Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1899-05-25
DICK RODNEY;
orThe Adventures Of
An EtOn Boy.
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was heard by them, and at the same
instant both saw flock OF petrels
and storm hnches rise up In tho moon
light from the face OF the bluff, where
they reyolved above the breakers, like
a swarm OF knats In sunbeam.
So II Ned and the carpenter were
mistaken In the sound, the birds were
also reused and alarmed,
Mark Hislop rldlouled their story but
he was considerably bewildered, and
so were we all when two days after
ward seaman named Hugh Chute
when rambling In the woods, found
one OF our goats, which we knew by
the fragment OF rope still tied round
Ito neck, lying dead, with a bullet In It's
throat,
He brought II to the hut, where the
wound was cut open and the bullet
extracted, II was small, and had evil
IDENTIFY been fired from a pistol this
event caused the most exciting specu-
lations, amid which the carcass was
hastily buried, as none OF us would eat
OF Il.
What or who could this person beY
were the prevailing questions; and
what was his reason for conceallng
himself from us, In the thick woods OF
the island?
In the thorough exploration Of the
latter, caused by these episodes, our
people fortunately discovered fine
grove of banana trees, and returned
laden with their yellow and luscious
fruit.
At the same time Tattooed Tom
found some letters in foreign lingo"
as he said, cut on the face Of steep
rock, overhanging the river which
formed the cascade at the beach, To
this rock he conducted Hlslop and me
the next day, and after tearing aside
some masses of creepers and scraplng
of a rich coating Of moss, we found
this old legend on the smoothed face OF
the basalt:
Eel Noble Caballero, d. Alphonso de
Albuquerque;
A. ID. 1906.
Rvgven a Dlos por ell
1.-THE year of the discovery of the Is
land!" said Hislop,
Have other eyes ever seen this In
scrlption since?" added I.
1T is very doubtful. This Alphonso
also discovered the Albuquerque Rays,
as he named the three lslets which lie
Off the Mosquito shore in the Carib-
bean sea"
Hlslop copied the inscription In to
his notebook, and Just as we turned TO
leave the spot a large stone, about
sixty pounds In weight, came crashing
down the cliff, hurled apparently, from
It's summit, and, II so, by no inexpert
hand for II struck the rock Of the
legend within foot Of where Hlslop
stood, and was shlvered into a hun
dred pieces, covering him over with
dust.
Had 1t struck him instead, he had
been slain and mangled on the spot,
Had q fragment broken any of his
limbs, in how miserable n plight would
he have been on that desolate island,
without proper shelter or surgical aid?
Looking up to the summit Of the
cliff, which was about hundred and
fifty feet in height, perceived among
the dense fringe of wild gourds, shrubs,
leaves and plantain trees, then waving
in the wind, something like human
face that, after peering over at us, was
suddenly withdrawn.
"That stone was never diglodged,
either by goats or by accident" said
Hislop; there Is not a vestlge Of clay
upon the fragments-besides, all the
face Of the cliff Is smooth and solid
rockv
"And It Is the only place we did not
overhaul yesterday, Master Hislop "
said Tom Lambourne.
"Then there must be the thief OF
our biscuits-of our goats"
"Of our stunsail boom and my old
guernsey. Let us have all hands
turned up for hunt again." exclaimed
Tom.
now mentioned what / had seen.
"A man!--do you think 1t was a
mans headY"
II oan not be certain, Hislop," said
/; at emcd a face Of some kind, and
very hairy one, too"
at might be an old pumpkin" sug-
gested Tom, in his matter-of-fact way.
cor a goat-at all events, 1t could
not have been baboon" said |,
mo, no; there is no such animal
hereabouts, Master Rodney" replied
Tom.
Man or monkey, goat or devil, we'll
overhaul the place this very after
noon,' exclaimed Hlslop, with lncreas-
ing energy, and anger; but first we
shall return with all expedition to the
hut.
CHAPTER XXXII.
The Mystery Solved
All day the air had been unusually
sultry and breathlessly hot, even for