Show 8 I 1 0 0 BLACK BT ACK i 12 R 4 I 1 i S T 1 I I 1 GOLD I 1 M r I 1 by I 1 21 beatriceb Beatrice 1 A A illustrations by envin mym v ifie S 4 IV g S copyright by y A co S 21 1 bartice ajl V V CHAPTER XII anti continued aued 22 Is this chii road shorter ulan Min say fir rala no come this rond road plenty short 11 it vel lefi at alaun ataun sunup sun up could we Ar arrival rivel nim him bay morning time net day what happens ifft if it ra lust ill aeto altogether we die nowr Hw Jt plenty doall atop along this road makem makein ble big rain come breakey up you me get ready to start at daylight said na lla tell him it f he allows the wrong broad ron drand andje if we dont arrive as a soon its as ho he says hell io be shot it was pure bluff but she ahe trusted to its currying carrying with the lie aid of sor ser beant g at a 81 almol Papu tins do not wink almol how ever me the a look that to winking as aa he described in vivid the trouble that would that murderer should his bis be poor the carriers settled down to rest rolled himself up tip in his blanket and lay down ri across ross the open end of the carriers fly within bight of plas lla tent tile old sergeant had acquired the art of at sleeping with one eye more or less open on march suddenly he was ivas broad brnad agule there was some ono one outside the Sina badas tent elmol reached his arm softly down the barrel of ills hla rille as itlay it lay along his leg lie could see flee the person standen in shadow it was not a native ile he rather thought it was the wl blitte efte mun Slin fason what did he want there at night still watching the sergeant serge swung his bis logs lega over the end cud of the stick platform and raised the rifle to ills his shoulder what I 1 it wits nas the other Sin abada after all who could tell Tau badas prom sina buda when they thay both wore trousers lie ile had bt been en very near firing 1 crouching inside lie fly sergeant almot kept lie ile did not approve of ahll these se late into visitors of whatever sex he be was as here to protect hid charge charpe and alid lie he would do it what was tile the other SIn aboda going into the tent far what were they talking about within tile the tent pla la in soldierly kha 1 I busy packing up tier her few be longings for the morrows start had confronted by it A vivid egure i wearing silk pil pajamas lUmik wild hair f clr flying in curls about its ta face sobered jinny in a new strange mood was there 1 I 1 come coins to conr she said bourse ly JY what youre going to do 1 atut what I 1 wanted to ask you sold pla pin looking sadly at the flawed heitl hea tiry ty the alio wasting youth of tier her who wua called uhri gln sling slang 1 11 I cant cani think you knew wadi what you yon were doing 1 I 1 knew blasted well I 1 got him away 4 till and kept him away it was slber nunly rne rite you dont know that thai binti hes silly on top hut but underneath he unit can hay buy rind and sell nil all the wise men I 1 sort of liked him you woul tint I 1 married him film when lie he asked mer me I 1 r I 1 think hes another wife or two knocking about somewhere but I 1 reckoned id get what I 1 c could out of him A girl lia hn s got lo 10 live lc you dont know you dont know the like of you the light won lonians ians contempt for bread lind butter butler innocence flashed out what are you go going ing to do what are you 1 I dunt dont know us that matters much to anyone a ni one but cut and run lie he a left me alone in u the ahe blish not if been nobody there but when the drink of him film lie got seared at what he done and lie he says bays says hr hit tin clr lt tonight ill take the autu outu and so lai und and you can go 90 to blazei or to mrs philip armory says he for you rot kot ma inn into tills this trouble says he ind gaind there a miner in captin will ever tale a drink front from oie me in galit sit so id better go south and swing ii a blinky pick tit at newcastle eX castle says lie he anabe and lie went and I 1 got no carriers curriers curri ers sf and nd no tent and if you like to tell me to go to blitzes slime same as he done you can do it youve every right no carrier car ders sl ilia ila had lerned learned her new guinea by now she understood as ell as nuy noy miner or explorer what no furriers ersin in the far interior meant it erf earit death death certain and ditth clayed if site she had been in cloned bovast to rost tills creature out if she hn lal hated anted tier as sho she well might lit have done for the ruin was bringing on the amu they both loved even even so it not have henn helin lios possible sible to desert her put im pla ilu lind had tio no hate tor for lanny pity field tier her if course vours eyou yon must come with us she mild were trying to get ahr through auh hy a cut in time to save the lalni my carriers ers think it can be lonc imie im arnnld well tirre tir re to 0 hury toll u yu re r going to 10 but yoa cant rhe thaws ulu lay day after tomorrow mid day and and spicer hes hea wal waltin walthill thill there with hla his eyes out ready to put in lila fits pegs it if some one else beat him smithson he meant to go back with will the boys and me and see eca the fun spicer promised him half as a much again as a aa her ber voice shook as an phil was allowan allow ifil ln him to work it along with him and he promised roe me half of tue whole thing lie thought hed bought me soul and body for that but bat I 1 knew the minute I 1 saw you come in that the game was up so BO far no as I 1 wits was in it I 1 was and when im kored im halt half mad but all the same I 1 knew when id sobered down a bit id be off the whole thing im like that im on and im oft and when im on ther theres es nobody can put me off and when im off the devil himself cant put roe me on im through with spicer salcer and with and with the whole d n crew and I 1 wish to god id never done it only its too trite inte now its not too late if we start just at dawn and keep going hard harb we can get there before tile the day after tomorrow and were going to do it youre going to atop him cried jinny springing to her feet id give the heart out of my body to see him turned down proper ties hes hes made bmw me hate ive done things that all the pussy cats meow at but I 1 never donea done a dirty turn to anyone he fore and jt aits owan to spicer that ive I 1 A certain ascertain obscure instinct of physical repulsion kept her from the joint steeping sleeping place done it now it if you to do know another way we can get back by for gods sake inke take it and ill 11 know what it Is to ta ole sleep ep again it wis was when I 1 heard from port that hed narried you phil I 1 i menn itans it was then I 1 went off me nut and spicer he took advantage of it im with you theres my hand on it she struck her thin fingers angera almost painfully into vlas plas have you got anything to drink she finished with sudden pathos 1 I have one bottle of brandy in the medicine 1 clil chest st answered pla ilia ill lakeit rou kelt do said sald jinny briefly well get there or well die CHAPTER XIII in the bottom of the river gorge it was ana extraordinarily still the thin tinkle of the Ito willy river among high boulders parched a relied with drought it seemed only to the absence of nil all other sound far away awai among thy tho castellated heights that dint blackened the stars rock wallabies wall may have moved with loping thunia winds stirred in wild grasses the stately cassowary soun sounded ded lila fits loud drum nut but here at the bottom of all things in the great crack tant seethed to cledie cleave the very bowels of earth there wits was no life save that made tor for one night iby by the carriers the ille fires the moving fornis forms and shouting voices of vials es eaf tion when these lied died down when slip suppers perg were over dver and hacking tomahawks tomahawk al albeit leit when tho the were sleeping under mhd r tiles flies arid and the two white women find come out to sit for a few nil under sky before they got hen beneath erith their close mosquito nets and went to rest then chen the stillness of f the deep valley came forth once more in a slow flood wrapped ul all things seemed to climb higher aud and higher up the lie barnstone bare bar estone bt bip walls walla above the low ealin exhausted listed river that wills breathing feebly in the heart of it as life leaving the body of a nian breathes ever mure more and more faintly through the lie rising tides of dentie it had dem been a hard day for bot both 11 women forced to drive strength to the utmost behind the greater find and wore more end enduring I 1 tiring strength of the men but 1 strangely it ft had bad not been as hard as either had bad anticipated anticipate di pla irla was waa almost puzz puzzled led to find the whole party so near by all accounts account s to Tata tata they had traveled up nip the canyon without much trouble and reached a good came camp well weil before dusk it gaall wa too easy as roads went in that wilderness nessi 0 and in consequence it gave pla PIS to think was I 1 no io going bac she I 1 had wanted that road and taken if auf why wag the carrier kaffitz so strong atron fr ity ily aver averse seto to using it and why would lid sergeant when questioned ila inyl r nothing about the matter by alt all show showing lai this way solved saved a whole dayi of I 1 I 1 travel and yet so far it had been neglected by the makers of tile the tracer 1 I wish said bald pla suddenly 1 I knew more about this country jinny was sitting on a rock near by A long way 0 off ff amo among ng the peaks peak of the pla range distant thunder broke grumbled and was still in the silence that followed on the thunder peal jinny spoke 1 I know something about it she sold said 1 ive 1 been once on the net field I 1 reckon its hoods floods Is the matter here floods Flood sl said pla swinging round to look up and down the enormous enon noua gorge you told bold me the carrier said the tha place was full of devils and w when hen it mined the devils came along and broke you up means yon d die 1 I suli suppose pose it might be very inconvenient ven veni ent tent 11 said pla sergeant samol did mention something about it but diet I 1 really dont see eee why one could not get out of tile ali e way if a flood came one has only to climb up the tha sides before At it has risen too high theres places you climel well theu then one could hurry burry along and find another place if time why you have timer ive heard stories she said presently likely they true im going to bed pla pis tat eat a little longer out there thera alone in the blackness of the canyon looking up at the river of stars that ran so far above A certain obscure instinct of physical repulsion kept her from the joint sleeping place made mada her feel as she had secretly felt last night that a twelve by fourteen tent was too small for her and for genevieve genavieve I 1 trencher together but her innate courtesy made her hide the th feeling ill come presently she called its so cool out here jinny made no answer she was flinging her clothes recklessly about in the tent and pla pis could hear her muttering to herself has she been drinking again wondered the girl on the rock its a fer terrible pity site she could be so fine she might even yet but if that has got tier her her time will be too short how long site she wondered with a certain ascertain fearful curiosity would it take 4 a woman like her to reform bhang change q entirely make up for it all life had no answer ready to offer pla pin laufter that night by und and by when jinnis jinnys mutterings rIngs and fling clingings ings had given way to silence tile the other entered the tent sat down on the edge of her bed and began to unwind puttees and unlace boots sho sha felt that sharp eyes were watching tier her from behind the mosquito net of the other bed but she tried to remain or look 1001 unconscious of the fact WIk without hout warning jinny burst out 1 I hate you houi I 1 think im mad Sh site ehas has not been drinking thought pla pin 1 I dono do what im doing it for went on jingly speaking more and more rapidly why should I 1 why should I 1 hand you over to him and oil nil the tha pockets of both of you when 11 ll I could knock you over any one of them precipices or I 1 could set the carriers carr lera on to take your hend head oh you yon dont know theres no nothing any aay mun man black or white wont do for me except one ona except the threatened storm hurst burst she fell into frantic tears team pla ilia acted by instinct now re pul slon somehow had died jinny slie site said stop crying dear it hurts you to cry like that and it hurts me to lipar hear you yim why should I 1 stop why I 1 get thein to kill you and your ser geant too for two pins I 1 would you vou took tok phil dilill awny away from me no sald said pia ilia calmly 1 I did not that ivas vas done long before elther of us as I 1 met him cant we be generous to ene itch A other jinny since we both care for him cant we want the best for him bw rye thought often that you might have been the best if you and he had met earlier SAY it out I 1 know what you yon mean if you know I 1 sity any many jinny I 1 cnut cant give him quite what you might 1 have given its a puzzling world 1 things doniever dont ever tit nt neatly us as they doa do in books theres something bout about me ma bof not TO DB BE CONTINUED |