." "I —ah—I believe I Intimated that I have some knowledge of archery. But I doubt —" "Cut it out! You'll have enough else to do. Get busy over those bows and arrows, and don't quit til) ycu've got them in shape. Leave my bow good and stiff. 1 can pull like a mule can kick. Well, Miss Jenny; what is it?" "Is not —has not ceramics some thing to do with burning china?" "Sure!—china, pottery, and all that. Know anything about it?" "Why, I have a friend who amuses herself by painting china, and I know it has to be burned." "And that's all!" grunted Blake. "Well, let me tell you. When I was a little kid I used to work in a pot tery. All I can remember Is that they'd take clay, shape it into a pot, dry It, and bake the thing in a kiln. We've got to work the same game somehow. This kind of eating will mean dysentery in short order. So there's going to be a bean-pot for our stews, or Tom Blake'll know the rea son why. Nurse up that ankle of yours. Win. We'll trek it to-morrow— cocoanuts, and maybe something else. There's clay on the far bank of the river, and across from it I saw a CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1909. streak that looked like brown hema tite." CHAPTER XII. Survival of the Fittest. |9 .115 next four days slipped by almost unheeded. Blake saw to it that not only himself but his companions had work to occupy every hour of day light. When not engaged in cooking and fuel gathering, Miss Leslie was learning by painful experience the ru diments of dressmaking. At the start she had all but ruined the beautiful skin of the mother leopard before Blake chanced to see her and took over the task of cutting it into shape for a skirt. But when it came to making a waist of the cub fur, lie said that she would have to puzzle out the pattern from her other one. Between cooking three meals a day over an open fire, gathering sev eral armfuls of wood, and making a dress with penknife, thorn, and cat gut, the girl had little time to think of other matters than her work. Winthrope had been gazetted as hunter in ordinary. His task was to keep Miss Leslie supplied with fresh eggs and each day to kill as many of the boobies and cormorants as he could skin and split for drying. Blake had changed his mind about taking him when he went for cocoanuts. In stead, he had gone alone on several trips, bringing three or four loads of nuts, then a little salt from the sea shore, dirty but very welcome, and last of all a great lump of clay, wrapped in palm fronds. With this clay he at ooce began ex periments in the art of pottery. Hav ing mixed and beaten a small quan tity, he molded it into little cups and bowls, and tried burning them over night in the watch-fire. A few came out without crack or flaw. Vastly elated by this success, he fashioned larger vessels from his clay, and with in the week could brag of two pots suitable for cooking stews, and four large nondescript pieces which he called plates. What was more, all had a fairly good sand glaze, for he had been quick to observe a glaze on the bottoms of the first pots, and had reasoned out that it was due to the sand "V<»h had adhered whilo they sti)' ing in the sun. i> .. Xt turned his attention to met allurgy. The first move was to search the river bank for the brown bog iron ore which he believed he had seen from tho farther side. After a dangerous and exhausting day's work in the mire and jungle, he came back with nothing more to show for his pains than an armful of creepers. Late in the afternoon, he had located the haematite, only to find it lying in a streak so thin that he could not hope to collect enough for practical pur poses. "Lucky we've got something to fall back on,"he added, after telling of his failure. "Pass over those keys of yours, Win. Good! Now untangle those creepers To-night we'll tako * turns knotting them up Into some sort of a rope-ladder. I'm getting mighty weary of hoofing It all around the point every time I trot to the riv er. After this I'll go down the cliff at that end of the gully." Wlnthrope, who had become very Irritable and depressed during the last two days, turned on his heel, with the look of a fretful child. To cover this undiplomatic rude ness. Miss Leslie spoke somewhat hur riedly. "But why should you return again to the river, Mr. Blake? I'm sure you are risking the fever; and there must be savage beasts in the jungle." "Tliats my business," growled Blake. He paused a moment, and added, rath er less ungraciously: "Well, if you care, it's this way—l'm going to keep on looking for ore. Give me a little j iron ore, and we'll mighty soon have a lot of steel knives and arrow-heads that'll amount to something. How're we going to bag anything worth while with bamboo tins on our arrows? Those boar tusks are a fizzle." "So you will eonlinue to rlslt your life for us? I think that is very brave and generous, Mr. Blake!" "How's that?" demanded Blake, not a little puzzled. He was fully con scious of the risk; but this wo# the first intimation he had received or conceived that his motives were oth er than selfish —"Um-m! So that's the ticket. Getting generous, eh?" "Not getting—you are generous! When I think of all you have done for us! Had it not been for you, I am sure we should have died that flrat day ashore." "Well, don't blame me. I couldn't have let a dog die that way; and then, a fellow needs a Man Friday for this sort of thing. As for you, I haven't always had the luck to b» favored with ladies' company." "Thank you, Mr. Blake. I quite ap preciate tho compliment. But now, I must put 011 supper." Blako followed her graceful move ments with an intentness which, in turn, drew Winthrope's attention to - himself. The Englishman smiled in a disagreeable manner, and resumed h?a work on the bows, with the look of one mentally preoccupied. After sup per he found occasion to spend some little time among the bamboos. I When at sunset Miss Leslie wlth dr