Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-24

, | natural pitch again. and were ready to
follow our guide anywhere.
CHAPTER XXI.
Fer-de-Lance.
| Yellow Jack threw the remains of our
feast into a crack in the wall with ges-
| ture which took to signify an oblation to
the deities or devils of the place. Then he
turned upon US with the grave eyes, in
which there was no trace of laughter.
I'VE have played he said; I'VE have
seen-tzutt. 1t is all nothing! If you are
not afraid 1 will show you something-the
real-the home of Obi. the hid treasure, the
palace of the king! You are not afraid?"
Now. myself had had quite enough Of
going to look for hid treasures, but / could
not show the white feather where Anna re-
manned stanch.
What is that?" I asked, as much to
gain time as anything. do you mean the
treasure of Sir Harry Morgan
| TO my surprise Eborra nodded vehe-
| mently.
"Yes-yes-yes," he said. THE treasure
of Morgan. This was his isle long before
Eborra know. And he know the guard OF
| the treasure, too. Some day he show him
to the white man-when Eborra ready.
Then he laughed ironically, the white
| man will die. The treasure guard will kill
him. But you shall see the treasure today,
and yet be safe, because you are Eborra's
friends and there ts no hurt in you
| 1t was long speech for the African and
he did not often use SO many words, but
! for all that I was by no means sure in my
mind about following. There was a
which daunted me. My very ignorance
| shut me in and made me helpless. All about
| were unseen deadly NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
plants, deadly animals and, in addition.
| dread things that have name-devilkins
OF the solitudes, demons of the place, an
clent as the stones and crue1-hearted as
death itself.
But Anna rose with her quick gesture
| of acquiescence and swung her satchel
! across her shoulders. Then she set her
hand jauntily on the hilt of the knife
| at her belt.
| I'VE are not afraid" she said I'VE trust
| you, Eborra."
mo. you are not afraid he replied
Anna bent upon the crippled black a
| white man, would have made me angry.
| For she knew well enough the power she
had over the lad, and, like all women was
| quite willing to exercise it.
| Yet fnstinctively l felt the danger with
| a savage like Eborra- Nevertheless, could
not draw back nor even declare my dis
| trust.
| 1T is good" said Yellow Jack, and with
| out another word, led the way down the
hill, and, parting the green wall of leaves,
| plunged again into the densest of the jun
gle.
This time 1t was by darker, more terri
| BILE way that Eborra led us. We walked no
! more in the glorious tangle of the forest,
| that riot of life and vigor and beauty hui
rather through the valley of the shadow
| of death. about which my mother was SO
| fond of reading to me in the Pilgrim
book, And this dusky guide of ours, with
| his shiny skin and ron-hooked arm, made
| no bad Aponyon; only that, instead of
withstanding US and hurting darts, he led
US on deeper and deeper into the dank
and rotting smother
The lianas dropped from the trees and
| crawled along the marshy ground. The
| houghs were feathered with long dank
| drifts of Old Mans Beard. We began to
| spring from root to root and from log to
| log, swinging ourselves by hanging vines
| over pools Of black water which slept I'M
der the deep canopy of the gloom, stirred
| only by the oily plunge of the dread cop
| perhead snakes, which slid off the logs at
| our approach and disappeared noselessly
in the swelter of the green rotting weed
| and floating vegetable sludge.
| Many a time I would have stopped and
| cried, Turn back. I will go no furtherr'
| But Anna was stanch. and 1 could now
do no better than follow. Yellow Jack
| ward as If he had been walking on a
made road. After twenty minutes or half
an hour of this work he brought US once
| more to firmer ground. Before us rose a
darksome knoll in the midst of the swamp.
| 1t appeared to ascend all sides in the
| shape of an inverted bowl. The lower slopes
were covered with little plants which gave
| forth an acrid smell when trodden on, and
we moved knee deep in a lively growth of
poison oak. All the ground appeared to
rustic under foot with dry noise, almost
| like the chirr of crickets, but much fainter
"a metallic sound or the echo of a sound
which somehow carried thrill of horror
in It
| Eborra, land dc not speak, We are nearr"
| Anna stretched a hand back to me and
I kept the line cheered by her act.
| Round the mound a vast group Of black
pines lowered to the skies. They had
their heads all bent together, like chiefs
| at consultation. They appeared to be
| listening to each others whispered talk.
eyes became accustomed to the gloom, we
! saw a kind Of huge round tower half cut
| off in the middle. as If unfinished 1t ap-
| peared to be built of black stones Creep
| ers of a Shiny green color climbed sparse
~ upon 1t end little green apples, with
| brilliant scarlet patches upon them, hung
temptingly down. All round about the
foot the same unseen things stirred in the
| underground The huge redoubt in front
was IKE a wizard tower in dream, and
| doubted not but that some hideous en-
chanter would presently issue forth, or the
| twisted face of demon look at us with
sudden grimace over the crumbling ram
| parts.
Yet as we came nearer it seemed to me
that no earthly hands had laid the courses
| and fitted the joints of that titanic mason-
ny. for . on me one side by which we ap-
preached the tower rose smooth and black,
| save where in little irregular cracks like
| those in half-dried mud poisonous creepers
had obtained hold for their tendrils. A
| rumbling sound came from within which
| shook our midriffs like an earthquake.
AS we went still nearer Eborra kept I'D
| a curious kissing hum, which rose and fell
like the wind whistling through the chink
| Of an ill-fitting shutter. I was also con-
scious Of a curious sense Of uneasiness as
If were walking over the ways of half
| CONCEALED sea- The ground crept under my
feet. heaving and contracting itself like
worm. and at the thought feeling akin to
nausea came ever me. My knees shook I'M
| derneath me till I thought I should fall,
and. but for the greater horror of falling
into the midst of that Kissing, they must
| indeed have given way.
Yet Anna Marks fingers were steady in
mine, though little cold, and she followed
| Yellow Jack with confidence and decision.
Considering my own state of mind could
not think of this courage in girl without
great marveling. The black tower now rose
abruptly In front of us. and our guide turn
ed a little to the right and began to edge
round the base toward the opposite side.
laid my hand upon 1t. 1t was hot to the
| touch. Here rude stems were revealed cut