A Queer Race: The Story of a Strange People — page 171: what you’re looking at

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

168 A QUEER RACE. down there at the risk of your life, what would have become of Marian and me?” “*Had you not left the shelter of the forest, at the risk of you life, and shot that Cariberoe in the very nick of time, what would have become of me?” “You would have shot him yourself and escaped oe the same.” “Tam sure I shouldn’t. They would have been on me before I could reload my rifle, and though I might have killed two or three more of them, they would cer- tainly have killed me. Shall we settle the dispute by saying that each of us saved the other’s life? ‘Then we shall be quits.” «Say what you like; we shall not be quits”—smiling. ‘¢T am still your debtor, and some time But never mind that now. Why did those Cariberoes attempt to follow us across the creek ?” ‘-'The very question I have beenasking myself.” ‘Don’t you think they wanted, at all hazards, to pre- vent us from giving the alarm?” ‘« Hither that, or there are many more of them down there than we have any idea of, and they are going to in- vade Fair Island at once. “It is possible,” said Mab, anxiously. ‘Let us go on. Oh, that we had fleet horses, or, still better, some of those wonderful speaking wires you havetold me about!” CHAPTER XXVi. FRIENDS IN NEED. IT was very easy to say, ‘‘ Let us goon.” But as Mab had only the vaguest idea of the way to Weston’ s, and | had none whatever, the carrying out of the proposal was attended with some little difficulty. She thought that if we went east by north we should not be far out, and east by north we went—-as nearly as we could; for gsoing straight in that part of the island was quite out of the question. We were forced to make long detours, and in order to advance one mile in a straight line we had gen- erally to walk about three miles. And yet we seemed to get no further; we were always toiling over the same sort of ground, always surrounded by the same bushes and Eom C ooo) cS (@