The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1909-02-25
Satisfied Himself That Miss Leslie
Was We'll Out Toward the Signal.

Satisfied Himself That Miss Leslie
Was We'll Out Toward the siqnaI.
might have done more. was so dead
anxious TO make sure OF food and shell
| ter. But this trip to-day
"Mr.-Mr Blake. pray do not get
excited II mean, please excuse me.
| I'm"
You're coming down sick!" he
said.
no. no. l have no fever"
Then it's the sun. Yet you ought
| to keep up there where the air is
freshest I'll make you a shade"
She protested and Withdrew, some
what hurriedly, to her tree.
In the morning Blake was gone
again: but instead of note. beside
| the fire stood the smaller antelope
skin converted into a great bamboo
| ribbed sunshade.
She spent the day as usual on the
| headland. There was no wind, and the
| sun was scorching hot. But with her
big sunshade TO protect her from the
| direct rays, the heat was at least en-
at a basket which she was attempting
TO weave out of long, coarse grass: yet
| there were frequent intervals when
her hands sank idle in her lap. and she
| gazed away over the shimmering
CLASSY eXpanse of the ocean.
In the afternoon the heat became
oppressively sultry and a long slow
gyEal to h
beyond the distant horizon. showing
no trace of white along its oily crests
until they broke over the coral reefs.
| There was not breath OF air stirring,
and for time the reefs so checked
the rollers that they lacked force to
drive on in and break upon the beach
Steadily. however. the swell grew
| heavier though not so much as a cat s.
| paw rultied the dead surfaces of the
watery hillOckS. BY sunset they were
rolling high over both lines of reefs
and racing shoreward TO break upon
The beach and the cliff foot in furious
surf. The still air reverberated with
the booming of the breakers Yet the
girl, inland bred and IMMERSED in
weather lore. sat Needless and indif-
ferent, her eyes fxed upon the hori.
Zon In a vacant stare.
Her reverie was at last disturbed by
the peculiar behavior OF the seafowl.
Those in the air circled around in a
manner strange to her while their
mates on the lodges waddled restlessly
about over and between their nests.
IL, IL.
In their discordant clamor.
Yet even when she gave heed 10 the
birds. the girl failed to realize their
alarm or TO sense the impending dan
ger. 1t was only that a feeling of dis
quiet had broken the spell of her rev
erie; ii did not obtrude upon the field
of her conscious thought She sighed
and rose TO return to the cleft, idly
wondering that the air should seem
more sultry than at midday. The
peculiar appearance of the sun and the
western sky meant nothing more to
her than an odd effect OF color and
| light She smilingly compared il with
an attempt at sunset painted by an
artist friend OF the impressionist
school
Neither Winthrop nor Blake was in
sight when she reached the baobab,
and neither appeared though she de-
layed supper until dark 1t was quite
possible that they had eaten before her
return and had gone off again, the
Englishman 10 doze and Blake on an
evening hunt
At last, tired OF waiting, she covered
the fire and retired into her tree-cave.
The air in the cleft was still more
sitting than on the headland. She
| paused, with her hand appraised to
close the swinging door She had
propped it open when she came out in
the morning. After a moments hest
tation, she went on across the hollow.
| leaving the door wide open.
81 will rest a little. and close II
later" she sighed She was feeling
weary and depressed.
| An hour passed An omnous still