The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-12-29 00:00:00

CHAPTER XLIII
A FRESH ALARM.

THERE were great rejoicings in the little camp at
the success of the expedition, for very little sym-
pathy was felt for Deborah, who lay once more in
danger, and attended by Helston.
The difficulties of the situation were greatly in-
creased by the presence of the three savages, who,
though eager to become the slaves of their captors,
necessarily had to be watched; consequent upon
this, and the state of Deborah, Helston felt that the
watching it involved was too arduous, and, after con-
sulting with Laurent, he determined to put 'Thello's
idea into practice, and give the savages so much pro-
vision, one of the canoes, and send them adrift to
seek their own land.

This was not decided upon till about a week after
the return from the expedition, during which time
both Grace and Deborah had been lying in a dan-
gerous state—the one from her injuries, the other
from fever brought on by exertion and the mental
anxiety through which she had passed. -
On the morning when the savages were to be sent
off, they expressed unbounded delight on being
shown their canoe; and when the paddles were
handed to them, and a fair amount of provisions to
load her, they were in ecstasies.
Since they had been prisoners, they had been per-
sonifications of docility, and had evidently quite
taken to their new life, fetching water, wood, or
fruit for their new masters, and once bringing in a
wild pig, which they captured by sheer fleetness of
foot.
Several tithes over they had made signs to be fur-
niThed with bows and arrows, to bring down the birds
which were beginning to abound in the place once
more; but it was not considered advisable to
furnish these, and they took the refusal very
patiently.
When at last it was signified to them that they
could take the canoe and paddle off, they capered
about, and kissed the feet of Helston and Laurent,
ending by giving a shrill cry, and rushing into the
canoe, which they ran out through the surf, and
paddled in a masterly manner; but only to return at
the end of a few minutes, running in on the summit
of a wave, beaching their canoe with ease, and
then, running up to
.Helston, they began to make
signs.
"I can't understand what they want, Laurent;
can!you 'r" said the doctor.
" /sTo, without it is a piece of rope."
" Dey want urn fishin' line, sah," said 'Thello.
" Dat's it."
"Give them one," said Helton. "I believe you
are right, 'Thello."
And FO it proved; for upon a line and a couple
of hooks being shown them, they snatched them
grcedilv, r at down to their canoe, launched her, and
I addled off on the crest of the next returning wave.
The party on the island stood upon the sands,
watching them,- till the :little canoe became a mere
speck upon the water—'Thello moralizing as they
disappeared.
" Dey not such berry bad sorter men, affer all; and
I n ) see why dey not stay and make demselbs useful
cut de wood, fcsh de water, andomake de fire for
me when I go to cook."

"Yes, 'Tipello," said Laurent; "and if we could
have trusted them, they might have worked in the
garden!'
"I quite 'gree wid you, sal," exclaimed 'Thello.
And there the matter dropped • for these were
busy times. The huts required finishing; there were
digging and mining to carry.on in the relics of the
ship, from which something useful was always
brought; enough planks being secured for roofing
the buildings that they erected, and proceeded to
make more comfortable. Then there were gardening
occupations carried on in a kind of resigned way;
for to all now it seemed evident that they should
have to remain on the island for life.

Helston was busy, too, attending his patients—
Grace giving him a great deal of anxiety; for she
had fallen into a low state, from which he could not
rouse her.

As for Deborah, her injuries had been terribly
severe; and ever since their return, though Helston
had done all possible, he could not feel sure that she
would survive from day to day.
Everything went on in the most orderly way; and,
now there was no fear of savages lurking in the
bushes, parties went out gathering fruit, hunting,
shooting, and fishing, while others went on preparing
land, and proceeding slowly with the preparation of
the ground for seed.
'Thello was always busy when not cooking,- and
to his brain they owed many of the conveniences
they enjoyed. He it was who turned the great flat
oyster shells into plates; knocked off the tops of
conch shells, ground them, and made them invalu-
able as drinking cups, though the gourds that grew
wild were utilized to a great extent for both bottle
and cup.'
Since the capture of the savages, a hope had
gained ground that their companions had received
too severe a lesson to over think of returning; and
when the three were despatched, they, if they reached
their own shores, w,ould give, doubtless, highly.
coloured accounts of the prowess of the Amazons
amongst 'whom they had been, and so quell any
desire to attack them again.
Mary Dance and Laurent met in the most quiet
and matter-of-fact way, each being resigned to the
position; and on all sides work seemed to be the real
cure for the anomalous position in which they were
all placed.
The three savages were despatched early in the
morning; and after they had disappeared, watch
being deemed unnecessary, all hands went cheerfully
to work; and to judge from the appearance of the
women, it could hardly have been imagined that they
had lately been face to face with peril.
All being peaceable, then, at the camp, Helston
proposed to Laurent that they should make a short
expedition across the island, to see if they could dis-
cover anything in the shape of animal life that would
be available for a change.
Laurent gladly accepted the proposal, and Ralston
turned to Mary Dance—
" You have becn too much at home lately," he said.
"Come, Mary, you shall pick out five of the home
birds, and come with us."
Mary, however, showed so great a disinclination,
that Helston said "As you will," and Laurent turned
rather bitterly away.
They soon found half a dozen girls glad to be
their companions; and shooting straight off across
the island, they passed over stream after stream of
hardened lava, till they had, about midday; got
beyond the area of destruction, and found that here
there was far more abundance of vegetable life than
they had expected; so that Helston's spirits rose, as
he felt that, would the volcano but remain quiescent,
their island prison would bloom again into a perfect
paradise, and abundance would reign once more.
"No fear of famine," he said, pointing to the
melon-like gourds and abundant fruits upon the
trees.

"No," replied Laurent; "and if the land is left
at peace for a few years, it will be richer than
ever."

"A few years ! " exclaimed Holston, with a sigh
" Heigho, what may not a few years bring forth ? "
"Let's think of the future," said Laurent.
Holston nodded, and they continued their couise,
whose aim was to strike the seashore about opposite
to where they were encamped; for Helston, from
what ho had seen before the terrible visitation,
had hopes of making a goodly find here amongst
the sand, though heretofore it had slipped his
memory.
He was not wrong, for on reaching the sands they
proved to be the nesting-place of huge turtles, whose
eggs were found in abundance in their place of de-
position, covered with the sand.
"We have only to come here by night to secure
as many as we want, when the reptiles come out of
the sea, and crawl up to lay their eggs. Laurent,
we must come on a turtle expedition before long."
"But will it be real turtle or mock turtle, Mr.
Helston F" said one of the girls.
And her curiosity was gratified amidst much
laughter. _ _

foading themselves with as many turtles' eggs as
they could carry, they then set off back, to get within
reach of the great rock hut just as a score of
frightened women ran up from the sands, crying
out—

"The savages are come:---the savages!"
Helston and Laurent ran the rest of the distance
with all their might, getting to the hut as the short
tropic twilight was falling; and there, as the women
gathered—well armed now—for the fresh incursion,
Holston found that it was but too true • for the
savages seemed indeed to have made a fresh descent
upon their peaceful isle their dark forma being
labia iiewn_la the breelansuegm -

"We've done wrong, H-elston," said Laurent,
grasping a keen sword.

" 7l'm-afraid so," said Holston. " The scoundrels
we were merciful to have only fetched a contingent
from their own shores."
"Yes," said La.ureni, " and we must drivO them
Wk."

(l'o t 5 covtinued.)