The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1909-04-24


ensd before me at the little strait saw
the Stiletto lying quietly at anchor of
the eastern shore of Battle Orchard.
drew close to observe her the better,
but there were no signs Of life on
board, and padded to the western
side of the island
1t had already occurred to me that
Holbrook might have another hiding
place than the cottage at Red Gate,
where had talked with him, and the
island seemed likely spot for 1t. l
ran my canoe on the pebbly beach and
climbed the bank. The trail bore up
ward and soon came upon a small
clearing about an acre in extent that
had once been titled, but it was now
pre-empted by weeds as high as my
head. Beyond lay an ancient orchard,
chiefly of apple trees, and many hoary
veterans stood faithful to the brave
hand that had marshaled them there.
every orchard is linked to the Hes
perides and every apple waits for At
alanta-if not for Evei) l stopped to
pick wild flower and found an arrow
head lying beside it.
Fumbling the arrow head in my fin
gers, 1 passed on to a log cabin hid
den away in the orchard. approached
warily, remembering that If this were
Holbrook's camp and he had gone
away he had probably left the Italian
to look after the yacht, which could be
seen from the cabin door. 1 made a
circuit of the cabin without seeing any
signs of habitation, and was about to
enter by the front door, when / heard
the swish of branches in the under.
rash to the east and dropped into the
grass.
In a moment the Italian appeared,
carrying pair of oars over his Shout
der. He had evidently just landed,
as the blades were dripping He threw
them down by the cabin door, came
round to- the western window, drew
out the pin from an iron staple with
which it was fastened, and thrust his
head in. He was greeted with a howl
and a loud demand of some sort, to
which he replied in monosyllables, and
after several minutes of this parley
caught fragment of dialogue which
seemed to be final in the subject under
discussion.
Let me out or it will be the worse
for you; let me out, l say!"
My boss he sometime come back;
then you get out it, maybe"
With this deliverance, accomplished
with some difficulty, the Italian turned
away, going to the rear of the cabin
for pail with which he trudged off
toward the lake. He had not closed
the window and would undoubtedly
return in few minutes; so l waited
until he was out of sight, then rose
and crawled through the grass to the
opening.
looked in upon a bare room whose
one door opened inward, and 1 did not
for moment account for the voice.
Then something stirred in the farther
corner, and l slowly made out the fig
ure of man tied hand and foot, lying
on his back in a pile of grass and
leaves.
You ugly dago! you Internal pi-
rate" he bawled.
There was no mistaking that voice,
and l now saw two legs clothed in
white duck that belonged, was sure,
to Gillespie My head and shoulders
filled the window and so darkened the
room that the prisoner thought his
jailer had come back to torment him.
Shut up, Gillespie" l muttered.
This is Donovan That fellow will
be back in a minute What can l do
for your"
What can you do for me?" he splut-
tered. ooh, nothing, thanksl 1
wouldn't have you put yourself out
for anything in the world It's nice in
here, and if that fellow kills me III
miss a great deal of the poverty and
hardship of this sinful world. But take
your time, Irishman Being tied by
the legs like calf is bully when you
get used to it."
In turning over, the better to level
his ironies at me, he had stirred up
the dust in the straw so that he
sneezed and coughed in a ridiculous
fashion. As l did not move he added:
You come in here and cut these
strings and I'll tell you something nice
some day"
ran round to the front door, kicked
IL open and passed through a square
room that contained a fireplace, a
camp bed, trunk, and a table Uttered
with old newspapers and few books.
I found Gillespie in the adjoining
room, cut his thongs and helped him
to his feet
Where is your boat?" he demanded
'On the west side"
Then we're in for a scrap. That
beggar goes down there for water; and
he'll see that there's another man on
the island. / had gun when I came"
ne added mournfully.
He stamped his feet and threshed
himself with his arms to restore circu-
lation. then we went into the larger