The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1906-11-15

CHAPTER I
BY Fergus Hume

the sea, daring the tempestuous fury OF
the waves, which dashed furiously in
sheets of seething foam against the iron
rocks Two of these headlands ran out
for a considerable distance, and at the
base of each ragged cruel-looking rocks
stretched still further out into the ocean
until they entirely disappeared beneath
the heaving waste of waters. Suddenly
on the red waters there appeared black
speck, rising and falling with the restless
waves, and ever drawing nearer and near
er to the gloomy cliffs and sandy beach,
When within a quarter of mile OF the
shore the speck resolved itself into boat,
A mere shallop, painted dingy white.
and much battered by the waves as it
tossed lightly on the crimson waters. 1t
had one mast and small sail all torn and
patched In this frail craft were two
men. one of whom was kneeling In the
prov of the boat shading his eyes from
the sunlight with his hands and gazing
eagerly at the cliffs, while the other sat
in the center with bowed head, in an at
titude of resignation, holding the straining
sail by a stout rope twisted round his
arm. Neither of them spoke word till
within a short distance Of the beach,, when
the man at the lookout arose, tall and
zaunt, and stretched out his hands to the
Observation-Disclosures coast with harsh
exulting laugh
AT last" he cried, in hoarse, strain
ed voice, and in foreign tongue: free
dom at las
The other nan made no comment on
this outburst of his companion, but kept
his eyes steadfastly on the bottom Of the
boat, where lay a small barrel and a bag
of mouldy BISCUITS
There was a strong contrast between
these. two waits of the sea which the ocean
had just thrown up on the desolate coast
One was a tall, slightly built young fell
low, apparently about thirty years of age,
with leonine masses of reddish colored
hair, and short stubby beard of the
same tint. His face, pale and attenu-
ated by famine, looked sharp and clever;
and his eyes were quite black, with thin,
delicately drawn eyebrows above them.
They scintillated with peculiar light
which gave any one looking at him an
uncomfortable feeling of insecurity The
young mans hands, though hardened and
discolored, were yet finely formed, while
even the coarse, heavy boots he wore
could not disguise the delicacy of his feet
He was dressed in a rough blue suit OF
clothes, all torn and much stained by sea
water, and his head was covered with a
red cap of woodwork which rested lightly
on his tang. ed masses of hair. The man
at his feet was rough, heayy-looking
fellow. squareIy and massively built, with
black hair ind heavy beard of the same
somber hue His hands were long and
sinewy; his feet large and ungainly and
his whole appearance was that of man
in a low station of life. No one could
have told the color of his eyes, for he
looked obstinately at the ground; and the
expression of his face was sullen and for
bidding His companion eyed him. for a
short time in a cool, calculating manner,
and Their rose painfully to his feet.
$50" he said rapidly in Frenchfi wav-
ing his hand toward the frowning cliffs,
so, my Pierre, We are in the land OF
promise; though / must confess it Gers
tainly does rot look very promising; still
we are on dry land, and that is somethin,
after tossing about so long in that stupid
boat. with only plank between US and
death. Bah with another impressive
shrug--why should / call it stupid? 1t
carried US all the way from New Gale
donia and landed US safely in what may
turn out Paradise We must not be I'M
grateful to the bridge that carried US over
-eh, my friend:"
The nan addressed as Pierre nodded an
assent, then pointed toward the boat !;
the other looked up and saw that the tide
had risen, and that the boat was drifting
slowly away from the land.
..It goes. he said coolly. back again
to its proper owner, suppose. Well, let
1t. We have no further need Of 1t. We
are no longer convicts from g French
prison, my friend, but shipwrecked sail
ors you hear?"-with a sudden scintilla-
tion from his black 'shipwrecked
sailors; and / will tell the story of the
wreck Luckily, ! can depend on your
discretion, as you have not even a tongue
to contradict, which you wouldn't do If
II you had"
The dumb man rose slowly to his feet
and pointed to the cliffs frownlng above
them The other answered his thoughts
with a careless shrug of the shoulders.
I'VE must climb" he said lightly, "and
let US hope the top will prove less in
hospitable than this place. Where we
are don't know, except that this is Aus
tralia there is gold here, my friend, and
we must get our share of it. We will
match our Gallo wit against these Eng
fish fools, and see who comes of best. You
have strength, have brains; so we will
do great things: but"-laying his hand
fmpressively on the others breast-"nc
quarter. no yielding, you seew
He crept along the narrow ledge and
scrambled with Great difficulty into q
niche above, holding on by the weeds and
sparse grasses which grew out of the
crannies of the barren crag. Followed by
his companion, he went steadily up, cling
ing to projecting rocks-lons trails oil
tough grass and anything else he could
hold on to. Every now and then some
seabird would dash out into their faces
with wild cries and nearly cause them Il
lose their foothold in the sudden start
Then the heritage began to grow more lux
urious and the cliff to slope in an easy
incline At last, after half an hours
hard work, they managed to get to thu
top, and threw themselves breathlessly OF
the short dry grass which fringed thu
rough cliff. Lying there half faintini
Will ldtlSuc hlu uu.lerAs tuC1 Couiu uCdl
the drowsy thunder of the waves below
The rest did them good, and in a shor
time they were able TO rise to their fee
and survey the situation. In front wa
the sea, and at the back the grassy un
dulating country, dotted here and ther'
with clumps If trees, now becoming fain
and indistinct in he rapidly falling shad
ows of the night. They could also SCI
horses and cattle moving in the distan
fields, which showed that there must b
some human habitation near, and sudden
ly from a far distant house witch the.
had not observed shone a bright light
which became to these weary waits of tn
ocean star of hope.
They looked at one another in silence
and then the young man turned towar'
the ocean again.
Behind" he said. pointing to the east
'lies a French prison and two ruine
hves-yougs and mine-but in front,
swinging round to the rich fields, "ther
Is fortune, food and freedom. Come, m
friend, let us follow that light, which !
our star of hone and who knows wha