Show jy I LLWT7477fc1i5YJAY JqL7i5 CoPRY OB V 4CVfCURQ Cu I SYNOPSIS The etory opens with tho shipwreck of the ntcatiivr on which MIM Qenovleve Loslle an American heiress lord Win thrope nn EngUnhman and Tom Dlnke a briisquo American wcro pamoriKurs Tho threer were tonscd upon an unlnlmb Itrcl iHlnnd l and wore tho only ones not drowned Ulnkc recovered from ft drunken drunk-en ntupor Illnke Bhunned on tho boat bocnuso of hIs ran h ItC8S became a hero an preserver of the helpless pair The Englishman was Ruin for tho hand of Miss Leslie Blake started to swim back to the shIp to recover what wan loft Blake returned aafcly Wlnlhropo wnsted his lnnt match on a cigarette for which he was scored by Blnfcc Their first meal WAR a dead fish The trio Blarted a ton mile hike for lilKher land Thirst attacked at-tacked them Blake was compelled to carry Miss Leslie on account of weariness weari-ness Ho taunted Wlnthropo They entered en-tered the Jungle That night was passed rooting high In a tree Tho next morn log they descended to tho open ntiitn All three constructed hats to shield themselves them-selves from tho sun They then feasted on uocoanuts tho only procurable food Miss Ixsllo showed a liking for make but detested Ills roughness Lcd by Hlakc they established IL homo In some cliffs Hlnke found a fresh water spring Miss Leslie faced an unpleasant situation They piimmil their campaign Blake recovered re-covered his surveyors magnifying gloss thus Insuring fire Ho started n jungle lire killing u largo leopard and smothering smoth-ering several cubs In tho leopards cavern cav-ern they built a small home Thoy gained tho cliffs by burning the bottom of n tree until It full ngiilnst tho heights The trio secured eggs from tho cliffs Miss Leslies white skirt was decided upon as It signal Miss Lesllo made n dress from thc leopard skin Hlnkos efforts ef-forts to kill antelopes failed CHAPTER Xlll Contlnued Tho ono difficulty was to roach the lower branches Sho could hardly touch them with her fingertips But her barbaric costume must havo Inspired In-spired her Sho listened for a moment mo-ment and hearing no sqund to Indicate the return of tho men clasped the upper side of the trunk with her hands and knees and made an energetic en-ergetic attempt to climb The posture was far from dignified but the girls eyes sparlcled with satisfaction as she found herself slowly mounting When flushed and breathless she gained a foothold among tho branches sho looked down at tho ground and permitted herself a merry little giggle such as sho had not indulged in since leaving boardingschool Sho had actually climbed n treo She would show Mr Blake that sho was not so helpless as ho fancied At the thought sho clambered on up finding that the branches mado convenient steps She did not look back and tho screen of treetops beneath be-neath saved her from any sense ot giddiness As hor head came above tho level of tho cliff she peered through tho foliage and saw the sig nalflag far over near tho end of the headland Tho big piece of white duck stood out bravely against the blue sky all tho more conspicuous for tho flocks of frightened seafowl which wheeled above and around It Surprised that she did not see tho men Miss Leslie started to draw herself her-self up over tho cliff edge She heard Wlnthropes voice a few yards away to her left A sudden realization that tho Englishman might consider her exploit illbred caused hor to sink back out of sight She was hesitating whether to descend de-scend or to climb on up when Win thropos peevish whine was cut short by a loud and angry retort from Blake Every word came to the girls ears with the force of a blow You do do you Well Id like to know where In hell you come In Shes not your sister nor your mother nor your aunt and If shes your sweetheart sweet-heart youve both been damned closemouthed close-mouthed over It There was an irritable rasping murmur from WInthrope and again came Blakes loud retort Look here young man dont you forget you called me a cad once before I can stand n good deal from n sick man but Ill give It to you straight youd bettor cut that out Call mo a brute or a savage If thatll let off your steam but understand un-derstand Im none of your English kinds Again Wlnthropo spoke this time In a fretful whine Blako replied with loss I anger I Thats so and Im going to show you that Im the real thing when It comes to being a sport Give you my word Ill make no move till youre through tho fever and on your legs again What Ill do then depends on my own sweet will and dont you forget It Im not after her fortune Its tho lady herself that takes my fancy Remember Remem-ber what I said to you when you called me a cad tho other time You had jour turn aboard ship Now I can do as I please and thats what Im going to do If I have to kick you over tho cliff end first to shut off your pesky Interference Tho girl crouched back Into the withered foliage dazed with terror Again she heard Blake speak Ho had dropped Into a bitter sneer No chance Its no norve you mean You could brain mo easy enough any nightjust walk up with a club when Im asleep Trouble Is youre like most other under dogs frald that if you licked your boss thered bo no soup bones So I guess lia slated to stay boss of this colony grand Poo Bah and Mikado all in nc Understand You mind your jwn business and dont go to Interfering Inter-fering with mo any morel i dNttM J t 1 r I = I I p cc I Tha 1 = t T v Now Dont Get Mad Worst Thing In the World for Malaria Now If youve stared enough at the ladys skirt The threat of discovery stung the girl to Instant action With almost frantic haste she scrambled down to time lower branches and sprang to tho ground Sho had never ventured such a leap even In childhood She struck lightly but without proper balance and pitched over sideways Her hands chanced to alight upon the remnants of leopard skin Great as was her fear she stopped to gather all together to-gether In the edge of her skirt before darting up the cleft At the baobab she turned and gazed back along the cliff edge Before she had time to draw a second breath she caught a glimpse of Blakes palmleaf hat near the crown of the ladder tree Oohho didnt see me she murmured Her frantic strength vanished van-ished and a deathly sickness came upon her Sho felt herself golug and sought to kneel to case the fall Sho was loused from tho swoon by Blakos resonant shout Hoy Miss Jenny where arc you Weve got your laundry on the pole In fine shape Tho girls flaccid limbs grew tense and her body quivered with a shudder of dread and loathing Yet sho set her little white teeth and forced herself to rise and go out to face the men Both met her look with a blank stare of consternation What is It Miss Genevieve cried WInthrope Youre white as chalk Its the fever growled Blake Shes In the cold stage Get a pot on Well No no Its not that Its only Ive been frightened Frightened By aa dreadful beast Beast repeated Bloke and his pale eyes flashed as he sprang across to whore his bow and arrows and his club leaned against the baobab Ill have no beasts nosing around my dooryard Must bo that skulking lion I heard last night Ill show him lIe caught up his weapons and stalked off down the cleft By Jove exclaimed WInthrope tho man really must bo mad Call him back Miss Genevieve If anything any-thing should happen to him If only there might gasped the girl Why what do you mean She burst Into I I a hystoilcal laugh I Oh oh Its such a joke Mich a oAt o-At least lies not a hyena oh no n brave beast Hear him hhout And ho actually thinks its a lion But It IsntIts himself Oh dear oh dear what shall I do Miss Genevieve what do you moan Bo calm pray be calm Cahnwhen I heard what ho said Yes I heard every word In the top of tho tree In tho tree Heavens lIsser Miss Genevieve stammered WIn thrope his face paling Did you did you hear all1 Everything everything he said What shall I do I am so frightened What shall I do Everything ho said echoed Win throve You spoke too low for me to hear but Im sure you faced him like a gentleman gen-tleman I must believe It of you WInthrope drew In a deep breath Ah yes I did Miss Genevieve assure as-sure you The beast Yet you see the plight I am in It Is a nasty muddle Indeed It Is But what can I do lIe Is strong as a gorilla Really there Is only one wnYIIo doubt you heard him taunt me over It I assure you I should not be afraid but It would be so horrid so coldblooded As a gent gen-t you know I No it is not that broke In the girl lIe is right Neither of us has the coinage even when he Is asleep My dear Miss Genevieve this boas instinct to kill Yes but think of him If he Is a beast he is at least a brave one i While wewo havent the courage of rabbits 1 thought you called yourself an English gentleman Are you going to stand by and not lift a finger Really now Miss Genevieve to murder a man Selfdefense Is not a crimeself preservation If you have a spark of manhood My dear For Heavens sake if you cant do anything at least keep still Oh Im sure 1 shall go mad If only I had been drowned ° Ah yes to be sure But really now what you ask Is a good deal for a man to risk The fellow might wake up and murder mo Should I take the risk might Ierexpect some manifestation of your gratitude Mia Genevieve Of course of course I should always al-ways Iahrlfer to thethebestowal I of your hand My hand I Would you bargain for my esteem I thought you a gent gen-t To be sureto bo sure Who says I am not But all Is fair III love nIl war you know Your choice Is quite free 1 take It you will not consider hlserIlrOIJOsals But If you do not wish my aid you have another way of escape that IIIat least other women have done It I i The girl gazed at him her eyes dilating with horror as site realized I his meaning No no not that she gawped fIr want to liveIve a light to live Why Im only just 22r Hush I I cautioned Wlnthropo IIos I coming back Ho calm There will bo lime until I get over this vllo malaila It I t may be that he himself will have tho foor Ho I will not have tho fever replied re-plied the girl In a hopeless tone nud she leaned back listlessly against tho baobab as Blake swung himself up frowning and sullen and flung his weapons from him Ball ho grumbled I told you that bin to was a sneak Ive chased clean down to the pool and Into tho open and not a smell of him Must havo hiked off Into the tall grass tho i minute ho heard me I If only ho had gone off for good murmured Miss Leslie Maybe ho has though you never I I can count on a sneak Even you might be able to shoo him off next time but I like as not hed come along when we were all out calling and clean out our commissary Guess Ill set to and un up n barricade down there where ho gully Is narrowest Therere shoals of dead thoinbrush to the rIght of the pool Ah yes 1 fancy the vultures will ho so vexed when they find your hedge In the way remarked Winthrope My how smart were getting retorted orted Blake Dont worry though Well stow the stuff In Miss Jennys boudoir and I guess the birdlcsIl be polite enough to keep out I must say Blake I do not see why you should wish to drag us away from here icreTheres Theres lots of things you dont see Win my by jokes for Instance But what could you expect y9iiro English Now dont get mad Wciat thing In tho world for malaria One would fancy you could see that I am not angry Ive a splitting headache and my back hurts I am III make looked him over critically and nodded Thats no lie old man Youro entitled to a hospital check all right Miss Jenny well appoint you chief nurse Make him comfortable as you can and give him hot broth whenever when-ever hell take It You can do your sowing on the side Whenever you leptl help call on me Im going to begin be-gin that barricade I CHAPTER XIV Fever and Fire and Fear Y nightfall Wlnthropo was b tossing and groaning on the bed of leaves which Miss Leslie had heaped beneath his canopy Though not delirious his high temperature tempera-ture coupled with the pains which racked every nerve and bone in his body rendered him lightheaded He would catch himself up in the midst of some rambling nonsense to inquire anxiously whether he had said anything any-thing silly or strange On being reas sured upon this he would relax again and as likely as not break Into a babyish wall over his aches and pains Blake shook his head when he learned that the attack had not been preceded by a chill Guess hes in for a hot time he said There Is moren one kind of malarial fever Some are a whole lot like typhus Typhus What Is that asked Miss Leslie Sort of rapid fire double action typhoid Not that I think Wins got It only malaria What gets me Is that weve only been here these few days and yet It looks like hes got the con tlnuous nochill kind Then you think he will be very 111 Well I guess hell think so It ought to run out in a week or ten days though Weve had good water and It usually takes time for malaria to soak In deep Now dont worry Miss Jenny Itll do him no good and you a lot of harm Take things easy as you can for youve got to keep up your strength If you dont youll bo down youiself before Win is up Ill while he Is helpless and unable un-able Oh no that cannot be I must not give way to the fever until Dont worry Youll likely stave it off for a couple of weeks or so Youre lively yet and thats a good sign I knew Win was In for It when he began be-gan to grouch and loaf and do the baby act I havent much une for dudes In general and igll h dudes In particular but Ill admit that while Wins soft enough In spots hes not all mush and milk Thwk you Mr Blake Youre welcome I couldnt say less seeing that Win cant speak for himself Now you tumble In and get a good slecp Ill go on as night nurse and work at the banlcado same time Youro not going to do any night nursing I can gather tho thornbrush In the afternoons and pile It up at night In the morning Miss Leslie found that Blake had built a substantial canopy over the Invalid In place of I the first ramshackle structure Its best for him to bo out in the air ho explained i so I fixed this up to keep off the dew But whenever It rains wnll have to tote him Inside Ah yes to ho blue How IB I lit mummied the girl lies about time same this morning nit ho got n little sleep Keep him dosed with all the hot broth hell take And say roust mo out at noon Tvo had my breakfast Now Ill have a snooze So long lIe nodded and crawled under tho shade of the nearest bush too drowsy to observe her look of dismay TO BE CONTINUED |