Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1917-05-08

1tltAN i1 IL " tDt llEil III
knew by the gentle movement of her
shoulders that she lived. A canvas
covered life-ring lay nearby. stem
ciled with the name of Il Fall River
line steamship.
Staring down into that exquisite
face, Il look of mingled coyetousness
and craft kindled in the eyes of the
man. Rising abruptly. he raked his
surroundings with furtive and suspi-
cious glances. At length satisfied that
none watched him. he stopped. gath
cred that frail young form in his arms
and darted swiftly away. not rs he
had come, but inland through the
dunes. Two short minutes sufficed for
the journey; he came into the hollow
of the huts st%ealthily, pausing to make
sure ii was u%ntenanted before hurrying
into his dwelling. But the luck was
not with him; without his knowledge,
he was observed; the door had not
closed upon him and his salvage when
a little Japanese slipped quietly from
m adjoining hut and trottcd Lriskly
tbN IIu liC IstIbUE. .
The girl opened daZed. uncompre-
hending eyes upon a scene so strange
10 them that, for a moment, she was
h~alf-inclined TO believe that she had
died of drowning and passed in spirit
10 some weird half-worid. \ reek of
brandy burned in her mouth and throat.
She cou-hcd Il little
As II that sound had been Il signal
Il door was thrown roughly open let
ting in n food of sunlight. Through
it entered a japanese in ragged uni
form. The voice of the Japanese
broke the tension edged with remon-
STRANGE
"Senor Juarez! l am informed"
The other interrupted brusquely /:
THAT | have found n half-drowned
woman-Americano-on the beach
and brought her here. Its true"
you should not haye done this"
1t seems | did,"
With n sudden movement the jap
nnese produced n pistol. Il regret the
necessity" he said, but Baron Huro-
ki's orders are to kill Immediately any
stranger who sets foot upon the
island"
wait" The fingers OF Senior Juarez
closed quickly on the wrist of the Jap
ancse and turned his pistol 10 the cell
ing. simultaneously the Mexican lift
ed. with his other hand. Il small can OF
bright tin that had stood upon "a near-
by table. "Onc moment, Captain Hak-
useki. This can contains nitroglycerin.
In the storeroom back thcre"-a jerk
~ Juarez's head indicated a door in the
hack of the building-'oyer one hun
dred tons Of high explosives are
stored. The woman is mine"
Baron Huroki ="
Il deal with you-not him-and I
warn you, | shall keep the woman or
blow this island off the map!"
The japanese hesitated an instant.
then conceded defeat with a shrug.
Have your way" he said mildly,
and turned to 60.
But the grasp on his wrist was I'M
relaxed. wait another moment.
Captain Hakusckl. l want that pis-
| toll"
1t was surrendered without "A suspi-
cion of contest.
"Now-go-and doa't bother US
again."
Captain Hakuseki executed n right
about face and marched out of the
hut. Senior JuareZ secured the door
behind him. then. turned 10 see the girl
struggling to a sitting position on the
cot. lie FASTENED to assist her.
"You are weak. senorita-you must
not exert yourself. Permit me :"
He wound his arm around her waist,
tendcrly assisting her 10 a chair by
the table. As She sank into this. he
bent over and brought his lips close to
hers. She shrank away with II little
cry.
"Ah. no, BE not afraid of me. ST.
norita! Remember. ! saved your life.
II. . What Is u kiss in payment for
that?'
The pistol he had taken from the
Japanese rested Oh the table. Chance
guided the fingers of the girl to it's
grip. inspiration Of despair prompted
her 10 lift its muZZle To the tin Of nitro
glycerin.
"keep away from me- she ordered
in accents whose feebleness could not
disguise a spirit of inflexible dctermi-
nation. Keep away-or | pull the
trigger"
With a terrified ejaculation the Mex
lean sprang back to Il profoundly re-
spec;ful distance.
"SenOrita-I beg of yOu-I"
Leave this housc-or / pull the
trigger"
JuareZ threw himself madly ut the
door, wrenchcd ii open. started out
aud-shrank back from Il knife-hayo-
net on a rifle presented by a stocky,
deadly-lOokinE little Japanese.
Captain Hiakuseki's orders: you re-
main Il prisoner till you give up the
woman,'
Between the devil and the deep sea,
the Mexican threw himself on the mer-
cy of the girl.
"Senorita-in the name Of pity
She nodded CURLY. Come Insult
that door-loci. il. . Now tell