Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-11-15

" ~ svsvSS 0BoSou kkVM 4WO 70
three hundred yards apart and set well
out from the shadow Of the trees were
mysterious piles of something or other
that shonA straw.sold uAder the morn
Ing sun.
At the hrst Of the heaps M'sungo
stopped. 'This." he said, kicking ut
the silky coils, "is the greatest sub.
stitute for hemp and sisal that the
world has yet produced. The war has
made 1t worthy-well, not quite It's
weight In gold, unless you measure Il
ny sheer profits on the cost Of pro.
duction. 1t Is nothing but the bark
Of the temba trees which make up the
bulk Of all the forests In this region.
prepared BY hand on a process Of my
own"
Andrea looked at the endless piles
Of fiber. tons and tons Of Il, stretch
ing away like the posts In q prairie
fence. "And you say this Is . secreti"
she asked incredulously.
He smiled. 1T Is so far" he an.
swered. "But II you knew all the facts
you wouldn't md It 20 wonderful. In
the nrst place this spot II cut on on
nearly al sides by watcrless wilder
ness. In the only direction that Isn't
true, which Is straight down the river.
there 10 . wild zone that In four hun
dred years has never been paclfied By
the European dominance Of the, prov
ince. Those unsubdued tribes have
been my friends In times past and are
my allies today. No white man bat my
self, has ever crossed their boundaries
and lived; consequently they can tell
no tales to my harm. Do you begin to
seeY
Andrea nodded. -
.~Then at the coast," no continued.
'just within the mouth of the river.
I have blind In the way Of . assl
plantation. That gives the excuse for
steamer with machinery. say, to
come In without arousing suspicion"
$50 yen are . profteer On the way
to making a war fortune" commented
Andrea. r
He flushed more deeply than abe bad
yet seen him. If you stay here long
enough" he said stoutly, you may
understand"
He turned from her and plunged ut
right angles into the forest. She fol.
lowed him into the chill air under the
great trees. All too soon Andrea came
out with him into a wide clearing
which, simultaneously with their ar
rival, began to ring to the blows of
many axes. Through all its length It
swarmed with blacks at work; some
telling trees, some stripping them of
bark. others gathering 1t, and still
others stacking the barred wood and
cleaning up the general litter accord
Ing to the most approved rules Of mod.
ern forestry.
They walked up the wide swath OF
the clearing slowly. with many stops
% the part of hsungo to encourage,
direct or criticize. They passed be-
yond the ringing Of the axes into q
region pungent with the smell Of burn
ing greenwood. Along one side, the
side away from the fringe Of the for.
est, was 4 long line Of smoke spirals.
He waved at them. ID you see what
they're doing7 Our axes ran out. 80
here we're Telling in the old native
way with a ring of fire at the foot Of
zach doomed tree"
BY eight o'clock the sun. was at its
full strength and Andrea was thankful
indeed for her pith helmet; BY ten she
was thinking that noontime would
never come. MsungoSwas too en-
crossed with his work TO notice her.
She kept on, riding her nerve, until she
felt that N another moment she must
topple~ over; then she laid a quiverins
hand on his arm. He turned quickly,
looked At her face gone white in spite
Of the heat and cursed himself aloud.
He led her through the fringe Of the
forest to the deep shade at its open
edge, made her lie down and showed
her that a helmet, right side, up on the
ground, makes an excellent pillow.
I'm OF. Promise you won't be
lonely. for It will be hours before ]
get back"
Andrea's lower lip trembled: ':Aren'.
you coming for lunch!"
He looked down at her and shook
his head. @There may come days Of
Npfcnics, youngster but they're a long
way OF"
"Please come back" she insisted.
he met her eyes with hardened
gaze, "There's not a woman living,
he said slowly, shat will let a man
work when she's around-if she can
help IL" D..
"You'fe thinking OF people IN Iowa"
snid Andrea to start an argument and
gain time.
"of course / Was" said thX man on
the instant. 'Can't you let me work."
Beast" said Andrea and rolled over
on her side, one moist hand for a pill
low in place Of the hard helmet. She
did not watch him 90. she did not see
Bathtub and another boy arrive With
table. chair and lunch basket, all In
a, single small load, for before 1t hap
pened she was far away in the land
Of Nod. When she awuke she was
sorry. for awake the hot hours passed
on laggard feet. At midday she ate
then she tried to read. but BY four In
the afternoon she was desperate for
something to do. She determined to
sleep again, and Just as she was doing
of whisper came to heroine Of those
carefully measured whispers that
reach tie intended ear and 70 M far