The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1916-07-06
"What's the place like"
asked

Dennis and look it over"
Think it's all right, Dennis?" ask.
ed Jim.
'Surest thing you know" replied
the detective.
"All right; what do you say, George,
take a chance?"
Il guess S Come aboard Dennis
and help roll up these sails"
Half an hour later, with everything
snug, Hemenway and Mcdonald again
boarded the launch. A tow line was
passed down to them and the pro-
cession got under way. The launch
headed for the mouth of the river
and steered boldly into it.
The little river" as Mcdonald had
described it was not more than fifty
feet wide at the mouth, and in less
than two hundred feet inland narreH-
ed to thirty feet.
To George who was in the bow of
the schooner acting as pilot while his
brother took the wheel, it appeared
as though the inlet ended right ahead
of them and that the schooner would
run aground in less than three min
utes.
what are these fools thinking of
to bring us into this swimming tank"
he muttered. He was on the point of
yelling to Hemenway to stop the
launch when suddenly the tender bore
off to starboard and rounded a sharp
bend in the "river''. An instant later
George saw a lagoon opening up fifty
feet ahead.
Hard aport!" he yelled.
lizard aport," repeated Jim and
the yacht swung to starboard around
the bend and was soon in a little pear
shaped body of water of not more
han four hundred feet at it's greatest
width.
McDonald's river" was like the
crooked stem of the pear. The motor
boat shut off power and the two yes.
sells floated for a while in the 81
intense quietness any of the persons
on board ever experienced.
In the middle of the lagoon they
dropped anchor in about three faith.
m of water
"Can you beat it," shouted .Hemen.
way from the launch.
They all took a good look around.
The lagoon was completely encirclcd
by a growth of palms and underbrush
Owing to the bend in the "river' the
ocean was hidden from view.
There was no sign of habitation.
No on appeared to welcome them,
nor was there any one to demand their
business and order them away. 1t was
a good guess the island was deserted.
No breeze ruffled the surface of the
lagoon. It suddenly occurred to ev.
body that the weather was internally
hot.
II move we explore this place RICH:
; away" declared Jim. II see some
planks stacked on the beach over
there and that's where we will land
Forthwith they tumbled into the
launch and ran it up on the beach.
There were a dozen long two inch
boards of hardwood piled up behind
which were four boxlike affairs. In
the end of these were fastened two
by four uprights with holes bored near
the top. -Four iron bars about the size
of crowbars and a pile of stones com
pleted the outfit. Jim examined it
critically.
"Now I know what this u.s." he
said. 1T is a portable wharf. Some
body lives here or has lived here, else
why should there be this wharf. A
tidy person evidently. Everything
piled up shipshape. If the landing
place was here there must be a path
or road leading from 1T. All, here we
have it," and Jim led the way to a
path through the bushes.
The winding path led on rising
ground and as the brush only ;fringed
the lagoon they were soon through it.
/ Coming into the open they saw,
not more than four hundred feet away
in the center, of the grove of red
white COCO palms, a long, low house.
The five men fastened toward it. .
A broad porch extended around
three sides of the house which faced
the east. Windows and doors were
closed. The men rushed IN the porcl.
"Hold on, let's be polite" said Hem
enway. He strobe to the door and
! knocked. No answer. He tried the
door. It opened and they all wen:
! in. They entered a large bare room,
the only article of furniture visible
being a big table in the center of the
room. On it were several well thumb
ed American magazines whose dates
showed they were more than a year
old.
There was only one room in the
| house. but there was a little extension
in the rear which was used as a kiLCh.
en-. It contained a stove, and ove fn
one corner was q pump with a chute
leading outside through a hole sawed
through the boards. They tried the
pump, but it only sucked air.
ANeeds printing" said George.
bring a bucket. Bring a broom too.
This place looks good to me-"
me-. Al.o- - of tho n