The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-02-05

bold men, who have the key TO the treas
ure pox, 1t appears from their talk with
Ine. But, after-after, Justin, after good
| czel! Count on me, as I shall count on
your young hearts and arms to over
throw their pride"
! lie skipped on in advance, infear of the
otner rascals observing him, and the lads
looked mt each other.
Best humor him." said Oziel, 'let the
comrades fall out in their vilainly. 1t
may help us"
They are but lip comrades" said JUS
| tin with flushed contempt Lynch is
AFRAID of GabriePs men, and Gabriel knows
| not Lynch's secret. And whichever comes
| out winner of the two, he would cut our
thfoats at night verify believe, as soon
as our purpose was served. How long be-
fore we know what that purpose is! Is
| thefe no chance of our escape, Ozel?
Cannot your brain devise a scheme?"
BUT OzieFs unaccustomed wits were not
skliltul at plotting, and one thing was
readily seen, that the men of the schooner
had orders to watch the lads. Never were
| they left by themselves. If they halted
| 10 rest there were men behind and men
IN front who halted, too. So also, when
| they camped in the mountains the first
nlght-the lads found themselves surround
| Ell, and though guard was placed Meth
er OF them was asked to share its duties.
Inc next day at sunrise they marched
| again, and on steadily through dreadful
| heat until evening without adventure or
| meeting with any dwellers of the land a
| thing which might be aseribed to the route
| Donnereau took, that being by almost i'm
passable and abandoned paths, so that
Justin and Oziel surmised he was purpose
| ly keeping in cover. Nothing occurred
| that day to enlighten the weary and anx-
ious lads. The leaders were as before and
silent, Gabriel watching everybod but Sc
cret himself, Mol Dade growing more ex-
| cited ha inn a1,.DY,
| self, and the lads themselves as closely
| guarded prisoners.
Evening found them all far up in the
| hills and weary, and there, after pointing
| out camp, Donnereau left the expedi-
! ton and disappeared in the woods by him
| self. Then, for the first time Dixey Lynch
! appeared at all anxious or excited hover
| ing about the fire where the men cooked
! their food restlessly, but speaking to no
one, until al a late hour the negro slipped
| SILENTLY back, and to the surprise of Ga
| briel as well as the lads, brought with
! him two other blacks. Dixey alone seem
| ed to expect these and received them
| calmly. Old Gabriel was papably dis
| turbed and ran to Lynch's side who let
him stay, unconcerned, while Donnereau
he and the negroes, who were of a very
savage appearance and almost naked, talk
ed in a language which the trader could
not understand. It appeared then to come
to Gabriel of sudden how helpless he
| himself was, how entirely open to treach-
cry from Lynch. His face twitched; he
| looked on Lynch, on his men, on Dom
nereau and the strange negroes and again
at his men, and, prompted by fear of some
| trick of Dxey's, he slipped among these
and whispered here and there, so that, as
quietly andz=as suddenly he had the
/ schooners crew standing about him, fac
ing the others with loaded muskets aimed
rnenacingly on Lynch and the savages.
This left Justin and Oziel for the time,
| the first time, unmatched. They sat to-
gether on the further side of the fire
| Quickly Justin touched his comrade
on the elbow, motioned him to haste and
silence and swiftly glided into the nearby
thickets and made off. 1t was done with
| out generalization, without thought and
so silently that they were some hundreds
of yards away, pushing their road through
the jungle and the sweltering heat, before
angry and excited voices in their rear told
| them they were pursued. At a game of
this sort Justin took the lead where wit
| was more needed than muscle, and Oziel
followed blndly, wondering at the sudden
doublings the slender built, hare-lize JUS
tin conceived in that unknown wilderness
and acted upon with a cats quickness.
/ For a time they heard the crashing of the
| chase, and then it died away and the lads
threw themselves down in a close thicket,
painting and exhausted by the run and the
fearful heat.
Oziel looked at Justin and his eyes, for
his lips were too parched to speak, asked
"why?"
II know not Justin answered, gasping.
II could not bear their mysteries longer,
nor the neighborhood of these villains.
had to rum
II was dark. Faintest starlight made
each face Just visible to the other, and
OziePs now was dismayed. They were
free indeed but In what better off? They
were in a land of savages, and the schoon-
er they dared not return 10. Already the
more prudent lad regretted their nasty es-
cape,
He did not speak and for long time the
two law stin Neither had the slightest
idea. aftek their many turns and twist
ings, how the camp of the treasure-seek-
ers Law but, as they recovered breath.
they rose and explored cautiously about
them weak moon was now shining
dirolv through the branches, and by its
light they made out they were on the slope
~ a wooded hill. Water shimmered 100
feet below, and gradually, as their eyes
got used to the night, they saw that this
was a little lake in the hill, which rose
All about it, so that it seemed as wine in
a goblet AS they stood looking down
mon the water there came to their ears
a distant sound of strange music, at whose
notes they crept deeper into the shadows
and were filed with new alarms. Breath
lessly they listened 10 IL craving nearer,
a sound in that solitude and in that
unnerving heat. so strange and unnatural,
SO unlike anything they had ever heard,
that they shook and stood close together.
There was no other noise save that of
strange Instruments, rude drums and reeds
End an accompaniment as it seemed. of
some jangHng strings. Nearer and nearer
n came until II was beneath them, and
as LAST there shot from the darkness a far
ing torch, and then another and another.
nv that glare the lads, now lying on their
faces. peering IN terrified curiosity, saw
that beneath them jutted into the lake a
rocky. flat-topped point of land, moss
grown. on whose preciptous edge stood
3 rude altar, a broad, rough stone, and
aling out on that plateau came many men,
back and naked, each bearing one of the
torches. except a few who carried the in
| struments of music.
None of these weird figures uttered a
, sound, but round and round the outer
edge of The plateau they began to move
in step and time gradually quicker, as
the music walled more loudly, until at
I T.. A. IN.