Nebraska advertiser., 1882-06-08

tatlng the action OF one VINO pauuleS.
Lal saw nothing.
The Captain followed with his glasses
LAND ahead" he said slowly, ''oif
the starboard bow"
He gave her the glasses She looked,
made out the land, and then offered the
glass to Dick, who shook his head, point
ed, and nodded again.
awe have found the place cried
Lal, "l know it isl feel itis--Oh, Rex,
Rex, if we should find you theren'
As the ship drew nearer, the excite
ment of the Malay increased. 1t became
certain now that he had recognized the
place, of which nothing could be seen
except a low line of rick with white wa
ter breaking over it.
The day was nearly calm, breath of
air gently floating the vessel forward;
presently the rock became clearly de-
| fined; a low reef, of a horseshoe shape,
surrounded, save for a narrow entrance,
large lagoon of perfectly smooth wa
| ter; within the lagoon were visible two,
or perhaps three islands, low, and APP
parently with little other vegetation
than the universal pandang, that be-
nefcent palm of the rocks which wants
nothing but little coral sand to grow
in, and provides the islanders with food,
| clothing, roofs for their huts, and sails
| for their canoes
As soon as Dick saw the entrance to
! the lagoon he ran to the boats and made
signs that they should lower and row to
! the land
Let him have his way" said the
| Captain, "he shall be our leader now.
Let us not be too confident, Lal, my
dear, but l verify believe that we have
found the place, and, perhaps, the man"
They lowered the boat. The first TO
jump into her was the Malay, who
seated himself in the bows and seized an
oar. Then he made signs to his mis-
tress that she should come too.
They lowered her, and she sat in the
stern. Then the Captain got in, and
they pushed off,
"What do you say, Lal?n asked Hol-
stius, looking at her anXiously.
IL am praying" she replied, with
tears in her eyes. And | am think
ing, brother" she laid her hani in his,
chow good man you are, and what re-
ward we can give you, and what Rex
will say to you"
u need no reward" he said, "but
to know and feel that you are happy
You will tell Rex, my dear, that have
been your brother since he was lost
Nothing more, Lal, never anything else
That has been enough
She burst into tears.
"Oh! what shall | tell him about youp
what shall | not tell him? Shall L in
very truth be able to tell him anything
to speak to him againp Kiss me, be-
fore all these men that they may know
how much l love my brother, and how
grateful / am, and how ] pray that God
will reward you out of His infinite love. "
She laid her hand on his while he
stopped his head and kissed her fore
head
Enough of me-" he said, "think
now of Rex"
BY this time they were in the mouth
of the lagoon. They passed over a bar
of coral, some eight feet deep, and then
the water grew deeper. In this beauti-
full and remote spot, Lal was to find her
lover. All the while the Malay looked
first to the islands and then back at his
mistress, his face wreathed with smiles,
and his eyes flashing with excitement.
The sea in this lagoon was perfectly,
wonderfully transparent. The flowers
of the sea-weeds, the fish, the great sea
slugs-the beches de mer-collected by
so many trading vessels the sharks
moving lazily about the shallow water
were as easily visible as if they were on
land. This small land-locked sea was,
apparently, about three miles in diam
eter, bounded on all sides by the ring
of narrow rocks, and entered by one
narrow mouth; the islets, which had
been visible from the ship, were fo'lr in
number. The largest one, of irregular
shape, appeared to be about a mile and
a half long, and perhaps n mile broad;
it was low island, thinly set with the
pandang, the screw palm, which will
grow when nothing else can find moist
lre in the sandy soil; there were nc
signs of habitation visible The other
three islands, separated from the larger
one. and from each other, by narrow
straits, were quite small the largest
not more than two or three acres in ex.
tent
The place was perfectly quiet; nc
sign of life was seen or heard
Dick pointed to large island, which
ran out "A low bend of cape toward the
entrance of the lagoon. His face was
terribly in earnest, he laughed no long.
er; he kept looking from the island tc
his mistress and back again AS they
drew nearer, he held up his finger &c
command silence.
The men took short strokes, dipping
their oars silently, 50 that nothing wa,
heard but the grating Of the oars in the
row-locks.
On rounding the cape they found g
, narrow level beach of sand stretching
} back about hundred feet. This was
the same place where, five months be,