The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-02-25

stin. and had no scientific enthusiasm 10 lu-
| bricate them Briery WAS on his hands and
knees. eagerly examining what seemed 70 be Q
recent disturbance OF tho soil. The savage
was PROSTATE. rubbing his forehead In the dust.
as II in \ religious ecstasy. and warbling the
same falsetto notes that we had heard at the
holy woman's hut
What beasts trail have you struck ?" de-
manded.
The trail OF no beast" answered Driery. al
most anxrily. Do you See this broad round
abrasion OF the surface. where heavy weight
has rested? Do you see these little trouxhs In
tho fresh earth radiating from tho centre like
the points Of u starr They arc the sears left by
slender roots torn up from their shallow beds
Do you SEQ Kilooa's bysterical performance /
tell you We are on the track Of the Sacred Tree
1t has been here. and not long ago"
Acting under Bricry's excited instructions
We continued the hunt Oh foot. Kilooa started
toward the east. toward tho west. and Briory
took tho southwark course.
To cover the ground thoroughly. we agreed
to advance in gradually widening zgzags COM
municating with each other mt intervals by
pistol shots. There could have been no moro
foolish arrangement III quarter OF IN hour
i had lost my head and my bearings in u
thicket For another quarter OF IN hour l dis
charged my revolver repeatedly. without get
ting single response from east or south.
spent tho remainder OF daylight In blunder-
ing effort to make my way back to the place
where the horses we're: and then the sun went
down. leaving me in sudden darkness. alone in
Wilderness OF the extent and character Of
which had not tho fautost idea.
will spare You the history OF my sufferings
during tho whole OF that night. and the next
day. and the noxt night. and another day
Whom hart I W. oh nj In ind
despair. longing for daylight not daring to
sleep or even to stop. md in continual terror OF
the unknown dangers TINT surrounded me. In
the daytime / longed for night. for the sun
scorched its way through the thickcst roof that
the luxuriant foliage afforded. and drove me
nearly mad. The provisions In my haversack
were exhausted. Ny cantecn was on my sad
die: should have died OF thirst had 1t not
boon for the belltop cactus. which found
twice. But In that horrible experience neither
the torture Of hunger and thirst nor the tor
turc OF heat equalled tho misery of the thought
that my life was TO be sacrificed to the dnlusion
Of II crazy botani,t. who had dreamed of tho
impossible.
The impossible
On the second afternoon, still staggering
nimlesSly on through tho jungle lost my last
strength and fell to tho ground Despair and
indifference had long since given way to an
eager desire for the end. l closed my eyes with
Understandable relief the hot sun seemed pleas
ant on my face rs consciousness departed.
Did n beautiful and gentle woman come to
me while lay unconscious. and take my head
in her lap. and put her arms around mo? Did
she press hcr faco to mine. and in u whisper
bid me have courage? That was the belief
that filed my mind when it struggled back for
moment into consciou snesS; l clutched at
the warm soft and swooppl again
Do not look at each other and smile. gentle
men: in that cruel Wilderness in my helpless
condition, found pity and Denignant tender
ness. The next time my senses returned saw
that Something ,rdS bending over mc--some-
thing majestic ii not beautiful. humane il not
human. gracious if not woman. The arms that
held me and drew inc up were moist. and they
throbbed with the pus;!tion OF lifo. There was
faint. sweet odor like the smell OF a woman $
pcrfumcd hair. The touch was caress the
clasp an embrace.
Can l describe It's form? No. not with the
deilnitehcss that would satisfy tho Quakver-
suchs and the Briery. l saw that the trunk
was massive. Tho branches that lifted mo
from the ground and held ME carefully and
gently wore flexible and syinmctricaily dis
posed. Above my head there wreath OF
strange foliage. and in the midst of it II daz-
cling sphere Of scarlet The scarlet globe grew
| while watched it, but tho effort OF Watching
WAS too much for me-
Remember. ii you please that at this time
physical exhaustion and mental torture had
brought me to tho noint whore passed to and
fro between consciousness and unconscious
ness Us easily and NJ frequently AZ one nuctu-
ntes between slumbcr and wakefuness during
II night OF fever. 1t seemed the most natural
thing in the world that in my extreme weak
ness l should be beloved and cnred for nv n