Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1910-10-14
CHAPTER xII.-(Continued.)

man were hurled at the black girls
ears. Meta pretended to understand
nothing Betty said to her. Tyoga was
absent, LIE Malheureux apparently had
disappeared into thin air, and Betty
was like Gagged lioness. She was per.
mitted to wander through the castle
for such the edifice proved to be, bu
with Meta ever at her side. The ar
chitecture of the castle was of non,
descript type, and it was rudely fash
Toned of granite, moss and vine grown
ana surrounded by parked gardens
hlled with tropical foliage and flowers
AT the end of the gardens was MAS
matte river thickly green and vile OF
odor, filled with rank reptiles and nau-
seous water plants. Beyond the river
stretched the desert, yellow and hard
All this you could see from the upper
windows of the castle, farther than a
radius of fifty yards around the por-
ticos Betty nor her handmaiden was
not allowed to set foot. Within the
castle was a small sandpacked court
with an asthmatic fountain and heat
wrung plants. There Betty and Meta
sat and Betty read the few books that
were available, tried to teach Meta to
dance and learned dances Of her in re-
turn; tried, too, to learn Metals gut
tural speech and failed sadly in teach
ing English to Meta. Which, along
with certain other occurrences that
happened as time went on, made Betty
fairly certain that Meta already spoke
English, or else understood it so per-
fectly that the girl was under instruc-
tons to betray no familiarity with the
foreign tongue. A favorite game of
these two girls became a variation of
lawn tennis, native game, which they
played seated, hurting over low net
celluloid balls Of light weight and gay
colorings.
The evening Of the third day Betty
grew overwhelmed with such an I'M
comfortable loneliness that she could
not help crying. Meta, who had Just
brought her supper of cocoanut, fresh
~ cut, mixed with pineapples and
guavas, a trussed pigeon, figs, dates,
and fell sobbing, too, and tried mar
ticulately to find out what she want
ed.
"Tyoga, Tyogai" walled Betty. Her
nerves were at breaking point and the
jackal who howled in the hills to the
north was Grazing her with his yowl-
Ing, and she was sick. so sick, Of it
all. Of the mystery. the silence, the
loneliness.
Meta hesitated and then ran away
like q deer. She came back troubled
after an absence Of a quarter of an
hour or SO, bearing in her hand a wax
tablet on which was written in an old
fashioned slanting hand:
Tyoga cannot come to you yet win
you be patient but little longer? She
10 very busy. She will try and come
in few mornings"
Betty took the tablet to bed with
her telling herself that she was get
ting positively foolish.
Meta went along, caressing her as
much as she dared Betty began to
lose sight of the fact that Metals akin
was black. She had already done this
with Tyoga. AS Meta aided Betty to
oisrobe the slaves hand caught In the
slender chain OF the little gold locket
that Betty wore always round her
threat. and snapped its links asunder.
The chain fell to the floor, and as II
hit the thing the locket few open,
disclosing Larry Morris face. Meta
picked 1t up, sighted the face. and
scented the trouble. She
gazed intently at Larry's counterfeit
studying it closely. Then
she nodded her approval and shook an |
accusing finger at Betty, which moved
Betty to tears again.
Meta laughed, and with much aim
pering began to finger around within
The capacious fiounces OF her striped
Kilt. With much Precipitation, ana
With what might have been bushes on |
! fairer skin she finally produced an |
odd little hand, painstakinEly CARVED |
rom ivory with inlaid nails and veins
II gold. She held this high for BETTY
o gaze at then pointed alternately TO /
ierself and Larry Morris picture with
Iuch illuminating pantomimes that
3etty Immediately estimated that the
worry hand was the troth-sign of Meta
md Of somewhere dusky -belovedl
Tyoga was three days in coming.
Then she was much distraught and
ooked like q ragged edition OF her
nee buxom self. First she called
deta aside and spoke with her long
nd earnestly-Betty would have VOW
d It was in French. Then Tyoga came
o Betty.
you are in danger OF your life" sbe
aid. simply. I'VE all are. We are
orry for this. Miss Lancey. we had
OF expected 1t. We had thought ali
angers were well guarded against
nat all precautions had been taken
ou and Meta must be left alone here ,
the castle for weeks. But be NOT |
fraid. Besides the secret entrances
hich none knows but Meta, there IL {,
D approach to the castle save from I
lat river on the south and to cross !
shuddered-'to cross that Is /
swallow death. have promised I
III safe return to your people, and | | /
} now to make that assurance doubly /
ire. LIE Malheureux sends You his !
st wishes, and Is sorry he cannot 4
me in person. and now, FAREWELL"
The negress turned and left the two a
rls together. Betty terror-stricken, h
unnerved, Meta stolid, i'm n
Dbile as the castle itself. Q
For several weeks the weather was
e, almost supernatural in its beauty I
q glow. Betty trolled the castle over L