Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-03-19
CHAPTER NNIX-(Continued)

IT HAD to stop and rig up some shields
for them. and smear their hands and
faces with mud to keep off the sun. Wei, we
maraged to eat a little fruit and get
drink of water but as for rest, there was
none. For inside an hour, hanged If the
darts didn't begin dropping again
They'd come up with you!
Maybe. Or else it was another group
of em. No telling. The whole country
seemed to swarm with the devils Anyhow,
We had to mosye again. But--well--one
of the darts got home on my best fighter.
and-h-m he didn't last five minutes. lie
turned kind Of blush green too. And
swelled a good bit, I'll spare you the de-
tails, Beta. At any rate, we had to leave
him. SO there were only two of us now,
and God knew where home was, or how
many thousand OF the hairy devils were
lying in ambush on the way. SO then"
What did you do?' she asked shud-
dering.
I'VE hiked, and kept on hiking All day
we beat and trampled through the forest.
and toward night there was no more go in
us. SO We decided to make a stand Pretty
objects we were too, torn and bruised,
mired from swamps clear to our waists,
and mass of scratches and bruises Wen,
we hadn't long to wait when the attack
was on again
81 gave my one remaining man the spare
automatic and showed him how to handle
it, and for about an hour we stood Off the
devils But they tianked u.s. and all at once
my man grunted and pitched forward. I'm
damned if they hadn't driven spear clean
through his lungs.
AFTER that good God il was just man
hunt endless and horrible, through track
less wilds, over hills and mountains, through
valleys across rivers heaven knows where. !.
But I always tried TO keep my wits and
beat to southwark. hoping, ever hoping
might reach the New Hope Well--now and
then could get far enough ahead to snatch
a bite or "A drink Twice / slept-twice In
about a week think of that. will you? once
in hollow tree and once under a rock
ledge Only few hours in all. But it
helped without that / couldn't have got
through"
She took his hand and kissed and ca
ressed it.
"My Allan! :" she whispered while in her
eyes the tears started hot. You SUFFERED
all that just TO come home again.
what else was there 10 do? The last
few days / hardly knew anything at all.
II was a daze, a dream, a nightmare. There
was so much pain in every part that no one
part could hurt very much. The bushes
pretty nearly stripped every rag or CLONES
off me-and the skin, as well. My sanuals
went all to pieces. / lost my sense of dlrec-
tion a hundred times. and must have often
doubled on my tracks l ate and drank
what / could get, like an animal! once, IN
a period OF lucidity, / remember hndlng
nest of fedgling birds. / crunched them
down alive, pn-feathers and all! Well"
my boy! My poor lost, tortured boy !"
"When they wounded me l never even
knew. All know is that the spear wasn't
one of the poisoned ones. Otherwise--
''There there Don't think about it any
more darling Don't tell me any more. l
know enough It's too awful! Let's both
try to forget! )"
II guess that's the best way after all"
he answered. Il found the river somehow.
after a thousand or two eternities. Instinct
must have guided me. for turned upstream
in the right direction And after that all
remember is seeing the bridge across TO
Settlement GIFTS
And so you came home to us again,
darling?"
$50 | came home. Love led me. Beatrice,
1t was my chart and compass through the
wilderness Not even pain and hunger could
confuse them Nothing but death could
ever blot them out!'
And after all you'd been through, dear,
YOU did what you did for US? without rest
ing? without delay or respite?'