Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-07-25

l of the concave side of bow, the two visible extremities being about three quarters of a mile apart.
 He guessed by the way in which the sea raced past these points that the land did not extend beyond them. Be- hind him it rose steeply to considera- ble height. 15O or 200 feet. In the cen ter was the tallest hill, which seemed to end abruptly toward the southwest. On the northeast side it was connect ed with a rocky promontory by ridge of easy grade. The sailor turned to the southwest as offering the most likely direction for rapid survey.
 He was not surprised to find that the hill terminated in sheer wall of rock, which stood out. ominous and massive, from the wealth of venture clothing the remainder of the ridge. Facing the precipice and separated from it by strip of ground not twen- ty feet above the sea level in the high. est part was another rock built elni- hence quite bare of trees. blackened by the weather and scared in manner that attested the attacks of lightning.
 The intervening belt was sparsely dotted with trees, casuarinas. poon and other woods he did not know, resem- bling ebony and cedar. A number of stumps showed that the ax had been at work, but not recently. He passed into the cleft and climbed a tree that offered easy access. As he expected, after rising a few feet from the ground his eyes encountered the solemn blue line of the sea, not half mile distant.
 He descended and commenced sys- tematic search. Men had been here. Was there a house? Would he sudden ly encounter some hermit Malay or 1 Chinaman?
 1 At the foot of the main cliff was a cluster of fruit bearing trees-plan- tains, areca nuts and cocoa palms. A couple of cinchonase caught his eye. In one spot the undergrowth was rank and vividly green. The cassava, or tapioca plant, reared it's high passion flower leaves above the grass, and some sago palms thrust aloft their thick stemmed trunks.
 Here Is a change of menu, at any rate," he communed.
 Breaking a thick branch off poon tree, he whittled away the minor 1 stems. A strong stick was needful to explore that leafy fastness thoroughly. 1 A few cautious strides and vigorous whacks with the stick laid bare the cause of such prodigality in a soil cov- cred with drifted sand and Jumps of black and white speckled coral. The trees and bushes inclosed a well-safe- guarded. in fact. from being choked with sand during the first gale that blew.
 Delighted with this discovery, more precious than diamonds at the mo- ment - for he doubted the advisability of existing on the water supply of the pitcher plant-he knelt to peer into the excavation. The we'll had been proper ly made. Ten feet down he could see the reflection of his face. Expert hands had tapped the secret reservoir of the island. By stretching to the full ex- tent of his arm he managed to plunge the stick into the water. Tasting the drops. he found that they were quite sweet. The sand and porous rock pro- vided the best of filter beds.
 He rose, we'll pleased, and noted that on the opposite side the appearance of the shrubs and tufts of long grass indicated the existence of grown over path toward the cliff. He followed it. walking carelessly. with eyes seeking the prospect beyond, when something rattled and cracked beneath his feet. Looking down. be was mortified to find | he was trampling on skeleton.
 Had a venomous snake coiled Its glis- tening folds around his leg he would not have been more startled. But this man of iron nerve soon recovered. He drowned deeply after the first involun- tary heart throb.
 With the stick he cleared away the undergrowth and revealed the skeleton of a man. The bones were big and strong. but oxidized by the action of the air. Jenks had injured the left tibia by his tread, but three fractured ribs and a smashed shoulder blade told some terrible unwritten story.
 Beneath the mournful relics were fragments of decayed cloth. It was blue serge. Lying about were few blackened objects. brass buttons mark cd with an anchor. The dead mans boots Were in the best state of preser- vation. but the leather had shrunk. and the nails protruded like fangs.
 A rusted pocketknife lay there. and on the left breast of the skeleton rest cd a round piece of tin. the top of canister. which might have reposed in coat pocket. Jenks picked it up. Some curious marks and figures were punched into it's surface After nasty glance he put it aside for more leisure ly examination.
 { No weapon was visible. He could death of this poor unknown nor the time since the tragedy had occurred. l Jenks must have stood many min utes before he perceived that the skel- etOD was hesdless. At first he imag ined that in rummaging about with the stick he had disturbed the skull But ! the most minute search demonstrated that it had Cone-had been takeNaway. in faci-for the plants which so effectu- ally screened the lighter bones would not permit the skull to vanish