Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-11-08
The Argus Daily Story
HIS Desert Island-By Clarissa Mackie.
Copyrighted. 1912. by Associated Literary Bureau

"'Of course l scrambled ashore and
pulled the tub up on the beach and
took a walk around the island. for
that's what it was. 1t was only about
fifty feet long ami thirty feet wide
and there were only ave palm trees on
it and three monkeys and banana
tree and one that bore bread fruit
The soil was sandy. but kind OF
spongy, or more like rubber, but there
wasn't a Ssgn of fresh water. except
some that was gathered in cocoaQui
shells by the monkeys. Did l say
there was cocoanut tree? asked
AnRnlas hastily.
"'You did not mention it, but never
mind so long as you brung it In on
time l says.
We'll he scowled at me, how long
do you think 1 lived on that island
captainr
IAN unlikely length of time, An
anias.' says l coolly.
I'm not expecting you TO believe
it says he, getting mad. A man that
wasn't always a deep sea sailor, if he
had most of his seagoing fishing down
the bay, l guess amt seen or heard
enough strange adventures to appre
ciate the marvels of-of- He looked
around for the proper word
The marvels of invention, An
aniasT l asked slyly. 4 expect there:
more sailors got their first knowledge
of the sea selling Goldfish in grocery
store than you, Ananias.' I've told
you Ananias used to be a clerk in
grocery store.
He stared coldly at me and twisted
his mouth into another horrible smile
LAS 1 was saying he went on sour
ly, I stayed on that island three weeks
before the great upheaval came and
Jonah was hove up in less tim,
than that l clipped in, but he tool
no notice Of me-
lone morning just at daybreak the
island Quivered from stem TO stern
and a mighty wave rushed up and
washed completely over II. l would
have been drowned only l chung to tbs
trunk of a tree, and before another
wave came l was up the tree among
the branches out of danger Mex
thing l saw was the slush tub afloat
and in it was the three monkeys a.
big as life. and they were cute enough
to take a bunch of bananas along with
'em. They bObbed out Of sight astern
and it happened so suddenly | didn't
realize the situation. Then It dawned
upon me that that island was racing
along through the water at about ten
knnfGf Tho yra
her and sluicing the sand right off
One by one the palm trees went over
as the soil disappeared, and at lasi
there was nothing left on the island
except the banana tree where | was
perched, and the heap of sand and
shells around the roots was growing
smaller every minute.
Where the sand had washed of
the ground was black and hard anC
oily looking. and the island rolled ant
wallowed in the sea just like a bis
whale, and so | wasn't a bit surprised
when all of a sudden there spoutec
into the air a jet of water, and | wa.
certain. Every minute | was afraiG
that whale would dive and carry mt
with 1t to Davy Jones locker but ther
| think it was waiting for the banans.
tree to go. 1t would be free then.
"'All at once | heard shout, and
looking ahead. could see that we wer,
driving straight up on to "A sandy beach
| "a real one this time. captain-ano
| men were shouting and leaping bach
as the whale advanced. Then there
/ was a mighty flop. and we went out o,
/ the water, the whale qulvered like 9
/ jelly. and the banana tree with me In
I it went sliding off to the ground.
"'When | come TO the whale wa.
/ dead and all the white men on this
J island had patched up "A theory about
the whale which my story only sub
! stantiated. Hanging from one of hiI
teeth was a short length of anchor
/ chain newly broken on the lower end
/ One of the links had caught IN his
/ tooth. and before the chain was bro
| ken / suppose there was a lot more OF
! it, with. maybe, a big anchor on the
/ bottom. Oh, you can sniff. cap'n, but
/ that anchor maybe was resting on the
summit OF q volcano or perhaps on the
+ top layer of some island that was In
the making Anyway. something had
held that whale anchored there till the
j chain parted All be bad TO do was to
open his mouth and his food would
swim right in. OF course the waves
washed up saud till It formed soil
and then birds brought seeds. and this
trees grew, and
How about those monkeysT I ask.
ed tarty, because | was mad Ana
! Mas should think | was fool enough to
! believe his yarns. I s'pose the birds
/ brought them toor
Him. says Ananias. eying me
. fercely, I-expect they was cast ashore
same ~ / was"
I'm a slush tub. most likely I said
getting up aud knocking ont my pipe
against the rail That seemed to be the
favorite monkey TRANSPORTATION line
AnanIas Slime and / went below"
Captain Barnabas looked down al
I, the pile OF silvery blues that filled the
big basket we had brought and twin
killed. an eye at me. Most time 10 pipe
all hands to dinner. l guess. Miss Tel
ham,