The Falls City tribune., 1909-01-15
Continued from Page Three

Continued from Page Three
least does thinss-I1I show him that
[ can do things, too"
She fastened out around the corner
of the cliff 10 the spot where they had
spent the night. Here she gathered
together the cocoanut husks, and seat
Ing herself in the shade of the over
hanging lodges began to pick at the
coarse fiber. 1t was cruel work for
her soft fingers, not yet fully healed
from the thorn wounds. At times h
pain and an overpowering sense of
injury brought tears to her eyes; still
more often she dropped the work in
despair of her awkwardness. Yet al
ways she returned to the task with re-
newed energy.
After no little perseverance, she
found how to twist the fiber and plat
1t into cord. At best it was slow
work, and she did not see how she
should ever make enough cord for a
fish-line. Yet, as she caught the knack
of the work and her fingers became
more nimble she began to enjoy the
novel pleasure of producing something.
She had quite forgotten to feel injured,
and was learning to endure with pa
thence the rasping of the fiber between
her fingers, when Winthrope came
clambering around the corner of the
cliff.
What is it?" she exclaimed, spring
ing up and hurrying to meet him. He
was white and quiyering, and the look
in his eyes filled her with dread.
Her voice shrilled to a scream:
He's dead"
WINTHROP shook his head.
Then he's hurt,-he's hurt by that
savage creature, and you've run off
and left him
mo, no, Miss Genevieve, I must in
sist, The fellow is not even
scratched"
Then why"
at was the horror of it all. It actu-
ally made me ILL.,"
You frightened me almost to death.
Did the beast chase you?"
THAT would have been better, in a
way. Really, it was horrible, I'm
still sick over it, Miss Genevieve."
But tell me about it. Did you set
fire to the bushes in the cleft, as Mr..
Blake
yes; after we had fetched what We
could carry of that long grass-two big
trusses. 1t grows 10 or u feet tall,
and is now quite dry. Part of it Blake
made into torches, and we fired the
hnCh all anpnGS tho foot nf tho a1aft
Really, one would not have thought
there was that much dry wood in so
green a dell. On either side Of the
rill the grass and brush hared like
finder. and the flames swept up the
cleft far quicker than we had ex-
pected. We could hear them cracking
and roaring louder than ever after the
smoke shut out our view"
Surely, there is nothing so very
horrible in that"
mo, oh, no; it was not that. But
the beast-the leopard! At first we
heard one roar; hen it was that
dreadful snarling and yelling-most
awful squallingi The wretched thing
came leaping and tumbling down the
path, all singed and blinded. Blake
the big truss of grass. and the
brute rolled right into the flames. It
was Notwithstanding shocking,
The wretched creature writhed and
about till 1t plunged into the
pool. When it sought to crawl out,
all black and hideous, Blake went up
aid killed it with his club-crushed in
its skull Ughl"
Miss Leslie gazed at the unnerved
with calm scrutiny.
"But why should you feel so about
it?" she asked. WAS it not the
beasts life against CURSE"
"But so horrible a DEATH"
I'm sure Mr.. Blake would have pre-
to shoot the creature had he
a gun. Having nothing else than fire,
think it was all very brave of him.
Now we are sure of water and food.
Had we not best be going?'
at was to fetch you that Blake
sent me-"
Winthrope spoke with ~perceptible
stiffness. He was chagrined, not only
by her commentator of Blake, but
by the indifference with which she had
met his agitation.
Continued next week.