Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1905-04-25
Copyright. 1908. by
Edward J. Clode

see it instantly. pulled his sou'wester
we'll over his eyes and walked on
quietly.
j They were flung ashore on the north
west s.Ge of the island. Except for
the cove formed by the coral reef, with
its mysterious palm tree growing ap-
parently in the midst Of the waves, the
shape of the coast was roughly that
of tie concave side Of bow, the two
visible extremities being about three
quarters of II 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 a cOnsidera-
BILE height. $50 or 200 feet. In the cen,
ter was the talest hill. which seemed
to end abruptly toward the southwest.
On the northeast side it was connect
ed with 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 verdure
| Clothing the remainder of the ridge.
| Facing the precipice and separated
from II by strip Of ground not twen'
ty feet above the sen level in the high
est part was another rock built emi.
ncnce quite bare Of trees. blackencd by
| the weather and SCARED in Il manner
that atteStcd the attacks Of lightning.
The intervening belt was sparsely
dotted with trees. casuarinas, poon and
other woods lie did not know, resem
bling ebony and cedar. A number OF
stunps showed that the aX had been
ut work. but not recently. He passed
into the cleft and climbed tree that
offered easy access. As lie expected,
| after rising Il few feet from the ground
his eyes encountered the solemn blue
line of the sea- not half mile distant
lie descended and commenced sys
tematic search. Men had been here.
Was there house? Would he sudden
ly encounter some hermit Malay OF
J Chinaman:
At the foot Of the main cliff was q
cluster of fruit bearing trees-plan
tains. areca nuts and cocoa palms. A
couple of cinchonas caught his eye In
one spot the underground was rank
and vividly green. The cassava. OF
+ tapioca plant. reared its high passion
| flower leaves above the grass, and
| some sagO palms thrust aloft theii
thick stemmed trunks.
Here is u ch?"%e Of menu, ut any
rate" lie cOmmuned.
! Breaking thick branch on poon
| tree. he whitfield away the minor
stems. A strong stick was needful tc
explore that leafy fastness thoroughly
A few cautious strides and vigorous
whacks with the stick laid bare the
cause of such prodigality in soil COW
cred with drifted sand and Jumps OF
black and white speckled coral. The
trees un, bushes inclosed IL well-safe'
guarded. in fact, from being choked
with sand during the first gale that
blew.
Delighted with this discovery, more
precious tlian diamonds ut 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 well had been proper
| ly made. Ten feet down lie 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. lie. found that they were quite
| sweet. Tie sand and porous rock pro-
yidcd the best Of filter beds.
He rose, well pleased, and noted that
on the opposite side the appearance
| of the, shrubs and tufts Of long grass
indicated the existence Of a grown ovei
path toward the cliff. He followed 1t,
walking carelessly. with eyes seeking
the prospect beyond. when something
ratified and cracked beneath his feet
| Looking down. he was Mortified to find
! he was trampling OH skeleton.
Had venomous snake coiled its glls.
tening folds around his leg he would
not have been more startled. But this
, man of iron nerve soon recovered. He
frowned deeply after the first involun-
| tary heart throb.
With the stick he cleared away the
underground and revealed the skeleton
| of man. The bones were big and
strong. but oXidized by the action of
| the air. jerks had injured the left
tibia by his tread. but three fractured
ribs and smashed shoulder blade told
| some terrible unwrittcn story.
Beneath the mournful relics we've
fragments of decayed cloth. 1t was
blue serge. lying about were few
blackcned OBJECTS brass buttons mark
ell 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.
4 rusted pocketknife lay there, and
on the left breast of the skeleton rest
l eu Touiiu pleCc VI ILL., ehS toP VA Z"
canister. which might have reposed in
coat pocket: jerks picked 1t up.
Some curious marks and figures were
punched into its surface. After hasty
glance he PIT 1t aside for more leisure
ly examination.
| NJ weaDon was visible. He could
form no estimate as to the cause Of the
death of tn; poor unknown nor the
time since Tic tragedy had occurred.
jerks must have stood many min
utcs before he perceived that the skel-
eton was head!ess. At first he imag-
incd t.iut in rummaging about with the
stick lie had disturbed the skull. But
the most minute search demonstrated
that it had gone-had been taken away
in fact-for the plants which so effcctu-
ally screened tie lighter bones would
not permit the skull to vanish.
Thea the f:own OIL the siilor's face
bee nc th: c tcn;ng. thrnderous. He
eco'lcctel TIC rusty crrcsc. lndistinct
memories Of strange tales OF the China
sea c:owdet! Unbid.ien to his brain.
"Dyaks.." he erowlcl fiercely. "a
ship's officer. IN Englishman probably,
murdered by head hunting .Dyak pi-
rates."
If they came once they would come
again.
,l. T,s., nx.n M