The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1908-08-22

cieus hospitality" Constable said.
remember, too" Mrs. Stansbury re
piled, with scarcely a trace Of a smile.
Who could forget the dentist-the dent
list to La Montague Pelee? Have you
come again to look into the mouth Of the.
mountain
CHAPTER III.
Constable had incurred the especial
displeasure Of the mother on a former
visit, through the unabashed fashion with
which he had endeavored to pry into the
secrets OF the volcano. Old Pelee was
identified with the inner life Of Martin
iQue, like the memory and the statue Of
Josephine. Mrs. Stansbury felt that the
mysteries of the mountain were not for
the eyes Of man; least of all, for the eyes
Of an American, In whom the spirit Of
veneration was not. She had very clear
picture In her mind Of Constable as he
peered, and possibly spat, into the appall-
ing chasms of the summit, and pottered
about in the dim gorges which scanned the
Titan's TANKS. The daughter had shared
1.-THE of her mothers opinion until Con-
stables monograph on the mountain had
fallen into her hands. Then. she realized
that this was no parvenu who had car
ried on his studies in their midst.
Mr.. Stansbury was away on his annual
trip to the States. The mantle of host
fell, accordingly, upon the ample shout
ders of Uncle Joey. He arrived within
an hour, and his trip out to the Madame
had not been futile, since he brought
Breen with him. The latter seemed to
divine at once the defective current be-
tween Mrs. Stansbury and his friend, and
forestalled any slight tension during din
ner that evening by sprightly narratives
Of the voyage. He seemed to attrct the
attention of the elder woman, and to be
stimulated by her close scrutiny Of his
face and personality. That evening, after
dinner, the men moved out upon the We
randa to smoke.
This is secondhand air, Uncle Joey"
Constable remarked. II shut my eyes
moment ago and thought was down
among the steel mills Of the lower Mo
nongahela."
you're the expert In Pelee. not I, Pc
ter" the old planter answered. April
and May aren't our best months, but !
never knew such heat between rains ~ we
are having now"
Constable moved out into the garden
to look at the sky. In no way did he
underestimate the seriousness of the time.
In the south, low and to the left Of the
Carbet peaks, the new moon arose, but
without the sharpness Of outline pecu-
liar to the tropics. 1t was an orange
hue, instead Of silvery, and blurred, as II
seen through fine wire screen. A faint,
low rumbling was heard from the north.
It was like thunder, but the horizon
above and around Pelee was unscathed
by lightning. Miss Stansbury had been
at the piano, but the music now ceased.
How long is 1t since the mountain
has had session of grumbling. Uncle
JoeyT" Constable asked.
"From time to time for the past ten
days. Before that, twenty years, Peter"
'This is quite a novelty-this added
eep NOON" Constable added. Its the
ash-fog lying between. If there isn't q
heavy rain In the night, wen have .
white world tomorrow"
Miss Stansbury appeared on the We
randa, and moved out upon tho lawn,
where Constable was standing.
Are you really 20 greatly worried, Mr..
Constable?" she asked in low tone.
'Why, the fact that Pelee 10 acting out
Of the ordinary is enough to make any one
skeptical Of his Intentions. There are
q few man-eaters among the mountains OF
the world-Krakatoa, Bandai-san, Coto-
paxi, vesuvius, Etna-chronic old ruff
fans, whom you can't tame. A thousand
years il nothing to them. They wait.
still as crocodiles, until cities have formed
on their TANKS and seers have built tenn
pies In their riffs. They have tasted
blood, you zee, and the madness comes
back. Pelee is suspect"
ITO be continued.)