Show T TTY T 1 T AB JL JL y M M CHAPTER X continued 14 stilt still worse was to follow caesar the second in command among the maroons marcons mar owned a nondescript black dog of tile the spall lel type which ranged over the island no is it pleased and on oil tho the very next evening shortly after dark wo we heard from tile woods nt lit the 1111 southerly end of island it a sudden agonizing yelping which ceased almost nh fin abruptly as it began in tho the darkness tile tho sound was positively terrify in suggesting ail kinds of undeen tortures and caesar by daylight its as brave it a man its as you ou could fill and refused to go to tha rescue of ills pet in the morning we searched for jilin him but lit in vain tit thy dog lull had vanished aa completely nu as though tile the earth had awal lowed him tile intili wits was triumphant tier her story wits was now flow substantiated and indeed by tills this little it lid did seem as if somebody homebody or something man or spirit ans haunting the island yet realizing till tho of exploring the lie mangrove swamp we too took k no action savo save to lie ile in before nightfall to lock up the goats anti and the poultry and on in the ground loor floor to niale make sure mire that door and windows were thoroughly barred one thing ho however wo we lid did not do wo took no lived heed of if our herd of half wild cattle which roamed tho island lit at will that they also might be attacked never crossd our minds yet it wits was on oil tile succeeding evening that another tragedy was added to the list wo we had find just finished supper dusk dusic was falling and helen and I 1 were debating whether or not we vve would take our customary stroll which wo we had abandoned since tile night of of tile lie hurricane she had asked me whether I 1 really believed the ans danger when her question was suddenly answered for her ter by it n great bellowing of cattle illuming tinning It to the door I 1 could see six or eight of them barely visible lit in tile tho dim light dashing at full tilt toward tile tho house na as it if they felt that hero lit at least they might lind protect protection lon I 1 lily iny gun and went out wishing greatly that lint cudjo tile the leader of tile the maroons marcons mar were with me hut but there lilt been much talk of a rebellion among the slaves and lie ho had gone up lip tile river the tiny before on oil n scouting trip to see what tic lie could learn in ili the taft way of news caesar and ail hill however were already on hand like myself with their rifles lit in their hands tile three of us stood close together cli clistine sting doubtful g glances anees tit nt tile black blach shadow of tile the woods caesar usually bravo brave as a lion for once hesitated what think lie asked me lite to toll tell tile he truth I 1 should have been very glad to retire into tit the house but since lie ile had appealed to me lite in ill tills wy wity I 1 did not wish to bo be quoted afterward as having counseled prudence and as a matter neatter of filet to retreat like frightened childen because of it a of cattle in tho darkness tipp eared the very height of cowardice ali and so fo with will it a resolution I 1 was tar fill from feeling anti with what was I 1 fear that species of false bravery which comee from the dread of being thought afraid I 1 replied 1 I think we tight ought to go ahead como come on boys bos arid well clear up tills this mystery for good and all thus appealed to two old fighters alko kill and caesar could not well diniar dini nr anti tit nt once no as tile light was t tell ich instant growing dimmer wo we walked toward the border bolder of tho trees at the edge of the thicket we halted cocked our rifles made sure that our knives and nil pistols nvere in ren readiness dinest then spreading spi s pi ending out a little slowly advanced among the t axes I 1 eq there were no rounds pounds adiv nn where re save the faint trend of our own footsteps and I 1 was beginning to fel feel r renewed courage and rather to pride Illy myself self upon my illy decision when we mil iod denly emerged into a little dealing and its as we tit did so I 1 guvo gave an un t start mart I 1 could not have haat pi n lot d tillit I 1 had seen alreen anything annj tiling yet iet fan fall orill ful as it may sound I 1 had it feeling bigit some settle one lind had been tn ili that clear ill but a moment ago anti in spite of if myself I 1 felt my hair actually lils eirls fling on oil my illy kalp ocala at tile same mon mant i nt caesar whose eyes ees were as keen gs 11 those of a lynx ln gave vent to a low exclamation at once I 1 haste hastened neI to ills his side tint and found him and hill peering intently toward the farther fart lier side of the I 1 lie clearing look like one of cattle bald cae C ap pir maybe somebody hide we ve 1110 go goa iv by tills this time though I 1 nm nin far from In liking the lie statement boastfully I 1 had ti conie wrought up to such a pitch 0 of excitement that now instead of being halt half frightened to death I 1 was in n fante of absolute recklessness with it i terse come on I 1 I 1 advanced taking vp iid intake of the faint light that still the clearing though nit all he be baid tal its boundaries lioun darley was dark and sl itlie its s the krave grave y f did nut nil walt wait to ste see whether or tint not I 1 fia was followed for ns as I 1 say I 1 was fairly fairir side myself with the tension of f whole affair but as it matter 0 of hiitt caesar tint anil bill wore were close tit at 1113 ni heels anti and in a moment wa were ft fm ling by tile the silent heap upon the 9 pu tol told iid if ff was basone one if cattle attee no doubt doub if lait alint it lay in a strangely con W f NN with 11 fore forelegs legs ex extella tellI if in n it inist desperate ill effort rt I 1 at t anil u etli t 11 lipid ill own lack back a I 1 A r I 1 10 ap lilt ach far I 1 y V 1 q 0 jit ay v jian tny lily illing led l 1 vi t I 1 t brur uttered ti a cry for JOY by ELLERY H CLARK copyright 1026 by b mckill co C brulc service sery ice its IN and unnatural attitude wag now explained the lieffers hei fers neck had been broken its throat was torn and bleeding terribly fo eo that the ground about wan soaked with blood with courage suddenly evaporated I 1 threw ti brew it i terrified alonco ce nt at the forbidding blackness of tile woods surely tills mix was not the work of human hands and tit nt the moment I 1 could have sworn that I 1 saw something moving in the trees rind mid heard tho the snapping of a twig it oas o as enough thoroughly panic stricken nil all throe three of us UH dashed liend head long MK neross tile lie clearing and through tho lie woods beyond nor lid did we stop there lint but kept on oil running until we were one once more within it stones throw of tile the house then indeed we pulled up anti gaaei nt at one another not I 1 think of ourselves ourse hes but thoroughly demoralized rind tit nt n loss to account for this we found mcallister eagerly awalt ing us its lint but there was little we could do to ills hn anxiety i for or it long ions time wo we talked mcallister McAll lster held stub berely to the theory that this wits was tilt tina work woric of men who cattle from froin tile tho mainland in a n boat yet let tills seemed hardly possible for besides the strong probability of our seeing it them there was tile added puzzle of the lie helfer with its ita broken nock neck lilt and tic bleeding I 1 eding throat nut but to tills this McAll Afe Allister lster answered that the ho an linnis nee neck w ans s broken by its fall caesar mid find bill I 1 laid a id tit lie e 0 mnnie on oll evil spirits in some way conjured hither hy fly tilt the murd isred oll ohl ciui possibly sibly till all the way front africa 1 I for tny lily part wits frankly puzzled pulled and tin could suggest no theory nt at nil fill with morning and the cheerful sunshine tho the events of the night incredible ond atilt it wits without fear that wo we started to revisit the grove groe to tny my relief cudjo had returned from ills bla scouting trip reporting nil all quiet anione the slaves anti he disposed to to ridicule out oui story went with us to tilt woods ills fuco face ii as lie he betit bent over tile tho hody body of the liwer was a study for lie was MS a binti of unusual intelligence and tho the superstitious imaginings of ills his race nice nothing tit nt nil to him yet while lille lie ike discarded tile iden of anything nn supernatural lie he was tit nt n R loss to tell who ho had flone done the deed tile helfers hei fers neck interested jilin immensely and over oer it lie shook ills head tills afternoon lie announced sc we hunt island all men till nil armed nil keep together if nothing then collie coine evening cu nans I 1 watch liere here I 1 and one other man if net got lint him I 1 ills courage and an ills his decision nil and felt that with lint ns as a conk coin I 1 was ns ready to take the risk nut lint when I 1 volunteered lie shook his lied head 11 11 AIn faster ster no let you ou lie sald decisively think too much danger IlIn muster stor no let tile me if tell him so no tell teil him no net get other man come alone lint tills doubt of petting getting another mall stuns stung caesar in ill spite of ills his belief in ghosts 1 I 1 RO 90 lit ile quietly and cudjo nodded well plen plon sed that thiet afternoon with the consent of andrew mcallister we vo made direful careful tint and explored ns as thor na as we could the mongroe anni with etli tile exception of one particularly ticul arly tangled spot to the we elt twill nl i of nf lite house lio iise which mcallister callaster cAl llster promised to make ills his special care when we bended vended our way homeward with out jut insults ic stilts ive c felt tolerably certain that it was ns not in tile that out our fou wits was lor corking king lint hut where then on oil tile lie island could he cOlle cill self the HIP t re quips indeed would s hene erve lint but their smooth trunks rose without it branch fur for many feet ail aind we e and ha only to stand bwl look 1001 upward to know that tile most skillful of it us 9 could not lot cale them no the lie mystery mt tery re unsolved bif alved and its shallow cast n bloom over oer tile lie entire household nor did 1 I to tell 1101 tile the truth feel entirely aisy tit in my lily itil mind liI over oer cuda and caesar Cne ir iet they hey were both mature matur tur men expert and resourceful reto nice fill atilt I 1 did tint not fare dare to offend them by informing mcallister of their plan for turia tely for its success access t mcallister mcallaster McAll lster retired early and watching not without anxiety from the doorway I 1 saw the two figures emerge from their quarters and ail melt silently into tile the darkness for some time indeed I 1 waited halt half wishing to go unbeknown to their assistance anti to take up it i position near them lit in ell case they alie needed reinforcements lint hut lifter after an ail hour bour had passel passed and no sound brote the stillness of the night I 1 went in and wits soon sleeping soundly lindly 1 I do 10 riot not know what evoke oke tile HIP it anity liae have been it pure coincidence or it mity may have been through sonic some lily mysterious ogency which we c do not wholly understood understand but in an instant I 1 was broad it was perhaps nn an hour before daybreak I 1 atilt feeling gnp that cudjo would no longer of als approve iro my coming I 1 decided to dress dres out and join them in the woods to hear th story of if their isal asi As I 1 left the house a shadow lindow from the maroon quarters joined tile me and I 1 wits not sorry to recognize 1 ig kill witti lin tile lie rifle in his hand ills face looked troubled and impious anxious and i lien dien I 1 asked litin why wh lie was abroad so early carly I 1 discovered reil that lie lind had been awak ened n ilij the came strange ii fis 1111 InY self 1 tot too lie folt felt that it eh for lie all preben Soi something bad happen we had traversed perhaps half the distance to the woods wooda when of n and the more dreadful because without warning ng there arose on the morning air n most frightful shriek high pitched the scream of a man in agony then came bunro the sharp report r c port of a rifle ride and a second later inter in imploring cry rang out twice repented repeated help I 1 HOPI oil god and then absolute silence it was too ton much for overwrought ner nerved corning ns abe ali climax of a series of lesser mis mill adventures it if was waa indescribably terrifying and I 1 felt no surprise fig as I 1 saw bill 1111 turn and fairly take to his heels and though I 1 did not follow his ex ample tit tiple I 1 take tio no credit to myself I 1 would gladly have done don so lind had not pride prevented and stubbornly with teeth set bet and heart hammering against my ribs I 1 pressed on toward alif tit woods thankful that tit nt last it faint light was beginning to show around lite ine if I 1 wits to die I 1 wished to meet death face to face not to be struck down in the lark dark I 1 reached the edge of tile the clearing without mishap mid find peering forth knew instantly that the worst had happened in the alie center of tile the glade fam downward lay tile body of cudjo it little nearer just on oil the edge of the T ci pa 1 A 2 5 I 1 do not know what woke me clearing a head till and shoulders projecting from the undergrowth bell brayed aed the lie body of caesar A hasty basty examination destroyed the lie last ves es tage of 0 hope both nien men were ero beyond ond till nil ill ald caeser I 1 judged had been struck shuck down front froin behind wit alti awful force while it wits vis only too evident that cudjo lind had met inet ills his death by tiro same hands that flint hall smaill the tit hapless heifer I 1 felt lily bruin brain going never before had I 1 bell believed eved in ili vain umpires or oarlocks warlocks oar war locks yet et now I 1 did and for foi tin an instant I 1 wits ns actually con vinced that here gioie was the work ork of snake ghostly visitor lb tol from the alie grave anne then in it a alash of reason I 1 settle liow how regained my mi power po or of control we hall had searched ear ched the lie island inland nothing baj there tills feed died hall happened within a few fea moments moment it 1 done by visitors from the mainland thoy could not yet ct lac have escape 1 As fast fait as tuy legs legg would carry carr ue I 1 dashed through sli tile strip of woods that led to the sea sc iward varl point iolet anti and I 1 could lae have iteI ut tit the sight of it there wits as a canoe of cottonwood otto nood its s ingle occupant making ills paddle fly 11 it was as light enough fur for lite ine to see that lie wore it a scarlet handkerchief about it ills s liel head ll anti and evell in ill alie dim ill light I 1 I 1 biad not tile impression that lie he wits was not it a negro but a 11 white bilte inan 1 I threw my lily rifle to no illy alinea tit nt the base baie of the mans neck and pressed the lie trigger my M elm alm nas as true for tit at tile report ne ile half leaped to his feet dropping hla his paddle and clutching at the air then plunged over the side upsetting the canoe in ills his foil fall and fl flouted struggling feebly but without us its it seemed to tile nip any real notion of what lie was wa doing doln with a feeling of relief that alila mysterious murderer was at ins ills laid low I 1 started to run to tile the where the lie boots boats lily lay moored hul but throwing a hasty glance over oer my shoulder I 1 stopped lit in my tracks fot even emi as I 1 looked I 1 saw ills his body rise half out of the water its as if impelled fly by koino force from beneath ben calli the waves then swiftly and silently disappear front from sight to rise no more I 1 needed no explanation some one of the huge sharks that haunted the lagoon |