The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1917-04-07


covered life-ring lay nearby, stem
ciled with the name of a Fall River
line steamship.
Staring down into that exquisite
face, a look of mingled c~oyetousness
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 as he
had come. but inland through the
dunes. Two short minutes sufficed for
the Journey; he came into the hollow
Of the huts stealthily, pausing to make
sure it 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
q little japanese slipped quietly from
an adjoining hut and trotted' briskly
toward the harbor. -.
The girl opened dazed, uncompre-
hending eyes upon q scene so strange
to them that, for a moment, she was
h~alf-inclined to believe that she had
died of drowning and passed In spirit
to some weird half-wOrld. A reek of
brandy burned In her mouth and throat.
She coughed a little .
AS If that sound had been a signal
a door was thrown roughly open, let
ting in a flood of sunlight. Through
1t entered a Japanese In ragged uni
form. The voice of the japanese
broke the tension edged with m
STRANGE:
"Senor Juarezl l am informed"
The other interrupted %brusquely:
"That | have found "a half-drowned
woman-Americano-on the beach
and brought her here. It's true"
"You should not have done this"
at seems | did"
With a sudden movement the jap
anese produced a pistol. 81 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 IN the wrist of the jap
anese and turned his pistol to the cell
ing. simultaneously the Mexican lift
ed, with his other hand, a small can of
bright tin that had stood upon a near
by table. zone moment, Captain Hak-
useki! This can contains nitroglycerin.
In the storeroom back there"-a jerk
of Juarez's head indicated u door in the
back of the building-"over one hun
dred tons of high explosives are
stored. The m is miner
"Baron Huroki i"
81 deal with you-not him-and L
warn you, l 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 I'M
relaxed. "Wait another moment,
Captain Hakuseki. l want that pis-
toll"
1t was surrendered without a suspi-
clOn 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 a sitting position on the
cot. He fastened to assist her.
"You are weak, senorita-you must
not exert yourself. Permit me :"
He wound his arm around her waist,
tenderly assisting her to a chair by
the table. AS she sank into this, he
bent over and brought his lips close to
hers. She shrank away with n little
cry.
"Ah, mol Be not afraid of me, Sc
norita Remember, l saved your life.
s. . What is a kiss In payment for
that?"
The pistol he 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 muzzle to the tin of nitro
glycerin.
keep away from me-" she ordered
In accents whose feebleness could not
disguise a spirit of inflexible determi-
nation. Keep away-or 1 pull the
~triggerl"
With a terrified ejaculation the Mex
lean sprang back. to a profoundly re-
spectful distance.
"Senorita-I beg of yOu-w
Leave this house-or / pull the
trigger"
Juarez threw himself madly at the
door, wrenched 1t open, started out
and-shrank back from a knife-bayo-
net on a rifle presented by a stocky,
dea~dly-looking little Japanese.
captain Hakuseki's orders you re-
main a prisoner till you give up the
womani"
Between the devil and the 6eep sea,
the Mexican. threw himself ca the mer-
cy of the girl.