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Show fsERIAL L2 STORY CVj VV.VV'VsV.VVV,VVsVVsVsV jlNTO Ml i PRIMITIVE I ::: :; S I BY I j ROBERT AMES BENNET j ;) X : Illustrations bj :: jij RAY WALTERS ij s!s a!t . I'.V.V.V.V.V.V.-.V.V.'.V.'.V.'.'.V.'.V.Vj 1 (Copyright, IMS, by A, C UcC'turg Co.) SYNOPSIS. The story opens with the shipwreck of tho Htcnnier on whlcli MIhs Genevieve Leslie, un American Heiress, Ixml Wln-thrope, Wln-thrope, an Englishman, and Tom Ulukc, a brustiiio American, were passengers. Tho three wcro tossed upon nn uninhabited uninhab-ited Ishind and wcro thu only ones not drowned. Ulako recovered from a drunken drunk-en stupor, lllnke, shunned on tho bout, becauso of his roughness, became a hero as preserver of the helpless pair. The Englishman was suing for the hand of Miss Leslie. lilakc started to swim back to tho ship to recover what was left, niako returned safely. Wlnthrope wasteO his last march on a cigarette, for which he was scored by niukc. Their first meal was a dead fish. Tho trio started a ten mile hike for higher land. Thirst attacked at-tacked them. Hlake was compelled to carry Miss Leslie on account of weariness. weari-ness. Ho taunted Wlnthrope. They entered en-tered the jungle. That night was passed roosting high In a tree. The next morning morn-ing they descended to thu open again. All three constructed lints to shield themselves them-selves from the sun. They then feasted on cocoanuts, the only procurable food. Miss Leslie showed n liking for Hlake, hut detested his roughness. Led by Bluko they established a homo In some clllTs. Rlako found a fresh water spring. Miss Leslie faced an unpleasant situation. Thoy planned their campaign. Blake recovered re-covered his surveyor's magnifying glass, thus insuring fire. He started a Jungle, lire, killing a large leopard und smothering smoth-ering several cubs. In the leopard's cavern cav-ern they built a small home. They gained the cliffs by burning the bottom of u treo until It fell ngulnst tho heights. The trio secured eggs from tho cliffs. CHAPTER XI. Continued. 2T!ss Leslie sighed. "Why did you speak of therri? I am still hungry enough to eat more eggs a dozen UuU Is, if wo had a little salt and but-Tr." but-Tr." "And a silver cup and napkins!" added Dlako. "About tho salt, though, we'll have to get some before long, and some kind of vegetablo food. It won't do to keep up this whole meat menu." "If only thoso little bamboo sprouts wore as good as thoy look like a kind of asparagus!" murmured Miss Leslie. "I'vo heard that tho Chinese eat them," said Wlnthrope. "Thoy oat rats, too," commented Blake. "Wo might at least try them," persisted per-sisted Miss Leslie. "How? Raw?" "I have heard papa tell of roasting corn when he was a boy." "That's so; and roastlng-ears are hotter than boiled. Win, I guess we'll have a sample of bamboo asparagus a la Les-leo!" Wlnthrope took the penknife and fetched a handful of young sprouts from the bamboo thicket. They woro boated over tho coals on a grill of green branches and devoured half raw. "Say," mumbled Bloke, ns ho ruminated rum-inated on tho last shoot, "we're getting on somo for this smell hole of a coast house, and chicken ranch nnd vegetables vege-tables In our front yard. We've got old Bobble Crusoe beat, hands down, on the start-off, and ho with his shipful of stuff for handicap!" "Then you bollovo that tho situation looks moro hopeful, Mr. Blake?" "Well, we've at least got an extension exten-sion on our note for a week or two. But I'm not going to coddle you with a lot of lies, Miss Jenny. There's tho ; fever coming, sure as fate. I may stave It oft a while; you and Win, ten to ono, will bo down In a fow days and not a smell of quinine In our commissary. Then there'll be dyson-tory dyson-tory nnd snakes nnd wild beasts No; we're not out of tho woods yet, not by a considerable" thropu, "I must say, you're not very encouraging. " "By Jove, Blako," muttered Win- "Didn't say I was trying to bo." "But, Mr. Blake, I am sure papa will offer a largo reward when tho steamer steam-er is reported as lost. There will bo ships searching for us " "Wo'ro not in tho British channel, and I'll bet what fow boats do coast along thevo don't nose about much among thoso cornl reefs." "I fancy It would do no harm to orect n signal," said Wlnthrope. "Only thing that would make a show is Miss Leslio's skirt," replied Blake. "Thoro Is the bfg leopard skin," persisted per-sisted Wlnthropo. To hla surprise tho ""sawaawaWflBsawaMaBBBWiBMawaBstwBBewBewaweBS ongmeer took tho suggestion under serious consideration. "Woll, I don't know," he said. "If wo had a water background, now. But ngainst tho rocks and trees no; what wo want is white. I'll tell you whon Miss Jenny sets to and makes herself a .dress of that skin, I'll fly her skirt to tho zephyrs." "Mr. Blake! I really think that Is cruel of you!" "Oh, come now; that's not fair! I wouldn't havo snld a word, but you said you wanted to help." "I beg your pardon, Mr. Blake. I I did not quite understand you. 1 roally do want to help to do my share " "Now you're tnlklng! You see, it's not only a question of tho signal, but of clothes. We've got to figure anyway any-way on needing now ones before long. Look at my pants and vest, and Win's too. Insldo n month we'll nil be In hide or In hiding. That's a Joko, Win, mo b'y; sco?" "But In tho meantime" began Miss Leslie. "In the meantime we're like to miss a chanco or two of being picked up, JUBt becauso we've failed to stick out a signal that'll catch tho eye twlco as far off as any other color than scarlet. scar-let. Do toii suppose-1 worked my way up from axmnu to engineer, nnd did not lenrn anything about flags?" "But It Is all roally too absurd! I do not know the first thing about sowing, sow-ing, nnd I have neither thread nor needlo." "It's up to you, tbougli, If you want to help. My sisters unwed mighty soon after thoy learned to toddle. 'Bout time you lenrned There, now; I did not menn to hurt your fuellngs. You've made a fair stagger at cooking, nnd I bet you win out on the dressmaking. For needle you can use one of these long, slim thorns poke a hole, and then slip the thread through, Hko a shoomaker." "Ah, yes; but tho thread?" put in Wlnthrope. "Tho coconnut fiber would hardly do," said Miss Leslie, forgetting to dry her eyes. "No. We could get fairly good fibers fi-bers out of the palm leaves; but catgut cat-gut will be a whole lot better. I'll slit up a lot for you, fine enough to sow with. And now, let's get down to tacks. No offense but did either of He at Once Began Experiments In the Art of Pottery. you ever learn to do anything useful In all your blessed little lives?" "Why, Mr. Blako, of courso I" "Of course what?" demanded Blake, as Miss Leslie hesitated. "Wo know all about your cooking and sowing. What else?" "I I see what you meant. I fear that nothing of what I learned would be of servlco now." "Bonrdlng-school rot, eh? And you, Wlnthrope?" . "If you would kindly name over what you havo In mind." "Urn!" grunted Blako. "Woll, it's first of all a question of a practical practical, mind you, knowledgo of metallurgy, ceramics, and how to stick nn arrow through a beef roast." "I ah I believe I Intimated that I have some knowledgo of urchory. But I doubt" "Cut It out! You'll havo enough elso to do. Get busy over those bows and nrrows, and don't quit till you've got them in shape. Leave my bow good nnd stiff. I can pull like a mulo can kick. Well, Miss Jenny; what Is it?" "Is not has not ceramics something some-thing to do with burning china?" "Sure! china, pottery, nnd all that. Know anything nbout It?" "Why, 1 havo a frlond who amuses hoiBelf by painting china, and I know it has to bo burned." "And that's nil!" grunted Blnko. "Well, let mo toll you. When I wns a little kid I used to work In a pottery. pot-tery. All I can romomber Is that thoy'd take clay, shapo It Into a pot, dry It, and bake the thing in a kiln. Wo'vo got to work the samo game somehow. This kind of eating will moan dysentery in short order. So there's going to bo a bean.pot for our stows, or Tom'Blako'll know tho reason rea-son why. Nurse up that anklo of yours, Win. We'll trok it to morrow cocoanuts, nnd maybe something elso. There's clay on tho far bank of tho river, nnd across from it I saw a streak that looked like brown hematite." hema-tite." CHAPTER XII. Survival of the Fittest. SHiriUii next four dnys slipped 2rB by almost unheeded. Blako u saw to it that not only hlmsolf but his companions had work to occupy every hour of daylight. day-light. When not engaged in cooking nnd fuel gathering, Miss Leslie was learning by painful oxporlenco tho rudiments ru-diments of dressmnklng. At the start she had all but ruined tho beautiful skin of tho mothor leopnrd before Blake chanced -to sco her nnd took over tho task of cutting It Into shape for a skirt. But when It came to making n waist of the cub fur, ho said that she would havo to puzzlo out the pattern from her othor ono. Between cooking three meals a day over nn open lire, gathering several sev-eral armfuls of wood, nnd mnklng n dress with penknife, thorn, nnd cnt-gut, cnt-gut, the girl had little time to think of other matters than her work. Wlnthrope had been gnzotted aa hunter In ordinary. His tnsk was to keop Miss Lcsllo supplied with fresh eggs and each day to kill as many of tho boobies nnd cormorants as ho could skin and split for drying. Blako had changed his mind about taking him whon ho wont for cocoanuts. In-stond, In-stond, he had gone nlono on several trips, bringing threo or four loads of nuts, then a little salt from tho seashore, sea-shore, dirty but very welcome, and last of all a great lump of clny, wrapped in palm fronds. With this clny ho at onco began experiments ex-periments in tho art of pottery. Having Hav-ing mixed and beaten a small quantity, quan-tity, ho molded It Into llttlo cups and bowls, nnd tried burning them over night in the wntch-flre. A few enmo out without crack or flaw. Vastly elated by this success, ho fashioned larger vessels from hla clay, and within with-in tho week could brag of two pots suitable for cooking stows, nnd four large nondescript pieces which ho called plates. What was moro, all had a fairly good sand glaze, for ho had been quick to obsorvo a glaze on tho bottoms of the first pots, and nnd reusoned out that it was duo to tho sand which had adhered while thoy stood drying in tho sun. . Ho next turned his attention to met-nllurgy. met-nllurgy. Tho first move was to search the river bank for tho brown bog Iron oro which he behoved ho had seon from the fnrther side. After a dangerous and exhausting day's work in tho mlro nnd Jungle, he enmo back with nothing moro to show for his pnins than an armful of creopers. Late In tho afternoon, he had located the haematite, only to find it lying in a streuk so thin that he could not hope to collect enough for practical purposes. pur-poses. "Lucky wo'vo got something to fnll back on," ho added, after telling of his failure. "Pass over thoso keys of yours, Win. Good! Now untnnglo thoso creepers, To-night we'll take turns knotting them up Into somo sort of a rope-ladder. I'm getting mighty weary of hoofing It nil around the point every time I trot to tho river. riv-er. After this I'll go down tho cliff at that end of tho gully." Wlntlirope. who had becomo very irritable and depressed during tho Inst two days, turned on his heel, with tho fook of a fretful child. To cover this undlplomntlc rudeness, rude-ness, Miss Leslie epoko somewhat hurriedly. hur-riedly. "But why should you return again to the river, Mr. Blnke? I'm sure you are risking the fever; and thoro must be savage beuBts In tho junglo." "Thats my business," growled Blnke. Ho paused a momonl and added, rather rath-er less ungracious! : "Well, If you care, It's this way I'm going to keop on looking for oro. Glvo mo a llttlo Iron ore, nnd we'll mighty soon hnvo a lot of steel knives nd arrow-heads that'll amount to something. How'ro we going to bug anything worth whllo with bamboo tips on our arrows? Thoso boar tusks are a flzzlo." "So you will continue to ris your life for us? I think thut 1b vorj bravo and gonorous, Mr. Blako!" "How's that?" demanded Blake, not a llttlo puzzled. Ho was fully conscious con-scious of the risk; but thlr wns tho first Intimation ho had received or conceived that his motives wero othor oth-or than solilsh "Um-in! So that's tho tlckot. Gottlng generous, oh?" "Not gottlng you nro gonorous! When I think of nil you hnvo dono for us! Hnd it not boon for you, I am suro wo should havo died that first day ashore." "Well, don't blame mo. I couldn't hnvo let a dog dlo that way; and then, a fellow neods a Man Friday for this sort of thing. As for you, I haven't always had tho luck to bo favorod with ladles' company." "Thank you, Mr. Blako. I quite up- V prcclato tho compliment. But now, 1 must put on suppor." 'H Blako followed her Graceful movo-monts movo-monts with nn lntontncsa which, in turn, drow Wlnthrope's attention to hlinsblf. Tho Englishman smiled in a dlBagrcenblo mnnncr, nnd resumed his work on tho bows, wl'.h tho look ot ono mentally preoccupied. Aftor sup-per sup-per ho found occasion to spend soma llttlo time among tho bamboos. When at sunsot Miss Lesllo with-drow with-drow Into tho baobab, Wlnthropo somewhat ofllclously Insisted upon helping her sot up her screen in the entrance. As ho did so, ho took tho opportunity to hand her u bamboo knlfo, nnd to draw her attention to several double-pointed bamboo Btakes which ho had hidden under tho llttor. "What Is It?" sho nsked, troubled by ; his furtive glanco bnck at Blako. "Merely precaution, you know," ho whispered. "Tho ground In thoro Is qulto soft. It will bo no troublo, I fancy, to put up tho stakes, with their points Inclined townrd tho entrance." "But why" "Not so loud, Miss Gonevlovo! It struck mo that if any ono should seek to ontor In tho night, ho would find theso stakes doucedly unpleasant. Bo careful how you handlo them. As you sco, tho sharper points, which aro to bo set uppermost, run off Into a razor odgc. Put thorn up now, boforo it grows too dnrk. You know how nine pins aro set that shapo. Good-night! You see, with theso to guard tho on-trance, on-trance, you need not bo afraid to go to sleep nt onco." "Thank you," sho whispered, and began to thrust tho etnkos into tho ground as ho had directed. Ho had not been mistnken. Tho vnguo doubts and foars which sho al-ready al-ready entertained would havo kept her awake throughout tho night, but thanks to tho senso qf security af-forded af-forded by the sword-bayonets of her silent llttlo sontrlcs, tho girl was soon nblo to calm herself, and was fast asleep long boforo Blako wakened Wlnthropo. Immediately aftor breakfast, Blaka who had spent his watch In grind- ing tho edges from a stono and ex-pcrlmcntlng ex-pcrlmcntlng with spilt and bent twigs put Wlnthrope's keys in the fire, and began nn nttompt to shape them Into a knife-blade. To heat tho steel to tho required tompornturo, ha used a bamboo blowplpo, with hit lungs for bellows. Wlnthropo turned away with an in-different in-different bearing; but Miss Leslie found herself compelled to stop and "" sH admire his dexterous uso of his rude (TO BE CONTINUED.) ftH |