Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1922-02-24
CHAPTER XIII.
Mr.. Tubbs Interrupts.

fer of the Island queen. III Wouiu tahe
me a long while to get down through
the sand to the chest, but / resolved to
accomplish 1t, and borrowed Of Cookie,
without his knowledge, large Iron
spoon which l thought l could WELD
more easily than heavy spade.
But that afternoon l was tired and
hot-it really called for grimmer
resolve than mine to shovel sand
through the languor Of a Leeward
island afternoon. Instead, I slept In
my hammock, and dreamed that | was
queen Of cannibal island, draped In
necklaces made Of the doubloons now
hidden under the sand In the cabin of
the derelict.
Later, the wailing Of Cookie was
heard In the land, and | had to restore
the spoon to free Crusoe Of the charge
of having stolen it, l said had want
ed to dig with it. But of course 1t oc-
Cured to no one that 1t was the treas
ure I had expected to dig up with
Cookies spoon.
more serious obstacle to my ex
plorations on the Island Queen pre-
sented itself next day. Instead of put
ting to sea, Mr.. Shaw and Captain
Magnus hauled the boat up on the
beach and set to work to repair it.
The preceding day had been filed
with hardship and danger-so much
so that my heart sank a little at the
recountal of it. You saw the little
boat threading its way among the
reefs, tossed like seaweed by the
white teeth Of gnawing waves,
screamed at by angry gulls whose
homes were those clefts and caves
which the boat invaded. And all this,
poor little boat, on a hopeless quest
for no reward but peril and wounds.
Cuthbert Vane had a sprained thumb
which could not be ignored, and on
the strength of which he was dis
missed from the boat-repairing con-
tingent, and thrown on my hands to
entertain So of course l had to re-
nounce all thoughts of visiting the
sloop. I should not have dared to go
there anyway, with Mr.. Shaw and the
captain able more or less to overlook
nv motions from the beach, for was
unite morbidly afraid of attracting at
tention to the derelict. 1t seemed TO
me happy miracle that no one but
myself had taken any interest in her,
or been inspired to ask by what chance
so small a boat had come to be
wrecked upon these desolate shores.
Fortunately in her position in the
shadow OF the cliff she was incon-
spicuous, so that she might easily
have been taken for tie half of large
boat instead of the whole of small
one. or she must before this have
drawn the questioning notice of the
Scotchman. AS to the captain. his at
tention was all set on the effort to
discover the cave, and his intelligence
was not lively enough TO start on an
entirely new tack by itself. And the
Honorable Cuthbert viewed derelicts
as he viewed the planetary bodies /;
somehow in the course Of nature they
happened.
So. assembling my excitements and
anxieties, l swung piacidly In my ham,
mock, and nearby sat the beautiful
youth with his thumb carried tenderly
in bandage. Was it merely my be-
ing so distract, or was it quite another
reason that led him to open up so
suddenly about his kentish home
Strange to say, instead Of painting for
the title, Cuthbert wanted his broth
er to go on living. though there was
something queer about lis spine, poor
fellow, and the doctors said he couldn
possibly or course | was surprised
at Cuthbert's views. for l Ind always
thought that II there we're title IN
your family your sentiments toward
those who kept you out or II were
necessarily murderous. and your tears
crocodile when you pretended to weeI
over their biers. But Cuthberts feel
ings were so human that mental.
hpologized to the nobility. AS Il
high stanton manor, / adored IL. i
is mostly Jacobean. but with an an
cient Tudor wing, and II has chape
and ghost and a secret siaircas'
and a frghtfully beautiful and WICKED
ancestress hanging IN the hall meal
portrait Of her-aDd quantities o.
""N puheing quite black Wlth hs'
and silver that was hidden IN the fam
Wy tombs when cromwell's solder
came and a chamber where I1lizabetl
once slept and other romantic deiuil
700 numerous 20 mention. u Is nm
on run down and shabby, for lack o
money 10 keep u up, and OF course Oh
ulai account all the more eniranrNp
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