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Show FORLORN I ISLAND By Edison Marshall WNO Service Copyright by Edison Marshall CHAPTER XIII Continued 16 Fully nine miles an hour they swept along the shoals. Soon the stream widened and lost power, but even when the tide turned, it continued con-tinued to bear them to the southwest. south-west. South by southwest they raised a pale blue shadow on the sky line. It was not fog, not a wisp of cloud, not a trick of the eyes, but surely landfall the furthest outpost of Nan's lost world. "Ignak Island!" Chechaquo muttered, mut-tered, deep in his throat Eric did not look at him, but he knew that his eyes glowed like black pearls. . . . Home, and all that it meant in his child's heart. Sweet food and strong driuk from the trading store. The greeting of his hunting mates. His return to his old place by the cooking-fires. . . . And he did not dream that the young hunters would now be patriarchs patri-archs squatting in the dark corners "Ignak Island!" of turf-huts that his firm-fleshed, round-armed squaw had wasted to a stooped and withered crone that his own children would not even remember re-member his name. The boats sped on. Eric began to watch for a natural arch of stone. I'resently he picked it up. a great dome looming among shoals, with t lie sea running in its hollow; he turned south straight across the current. And just as Gnlikof had hade them, he and his mates paddled for their lives, r It was an experience to raise even Chechaquo's coarse, straight hair. The breakers roared, the reefs rushed to attack, fangs bared and snarling, only to swerve aside and sweep impotently behind; rocking, rock-ing, pitching, bounding up like sword-fish, the boats sped far down the current toward the fatal shoals below the pass. Hut when the paddlers' breath was spent and their loins ached, they saw the open sea rolling beyond. Eric cheered them on with a shout. Their blades hacked and gleamed; boldly they charged the last rank of the enemy, a long line of wild, white horses with flowing manes. The wicked chop of the seas began to change to a long, gentle swell. Davy Jones' shoal roared In thwarted rage behind them. Nothing but a sudden gale could stop them now and no cloud was in sight They ate their dried meat, passing it from hand to hand, drank from the water casks, and puddled wearily on. The bluffs of Ignak island began to take form. And now Eric divined that the great adventure of his life would soon pass. Fate Is a master playwright play-wright and she would provide a quick curtain for this drama of the North. As Ignak harbor opened he-I he-I fore him, he saw what looked like three little black sticks standing In the blue. The trading ship was In. CHAPTER XIV ""pIUC skipper of the Chelsea, little -1 auxiliary schooner out from Se-I Se-I little to trucle with the Aleutian and I Kuril Islands, gave no greeting as the two kayaks paddled alongside hut his eyes opened. Like must sailors, his extra senses were keen-ly keen-ly developed, and even now lie knew that here was a tale to tell on lonely J decks for the remainder of IiIh life, i White faces were not common In these waters. The kayaks were of a j primitive type he had never seen before and they came from the direction di-rection of I'.'ivy .(ones' shoal. When the boats were fast, j.;r(. came up the ladder to the deck. "I'm Hrlrsscn, first ollieer of the Intrepid." In-trepid." "Of de w'al?" Captain Nelson de- ni:ln,l(;r). "The Irrtr,:,,,,!," Eric repeated pa tlently. "She ost. early In the summer. " Ncl.,on Klri( card. This wan 1,1c, ger news than he had Imagined. "I hear about her. She was suppose to go down wit' all hands. De papers pa-pers been full of her." "Captain Waymire and nearly i half of the crew went down. The : survivors are marooned on an Island I In Davy Jones' shoal." Eric drew a deep breath. "I want to arrange for you to go Id aud get them." "But but" the old Dane stammered stam-mered and stuttered "dare's no way to get Into Davy Jones' shoal !" "We've been there with the Intrepid. In-trepid. She draws more water than you. The pass from the north is safe unless you hit a gale. Of course if you don't want to try it I'll wireless for a coast guard cutter, cut-ter, but the passengers are in a hurry, and you can name your own figure." Nelson came of a thrifty race. Moreover, it was his life to poke the Chelsea's nose Into uncharted waters and unknown harbors, where the big tramps dared not venture. He suggested that Eric come to bis cabin. There, over two glasses, they talked tersely and to the point. They were under way In three hours. Of Eric's five mates, all but two had deserted, but it was a good riddance. Big Smith returned to Join his brother. Guiltless of any crime of blood, Petroff bargained with Nelson for passage to the Kuril islands. The Chelsea cruised round the shoal, and at noon of the next day, Eric was on her bridge, spying for the pass. The search was long and nerve-wracking, nerve-wracking, but he remembered the approximate latitude of the mile-wide gap in the reefs, and another twenty-four hours found the trader safely through Into deep water, heading for Forlorn island. Nan looked often to the deep in the three days of Eric's absence, and was first to see the Chelsea's masts prick the sky line. The sight seemed to break the last thread of her self-control. Sobbing, she ran to Horton's hut; but she could not speak, and could only beckon her friends to the beach. ... It was true. The ship was coming In. Deliverance De-liverance . . . fulfillment . . . home. . . . While the Aleuts gazed darkly, the castaways leaped into the nearest boats and sped to meet the ship. Cheering, laughing with streaming eyes, weeping with smiling smil-ing lips, they paddled alongside until the anchor dropped, then boarded and held revelry on the deck. Even Petroff and Big Smith shared In the reunion. It was a sight new to Captain Nelson's eyes ; a millionaire and his family out of their minds with rapture, embracing embrac-ing him and his grlnninix sailors, and dancing hand in hand with cutthroats. cut-throats. It was a complete breakdown break-down of civilized reserve. Even Roy caught the general contagion and danced a wild hornpipe on the deck. Horton wanted to leave at once, hut Nan remembered her humble friends forsaken on the bleak shore. "Of course we must tell them good-by," good-by," Horton said contritely. "Oh, If we only had some presents to give them " "De hold of this ship is clean full of presents," Nelson told him. "Would would you let us have some of 'em?" Horton spoke In faltering fal-tering tones. "Sure. All you want." The flush of excitement on Horton's Hor-ton's face swiftly died away; he seemed to remember something. . . . His trembling hand dove Into his pocket, felt his talisman, and came out steady and strong. "Of course. This is a trading ship." There was a clang to his voice that silenced Nan, and made Eric whirl. "Captain Nelson, I want to buy a thousand dollars' worth of your goods to give the natives. Eric, here, will know what they want worst; he's boon looking after them. Steel knives, axes, rifles, sweets and the like, everything that will make them happy." The boats were loaded to the gunwales, gun-wales, such a treasure as the tribe had never dreamed, and the gifts taken to the beach and distributed amid an nwed silence. From now .in, life would not be so bard behind be-hind the shoals. Every squaw would wax fat from the great killings kill-ings made with steel-pointed spears and firearms. Now that the pass was known, perhaps a lit lie schooner schoon-er would steal In once a year, to trade the while man's luxuries for pelts, eiderdown, and fossil Ivorv. Yet by the same tokens, the doom of the Ixst People was sealed. In the end they must cither migrate to the larger .Aleutian Islands, surrender surren-der their tribal Identity and become be-come cannery workers under the white man's law, or perish victims of his civilization. The latter was more likely; It would he hard for them to leave the crags and windy beaches of Forlorn Island. They only grunted when the pale- i faces bade them goodbv, eyes unlit and brown faces Impassive as their own sand dunes, but when In a dreamy silence the ship's bouts glided away Into the harbor, their strange lonely souls gave voice. On Die beach an old crone struck up a wavering chant. All her people Joined In, a weird song of farewell In the minor key that might have been brought from the lost Asiatic hirlhplllce beyond the setting sun. possibly a dirge springing extern lore from their savage hearts. Their arms swung In rhythm. Finally tin" dropped on their knees, and wllh Imploring hands lined to the skies called on I heir Iribai gods to give safe passage to their departing friends. "Kou-yudam Agougou I Achldan Agougou !" This was repeated again and again. "Sitkoug kouyou-dah, kouyou-dah." The song died away. Awe-struck, the sailors rested on their oars. Eric looked into Nan's eyes to find them brimming with tears. "Why must we leave them here?" she whispered. "Where could we take them, that they'd be better off? This Is their home." "But It's so lonely, so dreary. I can't bear to think of It. Let's go quickly." But now Mother Horton had struck up the heart song of the palefaces, pale-faces, and even the Chelsea sailors joined in. Across the water the old strains swelled : Shoud auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind 7 We'll fill a cup of ktndneea yet, for daya of auld lang syne. The oars flashed. The crowd on the beach dwindled to black dots In the shadow of the crags. It was still rough fare for the castaways. The three women would occupy the captain's cabin; the others oth-ers were given bunks below decks. But great changes Impended ; Eric gazed southward with troubled eyes. Only two hundred miles through the Aleutian chain lay the well-charted sea-lanes of the north Pacific, and 1 beyond the port lights were shining. shin-ing. The dream was passing, ju6t as Nan had foretold. Horton was among the first to waken, with nervous, nerv-ous, fumbling hands he removed his parka and donned the clothes of civilization saved from the wreck, a rumpled blue suit and a yachtsman's yachts-man's cap still trig and smart. But presently his leaping heart beat steady and cool. After a reassuring reassur-ing touch of the little leathern book in his pocket, he made for the pilot house. Eric and. Nelson were looking look-ing at charts, but he pushed boldly between them. Eric glanced up with narrowed eyes. Not only Horton's clothes but his face was changed. His sagging jaw was set, his expression confident confi-dent and resolute. "Neison, we're not very far north from the. Great Circle route to the Orient, are we?" he began. Nelson came to attention. "Yust about a day's run, if we hit straight t'rougb de Aleut chain." "I want you to Intercept one of the big liners, and put us aboard. How soon do you think you could do it?" "De Empress of Castile Iss east-bound east-bound right now only about eight hundred miles away. We heard her talking yust last night." "Do you think you could catcli her?''- "Wif fair luck. yes. But hut de Empress, she do not stop at sea to take nnSseHL'ors from n nncket like dis." "She'll stop for me!" Horton spoke calmly. "Get In touch with her right away tell her It's Felix Horton, and his party. Arrange to meet her In the shortest possible time." Without a word to Eric, he wheeled and went out of the room. The radio crackled. Changes came thick and fast. The Empress sped east a clear r.iKJ miles In 21 hours and the little Chelsea dipped south nearly half that distance in the same time. They met In a sheet of sunlit water between curtains of mist, the liner's huge funnels looming loom-ing against the sky. Grandly she hove to her many-storied castle; a boat was lowered, manned by trig-looking trig-looking sailors. For the passengers that lined her mil, this was higher romance than any they had found In the cherry-orchards cherry-orchards of Japan. They saw the oars flash, and seven survivors of the Intrepid, given up for dead, clamber down the trader's ladder. Cameras clicked ami purred, the young people began to cheer. Tim captain himself waited at the head of the stairs to gn-ct Horton, presently the stewards were taking the party In charge. Horton nnd his friends went to the Queen's suite the blond mate to the officers' quarters. This was mld-afteniooii. By eight In the evening Horton's parly were ready to take their place In the carefree luxury of shipboard life. When they went to dinner, the three Mortons and Roy were given seals at the captain's table. Eric, sealed with the first ollicer, saw them come In, hut although .Nan's eyes raced around the crowded room, they did not meet his own. Horton and l!oy were gay over their champagne glasses;' Nan seemed quite grave, one,, her gaze swept the hall, hut still no glance passed between her anil her lover not one wni,. made his cold heart leap. Had he won the Island war, only to lose the prize? Was the great adventure all In vain? ,. would take his answer tonight, W,i or lose. When Nan rose from the table, hi! si rode forward and touched her hand. She whirled wllh a low ,TV, ,, before she could speak, llortnn pushed between them. "What Is It. Kric?" 1 1 rl . .,, ,,. was grave, but not unfriendly. "I want lo lallt to Nan." "You may, In a imnneiii. m,,, lo talk to you llrst. Come 1MV stateroom. Nan you wait on the deck." Presently they were sealed In I Morton's luxurious sulle, the cool, confident millionaire and the grim, steady-eyed ship's officer. "I want to tell you, first of all, how Indebted we all feel toward you," Horton began quietly. . "You saved our lives on the island and I'll not forget it, and I mean to stand behind you dow. I propose for you to captain your own ship. Moreover, I'll always want you for my friend." In the long pause, Eric's straight gaze did not waver, but Horton's cheek bones flushed. "Now, about Nan," Horton went on. "I've reserved a stateroom for her, adjoining mine. It is true that you and she went through a certain ceremony under duress but I can't regard it as a legal marriage, and I feel sure that she doesn't either. It was only an Aleut rite. And she has never, I feel sure of this, really become be-come your wife." "Did she ask you to say this to me?" "No, not In words. I think, however, how-ever, I am carrying out her wishes. Eric, I want you to be reasonable about this forget that empty form In the mud church, as quickly as possible. It will be better for her and for you, too." "That's for Nan to say, not you." Eric rose to his full height "I'm going to talk to her." Horton rose, too. "I advise against it. Her answer will be the same and it will be keenly embarrassing for both of you. Later, when we are all home again, you may come to see her and try to win her. Although Al-though I think It better for a girl to marry In her own immediate sphere, I would have no objection to you as a son-in-law. But It must be brought about In the conventional way." "I'm going to know, right now. I can stand the embarrassment, and so can she. Unless she herself says otherwise she Is my wife." He strode out, to find Nan waiting wait-ing by the rail. On the boat deck, under the waning moon, they found a secluded corner. But at first his tense throat could not shape his question; the long-drawn seconds fell nnd wasted one by one. At last she touched his hand. "What did you want to say to me, Eric?" "I want to know whether we are going on together or part. There can't be any half-way. You must make up your mind now." "Did father speak about the ceremony cere-mony on the island?" "Yes. He hinted that you didn't consider It binding." "That's true. I can't feel that I'm your wife It was only a savage rite, and I think we may as well consider it annulled." The moonlight died In Eric's eyes. "That's all I need to know." He turned ns tiionu-li to go. But her hand fell lightly on his arm. "But. Eric vou mi-lit like to know that I'm going to be really married tonight, by the captain of the ship, provided the man I want will take me. . . . And I think he will." "He'll take yon hut he'll never hue you as I love you." Eric spoke In the grave, slow way she knew of old. in sorrow, not In bitterness. "I don't blame you. Nan. You warned me nil the time. I suppose It was Inevitable that you'd decide on Hoy, ns soon as you got back to your own world." The girl smiled dimly, nnd a starry shine was In her eyes. "Tills Is not my world." Something In her tone shot an electric current through every fiber of his body and soul. It paralyzed his heart and rustled up bis hair. "I I don't understand " "I am not dead." She spoke In solemn sol-emn exultation. "I nm not asleep. I am alive," He stared In dazed wonder. "Don't make me hope, and then let me fall," H i .v.rv F1 fi if rag "I Am Not Dead," She S)oko In Solemn Sol-emn Exultation. "I Am Not Asleep. I Am Alive." he begged. "You yon mean Boy don't you?" "I mean you you no one 111 this world but. you." Hungrily her warm anus crept, about him, and her eager Hps pressed his. "Don't you understand now? Hold me, Eric, nnd don't ever let me go." Ills old mother, the Sea, would die In her bed, anil his rather, the great North, would wear chains on his strong lice limbs, before he would let her go here or In Vul halla. . . . Young love . romauco , . , rapture . . . vie lory. . . . I T 1 1 H KND.l |