The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-11-13

low tone which called smile from their
leader.
/ "Here, bear hand!" cried Guthrie,
impatiently "Don't tell you we're
cold?''
! "Not SO fast, young gentleman, " re-
piled the man with the gun. son the
whole I don't know why you shouldn' t
stay where you are. By your own show
ing your companion can't swim, and
it put bullet through one of your
fins you won't be able to help her or
yourself either. 1t really strikes me as
a very neat trap, you know. y
Come. | say, don't be BRUTE
retorted Guthrie, but he shivered slight
", for the lean man looked quite capa-
BILE of being as good as his word.
Exactly, my dear sir. That's just
/ what wish to avoid, explained the
negro with grin. eff l help you
across here, l shall have to be brute to
one of my men by making him stand
sentry over you to see that you don't
bolt 2
"You want to keep us, then? What
for, pray?' asked Guthrie in tone Of
| surprise. which was, it must be admit
ted, to great extent simulated.
! THAT a trifle we won't discuss
said the other coolly. .sLet it suffice
that as you have poked your meddling
noses in here unasked you've got to
! swallow the consequences. You didn t
choose to drown one another when you
had a decent chance put in your way.
So now you must understand that you
are prisoners The only question u.s. Do
you prefer to stay where you are, like
a couple of seals with their fappers cut
Oft, or would you rather come up here
high and dry and give a promise to
cause no further trouble?'
"You're pinning me rather unfair
ly, . said Guthrie.
"Look here. young man. returned
the negro savagely. 'I'm not going to
stay here palavering. Are you going to
come or are you going to stay? Settle
quickly or maybe my gun may go off
before you've made up your mind. .
''We'll join you up there. thanksl'
"Ah, thought you would! Then it
is understood that neither you nor your
sweetheart in the trousers will ATTEMPT
a bolt?
The young man hesitated for frac-
ton Of a second. but there was no al
tentative. '1I'll promise, said he sulk-
lily, for he recognized that to resist fur
Their was hopeless. At present his adj
versary held all the trumps
mind you don't break your word, .
said the man with the gun threaten
ingly, "or dare say some one will con
trive to stick bullet in your carcasses
before you We got very far. George, get
brace Of those paddles to make the
lady a bridge. "
George, one of the three, departed
and in a minute returned with a couple
OF oars, whose ends he showed out to
the submerged rock. Henrietta swarmed
up nimbly enough, and the undergradu-
1 ate followed her.
4 CHOW. said the lean man, 'syou
can go up round this dark angle, and
you'll find your shipmate there. You
may chat with him if he's got tongue.
| We can find it.
The three negroes had taken their
long sheath knives from their belts and
stood now to attention. Guthrie and
the woman marched past them in the
direction which the leader had indi-
Gated and tried not to show by their
manner that they found the situation
an ugly one.
They did not find it 60 very dark
round the angle, after all. There was
slab of smooth rock at the corner where
the cave turned, and the green light
was reflected on without much loss of
Intensity They discovered the farmer
sitting with his back to the rock wall.
He recognized them with a microscopic
nod, but as far as his face indicated
seemed neither pleased to see them nor
the reverse He was truly wonderful
man. After that nod he did not appear
to think it at all necessary to explain
how he had tumbled into his scrape
and it was only by dint of patient cross
questioning that Guthrie got the story
out of him
To give the tale piecemeal, as it was
extracted would be impossible, but
this is the gist of it;
1t seemed that when he felt the dry
land beneath his feet once more, after
the long weary months on shipboard,
the love of the soil had taken firm
hold of him. This had indeed been no
sudden feeling, for it will be remember
ed that when first the Eureka's people
went ashore Cain Laversha alone sat
him down and showed no inclination
to scamper and frolic. But none the
less the smell of the earth gradually
found its way up his nostrils, and the
sight of the greenery was slowly taken
in by his little eyes, and by nightfall
he fully understood that he was on his
own mother earth again and loved her
also. as the restraining influence of Zu-
san Pierce was now some thousands of
miles away there came upon him the
desire to poach. So he made his bargain
with his friend Tom Jelly and slowly
pushed his way inland. What manner
Of game he expected to find his ques-
toner failed to gather, but the farmer
admitted that he got Disguised with his
sport before very long. perhaps because
4 he foTlnd the scruh of bastard na1rn nm