Adventure, February 1917 — page 63: what you’re looking at

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

~ such cowards,” Murua was i then to himself: -Nobody’s Island you’re anxious shout your father, I can” have her take him down to hospital in Sa- marai first, and you can come on to Jamie- son Island ‘with us.’ “T can’t leave dad,” said Harold hurried- doesn't want to go to hospital now; they’d only cut him up to find out things. Pil stay and look after him.”’ He expected the usual broadside een Murua, but none came. She looked at him curiously, and then turned her eyes to the stranger. Murua would make fun of him -nomore. Through all his fat and his selfish- ness, Harold felt it, and felt the pang that has so often been the lot of the known, and old, forced into competition with the daz- zling unknown and new... that he had enj joyed the way she used to bait him. But the captain and Murua: were talking. Harold listened, while they. spoke, passing - him over as a thing of no more importance the locusts that sang in the grass. ‘There is not nearly so much tisk about these things as one would was saying. And then came ‘talk ‘about native spears, =: and how far they could be thrown; am- bushes; the time to attack a village; the number of men with rifles equal to a given. number of natives using their own weapons. “They are nearly always hostile there, and of course they ‘do eat their prisoners— - but it’s not very dangerous; Papuans are sayinig. “And | your own boys?” Captain Camp: bell SiappePouk He did not particularly fancy this pitting of coward against coward, but it was a job » _ that had to be gone. through. This was a, lucky little devil, anyhow, this girl with egs and the hair; he wondered had they many more like her in'the country. | ‘Pups never had trouble with his.” > “Ah? He must know how to manage them.” « “There were regrettable incidents,” re- plied Murua a little primly, “and after that they knew what was good for them.” * said the captain, aloud; “This Miss Murua can hold her tongue. I’m quite sure now there can not be many like her in the country!” ‘There’s no need to wait any longer,” he added. * “If Slade’ sin er the better. Have all the boys up at once, “Good man,’ “Besides, he’s a lot better and says he - He realized now’ think,” Murua | -down to.my boots. _ beast of a captain. And Murua hasn’t eyes nothing to do with it. difficulties, the soon- | “couch; he seemed stronger than one would 61 ~ please. I’ll look over them and see which T’ll take. Do they speak English?” “‘They are all deaf and dumb. 4 “Great Scott! Why?” “Pups thinks it is nckise they are cheaper.” ‘And you think?” “T’m Mr. and Mrs. Slade’s guest, Cap- tain Campbell, so i don’t trouble about their private affairs.” “Ah. Good idea. Pity it isn’t more gen- erally followed. Now we'll have the boys, please, such as they are, and then you, I and the Black Snake will be off.” “Very well, Captain Campbell. I shall ~ feel quite at home again, out on a patrol among the ranges, and I’m sure you will be just as good as Pups.” , “Pil try, Miss Murua. I haven’t any little girls of my own, or any Mrs. Camp- bell either, but Pll be as near your—what do you call it—your Paps to you as I pos- - sibly can.’ “Thank you,” said Murua politely; but somehow, the saying ee her a little cold. A BLACK Spot on the horizon of Silence: Bay was the Government launch; a. black speck was Slade’s. 7 Soalties Island was left to Captain Page and his son. ~ Harold danced up and down.in his joy. “Dad, they’re gone! Dad, they’re gone!” he half sang, half shouted. “Pm glad right I hate that sneering for any one else. but him—-silly little thing! IT hope they’ll stay away for weeks.” “Do you?” said Page unpleasantly, lay-_ ing down the mandolinetta on which he had. been lightly tinkling—a sign that the whisky bottle had been let out of jail. “Then what becomes of your thousand pounds?” “My thousand? Oh, but that man has What made you think he had?” asked Harold, turning up limpid blue eyes to his father’s. “T don’t think. Iknow. I saw you with your heads together down on the beach. What is it—divorce, embezzlement, what?” “Well, if it was, and a dozen other things besides, do you think I’d tell you?” de- manded Harold. ‘You'd go and claim it yourself like a shot.” . The captain lifted himself up on his = a (COANE MOO KS €or