The herald., 1897-09-26

hiss Of rattlesnake, and he plunged up
the trail at headlong speed, nor stopped
until the cruel prick of a cactus needle
in his foot warned him that there were
other dangers in the mountains beside
rattlers.
After plodding up the dusty trail for
some time, Kenneth became so thirsty
that he decided to search for a spring of
water which he remembered the guide
had pointed out to them on the trip to
Middle Ranch. Accordingly he left the
trail, but wandered about for long time
before he came upon the spring. After
quenching his thirst and lying for some
time under the shade Of a mountain lau-
rel, he started to resume his journey, but
was puzzled which way to go to regain
the main trail. He was not in the least
frightened. however, and followed, one
after another, the indistinct paths which
seemed to lead toward it. But he invar-
iably found himself back at the spring.
Finally, after repeated trials, he lost the
location even of that; everything looked
wild and strange to him.
For four long nights and days Kenneth
wandered over the mountains and
through the canyons of the island, seek
ing familiar path by which he could
find his way back to Avalon, for his
appetite for adventure died away as his
appetite for supper increased. The first
night he spent in a cave, but while he
slept a loosened rock fell, cutting a deep
cash in his head, from which the blood
flowed freely. His face, too, became
severely poisoned with poison oak, and
his legs were mass of fostering sores
from the cactus needles which were con-
tinually piercing them. His clothing
was nearly torn off his body by bram-
bles, and all he had to eat in the four
days and nights of his wanderings was
the cactus fruit and raw shell fish. He
would have perished for want Of water
had it not been for the cactus fruit,
which contains almost as large a per-
centage of water as does the watermelon.
In the course of his wanderings he
found in a deep canyon an old, deserted
cabin, and in it was a bottle labelled
''carbolic acid" Kenneth did not know
the nature of the contents, and thought
it might heal his poor, poisoned face.
He applied some and the agony immedi-
ately became so intense that he rushed
to the beach and lay down in the surf
to cool his burning face, but the action
of the salt water only increased his dis
tress.
Occasionally Kenneth would stumble
accidentally upon a spring of pure
mountain water, and oh! how welcome
it was! He would put his parched lips
to the fresh, cool stream, lave his swollen
face and hands in it, and lie for hours
near it, not daring to stray away lest he
should lose all trace Of it. One day he
came quite suddenly upon a herd of
goats, and followed in their trail for
long way, hoping to find a clue that
would lead back to Avalon, but the wild
creatures only led him farther into the
mountain businesses.
Occasionally, from some peak, he
would catch glimpses Of the blue sea {;
and then he would run with breathless
haste to the top of the cliffs overlooking
| it, hoping to see on the beach below the
white tents of campers. Several times
he sighted fishing parties quite near the
coast, and shouted himself hoarse in the
effort to attract their attention; but the
his voice, and the fishermen sailed on,
while Kenneth threw himself on the cruel
rocks, sobbing in despair.
/ MeduWule, dl ANd1On COuStCAudt
reigned when the alarm was given that q
boy was lost. At first the parents thought
that Kenneth had gone out with some
fishing party; but as daylight faded and
the night wore away this hope faded,
and the alarm became general. The pos
sibility of his having wandered away on
the mountains caused the strongest men
to shudder, for experienced men had
sometimes well-nigh perished in their eff
forts to thread the trails, and what of a
welve-year-old boy?
Searching parties were organized, and
under the leadership o. competent guides
vent out over the mountains. For three
lays and nights the search continued;
then the distracted parents gave up in
despair, for it was the opinion Of the
guides that the boy, if he were on the
island, must surely have perished before
this, So Kenneth's father and his poor,
prostrated mother, left Avalon and re-
turned to Los Angeles. where detectives
finished in the same way. The bodice