Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-12-13

bain't, why, we can just go straight
on"
NO" said Alec; "a raft large enough
to carry all of US would be heavy to
handle and far too conspicuous. | pro-
pose to build a light vessel. just big
enough for four, without being cum
bersome. In this we could go across
quickly by night and land unobserved,
while a larger raft. sluggish in its
movements. would certainly be seen if
the island is inhabited, and an argue
buster or a couple of archers could
pick us off one by one before we got
chance of landing"
oh ho, hor' put in the old man at
this point. THE youngsters got some
sense in him after all. Do as your cap
tain tells you, you dolts, and If he lands
you all in heaven you can say it's the
old mans faultp'
The men said no more, for they yield
ed to the old dotard's counsel when an
other, and he man of unimpaired
brain. might not have succeeded in
persuading them. Even felt more
comfortable now that the plan had
been approved by this uncanny author
ity.
The discussion was closed. for no one
had anything more TO say. We set
watch to guard against possible at
tempts on the part of our prisoners and
addressed ourselves to slumber.
During the next day n small raft was
made. and when night fell four of US
embarked on it. Alec and myself, with
! Jan Pengony and apother-the two last
being enormously powerful men-form-
I'd the crew. and after we had cautious
ly padded out through the reef we set
rag of sail and steered a course by
the stars. The sea was smooth, the
wind was dead aft. and. slipping
through the water AT about knot and
half an hour. we made the island
little before midnight The surf broke
at the foot Of tall, forbidding cliffs, and
as there appeared no place for land
ing we lowered the sail and. taking to
our paddles, worked round to the
southwark.
In about a mile we came lpon
scraD Of shelving beach upon which,
after much trouble we drew the raft,
/
1t was mighty hard work scaling the
cliff. and all our niEibieness was need
ed to keep clear of falls But we reach
ed the top at last and at once found
ourselves in a tangled lane bound for
est, through which it was furiously
hard work to press a passage. 1t did
not, however, extend very far, and
presently we came out Into the open.
The sea fowl were not quite so nu-
merous as on Galley island, but there
were gay plumaged parrots and other
land birds in abundance. There were
traces. too, of four footed beasts, and
presently we flushed from a piece of
swamp a fine drove of pigs, which
/. made our mouths water and our heels
, itch to give chase This, however Alec
forbade, saying that hunting cries
might be dangerous if there were Span
iards in the neighborhood. He bade
us walk prudently, therefore, rove our
eyes and kennel our tongues.
why all this caution?" said l with
q laugh. There's never five toed foot
trodden these thickets since deluge
time"
"Very possibly, Jack. But have you
no. sense besides those keen eyes of
yours? Turn your nose up wind, man."
"WeH?"
Now sniff"
"There's nothing but a smell of heat
ed marsh and rotting leaves, with Il
sprinkling of pungent flower odors ev-
cry now and again."
"Yes? And what bush do you think
those same flowers grow on. Jack?"
How should know? never learn
ed their outlandish names. Firetree
perhaps 1t smells something like
smoke"
Something like smoke?" replied
Alec dryly.
"Why, it is smoker
"Aye. smoke sure enough saw a
thin blue wreath of it floating up above
the clump of bushes ahead there not
| minute since Look! There goes an
otherr'
, "Phewr said l. "Philistines, for an
, emperor's ransom"
, Exactly" said Alec, "and therefore
1t seems to me we had better advance
carefully and reconnoiter their position.
| They may be only one or two, or they
may be hundreds. So forward to the
bushes. Keep the cover of the long
) grass as much as possible and be ready
to duck down your sconces smartly If
any one puts in an appearance. There's
, no use in bringing the whole rookery
round our ears by carelessness."
"Aye. aye, captain" said Jan. Pen
gony. with grin. Trust me an Cargo
| here for that We haven't forgotten
/, how a Dartmouth deer's poached yet.
! an we've got the wind O. this un, so
it's as easy as making a riled Spaniard
swear"
We went on again through the rank
vegetation, startling more pigs and
! keeping a bright lookout for chance
snakes. but not a trace of Spaniards
did we see, and in very short space
we were peering through the farther
end of the copse Neither house nor
fire was in sight. but the thin trunk of
smoke rising in front of us could mean
I nothing but that there was fire burn
ing somewhere out of our sight. 1t rose
from rocky fissure In the open
ground. circled listlessly into the air
and was carried away on the wings of
the gentle breeze.
"rhe Lord be good to u.s." said one
of the men in awed tones; "we'se got
, ten on a burning island thatll belch
out fire an melted rocks, like the vol.
canoes they tell of on the Peru coast"
''Sniff it. Cargo; snifr IT," said Pen
gony. Smoke like that bain't come
from the devils stithy. There's brim-
stone in his'n. an this be honest wood
reek or never smelt my mothers fire.
; Lift up your bottle nose an sniff,
Cargo"
Like a hound at fault, Cargo shifted,
and as he shifted pondered at some
| length
AYE. woodreek sure enough" he
rumbled cut at last and relapsed into
! puzzled silence.
Meanwhile Alec and | had advanced
to the fissure and tried to look down it,
/, but the pungent vapors made all the
air in the shaft to dance, and at the
, same time bit our eyes so smartly that
we were glad to draw our heads back
, out of their reach as quickly as possi-
BILE We could see nothing at all.
, 81 have it, Jack" said Alec in n whis-
, per. There's cave somewhere below
, us, and its occupants are cooking their
| hats tha mpaDinp Of the