Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-29

one morning while swimming ne meets
hance at him. His canoe Is swept from the
where the slrl lives.
CHAPTER XII-CContinued).
TN the cool of the evening he looked
about him. The tiny world into which
be had fallen was penurious but self.con.
tanned. Such fabrics as there were, were
match OF cotton bushes. The beans of
castor plants, those giant weeds that
haunt all scenes of ruin in the SUBJ
continent, supplied oil for feeble lights
Al night. A little oil in n clay dish with
twisted wick of cotton giving forth
more smoke than light seemed to fix him
IN his setting of prehistoric man. The
rice gathered from an enduring bottom,
cultivated by no effort aside from the i'm
passive rise and fall of the river. formed
with mandioc, the backbone of the house
holds sustenance. From the outcrops of
tho abandoned cane fields, with the as
distance of an antedlluvian handmill and
an equally antiquated iron pot. they made
the black syrup that served for sugar.
salt, slightly alkaline, was plentiful. A
few COWS and their progeny lived in the
open and lived well, for, even untitled,
the lands Of the valley were rich An
OCCASIONAL IIltIllDtI VI tllc Htlu was Ndl-
ried off to market by the old darky. The
proceeds bought the very few contribu-
lions of civilization necessary to the up
keep Of the lenten life.
Gerry decided. He looked at the girl
and she ran to him. He put his arms
around her and gazed with sort of
numbed emotion into her great dark eyes.
Those eyes were wells of simplicity. love,
fidelity but below all that there were
depths of unmeasured and unmeasuring
passion that gave all and demanded all.
CHAPTER XIII.
CoLLINGEFORD gave sigh OF relief
" when he saw what manner of place
was Maple House. AS they gathered
around the great table for dinner he was
the only stranger and he did not feel 1t.
Nance was there with the faint smile of
mother that has Just put her children
to bed. Charley Stirling. teasing
Clematis, tried to forget that Monday
and the city were coming together. Mrs.
j. " with Collingeford on her right and
the Judge on her left, held quiet sway
over the table and nodded reassuringly
at the old Captain who was making
gestures with his eyes to the effect that
whisky and soda should be Immediately
offered to the guest. j. y, pretty gray
by now, sat thoughtruI. but kindly, at
the other end of the table. Glen was
beside him.
II was not until the men were sitting
alone after the glass of port, in which
all had drunk CollinEeford's welcome to
that house, that the Judge said casually,
"colllnl eford saw Alan in Africa"
"Eh! What?" said the Captain aroused
to sudden interest. whats that about
Alan?'
at ror ,,.o,, AI,,, JU,,.ua IN Africa -
said Colingeford. smiling. do you want
me to tell you about it?"
Nance called Charley Stirling out. You
shlrker." she said, come and sit with
me In the hammock"
"collingeford was just going to tell
about meeting Alan in Africa" said
Charley Indignantly. And then Nance
said "Oh" and wanted to send him back
but he wouldn't go.
Yes" grunted the Captain In reply tn
Colngeford's question and j. Y. nodded
as he caught the young mans eye. wish
you would" he said and leaned forward,
his elbows on the table.
Collingeford was one of those men VINO
are sensitive to men. His vocabulary did
rot run to piffie, but he loved an under
standing ear. He looked at the Judges
keen but restful face, at the Captains
glaring eyes which somehow had as
sumed kindly CLINT, at ]. Y.'s rugged
AbuAOg buuucnly BIONH NtllbS1 hlAN ''S
knew that Alan Wayne was near to the
hearts of these three. He fingered his
wine glass. ''If was one of those men,"
ne began, looking at nobody, who dis
Ike Ten Percent. Wayne l wouldn't tell
you about him. But I'm not. 1t took
me only two hours to get over hating him
and those two hours were spent in a
broing sun at the wrong end of half
finished bridge.
Prince Bodsky and I were on shlkari
We were headed home after long and
unsuccessful shoot in new country and
we were as sore and tired and bored with
The life OF the wild as two old-tlmers ever
get On the day I'm telling you about wa
were trekking up a river gorge to cross
mg. After lunch and the long rest We
sun had 10 miles to go to cross and II
oiont help things to know that once over
we mad to come straight back on the
other side. During the first hours march
N the afternoon we heard the strangest
sound that ever those wilds gave forth.
y was like hammering on steel, but we
refused TO believe our ears until sudden
curve brought us bang up against the in
esputable fact of glrder-brldge In the
lnroes OF construction. Before the
hought of the saeTilege to the game
eouhtry-before We could see in this
noisy monstroslty the root OF our recent
ead luek-came the glad thought that we
eldnt have to do 10 miles up that gorge
eha III back, We would have whooped
except that men don't whoop in Africa
y seares the game.
said the bridge was In the throes OF
sohstFueion. II was just that. Its two
itons girders, reaching from brink to
pIink. with their spidery trusses hanging
shaefneath, fairly swarmed with sweat
tns hsures, and the figures were black
y was that that brought us to full stop
la Just when our eyes were fixed with
he intensity OF discovery. one OF the
roIkers looked up, saw us, relaxed and
says the loud gTunt which stands IN
~snain for Just look at that! in English.
me babbling and hammerlng around
nlih ceased, but while he still stared al
us, We saw a Yerltable apparition. A
4hlte man, hung between heaven and the
tspths OF the gorge, was racing along the
w OF the slippery girder His helmet
s~ on, hung poised, and then plunged
~ long taeking sweeps. The man was
slessed In cotton shirt, white trousers
Sna thick woolen socks. No boots. OF
sIse' l didn't notice all that till after
"etas, In his hand he carried a sjambok.
s9adenly the staring darky seemed TO
Isl hlm coming, but before he could turn
US s sJambok quirt came down with the
sStnAsing sting Of hide on hesh. We saw
e.. we blood spurt. The negro toppled with