| Show FORLORN ISLAND by edison marshall Copy copyright rIcht by edison marshall WITO service CHAPTER IX continued 16 San domars crew had not yet passed the lint hot they saw her dash out in front of them the weapon gleaming in her hand bond and fly down the row to eries door the wind smote at her in vain she seemed to cut through it unimpeded crying she burst into the file shadowy room and dropped to her knees beside the prone figure on the pallet coming she file gasped as she ehe held out the revolver eric was still in the stupor of fatigue his fact face like plaster could he rally to meet tills this emerge emergency ricy she did not guess she knewl Cou courage ragel 1 this ancient virtue was still host best of bit all man bran is not yet a pod god but an earth creature fighting up ward through a dark yale vale to the splendid distant summits of immortality and of nil all his goods courage counts most whether in the silent moors of forlorn island or the ringing valleys of a city street man stands above his fellow brutes in intelligence in love hut but in pure courage overmastering the instinct of self pr preservation reservation eser runn man stands alone kven today when thor Is a legend and woden a shadow there Is still no anathema so stinging as coward the sagging muscles of eries brics trice face flexed like live rubber the iho lead dead eyes filled with light in one bound he was on his feet the next he was in the doorway deadly cool sinister dominant iut bilt only the wind rushed in at him San domar and his crew had bad stopped chen they guessed nans purpose massing Ring like wolves wolfes in snow at the distant twinkle of a rifle barrel and when aric showed himself their crouched figures straightened straighten etL for a few tense seconds they eyed him film sullenly then garsea carges squirrel mouth widened in a grin and his hand band rose in a jaunty salute staying well out ot of San domars reach he led the retreat eric rod and nan lingered in the doorway ile he seemed puzzled by her pallor lor not the bleach of fear but a white light beating from within but her manner was sober rather than jubilant thanks for bringing me the gun he be said in the long iong silence roy want to keep it 1 I gave him a chance but he be take it eric nodded to himself lie ile didat tell you why did he no I 1 spose he thought that you could do more with it plainly it in his line ills his turn will come later when were hack back in civilization and im skipper of a tramp steamer wallowing in the trough of the atlantic there had been A trace of bitterness in his tone but it faded away as nans gaze looked on his bis something in her took look made his words trall trail away lie ile took a quick step forward and clasped her hand ills his turn wont come later at ter she murmured what is 11 it nan ive made up my mind at last there was still no exultation in her face only peace relief sober satIs fac i tion tier her lips dimly curled 1 I dont dare believe he began dazed she swayed toward him and kissed him gently without fire on the mouth you can believe it eric ive come to you to stay I 1 want you for my mate CHAPTER X when she went to roy hoy and blurted out the news he took it in good part 1 I must say I 1 expected it it naturally it was forlorn island that won you not eric but if you see youve made a R mistake back in civilization you can get out of it simply elou enough 9 h this wont be a trial marriage she told him soberly its the real thing all marriages are trials these days the institution of divorce Is an open admission of that fact he smiled kindly 1 I dont blame you a bit nan dear hes just the man for you out here only dont get too fond of him look up to him thrill in him if you want to but dont let that warm romantic heart of yours your S get too much favol involved ved that might be serious you might even think have to stick by him youre not entirely safe from sentimental mental nonsense you know my heart Is involved already otherwise id never go as far as this youre not in love with him dont try to tell me you are you want a mate and I 1 admit hes the logical man iles hes all right too I 1 tell you a gentleman something of a scholar and a good judge of girls I 1 hand it to him for what hes put over here I 1 admit now I 1 have begun to do it it respect him have a happy time with him be queen of the island and not lose the slightest dignity her fine brows knitted the ehe did not like this faint praise Is that all you have to say one thins thin more ills tone grew solemn her anger gave way to deep pride ill be best roan man if you wish I 1 bear no ill will to uric erie 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 ill want you always mother horton was jubilant at the tidings most seno seable ible thing I 1 ever heard of you doing she chirped i know how touch ranch more fun fan it Is to marry nn an ancestor than a descendant it 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 kans father looked at her dazed 1 I wont oppose you nan came the faltering tories tones she had bad heard so often of late erics a good man I 1 know and I 1 think he can protect you bell bettor er than roy true id hoped choose a man of great name but ant everything la is swept away we must meet conditions as they are id like to know where find a greater creator name than Frics friessen sen mother horton put in loyally one of em was the r first conqueror of america when nhen the holtons hortons were probably pulling a wooden plow in a saxon field the ceremony began at twilight the day following the storm by nans wish it was in harmony with the simplicities cities of forlorn island no flowers no aleut feast naught but the ancient rite of the greek Cat catholic holh church as passed down by word of mouth from ancient days the only witnesses were nans kans own party Fir eheart so white she could well he taken for the he paleface she longed to be her eyes shining like a dying moths pronounced the 1 charms in slow guttural tones there was no DO other audible sound the hum of the oil lamp the low boom of the surf and the whisperings of the stealthy wind across the moors only t 6 t rok r eric do you take me for your wife to love to cherish to protect gave depth to the silence the weird Ilic liering light showed an incredible thing big tears coursing hortons holtons Hor tons face perhaps Ier haps he was weeping for his dau daughters 9 liters stran strange ge fate possibly for his own broken fortunes when Fir eheart had bad finished the russian service erie eric turned to nan with a look that made her gasp nan do you take me for your hus husband baal to love loveto to honor hodor 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 1 I do there fell a long sli silence crice the nit it nesses held their breath at last her low voice streamed into the hush eric do you take me for your wife to love to cherish to protect 1 I do but neither had said till death do us part not only ROY noy noticed this but nan too and she was ashamed that her mind should seize upon the fact and store it away by the island custom instituted by a long dead russian priest Fir eheart should now I kiss iss the on the cheek from some deep need of her heart she varied this custom tool tonight swaging toward eric she he fiercely pressed her lips to hi his s then with a squaw like grunt site she wheeled and trudged away only a moment later erie eric and nan were left alone with the faded akon the tarnished candlestick and the flickering inconstant shadows of the lamp prophetic on the floor eric and his bride could live apart the aleut people loved crowded quarters animal heat intimate contacts to lo comfort their lonely souls clamoring voices to drown out the moaning wind and sea so at Anul gag gas death chi gm eum and her family had moved in with augat kanahs widow leaving vacant a large two room barabara to this the pair came in the first starlight hand la in hand quietly but with no mis riv bivings Clvin ings gs naturally as mated seagulls sea gulls flying to the nest when eric had lighted the oil lamp in the larger of the two rooms and bolted the door he turned to find nan watching him film with a contented smile this was home it was good to shut out the file haunted dark she and erie were tried comrades he would respect her rights rl abts 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 eries erics efforts to make the best of the rough fare clean pelts or on the floor wooden stools her own hand bag containing her few trea treasures sums salvaged from the wreck waiting for her in the adjoining room ile he his revolver hung it on the wall in easy reach then drew her gently to him youre tired arent you nan faggen fagged out weve had two trying days im going to keep you up only a minute just long enough to ask you a go question esteon then you can curl up op in there on the sealskins seal skins the gentleness in his voice and gaze touched her profoundly she cared for him more than ever what la Is it eric 1 I think I 1 already know the answer but I 1 want to be sure do you love me she looked into his steadfast eyes a long time before she ventured a reply im so ton fond of 0 you erle more fond of you every minute cut but I 1 dont think its the real thins thing yet you want me to be honest dont you and the real renson reason you married me was so I 1 can protect you because you had to make a choice between ray noy and roc me 1 I think that had a great deal to do with it her gaze fell hut but perhaps you will learn to love me soon as I 1 love you site she pressed his hand against her br breast east very soon I 1 think it if just let me learn it in my own way my own time just be tender with me eric im not one to drive a hard bargain nan lie he told tier her in his slow grave way you will be safer as my wife vitre but that safety Is free ile he kissed her annd and with equal gentleness her lips her eyes looked like starlit crystal pools surrounded by dark rushes you will wait for me to learn to love you 7 there Is your room lie beckoned or over er her shoulder sli fand a new bolt on the door go in it when you like doubting himself and his creed blaspheming his idealism that kept him from his hearts fulfillment eric lingered alone by the flickering lamp ills exultation of the previous hour had burned to ashes lie ile made no move toward bed his hands felt like stone weights on the halibut lines nans goodnight good night kiss haunted him still it was so light so fleeting yet its warm ghost returned again and again to his lips at last he rose from his stool yearning toward nans 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 hours armistice a breathing spell in the thick of the tight fight to the victor belong the spoils but the enemy was not destroyed merely hard pressed ills and nans love wis was not a thing thine apart but inexorably bound up with island history still to be written fate moved again in a manner and guise beyond erics wildest dreams there was a sudden violent shock like BD an earthquake leaping through the turf walls and under his feet rut put it was not some subterranean force rising in blind fury this slants giants blow was dealt from above ite he had time only to raise his eyes when it the dome 11 of 0 the root roof collapsed in ruin and a two h undred hundred pound boulder crashed through and thundered to the floor it was like a cold meteor hurled from the sky the wind of its fall was an ley icy blast on erics face and the abysmal horror of the thing rustled up the hair of his head it struck the driftwood drift delft wood block where he had bad just been sitting cru crushing it into the earth death had bad missed him by two paces but he had bad not come through unscathed scat hed the shock to his nerves and heart was of 0 stunning force besides a block of 0 turf had bad struck his head making him reel half balf blind against the wall wait ne he could not grasp what had happened the room was streaked with fire but nan springing up with a scream in the doorway divined the truth at once an implacable enemy had carried the stone onto the roof of the barabara with noth his unnatural strength tugging it to the very dome through a crack ate between the blocks of turf or a loophole bored out beforehand he had located erics edes position then lie he had lifted the savage ml missile ile high in his simian arms and hurled it down but this was only the beginning events swept on with the fatal momentum of a the surprise attack had already staggered staggered the victim before he could be begin in to recover a second blow fell it was like a bayonet rush after artillery barrage peering down dovin through the yawning hole the attacker saw he hn hisil missed his mark howling he plunged through and the further collapse of 0 the root roof under his feet shot him into the room with a il I olence only second to his thunderbolt nan saw lim like an evil dream among the falling clods and dust eric made one hopeless effort extort to defend himelw hi ile he lunged out from the wall but he seemed blind and ill hla movements locked lacked their familiar littleness litheness and panther like power the tight fight ended before it began sando mars arm stretched slow glow and long an odd raking blow bilow with open palm and hooked fingers eric was hurled back against the wall only to wilt to the floor nan screamed with all her breath to see the vigor and strength she knew so well utterly fall fail to behold the splendid muscles quiver and go slack black like a speared seals broke her last grip on reality the rest was a dark fantasy that made a blind spot in her brain slip she would recall it only in broken fragments eries erics dull open eyes the hie curious swirl of sando mars wiry fry hair the lamp flickering from the wind of his violence yet a mind within her mind kept lighting fighting cool and strong her screaming stopped with a rattle her hand fla hashed to her mouth if she attracted San domars eye her only hope of saving eric and herself vi as lost she watched atel led him in frozen silence li but lie he did not turn his head TO WE ME CONTIN |
