Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 55: what you’re looking at

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

THE APES OF DEVIL’S ISLAND. I did not know how water-tight the cases were, and was determined to run no more risks than necessary. I unfastened the car- tridge belt, which I had been carrying around my neck when I encountered the moray and the dead monkey. Rolling it up as tightly as I could, I tied it with my handkerchief. Then I tore some strips from my shirt, and bound the rolled cartridge belt firmly to my head. When I was satis- fied that it would not slip, I let myself down into the chilly water and set out for the other island. The course of one’s thoughts while swim- ming is curious indeed. I could not keep my attention on any one thing more than a moment at a time. My first thought was the possibility of the presence of sharks. Since my narrow escape it was always the first thing to come into my mind on enter- ing the water. However, there was no par- ticular reason why there should be any sharks in this cut, and if there were it was probable that they were only sand sharks. So I hoped for the best and oon- tinued on my way. But what about the monkey? I had sus- pected their presence back on Devil’s Is- land. The skeleton, the thing I saw while prowling around the night of Eleanor’s dis- appearance, and the dream about Nicky biting my toe, all combined as significant in my mind. The marks of the bite had been visible the next morning. It was prob- ably a little ape that had biften me, and in my half conscious, half feverish condi- tion I had dreamed it was Nicky. ‘Then a terrible thought assailed me. Was it the apes who had stolen Eleanor? Before long I was at the sandy beach, unstrapping the belt from my head. Some- where before me, in the fast falling night, was Eleanor or a band of apes, or Heaven knows what! ad CHAPTER VII. FRIENDS. UCKILY for me, tropical twilight was long at that time of year. I started off through the mangroves at as rapid a pace as possible. I had a general idea 681 of the direction of the fire, and trusted to Providence to help me locate it. Large Island was similar to Devil’s Is- land, except the ground became higher and firmer more quickly. The undergrowth was dense; sand crabs were less numerous. The possibility of running across dangerous ani- mals was not so remote, so I advanced with my pistol loaded and in my hand. How- ever, I encountered no trouble. Noises were audible on all sides, but I actually saw nothing except a small snake, which slid into the shadows as I ap- proached. It was getting darker, and con- sequently more difficult to make rapid headway. After I covered about a mile, or what I thought was a mile, I began to wonder how much farther it was to the shore. It was almost dark, so I determined to climb a very tall tree which was near by, while I could still see. Climbing up was no easy matter; it cost me two barked shins, and not a little time and hard work. But when I did arrive at the topmost branches my pains were re- warded. Only a few hundred yards away the sea stretched out darkly, and a little distance down the coast I could see a column of smoke swirling up from behind a mass of trees and foliage. My descent was rapid, and I was soon on my way again. Now that I knew where I was going, I picked my way carefully and tried to avoid making noise. It was quite dark except for the faint light of the stars. Luckily I had a smattering knowledge of astronomy, picked up in the classroom at college, and was able to direct my steps with some accuracy, allowing the heavenly bodies to point the way. It was slow going. Time after time I bumped slowly into the trunk of a tree, and becoming entangled in vines and bushes was a matter of every other minute. But [ pursued my way dog- gedly, as I had a definite goal ahead of me. At last a dim red glare was visible through the trees. There, I knew, was the fire. Who were around it? I advanced now with even greater cau- tion. I seemed hardly to be moving at all, so great was my desire not to give myself away by any noise. visible, only to be blotted out the next i Commicloooks At last the fire was. (C@