Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1922-01-13


order, pursued by the syndicate. After
n chase of half a mile Mr.. Gihney led
his cohorts back to the beach.
Lets build a fre-nOt that we
need It, but just for company-and
sleep tin mornin'. BY that time my
~imagination'l be In workin' order and
I'll scheme a breakfast out Of this
GOdfOrSaken hole"
At the first hint Of dawn Mr.. Glib
ney, true to his promise, was up and
scouting fer breakfast. He found
some goOneys on a rocky crag and
killed half n dozen OF them with a
club. On his way back to camp he
discovered u few handfuls Of sea salt
in Il CreviCr between some rocks, and
the syndicate breakfasted an hour
later on roast gooney. 1t was oily and
fishy but an excellent substitute for
nothing at all, and the syndicate was
grateful. The breakfast would have
been cheerful, in fact, II Captain
Scraggs had not made repeated ref
erence to his excessive thirst. Nc
Guffey lost patience before the meal
was over, and cuffed Captain Scraggs,
who thereupon subsidized with tears In
his eyes. This hurt McGuffey. 1t was
like salt In a fresh wound, sc he pat
ted the skipper on the back and
humbly asked his pardon. Captain
Scraggs forgave him and murmured
something about death making them
all equal.
"The next business before the syn
dicate," announced Mr.. Gibney, els a
search OF this island for water"
They searched all forenoon. At In
tervals they caught glimpses Of the
two cannlbals skulking behind sand
dunes, but they found no water.
Toward the center of the island, how.
ever, the soil was less barren, and
here n grove Of coconut palms lifted
their tufted crests invitingly.
1--WE will camp In this grove" said
the commodore, "and keep guard over
these green coconuts. There must be
nearly a hundred of them and I no
tiCe a little taro root here and there.
AS those c%oconuts are full of milk,
that insures us life for n week or two
If we 90 on a short ration. BY bath.
in several times Il day we can keep
down our thirst some and perhaps
It'll rain"
what If 1t does" snapped Captain
Scraggs bitterly. 1--WE amt got moth
In but our hats to catch it in"
"Well. then, Scraggsy, old stick-in.
the mud" replied the commodore
q~uizzically, its n cinch you'll &c
thirsty. Your hat looks like a cul.
lender"
Captain Scraggs choked with rage
and Mr., Gibney, springing at the near
est palm, Skinned to the top of 1t in
the most approved sailor fashion. A
moment later, instead of c%oconuts
rich unctuouS curses began to de
scend on McGuGrey and Scraggs.
"Gih, my dear boy" inquired
Scraggs, "whatever is the matter OF
you?"
THAT hound Tabu-Tabu's beer
%strippin' our coconut grove" roarec
the commodore. ale must have spent
half the night up in these trees"
THANK the Lord they didn't take
EN- ALL said McGuffey piously
CHUCK me down II nut, Glib" sale
Captain ScraggS. I'm furnished"
In conformity with the c%ommodore's
plans, the castaways made camp In
the grove. For n week they subsist
ed on gooneyS, taro root, %coconuts
and coconut milk, and a sea-turtlt
which Scraggs found wandering OF
the beach, This suggested turtle
eggs to Mr., Gibney, and IA change Of
diet resulted. Nevertheless. the un
accustomed food, poorly cooked as Il
was, and the lack of water, told cru
ELY on them, and their strength
failed rapidly.
Al the end Of a week, all hands wer,
troubled with Indigestion aud McGuf
icy developed a low fever. They hat
lost much flesh and were a white, hag
g~ardlookinS trio, On the afternoon
of the tenth day on the island the SIX,
clouded up and Mr.. McGufrey predict
ed a w!lliwaw, Captain Scraggs In
quircd fcehlv # 1t was good to eat.
That night It rained, and TO tn,
great joy of the marooned mariner
Mr., Gihney discovered, in the center o
a big sandstone rock, n natural reser
voir that held about ten gallons of wa
ter. They drank to repletion and fel
their strength return n thouSand-fold
G Tabu-Tabu and the king came int,
camp about this time, and pleaded fo
n ration of water. Mr.. Gibney, swear
ing horribly at them, granted their re
) quest, and the king, In his gratitud,
. threw himself at the c~ommodore's fee
\ and kissed them. But Mr.. Glhney wa
not to be deceived, and after furnish
ing them with a supply Of water /
: coconut calahashes, he ordered thcr
to their own side of the island.
On the eighteenth day the last dro
: Of water was gone, and on the twent,
second day the last Of the coconut
disappeared. The prospects of NOR
rain were not bright. The gooneys wer
o becoming shy and distrustful and tn
e syndicate was experiencing more an
more difficulty, not only in killln
n fhpm huf In ootinu than, goN,M..