The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1905-03-22

closed. She nestled into a comforta-
bic position and slept.
The man moved the revolver out Of
harms way to q spot where she must
see it instantly, pulled his sou'wester
we'll over his eyes and walked Off
quietly.
They were flung ashore on the north
west side of the island Except for
the cove formed by the coral reef. with
it's mysterious palm tree growing ap-
parently in the midst Of the wares. the
shape of the coast was roughly that
of tie concave side of bow, the two
visible extrcmit;es being about three
quarters of 4 mile apart.
He guessed by the way in which tee
sea raced past these points that tie
land did not extend beyond then. Be
hind him it rose steeply to cons;dera-
bic height. 15G or 200 feet. In tie cen
ter was the tallest bill, 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 vefdure
clothing the remainder Of the ridge.
Facing the precipice and separated
from it by q strip Of ground not twen-
ty feet above the sea level in the high
est part was another rock built enai-
nence 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 ak 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 u sys-
tematic search. Men had been here.
Was there a house? Would he sudden
" encounter some hermit Malay or
Chinaman?
At the foot of the main cliff was
cluster of fruit bearing trees-plan-
tains. areca nuts and cocoa palms. a
couple of cinchonas caught his eye. In
one spot the undergrowth was rank
and yividly green. The cassava, OF
tapioca plant, reared its high passion
flower leaves above the grass, and
some sago- palms thrust aloft their
thick sten1med trunks.
..Here is a change Of menu, at any
rate,' he communed.
. Breaking a thick branch off poon
tree, he Whitfield away the minor
stems. A strong stick was needful to
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 and bushes inclosed 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 well 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, 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 over
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 horrified to find
be was trampling on skeleton.
Had 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
frowned deeply after the first involun-
tary heart tbrob.
With the stick he cleared away tie
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 a smashed shoulder blade told
some terrible unwritten story.
fro RE coyTrNuED.1