The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-11-09

er 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 upreared on end at one time and
held in position by shrouds and guys
indeed, Henrietta actually found its
"step. The summit had been look
out station perhaps belonging to the
mysterious Piper, perhaps even to
Nicholas the First himself.
.'There have 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 u3 most of the island"
"Well?'
well. if Gains on the surface, we
ought to see him if we look hard
enough.
$50 we ought, missl'' exclaimed
Henrietta. land if we do, mayhap we
needn't tramp through any more of
them nasty palms.
eff it does that. it's worth the eff
fort, declared the undergraduate with
conviction.
They settled themselves down there
fore on big bowlder and commenced
scrutinizing the greenery below care
fully and methodically. On one side Of
them. away down by the coast, could
/ be seen Hans Spiedernichel and the
doctor toiling through tbs scrub about
quarter of mile apart, and near the
opposite shore blue cloud rising from
patch of tall grass showed where Cap
tain Colepepper was waging by means
Of smoke an unequal war with the
mosquitoes. Half way between them
! and the captain was Tom Jelly sitting
on bowlder 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
out and broke the seas from the out
side, and beyond this again was the
great sweep of the ocean. unbroken to
the horizon. Except where the Eureka's
people made patches in the solitude, the
place was deserted By man and beast
alike.
'.No sign of the farmer anywhere, /"
pronounced Guthrie at length. after a
long and careful scrutiny.
i ''No. !" said Dolly, "but there's q
thing down there which puzzles me
down on the beach near that big black
bowlder. What do you make of it9'
| She pointed to the place, about half
mile away, where the cleaning,
white fore shore was nearest to them.
Guthrie made a telescope Of his hands
to avoid the binding glare from above,
and stared for some time at the thing
which had attracted Dolly g attention.
"It looks like an oar" he declared
presently.
"That's exactly what l thought, .
replied the girl. Suppose we go near
er and make certain.
So on they trudged again and found
that half mile to the shore the worst
bit of going they had come across so far.
cit is an oar!" exclaimed Dolly tri-
umphantly, when at last they came out
on to the open beach.
ssAnd look-ee there'' cried Henri
> eta ''See that blood on the handle OF
it, scarcely hard yet! This oars beer
e used by chap wi blister ons hand.
y Look-ee, the blood chips away when
Z scratch it with my nail There been nc
rain fallen on this ere, and we had rair
: only two days agone.
y ''Oars don't grow out of coral sand, .
= pronounced Dolly excitedly. ''nor d.
they drop from, the clouds, that I've
b ever heard, nor do ghosts carry then
: about, or, if they do, they don't leav,
! fresh blood stains on theml Alan,
Il think it's allowable to suppose that /,
Q boat has been in here, and under tn
circumstances we might even take i
for granted that Cain went off in tina
o boat"
h ,''It looks like it, certainly, but wher
4 on earth could boat come from?'
n ''Best call the doctor, hadn't you
! sir?'' suggested Mrs Jelly. 1.-The cap
f tain said as how we was to give tongu
if we found anything. -
;, Fright, Henriettal You go to tn
"a top of that rock and wave to him. He
n not more than couple of hundre
4 yards off. for | saw him just now.
!. The woman went and the others ra
q down to the waters edge to look 70
j. footsteps or the impress Of keel q
some other trace which might confr1
10 their guess about a boat, but, thong
h they searched high and low for som
J. distance along the shore in both diret
"a tions from the oar, they found nothing
- If there had been any such marks. til
- wavelets had completely washed the1
n away.
+ "H'ml'' said DR.. Tring when he wa
shown the oar with its fresh bloc
"a marks. ~ tell you what, young people
q dom t half like this.
). 'sWhat is it, doctor-pirates9 ?" aske
. Dolly, with a thrill Of awe. For ami
these surf guarded solitudes such
4 thing did not seem to her to be impos
. sible even at the end of the nineteent
: century. There was an atmosphe1
4 about Piper cay which suggested mys
!. terry and crime.