Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-07-27


"You forget the mosquitoes, she
said I'm sure they're very much
alive. What with them and the sand
flies and the other denominations, I'm
just being walked away with piece
meal Can't we get out of this place Of
tormentH'
at seems all much Of muchness,
said Guthrie. "but over there, to the
left a bit, there's n knoll which, from
what one may judge from here should
be about the highest point Of the island.
lvote we go up there and prospect We
may find, at least, paradise moderate
ly free from mosquitoes.
The underground thnned q little "a
they nearcd this slight upland, as though
the soil were poorer and would not sup
port such rank heritage as grew on tho
lower slopes and in the bosly hollows
between them, and when the climbers
gained the crest their way was impeded
by nothing worse than sparse tufts of
grass which rarely reached to the knee
"Hellol' exclaimed Guthrie as he
stumbled and nearly fell over something
lying in the cover just below the top
most curve of the summit. "What have
we hereG"
A fine brown dust which had spurted
out under the influence Of the young
mans involuntary kick said wood.
and further examination showed that
the wood had once been dressed by cut
ting tools
ITS a spar Of some kind" pro-
nounced Henrietta, who had come up
behind him.
They examined it curiously IT was,
they found, several spars, fished togcth-
~ into one piece, which could not have
been less than 100 feet in length. At
the end of it were the remains of plat
form or 'top." Evidently the thing had
been uprearcd on end at one time and
held in position by shroUds and guys
indeed, Henrietta actually found its
step. The summit had been Il look
out station, perhaps belonging to the
mysterious Piper, perhaps even to
Nicholas the First himself.
There bave been some rum sights
viewed from the top of this before it
was blown down, opined Guthrie
Very probably, " replied Dolly, "but
as the top Of it showed the seas all
around, surely the foot Of it should
show us most of the island.
"WellY"
well, if Gains on the surface, we
ought to see him if we look hard
| enough.
80 we ought, miss exclaimed
/ Henrietta. land if we do, mayhup we
needn't tramp through any more Il
them nasty palms.
''lf it does that. it's worth the eff
/ fort, declared the Undergraduate with
/ conviction.
They settled themselves down there
fore on u big bowlder and commenced
scrutinizing the grecnery below care
| fully and mcthodically. On one side of
them, away down by the coast, could
be seen Hans Spiedernichel and the
/ doctor toiling through the scrub about
quarter of mile apart, and near the
opposite shore a blue cloud rising from
"A patch of tall grass showed where Cap
I tain Colepepper was waging by mears
of smoke an unequal war with the
mosquitoes. Half way between them
and the captain was Toln Jelly sitting
on Il howlder and tanning himself with
/ his cap, and, excepting for few wheel
ing sea fowl, there was not another liv-
ing thing in sight.
Away out farther was the calm blue
water Of the lagoon, dotted here and
there with points of black and SHIN
mering white, where the reefs cropped
ont and broke the seas from the out
side, and beyond this again was the
great sweep Of the ocean, unbroken TO
| the horizon. Except whore the Eureka 5
/ people made patches il the solitude, the
llace was deserted By man and beast
alike.
mo sign Of the farmer anywhere, "
pronounced Guthrie at length, after
long and careful scrutiny
mo. said Dolly. but there's a
thing down there which puzzles me-
down on the beach near that big black
bowlder. What do you make of itf"
She pointed to the place, about half
a mile away, where the cleaning,
white fore shore WAS nearest 10 them.
Guthrie made telescope of his hands
to avoid the binding glare from above,
and stared for some time at the thing
which had attracted Dolly attention
at looks like an oar, he declared
presently.
That's exactly what I thought,
replied the girl Suppose we go near
er and make certain.
SO on they trudgod again and found
that half mile to the shore the worst
bit of going they had come across so far.
sit is an oar" exclaimed Dolly tri-
umphantly, when at last they came out
on TO the open beach,
And look-ee thcrep' cried Henri
eta "See that blood on the handle of
it, scarcely hard yet! This oars been
used by chap wi "A blister on 5 hand.
Look-ee, the blood chips away when |
scratch it with my nail. There been no
rain fallen on this ere and we had rain
only two days agone.
"Oars don't grow ont of coral sand. "
pronounced Dolly eXcitedly, NOR do
they drop from the clouds, that I've
ever heard, nor do ghosts carry them
about, or, if they do, they don't leave
fresh blood stains on theml Alan, |
think it, allowable to suppose that a
boat has been in here, and under the
circumstances we might even take 1t