The Washington times., 1919-07-11
r~Dals 81 PreeeAaag CAaDt@Ml


natives and SeskS safety aboard hlB VSo-
Francis learns he and Hesry. the myS-
tsrieus islander, are both descendants %
Francis discover his ressmblAnes e
Henry was responsible for his peculiar
:resn 9 ts2Ts.sr 5.s 4a saeis on SS
Torres again 'FrAneig II saved nom
Death on galIoys and HenTy 2 arT csa
has strSyed from Henry 70 FrsneiS
The two plot to save 5e ny.
Francis. CeonicA and Henry dude
their enemies and 50 aboard Ef1nGiS
the coast Francis aud his party decide
70 60 ashore to eiude their puTguSR1-
They came upon treagure- Fr1nets and
sued and former battles with foes to
enable others to escape
All members d the party are cap
t1 1Tt = hen HEM Sna 1sne SSee FG,n me
findS custodian Of pirate treasure. They
fall into trap
The old priest, running over the
knots OF the tassel In an ecstaey
that was almost trance-like, was
gazing hxedly at the distant noun
tainside, from which, side by side
and close together, two bright
flashes OF light were repeating
themselves.
Twin mirrors could do II in the
hands Of q man, was Henry's com
ment
"They are the eyes Of CHA" the
peon repeated. at is so written in
the knots, as you have heard my
father say. Wait in the footsteps OF
the God till the eyes Of CHA fash"
The old man rose to his feet and
wildly proclaimed: ITO find the
treasure we must ind the eyesE''-
,"All right, old top!" Henry soothed
him, as with his small travellers
compass he took the bearings OF
the flashes.
Hes got q compass inside his
head" Henry renariged an hour
later Of the old priest, who led on
the foremost mule. Il check him
by the compass, and. no matter how
the natural obstacles compel him to
deviate, he comes back to the course
as if he were himself a magnetic
needle" E~t
Not since leaving the foolStep
had the Hastings been visible. Only
from that one spot evidently did the
rugged landscape permit the seeing
of them! Rugged the country was,
broken into arroYos and cliffs, in
terspaced with forest patches and
stretches of sand and Of volcanic
ash.
At last the way became i'm
passabIe for their mounts, and
Ricardo was left behind to keep
charge of the mules and mule poems
and to make camp The remain
der of the party continued on, seal
ing the jungIe-clad steep that
blocked their way by hoisting
themselves and one another up from
root to root. The old Maya still
leading, was oblivious to Eeoncia's
presence.
A Hard Tuak.
Suddenly, half a mile farther on,
he halted and shrank back as II
stung by a viper. Francis laughed,
and across the wild landscape came
back a discordant, mocking echo.
The last priest Of the Mayas ran the
knots hurriedly, picked out q. par
ticular string, ran its knots twice
and then announced:
when the God laughs, beware
so say the knots"
Fifteen minutes were lost ere
Henry and Francis succeeded in d.
=
peated trials Of their voices, that
the thing was an echo.
Half an hour later they de-
bouched on a series OF abrupt
rolling sand dunes. Again the o!d
man shrank back. From the sand
in which they strobe arose a clamor
Of noise. When they stood still all
was still. \ single step. and all the
sand about them became vocal
When the God laughs, beware!
the old Maya warned. &C.,.
Drawing a circle. in the sand with
his knees contracted, there arose \
very screaming and truTnpeting Of
sound. The peon Joined his father
inside the noisy circle, where. with
his forefnger, the old man was
tracing screening cabalistic figures
and designs.
Leoncia was overcome and chung
to Henry and Francis. Even Fran
els was perturbed.
The echo was an echo" he said.
"But here is no echo. l don't un-
derstand it. Frankly, it gets M
goat"'
"Pinle-' Henry. retorted. stirring
the sand with his foot till it shout
ed again. tits the barking sand.
On the Island Of Kauai. down in TIE
Hawaiian Islands, I have been
across similar barking sands-quite
a place for tourists, 1 assure you.
Only this is a better specimen, and
much noisier.
The scientists have a score of
highbrow theories to account for
the phenomenon. 1t occurs in sew
eral other places in the world. as
have heard. There is only one
thing to do, and that Is to fol-
low the compass bearing which
leads straight across. Such sands
do bark, but they have never beon
known to bite"
But the last Of the priests could
not be persuaded out Of his circle.
although they succeeded in disturb
ing him from his prayers long
enough to spout a flood of impaS-
stoned Maya speech.
He says" the son interpreted,
that we are bent on such sacri-
lege that the very sands cry out
against US. He will so no nearer to
the dread abode of CHA. Nor will
l. His father died there, as Is we'll
known among the Mayas. He says
he will not die there. He is not old
enough to die"
THE miserable octogenarian,"
Francis laughed, and was startled
by the ghostly, mocRing laugh Of
the echo. while all about them the