Show FORLORN ISLAND by EDISON MARSHALL V service copyright by edison marshall SYNOPSIS 1 with his yacht the intrepid aban boned by its crew felix horton mil lion bonaire alre with hie his mother his daugh ter tar nan and roy stuart puts into squaw harbor alaska to recruit i he engages a bunch of stranded there A gigantic pole san domar Is their leader captain way 1 l mire the intrepid a skipper Is an old friend of eric ericssen ericsson unemployed j bailor sailor and eric engages to am sail as chief officer nan and eric indulge in a moonlight flirtation the intrepid Is wrecked eric leaving her in a small boat ditl horton and his party un able to heir hel they watch San domar kill captain and leave the ship with h his crowd on landing they learn there I 1 Is no communication with the cuts outs de world Pir Fir eheart priestess of the island descended from a white man in the remote past knowing a little english welcomes the cast sways San domar declares there shall age no law on the island but eric having the only gun cows him for the time declaring he Is the law he lays out work tor for all eric a love tor for ban nan j swells and he tells her he means w to win her for his mate she Is to not unwilling Fir eheart claims eric and realizing the importance of her friend ship he Is forced to temporize de do tending fending himself from attack eric a i f revolver apparently misfires but his t assailants flee eric finds the re volver which had been a Is rim fire while five live of Us its six cartridges t are center fire eric has one effective I 1 cartridge swede makes an attempt on his lire life he ile uses ses his one cartridge killing swede but is I 1 left defense less though master of the situation since he alone knows his gun Is use less Fir Fire eheart hearts s threats culminate in an attempt on nan nana s life eric saves her but Fir eheart refuses proffered forgiveness and friendship CHAPTER VII continued 12 for lan nan this was the beginning ot of revelation she was swept into a primal drama that rent her heart in the gloom of the turf house kept her rendezvous with the eternal explain to him eric bhe she begged you wont won t let them carry out that horrible custom I 1 no but you austn t blame them too much it s the only way they know to keep down the island population not uncommon in the north after the first day the baby would be perfectly safe e they d starve themselves to beep keep it fat make any sacrifice for it short of defying some of their heathen gods and taboos tou you know bow how und lind they are to children I 1 you say no let baby die checha quo asked tell them that the baby must live there will be plenty of meat for all if anyone harms the baby hell he 11 be harmed the same Chech translated the command amid a poignant silence the squaws nodded gl id to be spared the grim office but the old aleut rose from h s corner hobbled into the lamplight and spoke in tremulous excited tones he say it if baby live whole tribe have bad luck Chech interpreted when one too many born one have to die old gods say so long time ago if people no obey old gods get mighty mad raise h 1 1 birds no fly fish no run tell him that the old gods are dead eric answered gravely I 1 will take all the bad luck on my head tell him straight that the baby Is not to be harmed it Is the new law and not to be afraid the god of alkon and the candlestick rules the island now and forbids the killing of children when the patriarch heard he nodded and returned to hia his corner lan nan thought she saw a dull glow steal into his deep set eyes after their belated supper by the beach fire eric and nan na n turned again toward chirum s turf hut I 1 don t en on N 6 64 grew incredibly in stature it was anulta rising from his knees to lift both arms in supplication to the gods of the N winds ands between the gusts they heard him chanting in a thin waver ing voice there was no hope of seizing him unawares he ile stood on the very sum mit an immense granite crag whose hoary brow overhung the sea it seemed best to advance silently until they could speak to him in quiet tones then somehow distract bis his attention from his sacrificial rite until they could steal nearer and take his hand 1 I am not asleep I 1 am not dead I 1 am alive they heard him chant then there followed an earnest iivo cation eric could not translate no doubt an entreaty to the old gods of the wind and sea the spirits that made the birds fly and the salmon run to take this humble f falling ailing life of hia hit in the stead of the new given life lif e de nied them oday today the two intruders had now crept to the base of the rock on which the patriarch stood anulta eric called quietly his ills chanting stopped in the middle of a note he grunted an inquiry eric thanked his stars for his few aleut words and idioms stay where you are NN e would make parley the reply was an excited outburst at the top of the thin voice there was a kind of tragic dignity in his sweeping gestures and erect white head the moonlight showed his eye sockets like black fissures in his drawn face do on up slowly eric muttered to mn nan I 1 it its our only hope now maybe I 1 can keep him talking till we get our hands on him I 1 but anulta s spirit waa was already run ning to meet his gods stronger hand handi than eric erics s seemed to clasp his own As the two palefaces peered over the rim he backed toward the void vold nan ians s heart was suffocating so she clung to the ledge but eric sprang for the crest she saw him risk his own neck as he wrenched over the rim his hand snatching for anulta s parka he was too late kou audam abou gou I 1 1 the old man walled invoking his heathen gods I 1 then with a triumphant shout that echoed and trembled among the crags he sprang into the sea dark water leaped high and drifted down in a nebulous cloud eric Erie stood peering over the brink everything went black before nans eyes as she expected him to attempt a rescue but it would only be suicide and the old island gods had their due already pr old chap he murmured then he turned back and reaching a hand to nan drew her up beside him tig ig moments passed before they abe red words they listened to illen roar of the surf the long IRS of the waves against the hey watched the shimmering he fhe moon across the sea f e infinitely alone it was as ey were the only living far planet the first of man LW w breath in some forlorn p e god forgotten through glad we didn t win at last und did not break the harmonized armoni zed with the larf arf and the winds wind s ht lit you d come to anan nan answered rn the first t ties are tar far finer fee ee only my own was almost up would probably tit it last a rattle nes thrust he went shoulder ice for his in allu Is bet dian didn t I 1 now ier n |