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Show . Sack Sheep's Gold BY BEATRICE CRJMSHAW ClustraUons by Irwin Myers Copyright by Hughes Masale A Co. . , WNC Service planter chairs. box tout 1 guessed contained linen and oddments of various vari-ous kinds. 1 peerel Into the cook bouse. Stores; aooklog ntenslls "They'll be coming a-ong tomorrow." I thought; and reflected that I was luckier than I deserved. It wos very cool out there, I remember; re-member; far cooler than It would have b-n In little Iron rooms beneath the stifling roofs of town. 1 had a bite of something from tbe locker of my boat, flung my bedding on the unknown un-known person's bedstead, and slept card fastened to It And Immediately 1 knew what It was; for whom It bad been Intendea And tbe world, for one reeling Instant, vauiabed behind vetla of red. I came out of that jioment's mud oess calm and cold, aa once or twice. In tbe war, I had found myself, before the doing of some deed that brought s medal after It. "You are Sir Richard Fanshaw," I stated He looked at me curiously; I thought he was beginning to guest "It mav Inter! von to know." I THE STORY On a pleasure trip la eastern waters, Philip Amory, Kngllab World war veteran, now a tradar on the Island of Papua, Near Guinea, plunges overboard to save tbe life of a musical comedy actress, knowa as "Gin-Sling." Amory becomes Interested In Pla Leurter, member of a wealthy New South Walsa family. Be telle ber of bis knowledge of a wL wonderful gold Bald on the Is-land. Is-land. "Gln-81!ns" telle him Pla Is engaged to 8lr Richard Fan-sbaw. Fan-sbaw. His holiday endtd. Am. ory arrlvee back at Oaru. He meete aa Englishman, Bplcer, there on development business for a eyndlcate of wblcb r"n-ehaw r"n-ehaw le bead. Fanshaw'e nsme recalls to Amory a long-forgot-ten incident tn wblcb he witnessed wit-nessed tbe escape of Fanshaw from a leper colony. He telle hie friend Bassett about It and decldee to Inform Laurlar. He goee to Thursday Island to send tbe message. Amory bears Fan-ahaw Fan-ahaw dictate a message wblcb Indicates that the eecret of the gold field la known. Amory meete with an aceldent that laye blm up tor three weeks. . CHAPTER V Continued 11 "1 think you're very good Indeed," I lied promptly. Dismay was tbe emo- Hon that, In truth, bud possession of me, I wondered boa many people knew, or would know, and bow soon they would be on the track of the unique, amazing place known as Tata-tabu Tata-tabu I swore to myself that, doc magnificently. Dawn came with wild crying of seablrds, and a sudden wind that burst In tbe door, it waked me, and I Slid to earth, looking for my shoes, for now It was full time I got away 1 suppose I took s few seconds to slip on and tie my shoes; 1 never heard s sound but when I looked up, there was some one in the doorway. My Bret thought for you could not see the man's face, so blackly was be silhouetted against the pole rose and primrose of the sky was "Caught ; maybe it's the doctor Inspecting." My second sent the blood from heart to tngertlps, like leaping flame, 1 knew that tall, tight, well-set figure, that bearded bead. 1 bad seen It four times; once on the Island of decay and death; once on tbe great liner in the Arnfura sea, once at tbe hotel on Thursday, and now here. Fanshaw bad seen me, he came across the floor hi a couple of strides. went on, that I am Philip Amory." Now be turned scarlet; the curious honey-colored eyes flashed crescent moons of white above and below, like the eyes of a dangerous horse. "It seems," he said, restraining himself, him-self, "that 1 owe you a great deal ol kindly Interest In what 1 had supposed were my affairs," 1 let the gibe pass. 1 had one thing only in my mind, and, like a charging boll, I drove straight for It "Where Is Miss Uurier?" I asked. I didn't expect blm to answer, but be replied at once, coolly. "About forty-five miles out at sea on today's Morlnda." "She has come back to marry you?" "Exactly." "You're fixing up cbts place for her?" He did not reply to that; be looked at me, watchfu.ly, as one boxer eyes another In the ring. "Well, I want to tell yon," I said, "that you wont marry ber as long as I'm above ground." Again he was silent Again 1 charged like a bull; but this time. It was as a bull charg.-s frantically and uselessly, upon the barrier about tbe ring. "You were the man vbo got away from Iota Island. You're an escaped leper." He Just laughed a little; seemed to be waiting for me to have done. 1 had not anticipated this. He Just stood there, not admitting, not denying. deny-ing. If 1 was strong,, be, with his weight of added years and honors, bis money, and bis celebrity, to back him up, was stronger. I could feel all that as he meant that I should feel it almost visibly upholding and supporting sup-porting blm, as we stood there In the windy quarantine bonne, with the sea-birds sea-birds crying on the sands outside; Fanshaw and I "one and one, with a shadowy third" the eternal triangle yet again. Fanshaw was entirely self-possessed. He waited till It seemed clear that I bad done, and then spoke. "Your boat Is outside. Yoo can get away as quick as you like." "If I do," I' warned him, "I'll sail straight to Port and stop your d d mnrrlage." "Just as you choose," he said. He took the white cushion out of Its paper, smoothed It 'aid It carefully on the back of one of the planter chairs; set down some small parcels be had In his pockets, and walked out of the bouse. He did not seem to be paying any attention at all to ma tors or do doctors, I was off tomorrow. tomor-row. Something of this I said. Gin-Sling eyed me wltb a satisfaction that 1 found almost puzzling "Bight; get off and beat blm to It That's the way, my lad ; d 'nk hearty, you'll soon be deadi" was ber entirely Jlnnean comment "What way will you go?" she asked, presently. "Way? Oh, by Darn, 1 suppose." She seemed to like that and 1 realized, real-ized, wltb some astonishment thnt the map of I'apua was no blank to her. "Well," she sold, "I must be going, or the cats will begin to mew. Cull and soy good-by to me before you go. I'm out of a shop now, so I dare say I'll make back to little Sydney again. You've no idea what a lamb you look In those pink pajamas, cuddly boy I See you again soon." Her yellow stockings gleamed as she walked down the long veranda. Just not dancing, out through tbe doorway into the smiting jmn. - . V Next day 1 left the hospital. I called on Jinny, aa a matter of course, and was rather surprised to And that she had sailed the previous night The hotel people die 1 1 seem to be sure what boat she had taken or where she had gone. And the truth was. that 1 bad too much to do to puzzle over the matter, for more than a little while Nor did I, for even an Instance, suspect sus-pect what matters of grave Import bad lain concealed btneath the light surfaces of our talk. e e e e e e a I had to go to Tort Moresby, It I Knew that Tall, Tight Weil-Set Figure, That Bearded Head. and asked me, with profane additions, what on earth I might be doing there? I could hardly answer him at first; never, till that moment had It occurred oc-curred to me that however well he was known to me, I was, so far, quite unknown to him, except by repute. I answered him briefly. "1 did not know anyone bad the place. 1 got In late, and camped." One used to fight In tbe great war, sometimes, when one was almost three parts asleep; drunk with the want of rest, long continued, wltb the never-relaxing never-relaxing strain. So I fought then, drunk, drugged by Fanshaw's enormous personality, his superior mental forces, yet determined, as ever one had been In tbe trenches, not to give tn while life was life, and I was L We went down to the beach almost together. There was my cutter, rocking rock-ing on the tide; there, long and black and slim, wns what I knew to be the fastest thing afloat for a thousand miles a speed launch capable of doing do-ing thirty miles an Hour, which had lain for some good while In Port unsaleable, un-saleable, because she simply ate fuel. ... I thought I knew who had bought her now; who didn't count a tin or two of benzine, when be happened hap-pened to be In a hurry. (TO BB CONTINUED) turned out because there was no one at Darn to take charge of my store, the man on whom J counted having suddenly left I remember I was worried wor-ried at having to go, but consoled myself my-self by remembering that Sir Richard and his lot could not possibly get way before me, since they bad still to do their recruiting, end mine was as good as done. I bad only to whistle, and get as many boys as I wanted, but they would have to employ a recruiter, re-cruiter, and probably overcome a good many difficulties before they collected boys enough to carry for a large party of strange white mea . . . As to Pla, she was safe In tbe East. So, feeling like myself again at last, I sailed once more In the merry sun and wind, beading my cutter for Port Moresby. ' Never since then have 1 believed in presentiments, in warnings, or shadows that fall before events. There was no "The h 1 yon did," answered Fanshaw Fan-shaw roughly. "Dont you know you have to get leave to land?" "There was a squall coming." "Squall be hanged. You'd better clear out of this, and be thankful If I don't report you." I might have gone knowing myself to be tn the wrong, and not wishing to enlighten Fanshaw more than was necessary about myself I might have gone, and changed the course of four lives that day had not the merest trifle Intervened. Nothing on earth but a cushion. Sir Itlchard had been carrying it wrapped up In paper; while he was tailing to me, he laid It down on a table, and the paper, being be-ing Insulliclently fastened, burst open. I saw the thing, a pretty trifle of white satin and embroidered flowers, crying "Wedding Present" in every stitch and thread. I saw somebody's warning for me. Singing, 1 went straight tc the dark day of my life; the day that has colored, and will color, every following hour, until that time when hours and days shall mean nothing more to me. CHAPTER VI I made Port. Moresby on the evening eve-ning of tbe third day. My boy was not with me; I bad stnt him back to Daru direct and was alone. It was duskisb when I sighted Paga Hill, with a nasty' squall coming up. 1 thaught with disgust o. the trouble of seeing th doctor, and the customs, and getting pratique, all to be gone through before I could have leave to land. Very likely they wouldn't give nie pratique that evening; 1 should have to sleep on board the tiny cutter again, Just when I needed a good rest. The sight ol Fisherman Island looming loom-ing np to starboard decided me, 1 would run In there, spend the nignt at the empty quarantine station, and get off early next day for the port Nobody would know tbe island was t uninhabited save by the old, crazy Solomon island caretaker who had been there for over thirty years, and couldn't tell tales even if he would. Perhaps 1 was breaking quarantine laws I didn't know, and did not much care, I knew that tbe two bouses were comfortable, if one could get Into them, and I reckoned I could manage that I found the two little bouses stand log up stark and pale against the velvet sky; I scrambled Into one, and cautiously flashed my i.orch. "Weill" was my astonished com- argent 'Msrxj-' imebody bad certainly been prong pro-ng the place for a stay. There a comfortable bed, a couple of |