The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-09-26

clean stark staring mad. / closed my
eyes, and wondered If when l opened
than again / should find it all dream;
but no, The beauties were there looking
brighter and even larger than before.
Gentlemen, it's strange how the
habits and precautions of civilization lin
ger with a man even in the queereSt
places. For while not twenty yards from
Where stood was greater wealth than
or hfty men could ever spend. / found
myself fearful of losing one. picking
each gem up with scrupulous care, and
securing IL inside my jumper. The next
box VAS locked, so I tried the key. In
spite OF age and rust the wards shot
PACK and the cover lifted. Again 1 felt
the touch OF stones, and again Selling a
handful, / went back INTO the light. This
time they were rubies; Burmese rubies
my experience told me. and not tarna-
uon law in one of EN-. For a second
time | carefully picked them up and
! was hiding 'em as before. when 1 hap
pened to look round. Dash my buttons,
II | was alonei On all sides were mig
gers regarding me with considerable al
tefltfon. l sprang to my feet and felt
Tor my revolver. Fool that l was, had
left IL In the boat! Seeing that l was
aware OF their presence, they closed in
on me, and they did so 1 took stock
of EN-. They We're unlike other South
Sea natives, being of better build and
/ but little darker than myself. True,
they were rugged out I'm a snort loin
/ neither spear nor shield. When 1 saw
! this. / was for showing fight, but soon
gave that idea up; they were too many
for me-
After a few minutes inspection they
began to march me through the forest in
| a westerly direction. all the time taking
| a lingo that seemed curiously familiar
! Just upon sunset we entered a large
| clearing on which stood a fair-sized na-
! tive village, and / thought as / looked at
| I cot O1lf N
and turned to blackbirding. I'd know
| where TO come for niggers. Il contained
perhaps fifty huts. al built OF wood. and
| with cOnical-shaped grass roofs. A trim
| garden ran down the center. al the fur
| thest end Of which stood the largest and
| most s.ap-up building of the lot. AS
soon as we hove in sight a crowd came
out to meet US. and in the middle of hun
| dreds of yelling darkies I was marched
up 10 the big house. The cd chief who
had been bossing affairs with the swag-
ger Of a New York policeman, told
10 wait while he carried his carcass up
some steps and disappeared. After a lit
tie while he returned and signified that
should follow him.
When / got inside I had plenty of
time to look about me- for it must have
been full half an hour before any one
came. Then some grass curtains were
drawn aside. and what looked like a man
! entered. I say looked like because I
he was: anyway | shouldn't be far from
| the mark in sayin' he was quite a hun
| dred years old, and just about de-
formed as he could be. He was as white
as myself, and from the antics Of the
chief who had fetched me to his presence
could that he had a great ho-d over
the niggers. Throwing himself upon the
ground. that old fool Of a chief feebly
| wagged his toes till told to rise. Then
he started explaining where he had found
me and what / was doing.
During his yarn. cd grandfef' whose
name I afterward found was Don Sllvio.
rlddled me into augur-holes with his evil
little eyes; them having ordered the chief
out he started TO examine me himself He
spoke the same lingo as the niggers a sort
Of bastard Portuguese, and still looking me
through and through, asked. Stranger,
how came you TO this island?'
| II reckoned It best TO keep the real
truth from him, so said, L am a ship
wrecked mariner, senoro, and fetched
here in an open boat
His eyes b1azed, and his long, lean
fingers twitched round his ieweled stick.
And had you no thought of what treas
ure you might find?'
"'Senor.' said 1. looking him square in
the face, Set me put it 10 you. Is it
likely that a shipwrecked mariner would
think Of treasurer
"A storm was brewing in his eyes, and
| l guessed it would break on me. Sud
denly he yelled: You lIe-you dog, you
thiefLyou lie! You came for what you
could steal, but nothing shall you take
away nothing, nothing-not one stone.
The fates that consumed those who came
aforedme shall consume you also Ship
wreck or no shipwrecN, you shall dlep
He fell to beating a gong with his
| stick, and a dozen or so natives came
tumbllng in. They seemed TO know their
business, and before 1 had time to get
in a word l was being dragged away
down the street TO a small and securely
guarded hut where I was pushed in and
the door closed. Disllking the look of
things. as soon as recovered my breath
started hunting about for a way of es-
| cape, but that was no good. Added to
my other troubles, 1 was just furnishing,
and was beginning to fix it that my end
was 10 be starvation, when footsteps APP
preached, the door opened. and a native
girl appeared bearing on her head two
wooden dishes which she set down before
me. Being a favorite with the sex,
tried TO draw her into conversation, but
either she didn't understand my talk or
fear had taken away her tongue; anyway,
not word would she utter. After she
had left me I set 10 work on the food,
and never before or since have / enjoyed
a meal so much. Then stretching myself
on some dry reeds in a corner. soon fell
asleep
II was awakened in the chill gray Of
dawn by the entrance of the same beauty
who put down my breakfast. saying as
| sic QlQ So WHITE uldll, eat wen, LOT at
sunrise you dier For a moment the
shock cleared me out Of speech; 1 could
only sit and stare at her. She seemed to
see what was going on in my mind, and
as If in comfort added, Stranger, why
do you fear death? 1t can only come
| oncer
Her reasoning, though logical enough,
wasn't of the kind calculated to meet
my trouble, and when she had left me
started wondering if anybody in Sacra-
mento City would ever hear of my fate,
and bitterly cursing the day 1 set out in
search Of this villainous island. AS sat
with my head upon my hands, the jewels
| L had stuck In my jumper fell TO the
floor and lay there taunting me with
their sparkling splendor. Howsomever,
1 had brought the situation on myself,
and whatever happened. must go
through with it. Suddenly my ear
caught the pat of naked feet outside the
| cell. Then the door was unbarred and
the chief entered Come, white man. ne
said. all is made ready. and the ak waits
! for the bare flesh! How would you have
felt in such a situation? AS for my
self, l put a good face on it, and re-
solved, since / could no longer live a
| free and independent American citizen,
TO die as such. Pity l thought. there
wasn't a band / was led up the village
TO the open plot before Don Silvio's
house. 1t might have been the Fourth
of July for the crowd that was assem-
bled In the center for my special bene-
| s. halI ,f,,I