The Monte Vista journal. (Monte Vista, Rio Grande County, Colo.) 1888-1921, 1909-11-13
CHAPTER XII.
Survival Of the Fittest.

had work to occupy every hour OF day
light. When not engaged in cooking
and fuel gathering, Miss Leslie was
learning by painful experience the ru-
diments of dressmaking.
At the start she had all but ruined
the beautiful skin of the mother
leopard before Blake CHANGED to see
her and took owe. the task of cutting
it into shape for skirt. But when
it came to making a waist of the cub
fur, he said that she would have to
puzzle out the pattern from her other
one. Between cooking three meals
day over an open fire, gathering sew
eral armfuls of wood and making
dress with penknife. thorn. and cat
gut. the girl had little time TO think
OF other matters than her work.
Winthrope had been gazetted az
hunter in ordinary. His task was to
keep Miss Leslie supplied with fresh
eggs and each day TO kill as many OF
the boobies and cormorants as he
could skin and split for drying. Blake
had changed his mind about taking
him when he went for cocoanuts. In
stead. he had gone alone on several
trips, bringing three or four loads Of
nuts. then a little salt from the sea-
shore, dirty but very welcome, and
last of all a grea, lump OF clay,
wrapped in palm fronds.
With this clay he at once began ex-
periments in the art Of pottery. Hav-
ing mixed and beaten a small guam.
tity. he nodded It into little cups and
bowls. and tried burning them over
night in the watCh.iire. A few came
out without crack or flaw. Vastly
ela'ed by this success, he fashioned
larger vessels from his clay. and with.
in the week could brag of two pots
suitable for cooking stews. and four
large nondescript pieces which he
called plates. What was more. all
had fairly good sand glaze, for he
had been quick 10 observe glaze on
the bottoms of the first pots. and had
reasoned out that II was due to the
sand which had adhered while they
stood drying in the sun.
He next turned his attention to met.
allurgy. The first move was to search
the river bank for the brown bog
iron ore which he believed he had
seen from the farther side. After a
dangerous and exhausting days work
in the mlre and jungle. he came back
with nothing more to show for his
pains than an armful OF crcepers. Late
In the afternoon. he had located the
lspematitc, only TO find II lying In q
streak so thin that he could not hope
to collect enough for practical pur.
poses.
Lucky we've got something to fall
back on" he added. after telling OF
his failure. Pass over those keys OF
yours. Win. Good! Now untangle
those creepors. Tonight well take
turns kno,tlng them up into some
sort OF n ropc.iadder. I'm getting
mighty weary OF hoofinE II all around
the point every time I trot to the riv'
cr. After this III go down the elf
at that end OF the gully"
win,hrope. who had become very
irritable and depressed during the las,
two days. turned on his heel. with the
took OF fretful child.
10 cover ms undip'omauc rude
ness Miss Leslie spoke somewhat hur
r,edly. But why should you return
again TO the river. Mr.. Blake? I'm sure
you are risk!ng the FEVER. and there
must be savage beasts In the jungle
iha's my business. sro~ied BAKE
lie paused moment and added, rath
or less nnsraciously: We'll. II you
care. It's this ~ay-fm going 10 kccr