Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1922-05-11

/ ever you know. you'll come through
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
a man what understands human ma
lure. The minute l looked at you. /
seen IL In your eye hat there wasn't
no use In tryln' to BLUM you. You are
a c%ongeniai crowd. you boys-gosh,
but you do look good to me after the
bunch o. stIrs / been playln' up TO
here! All | ask Is. TO let me In on II
With you. and I'll be glad to put you
wise to the best tricks OF q sly old
fox who Amt ever been caught yet
without two holes TO his burrow. |
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 a bunch o.
live wires like you boys! I've near
froze into a plaster figure o. Virtue,
what with talkin' like a Sunday school
class. and sparkin' one old maid and
maxim out Ike | wouldn't melt butter
with the other. SO III. II. will ship
along OF you, mates. and we'll of TO
the China coast somewheres where
the spendin' Is good and the police
not too noisy, and try how far a
trunkful Of doubloons viii go,"
With q choky little gurgle In her
throat Aunt Jane fell Imply against
Inc. II was o much. All day long
she had been tossed back and forth
Ike a shuttIecock by the ~battledore OF
enotEoB.v She had borne the shock
Of Mr.. Tubbs' sordid greed for gold.
his disloyalty to the expedition, hfs
GOODNESS 10 herself size had been Shak-
en- by the tender stress of the rec
onciliatlon. had been captured Iby
pirates. and now suffered the supreme
blow Of this final revelation OF the
treachery OF Iubbs. To hear her ro-
nance described as the sparkling OF an
old mald-and by the sparker, From
Miss Higgiesby-Browne had come a
snort of fury. Int she said nothing.
having apparently no confidence In
the effect Of oratory on pirates. She
did not even exhort Aunt Jane. but
left II 10 me TO sus1HfH- my dropping I
aunt as best | could.
As Mr. ruhhs made his whole-heartZ
ed ana magnanlmous proposal Captain
Tony npened- his smalL black and /
contemplated him with attention.
he glanced round upon his fell
lows.
what say. boys? Shall we ship
old Washtubs on the schooner and
bet him have his fling along with as?
And as Captain Tony uttered
these words the lid Of his left eye
eclipsed for an instant that intelll-
gent optic.
From the pirates anne a scattering
volley of assents. "All ~rlght-hooray
for old Washtubs-sure, close the
deal"
"All right. washtubs. the boys are
SO | guess we better be NOV
ing toward that chest OF doubloons."
Ii was arranged that Slinker and a
,ross-eyed man named Horny should
at the camp on guard, AS a
measure OF ~precaution Cookie. too.
was bound. and Aunt Jane, Miss
Browne and | ordered into the cabin.
The three remaining pirates. armed
our spades and picks and dis
a great deal of ~jocular pro
set III for the. cave under the
guidance of Mr.. 1ubbs.
Thankful asHwHs- for the depart
ure OF Captain Magnus, l underwent
torments I'm the sitting interior of
The cabin. Aunt Jane wept %pIteously.
At last | heard a faint moan:
virginia :"
/ went to her. YES. auntIe7"
virginia" she murmured. II think
| shall not live TO leave the island,
even IL | am not-not executed. In
fact, / have a feeling now as though
the end were approaching. l have al
known that my heart was not
strong n your Aunt Susan did
Hi III lnutkeStious Out ous my uSaf
child, II is not my dIgestion--it Is my
that has been wounded To have
such confidence In a serpent
realize that / might have been i'm
upon It's fangsl on. my dear.
child. what would | have done
you had not chung to me although
permitted serpents TO turn me from
you But l am cruelty punished. All
ask In that some daF=when you are
married and happy, dear-you will re-
move from this desolate spot the poor
Of her who--of her who
Sobs choked Aunt James utterance.
Jane began Miss Higglesby
Browne.
II was speaking to my niece re
piled Aunt Jane with unuttersbie dig
nifty from her corner. Her small fea-
lures had all but disappeared In her
face, and her hair had slipped