Sioux County pioneer., 1921-12-15

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Mr.. Shaw and Cuthbert dropped
down upon the ledge. Though under
whispered orders to- retreat I could
not but hung over the edge Of the
cliff, eager and breathless. Then with
a bound the hen were beside me. Mr..
Shaw caught my hand, and we rushed
together into the woods.
A quake, roar, shower Of flying
rocks. 1t was over-the dynamite had
done Its work, whether successfully or
not remained to be seen. After q lit
tie the Scotchman ventured back. He
returned to us where we waited In the
woods -Cuthbert to mount guard over
me-with cleared face.
ITS all right" he said. "The en-
trance Is completely blocked. set
the charge six feet inside but the roof
Is down clear to the mouth. Poor
wretehes-they have all come pouring
out upon the sand
All three of us went back to the
edge of the cliff. Seventy feet below,
on the narrow strip of sand before
the sea-mouth Of the cave, we saw the
figures of four men, who ran wildly
about and sought for foothold on the
sheer face Of the cliff. As we stood
watching them, with, on my part, at
least, unexpected qualms Of pity and
cold interior sensation very unlike
triumph. they discovered us. Then
for the first time, suppose, they un-
derstood the. nature of their disaster.
We could not hear their cries, but we
saw arms stretched out to us, fists
frantically shaken, hands lifted In
prayer. We saw Mr.. Tubbs flop down
upon his unaccustoped knees-it was
all rather horrible.
I drew back, shivering. SIT won't
be for long, Of course" said uncer-
tainly, "just till the steamer comes
and We'll give them lots to eat-but I
suppose they think-they will soon be
just lot more skeletons" And
here I was threatened with moist
anticlimax to my late Amazonian
mood.
Why. should the frequent and nat
ural phenomena Of tears produce such
panic in the male breast? "It's been
too much for her!" exclaimed the once
dour Scot in tones of anguish. "Hur-
ry, lad-we must find her some wa
ter"
Nonsense" I interposed, winking
rapidly. "Just think of some way to
calm those creatures, so that 1 shan't
see them in my dreams, begging and
beseeching-" For I had not forgot
ten the immensity Of my debt to Tony.
So note was written on a leaf
torn from a pocketbook and thrown.
over the cliff weighted with a stone.
The captives swooped upon 1t. Fol-
lowed then a vivid pantomime by
Tony, expressive Of eased If unrepent-
ant minds, while Mr.. Tubbs, by ges-
lures, indicated that though sadly mis-.
understood, old H. II. was still our
friend and benefactor.
It was an attentive group to which
on our return to camp related the
circumstances which had made possi-
BILE our late exploit Of imprisoning the
pirates in the cave. The tale of my
achievements, though recounted with
due modesty, seemed to put the finish
ing touch to the extinction Of Violet,
for she wilted finally and forever, and
was henceforth even bullied by Aunt
Jane. The diary of Peter was pro-
duced, and passed about with awe
from hand to hand. Yesterdays dis
covery in the cave had rounded out
the history Of Peter to melancholy
completion. But though we knew the
end we guessed in vain at the begin
ming, at Peters name, at that Of the
old grandfather whose thrifty piety
had brought him to Havana and to the
acquaintance Of the dying mate Of
the B0nny Lass, at the whereabouts Of
the old New England farm which had
been mortgaged to buy the Island
Queen, at the identity Of Helen, who
waited still, perhaps, for the lover
who never would return.
But even our regrets for Peter did
not chill the exultation with which we
thought Of the treasure-chest waiting
there under the sand in the cabin Of
the Island Queen.
All afternoon we talked Of 1t. That,
for the present, was ali we could do.
There were the two prisoners in camp
to be guarded-and they had present
y awakened and made remarks Of
strongly personal and unpleasant
trend on discovering their situation.
There was Crusoe invaded, and need.
ing petting. and getting it from every
body on the score of his romantic past
az Benjy as well as Of his present vir.
tues. The broken leg had been clever
ly set by Dugald somehow in the late
upheaval Miss and Mister had dropped
quite out Of our vocabularies-with
Cuthbert as surgeons assistant and
me holding the chloroform to the pa
tents nose. There was the fatigue
and reaction from excitement which
everybody felt, and Peters diary to be
read. and golden dreams to be In
dulged. And there was the delicate
question to be discussed, Of how the
treasure should be divided.
'Why, It all belongs to Virginia, Of