Show ni J la aa TI 1Tco itrthr rpJmTI n f v JJJ u JlOBtnr Of DIE nlNNlSF ILLUJTIATlcf ACIrrClUlfC JY RAY WALTfJ co 11 SYNOPSIS with the shipwreck of tory opens The story which Miss Genevieve thc steamer American on heiress Lord Win 1811e an an KnKllshrnan and Tom Blake ihrnne American were passengers R brusque tossed upon an unlnhab The three were not and were tho only ones UPI Island Blake recovered from a drunk drowned lllake shunned on the boat hero n stupor of his roughness cbecamel hero because of the helpless pair The as preserver was sulnB for the hand ot Englishman Leslie Blako started to swim back 11188 to recover what was left ship to the returned safely AVlnthropo wasted Blake which match on a cigarette for his last scored by Blake Their first meal he was dead fish The trio started a ten was n a hike for higher land Thirst attacked mile Xcked them Blake was compelled to I tacked Miss Lcallo on account of wean carry He taunted Wlnthrope I They entered ered ness the Jungle That night was passed hlRh In a tree The next morn roosting the again InS descended to open apiln they tnt constructed hats to shield them All AIIlhree from the sun They then feasted Mlves the only procurable food cocoanuts on Leslie showed a lIUItiB for Blake but Miss detested his loushness Led by Blake they established a homo In some clllTs CHAPTER VI Continued Along the south side of tho cliff the sea extended In twice as far as on the north From the end of the talus the coast trended off four or five miles to the southsouthwest In a shallow bight whose southern extremity was bounded by a second limestone headland head-land This ridge ran Inland parallel to the first and from a point some little lit-tle distance back from the shore was covered with a growth of leafless trees Between the two ridges lay a plain open along the shore but a short distance dis-tance Inland covered with a Jungle of tall yellow grass above which here and there rose the tops of scrubby scrub-by leafless trees and the graceful crests of slendershafted palms Blakes attention was drawn to the latter by that feeling of artificiality which their exotic appearance so often wakens In the mind of the northern bred man even after long residence In the tropics But in a moment ho turned away with a growl More of those darned featherdusters He was not looking for palms The last ragged bit of cloud with Its showery accompaniment drifted past before tho breeze which followed the squall and the end of the storm was proclaimed by a deafening chorus of squawks and screams atong the r higher ledges of tho cliff Staring upward n up-ward Blake for the first time observed s IS that the face of the cliff swarmed with seafowl y Thats luck ho muttered Guess a I 11 havent forgot how to rob nests Bet our line ladyll shy at sucking them 1 raw All the same shell have to If i j I dont run across other rock than this nd poor girl Ho advanced again along the talus I and did not stop until ho reached the Ion I-on I sand beach There he halted to make I lei a careful examination not only of the 1 ceil loose debris but of the solid rock I tcl above Finding no sign of flint or heil quartz he growled out a curse and nil backed off along the beach to get a tllf view of the cliff top From a point a Ise little beyond him outward to tho extremity rani ex-tremity of the headland ho could see entl that the upper ledges and the crest Irel of the cliff as well were fairly uosil crowded with seafowl and their nests Lea His smile of satisfaction broadened itoril when he glanced Inland and saw less deal than half a mile distant a wooded sal cleft which apparently ran up to the H I summit of tho ridge From a point near the top a gigantic baobab tree Ip towered up against tho skyline like a 11 I Brobdlngnaglan cabbage rsd Say we may have a run for our 3di I money after all he murmured e and Shade and no end of grub and by Jel the green of those trees a spring Laced limestone water at that Next thing earl Ill find a flint He slapped his leg and both sound > jud Ipre and feeling reminded him that his 11 I pro cutWl clothes were drenched mt d < Guess well wait about that flint i cop he said and lie made for a clump of mil fr thorn scrub a little way Inland orlUf As the tall grass did not grow hero thin a mile of the shoro there was nothing to obstruct him The creeping Plants which during the rainy season Initt ad matted over tho sandy soil were he coi ow leafless and withered by tho heat nor I the dry season Even tho thorn ul Is Grub was half bare of leaves the t Blake walked around the clump to card nt he sbadlest side nnd began to strip r i quick succession one garment after Mr i y tb other was flung across a branch e e1lfl here the sun would strike It Last 1 0000 fall I tho shoes wore emptied I of rain i tddpd ter and sot out to dry Without a tent ar ause ho then gave himself a quick IWt rub down just sufficient to In ISorate the skin without starting the ersplratlon labors I Physically tho man was magnificent fun yin Is muscles were wiry and compact inprul ther than bulky and as ho moved ot hey played beneath his white skin laY all nth they ease t he smoothness and enso of n I t Into gets untl structo I Alter the rubdown ho squatted on cell r J It I heels and spont some time trying rhCf II I bend > his palmlent hat back Into IJ1I g a p hare Wllen he hind placed this nlsp lllr to ulln tho von ll0 found himself bo lfrl1 i 111 Fling to yawn The dry sultry ar Into i fade him drowsy A touch wlft is bare foot showed him that tilt ad beneath tho thorn bush had May M-ay absorbed tho rain and offered a Surface no glanced around drew ca I Y i y l 6 N ° C p4 Sry 1 i 2 4 h k s 1 1 1 74 1 1 W You Beastly Cad I his club nearer and stretched himself out for a nap CHAPTER VIII The Club Age T was past two oclock when tho sun striking in where LLu Blanco lay outstretched tie gan to scorch one of his legs He stiired uneasily and sat upright Liken Like-n sailor he was wide awake the moment mo-ment ho opened his eyes Ho stood up and peered around through the half leafless branches Over tho water thousands of gulls and terns boobies and cormorants were skimming and diving while above them a number of graceful frigate bit ds those swart scarletthroated pirates pi-rates of the air hung poised ready to swoop down and rob the weaker birds of their fish All about the headland and the surrounding water was life in fullest action Even from where ho stood Ulake could hear tho harsh clamor of tho seafowl In marked contrast to this scene the plain was apparently lifeless When lizard niuko rose a small brown darted away across the sand Otherwise Other-wise there was neither sight nor sound of a living creature Blake pon deed this as ho gathered his clothes Into the shade and began to dress Looks like the siesta Is tho all round style in this Godforsaken hole he grumbled Havent been so much even one land bird as a rnhhlt nor May be a drought no iiiiibt be the dry season Whee these things arc hot Im thirsty as a shark Now wheres that softy and her ladyship Fralil shes in for a tough time He drew on his shoes with a jerk growled at their stiffness and club In hand stepped clear of the brush to companions The first look for his glance along tho foot of the cliff lying under the showed him Wlnthropo overhanging ledges a few shade of the sand bench Of yards beyond the Half Miss Leslie there was no sign I IJlake started for the alarmed by this stride Win beach with his swinging thropo was awake and on make approach him proach sat up to greet Hello ho called Where have b all Mils time yon Sleep u Wheres w Miss Leslie Shes around tho point Blake grinned mockingly Indeed she wont bo for long But I fnwncy on but Win Ho would have passed stopped before him Tot out there Blake he protested Dont go bet tested Iahthlnk It would bo ter If I went Why demanded Blake Wlnthropo hesitated but an Impa Hlnke forced an movement by dent icmember this Well you answer clothes telling us to dry our morning said Hake So I remember Yes ladys valet to servo as want you Wlnthropos plump face turned a sickly yellow mean What do you I nii vnlet vnai do not understand Elrt I protestI you he stammered But in tho midst catching sight of Blakes bewildered stare he suddenly flushed crimson and burst out in unrestrained anger You you bounder you beastly cad Any man with an ounce of decency Blake uttered a jeering laugh Wow Hark how the British lion rrroars when his tails twisted You beastly cad repeated the Englishman now purple with rage Blakes unpleasant pleasantry gave place to a scowl His jaw thrust out like a bulldogs and ho bent towards Wlnthropo with a menacing look For a moment the Englishman faced him sustained by his anger But there was a steely light In Blakes eyes that he could not withstand Wlnthropes defiant de-fiant stare wavered and fell He shrank back the color fast ebbing from his cheeks Ugh growled Blake Guess you wont blat any more about cadr You damned hypocrite Maybe Im not on to how youve been hanging around Miss Leslie Just because shes an heiress Anything is fair enough for you swells But let a fellow so much as open his mouth about your exalto1 know set and Its perfectly dreadful you I I He paused for a reply Wlnthropo only drew back a step farther and I eyed him with a furtive sidelong glance ThIs brought Blake back to his mocking jeer Youll learn Pat mo by Theres lots of thlngsll show up different to you before we get through this picnic For ono thing Im boss herepresident congress and supreme court Understand By what right may I ask murmured mur-mured Wlnthropo Right answered Blake That hasnt anything to do with the question ques-tion its might Back In civilized I parts your little crowd has tho drop r n iv big crowd and runs things to n a V1V HHV t3U n llll Illy UO suit themselves But hero were sort of reverted to primitive society This happens to be the Club Age and Im the Man with tho Big Stick See T myself sympathize with the lower classes Mr Blake Above all I think it barbarous the way they punish one who is forced by circumstances to appropriate part of the Illgotten gains of tho rich upstarts But do you be Move Mr Blake that brute strength You bet Now shut up Wherere the cocoanuts Wlnthropo picked up two nuts and handed them over There were only five ho explained ex-plained All right Im no captain of industry In-dustry dustyh true you said we had reverted to barbarism rejoined Wlnthrope venturing an attempt at sarcasm Lucky for you retorted Blake But Wheres Miss Leslie all this time Her clothes must have dried hours ago They did We had luncheon together togeth-er Just this side of tho point Oh you did Then why shouldnt 1 go for her IIthere was a shaded pool around the point and sho thought a dip In the salt water would refresh h her She went not more than half nn hour ago So thats it Well while I eat you KO and call her and say you keep this side the point Im looking out for Miss Leslie now Wlnthropo hurried away clenching his lists and almost weeping with Impotent Im-potent rage Truly matters wore now very different from what they had been aboard ship Fortunately ho had not gone a dozen steps before Miss Leslie appeared around tho cornor of the cliff Ho was scrambling along over the loose stones of tho slope without tho slightest consideration for his ankle Tho girl more thoughtful waved to him to wait for her where ho wee n As sho approached Blakes frown gave place to a look that made hU face positively pleasant Ho had already al-ready drained the cocoanuts now he proceeded to smash tho shells Intc small bits that ho might eat tho meat and at tho same time keep his gaze on the girl Tho cliff foot being well shaded by tho towering wall of rock she had taken off his coat and was carrying It on her arm so that there was nothing to mar the effect of her dainty openwork waist with Its elbow sleeves and graceful collar and tho filmy veil of lace over tho shoulders and bosom Her skirt had been washed clean by tho rain and sho had managed man-aged to stretch It Into shape before drying Hofreshed by a nap In the forenoon and by her saltwater dip sho showed more vivacity than at any time that Wlnthropo could remember during their acquaintance Her suffering during dur-ing and since the storm had loft its mark In the dark circles beneath her hazel eyes but this In no wise lessened their brightness while the elasticity of her step showed that sho had quite recovered her wellbred ease and grace of movement She bowed and smiled to tho two men Impartially Goodafternoon gentlemen Same to you Miss Leslie re spcnded Blake staring at her with frank admiration You look fresh as a daisy Genial and sincere as was his tone the familiarity Jarred on her sensitive ear She colored as she turned from 1dmIs Is there anything now Mr Win thropq she asked Im afraid not Miss Genevieve Like ourselves Blake took a nap Yes but Blake first took a squint at the scenery Just see If youve got I everything and fix your hats Well be In the sun for half n mile or so Better get on tho coat Miss Leslie Its hotter than yesterday Permit me said Wlnthrope Blake watched while the Englishman English-man held tho coat for tho girl and rather fussily raised the collar about her neck and turned back tho sleeves which extended beyond the tips of her fingers The Americans face was stolid but his glance took In every lit tie look and act of his companions He was not altogether unversed In tho ways of good society and It seemed to him that the Englishman was soie what overnsslduous In his attentions All ready Blake remarked Win thrope finally with a last lingering touch touchBout Bout time grunted Blake Youre fussy as a tailor Got the fast and cigarette case and the I knife All safe slrerall safe Blake Then you two follow mo slow enough not to worry that ankle I dont want any more of the packmule In mine Where are we going Mr Blake exclaimed Miss Leslie You will not leave us again Its only a halfmile Miss Jenny Theres a break In the ridge Im going go-ing on ahead to find If its hard tc climb But why should bo climb Food for one thing You see till end of the cliff Is covered with seabirds sea-birds Another thing I expect to strike a spring 0 b Oh I hope you do The water In the rain pools Is already warm TO nn CONTINUKD |