The Washington times., 1936-09-22


The cabin-boy ran towards the
beach. He stopped short. What
he saw prevented him from 60
ing any further.
Jack was on his knees before
Briant! He seemed to i'm
plore him, to ask his forgiveness! !
Those were the means which
Moko had heard.
The cabin-boy would have
liked to run away. 1t was too
late! He had heard everything
and understood everything. He
knew now the fault which Jack
had committed and which he had
Just confessed to his brother!
The latter was crying out:
"You set us adrift! Why, you!
You who did such a thing!
You who are the cause >.
Forgive me, brother, please
forgive mel"
$50 this is why you have kept
away from your comrades! {.
YOU were afraid of them! "a. {.
ah! they must never know! No!
not word not a WORD 10
anyone! :.
Moko would have given much
to have heard nothing OF this
secret. But now he could not
sham ignorance Of it in front OF
Briant. A few moments later he
was alone with Briant. =.
Master Briant," he said, Il
have heard -
what? You heard what
Jack? :"
"Yes, Master Briant g. and
YOU must forgive him
"Will the others forgive him?"
"Perhaps!" said Moko, anyway
it's better. for them not to KNOW
and you can be sure that know
how to keep quiet!. -"
"Oh! Moko!" cried BrianC, grip
ping the cabin-boy's hand.
For two hours Briant did not
speak to Jack. The latter sat at
the foot of a rock, looking Saddet
than ever since he had owned up to
everything. Then the tide began
to rise and the boys took their
places in the yawl. AS soon as she
was free from her mooring, she was
caught by the rapid current. The
moon made navigation practicable
until midnight. Then the turning
of the tide made it necessary to
use the oars. In the next hour the
yawl did not make more than a
mile.
Briant proposed that they stop
until early morning to wait for the
next tide. At 6 o'clock in the
morning they started again and it
was 9 when the yawl reached
Family Lake where Moko unfurled
the sail and nice breeze, in a
favorable direction, sent the boat
towards French Dam.
About 6 o'clock in the evening,
after a safe crossing during which
neither Briant nor Jack had
spoken, the yawl was Signalled by
Garnett, who was fishing on the
lake shore. A few moments later
she was moored on the short and
Gordon heartily welcomed his COM
radeS.
Briant thought it better to say
nothing-even to Gordon-about
the scene with his brother to which
Moko had been an unwilling wit
ness. The rest of the story of the
expedition he told fully. 1t was
certain that Chairman Island was
not close to any other land.
1t was wise, then, to take up
with new courage, the fight for life,
while waiting for salvation to come
from outside, since it was inprob-
able that the young coloniSts could
ever have it in their own hands.
Work was undertaken again by
everybody. Measures were taken
against the rigors of the coming
winter. Briant did so with even
more zeal than before. He had be-
come less sociable and, following
the example of his brother, showed
a tendency to keep away from the
others. Gordon noticed this change
in his character, and that Briant
tried to push Jack forward on
every accession where courage was
necessary or there was danger, and
Jack always was ready and willing
to accept. Since Briant gave Cor
don no opportunity to question
him on the subject, the latter said
nothing. although he believed that
an explanation must have taken
place between the brothers.
In February the salmon started
coming up towards Family Lake,
and they caught some in nets
stretched across the Zealand
River. They needed a large
quantity of salt to preserve them,
which occaSioned several trips to
Sloughi Bay, where Baxter and
Briant made a little salt trap
a square dug in the sand, in
which the salt remained when