The Island School — page 279: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

7 AM, rh ‘ i - tic Ae y » (met OE © cae : ©) ry , NP w Te ; ae fh mee y Te % i * Ae run ~*~ spy the ath AA aie + a i . 4 ” tt , . : * ‘ a? jie lve . : » : ' » { ' 4 ) s i* ‘ ‘ 2 hd A . \ bs 7 . 1 ' . - a * he ky ie ‘a Pertolke tk . | ef ‘What's dat 2” muttered Romeo; ; “nears sumfin’ like a blind ole owl a-bangin’ hisself agin de castle.” _ The sound was shortly after sanamiau and it seemed this time as if the bird, or whatever it was, struck the A Wo wall immediately under and very close to the window. Bees “© Strornary ting dat,” thought Romeo, and then he saw something rise just above the open window and lay hold of the sill. claw. _ “Now dis am ’bout de mose morfal ting dat me aK 4 ie Pat A va aa ‘ bs e B.! ei Aoi | “eber come across,” muttered Romeo. ‘ae \ “dere someborry climbing up de wall” a There was no mistaking the sounds that he heard— it a a Be a Fora momentthe blood of Romeo was chilled. But he was not a coward, and he had a rifle to hand in his room. ‘To slip out of bed and put in a cartridge was the work of a few moments, Then, shivering in his nightshirt, which was shorter than most people consider necessary, owing to it eo shrinkage in the wash, and drawing back in the shadow, he waited. a Macbeth and Hamlet were sleeping like “aaa ! one sense, although they occasionally gave vent to Pevonts id gasps that were strongly sug seestive of the a ‘ animals recently turned into bacon. : Romeo, between these sounds, heard the climber ht steadily coming up. The aoe was too high for a be him to get up to,or he would soon have settled the daring invader. All he could do was to wait, and ek ghetin as soon as he showed his head. - He thought of waking the other sleepers, but re- ee fk oo entre Paael r =t Reese a Bay ys - ee flected that they would Aaaee make a noise and aie scare away the man, or men, who had the temerity te attempt a midnight visit to the castle. — ~. Poses “Berrer not do dat,” muttered Romeo, “ wifout dropping one ob dem.” So he waited in the gloom, taking aim at the a. window two or three times, so as to make a pretty sure shot of it when the moment came. He was not a first-rate marksman yet, but was get- ‘ ting on, and the distance he had to fire was only a ie otew feet. What a timeit seemed ere that expected face j OS sale iS” ea re : ’ ~ > ‘= es appeared? Bi Once there was so long a pause that Romeo nee thought the climber must have lost his hold and fallen. But he was only taking a longer rest than E, __ before, and came on gasping and muttering to him- a self. | | a One ‘hand appeared, grasping the sill; then the 3 other hand ook oka Last of all came the igo sure a eae mits Riga as Y BR rata : “It was as if a big bird had Alen against the stone ae eyalt and then dropped down, scraping the stones as it It was a hook or a huge | “ Gollysmash ! © the quickly-drawn breath, the scraping of the feet against the stonework, the pause to get a firmer hold. Sas Fh, ae RS cc cat aaE eee ase ate oe PL aE phe Pea i's Coe | THE ISLAND My . ye Ve a é tanta foal ui iy ee - me Lk a hee ma)” Wneeted Sith thettod ty and the features, bing " the shade, but dimly-wvisible, Rood ot - t, __ The eyes alone shone like those of some nocturnal i was but a moment’s pause ere the a elder niggers, and both were so startled that neithe ne _ Macbeth, “ what you doin wif dat gun? For de law's ; Romeo had, assumed such an independent attitnde He too fond ob rin’ dat popgun. What you mean by oi shootin’ at de owls ?” : a of his story, when, glancing at the window-sill, he ae mn beast in the dark. tae Na We Romeo took steady aim ‘and fired. his i bes te The hands let £0, and the face disappeared. Th ground, but to Romeo it seemed an age. ~ There was no other sound but that of a thud uy the ground, no yelling of pasomalees no ayaiog nae of feet. Ag ak. By ap “He am alone,” thought Romeo, ‘ ej and he am m do | for,” : ert The report of the rifle naturally eee up ae a f could speak until Romeo advanced into Ane ‘moon- light with the riflein hishand. — A ! ~“ Now, in de name ob Ole Virginny aceaial -gaspec . 3 } sake, don’t say dat you ben ares to shoot you a ‘fectionate granfader.” : A WEN “Or you lubbin fader,” oles Hamlet. ae a he They were terrified out of their wits. * Of late ie oe that they believed him capable of anything. — ube 5 a dake You tank de stars dat you got a oppspring like if me,” said Romeo:; “ but for my lookin’ afer you, it a dead sure ting you dis night hab been murdered i in. ‘ you beds.” “* Done Foolin , den,” said Macbeth, stoning got! a ie “ Owl youself,” said Romeo. i If you not dink a: tell de trufe——’ ft sh “You couldn't do i,” said Macbeth, curling bi self up, : ag “Not if he had a goberment Tlowance for ep crowled Hamlet. | BR 3 aia Lash bi rs ne The unbelieving pair curled ghomesies up to go go. to go at them again, and nome out the Houiae as proof 4 that it was gone. ihe ‘The man he had shot had probably torn it away as ick he fell, holding it in a convulsive erip of pain. Path Fe ky ‘i There were two ways to prove the story. One was. & to get up to the window and look down below where, | no doubt, the fallen man would be seen, and the we other to go outside and walk to the back of the castle. fe The first was impracticable and the second “dis- ' tasteful, so Romeo put another cartridge into his ou weapon, laid it handy in case. it should be wanted, — and got into bed again. . sie gs 2 Thanks to the thickness of the oe aie there y. ee ‘were no indications a his tees a th t ot she iy : 7 if « oo inmates. es 2 een . aN Veta! Sok Ay Orne ie te) - . es x [4 eee ay ae ips errs ‘ee Law er” o Ay , \ | pst ee ein Bai te ¢ COMICDOO 0