Show S 00 rap u 10 74 L i WAC aci w C B SYNOPSIS the story atory opens with the shipwreck 0 of the steamer on which aless lenevieve lesl I esble e an african Atar Am rican heiress lord winthrope un englishman and tom blake 1 fi brusque american were passengers tile the three were tossed upon an uninhabited island anti and were the only ones not drowned blake shunned on the boat because ot of tile his roughness ugliness ro became it a hero na its preserver of the helpless pair the hie englishman was vas lulng for the hond hand of miss ceglie winthrope wasted him lit last match on a cigarette tor for which it he was scored coed by by blake all three constructed hats t to 0 alifeld them elves from the sun they rhey then feasted on cocoanuts ocon cocoa nuts the only food alas lesile showed allowed a ik kin ng for blake but detested his rough nena led by blake they established it a home in some gome elms nake blake found a fresh biresh water spring miss ties leslie faced fill an unpleasant situation blake recovered life his magnifying glass thus insuring ire fire lie fie started a jungle kirev tire killing a larye large leopard and smothering several eu i uba b ii in it the leopard leopards a cavern they built a small homo home they gained the cliffs b by burning the bottoni bottom of it a tree until it fer fell against the heights the trio secured PIC eess from the cliffs ell til lesliea Le white afa rt was voa decided upon as hi a bignal miss hilas leslie made a dress dresa front from the leopard skin overhearing a a conversation between blake and winthrope I 1 miss diss leslie became frigi frightened 1 bened winthrope became III with fever blake liia poisoned b by a tish and almost almast died jackala jackals ja attacked attach e d the camp that night but were ft ere driven oft off by genevieve geneva blake constructed art an animal trap it killed a hyena on it a tour the trio discovered lioney and ay oysters I 1 miss ilse I 1 leslie was attacked by a poisonous polso noua snake nake blake killed it and its poison oll to kill ranie game vor for the second t time winthrope was attack attacked od by fever lie ile and blai blake disagreed r d the latter made ft a strong door for the private compartment of miss align Ise cave cavo home A terrible storm raged that winthrope stole into her r room b but ut site she inan aged to owing her ier door clowd coln z 1 I in time winthrope was waa badly hurt lie died the following morning the storm tore down their distress flak flag so a new one was swung frn fr n a 11 polo pole miss leslie helpa n i covering winthrope grave with stones CHAPTER the end of the world r 4 N the morning lie ho met was miss aai leslie with a sullen bear ing which however did not altogether conceal his desire to be on friendly terms having regained hev her self control she bhe responded to this with such tact that by evening each felt more at ease in the now new relationship lation ship and blake had lost every trace of hla his moroseness tha fact act that both were passionately fond of music proved an immense help jt it gave gae them an impersonal Imper bonal source of mutual sympathy and understanding a common meeting ground in the world of art and culture apart from and above the plane of their material w wants ants yet for all his enjoyment ot of the girls wide knowledge of everything relating to music blake took care that their talks and discussions did not interfere with the activities of their primitive mode of lite life As aa soon as he had finished with the barricade he devoted himself to his tailoring and shoemaking shoe making while miss leslie between her cooking and wood gathering and dally daily visits to the cliff tor for e ggs eggs had much to occupy both her thoughts and her hands at first every ascent of the cliff was embittered by a painful consciousness of the cairn over the north edge fortunately tuna tely it was not in sight from the direct path to the headland and as she refrained from visiting it 11 the new happenings of her wild life soon thrust winthrope and his death out of the foreground of her thoughts each day she bad to nerve herself to meet the beaks and wings of the despoiled nest owners each day she looked with greater hope tor for the expected rescue ship only to be increasingly disappointed rut but the hours she spent on the cliff crest after gathering the days daya supply of eggs were not spent merely in watching and longing the inconvenienced of carrying the eggs in a hand kerchief kei chief or in one of the heavy jars suggested a renewal of her attempt at basket making memory perseverance and a trace of inventiveness enabled her to I 1 produce a small hut but serviceable hamper of split bamboo encouraged by this success she gathered a quantity of tough wiry grass and wove wave a hat to take the place of at the flimsy palmleaf palm leaf makeshift the result was by no means satisfactory with regard to style its shape being intermediate between a mexican sombrero and a funnel but aside from its appearance she could not have wished for a anore comfortable for table headier head hea doer cover before showing it to blake she wove a second one tor for him so that they were able to cast aside the grot grotesque esquo palmleaf palm leaf affairs at the same time the following toll qwing morning make ap geared in an outfit to match her leopard skin dress ile he hail had singed oft off the hair of thel the bide ilde out of which he fie had bad made his moccasins and his hyena skin trousers quite bulto matched the bristling stubble on hla his face iley hey miss bliss jennal iia be hailed what d you think of this thia for fancy needlework splendid feulo the very ven picture of an argentine vaquero ro Gria aei ugh let me get back to tho the weary willy pants pantal 11 1 I mean you are very picturesque it la Is it glad ive got something to call your leopard lize gown that hat wont malke make you huffy we can fit at least call our costumes 00 Is t it 40 u 0 A t 0 LW what does life mean ser serviceable I 1 vi ceable and mine has proved I 1 much cooler than I 1 expected tout curnew hats beat all for fortnat fort that bat regular sunshades what do you say theres a good breeze lets take a hike not to the river the very thought of that dreadful snake no just the other way ive been thinking for somo some time that 00 wo ought to run down to that south headland and take a squint at the coast beyond ten to one its another stretch of swamps but you think there Is a chance wo we may find and a town about one chanco chance in a million even for a native village the slave trade wiped the diggers off this coast and I 1 guess those that lilt hit out upcountry ran so ao hard they been able to get back yet but it has haa been years since the slave trade was forbidden and they dont sell beer in kansas oh no ill bet the dhows chows still slip blip over from madagascar when the moon Is in he ahe right quarter at any rate biggers are mighty scarce or mighty shy around here ive kept a watch for smoke and seen a suspicion of it anywhere maybe the shampa swing around inland and cut oil off this strip of coast it looked that way to me when I 1 made that trip along the ridge but theres a chanco chance it used to be inhabited and we may run across an abandoned village 1 I do not see that the discovery would do us any good how about the chance of grain or bananas still growing but all a guess were going because we need a change she nodded and hastened to prepare breakfast while he ha packed a skin bag with food and examined the slender blender tips of his arrows As a matter of precaution he fie had bad been keeping them in the cigarette case cage where the points would be certain of a coat of the sticky poison and at the same time guarded against inflicting a chance wound dut but as he be was now about to set out on a journey he fie fitted tips into the heads of his two straightest shafts the morning was still fresh when they closed the barricade behind them and descended to the pool there was no game in sight but blake had no wish to hunt at the commencement of the trip the steady southwest wind had blown the sky clear of its inal malarial arial hazo haze and gave promise of a day which should know nothing of sultry calm a day on which game would be hard to stalk but one perfectly suited for a long tramp mindful of ticks blake headed obliquely across to the beach once on the smooth hard sand they swung along at a brisk pace lighthearted light hearted and keen with the spirit of adventure never had they felt moro more companionable io to miss leslie leollo lau laughed glied and chatted and sang snatches of songs while blake beat time limy with his club or sought to whistle grand opera he had bad heated healed his blistered lips some time before by liberal applications of antelope elope tallow units gulls and terns terna circled about them or hovered over old water ready to swoop down upon their cluny prey sandpipers Sand pipers ran along the beach within a stones throw but the curfews curlews their greater knowledge of mankind by keeping beyond gunshot once a great flock ot of geese drove high overhead oveil wad their leader honking the alarm as they swept above tho the suspicious figures on the bench beach like alko the curlews curfews cur lews they hod had knowledge of mankind but tho the flock of white pelicans which came balling bailing along in stately le leisure lettre on their immense wings hooted past so low that blake felt certain he could shoot one ha to raised his bow and took alm aim but retrained from shooting at tho thought that it might be a sheer was waste t e of ills his precious polson poison A little later a herd of largo large ant animals appeared on the border of the grass jungle but wheeled and dashed back into cover so quickly that blake barely barey had time to make out that they were buffaloes buffalo oa the first he had seen on this coast but easily recognized by their resemblance to tile cape va biety their light flight gave him small concern for tho the time being lie he was more interested in topography than game the southern headland now lay close before them its seaward face waring rearing up sheer and lofty but the approach behind running down in n broken terraces terr acea midmorning mid morning found the explorers at the foot ot of the ridge blake squinted up at the boulder bowlder bow lder lifer strewn strewn slopes and the crannies of the broken booked ledges likely place for snakes miss jenny he remarked guess id better lead eager as she eho was to look over into the country beyond the girl dropped into second place and made no complaint about the tha wary slowness Blow nesa of her companions advance she found the most difficult parts of tho the ascent quite easy utter after her training on the tree ladder blake could have taken leagea and all at a run but as a lie be mounted each terrace lie he halted to spy out the ground before him like miss leslie he was looking for enarce fin allec c though for or an exactly opposite reason ile he wished to add to the contents of at the cigarette garetta cl caso case greatly to hla his disappointment and the girls relief neither snake nor sign of snake was to be seen all the way up tip tho ridge As they neared tho the crest BI blike ke turned to offer her bis big hand last ledges and in the instant they gained tile the top the wind cow freshening to a gale ealo struck the girl with such stich force that that she would have hav been blown back down the ledges had not blake clutched her wrist Ife heedless edless alike of the painful grip which held her and of at the gusts which tore ather at her skirt the girl stood gazing out across the desolate swamps which stretched away to tho the southwest as far as the eye eya could see aee she did not speak until blake ltd led her down behind the shelter of at the crest led edges gea the matter lit he demanded I 1 warn wara youl roul sho looked away to hide tho the tears which sprang into her eyes 1 1 cant explain t only it makes line me foci feel so BO so eo lonel lonely oh ob como come now little woman dont talco take on sol ho he urged it might hr be it a lot worse you know weve gotten along pretty well considering you have been very vary mail kind mr air blake and as you say matters might have been worse I 1 do riot not forget how far more terrible was our situation tile tho morning after the storm yet you must realize how disappointing it la Is to lose evert even the el lightest hope of 0 escape well I 1 dont know it if it for tho the fever ever bound to come coma with the rain 1 I for or one would just as aa leave leava stick to this camp right along providing the company dont change she turned upon him with flashing oyes eyes all thought of 0 caution lost loat in net her anger how dare you say any such a thin tiling you are I 1 do de adlae youl my miss jenny but you are ara pret ty iv when hen you get maill madl lie be exclaimed the answer took her completely aback ile he was neither angry nor laughing nt at her but bat met liar her defiant glance with candid jober admiration there was something more than nd ad migration mi nil ration in lite his glowing eyes yet she could not but see that tier her alarm had been baseless ills ilia manner had novel never ulen been more respectful suddenly sha round found that she bhe could no longer merit meat hla his gaze sho she looked awny away and stammered lamely you you say stich things you know why not everything been running runn liiK smooth tho the last tow days wo we been good chummy comrades ot of course youve got tho worst ot at tho the deal I 1 know im not much on fancy talk but I 1 like to hoir hear it when ivo ive a chance ive led a lonesome sort ot at life since they did for my slaters no im not going to rako that thai up tip again im only trying to give yon an idea what it means to a 0 follow fellow to bo be with a lady like you maybe it polite to tell you all tills this but its just what I 1 feel and I 1 never did amount to chucka as a liar 1 I believe I 1 understand you mr blake and I 1 really feet feel highly com no you dont any any baich thing hit 30 jenny own up jowl jt it I 1 met you toI tomorrow to morrow on your papas doorstep cut me cold 1 I it you continued to bo be sc ac rude have you no regard for my ml feelings 7 hut but hero we are it nonsense when we wa should be going ja it non nonsense ho he broko broke in what does lite mean anyway ilert we can bo be true friends and comra comrades com raden dec real free living people it cant be that you want to go back to all those thosa society shams after youve bouvo seen real ditol As for me have I 1 to gain by going back to the everlasting grind I 1 dont mind work but when a man has nothing ahead to work tor for but a bank account when its grind grind grind till your head bead goes state stale and all tho world looks looka black then theres no choice but throw up your job and go on a drunk it if you want to keep from a gun gua accident mayba you dont understand it but what ive had to go through time and gain do you wonder I 1 like to fancy an everlasting picnic here with a little partner who let me ma homo come within shouting distance ot of her he in tho the land of lavender trousers and peck a boos mr blake really you are most unjust I 1 could not be soso ungrateful after till alt your kindness I 1 we wa should cei bo be glad to number you among our friends drink and all ch A mant maa of your will power has no DO need whatever to give way to such a habit course not if hes got anything in sight worth while gaw though tay my folks folio must have bh ahn ea pour poor welt trash I 1 never could go after money just for the fun ot of the game no family no friends no what you call UP 10 culture the use I 1 have a fair head bead tor for figures but all the mathematics that I 1 know ive had to catch hot off the bat its true I 1 grubbed my C E N out ol 01 a correspondence |