Show F tb ISLAN CHAPTER XIV continued 21 they were under way in three hours of erics five mates all but two had deserted but it was a good riddance big smith returned to join his brother guiltless of any crime of 0 blood petroff with nelson for passage to the auril islands the ine chelsea cruised round the shoal and at noon of the next day eric was on her bridge spying for the pass the search w was long and nerve wracking but lie be remembered the approximate pr latitude of the mile wide gap in the reefs and another twenty four hours found the trader safely through into deep water heading tor for forlorn island xan nan looked often to the deep in the three days of erics absence and was first to see the cheliras Chels Chel ras seas masts prick the sky line the sight seemed to break the last thread of her self con arol sobbing she ran to hortons holtons Hor tons hut but but she could not speak and could only beckon her friends to the beach it wn wa the ship was coming in deliverance fulfillment fill ment home while the aleuts aleuns gazed darkly the castaways casta ways leaped into the nearest boats and sped to met the ship cheering laughing with streaming eyes weeping with smiling lips the they y paddled alongside until the anchor dropped then boarded and held revelry on the dock deck even petroff and nig big smith shared in the reunion it was a sight new to captain lenons nelsons Nel sons eyes it a millionaire and his family out of their minds with rapture embracing him and bis big grinning sailors and dancing hand in hand with cut throats it was a complete breakdown of civilized reserve even roy hoy caught the general contagion and danced a wild hornpipe on the deck horton wanted to leave at once but nan remembered her humble friends forsaken on the bleak shore of course we must tell them goodby horton said contritely oh it we only had some presents to give them de hold field of dig ship Is clean full of presents nelson told him would would you let us have some gome of kemt cm horton spoke in falter ing tones sure all you want the flush flub of excitement on Hor holtons hortons tons face swiftly died away he seemed to to remember something ills his trembling hand dove into his pocket felt his talisman and came out steady and strong of course this is a trading ship there was a clang clan in his voice that silenced nan and made erie eric whirl captain nelson I 1 want to buy a thousand dollars worth of your goods to give the natives eric here will know what they want worst hes been looking after them steel knives axes rifles sweets and the like everything that will make them happy the boats wore were loaded to the gun wales such a treasure as the tribe mid had never dreamed and the gifts taken to the beach and distributed amid an awed silence from now on life would riot not be so hard behind the he shoals every squaw would wax fat from the great killings made with steel pointed spears aud and firearms now that the pass was known perhaps a little schooner would steal in once a year to trade the white mans luxuries for pelts eiderdown eider down and fossil ivory yet by the same tokens the doom of the lost people was sealed in the end they must either migrate to the larger aleutian aslan islands ig surrender tur render their tribal identity and become cannery workers under the white mans law or perish victims of his civilization the latter was wag more likely it would be hard for them to leave the crags and windy beaches of forlorn island they only grunted when the palefaces bade them goodby eyes unlit and brown faces impassive as their own sand dunes but when in a dreamy silence the ships bonts glided away into the harbor their strange lonely souls gave voice on the beach an old crone struck up a n wavering chant all her people joined in a weird song of farewell in the minor key that might have been brought from the lost asiatic birthplace beyond the setting sun possibly a clr dirge e springing extempore from their savage hearts their arms swung in rhythm finally they dropped on their knees and with imploring hands lifted to the skies called on their tribal gods to give safe passage to their departing friends kou audam I 1 this was repeated again and again Sit koug kouyou dah dab kouyou dah the song gong died away awe struck the tailors sailors rested on their oars oara eric looked into sans nans eyes to find them brimming with tears why must we leave them herer here the whispered where could we take them that be better off tills this Is their home nut but its ita so BO lonely so dreary I 1 cant bear to think of it lets go BO quickly but now mother horton had struck up the heart beart song of the palefaces pale faces and even the chelsea sailors joined in across the water the old strains swelled should auld acquaintance be forgot and ana never brought to mind well fill a cup of kindness yet for days day of auld lanor syne the oars oara lashed flashed the crowd on the beach daan aled to black dots in the shadow of the crags 0 0 0 a 0 0 0 it was bin rough fare for the cast by edison 31 marshall copyright by edison marshall service the three women omen would occupy the ene captains cabin the others wore were given bunks below decks rut but great changes impended Im eric gazed southward with troubled eyes only two hundred miles through the aleutian chain lay jay the well charted sea lanes of the north pacific and beyond the port lights were shining the dream was passing just as nan had foretold horton was among the first to waken with nervous hands he removed his parka and donned the clothes of civilization saved from the wreck a rumpled blue suit and a yachts mans cap still IN trig and smart nut but presently his leaping heart beat steady and cool after a reassuring touch of the little leathern book in his pocket he made for the pilot house eric and nelson W were ere looking at charts but he pu pushed sh ed boldly between them eric glanced glance up lip with narrowed eyes not only Ilor tons clothes but his face was changed ills sagging jaw was wag set his e expression confident and resolute nelson were not very tar far north dort it from the great circle route to the orient are we he began nelson came to attention lon lust about a days run it if we lift hit straight trough do de aleut chain 1 I want you to intercept one of the big liners and put us aboard how soon do you think you could do it de empress ot of castile iss eastbound right now only about eight hundred miles away we heard her talking last night do you think you could catch b her er T alf wit fair luck yes but but de empress site she do not stop at sea to take passengers from a packet like dig shell stop tor for me horton spoke calmly get in touch with her right 1 14 1 1 1 I 1 19 1 1 I am not dead she spoke in solemn exultation 1 I 1 am not asleep I 1 am alive away tell her Us felix horton II orton and his party arrange to meet her in the shortest possible time without a word to eric he wheeled and went out of the room 0 e 0 4 the radio crackled changes came thick and fast fasl the empress sped east a clear WO miles in 21 04 hours and the little chelsea dipped south nearly dearly halt half that distance in the same time they met in a sheet ot of sunlit water between curtains 0 of mist the liners huge funnels looming against the sky grandly she hove to her many storied castle a boat was lowered manned by trig lookin looking sailors for the passengers that lined her rail this was higher romance than any they had found in the cherry orchards of 0 japan they saw the oars flash and seven survivors of the intrepid given up for dead clamber down the traders ladder the middle aged man in the yachting cap was horton himself they could see him plain through their shiny new binoculars many of them had met him before the old woman was his mother a very eccentric old lady so they whispered and one of the girls his daughter the younger yachtsman was roy stuart believed to be nan Hor holtons hortons tons nance flance but no one knew the blond headed man in the blue coat probably he was just one of the officers of the ill starred intrepid the last two were no doubt the secretary and the maid spoken of in the wireless bulletins further survivors of the wreck remained aboard the chelsea cameras clicked rind and purred the young people began to cheer the captain himself waited at the head bead of the stairs to greet horton orton II presently the stewards were taking the party in charge horton and his fits friends went to the queens suite the blond mate to the officers quarters this was mid afternoon by eight in the evening holtons hortons Hor tons party were ready to take their place in the carefree luxury of shipboard life friendly passengers and the ship shops had supplied them with every want bathed val eted manicured only their wind burned faces and red hands betrayed their long banishment lights were shining uniformed servants plied piled back and forth orchestras played in stately rooms forlorn island was no more than a gray dream in the faery seas of weats keats when the they y vent nent to dinner the three holtons hortons and roy were given seats at the capt captains alres table fric eric seated with the arat officer saw them come in but although nans eyes raced around the crowded room they did not meet his own she was never so lovely so alluring her form fitting red dinner gown revealed her girlish contours and en chanced the dull glow of her cheeks her dusky hair cut again in it a long bob was lustrous ns as sea otter fur in the mellow light norton horton and roy were gay over their champagne glasses nan seemed quite grave often her gaze gae swept the hall but still no glance passed between her and her lover not one smile made his cold heart leap had he won the island war only to lose the prize was the great adventure all in vain he 11 e would soon know lie ile would take his answer tonight win or lose when nan rose from the table he strode forward and touched her ban hand she whirled with a low cry but before she could speak horton pushed net between veen them what is it eric Hor holtons hortons tons tone was grave but not unfriendly 1 I want to talk to nan you may in a moment id like to talk to you first come to my iny stateroom nan you walt wait on the deck presently they were seated in hor tons luxurious suite the cool confident millionaire and the grim stead steady Y eyed ships officer horton offered him a cigar but eric declined it ile he had not come here to make truce 1 I want to tell you first of all how indebted we all feel toward you horton began quietly you yon saved our if lives 0 on the island and ill riot not forget it and I 1 mean to stand behind you now I 1 propose for you to captain your own ship moreover ill always want you for my friend lu in the long pause erics straight kae did not waver but Hor holtons hortons tons cherk cheek hones bones flushed now about nan horton went on ive ine reserved a stateroom for her adjoining mine it Is true that you and she nent through a certain ceremony under tinder duress but I 1 cant regard it as a legal marriage and I 1 feel sure that she either it was only an aleut rite and she has never I 1 feel sure of this really become your wife did she ask you to say this to me no not in words I 1 think however I 1 am carrying out her wishes eric I 1 want you to be rea reasonable anable about this forget that empty form in the mud church as quickly as possible it will be better for her and for you too for nan to say not you eric rose to his full height 1 im I m going to talk to her horton rose too 1 I advise against it it her answer will be the same and it will be keenly embarrassing lor for both of nou ou later when we are arc all homo home again you may rome come to see her and try to win her although I 1 think it better for a girl to marry in her own immediate sphere I 1 would have hare no objection to you as a son in law but it must be brought about in the conventional vent ional lonal way s pm im going to know right now I 1 can stand the embarrassment and so can slie she unless she herself says otherwise she abe Is my wife lie ile strode out to find nan waiting by the rail on the boat deck under the waning moon they found a secluded corner but at first his tense throat could not shape his question the long dra draw n seconds fell and wasted one by one at last she touched his hand what did you want to say to me eric 1 I want to know whether we are going on together or part there cant be any halfway half way you must make up your mind now did father speak about the ceremony on the island yes ile ho hinted that you jou consider it binding true I 1 cant feel that im your wife it was only a savage rite and I 1 think we may as well consider it annulled the moonlight died in erics eyes all I 1 need to know ile he turned as though to go but her hand fell lightly un on his arm but urle you might like to know that im going to be really tonight by the captain of 0 the ship provided the man I 1 want will take me and I 1 think lie he will hell take you but hell acier love you as I 1 lovo lovd you eric spoke in the grave slow blow way she knew of 0 old in sorrow not in bitterness 1 I dont blame you nan you warned me all the time I 1 suppose it was ane inevitable bitable that decide on roy as soon as you got back to your own world the girl smiled dimly and a starry shine was in her eyes this Is 18 not my world something in her tone shot an electric current through every fiber of his body and soul it paralyzed bis big heart and rustled up his hair 1 I 1 I dont understand 1 I am not dead she spoke in sol dmn exultation 1 I am not asleep I 1 am alive ue lie stared in dazed wonder don i make me hope and then let me fall he be begged you you mean roy dont you 1 I 1 mean au ou you no one in this world but you hungrily her warm arms crept about him and her eager lips pressed his dont you under stand now hold me eric anil and dont ever let me go ills old mother the sea would dle die in her bed and his father ather the great north would wear chains on his strong free limbs before he would let her go here or in valhalla young love romance rapture victory krnc END |