The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911, 1909-11-10
CHAPTER xlx.-continued.

strong door for the private compartment
cf Miss Leslie's cave home. -
CHAPTER xlx.-continued.
'Mr.-Mr Blake. pray do not get
excited-F mean. please excuse me.
I'm"
You're coming down sick" he
said. e..
No, no! have no fever" sa
Then it's the sun. Yet you ought
70 keep up there where the air is
freshest. IN make you 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 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-
durable She even found energy to work
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
swell began to roll shoreward from
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 a 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
paw rufiled 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 fixed upon the hori
xon 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
There was q shriller note than usual
In their discordant clamor.
Yet even when she gave heed to 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: it 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 seen
more sultry than at midday. The
peculiar ppearance of the sun and the
western sky meant nothing more tt
her than an odd effect of color and
light. She smilingly compared 1t witt
an attempt at a sunset painted by al
ARTIST iTlcuu "a INC hpASSSsoaAaS
school
Neither Winthrope nor Blake was ir
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 hel
return and had gone on again, the
Enslishman to doze and Blake on AZ
evening hunt
20 fAs,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
paSska. with her hand appraised tt
,clcsa the Swinging door. She had
propped it open when she came out II
the morning. After . moments hesi
tation, she went on acr0ss the hollow
leaving the door wide open.
Il win rest q little. and close I
later" she sighed. She was feeling
weary and depressed.
An hour passed. An ominous still
ness lay upon the cleft Even the
cicadas had hushed their shrili note
The only sound was . mumed re
verberating echo Of the surf roaring
upon the seashore Beneath the giant
spread Of the baobab all was black
ness. 8.
Something moved in . bush q little
way down the cleft A crouchine
figure appeared. dimly outlined In the
starlight. The figure crept steaIthfly
across into the denser night Of the bao
bah The darkness closed about 1t like
q sliroud.
A binding fash of light pierced the
blackness. The figure halted and
crouched lower, though the fash hae
gone again in . fraction OF second
A dull rumbling mingled with the
ceaseless boom of the surf.
A second sash lighted the cleft will