Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1910-10-15

paratus, but none did she find. There
were dozens of chambers similar to the
one she occupied. what might be
throne room, a great dining hall.
mammoth kitchen, and one big room
that possibly was an observatory, but
which was most securely bolted. barred
and cemented shut. Even American
prowess dared not tamper with such
solidity of masonry
Meta and Betty had finally accom-
plished species of pigeon dialect that
like Crusoe and his man Friday per-
mitted them to signify their wants and
dislikes but prohibited the dangerous
conversation of condolences and per-
sonal communications unto which
women are so prone to fall Betty had
given up the idea of the note in bot
tie. the sensational wireless message
and such like methods of communica-
ton 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 poor
suffering bird and vainly tried to shoe
it briskly away in the direction that
This carving was a work of perspiring
labor but it diverted Betty more sue
cessfully than anything else might
have 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 a 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
finish 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 a 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 l 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
er than ever.
Later they had an addition to their
family. A decrepit old lion, a beast sc
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 frs
sight, then they both laughed heartily
at sight of his infirmities and took hin
in and made him royally welcome. He
expressed his qualification in croupy
roars that caused Betty to long to feeC
him lard and sugar, the same as hel
mother had given her when she was {
croupy. wheezy kiddie.
But as a burglar alarm those roar,
were the best of all inventions, al
Betty expressed it in the journal sh,
was pretending to keep.
LAS a perfectly proper property lion
City Editor Burton is a peach"
Betty had named the lion City Edi
tor Burton" after the one being in tn,
Inquirer office whose very voice wa
calculated to instantly remove tn
scalp of any cub reporter whoeve
sharpened a pencil in a newspaper of
fee
Between City Editor Burton and tn
pigeons Betty found less opportuhit,
for worry than did Meta. Perhaps tina
was because Tyoga had not told Bett,
the same tale she had whispered tina
hot morning into the awe-struck ear
of Meta. The black girl knew of tn
danger threatening, and feared In ST
lence.
So strong had grown the attachmen
between Meta and Betty that tn
! young Nubian, who, truth to tell, spok
English with rare perfection. had niue
J ado to keep up their farce of pigeo
English and to refrain from outpour
, ing her soul to the white skinned, bu
J now sadly tanned Betty
CHAPTER XIII.
Johnny Johnson and Larry Morri
arrived in Algiers early in August. ]
; was hot and the dust was equalled onl
t by the flies. Larry spoke a littl
, French. Johnny nothing but English
5 They were both seasick and both tire
l OF the task they had set themselve
) upon. In Chicago darkest Africa ha
} looked to them rather a small and un
! important province, shrunken Rhod
l Island. In Algiers darkest Africa over
= Tapped every continent on the globl
5 The apparent futility of the undertak