Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1921-12-10

under the roof of the cabin, and
leaned idly down TO watch him through
a warped seam between the planks
at Crusoe, but into a little dim In
closure like a locker, In which some
small object family caught the light
With a revived hope of finding relics
got out my knife--a present from
Cuthbert Yane-and set briskly to
work widening the sean.
penetrated finally into a small
locker or cubby-hole, set in the angle
under the roof Of the cabin, and, as
subsequent investigation showed, SO
placed as to attract no notice from the
casual eye. | ascertained this by
lying down and wriggling my head
and shoulders into the cabin. In 9th
er words, | had happened on a little
private depository, In which the own
er of the sloop might stow away GER
tain small matters that concerned him
intimately. Yet the contents of the
locker at first seemed trifing. They
were an Old-fashioned chased silver
~shoe-buckle, and a brown-coyered man
uscript book.
The book had suffered much from
dampness, whether Of rains or the
wash of the sea. / seated myself on
the cabin roof, extracted a hairpin, and
began carefully separating the close.
written pages. The first three or four
were quite illegible, the ink having
run. Then the writing became clear
er. | made out a word here and
there:
-. directions vague. my grand.
father-man a rufian but ....no mo-
tive -. police of Havana. .~frightful
den. ..,grandfather made sure. -. reg
istry. -. .Bonny Lass...."
And at that | gave q small excited
shrek which brought Crusoe to me In
a hurry. What had he to do, tho
writer of this journal, what had he
to do with the Benny Lass?
B~reathlessly | read on:
-. thought captain still living but
not sure. lost -. Benito Bon.. -"
/ closed the book. Now, while the
coast was clear, / must get back to
camp. 1t would take hours, perhaps
days, to decipher the journal which
had suddenly become of such supreme
Importance. | must smuggle 1t un0b-
served into my own quarters, where
| could read at my leisure. AS | set
out / dropped the silver s~hoe-buckle
into my pocket, smiling TO think that
it was ! who had discovered the first
bit Of precious metal or the island.
Yet the book In my hand, | felt in
stinctively, was Of more value than
many sh~oe-buckles.
Safely in my hammock, with a pill
low under which / could slip the book
In case of interruption, l resumed the
reading. From this point on, although
the writing was somewhat faded, 1t
was all, with a little effort, legible.
THE DIARY.
IF Sampson did live to tell his
secret, then any day there may be a
sail In the offing. And still | cannot
find It'll oh, If my grandfather had
been more worldly wise! Ii he hadn't
been too intent on the eternal welfare
of the man he rescued from the Ha-
vana tavern brawl to question him
about his story. A cave on Leeward
isIand-nearby q stone marked with
the letters B. III. and a c~ross-bones-~
L told the captain said the poor dE
Ing wretch, we wouldn't have no luck
after playing 1t that low down on Bill \
SO / presume Bill lies under the st0na
"Well, all | have is In this venture
The old farm paid for the Island
Qheen-or will, II | don't get back In
time to prevent foreclosure. All my
staid New England relatives think me
mad. A copra gathererl A fine ca
reer for a minister's SON. Well, when
I get home with my Spanish doub-
looms there Will be another story to
tell. / won't be poor crazy Peter
Their. And Helen-0h, how often |
wish l had told her everything 1t
was too much to ask her to trust me
blindly as | did. But from that mo-
ment | came across the story In grand
fathers old, half-forgotten diary-by
the way, the diary habit seems to run
in the family--a very passion of Sc
crecy has possessed me. If / had told
Helen, | should have had to dread
mat even In her sweet sleep she
might whisper something to put that
ferret, her stepmother, on the scent.
Oh, Helen, trust me, trust mel
December 25. / have a calendar
with me, so | am not reduced to notch
ing a stick to keep track of the days.
| mark off each carefully In the cal.
endar. IL | were to forget to do this,
even for a day or two, | believe
should quite lose track. The days are
so terribly alikel
"My predecessor here In the copra.
gathering business, old Heintz, really
left me d very snug establishment. /.
was odd that | should have run across
him at Panama that way.
"Chrlstmas Day! l wonder what
they are all doing at home?
GRO BE CoNTINUED)