Imperial Valley press., 1936-08-30

later.
- UTSIDE the hairless horse
~ waited, standing alone un-
der the snakes stone head. He'd
been fed, and his belly was big.
Girl" Bill asked, whats this
all about? Why did you trail along
and why keep on to Angkor ?"
He started leading the horse, with
Gin beside him.
please to understand. but
like you. Also, l like the CAPITA"
she added as an afterthought.
II get that, all light" Bill
agreed, not Understanding his
charm.
without me there would be
much trouble" she explained
"There'll be plenty with you
along"
I suggested to him that she'd
been a help on the jungle trail;
kept us on the right path. any
way: and our adventure hadn't
ended
Did it strike you we'd meet
Sin Kew up farther, Captain ? Do
you figure he's quit us cold and
don't care about the green god?"
Goddess, Bill. Lii told you that.
Don't you feel brave, goin' into
danger for another woman"
guess Hui Gin didn't like my
numor
Another woman? ?" she mur-
mered
"Captain-shut up, can you?"
Bill walked ahead with the girl
and horse. and | didn't remind
him what he knew alrc dy---that
the Ternate dancing girl would be
near Angkor. waiting for him.
40 ONE had said Bills prin-
IN cess would be at ANCHOR, and
I didn't see then how she could
get there before we did. But funny
things happen in that country;
you get to expect the unexpected.
I had a hunch she'd meet us, just
because Sin Kew's pirates should
have knitted her way back IN
Ternate No woman's going to
give up hope of riches because
she likes a mans face; even Bill
wasn't crazy enough to think that.
Or, maybe he was. If he thought
about her at all, which I doubted.
Bill was the easy, laughing sort
no woman could make him mad,
or sad. He just grinned and kept
on goin', like a wise lad should.
If he figured the princess had for
gotten about him, he was plain
foolish She'd use him.. right
enough, to get the idol but it was
up to Bill to keep it.
Where" asked Bill, plodding
along with the pack horse, lis this
Tonle Sap Lake we pass"
Very soon we arrive" Hui Gin
said I'VE must go around the
lake, not across. To be seen is
dangerous.
Huh. You think Sin Kew don't
know we're comin'?"
The girl laughed at him Oh.
yes. He knows of us. Yet We must
not be foolish and expose our
selves. We shall be silent and csu-
tious."
IF you say so" Bill agreed,
but it won't make any difference
in the end. We're bound to meet
up with his gang of cut-throats. ;"
"You are a foolish boy" she
said, looking shy an happy
We hadn't beaten her for foot
ing us, and let her come along
after the trick she'd played. ] will
say she made better-looking girl
than coolie guide, smiling at Bill
an tryin' to keep up. He moved
along fast, now. impatient to get
to the ruins and have things set
tied.
I WAS fed up with jungle N.Y.
self, an didn't blame him for
wanting it over. Fightin' storms
an weather was different from
scraps on land with a Chinese you
couldn't locate. 1t hadn't been
easy, comm up from Saigon.
Worst of it was, we'd expected
trouble an hadn't found it. It's
harder waiting for things to hap
pen than to plunge into action.
You get tense an restless. sort of
tied up in a knot, wishin' for
somethin' more than shadows to
tangle with-men's faces to strike
at, bodies to heave out of the way.
No, that jungle hadn't been good
for us-too calm, an peaceful.
Gave you dead feelin' inside that
came to life with jerks when a
tree monkey screamed. Our nerves
we're like that, all tight
Foolish, eh?" Bill grinned.
We've two ass, a rife, an that
pardng you brought to cut lianas.
1t can cut other things, too, my
girl. You never saw Bill Corkey
in action, have you ?"