Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1908-03-20

Suddenly Handy Solomon, who was
in advance. stopped and pointed to the
crest Of the hill. A file of animals
moved along the sky line.
Mutton" said he, "or the devils
preacher!''
"Sheepy cried Thrackles. "Where
did they come from?'
Golden Horn" l suggested. ere
member that wide, empty deck for
ward? They carried sheep there"
The men separated, intending fresh
meat. The affair was ridiculous. These
sheep had become wild as deer. Our
surrounding party with its silly barred
knives could only look after them
open mouthed as they skipped nimbly
between its members.
Get gun off the old man. Mr.
Eagen," suggested Pull land We'll
have something besides salt horse and
| fish,"
nodded.
We continued. The island was like
this as far us we went. When we
climbed a ridge we found ourselves
looking down on spider web Of other
valleys and canyons of the same ma
ture. all diverging to broad downs
| and jump into the sea, all converging
to the outworks that guarded the vol
cano with Its canopy Of yapor.
On our way home we cut across the
higher country and the heads of the
canyons until we found ourselves look
ing down on the valley and DR.. Scher-
| merhorn's camp. The steam from the
volcanic blowholes swayed below US.
Through It's riffs we saw the tops of
the buildings. Presently we made out
Percy barrow, dressed in overalls, his
sleeves rolled back and carrying re-
tort. He walked, very preoccupied,
to one of the miniature craters, where
he knelt and went through some opera
ton indistinguishaDle at the distance.
] looked around to see my companions
staring at him fascinated, their necks
craned out, their bodies drawn back
into hiding. In moment he had fin
ished and carried the retort carefully
into the laboratory. The men sighed
and stood erect, once more themselves.
AS we turned away Perdosa voiced
what must have been in the minds Of
all.
"a man could climb down there"
said he.
| "Why should he want TOT" de-
manded sharply.
"Quien sabe?" shrugged he
| We turned in silence toward the
beach. Each brooded his thoughts.
The sight of that man dressed in over
alls, carrying on some mysterious bust
ness, brought home to each of us the
fact that our expedition had an OBJ
ject as yet unknown to us. The
thought had of late dropped into the
background. For>my part had been
so immersed in the adventure and the
labor and the insistent need of the
hour that had forgotten why l had
come. DR.. Schermerhorn's purpose
was as inscrutable to me as at first
What had accomplished?
n The men, too, seemed struck with
some such idea. There were no yarns
about the campfire that night. Percy
barrow did not appear, for which
was sincerely sorry. Fills presence
might have created diversion. For
some unknown reason all my old APP
prehensions. my sense of impending
disaster, had returned to me strength
ened. In the freight the nigger's
sullen face looked sinister, Pulls nerv-
GUS white countenance looked vicious.
Thrackles' heavy, bulldog expression
was threatening, Perdosa's Mexican,
cast fit for knife work In the back.
And Handy Solomon, stretched out.
leaning on his elbow, with his red
headgear, his snaky hair, his hook
nose, his restless eye and his glitter
ing steel claw-the glow wrote across
his aura the names of Kidd, Morgan.
Blackboard.
They sat smoking. staring into the
fire with mesmerized eyes. The ST.
lence got on my nerves. arose i'm
patiently and walked down the pale
beach, where tho stars glimmered In
splashes along the wettest sands. The
black silhouette Of the hills against
the dark blue of the night sky. the
white of breakers athwart the indis-
tinct heave Of the ocean, faint light
marking the position of the Laughing
Lass-that was everything in the
world l made out some object roll
ed about in the edge of the wash. Al
the cost of wet feet rescued 1t. II
was an empty brandy bottle.