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MM ILLUSTRATIONS BY HENKST JAY LBB
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CHAPTER XII
Thurston thrust Van aside impa
tiently. "The Pueliko, you say?" he
demanded of the man Martin.
Across the road a horse stood
saddled. Thurston ran to it, jerked
the reins free, jumped into the saddle.
The girl's father, returning at this
moment, came running up.
"Rouse the beach," cried Thurston.
"You, Van—the gunboat. Martin —
the police. Tree—you to the mission.
I'm for the Pueliko."
He whirled his horse.
"Wait, wait, Thurston," implored
the father. "Here, take my revolver."
"Rouse the beach and follow,"
came the a*swer, above the ring of
hoofs.
For a moment the three stood, pet
rified, staring after him. Then they
ran, in different directions, to carry
out his orders.
Scarcely had they gone than two
native men burst from the narrow
fo»tway and crossed to the thatch. A
few seconds later, with the old wom
en, they had rushed Palmyra over
the road and into the lane between
the high blind wall and the salt-water
marsh, where there were no eyes to
see save those of the crabs that ran
back and forth across the slime.
Van Vuren Rutger ran down the
wharf, jumped into Thurston's boat
and was pulling to the Qkayama.
Commander Sakamoto turned to
Van. "But my dear Mister," he
said, "something is—wrong. How can
O-lee-vay have taken the young lady
when O-lee-vay is locked up here
safe aboard? But he—sat-isfy me he
is only afraid for young lady. He
means good. So I let him go, unless
you . . "
Van (was aghast. "Absolutely,
no!" he cried.
Sakamoto shrugged. "As you say,"
he conceded.
He gave an order and shortly the
brown man appeared on deck.
Olive must have diviped on whose
demand he was held.
At sight of him Van's animosity
flamed up. The white man sprang
forward. "What have you done with
her?" he demanded. Then, turning
to the interpreted: "What has he
done with her?"
Olive seemed at a loss.
He shot forth a question, received
his answer, burst into a flood of en
treaty.
"He say," repeated the interpreter,
"he say turn him loose. He savvy too
much. Go look see. Find girl dam'
too much quick."
The Japanese turned questioning
ly to Van.
"No!" cried the white man pas
sionately. "No!"
The officer shrugged again.
If Palmyra herself had been
there, she would have marvelled that
Van could remain blind to the sin
cerity of Olive's purpose.
As for the islander, he must have
adjudged the situation hopeless.
With a final look of dumb pleading,
he whirled, ducked past his unready
guards and the clutching fingers of
the others, and spring over the star
board rail, foot first into the sea.
As Olive struck the brine Saka
moto leaped for the gangway and
into his cutter, which happened to
be alongside.
"Jab him with an oar," ordered
the commander. But it is not so
easy to jab with a long oar.
Olive made a judicious feint,
dived back under the vicious thrust
of the port oars, and splashed
ashore. The sailors floundered close
in wake.
Inland, the main road from the
beach was crowding in against the
river. Soon the fugitive must cross
one or the other in the open. He
would be seen. He would be
caught.
But . . .
Olive did not cross the road. He
did not cross the river. Nor was
he caught. Merely—he disappeared.
He had lain all the while, in the
river, down among the crowding
water plants, only his nose up for
air.
Normally the water, clear as dew,
would have revealed him. But rain
in the mountains, tropically copious,
had raised the stream out of its
banks, stained it earthly brown,
dotted its surface with moving leaf
and branch.
Meanwhile, John Thurston, put
ting his horse to a run, had soon
neared the Pueliko Rocks.
A shoulder of basalt Dlocked the
view ahead. He clambered up, had
almost reached Then, startl
ingly, the whistle of a bullet.
Thurston ducked behind a rock.
"Meaning me?" he questioned.
He raised his head cautiously.
Bang! A leaf cluster came flutter
ing, like a wounded bird, to his
feet.
Across the road, opposite, a great
aio tree dominated the bush',behind
it. From among its many trunks a
wisp of white smoke had floated
out.
John, in his effort to the
enemy, risked standing up. A third
bullet flattened itself against the
rock.
"Seems they are here, after all,"
he conceded.
Regaining his horse he had gal
loped back to the road, with this
turning movement in view, when he
encountered the girl's father and
seven other men. These were an ad
vance guard. Sailors from the gun
boat were following in to scour the
bush.
"The lava caves," the father cried
excitedly. "High in the mountains,
Thurston, inland of here. Unex
plored, inaccessible; a terrible hid
ing place. My God, John, we've got
to head 'em off from the caves."
Thurston told of the shooting.
Thurston found what he sought—
footprints.
Native men almost neVer wore
shoes; then only shoes of cloth and
I rubber. But here, in the damp
' mould, someone * had ascended to-
I ward the aio tree, descended —wear-
ing leather.
| Thurston examined the prints at
length. Then, "If I'm any sort of
! Indian at all," he commented "this
was—Ponape Burke."
j For a distance Thurston was able
to ride. Then lava, clean washed,
! a stream, and three paths intersect
] ing at the water.
| It was well for Palmyra that she
i could not know what difficulties her
lover had now to meet.
I The bed of this stream, cast solid
j in one piece from nature's furnace,
j would have provided a test for the
' North Woods skill . of any man.
! And in addition, Ponape Burke—
if it were he—had taken pains to
leave no mark.
Later, he found footprints again
. —shod and bare. Ahead large trees
j told of dry land.
j Thurston advanced stealthily, rifle
j ready. ' The elevation took on an
unusual form. He recognized it,
to his surprise, as an artificial is-;
land; one of these ruined fortresses
or tombs built by prehistoric con
querors on such islands as Kusaie
and Ponap«.
Could the girl be imprisoned
here?
Opposite, there rose a twenty-foot
wall of basaltic columnar blocks.
But it was not at this wall that
John Thurston looked. -
Lying under it, in what had been
either the canal by which these
long stones were floated in, or a
dock for the praus or junks of the
conquerors, was the schooner Lupe
a-Noa.
When Palmyra's captors hurried
her into the footway they did not
J long continue in the dangerous di
rection of the Pueliko. Shortly they
turned into a path that branched
out among the mangroves. This
path would bring them circuitously
back to the sea at a point just out
side the harbor entrance.
As the two men urged her along
she knew she must soon confront
Ponape Burke. Yet it was with a
gasp that, at a turning, she saw the
leaf wall move and the man's face
come leering out.
"Well, Palmie," he tittered, "I
come back t'get my kiss."
Her guards now for the first, time
releasing her hands, the girl snatched
forth her pistol and levelled it at
him.
V
He was dressed, absurdly, ia the
gala attire of the Rainbow, even to
the cane. She had not ordered,
"Hands up!" but he had obeyed
that formula, stood thus grinning at
her. Now, however, so suddenly she
could not pull the trigger, he brought
the flexible stick down with whip
like cut across the back of her hand.
THE FOREST ITY COURIER, THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 1928
The fingers, paralyzed, dropped the
weapon.
An ugly light flashed into his
eyes. "I ain't a-taking no chances
this time," he explained.
As they moved forward again
Ponape Burke became informative:
Had been lying low here waiting an
opportunity. This village was a
good sort: not like the rest of the
island —so dam' pious a kanaka
wasn't supposed even to smoke.
And from the point, a man could
watch the Okayama at anchor or
get away, quickly and unseen, to
the hidden Lupe-a-Noa.
The one obstacle had been Olive.
But they had discovered Van's an
tipathy; planned to get the islander
out of the way through him. Gra
tuitously, Van had acted of his own
accord.
For this work the man Margin
had been useful, being new to the
beach, unknown.
At the sea front the native men
lifted Palmyra and Ponape Burke
and waded with them through the
thigh-deep water to the islet.
At the edge of the islet furthest
from shore, Ponape Burke ordered
his prisoner into the last thatch.
She hesitated, gave the natives one
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despairing glance. She hated them
for their curiosity, their compli
sance.
She stooped entered the house,
sat upon a mat on the pebble floor,
her back against one of the posts in
the circle that upheld the eaves.
Burke hurried away. The brown
men were crowding into the op
posite side of the hut. They
dropped to stare, cross legged, knees
to knee, silent or whispering, those
behind craning to look. -
Martin came to take up the
watch.
(To be continued)
W. C. HIGHTOWER DECLARED
NOMINEE FOR CORONER
After being nominated as coroner
on the Democratic ticket June 2nd,
over two other opponents, Dr. J. C.
Twitty announced last week that he
could not accept the nomination. The
state laws forbid a person holding
two offices at ohe time, and as Dr.
Twitty is County Health officer he
cannot hold office as coroner and
health officer.
Mr. C. C. Kiser the present in
cumbent, was notified that he might
ask for a second primary between
himself and Mr. W. C. Hightower,
but he did not definitely decide until
it was too late to file for the second
primary. Mr. Hightower has been de
clared the nominee of the party.
According to reports received from
most of the county agents of North
Carolina, the state has an incubator
capacity of over two million chicks
each three weeks. Forsyth County
leads with a capacity of 123,000 eggs.
Lime and cement. Best In quality,
lowest in price. Get it from the Farm
ers Hardware Co.
ORGANIZE AMERICAN
LEGION AUXILIARY
r
Rutherfordton, June 18. —The
women of Rutherfordton gathered at
the "Iso-Thermal hotel here recently
anil organized an American Legion
Auxiliary. The officers elected were
Mrs. F. W. H. Logan, president; Mrs.
K. E. Simpson, first vice-president;
Mrs. John Carnegie, second vice-pres
ident; Miss Venetia Waters, secre
tary; Mrs. F. P. Stratford, treasurer;
and Miss Jennie Carpenter, chaplaip.
Jt C. E. HUNTLEY M. J. HARRILL J. A. WILKIE
o G. C. KING B. H. WILKINS
► Mrs. Jannie H. Stainback, Notary Public, Public Stenographer
rvn ONE AUCTION COMPANY
J! General Real Estate
Auction Sales a Specialty
o HOME OFFICE: FOREST CITY, N. C.
Dr. D. M. Morrison, Optometrist
OF SHELBY
Will be in Forest City every Thursday from 8, to 9 a. m. and 2
to 3 p. m. Office back of Dr. Duncan. Telephone 29.
W. L. STALLINGS
JEWELER
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