Sioux County pioneer., 1919-08-07

uncouthly striving horn. s..
1t was impossible to imagine n cay
better answering to my concholOgist's
description of Short Shrift island. Its
situation and general character, too,
bore out the surmise. On landing, also,
we found thatsit answered in two Inn
p0rtant particulars to Tobias narra-
tive. We found. as he had declared,
that there was good water there for
passing ships. Also, we found, In ad-
dition to the usual scrub, that cab
bage-wood trees grew there very plen-
tifully, particularly, as he said, on the
highest part of the island. So, having
talked 1t all over with Tom. I decided
that here we would stay for q time
and try our luck.
But. first, having heard from the
sponging captain that he was en- route
for Nassau. I gave him a letter to
Charlie Webster, telling him of our
whereabouts, in case he should have
sudden need of me with regard to To-
bias. BEL <.
The reader may recall that Tobias
narrative in reference to his second
'pod" Of one million dollars had run:
ION the highest point of this Short
Shrift island is large cabbage-wood
stump. and twenty feet south of that
stump is the treasure, buried five feet
deep and can be found without diff
Guilty." But which was the highest
point? There were several hillocks
that might claim to be that all about
equal in height.
However, as the high points of the
island were only seven in all, 1t was
no difficult matter to try them all out,
one hy one. ns we had plenty Of time
land plenty Of hands for the work. For,
OF course, 1t would have been idle to
attempt any concealment Of my object
from the crew. Therefore, took them
from their shell-gathering and, having
duly measured out twenty feet south
from each promising cabbage-wood
stump, set them to work. They worked
with a will, for I promised them a
generous share Of whatever we found.
Alas! it was an inexpensive prom
ise, for, when we had duly turned up
the ground, not only twenty feet, but
thirty. forty and fifty feet, not only
south but north, east and west of the
various cabbage-wOod stumps on the
seven various eminences, we We're
none Of us the richer by single piece
| Of eight. Then we tried the other cab.
bage-wood stumps on lower ground,
and any other likely looking spots, till,
after working for nearly a fortnight,
we must have dug up most Of the
island. ,.,ls.s.
And then Tom came to me with the
news that our provisions were begin
ming to give out. AS 1t was, he said,
before we returned to Nassau, we
should have to put in at Flying Fish
Cove-a small settlement. on the lar.
ger island some five miles to the nor
'ard-for the purchase Of various ne
cessities.
"All right, Tom.' said, II guess the
game is up! Let's start out tomorrow
morning. You may as well have your
sucking fish back, Tom," I said,
laughing in self-disgust. II shall have
no more need of 1t. I am through
with treasure hunting"
''Td keep it little longer, sar," an.
swered Tom; "'you never know
! had made up my mind to start on
the homeward trip early the following
morning, but something happened
that very evening to change my plans.
I had dropped into the little settle.
ment's one store. to buy some t0bac-
co, the only kind that Charlie Webster
declared ct to smoke.
i stayed chatting with the store.
keepera lean, astute-lo looking English
man. with the un-English name Of
Sweeney-who made pretty good
thing of selling his motley Merchandise
to the poor natives, on the good old
business principle Of supplying goods
OF the poorest possible quality at the
highest possible prices.
While he was attending little
group Of customers had wandered to-
ward the back of the store, curiously
examining the thousand and one COM
modities which supplied the strange
needs Of humanity here in this lost
corner OF the world; and, thus occu-
pied, was diverted by a voice like
sudden music, voice oddly rich and
laughing and confident for such grim
and sinister surroundings. It was one,
too which I seemed to have heard be
fore. and not SO very long ago. When
turned In its direction was immedi-
ately arrested, as one always Is by
any splendor Of vitality for a startling
contrast indeed-to the spiritless, fur
tive figures that had been coming and
going hitherto this superb young
creature, tall and 1.-THE. with proudly
carried head on glorious shoulders.
Her skin was a. golden olive, and 1t
had been hard to say which was the
more Intensely black-her hair, or the
proud eyes which, turning presently In
my direction, seemed to strike upon
me 90 with an actual impact Of soft
fire. 3$