The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1889-10-11
FOULPLAY.
A Novel.


II consent" said Helen; "pray what are
your wants."
| Iron, oil, salt, tar, n bellows, n pick-nx,
planks. thread, nets, light mating for
roofs, bricks, chimney pots, jnrs. glass ami
mnl food, some variety OF vegetable food,
and SO on. Ill write down the entire list for
you.'
"You will hc puzzled to do that without
ink or paper,
| Not in the lcast. shnil cngrnve it in
! alto-rilicvo, make the words with pebbles on
the turf just above high-water mark. Now
tell me your wants"
"Well want-impos
"Enumcrate them"
"What is the use:"
alt is the method We have AZ reed upon."
10, very well, then. want-a sponge"
"Good. What next"
II have broken my comb"
"Good''
81 am glad you think so. I want-O. Mr..
lIazcl Whit is the use:-wcll, l should like
mattress to lie on"
"llair or wood:"
~ don't care which. And it is shame to
ask you for either"
"Go on.
II want n looking g-slass."
Great Heaven! What for?'
go, never mind; l want one; md
some more towels. and some soap;
and II few hnirpins; and some elastic
bands; and some pen, ink, and parer. to
write my feelings down in this island for no.
| body ever to ser."
When she hcgan Hazel looked bright, but
the list was like IL wasp, it's sting lay in its
! tail. However, he put Il good face on it.
IN try and get you those things: only give
mo time. DO you know am writing u
| dictionary OH u novel method
| "Tllat means on sand.
mo; the work is suspended for the present.
But two Of the definitions in il itur-DFFMuI..
TlEs-thing gs to ltsulnluel; lMrosslnIl.IrlEs-
| things to be trample.l on"
Well snl"luc mine. Trnmplc on-a
| sponge for me"
Tint is just Whit 1 was going to do"
said he: opened IL clasp kni,e nnd jumped
coolly into tllerivcr.
Helen screamed faintIy. but after all the
water was only up tn his knees.
He soon cut large sponge off II pinc,e Of
said l,e why, there are IL score Of them ut
your very door, and you never saw thcm.''
80, excuse me, ! did see them, and slu.lter-
ci. thought they we're reptiles; dormant,
and hiding their time.
| When lle was out Of The river agnn. size
thought IL little, and asked him whether old
! iron would he Of any use to him.
40. certainly" snid lie; what do you know
! of nny."
II think saw some one day. Ill 20 and
look tor it,"
She took the way of the shore; and he got
his cart aud spade, and went post-haste to
| Ills clay. pit.
lie made n quantity of bricks, aud brought
them home; and put them to dry in the sun.
lie also cut great pieces of the turtle, and
wrapped them in fresh bananu-lraves. and
inclosed them in clay. lie then tried to make
II large enurrow-neckcd vessel, and failed ut
trrly; so he made the clay into great rude
platter like shallow mllk-pnn Then he
pcrled the sngo-lo:.. off which he had cut his
| wheels. and rubbed it with turtlc-fat. and,
using it ns form, produced two clay cylin-
Hers. These lle ret them to keep them
| from falling. Leaving all these to dry and
fct before he baked them, he went off to the
marsh for frrn-leuvcs. The soil being 10
/ damp. the trees wer0 covered with Il brown
isl-I1ti s,ll,stanc scarce iistingushn l,leirom
| wool. This he had counted on. But he also
! found in the same lcghborlloo,l IL long cy-
| pre>siiaircd moss that seemed to him very
promising. He made several trips and raised
! quite II stack of fern-leaves. by this time the
' sun had operated OH his thinner pottery; so
h. lniu down six o: his large thick tiles. ami
lighted n fire on them with dry hnnnnn-
leaves, and cocon-nut, etc. and sucli light
4 romllstillts, until he I,n, heated and hur
lcnc,l III" clay; then lie put tho nshes on one
si'le. and swept the clay clean; then lie put
| the fire on again, and made it hotter and
hotter, Till the clay began to rcddcn.
While he wns thus occupied. Miss ltnlleston
| cnmc from the Jungle rndinnt, carrying veg.
et;ble treasures in her apron, First slle pro.
l,1n ;,h
leaves.
There" said she. "nnd they smell delic.
ious.
Hazel eyed them kccnly.
"iOn have not eaten any OF them"
what! by MYSELF" said Helen.
"'rhanl; Hc,ivcn! said Hazel, turning
pale. These are the manchnnilla, the
poison apple oi til" Pacific"
Poison said Helen, alarmed in her turn.
Well. don't know thnt they nre poison;
but travellers give them Il very bnd name |
The birds never peek them; and have rcnd
have killed the fish. You will not eat any
thing here till yon have shown it to me- will |
you snld h", iInpnringly.
NO. no, suid Helen; md sat down with |
her hand To her heart IL minute "An,l was |
80 pleased when ! found them" she said; |
whether tlI"s" are poison, too?" and she
opened her apron wde and showed him
some long yellow pods. with red specks, !
something like II very lnrge banuna.
"Ah. that is n very different ntflr," sni,l |
IInzel. delighted; these are plaintnins, and
the grrntcst find We have made vet. The
fruit is meat. the wood ls thread, and the
leaf is shelter and clothes. The fruit is good
raw; and better bnkrd. ns You shall See, and
believe this is the first time the dinner and |
the dish we're both baked together"
He cleared the now heated hearth, put the |
pt u,,I fr,,tt ham |
PLATTER over il. and henrci fire round the
platter, and light coml,nstions overit. Whilst
tins was going on. Helen took him to her |
hover. ard showed Inn three rusty iron
hoops. and Il pietc of rotten wood with Il rus |
ty nail. and the marks whore o,ers hn.l |
lren. There. suil she; this is all could |
find |
Why. it is IL treasure, cried he; "you will !
see. have found something too
lie then showed her the vrget able wood
and vegetable hnir he had collected, and
told her where they grew. She owned they
well as the real things and, ere they had dune
comparing notes. the platter and the dinner
under il were both baked. Iiuzel removed
the PLATTER or milk pan, and served the din |
der IN it.
If Hazel was inventive, Helen WAS skiIlfu |
md quick mt any kind OF woman's work, and |
the following is the result oi the three weeks
work under his direction. She had nude as |
follows
l. Thick mattress. stuffed with the vcge
table hair and wool described above. The I
mat rss was only two feet six inches wile for |
Helen found that she never turned in bed |
now. She slept as she had never slept before |
The mattress was made with plant ain lea YES |
seweI together with the thread furnished by |
the tree itself. nnd double ut the edges
.. 4 longsllu!low nctfour feet dcep-cocou !
fiber.
3. A great quantity ofstout grass.r rope |
and light but close mating Tor the ground |
and to go under the mat tress But Hazel, |
instructed byhcr, had learned to plait-rath |
rr rlnmsily-and he had a hand in the mat |
ting.
his own mud hunks in the CEN
ter. and set up brick frcpaccs
with hearth and chimney, one on
each side; un'i now did all the cooking; for
Eollcston cough. lie also nude IL number |
OF pigeon.l holes in his wallis and lined them |
with clay. Ono Of these he dried with fire. |
and made q pottery door to it, and there |
kept the iucfrr.box. Ifema,le vast number |
OF bricks. but did nothing with them. After ,,
several failures he made two large pots, and
two great pans that would all four hear
fir" under them. and in the pans he boiled
sr,l-wnt"r till il all evaporated and lift lin
Il sediment vi salt. This was II great nddi.
,u,, to their food, and he managed also to
put by little. But it was IL very slow pro. |
cess.
II" made n hugh pair Of bellows, with n
little assistance from Miss l.olleston; the
spout was II sngo stick with the nth driven
out, ana the substitute for leather was the