Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1921-10-29
CHAPTER v.
The Captains Legacy.

When in my tender years | was
taken to the matinee, usually the most
thrilling feature of the spectacle to
me was the scene depicted on the
drop-curtain. Directly was seated
lin the body-and had had my hat
taken off and been told not TO wrig-
gle, vauted airily over the uncon-
scious audience, over an orchestra en-
gagged In tuning up, and was lost In
the marvellous landscape of the drop
curtain The adventures which ] had
there put to shame any which the
raising Of the curtain permitted to
oe seen upon the stage.
had never hoped to recover In this
prosaic world my long-lost paradise
of the drop-curtain, but morning re-
veaed it to me here on Leeward
island. Here was the feathery foil
age the gushing springs, the gor-
geous flowers of that enchanted land.
And here were the soft and intoxicat-
ing perfumes that | had imagined in
my curtain landscape.
Leeward island measures roughly
four miles across from east to west
by three from north to south. The
core of the island Is the peak, rising
TO height of nearly three thousand
feet At its base on three sides lies
a plateau, its edges gnawed away by
the sea to the underlying rocky skele-
ton. On the southeastern quarter the
peak drops by series Of great preci-
pieces straight into the sea.
All the plateau and much of the
peak are clothed with woods, beau
tifu bright green against the sap
phire of sea and sky. High above all
other growth wave the feathery tops
of the cocoa-palms, which flourish here
luxuriantly.
The palms were nowhere more
abundant than In the hollow by the
cove where our camp was made, and
their size and the regularity of their
order spoke of cultivation. Guavas,
oranges and lemons grew here, too,
and many beautiful palms.
AT the side of the clearing toward
the stream stood a hut, built of cocoa
palm logs. It's roof of palm-thatch
had been scattered by storms. Near
or the stream on bench were an old
decaylng washtub and board. A
broken frying-pa and a rusty ak
head lay in the grass.
In the hut itself were a rude bed
stead. small table and a cupboard
made of boxes. was excited at first,
and fancied we had come upon the
dwelling of marOoned pirate. With
ont taking the trouble to combat this
opInlon, Mr.. Shaw explained to Cuth-
bert vane that a copra gatherer had
once lived here, and that the place
must have yielded such profit that
he was only surprised to find 1t de-
serted now. Behind this cool, EN-
pbatic speech sensed an lronic zest
in the destruction Of my pirate.
After their thrilling experience OF
being ferried from the Rufus Smith
70 the island my aunt and Miss
Browne had been easily persuaded to
disnose themselves for maps.
The boats of the Rufus Smith had
denarted from the island, and our No
latjons with humanity were severed.
The thought of our isolation awed and
fascinated me as | sat meditatively
ur.n n keg of nails watching the mir
ac,e of the troplc dawn. The men
were hard at work with bales and
boxes except Mr.. Tubbs, who gave
advice. 1t must have been valuable
advice for he assured everybody that
word from his lips had invariably
been enough to make Wall Street sit
nm and take notice. But II Is a far
crv from Wall Street to Leeward
island. Mr.. Tubbs, ignored, sought
refuge with me at last, and pointed
ont the beauties of Aroarer as she
rose from the embrace Of Neptune.
"Aroarer BoreaEs. to be accurate