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Show I BLACK I SHEEP'S I I GOLD 1 ;tj Beatrice Grimshaw g 5 fllwlratton by Irwin Myers V 4 v C "5 j V Coprrlrht by HuihH J 2 Vault A Co. A J WNU Service A 5 v i I answered, furiously, for now I was J almost sure this Splcer, the crea-i crea-i ture of Fanshaw, had overheard every J word I said to Bassett "Break his neck when he comes In, or chuck him to the alligators; It's the best thing J you can do with him." I "Well, now, the wife wouldn't like J any rudeness," answered Maidstone i placidly. "I suppose he's got a right to go In the house, or out of the 1 house, as be likes. Xou go back to ! your store, Phil Amory; you'd ought to be in bed. Good night." i I did not go to bed. I went back to Bassett's. "Iiassett," I said, bolting up the staircase. "That brute of a Splcer chap was underneath the house." "You go to bed, Amory, and let other people go," be answered. "You're fanciful." "1 saw him, I tell you," was my angry response. "Running away among the munxoes. And Maidstone said he wasn't there." "Tackle him yourself tomorrow morning," counseled iinssett. "Aren't you going to let anyone on the Island go to sleep? He off, Black Sheep, or I'll arrest you." "1 can tell you this," was my parting part-ing shot, "there's no power In Papua will get me to Thursday Island now." Nevertheless, when .Doming came, I began to think differently. I went to Maidstone's as early as possible. Splcer was lounging on the veranda, In Mr. Muldstone's special chair, with a tin of Maidstone' special spe-cial cigarettes at his elbow. Maidstone's Maid-stone's boy was busy fetching him matches swla water, another cushion for bis head, a magazine to read. Mrs. Maidstone, In the background, was flying about, busy aud energetic as usuul. Slim, blue-eyed, pretty in a belated schoolgirl sort of fashion, this middle-aged woman of the outback was a constant wonder to me. She had seen and don' almost all that the hardest cases In West Papua had seen and done run risks, In earlier days, that made one's heart stand still to think of; nursed many a man through accident or fever; laid out and dressed for burial some of them. She bad taken In houseless strangers, until the small profits of the store were eaten Into almost beyond bearing. bear-ing. She bad lived hard, and known no luxury, for years; faced danger like a man, and done n woman's work. Withal, she was the merriest thing In vVestern Papua, and, but for a line or two, and a gray hair or two, you might have given her flve-and-twenty years. , I Jumped straight Into the heart of things, which habit Is one of my most incurable faults. But whatl life is short I'd rather Jump into now and then a hidden swamp, than spend days painfully walking round dusty roads. . . . "Do yon mind telling me," I said, "what you were doing under the It. M.'s bouse last night J" I expected a plain denial, more or less angry. But Splcer was too clever for that . "Oh, come now," he answered, with a man-of-tlie-world air, and something like a wink. "You can't expect me to give an account of my wanderings about this very fascinating island, after dark. No, Black Sheep, I can't let you baa-baa at me; leave that to the missionaries." I could have knocked htm off the veranda, with the utmost satisfaction; I am not sure that I shouldn't have done It, In spite of Mrs. Maidstone's presence, If something had not told me to move carefully, keep a look-out for red herrings trailed across the track. "My name Is Amory," 1 said. "What were you doing r Be made as If to dig me In the ribs with a white, splayed forefinger ; I think the look In my eyes made him draw It back, for never, without actually doing it, was I nearer to smashing In any man's face. In my Ufa. "Naughty, naughty," was what he said. "Ladles present" j Mrs. Maidstone I don't know bow managed to melt away. "Really," I said, "I have my reasons, rea-sons, which I dare say" (for I was beginning to think he hadn't heard anything) "you know nothing about I saw you, If not under the bouse, certainly close to the B. M.'a In the middle of last night and when I chased you. you ran away. "You bet I did," said Splcer with a giggle. "Thought you were the enraged husband, for a (her." "Bassett Isn't married." I told him. "The warder Is," be sniggered. "Very pretty wife, too." Now this bewildered me, for I did know Taluna, the wife of the native warder, and I had seen her, only a week before, brought up In court by her husband,. In connection with -a charge of "stealing" ber, which be was making against another native. Taluna was no saint and tor a Papuan, she was unusually good looking. It was also true that the warder's house was within a stone's throw of the place where I bad stumbled over Splcer. I didn't know what to think. Mrs. Maidstone came back at that moment with a tray of glasses, Interrupting I fancied, deliberately the conference. confer-ence. She offered us whisky; I took two lingers of it; Splcer took some more soda water. It added to my dislike dis-like of him. 1 have always held that there's as IlKely as not to be something some-thing wrong about either a teetotaller or a non-smoker; if not wrong, half-baked. half-baked. . . . Granted, that there are exceptions. Splcer I Ctrt not take to be an exception. I knew that Bnssett, who was shrewd enough, thought 1 had been wrong in supposing Splcer to be listening lis-tening under the bouse, I knew, too, that he did not .ell me that a man who Is overwrought excited, and begins be-gins to fancy himself spied upon, may be In rather a bad way. Perhaps it was Mary Maidstone who gave the final stroke to my suspicions. "Are you two done quarreling?' she asked gaily, as I put away the tray I bad taken from her bands. "And If you are, can I ask you, Phli, whin you're gotng across again! I want you to jo me an errand." "Across," meant the trip of 120 miles, from this near point of Papua, to Australia, "It depends," I answered her, "on Mr. Splcer." . , : ., , . ' ""now, on ' mer . asked Splcer brusquely. . "I beard," I answered him evenly, "that you wanted a number of boys recruited. I have a go6fl cutter and know the villages. I'd be glad to make you' a price," ("If he heard me," my thought ran, "If he knows that I'm off as fast as I can go to put a spoke In Fanghaw'a wheel, he'll try and keep me here; nothing simpler") But Splcer, it seemed, did not want me to stay. "There's no hurry," he said patronizingly. patron-izingly. "Take your time. I shall stay here another three weeks," (I saw Mary Maidstone make a face of dismay, behind his back) "I'm waiting for the 'Papuan Chief to bring the rest of the members of the expedition expedi-tion nlong. Of course I am leajor, next to Sir Richard, and I have all the organizing in my hands. If you want to run across, don't mind me. Thursday IslaLd 'Thirsty Island' every one knows It" Be laughed rudely, and. looked at my emptied glass. Now, I am not a drinking man. If I do once In a way Bhift a glass before the sun's over the yard. I felt once again, exceedingly Inclined to pick a quarrel with this Splcer; once again, remembered that I could not afford to do so, if I wished to make sure of certain things. "Very well," I said, watching his face. "I'll start across today anchor at Cap, and get in early tomorrow. Mrs. Maidstone, if you've any commissions, com-missions, I'll be delighted to attend to them." "Right you are," answered my hostess cheerfully, with something of her gay schoolgirl manner coming back, "Just a sec, and 111 give you my list" She went off Into the sto-e, and Splcer, who had not altered by so much as a line the expression of bis large, flat countenance, took the cigarette cig-arette out of his mouth to remark "Good trip to you." It was a dismissal, dis-missal, somewhat in the royal man, ner. I held myself In from answering him as I wished, and followed Mary Maidstone, ' ( , a Botels In Thursday Island of which there are a surprising number are never the same, twice visited. Proprietors, Pro-prietors, managers and manageresses, vary almost as the seasons go. The Grand Cosmopolla, where I put up, looked much as usual, there was a desolate big dining room, with a pilot eating his lunch, slowly and contentedly, contented-ly, as pilots do, alone. ' (TO BB CONTINUED) THE STORY On a pleaaur trip In eastern watsra, Philip Amory, English World war veteran, now a trader on the Island of Papua. New Oulnea, plunge overboard to av tna life of a musical comedy actress, known a "Oln-SllnR-." Amory become Interested in Pla - l.aurler, member of a wealthy New South Walea family, he tell her of bl knowledte of a wonderful sold field on the la-land, la-land, thoush be doe not dlacloae the name of the place. Oln-Silns" Oln-Silns" tell him Pla I engaged to Blr Richard Kanshaw. Amory, however, I confident that the Hrl I not Indifferent to him, Bl holiday ended, he arrives back t Dim. He meet an Englishman, English-man, Splcer, there on development develop-ment business for a syndicate of which Fanahaw I head. Fan-shaw' Fan-shaw' nam recall to Amory a long-forgotten Incident In which he witnessed the escape of Fanahaw Fan-ahaw from a leper colony. He tell bl friend Uaasstt about It. CHAPTER IVContinued 8 "It's not what you would call material ma-terial to the evidence," I answered Bassett "But you can take It so If you like." "Very well. Do you know where ber parents are?" "Could And 'em, I suppose." "The only thing to do Is to tell them. Mind, they may not believe you. The story's thin, and I daresay they know you are gone on the girl yourself." "The mother does, and she'd poison me If she could," was my reply "What if the marriage Is coming off Immediately?" "It couldn't" pointed out Bnssett "if he's going on this trip but If you have any uneasiness on that point, you can go to Tbursduy Island and send a wireless. "For all Australia tc read!" "Cross to Cape lork and get the land line." "I don't mind," said I thoughtfully, "If I do. Ton see It may seem foolish, fool-ish, but I can't help fearing she might be attracted to the country. She's dead nuts on hearing about it" "Don't forget Black Sheep," sold Bassett (and I knew by the nickname, that he wanted to say much he would certainly leave unsold; much kindness, kind-ness, much consideration for that which could not be helped or consoled) con-soled) "Don't forget that there's sucb a thing as a law of libel; If you make mistakes, you may have to pay for them very dearly.". "I'll pay anything and everything," 1 said, rising. "I'll pay my life If I have to. Thanks. I'll do as you suggest sug-gest The sooner I can get to T. I." There I stopped, baiting, In tbe middle mid-dle of my walk to the door. A sound bad checked me. "What was that?" I said to the R, M, In a low voice, I had thought I heard a noise, just under my feet; a sneeze suppressed, yet audible not coming from outside. We stood, two figures turned to stone, and listened. I don't know what Bassett thought I had heard; maybe tbe beginning of a revolt among the maneater and murderer prisoners, lightly confined in a wooden Jail some few score yards away; maybe the movements of some bnlf-crazed native, oppressed with the strange Vailala madness that has filled a few hurried graves, In Papua's West. "There's nobody," said Bassett I did not answer him. I made a sudden dart for the steps, down the steps, under the house, where eight foot high piles made a little forest of darkness and secrecy, beneath the Residency floors. There was nobody there. But In the garden, the peering water-logged moon showed me a spray or two of the hlbuscus hedge In sudden, sud-den, agitated motion. I jumped tbe hedge, and came down unexpectedly on something large and dusky, that heaved beneath my feet and threw me off, as a bucking outlaw throws Its rider; I fell, recovered my-self, my-self, and saw, down the croton avenue, ave-nue, a man running away. Be was tall and thin, and he ran in a flat-footed, flat-footed, heavy, plunking manner that Instantly suggested tc me two large, flat feet I bad seen earlier in tbe evening. "Splcer 1" I said to myself, and gave chase. It had begun to rain again, tbe paths were slippery, and the crash of falling water on drenched and down-beaten down-beaten leaves, made noise enough to cover any retreat Dslng my torch, I caught a glimpse of the fugitive, lost him, thought I -saw him again, and finally pulled up on the beach roal near the trader Maidstone's, alone. We aren't formal, in Western Paupua. I went at once and knocked at Maidstone's door. "Who's sick?" was his first query. "Who It Is?" "Amory," I answered. "Nobody sick, is your boarder In?" "He's not a boarder, we don't take boarders," was Maidstone's answer. "If you mean the nut who blew in today, he's In bed." "Sure?" Maidstone disappeared. "Well, now. It's a queer thing," he commented, coming back and standing, an odd, pajiimn'd figure, on the soaked veranda ver-anda boards, which reflected his bare feet like Ice. "He's i.ot there Eh. what an you d ning him for? What's he done?" "I don't know w'lat he hasn't lone," |