, 1909-12-16
AzDJzRNHoMc' BY RA|MkzeS


hut she WOulQ uO III DtSt she cOul0
with that. It was pitiful, as she saw
II that with a nascent soul to work
with. she should be compelled to en-
,ipbten 1t through the medium of time
worn superstition.
Relow the shells not quite buried in
IN. sand. there was a small metal box.
She knelt down. scraped the sand
away and presently uncovered 1t. 1t
appeared to be of silver. 1t was of
suck a size that she could clasp 1t
easily in her hand. She opened 1t not
without some difficulty and found with
in it-~nothing! Well. not exactly
nothing. but certainly that for which
she could see little value. There were
several hard pieces of stone of a red
dish color Clipped and shaped in curl,
Gus fashion. She turned the box over
and examined 1t on all sides. There
we're initials upon 1t, a monogram. She
rubbed it clean with her hands and
studied it carefully. R. c." The
book and the box had belonged to the
same person, John Revell Charnock.
She laid the box aside and searched
the cave further. There was abso-
lutely nothing else to be seen. Dfsap.
pointed vaguely, although she had ex-
pected nothing and had gotten more,
indeed, than she might have imagined
II she had thought about it, she laid
the boob and box down upon the ledge
and went out again. She walked along
the sands until she came to the place
where she had landed the day be-
fore. The tide was low. She could
see the wreck of her boat. partly on
the barrier reef and partly In the
water. 1t would have been no trick
for her to swim to 1t In the stiffness,
yet she hesitated to attempt 1t. Ger
tainly weighted down by all her cloth
ing it vas a matter Of difficulty and
Inconvenience. If 1t were o for his
mar by her side! She tried to think
OF some way to restrain him. keep him
away, but nothing occurred to her. In
vention was paralyzed by the situation
in which she found herself.
Desperately bidding him stay where
he was, she went back to the cave.
She was face to face with a crisis
which had to be met. Indeed, the
question of clothes was becoming a
very serious one with her and she
knew she should have to decide upon
some course of action Immediately.
For the present, she took OFF her gar
ments. hoping and praying in a shiver
OF dread and anxiety, that he would
remain where she had left him. which
indeed proved the fact. She laid aside
all that she had worn except the
blouse and skirt, including her sadly
worn shoes and stockings. Thus light
ly clad she came out on the sand again.
He did not notice any change in her
condition. AS a matter Of fact she
gave him no time. for she flashed
across the sand at full speed and
plunged boldly into the smiling water
OF he lagoon. He followed her in
stantly and swan by her side with
scarcely any exertion whatever.
1t was not long before she reached
the barrier reef. 1t stood up a foot or
ing low, and she clambered upon it.
Tn sharp rocks cut her naked and
tende feet, unused to such exertions
and unified to such demands, but she
p~ersevered. The boat had been beaten
to pieces. It had been forced over
the reef by the hurl of the sea. The
stern had been wedged in between
some projecting rocks. The rest OF it
mad been torn away and had fallen
into the lagoon. There was no Snd.
the sea was unruffied. She could see
as If through a glass the wrecked re-
mains of the boat. There was nothing
In 1t except the battered motor. use
less for days before she landed. since
her supply of gasoline had been ex-
hausted. Everything else had been
washed out Of 1t and carried into the
deeper recesses of the lagoon where
they were inaccessible to the human
vision.
Stop! Under what remained of a
piece of thwart she caught a little
CLEAN OF metal. Calculating the dis
n nicely. she plunged in and dove.
Keeping her Eyes open she easily
found the piece of metal, d~islodged II
from the place where it had fallen and
came to the surface with 1t. 1t was a
sailors sheath knife with a bit of
lanyard fastened to 1t. She had had a
n to wear 1t in her sailors blouse
and she had missed 1t since she had
come ashore.
But there was nothing else in the
boat, not a thing; nothing on the bar
rler reef. She tried to pull the stern
away wher 1t had been wedged. but
IOllnd that imnossihle She tugRed at
II V~aliantly. but could not move 1t. In
despair she turned to the nan who
had watched silently as usual and
POINTED. He seemed to understand,
ior ne came and with great effort
ltted the torn part of the boat from
me rocks and laid 1t down at her feet.
She threw it into the water, where, of
course, as 1t was wood, It fioated
easily. Then, with a nod to him she
plunged In and taaathar than Uttdat