Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1910-03-04

49, uo~eiiS OF chambers similar to the
one She occupied, what might be a
throne room, q great dining hall a
mammoth kitchen, and one big room
'lat possibly was an Observatory. hut
"hlch was most securely bolted. ba rred
ana cemented shut Even American
proWess dared not tamper with such
soIldIty of masonry.
e'd ana Betty had finally accom-
pllshed a species of pigeon dialect that
IKE Crusoe and his man Friday ner
iIteo Chem to signify their wants and
Ni'Aihes put prohibited the DANGEROUS
CONVERSATION OF condolences and per-
eoilai communications unto which
women are so prone to fall! Betty had
slNeh up the idea OF the note in a bot
ne the sensational wireless message
ana such like methods of comnunica-
uon with the loved ones at home. and
those of the newspaper fraternity in
particular ever since she caught sight
Of the pigeons. She surreptitiously
carved this message, Betty Lancey,
AFRICA on the wing Of many a poor
suffering bird and vainly tried to shoe
II prlskly away in the direction that
she thought housed civilized people.
1hls carving was a work of perspiring
LABOR but 1t diverted Betty more sue
cesstully than anything else might
nave done. This occupation amused
and exhilarated because it revolved
around the constantly diminishing
germ of Hope that so was near to dy-
ing in Betty's bosom.
First Of all, she had nothing to
scratch with but hairpin. And with
tropical sun, and sea Voyaging hair
pins had become scarce enough to be
valuable. Second, Meta was always
watching, and thirdly, you never could
hnlsh bird at one sitting and it was
terrible to try to catch any of the
birds, and worse yet to get hold twice
in succession of the same bird you had
been working on last. Frequently there
would be as many as three dozen birds,
half bedecked with Betty's carving,
hopping around at one time. Betty
held the thought that if one of these
birds should perchance be picked up it
might send people within continent
Of finding her
There was something romantic about
living in this desert and swamp bound
castle until the rains came on Then
it was more aggravating than anything
Betty could ever have imagined
Worse than any city editor I know
starting out to play wrecking crew
with an entire office" she commented,
grimly.
For an African rain in the central
part of that shadowy continent is not
a rainstorm as we know it. The lakes,
the rivers, the sea itself seem to have
risen and to be descending in fiat lay
ers and sheets of the wettest wet that
ever mortal knew. Lightning in more
varieties than Betty had dreamed
might ever have been patented broke
round the grim old castle, and the two
lonely young girls loved the goat hard
err than ever
Later they had an addition to their
family. A decrepit old lion, beast so
NANCY worm eaten and toothless that
one longed in pity to kill him then and
there crept in from the jungle one
cold, rain-pelted night. He frightened
the two girls half to death at first
sight, then they both laughed heartily
at sight of his inirmities and took him
in and made him royalty welcome. He
expressed his qualification in croupy
roars that caused Betty to long to feed
him lard and sugar the same as her
mother had given her when she was d
croupy, Wheezy kiddie.
But as a burglar alarm those roars
wera the best of all inventions, as
Betty expressed it in the journal she
was pretending to keep.
LAS a perfectly proper property lion
CITY Editor Burton is peach"
Betty had named the lion City Edi
TOR Burton" after the one being in the
INQUIRER office whose very voice was
calculated to instantly remove the
scalp Of any cub reporter whoever
sbarDeued a pencil in newspaper of
fee.
Retween City Editor Burton and the
nioaons Betty found less opportunity
for worry than did Meta. Perhaps that
was because Tyoga had not told Betty
+be same tale she had whispered that
hot morning into the awe-struck ears
~ Meta, The black girl knew Of the
dancer threatening, and feared in ST
lence.
So strong had grown the attachment
batween Meta and Betty that the
Young Nubian, who, truth to tell, spoke
English with rare perfection, had much
ado 70 keep up their farce of pigeon
English and to refrain from outpour-
inc her soul to the white skinned, but
now sadly-tanned Betty.
pTFR XIII