The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-08-18
CHAPTER XII.
i BRING to Lioht : clue.

Bring to Light Clue.
My first and all but overpowering
impulse was To possess myself of d
spade and dash FOR file wreck Of he
Island Queen : her second thought
restrained me- Pc dig through the
damp. close-paelsed sand of the cabin
would he no trilling task. for | should
be hampered by the, need of throwing
out the excavated sand behind me
thraugha the narrow companionwaA
could achieve my end. no doubt, by
patient burrOwing but it would re
quire much more time than ] had at
my command before the MONDAY
sounding of Cookies gong I must
not be. seen departing or returning
with spade, but make off with the
implement in stealthy and burglari-
Gus manner. Above all, must not
risk betraying my secret through i'm
patience.
But there was nothing to forbid an
immediate pilgrimage to the much
sought grave-stone with its sinister
y
of his adventure with the pig placed
the grave with such exactness that l
had no doubt of finding it easily.
That done, would know very nearly
where to look for the cave-and in
order to bid defiance TO a certain chill
sense of reluctance which beset me
at the thought of the cave. / started
much circumspection, for 1t seemed TO
me that even the sight OF my vanish
ing hack must shout of mystery to
Cookie droning hymns among his pots
and spans. Crusoe. of course, came
with me. happily unconscious Of his
own strange relation TO our quest
Somewhere in the angle between the
ragged margin of the cliffs and the
abrupt rise of the eraggy mountainside.
according to Peters journal, lay the
grave began Systematically to poke
with a stick / carried into every low
growing mass of vines or bushes.
Quite suddenly I found it. My prod
dings had displaced matted mass of
ground-creepeF Beneath, looking raw
and naked without its Ieafy covering,
was the ''curiously regular little patch
of ground, outlined at intervals with
small stones
At the head of the grave lay a large,
smoothly rounded stone. ] knelt and
brushed away some obstinate vine
tendrils, and the letters s'B. H." re-
vealed themselves, cut deeply and IT.
regularly into the sloping face of the
stone. Below was the half-intelligi-
BILE symbol of the crossed bones.
There was something in the utter
loneliness of the place that caught
my breath sharply. AT once had the
| feeling of marauder. Here slept the
guardian OF the treasure-and yet in
defiance of him | meant TO have it
So, too had Peter-and / didn't know
yet what he had managed to do to
| Peter.
| With an impatient shiver got W
| quickly from my knees. / whistled to
Crusoe. who was trotting busily about
! on mysterious intelligence conveyed tC
| him by his nose He ran to me joy.
] fully, and I stopped and patted his
warm vigorous body.
"Let Bill walk. Crusoe," / remarked
'let him He needn't be dog in the
manger about the treasure, anyhow.
Now came the moment which / had
been trying not TO think about. had
To find the entrance 60 the cave, and
then go into ii or part with my own
esteem forever. went and peered
over the cliff. The ledge was there
not an inviting ledge, nor one Oh
| which the unacrobaticalIy inclined
would have any impulse to saunter
i but a perfectly good ledge. on which
had not the slightest excuse for de
Ginning to venture.
There was truly nothing dangerous
about the ledge. 1t was nearly three
feet wide. and had an easy downward
! trend. Yet you heard the hungry roal
8 of the surf below. and try as yot
i would not TO, caught gIimpses OF the
white swirl of it I moved cautious
q ", keeping close to the face OF the
cliff. Crusoe, TO my annoyance. sprans
Il down upon the ledge after me. I haC
a feeling that he must certainly triI
me as / picked my way gingerIy along
An angle in the rock-a low darl
entrance way-it was all as Peter hat
described it. peered in-nothing Blu
{ impenetrable hlacknesS. took a hes
Il ifating step. The passage were,
! sharply. as the diary had recorded
{ lnee around the corner, there wouli