River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1914-09-10
SYNOPSIS

ter Lucille flies to steamer to recover
the papers In order to clear the name Of
Lieutenant Gibson. whom she loves.
Loubeque, tampering with the wireless
on the steamer, is hurt. Lucille nurses
him in an attempt to recover the papers.
Lucille gets the papers. but the ship is
wrecked She is cast ashore on a Pacific
island and Is taken by a native chief to
his hut to nurse his sick child
The native child is restored to health.
and the grateful natives idolize Lucille
Loubeque, also cast ashore, tries various
plans to recover the papers, but in vain
Loubeque, bafled, FORCES a message
from a neighboring chief to lure Lucille
away from her friends She falls into
pitfall losing the documents.
Loubeque's native aid steals the papers
from his master. and Lucille takes them
from the native after he is killed by a
lion. She finds and follows an under
ground passage in the jungle.
Continued from last Week.
CHAPTER VII.
A Chief Borrows From a Chief.
~ y going into the little street
she she noticed the chief e,+ in ear ar
a
- daughter and an old native
woman whom Lucille had no recollec
ton of seeing about the village before
Had she but known this was but an
other servile tool of Hugo Loubeque's
what future dangers she might have
been saved. Coming closer she knew
that it was a stranger. Moreover. from
the light upon the crOne's swrinkled
c0untenance and the furious gesticula
lions she made toward her she felt that
she was the object of controversy. And
the daughter of the old chief seemed
adding her pleas to those Of the old
woman with effect.
lucille stood a little apart, watching
the conference as it disbanded She
had picked up enough Of the language
- make out an occasional word, but
the gestures of the three had been un-
miStakable. She waited quietly while
the trio approached her, feeling that
in some way the problem that had
been harassing her was to be answered
without further worry on her part.
She smiled at the chiefs efforts to
make her understand what he desired
Of her, smiled and shook her head as
the withered old woman made an
equally unsuccessful attempt. But the
little girl took the situation in hand.
Without much difficulty Lucille made
out from the child that the old woman
came from a chief greater than her ia
Their. who lived in a village not far dis
tant; that the wonder Of her curative
ability had reached his ears, and be
earnestly prayed the white woman be
loaned his own wife for a nurse. that
she might be cured of an illness which
seemed certain to be fatal.
Lucille saw from the glum express
sion on the old chiefs face that, even
though it might bring him into trouble
with his neighbor chief, he was more
than loath to part with her She also
saw that the child, with the remem-
brance of her own illness fresh upon
her, had allowed her heart to go out
to the wife in such sympathy that she
had persuaded her father to permit the
loaning.
Her heart gave a great throb Of de-
light at this unexpected answer to her
PRAYER. She had known there would
be trouble getting away with the pa
pers Just as she had determined that
she must leave. There was no posSi-
bic chance of regaining civilization
from here. There might be no chance
in another place. but there was hope.
and. while it was meager sustenance,
anything was better than the strain OF
knowing impossibility. Anything ap-
pealed to her so long as it embraced
change, for change spelled renewed
hope. Then, too, Hugo Loubeque
would be temporarily at least thrown
off the trail.
In an hour she had mounted the
chiefs own horse. her very soul re-
ioicing at the familiar feel OF an easy
canter. Beside her rode the old wo
man, mumbling continually to herself
as though she were keeping track OF
the devious turns in the wilderness OF
vegetation through which their way led.
Once Lucille was conscious of a
vague feeling of m1StruSt as she look
ed back at the squat figure of the old
woman ambling along stolidly as some
heather idol, only her ratlike eyes
emitting flashes of fire from between
the layers of wrinkled. brown, droop-
ing lids.
Faster. faster she urged her horse as
she saw clear stretch of trail open
ing before her, her hand continually
reaching up and feeling the precious
burden about her neck. Then she
looked back for her escort. when the
ground seemed to grow soft. to slip
up from under her mounts hoofs and
send her hurting down-down-down
she knew not where nor why-down
into blackness at which her hands
clutched yailly clutching nothing from