The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1934-07-02


The men were armed with
carbines and had machetes
slung at their sides. The first
to appear had also q heavy re-
volver In q holster. All wore
the conical wide-hrimmed hats
Of plated straw common to that
tropical region, and their cos
tunes looked as If at one time
they had been a sort Of white
drill uniform, whether for land
or sea service.
Jerome and Linda were dis
covered instantly, and the low
but exultant cries at sight Of
them were significant.
Jerome said: 'Tommy'S Of
4ered q reward for us. This
looks O like free-lance search
party. Too free. for my TASTE"
He walked to the edge Of the
porch and called to the group
that was not more than SO yards
away:
"BuenaS DiaS, SenoreS.
They answered in kind, and
approached. Close inspection
did not improve Jerome's esti-
mate Of them. He felt that while
they were after the reward Of
fered, they were also quite ca
pable of raiSing-by several times
the amount offered. They
were evidently boatmen, prob
ably coast SmuggierS, he decided.
A man who appeared to be
the captain was grizzled and
might have earned more in a
month as a motion picture
pirate of that Spanish Main
than he had earned honestly in
all his life. He had a certain
style to him and did not show
the surprise he must have felt
at sight Of a powerfully built
young man in Olympian Games
costume, and q beautiful young
woman dressed only in bright
blossoms. He bowed and said in
Spanish:
You are the young gentle
man and lady from the yacht
guaranteed at San Cristobal,
Senor?"
Eyes. Our boat struck a
ledge and sank under US. We
were obliged to SWIM"
1.-THE boat was picked UP
3Wash more than a week ago.
It is thought that you were
drowned. But I, Captain Mo-
riarty. knew better"
The Irish name stuck
jerome, but he merely said:
"You are right, Captain"
Bad Name
The man looked round, nerv.
ously. This place has a bad
name. The sooner we leave the
better. What were those cries
q little while ago?"
Jerome looked at him fixedly
and said: Before we came here
I did not believe in evil spirits.
Now I am not so sure. We
have heard terrible sounds and
caught sight of what looked like
huge. black. hairy giants four
times the size of men. slipping
through the jungle"
The four boatmen quickly
crossed themselves. jerome
asked: who has been living
here? The island seems full Of
devils"
Linda came out with the two
halves Of the big fruit pressed
together as it had grown. Even
in the rapidly lessening light
it gloWed with a soft. rich,
golden radiance. More curiously,
there emanated from it a per-
fume SO pervaSive as to reach
even those who were not within
q dozen feet Of her. This odor
was sweet and spicy, and held
some aroma that was intoxicat-
ing like the bouquet Of a rare
wine. But, even more, it held
an odor that was exciting like
that Of blood.
The captain stared at it Sus"
piciously. whats that?" he
asked Jerome sharply.
"a rare fruit. A forbidden
fruit"
"What do you mean, q for.
hidden fruit?"
Jerome said with emphasis:
eft is the same with which Eve
tempted Adam in the Garden
Of Paradise"
"Sacr'r'remento but you
are crazy and you are max
ing me feel crazy, too :"
"Senor Captain" Jerome said
eolemnly. "as a former naval
officer I have travelled round
the world in these ATTITUDES.
I know all about tropical fruits
AS if to corroborate this state
ment, q harsh voice cried from
the jungle that was beginning to
darken: well, what in blaIeS do
you want?"
Again the four hands flew up.
( The quartet huddled closer. The
nacaw'S cry had come plainly
from q tangle so dense that a
man would have had to cut his
way into it. But apparently
none Of them believed it to have
any mortal human origin.
Neither did it seem to occur to
them that it might have come
from O parrot. In the evening
hush the raucous voice sounded
too loud and heavy in volume for
that. Jerome hoped that the
macaw would not show itself.
The captain said sharply:
%Let us go. This is no place for