Show apy 00 00 AV 2 17 uy r 9 SYNOPSIS the story atory opens open with the tha shipwreck of the steamer on which miss mils genevieve least leslie e an in american hel lie fress resa lord avin an n and tom blake a b brusque american were wera passengers rs the rh rt three h r were tossed upon an uninhabited b island and were wera the only ones ona not browned blake shunned on the tha boat because of oc his roughness became a hero as aa preserver ot of the helpless pal pair the e dr englishman 1 9 1 lahman was suing for tho the hand 0 of f miss leslie winthrope wasted his last match on a cigarette cl sarette tor for which me h ho was wa scored cored by blake all 1 three constructed ht hats s t to 0 shield th themselves e alves vea from the sun T they ey then feasted on cocoanuts cocoa nuts the only R food miss leslie showed a king for blake but detested dt ested hla his rough atsa ts led by blake they established a tom home in n some cliffs blake found a fresh water spring miss leslie faced an unpleasant lp aas L arit situation blake recovered ered his surveyors urve yori magnifying magnify int glass thus insuring lira fire ire he started a jungla lie file killing a barge large leo leopard ar a and mothering several cubs CU in t the leopards leopard a cavern they built small m a home they I 1 hey gained the cliffs b by vr burning nl thi the bottom of a tree until it f fell er I 1 anat the heights the trio secured ggs eggs from the tha cliffs miss bealles Le allea alles white kirt wa was m decided upon as a signal miss leall 8 m made a do CL a dress dres from the leopard aln kin 0 overhearing v a conversation between blake and winthrope miss leslie became frightened winthrope became lil with fever blake wax was poisoned by a elsh i and almost died jackals jackala attacked the camp that night but were driven ott oft by genevieve blake constructed an animal trap it killed a hyena on a tour the trio discovered honey and oysters ulas hiss leslie leal to was attacked by a poisonous polson out nake blake killed it and saved its pot 0 az iron on to kill hill kame game for the second tta time winthrope was attacked by fever he and blake disagreed the tha latter made a door for the private compartment of t M Le leslie s cave home hom A 4 terrible st term 0 tm raged that night winthrope stole in into to her room but she managed to swing 11 her e r door closed in time winthrope was b badly adly hurt CHAPTER continued oh quick mr air blakel build a firel ire it may be ba some nome hot broth too late muttered blake see here winthrope theres no use lying about it youre going out mighty soon see if you cant die like a man dle die 1 bawd but I 1 cant dle die I 1 cant die owl ow it burnsl burns he flung up a hand band and sought to tear at his wounds hold hard cried blake catching the hand in an iron grip something in his touch or the tone of command seemed to cower the wretched man into a state of abject submission me ibi con confess fessl ill confess all alit he babbled the stones are sewed in the stomach pad I 1 ad to take taka cm am hout of their settings and melt up the gold ile he paused and a cunning smile stole over his distorted features ho 1110 wot a bloo bloomia bloom mial la lark valet plays the gent gant an they never a as a a llin klingl mr cecil winthrope hit bit you please an a int of a title wot a lark Awk tugs me lad youre a gay wot wet a lark wot wet a lark I 1 ills his voice shrilled out in quavering appeal dont dont look at me miss I 1 tried to make myself a gentleman god knows I 1 friedl fried I 1 fought my way up out of the east end out of that hell and none ever lifted finger to help belp me I 1 educated myself like a scholar then the stock sharks cheated me of my savings out of the last penny and I 1 had to take service my godl a valet his graces valet and I 1 a scholar larl do you wonder the devil got into me do you blakes deep voice firm but strangely husky broke in upon and silenced the cry of agony there I 1 guess youve said enough enough and last night my ary god to be such euch a beast the devil tempted me aye and hes paid me out in my own colel im done doaa for god ha ba mercy on mal me god goa ha mercy P again came the gasping rattle this time there was wag no rally blake thrust himself between miss aliss leslie aid and the crumpled figure get back around the tree trebe he said harshly I 1 what are you going to do my business he replied ile ho thrust his burning glass into her band here go arid and build a fire it if you can find any dry stuff youre not going to bury him yes whatever he be may have been hes dead now poor devill devil 1 I cant go she half whispered not until until ive lear learned lied do you cannou can you tell me just what Is paranoia blake studied a little and tapped the top of his head near as aa I 1 can say its softening of the brala brain up there do you think that she hesitated that he be had it yes I 1 do but it if go 90 please one thins thing more I 1 must know now do you remember the day when you set sat up the signal and you jou quarreled with him blake reddened ledd ened and drop dropped pad his gaze did ho he KO go and tell you that the sneak if you please let us say nothing more about him but would you care to tell me what you meant infant what you aalde then blakes flush de evened but he raised laed hla his head and faced her saira ly 17 as he answered no ra im not going to repeat any dead mans talk and as aa for what I 1 said this the time or arlace to say ear in that line now that were ahoua adoue stand im afraid I 1 do not cot mr blake please I 1 ar A d RO k JA 1 I wish he rushed shed off so suddenly dint ask me miss jenny I 1 cant tell you now havo have to watt wait till we get aboard ship well catch a steamer before long a every aery one of them that goes ashore in these blows why did you build thai tha door did you suspect she glanced down at the huddled figure between them blake frowned and hesitated then burst out almost angrily well you know now he was a sneak so tta its not blabbing to tell that much I 1 know knew he was before and its never safe to trust a sneak thank youl you she said and she turned away quickly that she sha might not again look at the prostrate figure CHAPTER wreckage and salvage LL the wood in the cleft was sodden from the fierce downpour that had accompanied the cyclone all the cleft bottom other than the bare ledges was a bed of mud everything without tree cave had been either blown away or heaped with broken boughs and mud spattered rubbish but the girl had far too much to think about to feel any concern over the more mere da damage 1 and destruction of things it w was al rather a relief to find cometh something I 1 ng that called for work catching sight of a bit of white down among the bamboos she went to it and was wag not a little surprised to see the tattered remnant of her duck skirt it had evidently been torn from the signal staff by the first gust of the cyclone whirled down into the cleft by some flaw or eddy in the wind and wadded so tightly into the heart of the thick clump of sterna stems that all the fury of the storm had bad failed to dislodge it its recovery seemed to the girl a special providence for of course they must keep up a signal on the cliff having started her fire and set on a st stew ew she hunted out her sewing materials from their crevice in the cave and began mending the tha slits silts in tho the torn flag while site she worked she sat on a shaded ledge her bare feet toasting in the sun and her soggy mud smeared moccasins drying within reach alen blake appeared the moccasins were still where she had first set them but the little pink feet were safely tucked up beneath the tattered flag fortunately the tha sight of the white cloth prevented blake from noticing the moccasins hell Hel belloli loli 0 I 1 he be exclaimed th that at the flag flaat say luck ill break out a bamboo right off old staffs carried clean away mr alake just a moment please what havo have you done with with it blake jerked his bla thumb upward you havo have carried him up on the cliff 7 dest place I 1 could think of no animals and I 1 plied piled over sut but I 1 say look here her lie ho droy drew out a plebe piece ol of wadded cloth marked off into little squares liv hv ern sidne lines of stitches one of at the squares near the edgo edge had been ripped open alake la in his finger and worked out an emerald the size ot of a large pea 6 h hl bl cried altos leslie as ho he held the glittering gem out to her in his rough palm I 1 c he drew it ft baek ba ek and car Vurl ira raa I 1 it again into its ita pocket one ho he said theres another in every square ot of this innocent harmless rag dozens ot of them lie ile must have made a clean sweep of the dukes or more like the duchess jewels now it you please I 1 want you to sew saw this up tight again and 1 I cannot I 1 cannot touch it she cried say I 1 mean to etwas I 1 was confounded stupid of me mumbled blake wont you excuse me of coursel course it was only the the thought that no wonder I 1 always am a fool when it comes to ladles ladies ill fix the thing all right catching up the nearest small pot he crammed the quilted cloth down within it and filled it to the brim with sticky mud there guess nob odys going to run off with a jug of mud and it wont hurt tho the stones till we get a chance to look up the owner lie ile wont be bardho find english duke minus a pint ot of first class clasa sparklers spar klers leral will you mind its setting in the cavo cave after things are ara up 11 no not as it Is IA ile he nodded soberly all right then now ill go for the new flagstaff you might set out breakfast she nodded in turn and when he came back from the bamboos bamboo with the largest of the great canes on his shoulder his hl breakfast was waiting for him she set it before him and turned to go again to her sewing hold on he said this wont do youve got to cat your share 1 I do not 1 I am not hungry no matter here ile ho forced upon hor her a bowl of hot broth and she drank it because she could not resist his rough kindness ile ho bolted the last of his meat and at once left her alone to 0 o cry herself back to ca calmness linness oyer over the stitching of the signal ills his first concern was for tho me barricade As he had feared lie he found that it had been blown to pieces the greater part of the thorn branches which he had bad gathered with so nuch aluch labor were scattered to tn the four corners of the earth ile he stood staring at the wreckage in glum silence but he ha did not swear as be would have done the week before presently hla his face cleared and he began to whistle in a plaintive minor key ile he was thinking of how she had looked when she darted out of the tree at his call of her concern tor for him when he was so BO angered at winthrope she had bad called him coial after a time lime he started on picking his bis way over tho ui remnant of the barricade without a falter in hla his whistling the delugo deluge of rain aln had poured down ia the cleft in a torrent tearing away tho the root matted soil arid and la laying bare the ledgen in tho the channel of dying the spring rill out but hilda aside from an occa atonal boggy hole the tha water had drained away at the foot about the swollen pool was a wide stretch of rubbish and mud lie he worked his way around the edge and came out on the plain where the sandy soil was w aa all the firmer for its drenching lie swung awa away y at a lively clip the air was waa fresh freh and pure after the storm and a slight alight breeze tempered the sun aun rays raya ile he kept on along the th cliff until he turned the point it was not altogether advisable to bathe sit at this time of 0 day but ho he had bad been caught out by the cyclone in a corner ot of the swamp across tho the river where the soil coll was of clay only hla his anxiety for aliss leall lealla 11 had enabled him to tight fight his way out 0 of t the all but impassable morass which the storm deluge had bad made of the halt half dry swamp at dawn he had reached the river and swam across reckless of the crocodiles the turbid witter water of the stream had rid him of only part of his accumulated aalmo and ooze so now he washed out his tattered garments as well as ho he could without soap and while they were drying on the sun aw scorched rocks swam about in the clear tonic ionic seawater seawater sea water quite sa as reckless of the sharks as he had bad been of the ugly crocodiles in the river for all this he be was back at the baobab before miss leslie had bad stitched up tho the last silt alit in the torn flag she looked up at him with a brave at tempt attempt at a smile 1 I am afraid im not much of a needle woman she eho sighed look at those cheal dont doat fret hold all right and thava what we want he reassured her give it me now ive got to get it up and hurry back for or a nap no sleep last las t night inight I 1 was out beyond the river in the swamp and tonight to night ill gave to go on watch the barricade Is down dawn oh that Is too bad I 1 take a turn on watch blake shook hla his head no ill sleep today and work rebuilding the barricade tonight to night toward morning I 1 might build up the tire fire and take a nap lie ile caught up the flag and its new staff and swung away through the tha cleft ile he returned much sooner than ailsa ceille expected anda tonce boan began to throw up LL a small leanto lean to of bamboos over a ledge atthe cliff foot behind the baobab the girl thought he was making himself a but in place of tho the canopy under which lie he had slept before the storm which like win thrones th ropes had been carried away dut but when he stopped work ho he laconically informed her that all she had to do to complete her new house was to dry some leaves but I 1 thought it was for yourself she protested 1 I will sleep inside tile tho tree doc blake says not no he rejoined not till its dried out she glanced at hla his fact and replied without a moments hesitancy very well I 1 will do what you think boat best good lie he said and went at once to lie down tor for his alg much needed sleep lie awoke just soon noon enough before dark to see the results of her hard days labor all the provisions stored in the tree had been brought out to dry and a great gran stick stack of fuel ready for or burning was waa piled up against the tha baobab while all about th the a tr tree ee the tha rubbish had been neatly gathered together in heaps blake looked his admiration mi ration for her industry dut but then his forehead wrinkled you tove to ve lone done so much ho he admonished ill show you I 1 can tote fairl she sha rejoined during the afternoon she had recalled to mind that odd expression of a southern girl chum and had been waiting her opportunity to banter him with lt it he stared at her open eyed and laughed say miss altos jenny better look out bo be speaking american first thing thereupon they tell fell to chatting like children out of school each hap py to bo be able to forget tor for the moment that broken figure up on the cliff tov top and the haunting fear of what abo hel day might bring to them when they had eaten their meal both with keen appetites sprang up with a curt good and swung off down the cleft the girl looked after him film with a lingering smile 1 I wish he rushed off so 0 o sud denly she murmured 1 I was waa jus I 1 going to thank him for for everything th the color swept over her face in a 9 deep blush and she darted around tc her tiny hut but us though some one might have overheard her whisper yet after all she had said nothing noth lne or at least she hka hia merely said everything I 1 TO BE CONTINUED |