6
pTO> TO iPEff 3^^
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Satisfied Himself That Miss Leslie Was Well Out Toward the Signal.
SYNOPSIS.
The story opens with the shipwreck of
the etc'iruer on which Miss GonevlftVfl
Leslie, an American heiress, Lonl Win
thrope, an Englishman, und Tom Blake,
a brusque American, wire passengers.
The three were tossed upon an uninhab
ited inland and were the only ones not
drowned. Blake recovered (ruin a drunk
en stupor. Blake, shunned on the boat,
because of his roughness, became a hero
us preserver of the helpless pair. The
Englishman wars suing for the hand of
Miss Leslie. Hlake started to swim back
to the siiip to recover what was left.
Blake returned safely. Winthrope wasted
his last match on a cigarette, for which
he was scored by Blake. Their first meal
was a dead fish. The trio started a ten
mile hike for higher land. Thirst at
tacked them. Blake was compelled to
carry Miss Leslie on account of weari
ness. He taunted Winthrope. They en
tered the Jungle. That night was passed
roosting high in a tree. The next morn
ing they descended to tho open again.
All three constructed hats to shield them
•elves from the sun. They then feasted
on cocoanuta, the only procurable food.
Miss Leslie showed a liking for Blake,
but detested his roughness. Led by Blake
they established a home in some cliffs.
Blake found a fresh water spring. Miss
Leslie faced an unpleasant situation.
They planned their campaign. Blake re
covered his surveyor's magnifying glass,
thus insuring fire. Jle started a jungle
Are, killing a large leopard and smoth
ering several cubs. In the leopard's eav
•rn they built a small home. They gained
the cliffs by burning the bottom of a
tree until it fell against the heights. The
trio secured eggs from the cliffs.
Miss Leslie's white skirt was decided
upon as a signal. Miss Leslie made a
dress from the leopard skin. Blake's ef
forts to kill antelopes failed. Overhear
ing a conversation between Blake and
Winthrope. Miss Leslie became fright
ened. Winthrope became ill with fever.
Blake was poisoned by a fish. Jackals
attacked the camp that night, but were
driven off by Genevieve. Blake returned,
after nearly dying. Blake constructed an
animal trap. It killed a hyena. On a tour
the trio discovered honey and oysters.
Miss Leslie was attacked by a poisonous
snake. Blake killed it and saved its poi
son to kill game. For the second time
Winthrope was attacked by fever, lie
and Blake disagreed.
CHAPTER XVlll—Continued.
"That's it —do the baby act," jeered
Blake. "But say, I don't know just
how much eavesdropping you did; so
there's one thins I'll repeat for the
Bpeciai benefit of your ludship. it'll
be good for your delicate health to pay
attention. Front now on, the cliff top
belongs to Miss Leslie. Gents and
book agents not allowed. Understand?
You don't go up there without her spe
cial invite. If you do, I'll twist your
damned neck!"
He turned on his heel and left the
.Englishman cowering.
CHAPTER XIX.
An Ominous uull.
*-B -*
■ HE three saw nothing more
of each other that day.
Miss Leslie had withdrawn
Into the baobab and Blake had gone off
down the cleft for more salt. He did not
return until after the others were
asleep. Miss Leslie had gone without
her supper, or had eaten some of the
food stored within the tree.
When, late the next morning, she
finally left her seclusion Blake was no
where in sight. Ignoring Winthrope's
attempts to start a conversation, she
hurried through her breakfast, and,
having gathered a supply of food and
water, went to spend the day on the
headiand.
Evening forced her to return to the
cleft. She had emptied the water
flask by noon, and was thirsty. Win
thrope was dozing beneath his can
opy, which Blake had moved some
yards down towards the barricade.
Blake was cooking supper.
He did not look up, and met her at
tempt at a pleasant greeting with an
Inarticulate grunt. When she turned
to enter the baobab, she found the
opening littered with bamboos and
green creepers and pieces of large
branches with charred ends. On either
side, midway through tho entrance, a
vertical row of holes had been sunk
through the bark of the tree into the
■oft wood.
"What is this?" she asked. "Are
you planning a porch?"
"Maybe," he replied.
"But why should you make the holes
tso far in? I know so little about these
matters, but I should have fancied the
holes would come on the front of the
tree."
"You'll see In a day or two."
"How did you make tho holes? They
look black, as though—"
"Burnt 'em, of course—hot stones."
"That was so clever of you!"
He made no response.
Supper was eaten in silence. Even
Winthrope's presence would have been
a relief to the girl; yet she could not
goto waken him, or even suggest that
her companion do so. Blake sat
throughout the meal sullen and stolid,
and carefully avoided meeting her
gaze. Before they had finished, twi
light had come and gone, and night
was upon them. Yet she lingered for
a last attempt.
"Good-night, friend!" she whispered.
He sprang up as though she hid
struck him and blundered away into
the darkness.
In the morning it was as before. He
bad gone off before she wakened. She
lingered over breakfast; but he d'.r
not appear, and she could not endure
Winthrope's suave drawl. She went
for another day on the headland.
She returned somewhat earlier than
on the' pjovious dayv As before, WW'
throp« wuj dozing in the shade Bui
Blake was under the baobab, raking
together a heap of rubbish. His hands
were scratched and bleeding. To the
girl's surprise, he met her with a
cheerful grin and a clear, direct glance.
"Look here," he called.
She stepped around the baobab and
stood staring. The entrance, from the
ground to the height of 12 feet, was
walled up with a mass of thorny
branches, interwoven with yet thorn
ier creepers.
"How's that for a front door?" he
demanded.
"Door?"
"Yes."
"But it's so big. I could never
move it."
"A child could. Look." He grasped
a projecting handle near tho bottom of
the thorny mass. The lower half of
the door swung up and outward, the
upper half in and downward. "See,
it's balanced on a crossbar in the
middle. Come on in."
She walked after him in under the
now horizontal door. He gave the in
ner end a light upward thrust, and the
door swung back in Its vertical circle
until it again stood upright in the
opening. Front the inside the girl
could see the strong framework to
which was lashed the facing of the
thorns. It was made of bamboo and
strong pieces of branches, bound to
gether with tough creepers.
"Pretty good grating, eh?" remarked
Blake. "When those green creepers
dry, they'll shrink and hold tight as
iron clamps. Even now nothing short
of a rhinoceros could walk through
when the bars are fast. See here."
He stepped up to the novel door
and slid several socketed crossbars
until their outer ends were deep in the
holes in the tree trunk, three on each
side.
"How's that for a set of bolts?" he
demanded.
"Wonderful! Really, you are very,
very clever! But why should you go
to all this trouble, when the barri
cade —"
"Well, you see, it's best to be on the
safe side."
"But it's absurd for you togo to all
this needless work. Not that Ido not
appreciate your kind thought for my
safety. Yet look at your hands!"
Blake hastened to put his bleeding
hands behind him.
"Go and wash them at once, and I'll
put on a dressing."
"No, thank you, Miss Jenny. You
needn't bother. They'll do all right."
"You must! It would please me."
"Why, then, of course— But first,
I want to make sure you understand
fastening the door. Try the bars your
self."
She obeyed, sliding the bars in and
out until he nodded his satisfaction.
"Good!" he said. "Now promise me
you'll slide 'em fast every night."
"If you ask it. H-t why?"
"I want, to make you perfectly safe."
"Safe? But am I not secure with —"
"Look here, Miss Leslie; I'm not go
ing to say anything about anybody."
"Perhaps you had better say no
more, Mr. Blake."
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 3> 1910
"That's right. But whatever hap
pens, you'll believe I've done my best,
won't you?—even if I'm not a— Prom
ise me straight, you'll lock up tight
every night."
"Very well, I promise," responded
the girl, not a little troubled by the
strangeness of his expression.
That night Miss Leslie dutifully
fastened herself in with all six bars.
She wakened at dawn, and hastened
out to prepare Blake's breakfast, but
she found herself too late. There
were evidences that he had eaten and
gone off before dawn. The stretching
frame of one of the antelope skins
had been moved around by the Are,
and on the smooth inner surface of
the hide was a laconic note, written
with charcoal in a firm, bold hand:
"Exploring inland. Back by night,
if can."
She bit her lip in her disappoint
ment, for she had planned tq show him
how much she appreciated his absurd
but well-meant concern for her safety.
As it was, he had gone off without a
word and left her to the questionable
pleasure of a tete-a-tete with Win
thrope. Hoping to avoid this, she hur
ried her preparations for a day on the
cliff. But before she could get off,
Winthrope sauntered up, hiding his
yawns behind a hand which had re
gained! most of its normal plumpness.
His eye was at once caught by the
charcoal note.
"Ah!" he drawled; "really now, this
is too kind of him to give us the pleas
ure of his absence all day!"
"Ye-es?" murmured Miss Leslie.
"Permit me to add that you will also
have the pleasure of my absence. I
am going now."
Winthrope looked down, and began
to speak very rapidly: "Miss Gen
evieve, I —l wish to apologize. I've
thought it over. I've made a mistake
—I —I mean, my conduct the other day
was vile, utterly vile! Permit me to
appeal to your considorateness for a
man who has been unfortunate—who,
I mean, has been —er —was carried
away by his feelings. Your favoring
of that bloom—er —that—er—bounder
so angered nte that I—that I—"
"Mr. Winthrope!" interrupted the
girl, "I will have you to understand
that you do not advance yourself in
my esteem by such references to Mr.
Blake."
"Aye! aye, that Blake!" panted Win
thrope. "Don't you see? It's 'im, an'
that blossom! Wen a man's daffy—
w'en 'e's in love! —"
Miss Leslie burst, into a nervous
laugh; but checked herself on the in
stant.
"Really, Mr. Winthi'ope!" she ex
claimed, "you must pardon me. I —l
never knew that cultured Englishmen
ever dropped t licit - h's. As it happens,
you know, I never saw one excited be
fore this."
r "Ah. yes; to be sure—to be sure!"
J murmured Winthrope, in an odd tone.
I The gill threw out her hand in a lit-
I tie gesture of protest.
"Really, I'm sorry to have hurt—to
j ha"ve been so thoughtless!"
I Winthrope stood silent She spoke
again: "I'll do what you ask. I'll
make allowances for your—for your
feelings towards me and try to forget
all you said the other day. Let me
begin by asking a favor of you."
"Ah, Miss Genevieve, anything, to be
sure, that I may do!"
"It is that I wish your opinion. When
Mr. Blake finished that absurd door
last evening, he would not tell me why
he had built it—only a vague state
ment about my safety."
"Ah! He did not go into particu
lars?" drawled Winthrope.
"No. not even a hint; and he looked
so—odd."
Winthrope slowly rubbed his soft
palms one upon the other.
"Do you—er —really desire to know
his —the motive which actuated him?"
he murmured.
"I should not have mentioned It to
you if I did not," she answered.
"Well —er —" He hesitated and
paused for a full minute. "You see,
it is a rather difficult undertaking to
intimate such a matter to a lady—
just the right touch of delicacy, you
know. But I will begin by explaining
that I have known it since the first —"
"Known what?"
"Of that bound —of —er —Blak»'s
trouble."
"Trouble?"
"Ah! Perhaps I should have said
affliction; yes, that is the better word.
To own the truth, the fellow has some
good qualities. It was no doubt be
cause he realized, when in his better
moments —"
"Better monents? Mr. Winthrope, I
am not a child. In justice both to my
self and to Mr. Blake, I must ask you
to speak out plainly."
"My dear Miss Leslie, may I first ask
if you have not observed how strange
ly at times the fellow acts —'looks odd,'
as you put it —how he falls into mel
ancholia or senseless rages? I may
truthfully state that he has three
times threatened my life."
"I —I —tlioughthisanger quite natural,
after I had so rudely—and so many
people are given to brooding— But
if he was violent to you—"
"My dear Miss Genevieve, I hold
nothing against the miserable fellow.
At such times he is not —er —respon-
sible, you know. Let us give the fel
low full credit —that is why he himself
built your door."
"Oh, but I can't believe it! I can't
believe it!" cried the girl. "It's not
possible! He's so strong, so true and
manly, so kind, for all his gruffness!"
"Ah, my dear!" soothed Winthrope,
"that is the pity of it. But when a
man must needs be his worst enemy,
when he must needs lead a certain
kind of life, he must take the conse
quences. To put it as delicately as
possible, yet explain all, I need only
say one word —paranoia."
Miss Leslie gathered up her day's
outfit with trembling fingers and went
to mount the cliff.
After waiting a few minutes Win
thrope walked hurriedly through the
cleft and climbed the tree-ladder with
an agility that would have amazed his
companions. But he did not draw
himself up on the cliff. Having satis
fied himself that Miss Leslie was well
out toward the signal, he returned to
the baobab and proceeded to examine
Blake's door with minute scrutiny.
That evening, shortly before dark,
Blake came in almost exhausted by his
journey. Few men could have cov
ered the same ground in twice the
time. It had been one continuous
round of grass jungle, thorn scrub,
rocks and swamp. And for all his
pains he brought back with him noth
ing more than the discouraging Infor
mation that the back-country was
worse than the shore. Yet he betrayed
no trace of depression over the bad
news, and for all his fatigue main
tained a tone of hearty cheerfulness
until, having eaten his fill, he sudden
ly observed Miss Leslie's frigid po
liteness.
"What's up now?" he demanded.
"You're not mad 'cause I hiked off
this morning without notice?"
"No, of course, not, Mr. B'.ake. Noth
ing of the kind. But I —"
"Well, what?" he broke in, as she
hesitated. "1 can't, for the world, think
of anything else I've done —"
"You've done! Perhaps I migh'
suggest that it is a question of what
you haven't none." The girl was trem
bling on the verge of hysterics. "Ties,
what you've not done! All these
weeks, and not a single attempt to get
us away from here, except that miser
able signal; arid I as good as put that
up! You call yourself a man! But I
—l —" She stopped short, white with
a sudden overpowering fear.
Winthrope looked from her to Blakfl
with a sidelong glance, his lips drawn
up in an odd twist.
There followed several moments of
tense silence; then Blake mumbled
apologetically: "Well, 1 suppose I
might have done more. I was so dead
anxious to make sure o.f food and shel
ter. But this trip to-day—"
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
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comes from Macedonia; that the b«»t
tobacco (when it is tobacco at all) in
European cigaretts comes from Mac*
donia, and that when it does not com!
from Macedonia it in Mid W
from there."
) The Place U Bbj Cheap i
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