The Ordway new era., 1917-09-21

shoulders that she lived \ canvas
covered lifering lay nearby, stem
ciled with the name of a Fall River
line steamship.
Staring down into that exquisite
face, look Of mingled covetouSneSS
and craft kIndled in the eyes Of the
man. Rising abruptly, he raked his
surroundings with fuTtive and sUSpi-
clnus -lanCcs- Al length satisfied that
none watched him he SENoPct, gath
erred that its-LI Young form in his arms
and dsrte3 swiftly away, not IS he
had come. bgt Inland through the
dunes Two short E3nCtsS sUGced for
the journey; he came into the hollow
Of The hG:S STe%.-hi,y, pzCsius 10 make
sure il was CcceG4aJet! before h-rTyius
into his dwelling Bu- the luck was
los with him: without his knowledge,
he vSs Ub>e-vs3; The door had not
closed upo1 him and his salvage when
IA ur-le JapzEess slipped quietly from
an adjoining huC and trCCted bTiSEly
-C-E-I the harS0-.
The girl opened daEed, uncompre-
. bending eyes upon scene so strange
20 them that. for a moment, she was
hs.It-iac,Laed TO believe that she had
died Of drowning and passed in spirit
20 some weird half-world. \ reek of
brandy burned in her mouth and throat.
She couched n little
As If that sound had been a signal
4 door was thrown roughly open, let
ting in a flood 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! 1 am informed"
The other interrupted brusquely:
THAT l have found half-drowncd
womnn-Americano- the beach
and brought her here. It's true"
You should not have done this!"
at seems | did."
With sudden movement the jap
anese produced 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
anese and turned his pistol to the cell
ing. simultaneously the Mexican lift
ed, with his other hand. small can of
bright tin that had stood upon a near
by table. "One moment, Captain Hak-
useki ! This can contains nitroglycerin.
In the storeroom back there"-a jerk
of Juarez's head indicated door in the
back of the buiding-"over one hun
dred tons of high explosives are
stored. The woman is miner
Baron Huroki ="
Il deal with yOu-not him-and l
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 go.
But the grasp on his wrist was un-
relaxed. "Wait another moment.
Captain Hakuseki. 1 want that pis-
tOI."
1t was surrendered without a suspi-
ciOn of contest.
''Now-go-and don't bother US
again"
Captain Hakuseki executed a right
about face and marched out of the
hut Senior Juarez secured the door
behind him, then turned to see the girl
struggling TO sitting position on the
cot. He hastened to assist her.
"Tou are weak, senorita-yOu must
not exert yourself. Permit me -"
He wound his arm around her waist,
tenderly assisting her to chair by
the table. As she sank into this, he
bent over and brought his lips close to
hers She shrank away with a little
cry.
+Ah. no. Be not afraid Of me, Sc
norita! Remember. / saved your life.
+. What is u kiss In payment for
that?7
The pistol ne had taken from the
japanese rested On the table. Chance
guided the fingers Of the girl to its
grip. inspiration Of despair prompted
her TO lift its tnuzzle to the tin of nitro
glycerin.
keep away from me- she ordered
in accents whose feebIeness could not
disguise spirit of inaexfble deterrni-
nation. keep away--or ! pull the
! trigger!'
With terrified ejaculation the Mex
ican sprang back to profoundly re-
/! spectful distance.
"Senorita-I beg Of you-r-
Leave this house-or 1 pull the
| triggerw
| Juarez threw himself madly at the
door, wrenched 1t open. started out
and-shrank back from knife-bayo-
net on rife presented by stocky,
deadly-looking little japanese.
captain Hakuseki's orders: you re-
main a prisoner tiIt you give Up the
I womanir
Between the devil md the deep sea,
the Mexican threw himself on the mer-
i - ~ <1o Ofrg