The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1914-12-14

Continued From Last Saturday.
CHAPTER XVII.
This Mortal Tide.


She was very certain she would
never sleep before her anxiety was
assuaged by word of Alan's fate; but
she reckoned without her host OF
trials that had bred in her fatigue
anonymous even to her mental an
guish.
For time after Barcus had left
her she fingered upon the sands, IN
the mouth of the shelter he had Sc
aected for her, staring hungrily out on
the shimmering sea that, now wholly
Invested of it's shroud, smiled up to
the heavens, whose sapphire face it
ing as though it had never yelled a
heartless tragedy.
Slowly it darkened as the sapphire
above grew darker, blending insen-
sibly into rare ultramarine with the
slow decline of the sun, by whose al
titude above the horizon the day had
not more than ninety minutes to run.
And she thought drowsily that If
that sun sank without her learning
that her Iover lived, it would not rise
again upon world tenanted by Rose
Urine
It was not true, she told herself, that
people never die of broken hearts.
She knew that, were he taken from
her, she could no longer live.
And sleep overwhelmed her sud-
denly, like great, dark cloud
But its dominion over her faculties
was not of long duration. Slowly,
heavily, mutinously, she was rescued
from it's nirvana-came to her senses
with an effect of one who energies
from some vast place of blackness and
terror, to find Barcus kneeling over
and gingerly but persistently shaking
her by the shoulder.
And then she sat up with a cry of
mystifed compassion; for in the brief
time that he had been absent-it had
not been more than an hour-Mr. Bar,
Gus had most unquestionably been Sc
verely used.
He had acquired a long cut over one
eye, but shallow, upon which blood
had dried, together with a bruised and
swollen cheek that was badly
scratched to boot And what simplel
articles of clothing remained to him.
after his strenuous experiences of the
last forty eight hours, had been re-
duced to even greater simplicity; hisl
shirt, for example, now lacked sleeve
that had been altogether torn away
at the shoulder.
mol" he told her. as soon as he saw
her wits were awake once more
don't waste time plying me. I'm all
so is Alan That's the
main thing for you to understand; he's
still alive and sound"
"But where is he? Take me to-
him!" she demanded, rising with a
Of such grace and vigor'
that it seemed hard to believe she had
ever known an instant's WEAKNESS.
That's the rub" Barcus confessed,
on the sands and knucklingi
his hair. IT dassent take you to him.
Judith might object. Besides, you can
see for yourself it isn't safe to mingle
with the inhabitants of this tight
little standard you can't get to
where Alan is without mingling con- /
Sit down, and I'll tell you |
all about it, and we'll try to figure out
what's best to be done. Maybe we
can manage a rescue under cover of |
night"
And when the girl had settled her
self beside him he launched into
detailed report.
tits Katama island, all right" he
"but a change has come
over the place since visited it some
years ago. Then it was a community
If Supplemented villagers and fisher
men; now, unless all signs fail, it's
len of smugglers. noticed mum,
Der of Chinese about; and that, taken
n connection with the fact that, when
ventured to introduce myself to the
village ginmiI and ask a few innO-
,ent questions, the entire population,
o child, landed on me like a thou
and brick-the two circumstances
made me think we'd stumbled on
ettlement of earnest workers at the
,entle art of helping. poor Cinnamon
wade the exclusion laws
With wry smile, he pursued: CAS-
or me, landed out back of the joint.
n the nape of my neck, and took the
cunt, surrounded by lot of unsym-
athletic boxes and barrels that had
cen better days. And when came to
nd started to crawl unostentatiously
way, was just in time to witness the
anding of your amiable sister, that
ang of cutthroats she keeps on the
ay roll, and Alan in company with as
hoice a crew of scoundrels as you'd
are to see. I gathered from few
,Ords that leaked out of the back door
the barroom, that it was as had
had stolen boat
-om the ship that picked her up, and
ahmed it on Norton's reef; and after
he gathered Alan in the schooner of
lese smugglers happened along, and
ne hailed it and struck bargain with
le captain and signed o-partnership
rticles, or something like that. Any