The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1909-01-21
CHAPTER XII.
Survival of the Fittest.

only himself but his companions
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 over 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 a
day over an open fire, gathering sew
eral armfuls of wood, and making a
dress with penllnife thorn, and cat
gut. the girl had little time to think
of other matters than her work
Winthrope had been gazetted as
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 great 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-Gre A few came
out without crack or flaw. Vastly
elated 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 to observe a glaze on
the bottoms of the first pots, and had
reasoned out that it 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 day work
in the mire and jungle, he came back
with nothing more to show for his
pains than an arm-ul Of creepers. Late
in the afternoon. he had located the
haematite only to find it lying in a
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 creepers. Tonight Wen take
turns knotting them up into some
SORT of a ropc-ladder, Pm getting
mighty weary of hooting it all around
the point every time | trot to the riy
er. After this I'll go down the cliff
at that end Of the gully"
Winthrope, who had become very
irritable and depressed during the last
u va >. III iis "a III lllo UtCI, Win the
look of fretful child
TO cover This mdiplomatic rude
ness, Miss Leslie spoke somewhat hur-
riedy. But why should you return
AGAIN to the river Nj Blake? I'm sure
YOU are risking the fever; and there
must be savage beasts in the jungle"
That's my business growled Blake.
He paused a moment, and added, rath-
or less ungraciously: We'll, if you
care, it's this way-I'm going to keep
on looking for ore. Give me little
iron ore, and we'll mighty soon have
lot of steel knives and arrow-heads
that'll amount to something. How're
We going to bag anything worth while
with bamboo tips on our arrows?
Those boar tusks are a fzzle."
so you will continue to risk your
life for us? | think that is very brave
and generous, Mr.. Blake"
"Hows that" demanded Blake. not
little puzzled. He was fully con
scious of the risk; but this was the
first intimation he had received or
conceived that his motives were 9th
er than selfish-"Um-m, So that's the
ticket Getting generous, eh?"
Not getting-you are generous.
When | think of all you have done
for us! Had it not been for you, am
sure we should have died that first
day ashore"
We'll, don't blame me. I couldn't
have let a dog die that way: and
then, fellow needs a Man Friday for
this sort of thing. AS for you. |
haven't always had the luck to be
favored with ladies' company"
Thank you, Mr. Blake. | quite ap-
preciate the compliment. But now. |
must put on supper"
Blake followed her graceful move
ments with an intentness which, in
turn, drew Winthropes attention to
himself The Engishman smiled in a
disagreeable manner, and resumed his
work on the bows, with the look of
one mentally preoccupied After sup
per he found occasion to spend some
little time among the bamboos.
When at sunset Miss Leslie with