Foss Enterprise. (Foss, Okla.), Vol. 8, No. 41, Ed. 1 Friday, August 20, 1909 Page: 3 of 8
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SERIAL
STORY
WTO THE
PRIMITIVE
By
ROBERT AMES BENNET
Illustrations l|
RAY WALTERS
(I'opjrrltfUt, IW, bjr A. C. McClure * Co.j
p «. 3YNOP8I8.
The story opens with the shipwreck of
the steamer on which Miss Genevieve
l.eslle. an Amerlctin heiress. Lord Wln-
thrope, an Kngllshman, ainl Tom Blake,
a brusque American, were passengers.
The three were tossed upon en uninhab-
ited Island and were the only ones not
drowned. Blake recovered from a drunk-
en stupor. Blake, shunned on the boat,
because of his roughness, became a liero
as preserver of the helpless pair. The
Englishman was suing for the hand of
Miss Leslie. Blake started to swim back
to the ship to recover what was left.
Blake returned safely. Wlnthrope wasted
his last match on a cigarette, for which
he was scored by Blake. Their tlrst meal
was a dead flail. The trio started a ten
mile hike for higher land. Thirst at-
tacked them. Blake was compelled to
carry Miss Leslie on account of weari-
ness. He taunted Wlnthrope. They en-
tered the Jungh-. That night was passed
roosting high in a tree. The next morn-
ing they descended to the open again.
All three constructed hats to shield them-
selves from the sun. They then feasted
on cocoanuts. the only procurable food.
Miss Leslie shewed a liking for Blake,
but detested hi? roughness. Led by Blake
thev established u home In some cliffs.
Blake found a fresh water spring. Miss
Leslie faced an unpleasant situation.
They planned their campaign.
CHAPTER IX.—Continued.
Blake and Miss Leslie turned to
blare at the droves of animals mov-
ing about between them and the bor-
der of the tall grass. Miss Leslie was
the first to speak. "They can't be
cattle, Mr. Wlnthrope. There are some
with stripes. I do believe they're
zebras!"
"Get down!" commanded Blake.
"They're all wild game. Those big ox-
like fellows to the left of the zebras
are eland. Whee! wouldn't we be in
it it' we owned that water hole? I'll
bet I'd have one of those fat beeves
Inside three days."
"How I should enjoy a Juicy steak!"
murmured Miss Leslie.
"Raw or Jerked?" questioned Blake.
"What is jerked?*"
"Dried."
"Oh, no; I mean broiled—Just red
Inside."
"I prefer mine quite rare," added
Wlnthrope.
"That's the way you'll get it, damned
rare—Beg your pardon, Miss Jenny!
Without Are. we'll have the choice of
raw or jerked."
"Horrors!"
"Jerked meat Is all right. You cut
your game in strips—"
"With a penknife!" laughed Miss
Leslie.
Blake stared at her glumly. "That's
bo. You've got it back on me—Butch-
er a beef with a penknife! We'll have
to take it raw, and dog-fashion at
that."
"Haven't I heard of • bamboo
knives?" said Wlnthrope.
"Bamboo?"
"Im sure I can't say, but as I re-
member, It seems to me that the var-
nish-like glaze—"
"Silica? Say, that would cut meat.
But where in—where In hades are the
bamboos?"
f "I'm sure I can't say. Only I re
member that I have seen them in oth-
er tropical places, you know."
"Meantime 1 prefer cocoanuts, until
we have a Are to broil our steaks," re
marked Miss Leslie.
"Ditto, Miss Jenny, long's we have
the nuts and no meat. I'm a vegetarl
en now—but maybe my mouth ain't
watering for something else. Look at
ell those chops and roasts and stews
running around out there!"
"They are making for the grass,"
observed Wlnthrope. "Hadn't we bet-
ter start?"
"Nuts won t weigh so much without
the shells. We'll eat right here."
' There were only a few nuts left,
They were drained and cracked and
scooped out, one after another. The
last chanced to break evenly across
the middle.
' "Hello," said Blake, "the lower part
of this will do for a bowl, Miss Jen
ny. When you've eaten the cream,
put It in your pocket. Say, Win, have
you got the bottle and keys and—"
"All safe—everything."
"Are you sure, Mr. Wlnthrope?"
esked Miss Leslie. "Men's pockets
seem so open. Twice I've had to pick
lip Mr. Blake's locket."
"Locket?" echoed Blake.
"Tbe ivory locket. Women may be
curious. Mr. Blake, but I assure you,
I did not look Inside, though—"
"Let me—give it here—quick!"
gasped Blake.
Startled by his tone and look, Mis*
Leslie caught an oval shaped object
from the side pocket of the coat, and
thrust it into Blake's outstretched
hand. For a moment he stared at it,
unable to believe his eyes; then he
leaped up, with a yell that sent the
droves of zebras and antelope flying
into the tall grass.
"Oh! oh!" screamed Miss Leslie.
"Is it a snake? Are you bitten?"
"Bitten?—Yes, by John Barleycorn!
Must have been fuzzy drunk to put it
in my coat. Always carry It in my
fob pocket. What a blasted Infernal
Idiot I've been! Kick me, Win,—kick
me hard!"
"I say, Blake, what Is it? I don't
quite take you. If you would only—"
"Fire!—fire! Can't you sea? We've
got all hell beat! Look here."
He snapped open the Bllde of tbe
supposed locket, and before either of
his companions could realize what he
would be about, was focusing the
lens of a surveyor's magnlfylng-glass
upon tbe back of Wlnthrope's hand.
The Englishman Jerked the hand
away—
"Ow! That burns!"
Blake shook tbe glass in their be-
wildered faces.
"Look there!" he shouted, "there's
fire; there's water; there's birds'
eggs and beefsteaks! Here's where we
trek on the back trail. We'll smoke
out that leopard in short order!"
"You don't mean to say, Blake—"
"No; I mean to do! Don't worry.
You can hide with Miss Jenny on the
point, while I engineer the deal. Fall
In."
The day was still fresh when they
found themselves back at the foot of
the cliff. Here aro3e a heated debate
between the men. Wlnthrope, stung
by Blake's Jeering words, insisted
upon sharing the attack, though with
no great enthusiasm. Much to Blake's
surprise, Miss Leslie came to the sup-
port of the Englishman.
"But, Mr. Blake," she argued, "you
say it will be perfectly safe for us
here. If so, it will be safe for myself
alone."
"I can play this game without him.'
"No doubt. Yet if, as you say, you
expect to keep off the leopard with a
"Bitten? Yes, by John Barleycorn 1
torch, would It not be well to have
Mr. Wlnthrope at hand with other
torches, should yours burn out?"
"Yes; if I thought he'd be at hand
after the first scare."
Wlnthrope started off Almost on a
run. At that moment he might have
faced the leopard single-handed. Blake
chuckled as he swung away after his
victim. Within ten paces, however, he
paused to call back over his shoulder:
"Get around the point. Miss Jenny,
and if you want something to do, try
braiding the cocoanut fiber."
Miss Leslie made no response; but
she stood for some time gazing after
the two men- There was so much that
was characteristic even In this rear
view. For all his anger and his haste,
the Englishman bore himself with an
air of well-bred nicety. His trim,
erect figure needed only a fresh suit
to be Irreproachable. On the other
hand, a careless observer, at first
glance, might have mistaken Blake,
with his flannel shirt and shouldered
club, for a hulking navvy. But there
was nothing of the navvy in his swing
Ing Btrlde or in the resolute poise of
his head as he came up with Wln-
thrope.
Though the girl was not given to re
flection, the contrast between the two
could not but Impress her. How well
her countryman—coarse, uncultured,
but full of brute strength and courage
—fitted In with these primitive sur-
roundings. Whereas Wlnthrope—and
herself—
She fell into a kind of disquieted
brown study. Her eyes had an odd
look, both startled and meditative—
such a look as might be expected of
one who for the first time Is peering
beneath the surfacc of things, and
sees the naked Realities of Life, the
real values, bared of masking conven-
tions. It may have been that she was
seeking to ponder the meaning of her
own existence—that she had caught &
glimpse of the vanity and wasteful-
ness, the utter futility of her life. At
the best, It could only have been a
glimpse. But was not that enough?
"Of what use are such people as I?"
she cried. "That man may be rough
and coarse—even a brute; but he at
least does things—I'll show him that
I can do things, too!"
She hastened out around the corner
of the cliff to the spot where they had
spent the night. Here she gathered
together the cocoanut husks, and seat-
ing herself In the shade of the over-
hanging ledges began to pick at the
coarse fiber. It was cruel work for
her soft fingers, not yet fully healed
from the thorn wounds. At times the
pain and an overpowering sense of
injury brought tears to her eyes; still
more often she dropped the work In
despair of her awkwardness. Yet al-
ways she returned to the task with re-
newed energy.
After no little perseverance, she
found how to twiBt the fiber and plait
It into cord. At best it was slow
work, and she did not see how she
should ever make enough cord for a
fish line. Yet, as she caught the knack
of the work and her fingers became
more nimble she began to enjoy the
novel pleasure of producing something.
She had quite forgotten to feel Injured,
and was learning to endure with pa-
tience the rasping of the fiber between
her fingers, when Wlnthrope came
clambering around the corner of the
cliff.
"What Is it?" she exclaimed, spring-
ing up and hurrying to meet him. He
was white and quivering, and the look
In his eyes filled her with dread.
Her voice shrilled to a scream:
He's dead!"
Winthrope shook his head.
"Then he's hurt!—he's hurt by that
savage creature, and you've run off
and left him—"
No, no, Miss Genevieve, I must in-
sist! The fellow Is not even
scratched."
"Then why—?"
"It was the horror of It all. It actu-
ally made me 111."
You frightenod me almost to death.
Did the beast chase you?"
That would have been better, in a
way. Really, it was horrible! I'm
still sick over It, Miss Genevieve."
But tell me about It. Did you set
fire to the bushes in the cleft, as Mr.
Blake—"
"Yes; after we had fetched what we
could carry of that long grass—two big
trusses. It grows 10 or 12 feet tall,
and Is now quite dry. Part of it Blake
made Into torches, and we fired the
bush all across the foot of the cleft.
Really, one would not have thought
there was that much dry wood in so
green a dell. On either side of the
rill the grass and brush flared like
tinder, and the flames swept up the
cleft far quicker than we had ex-
pected. We could hear them crackling
and roaring louder than ever after the
smoke ahut out our view."
""Surely, there Is nothing so very
horrible in that."
"No, oh, no; it was not that. But
the beast—the leopard! At first we
beard one roar; then it was that
dreadful snarling and yelling—most
awful squalling! The wretched thing
came leaping and tumbling down the
path, all singed and blinded. Blake
fired the big truss of grass, and the
brute rolled right into the flames. It
was sbocking—dreadfully shocking!
The wretched creature writhed and
leaped about till It plunged into the
pool. When it sought to crawl out,
all black and hideous, Blake went up
and killed It with his club—crushed In
its skull— Ugh!"
Miss Leslie gazed at the unnerved
Englishman with calm scrutiny.
"But why should you feel so about
it?" she asked. "Was It not the
beast's life against ours?"
But so horrible a death!"
I'm sure Mr. Blake would have pre
ferred to shoot the creature had he
a gun. Having nothing else than fire,
I think It was all very brave of him.
Now we are sure of water and food.
Had we not best be going?"
"It was to fetch you that Blake
sent me."
Winthrope spoke with perceptible
stiffness. He was chagrined, not only
by her commendation of Blake, but
by the indifference with which she had
met his agitation.
They started at once, Miss Leslie
In the lead. As they rounded the point
she caught sight of the smoke still
rising from the cleft. A little later
she noticed the vultyres which were
streaming down out of the sky from
all quarters other than seaward. Their
focal point seemed to be the trees at
the foot of the cleft. A nearer view
showed that they were alighting in the
thorn bushes on the south border of
the wood.
Of Blake there was nothing to be
seen until Miss Leslie, still in the
lead, puthed in among the trees. There
they found him crouched beside a
small fire, near the edg* of the pool.
He did not look up. His eyes were
riveted in a hungry stare upon several
pieces of flesh, suspended oVer the
flames on spits of green twigs.
•HeKo!" he sang out, as he heard
their footsteps. "Just In time, Miss
Jenny. Your broiled steak'll be ready
In short order."
"Oh, build up tho fire! 'I'm simply
ravenous!" she exclaimed, between Im-
patience and delight.
Wlnthrope was hardly less keen;
yet his hunger did not altogether
blunt his curiosity.
"I say, Blake," he inquired, "where
did you get the meat?"
"Stow it. Win, my boy. This ain't
a packing house. The stuff may be
tough, but It's not—cr—the other
thing. Hero you are, Miss Jenny.
Chew It off the stick."
Though Winthrope had his suspi-
cions, he took the piece of half-burned
flesh which Blake handed him In turn
and fell to eating without further ques-
tion. As Blake had surmised, tho
GAVE HER AN IDEA.
•re-
cycle Dealer—Here Is a cyclometer
I can recommend. It Is positively ac
roast proved far other than tender, curate; not at all like some cyclouie-
Hunger, however, leet it a most ap- er8> which register two miles, per-
petizing flavor. The repast ended taps, where you have only ridden one.
when there was nothing left to devour. Miss de Byke—You haven't any of
Make threw away his empty spit and that kind, have you?
rose to stretch. He waited for Miss
Leslie to swallow her last mouthful
and then began to chuckle.
"What's the Joke?" asked Wln-
thrope.
Blake looked at him solemnly.
"Well now. that was downright
mean of me," he drawled; "after rob-
bing them, to laugh at It!"
"Robbing who?"
"The buzzards.
IN AGONY WITH ECZEMA.
Whole Body a Mass of Raw, Bleeding,
Torturing Humor—Hoped Death
Would End Fearful Suffering.
In Despair; Cured by Cutleura.
"Words cannot describe the terrible
eczema I suffered with. It broke out
"You've fed us on leopard meat! ou my head and kept spreading until
It's—it's disgusting!" it covered my wholo body. I
"I found It filling. How about you, wag aim0gt a solid mass of sores from
Miss Jenny?" head to foot. I looked more like a
Miss Leslie did not know whether to l)iece of raw |,oef than a human be-
laugh or to give waf to a feeling of jng The paJn an(j agony endured
nausea. She did neither. seemed more than I could bear. Blood
Can we not find the spring of which and pus oozej from the great gore oa
you spoke?" Bhe asked. "I am thirsty.'
"Well, I guess the flrc Is about burnt
out," assented Blake. "Come on; we'll
see."
The cleft now had a far different as-
my scalp, from under my finger nails,
and nearly all over my body. My
ears were so crusted and swollen I
was afraid they would break off.
Every hair In my bead fell out. I
pect from what It had presented on could not sit down, for my clothea
their first visit. The largest of the
trees, though scorched about the base,
still stood with unwithered foliage,
little harmed by the fire. But many
of their small companions had been
killed and partly destroyed by the heat
would stick to the raw and bleeding
flesh, making me cry out from the
pain. My family doctor did all he
could, but I got worse and worse. My
condition was awful. I did not think
I could live, and wanted death to
and flames from the burning brush. In come and end my frightful sufferings.
places the fire was yet smouldering.
(TO BK CONTINUED.)
CUPID MUST FIGHT RED TAPE.
Ludicrous Mistake In French Law
Hard to Correct.
Curious difficulties occasionally be-
set young people who wish to marry
In France. A young Frenchman pro-
posed recently to a a Mile. Eugenie,
and was accepted. The parents be-
gan colltcrrng the mass of legal pa-
"In this condition my mother-in-law
begged me to try the Cuticura Rem-
edies. I said I would, but had no hope
of recovery. But oh, what blessed re-
lief I experienced after applying Cuti-
cura Ointment. It cooled the bleeding
otid itching flesh and brought me tho
first real sleep I had had In weeks. It
was as grateful as Ice to a burning
tongue. 1 would bathe with warm
water and Cuticura Soap, then apply
the Ointment freely. I also took Cuti-
cura Resolvent for the blood. In A
Kttll LUHCtklllK IIIO 11IODO vi ** l' ... a .s
pers required for French marriages, "hort time the sore. stopped running
Among the first to be obtained was the flesh began to heal, and I kn«w I
Mdlle. Eugenie's birth certificate, and to get well again. Then the hair
when they got it they found that she ®n my head began to grow and In a
was registered a boy. She is put : abort time I wa completely
down in the big book as a male, and I I ^u\A tell everybody who ha.
a male Bhe remains legally and admin- i eczema to use Cuticura Mrs. Wm.
istrativelv Hunt. Tbomaa 8t, Newark, N. J-
istratively.
Her parents pointed out firat, that
she was obviously, de facto, a girl;
second, that the Christian name of Eu-
genie entered in tbe register waa fem-
inine; and third, that if she had been
a boy she would already have been
called up for the conscription, being of
age. The authorities replied that none
of these arguments were legally and
administratively valid, and that she
continued to be a boy.
Administrative reports, procedure,
and a decision of tbe courts, all at
the parents' expense, will be required
before the law acknowledges Mdlle.
Eugenie to be of the feminine sex and
allows her to marry.
ahe
Bept. 28, 1901."
rotter pr«f a CM«. Cor*. Me rwffc. I
And Ma Fainted.
"Why did ahe refuse you?'
asked her son, with fine scorn.
"Well." the boy replied between hia
sobs, "she objects to our family. She
says pa's a loafer, that you're too fat
and that everybody laughs at Dayse
Mayme because she's a fool and talks
about nothing but the greatness of
her family." (Chauncey threw water
in his mother's face, but at three
o'clock this afternoon she was still
in a swoon, with four doctors working
on her.)—Atchison (Kan.) Globe.
His Colors.
"What are your son's college col-
ors?"
"Well," answered Farmer Corntos-
sel, "JoBh has figured so strong In
hazing and football, I should say they
must be black and blue."
Canal That Russia Needs.
Russia's mlnlBtry of ways and com-
munications has appointed a board of
engineers to make preliminary sur-
veys for the long-projected canal to
connect the Baltic with the Black sea.
The canal, in the making of which sev-
eral rivers will be turned to account,
will have its northern end at Riga on
the Gulf of Riga, 309 miles southwest
of St. Petersburg, while the southern
end will be Kherson, on the right
bank of the Dnieper, and 92 miles
east-northeast of Odessa. When thla
project Is completed Riissia may move ' ___ r_a.. 1T-
her own ships to and from the Black hom^Ask your l
sea without asking permission. fer it> a package only 1 ssete.
Teach the little ones their A B C'a
and to look for the spear on WRIG-
LEY'S SPEARMINT.
Tbe mere fact that a man doesn't
call you a liar Is no reeson that he
doesn't think you are one.
Thing. Have Changed. ! Too many men try to build a sky
No longer do a ring, a thimble, and a : *cw on a one-story foundation,
piece of money answer for a fortune- \
telling cake for girls. No, indeed! The
day is long past wben marriage,
spinsterhood and rich Inheritance
were the only careers open to the sex.
A twentieth-century cake must have a
tiny glasB bottle standing for either a
doctor or a trained nurse, a little china
doll meaning a teacher, and as many
other symbols as the Ingenuity of the
hostess may devise.
Peril in Rainy Winds.
That rainy winds have a marked ef-
fect In consumption haB been proved
by 20 years of observation In Dart-
moor and North Devon, England. Tho
death rate from this dease is much
less In the sheltered places than in
exposed localities.
No girl ever sees a good-looking
young man without speculatively won
deiiog whose sweetljea^t la,
Guar*1!
WRIS LEY'S
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Huddlestun, Fred M. Foss Enterprise. (Foss, Okla.), Vol. 8, No. 41, Ed. 1 Friday, August 20, 1909, newspaper, August 20, 1909; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc270653/m1/3/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.