The Mena weekly star., 1912-02-08

CHAPTER XVI.

FA APOo1ic ucpdTteu ana captain
Oleson had turned in for q
sleep in a veranda hammock
Sheldon opened Joan's letter:
Dear Mr.. Sheldon Please forgive me for
stealing the Flibberty Gibbet. / simply
had to. The Martha means everything "a
US. Think OF It. only R65 for her, s27s!
II don't save her. / know l shall be able
TO pay all expenses out OF her gear which
tne natives VIII not have carried Off And
IL do save her 1t Is the haul OF q life
time And II 1 don't save her I'll fiji the
Emily and the Flibberty Gibbet with re-
cruits, Recruits are needed right now on
berande more than anything else.
And please, please don't be angry with
me. You said | shouldn't go recruiting on
the Flibberty. and wont. IN 20 on the
Emily
l bought two cows this afternoon That
trader at Nogi died OF fever, and / bought
them from his partner-Sam WINS mis-
name-who agrees to deliver them. most
likely by the Minerva next time she Il
down that way. Berande has been long
enough on timed milk
And DR.. Weisnmere has agreed to get
me some orange and lime trees from the
mission station at ulava. He Will deliver
them the next trip of the Apostle II the
sydney steamer arrives before / get back
tween the young trees on the high bank
OF the Baiesuna- The current is eating a,
against THAI bank. and you should do
something TO save It
l have ordered some fig trees and To-
quats. too. from Sydney. Or. Welshinese
will bring some mango seeds They arr
big trees and require plenty OF room
The Martha Is registered ll0 tons she
10 the biggest schooner in the Soiomons
IN oa - 49, $50. ft..l~.
and guess the rest She win sail like e
witch Ii she hasn't filled with water
her engine will be all right The reason
she went ashore was because II was not
working. The engineer had disconnected
the feed pipes to clean out the rust Poor
business unless at anchor OF with plenty
OF sea room
Plant all the trees in the compound even
IL you have to clean out the palms later
on
And don't plant the sweet corn all at
once Let few days elapse between
paintings. JOAN LAKELAND
He fingered the letter. lingering over
1t and scruunizing the writing in q
way that was not his won't. How
characteristic. was his thought. as be
studied the boyish crawl clear to
read. painfully clear. but none the less
boyish.
He looked long at the name. Joan
Lakeland Just an assemblage of let
tiers. OF commonplace letters. but an
assemblage that generated subtle
heady magic 1t crept into his brain
and twined and twisted ais mental
processes until all that constituted selm
at that moment went out in love to
that scTawied signature loan Lack
land. Each time he looked at II there
arose visions OF her 10 a myriad moods
and guises. r0ning In out OF the Tying
smother of the gale that had wrecked
her schooner. launching a whaleboat
to go fishing, running dripping from
the sea with streaming haIr and cling
ing garments TO the fresh water show
er. frightening fourscore cannibals
with an empty chlorodyne bottle jn
veniley rafting on about romance
and venture. bright eyed her face
flushed and eager with enthusiasm
Joan Lakeland. He unused over the
cryptic wonder OF II till the secrets Of
love were made clear and ne felt a
keen sympathy for lovers who carved
their names on trees or wrote them
on the beach sands of the sea.
Then be came back 10 reality, and
his face hardened Even then she
was on the wild coast of Malalta and
at Poonga Poonga. of all villainous
and dangerous portions the worst. PEG
pied with teeming population Of
head hunters. robbers and murderers.
For the instant he entertained the rash
thought OF calling his boats crew and
ssaT tug immediately in wnalepoar
for Poonga Poonga But the next In
slant the idea was dismissed What
could be do If he did 60? First she
would resent It. Next she would laugh
at him and Gull him a silly.
There was much in her willful con-
duct that caused him to vince in the
heart of him. He was appalled, by
the thought of her shoulder TO shoul-
der with the drunken rabble OF trad
ers and beach combers at Guvutu ii
was bad enough for clean. fastidious
man. but for a young woman girl at
that. II was awful. The theft Of the
Flibberty Gibbet was merely amusing,
though the means by which the theft
had been effected gave him hurt. Yet
he found consolation In the fact that
the task of making Oleson drunk had
been turned over to the three scoun.
drels. And next and swiftly came the
vision OF her. alone with those same
three scoundrels. on the Emily, sailing
out to sea from Guvutu in the twilight
with darkness coming on. Then came
visions OF Adamu Adam and Noa Noah
ana all her brawny Tahitian following.
and his anxiety faded away. being re-
placed by irritation that she shonld
have been capable of such wildness OF
conduct. And the irritation was still
on him as be got up and went Inside
to stare ut the hook on the wall and 70
wish that her Sfetson hat and revolver
belt were hanging from Il
Several quiet weeks slipped by
The steamer from sydney, the KAN
mambo. broke the quiefude OF Be
rande for an hour while landing NAH
supplies aud the trees and seeds ioan
bad ordered The Minerva. bound fof
cape Marsh. brought the two cows