Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1910-02-10
CHAPTER XlX.-Continued.

AIr-Mr Blake, pray do not get
excited II mean, please excuse me.
I'm"
You're coming down sicli!" he
said
No, no. I have no fever"
Then it's the sun. Yet you ought
to keep up there where the air is
freshest. I'll make you a 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 a 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
gazvd away over the shimmering
CLASSY eXpanse Of the ocean.
In the afternoon the heat became
oprressiyely sultry, and a long slow
swell began to roll shoreward from
beyond the distant horizon, showing
no trace OF white along it's oily crests
until they broke over the coral reefs.
There was not a breath of air stirring,
and nLa 4
the rollers that they lacked force to
drive on in and break upon the beach.
Steadily, however, the swell grew
heavier though not so much as a cats
paw rufiled the dead surfaces of the
watery hillOcks. BY sunset they were
rolling high O!er both lines of reefs
and racing sh)reWard 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 unversed in
weather lore, sat needless and indif-
ferent. her eyes fixed upon the hori-
Eon in vacant stare.
Her reyerie was at last disturbed by
the peculiar behavior of the seafowl.
Those I'm the air circled around in a
manner strange to her, while their
mates on the ledges waddled restlessly
about over and between their nests.
There was a 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 10 sense the impending dan
ger. 1t was only that 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 hat the air should seem
more sultry than at midday. The
peculiar appearance of the sun and the
western Sky meant nothing more to
her than an odd effect of color and
light. She smilingly compared it with
an attempt at a sunset painted by an
artist friend of the impressionist
school
Neither Winthrope nor Blake was in
sight when she reached the baobab,
and neither appeared, though she de-
layed supper until dark 1t was quite
pOSAiDle tudl iuty ndu eaten before ner
return and had gone off again, the
Englishman TO doze aud Blake on an
evening hunt
At last, tired of waiting, she covered
the fire and retired into her tree-cave.
The air in the cleft was still more
stitiing than On the headland. She
paused, with her hand upraised to
close the swinging door She had
propped 1t open when she came out In
the morning After moments hest
kation, she went on across the hollow,
leaving the door wide open
Il will rest little, and close II
later" she sighed. She was feeling
weary aud depressed.
An hour passed. An ominous still
ness lay upon he cleft. Even the
cicadas had hushed their shrin note
The only sound was a muffied re
veTberating echo OF the surf roaring