| Show B golod 11 THE STORY on a pleasure pl aure trip in eastern wafers w era philip amory english wo world id war vote veteran now a trader on th the island of papua now new guinea plunges plunge overboard to gave aa ve the life of a musical comedy actress known a as gin slang amory becomes interested in ilia laurier Laur ler member of a wealthy now new south wales walea family ili he tells her of hla his k knowledge no cledge of a wonderful gald g I 1 field on the tha laland inland though ho 0 does not disclose the name of 0 the place gln gin sa s1 in g to tells h him I 1 rn pla pie Is engaged kosir to sir richard fanshaw Fana haw amory however to la copil confident dent that the girl la Is not indifferent to him ills his holiday ended he be arrives back at daru I 1 I 1 CHAPTER ill continued I 1 could not tell often I 1 did not think of lt ft I 1 was reasonably busy as aa a trader and my beat up and down the coast tn in a cutter was waa a long ono one the crucial peak of solvency had just been reached anti and passed and I 1 was beginning to send money jp to port Blo moresby resby bank not much heaven knows but still it was prosperity or the dawn of that pleasant condition and it promised in due time the fulfillment nt of my feam of exploration nothing in the world to do with sir richard chard fanshaw far above me and my little affairs asala as pla laurier laubler was wag above us both where was the connection I 1 would have given much to know but weeks passed and I 1 was no nearer recalling the vague three parts forgotten thing i that linked sir richard fanshaw to i daru dam and its sea scents and windy doorways and my little trading store and now I 1 have to relate when and in what manner enlightenment came II 11 I 1 had gone up to the residency on an afternoon when there was something doing more than usual the it II M resident magistrate was back from a wild patrol beyond the utmost rim ot of civilization or knowledge art an A it 31 assistant resident magistrate anda and a jat patrol jarnol nol officer happened to be in at the same time and this ans an occurrence so unusual as aa to warrant fairly a dinner party david bassett the it hl a very rood good friend of mine had sent a prisoner to my iny store with a note dear amory come round to dinner it if you can Nort hanger arid and purchase are back no particular food but a good deal of yarning have you an eggl egg it if so send or bring it under careful escort yours ID D bassett I 1 sent jilin him all the eggs I 1 could tor in papua you must know eggs are the test of popularity the medium by which friendship servility hope esteem all led find expression you borrow eggs from prudent people beg them from anyone who you think amny be fool enough to give buy where you can but that Is seldom present to your sweetheart your chum your friend in hospital bring with a ser vile grin to the man in high position the man who has hag lent you money or can get you promotion eggs in papua are the true social barometer I 1 had eggs and always gave bassett some when he asked for tb them e in bassett was R M and could be useful to me besides which I 1 liked him furthermore on this occasion I 1 was going to be asked to ent eat the eggs or help to do so following my eggs I 1 went up to the IlesI dency several men like hire large joints joint of meat enclosed in a rather small meat safe were sitting within the transparent hesslan walls vols I 1 had expected three but I 1 saw four who else besides and purchase I 1 wondered was in Il hello lello heros heres black sheep 11 somebody said and my host began introducing Nort hanger purchase you know the black sheep sir mr spicer mr air amory the newcomer he was a fattish man with extra extremely niely flat feet and a sleeked head of fairish hair young good looking in it disgusting sort of way and dowered cowered avith art an excess or of the manner sometimes mi oxford fixed me with a cool stare and demanded of the it M M why do you call him black sheep M mostly because his eyes are black and his hair and partly because hes a decent sort of chap replied bas oatt staring back at the fattish man mr spicer immediately dropped me out of notice took a watch from hla his pocket and yawned dawned camett rang the liell tor for dinner who la Is he be I 1 asked in a whisper of Kort Nort banger hanzer as we went into the dining room a clean polished rather apartment that shouted in every toot foot of its barren expanse its owners bac bachelor belor condition fellow ellow IF i chos come across to make arrangements for some mineral proe proc crowd answered Nort hanger a little wearily we filed in why did you ask him film I 1 found time to demand of bassett and bassett looking at mo me with lurge irge sad ead eyes answered simply 1 1 I never did he wished himself onto th the e par party t y nad aud took his seat beat through the turtle soup we are usually sick biel of turtle soup indars In Daru through 1 the he fish elsh we are almost al ways tired tire d of fish because we got get it plentifully ond and tee the of dugong find the ginev inevitable bitable custard pudding and tinned vears pears mr spicer talked with jast so many niao pauses us would allow of bf ills his eating uzi ac by bu beatrice illustrations by irevin copyright by hughh bumele co service excellent dinner it seemed that he had acquaintances among most moat of the titled families of england that they all valued him highly and that he had been chosen to come ahead and or organize the expedition by a mass meeting of marquises laes dukes and earls this he did not forget to tell us ua la is stuff nothing colonial about it development of the british on which the sun nere sets our chief sir richard at this point my stack slack attention tightened your tour what I 1 rapped who did you say for I 1 thought being bored half asleep that my ears were playing me false so often had that name hummed in my lead head between sleeping and waking that I 1 could not bell believe 0 ve 1 I was hearing it actually spoken by some one else sir It Ichard fanshaw K C V 0 celebrated airman in the war extremely i s successful manager of companies devoted to the extension of interests chief in this matter if t any one Is chief but myself I 1 expect him film to follow very shortly via port fort moresby I 1 dont know what it was maybe tile the now interest tile the fresh channel of feeling opened up by salcer and his talk maybe the mention from an up expected quarter of fanshawe Fan Fau shaws name naine but something at that moment set on off 0 fuse beneath the long dormant part of my memory an and d exploded it into action I 1 know knew with certainty where and how I 1 had seen sir richard bunshaw before my G d I 1 knew I 1 in thel glass that hung opposite ethe the table I 1 saw my face turn to something like a piece of white blotting paper with black blots for eyes and brows 1 I know that I 1 saw it I 1 remembered that after at the moment I 1 was only concerned with getting out of the house spicer the it BL al Nort hanger and purchase might all have been taken out prid and drowned together in a bag jor for what I 1 cared there was waa nothing that I 1 cared about nothing that I 1 knew save that mad instinct to bolt off ohp course and get away wo we had done dinner and were just moving back into the mi mosquito room I 1 touched my host on the shoulder sorry I 1 tied lied but ive got a touch of fever ill have to go honie home you do look most awfully sick black sheep better get to bed you might be going down with blackwater night 1 I 1 said and slipped away As an I 1 descended the veranda steps the loud high voice of spicer was was still holding forth where you have failed he was telling Nort hanger and purchase who had mapped mappe dout out enough new cou country to deserve a dozen R 0 S medals where you have all of you given way there was not a roan man in the room but had performed feats of surprise attack capture among the wild cannibals of the interior enough to furnish plots to a dozen rn movies ovies III 1 I shall succeed I 1 and my chief we shall plant the flag of tile the british where never flag has waved before we are organized gani zed prepared for anything that may happen what wo we expect to find 11 I 1 remember wondering as I 1 went through the tha garden and into the croton walk at dog trot it if spicer and his gang perchance had picked up some rumor of the secret that was my capital and my hope I 1 remember telling myself that it did not matter it if they had nothing mattered except what I 1 had with shock and horror unspeakable recalled nineteen nineteen the year myself newly de mobilized spending my gratuity money in a herded trip through the south sea islands that 1 I in common with thousands of other had always wished to know somebody who said you lyou should have seen the islands years before before the war ten years before not what they were too many dashed tourists now it if you can handle boats get a cutter with a bit of a caban find go away back where from anywhere almost out of reach of steamers and ana cook tickets all the cutter hired a native or two engaged as crew weeks then of tile the happiness I 1 had come far to seek through the looking hass glass I 1 had gone like the child in the immortal tale ind and everything no now was wa magically changed with mith delight I 1 learned what life can he be when that tyr tyrant aritt time Is toppled off his bis throne how in the year that Is a day and the day that la Is a year a man perhaps may lose his way drop the clews that lead through the tangled maze called life and wander timeless aimless till the dark daric it must have been about the sixth month of my journ journeying eying w when hon with money running low and mind almost sated with tropic beauties and wonders so that I 1 began to think chink I 1 m might soon without regret return to civilization I 1 came upon a group of islands that call omega there Is a town in the omega group a town that for reamona I 1 cannot give here offers more commercial iner cial interests and possibilities 1 than most island places this la Is important and should be remembered athas it has to do with what I 1 am going to tell the town appealed to me but little it was the ibe outer part of the archipelago that drew me thin atoll islands barren arid and very bright islets with here and there a coconut palm and here and therea lost t melancholy looking tree shoal waters that were mauve and sapphire pearl and celadon green I 1 had bought th the e cutter by this time with a small windfall of a legacy that came my way way and I 1 had just enough money left to run her for a few more weeks I 1 cash for anything ofa crew however save one old silly fellow who was willing to come without wages lie ile professed to know the group from end to end and though I 1 was a little doubtful of his knowledge 1 could not net afford to quarrel with it or him after all I 1 tho thought we shall get some where and come away somehow and all one really wants it if I 1 had known I 1 it was on a windy wicked afternoon with high clouds flying that w wo 01 got blown away from our course such ns as it was obliged to abandon all attempt to get to the group of atolls for which I 1 had find been aiming I 1 gaye anye the tiller into the han band d of 0 the crew slung my two sleeping boards across tile the seats and lay down with a r rice ce sack under my head fiend was to call me at moonrise which I 1 judged to be about ten dpn I 1 sleep for a while the cutter pitched violently in the cross sea raised by tide and wind hammering with her bows on the water till you might have av e thought she elie would stave herself in it looked like illse ugly wea weather I 1 thought and then ol of a sudden I 1 slept I 1 was awakened by the smothering dash of salt water over my head ani and a blow from the cutt cutters erlis gunwale that got me in the ribs as I 1 w was as being swept overboard everything about abort me was white foam and water I 1 felt sand gand beneath my toes but could not grip it because the short breaking waves had we me at their will and were knocking me about as la a child batters a toy I 1 fought and pot got foothold at last the cutter was lying on her side aide smashing her must mast and rigging as she swayed about with the tha seas bens was just crawling out onto a stone like a rat escaped from the drowning pall where are we I 1 shouted to him film as I 1 crawled out him there was no use scolding him tor for his bis careless handling of tile the boat now low tide would strand the cutter till then one could do little or nothing 1 I danow ariki chief mournfully answered the old man then with a burst of animation 1 think we 11 11 yell rell wherever we are I 1 said the first thing to do dd Is to get the cable of the boat fast to soul something thing and that with considerable difficulty we did securing what was left of her to one of the big black stories stones so that she might not be carried away by outgoing tide titter this found a little liole hole you could hardly call I 1 it cave among the rocks and drugged dragged himself into lt it covering ills lean we wet body so far as he could with alth a mass ot of 8 seaweed I 1 left him film there fiille while I 1 started ito explore the place and find out if I 1 could ft where here davitts itts mad seamanship backed by my own carelessness had landed me it was not much past full moon time and nowhere on earths surface does the moon shine with more effect than on a coral island I 1 could see everything about me almost as plainly as in the day and I 1 did not like what chati 1 saw TO HE BE CONTINUED CONTINUE Dl |
