Show FORLORN ISLAND by EDISON MARSHALL service copyright by edlon edison I 1 I 1 SYNOPSIS with his yacht the th intrepid practically abandoned by its crew felix horton millionaire with his mother his hl daughter nan and roy hoy stuart puts into squaw harbor alaska to recruit falling to secure sailors horton en sages a bunch of nondescript a stranded there A gigantic pole called san domar deal but not dumb Is their leader captain the I 1 skipper ekl Is in an old friend of erie eric ericssen unemployed but holding masters asters ro papers and he engages to sall sail as chief caff officer icer horton Is seeking uncharted islands of which he has heard nan and eric indulge in a moonlight flirtation which brings them both to the threshold 0 of interest in each other if 1 not of love the rn intrepid trepid Is deliberately wrecked by one of San domars crowd eric takes command ot of a small boat in which are horton his other mother in and daughter nans nana maid marle marie and roy stuart CHAPTER ill III continued 4 eric took his place skinner and some of Sani San lomars domars gang began to lower the boat when it was almost out of reach leaned over and dropped something heavy at erics feet to his amazement lie he saw that it was a pearl handled single action revolver the same that the skipper had brand dished 9 few minutes before helping with the lines eric let the revolver lie presently they were adrift and pulling manfully toward the shelter of the cape the boat was well trimmed their own danger seemed passed there would be discomfort many days tedious delay but the aleuts aleuns would surely aid them to safety and rescue unless all signs failed their party would soon break up nan would return to her own world where the wreck of the intrepid would be no more than a lively tale to tell over gleaming liquor glasses and her duel with erie eric only a haunting memory on moonlit nights roy hoy stuart would be her mate having and holding her supple body and bright soul and out of ills his shipwreck night might come a monograph on aleut cul culture the mow blow to llor tons arrogance would soon heal lie would build a bigger better yacht not to be menaced by any gale that blows eric himself would keep his own ways and go down to the sea in ships but eric had bad forgotten the old north ever new it Is not common earth but a brooding spirit the adventure en ture had not ended but had only begun marle Cb chambon ambon the french maid suddenly denly uttered a shrill cry eric whirled shaken white as the foam she was pointing to the deck of thy the doomed ship in the clear morning light lie he beheld a scene that would not only plague his bis dreams for months end and years but might change the whole current of his life apparently San domars gang had seized the only other seaworthy boat and had started to launch it aft whet when one of the filipinos Fill pinos had tried to join their number there was no room for him bilm hut but instead of elking him away cooky the poor white had struck him down with an iron pin it was this blow that marle marie had seen lie he had bad tried to get up and skinner had bad sped to his rescue and now cow the pack turned in a frenzy it was the old skippers last light fight the gamest camest and the shortest eric had ever seen but it could not win neither nor his loyal steward had weapons the four assassins swung capstan bars iron pins and a knife that made little across the waves skinner was the first to go down bludgeoned by swede the filipino boy now tried to get up but big smith finished him with a short vicious slash of his knife lie did not know that he was thus killing three birds with one stone the eight bight broke the faint hearts of the two remaining cowering forward one of them ran and leaped overboard the other ducked down the companionway and was not seen again the scarlet pool began to spread on the listing deck but the pack showed no mercy they had bad gone too far to stop now dow they must leave no eyewitnesses eye witnesses to their shame and they never dreamed that a boatload was watching them from the bay for a few brief seconds perhaps five possibly ten eric and his castaways casta ways forgot their own peril as they watched the gray skipper battling like an old bull moose ringed by the wolves in the snow it was San domar himself who finished the orgy of blood ills gorilla arm raised brandishing an iron bar then chopped down now there were three dead on the tilted deck dropping their weapons the wolves rushed over them to loin join their fellows with their help the second boat boal wag as launched presently they had bad all jumped aboard and were pulling for the bay it was only a moment later that the intrepid began to reel and keel over th the e spray shot high and the breakers roared as the sens seas and the wind rushed free over her ber grave grate oh its monstrous unbelievable norton was saying six seven lives lost and halt half a million more than halt half a million dollars swallowed up op like that I 1 and what will happen bowl now no one tried to answer each of his hearers bearers was asking a similar question of his own soul cut but eric rested his oar while he reached and laid a steely hand band on the thick forearm of devalera rowing at the next lock have you got that gun eric spoke quietly but devalera DeTal cra heard him plainly the dark irishman stole one quick glance into erics eyes its between my feet on the floor eric started to speak again but closing his lips in a tight seam scam he be groped for the weapon and thrust it safely under his coat CHAPTER IV when eric and his bis castaways casta ways won the harbor a dozen of the islanders put out a skin to meet them lost in dark thoughts eric gazed at them with dull tired eyes at fir first st glance they seemed lust just typical aleuts aleuns more like mongols than indians known to him since childhood but presently his glance sharpened why they jabbering in pleased exe excitement over what must be a rare occurrence in their lonely lives what had awed them so moreover they rose uniformly taller than any aleuts aleuns eric knew big active men worthy descendants of the parent stock that must haie base beat eastward into unknown seas from some lost asiatic birthplace centuries before there was something strange in the picture that for a moment eric could not grasp it had to do with their swarthy slant eyed faces presently lie found it eleven of the dozen men in the bidasha looked incredibly alike there were differ IVY V the fire was of driftwood hissing and smoking ances of age and weight but otherwise 1 ise they seemed so many peas in a pod the single exception was a short broad shouldered old man squatting in the stern to eric arle this singular fact had no special meaning to roy koy equally keen and deeper of mind it was like a dark prophecy the wind blew his low voiced comment to erics pars ears horton II orton those fellows look like piss pigs of the same litter do you know what that means it means all inbred there been any fresh blood on this island for a cursed long time landing was soon made on the bleak rocky shore A group of awed look ing elders boys and squaws squads pulled up the lifeboat the braves beached nearby and stood staring eric faced them and spoke crisply cau any of you talk english mostly they continued to stare in awed silence but a squaw turned eagerly to one of 0 the crew now watching San domars boat beat through the white caps Chech she called in guttural tones eric pricked up his ears cars this word originally chinook was used all over alaska to mean newcomer lie was not surprised to see the man addressed was the foreign looking aleut he had noticed before eric repeated his question lie talk english floe was the old mans boast to eric this was merely a stroke of luck but longheaded long headed roy seemed deeply and strangely gratified it was as though the answer had some deep meaning for him these women are cold and wet tell the squaws squads to take thern them to the nearest barn barabara bara Chech turned to the native women and spoke in aleut the they Y nodded smiling and beckoned to these strange white sisters from afar A turf house with a smoking chimney stood only thirty yards away so mother horton did not hesitate to take her shivering old body to the fire nan and marie followed guarded by wilcox soon the fenders were alone eric was free to seek the truth yet tet his heart was strangely faint and he took a wide tack they call you Chech nev newcomer where did you come from the man pointed to the south come from egnak island long time ago then the people go back and forth from liere here to there ther er no go never no DO go and never egnak people come they not know island here nig his black eyes seemed to film over long long time ago when Chech young he go with hunters to kill whale twenty kayaks kajaks village tillage big blow come up we blow covered canoes put out from egnak away far far against shoal my kayak get through reefs all the rest lost but why did you ton stay here erics voice seemed to tremble a little why you go back to your own people no can get back rocks hocks current cu rient plenty wind when wind she no blow big devil wave he drown you no let you get by ne ile shook his head sadly no no go they dont know any pass through the reefs no pass anyway they got taboo they no believe when I 1 say plenty aleuts aleuns uv island they think all oth aleuts aleuns dead long time ago they no bellere believe me aleut too no look like them they say only death live there again he pointed to the south eric moved two steps forward and spoke tensely into ear car but you leave here on a ship surely a trading vessel comes here every year Chech shook his head long and mournfully no trading boat come Chech no have tea sweet cracker tobacco for many suns ilow how long since theres been a ship herer here erics words crackled the old aleut looked dazed no ship ever come here no ships get through reefs till you yon come not know this island here long time ago maybe so Firel icart say but old men they never dever see ship before 1 I dont believe all that it was roys voice shaken a little but strong ite have remembered eng ene lish all these years as soon as I 1 heard beard him speak I 1 knew that hed been talking it regularly Firel icart she make me remember Chech explained patiently III 1 I teach her white mans talk she make me she and me speak every day so she no forget no one else speak it just Chech then she must be a chech too she what you call priest woman priest long time ago before old mens fathers ever born when big whale he little fish holy man carue come here from setting sun ile he pointed toward siberia ite he say n no 0 worship devil worship god build church like on egnak island ite no can go like me so he marry aleut woman fire heart she his seed so she holy too she know secrets make medicine little drop white blood in her yet so she think talk wonder about white mans country she like talk white mans talk make her feel proud horton II orton dully staring passed his hand dazedly over his eyes shivered and stepped forward its just a matter ot of inducing some of 0 the natives here to go through our strait and bring help it he asked with a distant echo of his old manner possibly it if they could go direct from deep water into the strait and not have to hunt through throng it the reefs and shoals rut but if they dont know where it Is how bow can we tell them do you remember those compass bearings lost with the log I 1 don dont it 1 I dont of course but they could find it somehow I 1 can get tern em to go ill pay ern cm anything they want tay pay Chech echoed the word in wonder you mean money of course all they ask they no want money people here not know abat hat money moans means I 1 tell em cm they just laugh you no fight taboo with money ile he no good here yes for the first time in Ilor tons life the little leather backed god in his pocket was impotent suddenly he looked gray and old no ile could not be counted on greatly in the stern trials to come by now San domars gang had landed two hundred yards down the beach but remained sullenly apart they had mutinied mutinies muti nied and shed blod on the high seas forever they were beyond the pale and even on this lost isle the shame could not be forgotten already eric believed that the dle die was cast for war with eyes indrawn and grim he be watched petroff the little russian edge away and saunter down the beach to join his fellows but eric found a cheerful word for the bewildered millionaire beside him well get out of here somehow ilor ton now lets go to the fire and say nothing to the others until we can get all the facts ive got enough of tern cm already roy said coolly why not face thorn them 1 were marooned here for months years possibly all our lives the coast guard will look for us but never penetrate this shoal the intrepid Is just another ship lost with all hands but you leave word where you were heading headin gr it was a great secret secre tl roy studied smiled bitterly illow how I 1 guarded that precious diary I 1 but as you say we wont break it to the others until we have to they found wilcox mother horton and the two girls crouching before the stone hearth in the half lighted turf house the ire fire was of driftwood hissing and smoking the only furnishings in the hut were fur sleeping robes a few wooden dishes pokes of oil and supplies and primitive weapons and tools to wrest a living from the bleak tundra and desolate sea but the squaws squads were smiling gesturing and extending every hospitality they knew from the low bluff on which the huts stood eric could survey the entire island a dreary vista it was little more than a lonely mountain top in a lost sea iaia IN bits the name of this island eric biked Chech TO BB CONTINUED |