Show va 4 ah so 11 aft d VIM t CHAPTER VI continued 0 nodded and across swimmer er the the the ra raft ft eyed dick rather curiously itle seemed fa far r from being exhausted lie find and is as dick recalled his recent pow L erful fui strokes ho be wondered with a round S seaman ile was aa ft bullet like head a sear scar across i one cheek and a squint in one eye As most of hla his body was under water dick could coula only judge of its size und and strength by tile breadth of the shoulders ler bull like neck and great halry hairy I 1 anna and hands shipwrecked ve he asked between two rollers the bramon nodded what ship adick dick added a moment later the yacht pelican I 1 dick almost almos t lost the power of his brins arms in hla his surprise and a big roller tossed him back a few yards before be could recover from tho the shock they were in the worst of the breakers after that and it took all their I 1 i t combined strength and skill to battle their wily way through them to the beach when they were finally tumbled ashore beyond the reach of the sucking sticking water dick dragged himself to hla his feet band and looked at the seaman you say youre from the yacht pelican he said what happened were you knocked overboard no sir I 1 come to get help ive wn in the water tor for ten hours reckon id never made land if you seen me sir I 1 was nearly in what part of the coast Is this the coast this Is an island Tal valhalla halla I 1 the man groaned and threw up his farms arms in despair 0 d then I 1 aint done no good he be said that swims all fur nothing I 1 thought I 1 was swim min aln fur the mainland lie appeared so genuinely grieved and nd disappointed that dick said sym i pathetically its too badt bad I 1 but tell line me about the pelican where la 14 she land and happened to her the usual thing sir she ran on i the shoals in the storm last night on an thea coin to pieces cant last awen ty four hours bours doomed sir its a pity sir or she being such it a fine boat and where was wag this dick interrupted dont know sir air the captain he said aid hed lost hla his reckon recko Jn an nt get it until sunup now cow but a lot of good it will do him now that ive failed ailed him hiell I 1 ile he let out another groan and f tied to an upright sitting bitting position you say this Is an island he added you tou sure it aint the mainland 7 I 1 id hardly make a mistake like that replied dick then it if the pelicans on the rocks why she summon lummon aid from the shore ashes equipped with wireless yes tea air but it aint working no more the storm ripped the wires to pieces an flooded the dynamos ito ho fir lr the capan cant send a message ashore why I 1 volunteered to clat it I 1 thought I 1 could do it with this raft but the tide and wind must have drifted me out of my course dick nodded and said nothing lie he was thinking hard IV was this a part of the mysterious plot or had the yacht been wrecked and the seaman risked hla his life in an attempt to get help before she went to pieces ile he eyed the man furtively he recalled his extraordinary strength in battling tile the waves until he saw raw dick and then his subsequent collapse the man in spite of appearance did not teem seem so terribly exhausted ho he was breathing almost normally can you walk dick asked sud denly if so go better get up to the house and make a report to mr outler cutler its his yacht he stopped in thera the middle iddle of hla his sentence andi and stared up tip at the rocas rocks that rose abruptly fram the bench a fe few w yards back from the waters edge standing on a projecting ledge within earshot as if she had just stepped out of the mouth of a sea cave that yawned dawned back of her was atle alice cutler dick was that she had bad been there for some time and had listened to the sailors story theres Thereal miss klIss cutler now he added pointing you can repeat your story to her or slowly smiling perhaps she he heard you yes I 1 heard the girl replied gravely it wont be necessary to repeat peat it sh began making her slippery de scent eat flam the rocks dick offered a hand to help her but she ignored lt it YOU yon were one of the sailors on the pelican she sha said addressing the nian man yes res I 1 remember your ince face liona ow i up there youre a new nan man arent you not no abne of the old ct crew that uncle had under captain johnston yes maam this Is m nay Y first cruise a the yacht 11 the man touched hla forehead all automatically as he spoke but ut I 1 dick ick thought he ha detected a bold ver in the eyes an im afraid gaarn aro its the last Y you ou have no idea where the yacht 1471 it I 1 had malam I 1 id tell yo you lri in tt It antly the caan know obber ther debbe he does now pity I 1 eted waited until daylight ans an then led tn ta reach land vt yes it in il it a pity replied miss cut ter w with a R PF peculiar cullar drawl 12 li 2 her voice III all right she bhe add J briskly go gp to the house and to to i blahe uncles not up yet ita ta maitil ma arul I 1 I 1 I 1 touched fiu hi head hea again with ai A BY george ethelbert walsh copyright 1928 1025 by W a 0 chapman service hand and then s lowly awny away dick watched hini in silence expecting tile tho girl to follow but she rl re standing until the sailor pallor was out of sight then site she slowly turned to 1 11 I saw bilm swimming in slie she sald said significantly but lie seem scein to need any help until you called then I 1 noticed lie ho lost his III nerve leather strange it yes it struck mo me so replied dieh dick seriously ll lavoll vOll when I 1 hauled him in I 1 thought lie he had more strength than 1 I hut but the poor fellow may have been frightened A night in the water would unnerve any one do you think he was in tho the water all night she bhe asked a little bit too t 00 pointedly to suit dick why he kaid so I 1 rry bay 11 sho she gazed at him filin with a challenging look in her eyes dick te returned turned it with a smile of admiration for with her windblown hair loose and her eyes flashing with strange emotion she ehe made a picture of striking beauty suddenly she ehe smiled perhaps im misjudge misjudging ilig you she all 0 said eald and was harsh with you this morning but the days happenings are getting on my nerves mr blake assumes all responsibility for the disappearance of the yacht last night yes tea lie he sent it away dick replied how did you know that she ho asked sharply are you in hla his confidence fi I 1 suppose speaking NI ty 9 A go on please she urged when he stopped slowly you were flere particularly good I 1 friends not after what happened on the dock the other day dick chuckled reminiscently youre quite right were not good friends then howd you know he ordered the yacht away last night 1 I happened to be strolling around when he sent bent the signals to captain brent what signals I 1 dont understand lie ile paused a moment in indecision then ho he shrugged lila ills shoulders it may have been a coincide coincidence Ace he admitted ile he or some one else hashed flashed three bright lights from the yacht after that the pelican got under way I 1 took the lights as signals the girl frowned and watched him with grave serious eyes after a long pause she asked abat were you doing in front of the house a 1 that time of the night ph just han ing around lie he answered lightly you see id been pretty cramped in my narrow berth on the yacht and needed a little exercise there was still doubt and suspicion in her eyes when drawing a deep breath she added where were you on tile the yacht that nobody dincov discovered ered you in in he hesitated go on please she urged when he stopped you believe me if I 1 told you he answered staling it would sound a bit too too improbable anything seems probable to me now go on well it was in a secret compartment that only two persons in all the world know of if we except the architects and builders she looked incredulous but nodded her head who were the two persons 1187 one was the former owner of the pelican and hes dead now mr van ness you mean dick nodded an and d the other she added inter r rogat g hely 1 I dont think ill mention the others name he replied shrugging his shoulders of course you know its I 1 L sufficient yes sufficient she mused thoughtfully then raising her lie eyes to him she added 1 I wonder how you came in possession sion of tho the information if what you tell me Is ii true I 1 don t supposed osei you care to botell bell me no miss cutler id rather CHAPTER VII dick avoided me lie house and its occupants though he ha hung around to spy and pick up nay stray conversation that lie ho could overhear lie ile had reached the point where here lie he was willing to play the lie eavesdropper on the slightest provocation the mystery mastery of the tha whole cliffair puzzled him and lie he to get tile the thing straight lie was un tin uninvited guest on the island and lie he did 11 d not intend to make himself it nuis nuisance sance there was bonie tiling thing wrong up at tile house mr cutler was at no bitne visible whether lie he was wag sick anil and confined to hla bis bed dick could not learn I 1 mr blake frequently came out and scurried around sometimes alone and fit at other times alth miss cutler once dick saw hill bilm with ith the rescued sailor talking earnestly but there was waa nothing suspicious in athla if tile the yacht had been wrecked it would be natural for him to the sailor to get all possible information froin froia him film once the three of them walked to tile tho edge of the highest bluff and scanned the ocean for some time dick watched them from a screened ened hiding place finally at an order from blake the sailor left and returned to tile tho house blake and alice remained standing a few moments the wind tossing and whipping her skirts and golden hair the man turned occasionally and while he seemed to be talking to her dick thought lie he eyed her greedily they sat down on a sheltered rock still talking and looking seaward A great desire to creep up behind and alsten urged dick onward but the venture was too risky suddenly another pair of eyes caught sight of them marle marie from an upper window of the house was waa watching them intently dick smiled and shook ills hla head bead jealous I 1 lie ho murmured A woman scorned Is the worst enemy a man can have I 1 believe ill court marle for information with this decision made he watched every opportunity to meet her but the never seemed to leave the house housa alone once he saw her in conversation with the sailor and from her manner lie he judged she knew him pretty well but even that could be explained without much difficulty all the way down marle had been free and easy with the crew sho she was a natural flirt dick spent the night in a small email cave cava ho he had chosen for his headquarters it would be difficult for anyone to find him there and more difficult to surprise him bleb he reasoned that the sailor would tell blake about meeting him and natural curiosity if not suspicion would urge the latter to seek him out A complete stranger on the lonely island would be quite a curiosity several times through tho day dick had a feeling that someone was spying on him film watching tor for him film and following him whether it was blake blakejr eor or the sailor lie he could not decide but it made him more cautious ill have to be constantly on my guard lie he said to himself if blake Is up to some crittle crime held hed put me out of the way it if he bo caught me that sailors standing in with him he was wide awake long before dawn and anxious to take hla his dip in the ocean before anyone else on the island was stirring lie he scrambled down the rocks to the beach choosing a favorable spot for a swim he threw off his outer garments and stood ready for the plunge suddenly a distant muffled hum like ilka the buzzing of a swarm of bees st aroused roused his interest ile he stood listening turning ills his head this way and that ild he looked up and down the face of the cliff at a loss to explain tile the intermittent buzzing after a while ills his attention waa directed to a thick grove of tall trees standing off by themselves on the highest point of the tha island some distance away from the tha house a pretty big swarm of bees he commented to make all that noise ill take a look in that grove instead of plunging into the surf he ha threw on his clothes and walked up the hill there was a peculiar metallic quality in the intermittent buzzing that had more than awakened dicks curiosity it had excited hla his suspicion therefore instead of et making direct for the grove ife he made a circuitous detour which enabled him to keep out of sight of anyone on the summit of the plateau by scaling the rocks and climbing along ledges ho he managed to reach the grove from tile the opposite side aide once within their shadows he crept from tree to tree always following the th humming bumming as a guide it seemed much nearer and clearer but it was still muffled as aa it if coming from a consider able di distance stanco TO BB CONTINUED |