OCR Text |
Show SATURDAYjTORtUOT' 7;"l925 " '"h. . .AMERIOAK FORK OITIZEN '. ' BATURDAyfKBOTARY 7. irb mm: SINNER Synops'u PART I. Living: in ths small English Eng-lish villas of Darbury, old-fashtoned od scdat place, Barbara Stuckley, ... daughitir of a iduwd moiner, U aoun to celebrate her marriage to Hugh Rochdale, rich and well connected. Barbara is adventurous, and -hat planned, with an aunt, an airplane trip to Auatralla. Major Alan Croft, famous fa-mous as an aviator, It to be the pilot At her first mcetioi with Crofi Barbara Bar-bara la attracted by hie manner and conversation, different from te cut-nd-dri4 conventions of her small OWB. . . They set out, Barbara, her aunt. Croft, and a mechanician. Word In a sew days comes to Da r bury that the lane Is missing and Its occupants bo-ved bo-ved lust . xbara. , t wreck of the airplane in a furious tons, roach an apparently uninhabited island In the Pacific ocean. The other two members of the party had perished. The two eastaways build a shelter. . V V n ... l - tjr a blaek -man. evidently a savage. Croft rescues her. . Croft discovers a party of blacks, OTideatlr reconnolteiinf, but they leava without attemptlaa to harm the air. Croft reoovers his aerial from ihe wracked plana. With the aid of the wireless Croft works on the superstitious fears of the natives and an attacking; party la driven off, apparently in abject fear. Secure from Immediate danger. Croft "Ms' Barbara- settle- down to make the keel of things, Croft already has -reo-ognised the charm of the girl and tears the outcome of their situation. He gets a message to the natlvs obief, -ordering him to visit them. He comes. Croft, who has traveled in many savage sav-age "parts of the world, Is able to talk with him. - Barbara and Croft visit ths chief. Ha tells them of a raiding expedition from a warship, which had massacred two-thirds of the tribe. In eons--quence, the blacks had registered a -vow of hate against all whites. Croft ummHa In arrano-inir nACA batween the tribe and the castaways. Croft, with the object of assuring Barbara's safety, tells the blacks she Js his wife. Barbara deprecates the ue, out recognises us necessity. - Barbara begins to feel a warm sentiment senti-ment of admiration, if not love, for Croft, but remembering her duty to . Hugh, sternly aiscourages it. llie constant association of ths two ' And the fact that Croft has learned that practically no ships reaeh the Island, awaken him to love. He urges Barbara to become his wife. She demurs, de-murs, and he argues, but does not i press his lovemaklng. I The situation becomes acute, though Croft Is unable to convince Barbara that under the circumstances their union which he declares would be a real marriage is ngnt ana proper. One of the natives, Babooma. attempts at-tempts to kill Croft. Barbara shoots and wounds him with a revolver Croft has given her for her protection. Ill The flare of many torches Illuminated Illuminat-ed the midnight darkness In the south of the Island. Chlmabahol, the old chief, sat In the leafy council chamber Bear the entrance of the sacred palm grove, surrounded by his trusted warriors. war-riors. In the center of the large circle cir-cle of squatting figures stood Babooma Baboo-ma next In rank to the chief recounting. re-counting. In his muttering, sing-song dialect, the strange story which, arousing arous-ing tragic, memories, caused consternation consterna-tion and foreboding in every heart When he ceased, Chlmabahol sat silent, pulling his beard with wrinkled dark hands that trembled. An agitated agi-tated babel broke oat all around, fierce native oaths blending with walls of distress. and spoke. "Whence came they, Babooma? Was there no strange canoe floating, like a rast Island, upon the. lagoon?" "There was not, Q Chief. The white woman appeared in my path-as If sprung from the waving palm ! The white man" he looked furtively, round "did fall from the skies, sending his bolt before him!" He shivered, stroking strok-ing his sore shoulder. "The great white man Is a giant. O my Chief,! He will not easily be killed." How great Is the tribe? Didst thou not see others, Babooma?" "None other did I stay to see, O Chief I Perchance they are evil spirits ' come to haunt the huts where live the ghosts of our slain ones. Or perchance they slay with ball-devils like unto those other evil ones." The chief sat In deep thought for ome moments; then rose and waved bis spear. "The Tow r he cried. "Let preparations prepara-tions be made, my warriors. When next darkness hides the earth, we will fall upon this white tribe, true to the Towl" A confusion of voices resounded, ac-" ac-" companled by many furtive glances Into the darkness of -the forest; the savage Joy of revenge was yet tera-Tvrri tera-Tvrri with awe. Memories of the means of warfare adopted by white men caused them to follow their chief In still half-fearful excitement to the acred palm grove. gsiasii ii i wnam suuiau it. Jin i u c iuivt a rose once more, singing their Song of Hate. The man sitting outside the little but raised his tace, Inhaling the soft cents, grateful for the refreshing wind. All night he had sat motionless, bead hidden In his hands. There wan nobody to see, in his haggard futures, ti !!.. hi Mn thflf mornlnc. -Hhongh. hia- eyes. had. not. clnsd. DYCUVC ARDEM MviiMririwMiMiiu g w this sfinrrryTgll.wTthlts forced" inlet tion, had revived and Intensified the morning's sufferings. The sense of nowerlessness which hsd attacked Bar bant -with such -violence 1u the afternoon after-noon now attacked him. Again and again he strove to torn his- thoughts from the wrecked mats out there upon the reef; from the dark waters and the monsters which infested them, where those friends, strong and full of life not many hours ago, now' lay hidden. hid-den. What awful fate, worse than mere drowning, bad been theirs? . . . He. strove to restrain bis mental agony, dragging his mind away, for down that road madness lay. . . . There were natives, na-tives, possibly cannibals, upon this Island, Is-land, to be faced sooner or later. Therein, to his mind, lay hope. For surely they were In toacb with civilisation? civili-sation? During his travels be bad picked up a good number of dialects employed among Polynesian and Mela-neslan Mela-neslan natives. With luck he might And means of rescue through their enterprise. en-terprise. If they had any. But this was doubtful. He knew well the characteristics character-istics of the Pacific: knew the trade routes, the ports of call, the feature of islands In touch with civilisation, the features of many practically unknown. un-known. . . . Intercourse with strange natives, too, meant considerable risk, with a woman in his care. . . . At that thought, the same strange thrill shot through his frame which be had experienced ex-perienced In the morning; the awful loneliness of spllrt semed to fall from him. Scattering his reflections, a strangled, stran-gled, terrified cry came from the hut. He sat up, alert in a moment. All had been quiet hitherto. The draught dropped Into the milk had done Its work. He had been fortunate In rescuing res-cuing the case of medicines and first-aid first-aid necessities from ' the machine. Again, louder, another cry smote upon bis ears. He sprang to bis feet . Reaction had come upon Barbara, awakening from the heavy effects of the drug, so Vividly thst she was almost al-most delirious. The little hut seemed to swing round and round, now darting suddenly up toward the sky, now dropping, as a stone, Into limitless space. And ever, from the four quarters quar-ters of the globe, roared' what seemed like ten thousand trains. ... To escape was Impossible, for somebody had barricaded the door ... the hut rushed down now toward the dark fathomless waters . . . they closed above her head, and everywhere black hands surrounded her black leering faces came close. . . . With a shriek of terror she cowered agalnat the wall, when the door opened; then perceiving freedom, she ran blindly toward the starlight without A pair of arms caught her upon the threshold. Half-demented, she struggled strug-gled In their bold, gasping bard sobs. But they closed more tightly; and their protective warmth shut out the lurking dangers. Gradually she grew calmer; the nightmare sensations of returning consciousness abated. Ceasing to struggle, strug-gle, she leaned exhausted against him, her arms clinging to one of his, the waves of her long hair failing across his breast So for several minutes they remained two derelict beings hurled, helpless pawns, over the boundary line of civilized civil-ized life into a world yet In Its Infancy In-fancy each conscious of a sense of comfort In each other's nearness. Presently he straightened himself. With two fingers he felt her brow and cheek; they were of little more than normal - heat - He stroked back the hair clustering over her forehead; and she stirred, raising her head. "Ton must lie down again and sleep," be said, drawing her toward the bed of coat . Put her grasp tightened upon his arm. i "You are not golng-Hfar away? It-It's It-It's like a , vault In here full of death" Her voice rose, unnaturally. "I won't leave you at all," he said hurledly, but with a decision which obviously relieved her. "It's not safe for either of us alone tonight." Her eyes wandered over his fact, in the dim starlight. In a dazed manner, man-ner, while she. sank back upon the coats with a long sighing breath. One hand still clasped in hers, the other arm passed under her head for a pillow, he remained upon the ground by her side. The turmoil of bis own spirit seemed unaccountably soothed. Though never sleeping, a comforting drowsy numbness replaced the sharp suffering of his mind. . . . pierced ''ttMotpertrr;-ir brought with it the remembrance of a man's band-clasp, the trust la one honest brown eye, the shade in place of the other. . . . The wonderful peace which seemed to have descended upon the little hut, lulling his mind, filling It during those hours of close protection -and companionship, with .nipatfriftg egfistaHaU bgiutlful. albeit IncoiLpreLensIine, wal shattered at one blow.,.5 ' - l..",: :-. ' He half-withdrew his arm; then, 1 pausing, bent over the sleeping girl and looked long upon the delicate fea-turea, fea-turea, , the sensitive lips and dark lashes. As he looked, an unbidden thought flitted across bis mind, bringing bring-ing a slow flush Into his face. Had another taken Indisputable possession? Hsd be reached to the very depths of her soul; fired all the deepest fibers of. her womsnhood? . . iv He drew, himself up, gently freeing his band and arm. The question opened vistas down which be refused to look. A part of his nature that night had been illuminated as If by many-hued candles; and he felt das-zled. das-zled. strangs to himself, almost for once," afraid. :-, '' '. ' -v He. rose with difficulty, his limbs cramped after long "sitting; stretched his arms ; looked down once more upon the sleeping form confident of his protection. pro-tection. . . Croft was a lover of cleanliness, fair play, victory always but victory with honor. Throwing back his head In a characteristic way, his eyes still resting upon the sleeping face, he smiled. It waa the little smile which many men knew . well, which enemies feared, but which those he led had ever loved to see: that , smile With him meant a challenge, and a challenge chal-lenge presaging achievement Noiselesslybe opened the door and went out Seising two old basins discovered dis-covered among the rubbish In the hut be strode toward the river. Save for the distant surf, no sound waa audible. From the palm grove he keenly surveyed the .bay: It was deserted; de-serted; the world might have been dead. Plunging through the tall bamboo bam-boo be came out upon the deepened stretch of water glimmering faintly, like moving darkness, below bltn. Then, throwing off his garments, he dived into the shadowy ripples, feeling feel-ing a primitive delight In the cold sting to his tired limbs.' Afterward, slipping Into his shirt and breeches, he filled bis basins and returned to the grove. . . ,Wben he emerged from ,tte bamboo, bam-boo, the sound of voices fell upon hia ears. Hastily stepping back, he waited, wait-ed, listening Intently. The voices came nearer, then receded toward the seaward sea-ward outskirts . of the palm grove. Croft took a few noiseless strides In their direction, soon discovering the dark forms of three natives among the trees. - Soundlessly creeping In their wake, he hid again, close enough to hear their speech, while they paused at the top of the slope. He could see now. In' the stronger light that all were armed with long spears, two also carrying bows and arrows. The third, an old man, wore round bis neck a large clam-shell disk emblem of the rank of chief and through his nose-cartilages a dark stone. Rings, probably of tortoise-shell, tortoise-shell, hung from his ears. . Croft wondered if this were a visit of negotiation, with a view to a compact com-pact of friendship with visitors to their Island. He recognised them for members of the huge scattered family of Melaneslans, or Papuans, which have some undoubted connection with the African blacks, and are to be found In numberless South Sea Islands ss well as In Melanesia proper. ' Although Al-though their dialect Is more or less local, there Is sufficient similarity to make It fairly Intelligible to any one accustomed to the variations. A few minutes, and Croft's Illusion of a friendly compact was destroyed. Hostility was evident He soon res-Used res-Used that an attack was being organised organ-ised for the following night, though bt could not distinguish the plans being be-ing laid. "' Emboldened by the absence of any stgn of their enemy, the men remained standing for several minutes, facing . . . Discovering the Dark Forms of Three Natives. down the slope st the solitary hut wherein Barbara lay unprotected. At last, after an Indistinct colloquy, they moved slowly forward In Its direction. For a moment Croft's lieart seemed unarmed: would "inean certain -death and the consequent abandonment of the girl, whose life now rested upon his, to a fate probably far worse. In side the hut. If he could but reach It, lay the suitcase containing bis revolver. re-volver. Should he risk all and dash from his hiding place or? A sigh of relief escaped' his llpa when the men snddenlyKsted. For what teemed an 3&V eternity be watched them" cohfef HP gether, evidently divided In opinion on the wisdom of their venture. When at last they turned and made off toward the south of the Island, he found bis clenched hands were shaking shak-ing and bis brow waa wet He hurried hur-ried down to the hut where he found a white-faced girl Ineffectually barricading bar-ricading the door with suitcases. Bb uttered a welcoming cry on his appearance at the window. , ; How did yon escape? Where were you? What can we dor To his own amazement perhaps as much as hers, - be laughed almost happily. . ' "They hve gone away," he replied. We can't do anything at present" She gazed at him In some bewilder ment, knowing nothing of the reaction reac-tion which had caused that strange light In his fsce; and be laughed again, boyishly ; then leaned farther In for a closer Inspection of the blue-clad blue-clad figure with Its cloud of hair.. "You are better?" he asked. The paleness of her cheeks cbsnged suddenly to red under his scrutiny. "I I'm all -right," she muttered. turning .away.. , . ... "I will go back for the water," he remarked; and his face disappeared from the aperture. . Barbara's mind was uncomfortably confused. Safe In some refuge, she had seemed to be sleeping for hours. When she awoke she Instinctively sought for a band which proved not to be there. Throughout the terrified moments that ensued, vague Impressions Impres-sions of some midnight event chased eluslvely through her brain. . They were Intensified by Croft's appear ance. Vainly she tried to capture the threads; to separate the real from the chaos of delirium. All was confusion, con-fusion, Jumbled repetitions of accumulated accum-ulated horrors. She caught first at one thread ; then lost It and caught at another. But ever at one point her cheeks burned. Hew much was true? Surely not The more she thought,, the more convinced did she become of its Incredible reality. . ; How could she face her companion? He threads In her hands. But how to make him do so? How So engrossed were her thoughts that she started violently at the sound of bis voice again at the window. "Your nerves are awfully weak," be remarked. (To be Continued.) Boys and Girls Be sure to get in on the free watches, pearls, pens. pencils, etc., we sre giving away. Sec ad In this paper. Everyone can get these prizes. J (The great economizer of time, money, effort, linen is yours during this talc on . terms that make it pay its own way right from the start 1ME0NE The In one-fifth the time it takes to iron by hand, it irons children's child-ren's dresses, men's shirts table linen, towels, sheets, aprons, lingerieyour daintiest dainti-est and laciest pieces. Linens ironed by the Simplex but many timea longer than when irooed the old-fashioned waj. You simply ait comfortably before the machine and watch the pieces (lide through without tiresome effort. You cannot afford not to own and use a "Simplex for economy's aaka and for your health's sake. Why deprive yourself when you can so easily place a "Simplex' in your - hjmet UtM.thmyouo It works and .tell ypu. tpt pttt maji,Z, !) .THESE ffih 4 nnn'r. Girl Wants, employment, Call at this office. 1.7-lp. BUYTIIB BEST T PAYS to buy your baby cbtx . from a recognised S. aw. Leghorn breeder. Accredited Accredi-ted Hatchery AAA glide. 250-285 on sire's side, 'April $12.00, May $11.00 Prices on breeding stock on request James Qage. Breeding Farm, NOVA. TO, CALIFORNIA. Jan.10- Apr. 4. BABY CHICKS every week. White Leg., R. I. Reds, Barred Rocks. All W. L. roosters from stock with records re-cords 225 to 300 eggs yearly. Strong, sturdy chicks from good layers. Sate arrival guaranteed. Hatching eggs, any quantity. Send for circular. Ravemrwood- Poultry Ranch Box C7X, Palo Alto. Calif. 14-tt Guaranteed hosiery, . samples your size free to agents. Wrtte for proposition prop-osition paying $75.00 weekly full time, $1.60 an hour spare time, telling garanteed hosiery to wearer; mutt wear or replace free. Quick salsa repeat orders. INTERNATIONAL STOCKING MILLS 6998, Norrlstovn, Pa. lM-lOt. FOR SALE A modern brick house, close in, with 4 acres of ground, facing fac-ing on three city streets, city water and full irrigation water. Ideal for truck gardening or chickens, - AH tor $4,000.00,. good terms. Inquire at once of James H. Clarke, American Fork, Utah. l-ll-2t QUALITY ClGCKfi Nephl Community Com-munity Hatchery, Nephl, Utah. Most modern and . up-to-date hatchery In the state. All .flocks furnishing eggs for hatchery have been culled by an expert poultry man, and mating! made" with accredited cockerels, whose dams have records of produc. tion of 200 eggs and over per year. Vitality, quality and 100 percent delivery guaranteed. Write hatchery of see E. W. Pax man for prices. 1-17- . "Ei(Gl v-i WONOcet 'JUNIOR Beat Ironer $2 Down BABY CH3CKS-ave you $10 per thousand. R. L. Ashby. t-ut Accredited White Leghorn Quality Chicks tor Spring, 1925 delivery from CERTIFIED FLOCK . of selected. heavy-laying, free range hens mated to double pedigree oockerels from famous specialists. ' No lights or forcing methods-no Inbreeding'. 104 per coat live delivery guaranteed. Illustrated Chick Book, attractive prices and otbor Information gladly sent on request Established 1858. MUST HATCH INCUBATOR COlNC 501 Seventh St Fetaluma. Calif. Accredited Chicks Fcr Sab Write for our prices first Now is Us time to get your order la for future delivery. White Hatchery tells only S. C. White Leghorn AA accredited chicks at single A prices. Full count and safe delivery guaranteed. - Write for Price List No. '44. White Hatchery ?etaliima California Don't Gel Togtt htr Jud Tunklns snys s man who thinks of nobody but himself Is sure to get lonesome, owing to the fact tbtt he and most other people are net Inter estsd nN,the same subject. How Unfortunmt , Legal language needs working om yet Some laymen can understand IC Duluth Herald. '" p " Not All Our Own Tnsnirntiona that we deem our own are our divine foreshadowing and foreseeing fore-seeing of things beyond our reason tad control. Longfellow. ,r '" Eaty to Captor In Afghanistan," all a man bat to do to take t girl ts his wife la to cut off a lock of her hah or throw a sheet over her. $2 a Week XL teoruary i ss - r-a i : m "v - C - A V"' - - . V |