The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1914-12-10
memory filed with vague regret as
he vfsualized the girl, lying helpless at

ne!uoTI uileu "ltu vague regret as
he visualized the girl, lying helpless at
the bottom Of the pit he had caused
his native to dig across the trail.
Suddenly he sprang to his feet. once
more the man of action. Pity this girl,
daughter of the woman he loved, he
might, but she was not the sort to lie
supine While he made away with the
papers for which she had gone through
SO much already. Suddenly he tore
open the bag dumping the contents
out before him and running through
them nervously. When he looked up
the light Of disappointment, almost
fear. was upon his face.
The amulet. the sacred amulet which
had served her so well, would continue
to serve her SO well as long as she con
tinued in this land. was still in her
possession. He had failed to tell the
crone to steal that also. And the old
woman had reported that she was
Glerely stunned. The sacred amulet
which would make her revered by any
savage she chance1 to meet was still
hers, While he, Hugo LOubeque, would
find every hand against him.
lie moved swiftly now. preparing for
his long journey through the jungle.
away from her jealous pursuit and to-
ward possible relief, for so long as lie
remained here Lucille had every one
for friend and assistant, while he had
only those he might gain through fear.
Lucille stirred. opened her eyes in be-
wilderment, unable to piece together
any connection between the black hole
in which she found herself and the
narrow trail through the jungle along
which she had urged her horse. Grad
ually it all came back to her Her
hands sought her bosom. and, with Il
little groan Of utter misery, she gave
way to uncomfortable sobs.
The reaction did her good, worked
wonders with her In that spell of
self pity father, home, sweetheart,
everything. was forgotten before the
horror of her own predicament Fin
ished with it, she gathered every facul-
ty, mental and physical. and rambled
to her feet. Above her as she lifted
her eyes she made out u streak of light
threaded between aisles Of dense leaf
ness-the sun piercing home into the
Jungle She moved forward. her hands
before her, cropping. Something soft
and mOtiOness and so still it caused
her to shudder met the toe Of her boot
She drew back in swift alarm. know
ing it to be the body Of the horse she
had ridden. a great feeling Of grateful
ness at her own escape from !. similar
fate warming her through and through
Mastering the innate repulsion within
her. she stepped upon the corpse, her
hands reaching up and finding the
smooth edge of the hole that had been
dug across the roadway to entrap her.
Her fingers found the roots of a tree.
roots SO stout they bore her weight
For moment she waited. gathering
her failing strength for the supreme
effort. Then she sprang up. gathering
her knees under her, relaxing slightly
before putting forward every ounce of
her strength and drawing herself to
| the warm surface of the road.
| About her on every side the jungle
breathed. loathsome, fetid, horrible.
| spread it's myriad tentacles i'll every
| direction. barring egress. fastening
upon the one who CHANGED to stray
within it. sucking at ones very vitals.
The chatter of monkeys and the
shrieks Of birds filled the air.
But no odds how bleak the prospect,
how forlorn the hope. one always feels
courage renewed when one has just
| glimpsed Il greater danger and averted
it. Lucille had known within the quar-
| ter hour the horror of blindness, and
her heart leaped high with JOY at be
| ing able to see these things In this
| same jungle with her. in quite as bad
a predicament, was Hugo I.oubequc
and with Hugo Lobeque We're the pa
| pers she had fought so hard to recover
She spoke aloud, her voice trilling I,
| note so foreign to this black abode
that even the animal life was silenced
in amaze. He shall not keep the pa
pers long!' were her words.
The thought braced her as would a
douse of cold water To right. to left
before her and behind was naught but
jungle. Which way should she turn
to come across the international SPY
She felt the amulet about her neck
with nervous, plucking fingers. as
though seeking to read the answer
there. Safety lay behind. back alone
the trail in the village of the chief
who had SO reluctantly permitted hel
to answer the trumped up message
from his neighbor. But she did no
wish safety. She wanted the papers
and civilizatio In which direction tt
go she must leave to the power thai
had guided her steps so far. but SHE
knew she must make quick choice
AS though her question was TO b;
answered for her. she noticed the chat
ter of the monkeys suddenly changing
observed a wild alarm in their voices
and. looking up, saw Il host. an arm.
Of them. huddled close together, thel
slipping swiftly i'll wild disorder from
tree to tree Lucille felt thrill O
something more than uneasiness com
ing upon her as she stared into thu
blackness to make out the reason TO
their alarm. Swiftly she shrank bacl
before the blazing balls of fire tina
were fastened upon her from tn
heavy wall of vines and creepcrs.
Again that cracking of twigs, th
time In greater volume and where he