Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-05-19

~ 30 ift 81 III "a J'4ih- I'tfN'l >ib'' :
t." - .,iuu "f Ear'pcnu the island "
\ cuN' ni IN" le'HnG j. uitvd up NJ II hHhitrtiun.
char' "f TIE island. m,sj.i:o'.-ly liarHcd. l.
:u'.'id Or i.c skeleton. N-i,'th- finds II Lo,ioW
tile! witH human skeletons. the remains Of
inlnln- party. He l. r,-,avd fron mn "cl"rHs
Ivy III - i,lc recovering !f's tr"Ia the wreck vi
tie -l!Ga!
CHATTER V Continued.
Over all lay a thick coatin- Of tine
sand, deposited from the cddyny winds
that could never reach the silent
depths. The place WAS grrwsUmc, hor-
ribly depressing. jerks broke out into
u clammy rcrspiration. He seemed to
be looking ut the secrets of the grave.
At last his superior intelligence as
serted itself. His brain became clear
or, recovered Its power Of analysis. He
began TO criticise. reflect. and this Is
the theory he evolved:
Some one. long ago, had discovered
valuable minerals in the volcanic rock.
Mining operations We're In full blast
when the extinct volcano took its re-
venge upon the human ants gnawing
ut its vitals and smothered them by
deadly outpouring Of carbonic acid
gas. the bottled up poison of the ages.
a horde of pigs, running wild over the
island-placed there no doubt by Chi
nese fishers-had met the same fate
while intent OH dreadful orgy.
Then there came European who
knew how the anhydrate gas, being
heavier than the surrounding air, set
tied like water in that terrible hollow.
lie, too, had striven to wrest the treas
ure from the stone by driving a tunnel
into the cliff. He had partly succeeded
and had gone away. perhaps to obtain
help, after crudely registering his
knowledge on the lid Of tin canister.
This. again, probably fell into the
hands Of another man, who, curious
but unconvinced, caused himself to be
set ashore on this desolate spot with
a few inadequate stores. Possibly he
had arranged to be taken off within a
fixed time.
But sampan laden with Dyak pi-
rates came first, and the intrepid ex-
plorers bones rested near the well,
while his bead had gone to decorate
the hut Of some fierce village chief,
The murderers. after bury1ng their own
dead-for the white man fought hard,
witness the empty cartridges-searched
the island. Some Of them. ignorantly
1nQuisitive. descended into the hollow.
They remained there. The others, su-
perstitious barbarians, fed for their
lives, embarking SO hastily that they
took from the cave neither tools nor
oil, though they would greatly prize
these articles.
Such was the tragic web he spun, a
compound Of fact and fancy. It ex-
planned all perplexities save one. What
did "32 divided By I" mean? Was
there yet another fearsome riddle
awaiting solution?
And then his thoughts few to Iris.
Happen what might, her bright picture
was seldom absent from his brain.
Suppose. egg hunting, she had Stun
bled across this valley Of deathl How
could he hope to keep It hidden from
her? Was not the CHASTITY knowledge
better than the Aorror Of q chance ram
bic through the wood and the shock Of
discovery-nay, indeed. the risk Of q
catastrophe?
He rushed back through the trees un-
tn he caught sight Of Iris Industrious.
" kneading the sage pitb In one Of
those most useful dish covers.
He called to her, led her wondering
to the track and pointed out the fatal
quarry. but in such wise that she could
not look inside it.
you remember that round hole we
saw from the summit rockY he said.
"Well. 1t is full Of carbonic acid gas, to
breathe which means Inconsistencies
and death. 1t gives no warning to the
inexperienced. 1t Is rather pleasant
than otherwise. Promise me you will
never come near this place again."
Now, Iris, too. had been thinking
deeply. Robert jerks bulked large in
her day dreams. Her nerves were not
yet quite normal. There was a catch
In her throat Us she answered:
II don't want to die. OF course I
will keep away. What horrid island
this Is! Yet 1t might be a paradise"
She bit her lip to suppress her tears:
but, being the Eve in this garden, she
continued:
How did you and out7 Is there
anything-nasty-in thereT
Eyes, the remains Of animals and
other things. l would not have told
you were it not imperative"
"Are you keeping other secrets from
meY
"Oh, quite number"
He managed to conjure up q smile,
and the ruse was effective. She ap-
piled the words to his past history.
Il hope they will not be revealed so
dramatically" she said.
You never can TELL" he answered.
They were In prophetic vein that
morning. They returned In silence to
the cave.
II wish to 90 inside with q lamp.
May II" he asked.
"May come too" she demanded.
He assented, with an explanation Of
his design. When the lamp was In or
der he held It close to the wall and
conducted a systematic survey. The
geological fault which favored the con-
struction Of the tunnel seemed to d.
verge to the left at the farther end
The "face' Of the rock exhibited the
marks Of persistent labor. The stone
had been hewn away by main force
when the dislocation Of strata ceased
to be helpful.
His knowledge was limited on the
subject, yet jerks believed that the
material here was a hard limestone
rather than the external basalt. Search.
ing each inch with the feeble light, he
paused once. with an exclamation.
what is ftp cried Iris.
II cannot be certain" he said doubt
fully. would you mind holding the
lamp while I use a crowbar?'
In the stone was visible thin vein,
blush white In color. He managed to
break of fair sized lump containing
a well defined specimen Of the foreign
metal.
They hurried into the open air and
examined the fragment with curious
nyoc Thu co11op v,3oGod a. NTH hts