Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1922-01-28

with 1t, and come quick, or It'll be the
worse for your hide, seer"
Mr.. Tubbs rose from the log with
promptness.
Captain he said earnestly, from
long experience In the financial CEN
tiers Of the country, | have got to be
q man what understands human ma
lure. The minute | looked at you, |
seen 1t In your eye that there wasn't
no use In tryln' to bluff you. You are
a congenial crowd, you boys-gosh,
but you do look good to me after the
bunch o. stiffs / been playln' up to
herel All / ask Is, to let me In OF 1t
with you, and I'll be glad to put you
wise to the best tricks Of a SLY old
fox who amt ever been caught yet
without two holes to his burrow. l
won't ask no half, nor no quarter,
either, though | just signed up for
that amount with the old girl here.
But give me freedom, and d bunch o.
live wires like you boys! I've ear
froze into a plaster figure O Virtue,
what with talkin' like a Sunday school
class, and sparkln' one old maid and
maxim out like | wouldn't melt butter
with the other. So II. II. will ship
along of you, mates, and we'll off to
the China coast somewheres where
the spendln' is good and the police
not too noisy, and try how far a
| tt,tnt-F,,1 nF lnn,blaauc .x,slJH no ~
With a choky little gurgle In her
throat Aunt Jane fell Imply against
me. 1t was too much. All day long
she had been tossed back and forth
like a shuttlecock by the battledore Of
emotion. She had borne the shock
Of Mr.. Tubbs' sordld greed for gold,
his d~isloyalty to the expedition, his
coldness to herself she had been shak-
en- by the tender stress of the rec
ohciliation, had been captured Jb9
pirates, and now suffered the supreme
blow of this final revelation of the
treachery of Tubbs, TO hear her ro-
nance described as the sparkling of an
old midland by the sparkerl From
Miss Higgleshy-Browne had come a
snort of fury, but she said nothing.
having apparently no confidence In
the effect Of oratcry on pirates. She
did not even exhort Aunt Jane, but
left 1t to me to sustain my dropping
aunt as best | could.
As Mr.. Tuhbs made his whole-hcart-
ed and magnanimous proposal Captain
Tony opened his small black eyes and
contemplated him with attention.
Then he glanced round upon his fei-
lows.
what say, boys? Shall we ship
old Washtubs on the schooner and
let him have his fling along with us?
EhY' AMI as Captain Tony uttered
these words the lid of his left eye
ecllpsed for an instant that intelll-
gent optic.
From the pirates came a scattering
volley of assents. "All rlght-hooray
for old Washtubs-sure, close the
deal"
"All right, Washtubs, the boys are
willing, so | guess we better be NOV
ing toward that chest of doublo0ns."
II was arranged that Slinker and "a
cross-eyed mar named Horny should
remain at the camp on guard. As a
measure of p~recautlon Cookie, too,
was bound, and Aunt Jane, Miss
Browne and | ordered into the cabin.
The three remaining pirates, armed
with our spades and picks and dis
pensing a great deal of ~jocular pro-
family, set out for the cave under the
guidance Of Mr.. Tubbs.
Thankful as | was for the depart
ure of Captain Magnus. l underwent
torments In the sitting interior of
the cabin. Aunt Jane wept plteously,
At last | heard a faint moan:
virginia !"
] went to her. "Yes, auntie2"
Virginia. she murmured, II think
| shall not live to leave the island,
even If | am not-not executed. In
fact, | have a feeling now ms though
the end were approaching. ! have al
ways known that my heart was not
| strong, even IL your Aunt Susan did
call it indigestion. But oh, my dear
child. il Is not my digesiion--it u my
heart that has been wounded 10 nave
,anosea such confidence In O serpent!
70 realize that | might have been inn
pnled upon It's fangsl oh, my dear,
faithful child, what would | have done
II you had not chung to me although
| permitted serpents to turn me from
you! But | am cruelty punished. All
| ask Is that some ~day-wNlen you are
married and happy. dear-you will re-
move from this desolate spot the poor
remains of her who-of her who"
Sohs choked Aunt James utterance.
Jane began Miss Higglesby-
Browne.
Il was speaking to my niece" re-
piled Aunt Jane with unutterable dig
nifty from her corner. Her small fea-
lures had all but disappeared In her
swollen face, and her hair had slipped
down at a raklsh angle over one eye.
But, of course, being Aunt Jane, she
must choose this moment to be queen
~.
"There, there, auntie," / said sooth-