The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1919-08-21

treading. could see the moonlit
water vanishing into sort Of gleam-
Ing lane between the vast overhang.
ing walls.
Presently I felt my feet rest lightly
on firm sand. and. still shoulder deep
In the water, I walked ON another yard
or two-to be brought to- a sudden
stop. There she was coming toward
me, breast high In that watery tunnelI
Inc moon, continuing it's serene ascen-
slon' lit her up with sudden beam.
VI shape of bloom and glory!
For moment we both stood looking
at each other. as If transfixed. Then
she gave frightened cry and put her
hands up to her bosom; as she did so
a. stream Of something bright-like
gold pieces--fell from her mouth and
TWO like streams from her opened
hands. Then. as quick as light, she
had darted past me and dived into the
moon-path beyond. She must have
swan under the water a long way, for
when l saw her dark head rise again
In the gl'mmering path it was at a
distance of many yards.
had no thought Of following her
Dut stood In dream among the wa.
terry CLEANS and echoes.
FOR me had come that hour of won.
der; Tor me out of'thnt tropic sea. into
whose nawless deeps my eyes had so
often gone adream, had risen the crea.
ture Of miracle.
v! shape OF moonlit marble I OF
holiness Of this night Of moon and
stars and seal
Yes! was In love. Yet hope, and
think, that the reader will not resent
this unexpected incursion into the
realms OF sentiment when he consid.
ers that my sudden attack was not
IKE most such sudden attacks, an In.
terruptiOn In the robuster course of
events, but, instead, curiously I'm the
direct line Of my purpose. Because
the eyes OF an unknown girl had thus
suddenly enthralled me, I was not,
therefore, to lose sight of that purpose.
on the contrary, they had suddenly
snone out on the pathway along which
l had been blindly cropping. But for
the accident Of being In the dirty little
store at so psychological moment,
nearing that strangely familiar voice
ana catching sight 0f that mysterious
doubloon as well as those mysterious
eyes, 1 should have set sail that very
night and given up John p. Tobias
second treasure In final disgust. AS II
was, 1 was now warmly on the track
OF some treasure-whether his or not
with two bright eyes further to point
the way. Never surely did n mans
love and his purpose make so practical
combination.
When l reached my lodging Mt last
IN the early morning following that
night Of wonders my eyes and heart
were not so dazed with that vision in
the cave that did not vividly recall
one important detail Of the strange
picture-those streams of gold that
hnd suddenly poured out of the mouth
and hands of the lovely apparition.
Without doubling the evidence of
my senses. was forced to believe
that, by the oddcst piece Of luck, had
stumbled upon the hiding place of that
hoard of dOublOOns, on which nv fair
unknown drew from time to time as
she would out of a bank.
But who was she?-and where was
her home? There had seemed no sign
of habitatiOn near the wild place
where had come upon her, though, of
course, solitary house might easily
have escaped my notice hidden among
all that foliage, particularly ut night.
fall.
TO he sure, I had but to inuuire of
the storekeeper to learn all wanted:
but l was ayer'e from betraying my
interest to him or to anyone in the
settlement-for, after uil, 1t was my
own affair, and hers. SO determined
to pursue my policy of watching and
waiting, letting a day or two elapse
before ] again went out wandering
with n. gun.
i left the craggy bluff facing the
sea AMI plunged into the woods. i
nnd no idea how dark It was goin,: to,
but, coming out Of the sun. was at
once bewildered by the deep and COM
plicated gloom Of massed branches
overhead, and the denser darkness of
shrubs and vines so intricately inter-
woven as almost to make a solid wall
about one. Then the atmosphere was
80 close and airless that fear Of suf-
location combined at once with the
other fear OF being swallowed up in all
this savage green life, without hope of
finding ones way out again into the
sun. fought my way in but a very
few yards when both these fears
clutched hold OF me with sudden hor-
ror, and the perspiratiOn poured from
me; could no longer distinguish be-
tween the way / had come and any
other part Of the wood! Indeed, there
was no way anywhere!
must have battled through the
veritable inferno Of vegetation for ut
least an hour-thOugh 1t seemed life
time. Clouds of particularly unpleas.
ant midges filled my eyes. not to speak
of mosquitoes and n peculiar kind of
persistent stinging fly was adding to