Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1910-01-07
Continued from It'll p age.

CtCtpCl Which Wdo ldSttDtQ aDONG anu
drew herself up with convulsive en-
ergy. Instantly Blake rose to his
knees, and grasping the taut creeper
with one hand reached down with the
other to swing the girl up beside him
on the branch
"All right, Miss Jenny" he reas-
sured her as he felt her tremble "Sor-
ry to scare you, but I couldn't have
made 1t without. Now, II you'll just
hold down my legs Wen soon hoist
his ludship"
He had seated her In the broadcast
part Of the shallow hollow, where the
branch Joined the main trunk of the
zig. Heaped with the reeds which he
had gathered during the afternoon It
made such a coy shelter that she
at once forgot her dizziness and fright.
Nesting among the reeds, she leaned
with all her strength.
The loose end of the creeper had
fallen to the ground when Blake lifted
her upon the branch and Winthrope
was already slipping into the loop.
Blake ordered him to take 1t off and
send up the club. AS the creeper was
again flung down black shadow
swept over the jungle.
"Helloi Sunset" called Blake.
Look sharp, there!"
"All ready" responded Winthrope.
a Blake drew In a full breath, and be-
Hn to hoist The position was an
awkward one, and Winthrope weighed
30 or 40 pounds more than Miss Les
lie. But as the Englishman came
within reach of the descending loop
he grasped it and did what he could
10 ease Blake's efforts. A few mo.
ments found him as high above the
ground as Blake could raise him.
Without waiting for orders. he swung
himself upon the upper part of the
ereeper and climbed the last few feet
unaided. Blake grunted with satisfac-
ton as he pulled him in upon the
branch.
you may do, after ALL" he said.
AT any rate, we're all aboard for the
night and none too soon. Hear that"
"What?"
Lion. guess Not that yelping.
Listen"
The brief twilight was already fading
into the darkness of moonless night,
and as the three crouched together in
their shallow nest they were soon
made audibly aware of the savage ma
ture of their surroundings With the
gathering night the jungle Weakened
into full life. From all sides came the
harsh squawking of birds, the weird
cries OF monkeys and other small crea-
lures, the crash of heavy animals
moving through the jungle, and above
all the yelp and howl and roar of
beasts of prey.
After some contention with Win
thrope Blake conceded that the roars
of his lion might be nothing worse
than the snorting of the hippopotami
as they came out to browse for the
night. In this, however, there was
small comfort, since Winthrope pres
emily reassertei his belief in the
climbing ability of leopards, and ex
pressed his o...aion that, whether or
not there were lions in the neighbor-
hood, certain OF the barking roars they
could hear came from the threats of
the spotted climbers. Even Blakes
hair bristled as his Imagination pic
tured one of the great cats creeping
upon them in the darkness from the
far end of their nest limb, or leaping
down out of the upper branches.
The nerves of all three were at their
highest tension when a dark form
swept past through the air within a
yard of their faces. Miss Leslie ut
tered stif1ed scream and Blake
brandished his club. But Winthrope,
who had caught a glimpse of the crea-
lures shape, broke into a nervous
laugh.
IT'S Only a fruit bat" he explained,
They feed on the banyan figs, you
know"
In the reaction from this false alarm,
both men relaxed and began to yield
to the effects of the tramp across the
mud-hats. Arranging the reeds as
vest Luey COulu lHty SITelCUeu out on
either side of Miss Leslie and fell
asleep in the middle of an argument
on how the prospective leopard was
mostly likely to attack.
Miss Leslie remained awake for
TWO or three hours longer Naturally
she was more nervous than her COM
panions, and she had been refreshed
by her afternoons nap. Her nervous
ness was not entirely due to the wild
beasts. Though Blake had taken pains
10 secure himself and his companions
in loops of the creeper, fastened to
the branch above, Winthrope moved
about so restlessly in his sleep that
the girl feared he would roll from the
hollow.
At last her limbs became so
cramped that she was compelled to
change her position. She leaned
back upon her elbow, determined to
rise again and maintain her watch
the moment she was rested. But
sleep was close upon her. There was