Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 56: what you’re looking at

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682 moment by intervening foliage. But it came in sight again, and this time I could see the whole fire. As I drew nearer figures began to be visible; at first mere shadowy, shape- less bulks, moving here and there. By this time I was on the edge of the hammock; ahead of me was sandy soil cov- ered by a growth of thick, high grass. As I came nearer and nearer I was certain the forms moving about the fire were hu- mans. I knew I had to come close enough to see the men’s faces and hear their con- versation. It was necessary to determine whether they were friends or enemies. I crawled nearer and nearer, coming to within fifty feet of the fire. A low murmur of voices was audible, but the words them- selves were lost. There were five people, all sitting with their backs toward me. One of them rose. It was a woman. She walked to the other side of the fire, but her face was not yet visible to me, since she was peering out over the somber sea. She stood thus for a while, and then turned. It was Mrs. Meredith! Throwing all of my former caution to the winds, I breasted my way boldly enough through the high sedge, and called out Dr. Meredith’s name. The sound of a human voice issuing from the unknown shadows that surrounded them seemed to electrify the little group. For a moment they re- mained as motionless as if they were frozen. Then the voice of Dr. Meredith answered: “Who is there?” In a moment more I was among them. I was received like one returned from the dead. Mrs. Meredith cried and kissed me, Dr. Meredith shook my hand warmly, and Grame administered a huge thump on my back. . “We feared you were dead,” said Dr. Grame. “Well, I’m not,” I returned; “so tell me how you happened to be here.” It is impossible to record the ensuing conversation. Naturally every one talked at once, and we heard each other’s stories in fragments. When I asked where Eleanor and Nicky were, Mrs. Meredith burst into tears. I had decided not to speak of my finding Eleanor—it would have done no good, and would have only upset them. It ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. was better to let them think that their daughter was tossing around in the sea on a bit of wreckage, or even that she was drowned, rather than to inform them that she was in the power of some unknown person or thing somewhere in the darkness that lay all around us. So I told my story, leaving out Eleanor’s part in it, and heard their story, bit by bit. I had learned of the first part through Elea- nor, so I will take it up from the time of the wreck. The Merediths, Dr. Grame and the sailor, George, were in one boat. The captain was to have been in this boat, but George and Grame had seized the oars and pulled after Eleanor. The search for the girl was fruitless, but Don Endon, the young under engineer who had plunged in after Eleanor, was picked up. The captain and the crew manned the other lifeboat; the two tiny craft were soon separated by the violence of the storm. The night had been very miserable, with the splashing of the cold spray, and the tire- less tossing of the boat. When morning came they saw the shore of Large Island near, and landed. They had food and water in the boat, and were quite comfortable after they had dried out before a smoking fire of wet wood. Nicky had disappeared in the forenoon, and their chief occupation since had been in searching for him. There was no trace of his departure, so it was only a matter of conjecture where he had gone or what had happened to him. While the Merediths told their story I was supplied with an extra pair of shoes that fitted me poorly, and was given some roast fish and half a can of beans. The shipwrecked party had quite a supply of food and water, for the captain had been very careful to see that the boat was loaded with as many stores as it could safely carry. Consequently the men had made no effort to find any native food, except to catch a few fish in various ways. Dr. Grame had improvised a net from his shirt and a branch, and could bag as many small fish as he wished in a short time. As Dr. Meredith had said, most of No one slept. | the time had been spent in searching for | Nicky. Gomichbooks (C@