The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1919-12-10
w ]E1}iite
MI an: }:
Continued from first page, this section
allllIIllIHliIIDI''-
""'iIIiIIIIlIIIi4IIITi

Continued from first page, this section.
"oh, no. Shes about the prcttiest
woman l ever knew, but she was just
like him inside. Try to head him Off
some time"
THE best way to head off woman"
mused Andrea, sis to marry her"
"Thats So" agreed Msungo prompt
ly, "but friendship has limits"
They were necessarily walking in
single file on the narrow path and
Andrea was behind him. She looked
quizzically at his back and wished she
could see his face instead. But her
attention was soon drawn to other
things. They had come to the fringe
Of the forest. Spaced from two to
three hundred yards apart and set we'll
out from the shadow of the trees were
mysterious piles Of something or other
that shone straw-gold under the morn
Ing sun.
At the first Of the heaps Msungo
stopped. "This," he said, kicking at
the silky coils, SIS the greatest sub
stitute for hemp and sisal that the
world has yet produced The war has
made 1t worth-wcll, not quite its
weight in gold, unless you measure 1t
by sheer profits on the cost of pro-
duction. 1t is nothing but the bark
OF the tcmba 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 anu tons OF it, stretch
ing away like the posts in Il prairie
fence. and YOU say this is Il sccrct?"
she asked incrcduously
He smiled. "lt is SO far" he an
sWcred. "But if YOU knew all The facts
YOU wouldn't find ii so wonderful. H.
the first place this spot is cut of on
nearly AL sides by watcrlcss wilder
ness. In the only direction that isn't
true, which is straight down the river.
there is n wild zone that in four hun
dr"d wears has never been Dacilied by
the European dominance of the prov
incc. Those unSubducd tribes have
been my friends in times past and are
my allies today. No white man but N.Y.
self. has ever crossed their boundaries
and lived; consequently they can tell
no tales to my harm. DO you begin to
Scct"
Andrea nodded
Then AT the coast" he continued
Just within the mouth of the river
| have blind in the way of n sisnl
plantation. That gives the excuse for
n steamer with machinery, say, to
come in without arouSing suspicion"
$50 you are proiitccr on the way
to making II war fortune" commented
Andrea.
He flushed more deeply than she had
yet seen him. "If you stay here long
enough" he said stoutly, "you may
understand"
He turned from her ana plunged at
right angles into the forest. She fol-
lowed him int" tn" chill air under ihc
EVrat trees. All too soon Andrea came
out with him into wide clearing
which, simultaneously With their ar
rival, began to ring to the blows Of
many axes. Through all It's length it
swnrmcd with blacks at work: some
felling trees, some stripping them Of
bark, others gathering il, and still
others stacking the barred wood and
cleaning up the general litter accord
Ing TO the most approved rules of mod
ern forestry.
Thcy walked rD .h@ w.G" sw&tli CT
the clearing slowly. with many stops
on the part of M'Sungo to encourage,
direct or criticize. They passed he
yond the ringing of the axes into
region pungrnt with the smell of burn
Ing greenwood. Alon,, one side, the
side away from the fringe Of the for
est, Tar IL long line of smoke sprals.
He waved al them. "D' You see what
they're doing? Our axes ran out SO
here we're telling in the old native
way with a ring of fire NJ The foot of
each doomed ticc.'
BY eight o'clock the sun was al It's
fun strength ana Andrea wa. thankful
indeed tor h"r pth helmet Ey ten She
was thinking that nountmc would
never come MSungo was too en-
crossed with his work to notice her.
She Kept on. riding her nerve until she
'N'' 'ii'' III "iI''ii'i hio'ii'li sue must
t0pplc over; then she laid a Quivcring
hand on his arm. He turned quickly,
looked at her face gone white in spite
of the heat and cursed himself aloud.
lie led her through the fringe Of the
forest to the deep shade at its open
edge made her lie down and showed
her that helmet, right side up on the
ground, makes an excellent pillow.