The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1910-05-05

Shrouded by the gloom OF the holloW,
she drew back to her bed, and without
turning her eyes away from him,
groped for one of her bamboo stakes
But before she could arm herself,
she saw Blake stoop over and grasp
with his free hand the mass of inter
woven bamboos He Strengthened him
self, and the framework swung lightly
up and over until it stood on end
across the cave entrance. The girl
stole around and peered out at him. He
had spread open the antelope skin, and
was beginning to slice the meat for
drying. Though his forehead was fur.
rowed, his expression was by no
means sinister Relieved at the
thought that the light must have de.
ceived her, she returned to her bed
and was soon sleeping as soundly as
| Wirthrope.
Blake strung the greater part of the
meat on the drying racks, built a
smudge fire beneath and stretched the
antelope skin on a frame. This done,
he took his club and small piece of
bloody meat. and walked stealthily
| down the cleft to the barricade. Quiet
as was his approach it was met by
warning yelp on tht farther side of the
thorny wall, and he could hear the
scurry of fleeing animals.
He kept on until the barricade
loomed up before him in the starlight.
From cliff to cliff the wall now
stretched across the gorge without
hole or gap. But Blake grasped the
trunk of a young date-palm which
projected from the barricade near the
bottom, and pushed 1t out. The dis
placement of the spiky fronds disclosed
the low passage which he had made in
the center of the barricade. He placed
the piece of meat on one side, two or
three feet from the hole and squatted
down across from it, with his club bal.
anced on his shoulder.
HaN an hour passed-an hour; and
still he waited, silent and motionless
as statue. At last stealthy footsteps
sounded on the outer side Of the thorn
wall, and an animal began to creep
through the wall, shifting for the bait
Blake waited with the immobility OF
an Eskimo. The delay was brief
With boldness for which Blake
had not been prepared, the beast
leaped through and seized the meat
Even in the dim light, Blake coult
see that he had lured an animal largel
than any iackal. But this only served
. | N 1nnI TO .
he struck, he leaped to his feet. TIL,
brute fell as though struck by light
ming and lay still.
t Blake prodded the inert form warily
2 then knelt and passed his hands ovel
1 it. The beast had whirled about jus
1 in time to meet the descending club
I and the blow had crushed in its skull
I Chuckling at the success of his ruse
he drew the palm back into the open
< inS and swung his prize over his
shrulder. When he came to the fire, {
glance showed him that he had killed
e a fullgrown spotted hyena.
a In the morning, when Miss Leslie
S appeared, there were two hides
n stretched on bamboo frames, and the
e air was dark with vultures streaming
:, down into the cleft near the barricade
D Blake was sleeping the sleep of the
just, and did not waken until she haC
S built the fire and begun to broil the
/ steaks which he had saved
Again they had feast of the fresh
! antelope meat, But with repletior
f came more of fastdlousness, and
Blake agreed with Miss Leslie wher
? she remarked that salt would have
added to the flavor. He set off pres
i emily, and spent half a day on the
: talus of the headland, gathering sail
). from the rock crannies.
d For the next three days he left the
+ cleft only to gather eggs. The great
b er part of his time was spent in tan
2 ming the hyena and antelope skins
Meantime Miss Leslie continued tc
d nurse Winthrope and to gather fire
wood. Under Blake's directions she
t also purified the salt by dissolvine
i 1t in POT of water, and allowing the
}. dirt to settle, when the clarified solu.
e ton was poured off and evaporatsd
O'N' wv me III OHe OF tle edrthpn.
ware pans
/. AT first Winthrope had been too
e weak to sit up, But treated TO Iih.
o eral diet of antelope broth, raw eggs
not water, and cocoanut milk he
. gained strength faster than Blake had
Q expected. On the fourth day BIake
g set him to work on the final rubhing
b OF the new skins; on the fifth, he or'
uered him to go for eggs.
!. Much to Miss Leslie's surprise Win.
+ 'hrope started off without word ot
n protest. All his peeyish irrita,i,,fy
s naa gone with the fever. and the airI
+ was gratitied to see the quiet mannar
f IN which he set about a task which
y seemed an imposition upon his half.re'
9 IahGd strength, But the very motiye
e "n'ch' seemingly, prevented him from,
him. " speak loI
q 'Io BE CoNTINUED)