Show FORLORN F w R L ff N I 1 ISLAND S L A N L by edison marshall copyright by edison Max marshall shall service CHAPTER IX continued ir 16 ando crew tind had pot vot yet passel passe 1 the it t alev saw her dash out in fr rr nt of tl ern the we apon gleaming in her hand band and fly down the row to erics eric door the w wind ind smote at her in tia she seemed to cut through it unimpeded frying crying she b arst into the room ant an dropped to her knees beside the prone figure on the pallet gan domar s coming she be gasped gaped as she held 0 t the revolver rrie 1 was st 11 in the stupor of fatigue his face I 1 be he plaster co ild he rally to ineat this emergency she dl I 3 not gless giess she rhe knew knewl courage this indent virtue was still best of all man alan Is not yet a god h it an earth creature fl fegl 1 l tin ting up ward through a dark vale to the esplen d d d stant ts of immortality and of all his g counge courage co ints moat most whether in the silent moors of fort rn idland or the ringing valleys of a city street treet min alan stands above his fellow briten hr ites in intel gence in love inie h hit it in pure courage over miter ing the instinct of self man stands alone aven t div when thor I 1 Is a le legend leend end and woden a shidow shadow sh there Is still till no anathema so stinging as coward the sagging muscles of eric erie s face flexed like live rubber the lead eves eyes fl filled led with I 1 abt in one bound he was on his feet the next he was aft the he doorway deadly cool coo sinister domin iDt but only the wind rushed in at him Sin S domar and its 1 Is crew had stopped when they g leased nan s purpose m missing issing I 1 ike he v wolves olves in sno inov v at the distant twinkle of a rifle birrel barrel and when eric showed himself their crouched figures straightened for a few tense seconds they eved ered him sni sul lenly then cargos carges squirrel mouth w bened in a grin and his han ban I 1 rose in a jaunty salute staring staving well wed out of San domar s reach he led the retreat aric and Is nan an lingered in the door way nay he ile seemed p puzzled guzzled by her pal lor not the bleach of fear but a white light beat ng from within 13 it her manner was sober rather tl it an jubilant thanks for bringing me the gun he said in the long silence roy d t want to keep it I 1 gave him a chance but he dant d t tal tale e it 1 eric nodded to himself he ile didn dian t tell you why d d hea he N aso 0 I 1 s he thought that you could do more R with ith it it plainly it isn t in his line his ills turn will come later when we re back in civil bation and I 1 in skipper shipper of a tramp steamer wallow n in the trough of the atlantic antle there had been a trace of bitterness in his tone but it faded away as nan s gave looked on bis his something in her look mide made his words trail away tie ile took tool a quick step forward and cla clipped Q ped her hand his turn wont won t come later she murmured what is it Is nan an I 1 ve made up my mind at last there was still no exultation in her face only peace relief sober tion her tier lips d alv curled I 1 dont don t dare believe he began dazed she swayed toward him and kissed him gently without fire on the mouth you cin can bel en e e it eric I 1 ve come to you to stay I 1 want iou for my mate CHAPTER X when she went to poy and blurted out the news he took it in good part I 1 must say I 1 expected it naturally it was forlorn island thic w won on you not eric but if 11 you see y u ve made a mistake back in you can get out of it s mi ly eno coo agh 1 b this wont be a aral tr al marriage she be told him soberly its it s the real thing all man mari ages fages are tr als these dais the rhe institution of divorce Is an open aan iss on of tint that fact he smile I 1 kindly I 1 don t blame aou 0 a bit nan nn abar he ile s j the mil mal for you out here only don dont t get too fond of him loni loot up to him thrill in him if you want to but dont let thil that warm a romantic roman tit lL heart of yours get too much that night m be serious you m even think you d ban have e to st ck ek by him YOU re not entirely safe from sentimental nonsense you know aly heart Is involved already otherwise I 1 d never nener go as far as this I 1 you on re not in to love e with him don dont t try to tell me you are you want a mate and I 1 almit a amit hes the loceal log cal man he s all right too I 1 tell you a gentleman gent lemin cometh ng of a and a good judge of girls I 1 hand it to him for what hes he put over here I 1 admit now I 1 couldn coulden t ban have e begun to do it you 11 II respect hini I 1 uve ve a happy time with h in be queen of the island and not lose the slightest dig anity her fine brows knitted she did not like this faint praise Is that all you I 1 ave to say one thing more his tone grew solemn her anger gave way to deep pride be best man it if you wish I 1 bear no III will to eric he won you fairly and when you get home and find there is no longer any bond between you all you need do Is let me know I 1 want you now and III want you always mother horton was jubilant at the timings most senoble thing I 1 ever beard heard of you doing she chirped 1 you 11 II know how much more fun it Is 1 to marry an ancestor than a descend ant if you see what I 1 mean A man who has his place to make like the one I 1 chose instead of a fellow with nothing to gain and everything to lose nans father looked at her dazed I 1 won t oppose 3 ou nan came the faltering tones she had heard so often of late aric s a good man I 1 know an I 1 I 1 tl ink he cin can protect you better than roy true id hoped you d choose a man of great name but every thing Is swept away we must meet con lations as they are I 1 d like to know where you d find a greater name than erics ericssen ericsen en mother horton put in loyally one of em was the first conqueror of america when the holtons were probably pull ing a wooden plow in a saxon field the ceremony began at twit the day following the storm by N asians an s w sh it was in harmony with the elm sim of forlorn island no flowers no aleut feast naught but the ancient rite of the greek atholl cathell church as passed down by word of mouth from ancient days the only witnesses were nan s 0 own n party Fir Firc eheart heart so wh white te sl st e could well be he taken for the paleface she longed to t ie e her eyes shining like a ding moth t pronounced the charms in slow guttural tones there was no other audible addible sound the hum of the oil lamp the low boom of the surf and the whisperings of the wind across the moors only aa 0 6 lr ere c do you take me for your wife to love to cherish to protect gae depth to the silence silence the weird flickering light showed showed an incredible thing big tears coursing horton s face perhaps he was weeping for his daughters strange fate possibly for his own broken fortunes ahen NN hen Fir eheart had finished the pubs puss an seri service lee eric turned to nan with a tool 1001 tl at made her g gasp asp nan do yo i take me for your husband to lore love to honor to obey for richer or poorer for better or for worse he asked solemnly she hesitated briefly then her gaze met his with steadfast strength I 1 do there fell a long silence the wit nesses held their breath at last her low voice streamed into the hush eric do you take me for your wife to to love to cherish to protect I 1 do but neither had said till death do us part not only poy noticed this bi bt t nan too and she was ashamed that her mind should se ze upon the fact and store it away by the island custom instituted by a long dead kuss russ an priest Fir eheart should now kiss the neophitis on the cheek from some deep need of her heart she varied this custom tonight swaying toward eric she fiercely pressed dressed her tier I 1 ps to his then with a squaw III e grunt she wheeled and trudged away 0 only nav a moment later eric erie and nan were left alone with the faded akon the tarnished candlestick and the flickering inconstant shadows of the lamp prophetic on the floor fric and his bride could live apart ahe aleut people loved crowded animal heat intimate contacts to comfort their lonely souls cl amorin vol voices ces to drown out the moaning wind and sea so at anulta s death CM chi gum and her family had moved in with augat kanak hanal s widow leaving vacant a large two room barabara to this the pair came ln in the first starlight hand in hand band quietly but with no mis givings naturally as mated sea gulls flying to the nest when eric had I 1 gated the oil lamp in the larger ot of the tv two s and bolted the door he turned to find nan an watching him with a contented smile this was home it was good to shut out tle tl e haunted dark she and eric erie were tried comrades he would re her rights meet her more than half way in everything A sweet sense of security swept over her unknown in all the days of her exile she smiled at erics urics efforts to make the best of the rough fare clean pelts on the floor wooden stools her own hand big containing her few treasures sal caged from the wreck waiting for her in the adjoining room ile his revolver hung it on the wall in easy reach then drew her gently to mm him toure you re tired aren arent t you nan fagged out we ve had two trying days I 1 im in going to beep keep you up only a minute just long enough to ask you f ama a question then you can curl ua in there on the sealskins skIns the gentleness in his voice and gaze touched her profoundly she cared tor for him more than ever what la is it eric I 1 think I 1 already know the answer but I 1 want to be sure do you love roe me I 1 she looked into his steadfast eyes a long time before she ventured a reply I 1 in so fond of you eric 1 more fond of you every minute but I 1 don t think its the real thing yet ton you want rant me to be honest don t you and the real reason you marriett mar married i me was so I 1 can protect you beat cause you had bad to make a choice between roy and me I 1 think thit that th it had a great deal to do with it tier gaze fell but perhaps you will learn to love me soon as I 1 love you she pressed his hand against her brea breast t very soon I 1 think if you it 11 just let me kne learn it in my own way my own time just be tender with me eric I 1 in not one to drive a hard bargain nan he told her in his slow grave grane way you will be safer as my wife but that safety Is free hei ile kissed hissed her hand and with equal gen bleness her lips her eyes looked like starlit crystal pools surrounded by dark rushes you will wait for me to learn to love you there Is your room ve beckoned ov over ersher her shoulder you 11 find anew bolt on the door go in it when you like doubting himself and his ills creed blaspheming his idealism t that b at kept him from his harts hearts fulfillment eric alln lingered ered alone by the flickering lamp ills exultation of the pre previous ilous hour had burned to ashes ile made no move toward bed his big hands felt ilka stone weights on the halibut lines nan s good night kiss haunted him still it was so light so fleeting yet its warm ghost returned again ant an I 1 again aln to his as lips at last he rose from his stool yearning toward nan nans a doorway half crossed the room ills heart was racing but the way was not open what he had fancied was lasting peace was only an hour hours a armistice a breathing spell in the thick of the fight to tho the victor belong the spoils but the enemy was not destroyed merely hard pressed ills and nans nan s love was not a thing apart but inexorably bound up with island history history still to ba be written fate rat e moved again in a manner and guise beyond eric s wildest dreams there wis was a sudden violent shock like an earthquake leaping through h the turf walls and under his feet but it was not sine subterranean force rising in blind fury this giant s blow was dealt from above ile had time only to raise his eyes when the dome of tie ile roof collapsed in ruin and a two hundred pound boulder crashed through gh and thundered to the floor it was I 1 ke he a cold meteor hurled from the sky the wind of its fall wis as an icy ley blast on fries face and the abysmal horror of the thing rustled up the hair of his head it struck the driftwood drift wood block where he had just been sitting crushing it into the earth death had missed him by two paces but he be had bad not come through un scathed swathed scat hed the shock to his nerves ani ant heart was of stunning force besides a block of turf had struck hia his held head making him reel half blind against tha the wall ile could not grasp what had happened the room was streaked with fire but nan springing up with i a scream in the doorway divined ther the truth at once an implacable enemy had carried t the stone onto the roof of the barabara with his unnatural strength tugging it to the very dome through a crack between the blocks of turf or a loop hole bored out beforehand he bal hal located erics erles position then he had lifted the savage missile high in hi his simian arms and hurled it down but this was only the beginning events swept on with the fatal momentum of a the surprise at tad tact had already staggered the victim before he be could begin to recover a second blow tell fell it was like a bayonet rush after artillery barrage peering down through the pawning hole the attacker saw he had missed his mark howling he plunge 1 through h and the further collapse of the roof under his feet shot him into the room with a violence only second to his thunderbolt nan I 1 an saw him like an evl evil dream among the falling clods and dust eric made one hopeless effort to defend himself he ile lunged out from the wall but he be seemed blind and big movements lacked their familiar lithe ness and panther like power tha the fight ended before it began sando mar s arm stretched slow and long an odd raking blow with open palm and hooked fingers eric was ras hurled back against the wall only to wilt to the floor fk nan screamed with all a I 1 her he B h to see the vigor and str streng ng t tTe W knew so well utterly fall fail to beholds e splendid muscles quiver and go g slack like a speared seals seal 8 broke her last grip on reality the rest was a dart dark fantasy that made a blind spot in her brain she would recall it only in broken fragments erics dull open eyes the curious swirl of sando mar in ar s wiry hair the lamp flick ering from the wind of his vio lence yet a mind within her mind kept fighting cool and strong her scream ing stopped with a rattle her hand lashed to her mouth if she at San domars domar s eye her only hope of saving saying arle and herself was lost she watched mm in frozen silence but he did not turn his head TO BB CONTINUED 1 b d fiill |