The spectator., 1918-08-02

how any enc could set lost on a little island like .his."
 "That& where the mystery comes in. There are only about half a dozen places she could be, and we've looked in all 1t them
 Il had a brother who walked in his sleep, said Captain Perkins, follow ing up train of thought suggested by Mrs. Greens disappearance. Do you want to hear the story about the funny place where the zebra bit him?"
 "A little later" 1 suggested hastily. Just now we all ought to scatter and help look for Mrs. Green"
 How was she dressed?" Captain Perkins inquired.
 T don't know. I'm not sure wheth- CT she was dressed at all or not-that is, she probably had on q kimono or something, but l don't think she had on regular skirts and things"
 We might take q stroll along the beach" suggested Jim, whom 1 sus- pected of wanting to display his strip ed clothing in public. Possibly we might find something we could eat"
 After the captain and Jim had start ed out Miss Dunmore seemed lost in deep and bewildered thought. fore bore to break in on so portentous a brain struggle.
 At last she spoke. Where do you suppose the zebra did bite Captain Perkins brother?"
 If you go with him perhaps he will tell you" said, with an idea of doing my searching alone with a weather eye constantly peeled for Lucie and Bopp.
 No" she demurred, II would much rather go hunting with you. 1t will be more fun.
 Evidently she thought that hunting old ladies in the unGer1rush was one of our innocent island pastimes.
 I sighed. We salIied forth. If I had wanted to run across Lucille when l was alone I was juSt as anxious to avoid her while l was in the company of Miss Dunmore.
 Do we have to find her before Iunch?"
 I explained painstakinsly the remote possibility either of finding Mrs. Green or of having any lunch. Contrary to my expectations, she took the informa- tion about the lack of food just as cheerfully as she had everything else. l don't believe it would be possible to dampen the spirits of that girl-not that she was unresponsiye to another's distress, for have rarely met one so sympathetic. but she was consistently optimistic.
 'I don't mind going without lunch a bit" she smiled. II very seldom eat anything until after the show at night anyway. Only there won't be any show tonight to eat after. will there? That will seem funny. I've always been in shows ever since I was a kid. except few weeks in the middle of summer. and then generally I was re- hearsing"
 She laughed Gayly.
 Vida Chattered away with all the needless gayety of child who knows that some one Is going to provide the next meal. She told me at length about her tianCc. That took n lot of the romance out of our walk. Not | that was falling in love with Vida not a bit of it-but 1t WAS too bad as long as 1 had lost favor with Lucile on her account tO have her tell me about her love affair with some one else ] have since reasoned that she regarded me as being old enough to be her father or her Uncle Jack and treated me accordingly.
 'I wouldn't mind being uli alone with you on this island" she condded If you were only Jack
 Jack? Who Is Jack?
 "I mean Ned" she explained "I was going to marry Jack, but Ned wouldn't have it. We wouldn't care much about food even." she went on. Ned would find something for me. He's dreadfuliy ingenious. That comes from writing plays, l guess. One has to be clever to think out plots for plays, don't you think?"
 Not most of them" l lapsed into my critical manner. Not nt clever as you have to be to sell them
 He wrote play once about two people on Il desert island. There was bully part for the girl in 1t They found bananas and cocoanuts to eat and some kind of birds eggs"
 Tn plays and stories dealing with castnways on an island" explained. ''the scene Is always conveniently To- cated on 6 tropical island where all sorts of food products grow wild. May I ask If in Mir. Blaney's play there was any treasure buried on the island?"
 "Ycs," she assented.
 And were they attacked by savages armed with poisoned dartsF'
 "Oh, you've read his playw
 No, but I know just what ought to be in every castaway story. This Is land that we are on, you see. Is quite different Nothing more nourishing than spruce gum ever grows here, and there isn't native with a poisoned