Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 52: what you’re looking at

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

678 echo came back, and the stillness was even greater than before. After shouting for several minutes with- out a response, I flung myself down on the ground and fell to reviling myself for hav- ing fallen asleep at my post. Eleanor had been in my care, and I had betrayed my trust. If I had only stayed awake! Action, the natural reaction of remorse, brought me to my feet again. A thorough search of the island, which lasted till long after sunrise, produced no results. Something, or some one, had hit me on the head while I slept; the same thing must have carried Eleanor away. The thought of the mysterious object I had seen moving through the trees the night before kept re- turning to my mind. Could it have been a man? The memory of my bitten toe and the dream connected with it came to my thoughts more than once. At last I de- termined to give up conjecturing as to what had happened, and turn my entire attention to recovering Eleanor. Of one thing I was practically certain: Eleanor was not on Devil’s Island. There- fore, she was either dead and in the ocean, or had been taken to the group of islands I had noticed before. As I saw it now, there was only one course to pursue—to make one more tour of the island and then head my raft for the keys to the west. So I sat down and hurriedly bolted some of the roast fish that remained from our supper of the night before. I realized that I must eat to provide the strength I would surely need for the day that lay ahead of me. When I had finished my scant meal, I turned my attention to Eleanor’s bed, which showed every sign that a struggle had taken place on it. Making a careful search, I found the revolver and cartridge belt under the pile of palm fiber; a discovery which, needless to say, filled me with the greatest joy. For many things are possible to an armed man that would be hopeless for one with empty hands. To be quite frank, I was afraid to think of the danger Eleanor might be in. I had done enough thinking; it was time for ac- ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. tion now. Making one more rapid tour of the island, I came to our raft, and at last embarked on the run I had been contem- plating ever since my arrival at this island of surprises. My shirt turned out to be an admirable sail. The wind was slight, but the raft slid smoothly along with the waves sloshing against its sides. To be absolutely alone is a disquieting feeling. As I looked into the dark depths of the water all about me, I shivered. Who knew what might not ex- ist down there? My imagination painted pictures of sharks of unheard-of lengths, with ravenous appetites. The serpents of nursery tales did not seem at all improbable now. I sat as nearly in the middle of the raft as possible, in order to be at the greatest distance from the water. How I craved a companion! If Eleanor had been with me, I would have been the happiest man in the world. The day was just warm enough to be pleasant, and the salty tang of the sea could not efface the balminess of the breeze. As I said before, the raft was really making very good progress. We were get- ting nearer and nearer to the group of islands. It was evident that they were of quite different nature from the one I had left. Although part of the shore line was overhung with mangroves, yet there were long stretches of sandy beach to be seen. The interior of the islands seemed to be from thirty to forty feet above the level of the sea. Instead of the marshy, mangrove- covered Devil’s Island, I knew enough to expect a dense forest of tropical trees— almost a jungle. Here would be animal life. I wondered whether such a place would be very safe. At all events, it would be far more comfortable than on the lower is- lands. If my guess was correct, Eleanor was on one of these islands. On the whole, my chances of rescuing her were very good. I was armed with a revolver and about fifty cartridges. If I could not render a good account of myself under such conditions, I would indeed be a poor excuse for a man. My gaze wandered incessantly from is- Go VOOKS AUUG (C@