The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1910-05-26
CHAPTER IV-continued.

CHAPTER IV-continued.
The first impulse of the woman was
to laugh. The next impulse was to
take off the palm leaf hat and stand
with bowed head and clasped hands.
What marvellous miracle was this
that throughout the years which she
could no longer doubt this man had
been alone on the island, there had
survived the one childish habit of
prayer and that the one vestige of
language which had remained to him
was the language of petition. She did
not believe in it, of course. 1t was
absurd to her, but it was none the less
wonderful 1t filled her with a certain
awe. 1t was as if some power had
maintained hold upon the conscious
ness of this man in this way.
Now lay me down to sleep!" How
long 1t had been since she had said
that? She believed nothing, she cared
for nothing, but the woman hid her
face in her hands for a moment. She
clenched her teeth and forced out Of
her mind that which at that moment
was striving for birth. She was to
teach this man everything. She was
to make him know life and history
She was to bring him in touch with all
the glories of to-day and she recog-
nized in that hour, although she did
not and could not admit it, that per-
haps he might teach her something
as we'll, something that she had not
known or something that she had for
gotten, without the knowledge of
which all her science was a vain, a
foolish, futile thing.
The little prayer was ended. The
man rose to his feet. She took her
spade and went back to the place
where the bodies had lain and there
began carefully to scrape away the
earth, examining scrupulously every
shovelful ere she threw it aside. In
one place where the hand had lain,
she remembered her labors were re-
Warded. She came across two rings, a
diamond and a plain circlet of gold.
These she placed in her tunic with
the collar and continued her digging.
1t was growing late and growing
dark, but she left no square inch of
ground uneXplored. She found moth
Eng else. The rings belonged to a
woman evidently. Her surmise in that
particular was right. There were no
sTher metal parts of her apparel left.
The nails in her shoes, the steel of
her corset had rusted away and left
70 sign. There was nothing remaining
but the two little baubles pressing
against her own warm flesh.
So intent had she been that the sun
nad gone down before she ceased and
apon the island there descended that
quick and sudden night of the tropics.
The wind had risen, the old ocean was
laundering on the barrier reef and
heavy sea breeze was shrieking
through the trees. The sky on the
horizon was overloaded and the
clouds were rising rapidly. There
would be a storm, which was develop
ing with tropic rapidity. Quickly she
retraced her steps along the sand
toward the cave on the other side, the
man following.
They had progressed not more than
half way when the storm bust upon
them. Peals of thunder and flashes
of lightning filled the air. 1t was such
a display of the Titanic forces of ma
ture as might have appalled, the stout
est heart. 1t filled the woman with a
vague terror. She noticed with sat
isfaction that the man was entirely
unmoved by the terrific demonstra-
tions of nature. By the flashes of
lightning as they stumbled along in
the otherwise total blackness she
could see his face serene. In a mo-
ment of apprehension she caught his
hand with her own and clung to it
tightly. 1t was the unconscious appeal
of the physical weaker to the physical
stronger. Her hand had clasped the
hands of her fellow creatures many
times. Never before had his palm
met the palm of human being, much
less a wonans. She could feel that
tremor run through him, but by in
stinct, as 1t were, he met her hand
clasp with his own, and together they
made their way to the cave.
They had scarcely reached it when
the rain burst upon them. The heavens
we're opened, the floods descended,
they beat upon the sands in fury. She
could not drive him out there in that
flood for the night. She motioned
him to come within the entrance of
the cave which was sheltered from the
wind and which was dry and still. She
made him lie down near the entrance
and then, withdrawing herself into a
recess at the side, she disposed of the
oars, which she had carried home on
her shoulders, in front of her from
wall to wall and lashing them with
the rope to her person made another
feeble barrier, but which would yet
give the alarm to her and waken her
If it were moved. And presently she
went to sleep. She was too tired
even to speculate on her discoveries
or to piece them together; that would
be occupation for the morning.
CHAPTER v.