Show Pi P i Of Three I LI 1 t r r f x I By J Jack jac ck London Londo on on Anthor Author of The liThe Call of the Wild The leThe Valley of the Moon Y r Tho Sea wolf The Tho The Iron Heel White Fang Pang and other fa famous ous novels It Is s t the tho first time timo I ha have e been inthe In Inthe the heart of ot a mountain with my husband husti hus hus- ti band nd the thc queen laughed hed back and the barb of ot her dart sank sanle deep into LeoncIa Leon- Leon cIa Seems as though hough your our wife Francis and ind m my to be arent aren't going to hit Il off oft too well together Henry said with the tho sharpness of censure that man manIs manU manIs Is U wont employ to conceal the thc embarrassment cm- cm Caused by br his hrs womankind R Recriminations 1 And as inevitable result of oC such uch mans man's ways all nIl that Henry saliva Bair d was vas a a. silence more awkward an and more moro embarrass In E The two women almost enjoyed tho situation Francis cud cud- cu cud cudgeled I clell his brain vainly for tor some somo re remark ro ro- romark mark that would ameliorate matters while t Henry In desperation d arose suddenly suddenly sud sud- denly with the observation that ho was going to explore pore a n. bit and invited In b by his hand out to help her to tier her feet teet the hc queen to company him hm Francis and I Leoncia sat on for tor a D. moment in stubborn silence Ho Ha was tho first to break brcak It H. t v. v L U I I U bl O U. U ouch ough shaking sImkinS' Leoncia t And hAnd what have havo I done now she countered n 5 As if It you didn't know Youve You've been behaving abominably It is you rou who have o behaved ed abominably abominably abom- abom sho half sobbed in spite of ot her to betray no such Mich feminine feminine feminine fem fem- weakness Who ho asked you to marry marr- her You did dl not draw drat a n short straw Yet you ou must volunteer must rush in where here oven o angels would fear to tread Did I ask you jou ou to to Almost Almost Al Al- most did my heart stop beating when J. J r. r heard you yU tell Henry you ou would marry marry mar- mar ry rv her 1 I thought I was going goin to faint You had ha not oven consulted mo me yet et it was on my suggestion In order to save you OU from her that the straws were drawn yes drawn yes an and I am not too little lit lit- little tle tIe shameless to admit that it was be because because be- be cause bause I wanted to save for tor you OU my nn self Henr Henry does not love lovo mo me as ns you OU led me mo to believe you ou loved me I never never nev no er loved Henr Henry as I lowed loved you and I IJo Ido Jo do love e you OU oven now God forgive me Francis was swept beyond himself He caught her and pressed her hor to himin him in a crushing crushing- embrace And on your wedding day ny she gasped reproach reproachfully tully in the tho midmost of ot his embrace Your Tour are arc Jealous ho he char charged cd and md knew mcw a a. throb heart-throb of ot Joy as she nodded nod nod- ded I I Ir I r lam am only a l woman who loves cs s h o I pleaded A Monstrous l Web Calls from Crom Henry and the tho qu queen cn en put in inan an end to the t conversation for I J Leo cin and Francis quickly joined the others In gazing at tho the great web Did Dill you OU over cr see so monstrous a aI I web L exclaimed hId Id like to t lOO oo tho monster that mado maJo It It said Henry Not like 1110 Torres the lie rest of ot them re recoiled recoiled recoiled re- re coiled from thought of or the dark plunge through h tho lYing living rock These arc are the bones of ot animals an and l lof of men t the e warned who were d daunted by the Ule wa way of oC the water and who strove O to gain tho sun Men lien Ien there are arc behold there there behold Or at lot least what remains re remains re- re mains of ot them for Cor a a. space the thc bones ere cre In time the bones too pass into nothingness Even Eyen so said RaM Francis I r suddenly sudden sudden- ly discover a pressing pressing- need t to look into the o oyes cs of tho the sun AUn Do tho the rest rost of ot you ou remain here while I r Investigate Drawing his automatic tho the water water- p tightness e of ot the hc car cartridges a guarantee no lIO CraWled niu uw wee AVOW Tho moment mo- mo n I ment he had disappeared from view beyond the web the they heard him b begin ln to shoot Next t the they saw him retreating retreatIng retreating retreat retreat- ing Ing- backward still sUll shooting And next falling upon him two yards ards yards across from haired black tip leg to black haired tip leg tho of the tho web a 1 monstrous spider still wriggling wriggling wrig wrig- gling w with voth th departing life shot through ug-h ug and again Tho solid center of ot its bod body from which the thc legs leRs radiated was the size of a a. normal waste-basket waste and the substantial substantial sub sub- density of ot it crunched audibly as It struck in Francis Francis' shoulders an and back I rebounded tho hairy legs s still helplessly quivering and ana pitched down into a wave crisping water All four Cour pair of ot eyes cres watched the tte corpse plunge o against tho wall of or rock suck down and disappear Where here theres there's one there arc are two t said Henry looking looking- dubiously up toward toward to toward to- to ward the da daylight Francis Cannot Camlot Decline It is tho only I way said tho queen Come my husband each in the thc others other's others other's others other's oth oth- ers er's arms lot let us win through the darkness darkness dark darl ness to the tho sun bright world Remember Remember ber I never seen it it and soon with you ou shall I for tor the first time see Bee It Her lIer arms open in invitation In Francis could not decline It H Is a n. hole in tho the sheer r wall wll of or a J precipice a thousand feet deep he ho explained ex ex- to tho the s othel-s s tho the g glimpse ho hail had cau caught ht from beyond the spiderweb spider spiderweb web as ho clasped tho the queen in ma iris arms And leaped off oce Henry had gathered s Is to him and was about to leap when sho she stopped him Yh Wh Why did you rou accept Francis Fn sacrifice rico fice sho she demanded 1 looked golfed nt at Because Ho Ito paused and her h. h j Because cauBO I 1 wanted you ou he let let- ed cd Because I vas wan engaged eng to you OU while Francis wn was unattached If Im I'm not greatly mistaken Francis rands appears to be he a a. yell well satisfied bridegroom Xo No sho she shook her hm head ly Ho lie ha has a chivalrous spirit an and heI ho lie hoIs lieis I Is acting T Ms part parl in order not to hurther hurt hurl hurther her hel feelings I Oh Ohl I dont don't know Remember before be- be toro fore the altar at the tho long house when I sail said I 1 Ivas was going to lo ask asic tho the queen to marr marry me JUr that he bra bragged Soli she sho wouldn't marry marn marry mc me if it I did ask T Yell Well oil the conclusions pretty prett obvious ious An Ana d why shouldn't he Hes He's a bachelor And she's some nice woman roman herself Rut tut Leoncia R arcel heard With u a quick movement leaning back in hi his I arms arm awa away avay from him so o that Rh she could look 1001 him squarely In the eyes sho demanded de tle- l How do 10 you OU love mo tae Do you ou love lovo me madly maJI- Do you ou love me badly madly So I moan menn that to you OU and n ul l 1 nr I Ho could 1 only lo look i h hl his hb i b bewilderment nt I Do you you-do you OU do do you rou sho she urged urs-cJ pas pas- 5 Of Oi course I do he made slow answer anI an answer an- an but It would never ne have tl entered I my head to describe It that way ay Why h youre you're tho the one woman for tor me mc Rather would I describe it as loving loving- you ou deeply deep deep- I ly lr and greatly anti and enduringly Winy h I you OU seem so much a part of or mo me that I feel almost as If It I 1 had always known you It was teas that thal way from tho the first Site She is an abominable woman I Leoncia brol broke c forth I hated her from flom the tho first My I What hat a spitfire I I hate to think how much you would have hlo hated her had I married her instead of ot J. J Fran cis els Wed better follow tono them She Sho put an end to the tho discussion An And Ana hear Henry very much I clasped her tightly hUy and leaped of off into tho the white turmoil of or water I On the tho banks of the river sat two In Indian lan girls fishing Just upstream upI up up- stream from them arose the precipitous precipitous tous cliff of oC one of ot tho ho buttresses of or tho lofty mountains The Tho main stream flowed lowed past in chocolate colored spa spate to I but directly them whore hore the they fished was a quiet eddy No o lea less Quiet was tho the fishing No Xo bites jerked their rods in token that the bait was en en- en Ono One of or them Nicoya yawned atc le a l tho clan banana sho a yawned ned at again and het hold held o For Fora a long lo on t to throw aside Conc due we have been beun yr yer companion a she sho observed to hOE ho r ri Now ow shall 1 a chef It ha won us no fish S Sipco inco rn make ea a noise and n a spinal i say sa what up mus come down goes gOCS como come 1 not up after r has gon on Sho throw I ant 10 going n- n nto to try There water and sho 1110 banana peel into th the where It Ja watched the poly tt ruck C J c ii Ic he It If big anything CI com Oln s i up I it t will wll 1 1 Conco r l murmured with c ual nl And upon tu their 1 lr astonished gaze azo oven eve n as i tho 5 they oy C out of tit the d i arose up lip Jer Jerked o Cf the n their t a a. ere t whito white hound bound The Thc They poles up and behind then them themo o each on the 1 bank t threw their arms about abow tt other and nett nd watched th the hound eddy gain Ii the climb mb sl shore Ot e at t the lower end of oC tl the t shako the thc sloping bank banic to t himself anti then thon ar among among- the ir trees EJ Nicoya l lr Ila and Concordia giggled gigged iry it y again again- Concordia urged oy 0 t o you OU you t this Ula 1 s time And see at you jou can bring up p lu iu Quito unbelieving h ing Concordia toss tossed ed a n clod of earth And almost Immo- Immo din flood riY tel y a helmeted head arose Ion on t the h u Clutching II l lC each tightly tight tight- t ly tire they w watched C IO the man under tinder th the o helmet helmel gal gain the shore where there here the Noun had 1111 landed onn into inlo the UtI to I u n u u wrest lorest but hut Again the two Indian girls Irl S-I S giggled giggle lo l this tills neither time lime Ur urge ergo o a as they would wool d could raise tote t bo courage o t to l throw The Tho anything into the water afternoon sun fun was vas getting to ow in tho ho tik ero 10 the girls summoned courage C again to fo ol e evoke o the magic w wi wa ter On Only after much discussion lon di diet did the they agree asree both to fling In clods o of oC f earth at the same limo timo And nd u up UJ aro arose aros e c a man and anti a woman FrancIs woman Francis and tl the ed Queen The girls foil over oer o er backward hackward d In the bushes and mJ were themselves es ur un un- un t- t observed ns as thc they watched Francis swim with the tho Queen to lie tho shore CHAPTER XII Not until the day a following his e es escape es- es cape from Crom the tho subterranean rl elver ill did Torres reach rench San Antonio Ho Ito arrived arrive d on foot toot ja Jaded ed RII and dirty a n small Indian India n boy hoy at his heels carrying the helmet o of I f fO Da Vasco For Torres wanted to show sho fn tho the helmet to the Jefe and the Judge i In n evidence of the narrative of ot strange stran O e en t I adventure ad he chuckled to tell teU them First on the main street treet he lie encountered n the lie Jete who cried out loud loudl loudly at his appearance ls Is Is it truly you ou Senor Torres Th The Tho crossed himself nl oro ore h ho o shook hands I The Tho solid flesh llesh and even en more so t tho dirt and grit of the others other's hand co con con- winced vinced tho Jefe of reality and su substance sub sub- stance Whereupon tUio he J c o became m o wrathful And here Ive I've been looking upon you OU as dead ho exclaimed That Thai t Caroo do dog doe of or a Jose Mancheno Ho IIo I I came b back k and aud reported you dead dead den dead xi Ido do and buried burled until the day of jud Judgment ment In the heart hoart of or the Maya Inu mountain |