Part 9 (1/2)
”Me not care about that,” he grinned ”Me catch Soly brief It read:
”Theyou,--NEWMARCH”
Kaipi had returned to the job of sharpening his knife in which I had interrupted hieance was only a matter of a few hours As far as I was concerned the captain could not have chosen a betterthe note into small pieces, ”you have been sent to help me find Leith and the Professor See, I have the Professor's picture , and the captain sent you and rinned, tried the edge of his knife blade with the ball of his thureat a hurry to fix Soma,” I cautioned ”Toni's spirit can wait a few days till you get a suitable opportunity Noe'll strike the trail”
Kaipi grinned again, put his sharpened knife into his belt and plunged into the dense undergrowth The snaky,around our legs like live things, and I da for notoriety as aded through the clammy creepers in search of the trail made by the party The prickly rope-like vines seeed scientist and his daughters into dangers that made my brain dizzy as I atteination put forward
At last we found the traces of Sons we hurried forward The ground rose gradually toward the centre of the island, where coluainst the pure Venetian blue of the tropical sky But the sky was visible only forvines that overran the trees ht, andin a ony Masses of rock of volcanic origin were thickly strewn around, and anything like fast travelling was impossible
The sun dropped slowly toward the west, and we had great difficulty in holding to the path The axe marks and the branches broken by the carriers were really the only signs that we had to go by, but the eyes of the Fijian were exceedingly sharp in detecting the slightest evidence left by the party We passed the spot where they had lunched, and increased our speed in an endeavour to overtake thehtfall
The silence and unexplainable mystery of the place made me anxious to catch up with thee made Kaipi move at a speed that wasblanket, and we halted
”No go farther,” muttered Kaipi ”Better make fire and sleep Catch uathered a pile of rotten wood, but before he could set fire to the heap I was onmy way into the darkness in front Froht came the voice of Edith Herndon lifted up in a little Italian ht we left Levuka It seemed to ing to guide me to the spot where the party had camped
Five ht round the fire, and Leith sprang to his feet with a growl of rage
”What's this?” he cried ”Who the devil gave you permission to co straight at the giant as I fired the lie at hiot Professor Herndon's camera, and Captain News were drowned by the scientist's cries of joy as he took the ca brute had time to recover hiuessed that he reasoned that it would be bad policy to show that he was angry at my arrival, while the camera partly convinced him that I had told the truth His surprise and the Professor's evident pleasure made me think it an opportune moment to put forward a request to stay with the party, and I put my wish into words
”Captain New if you and Professor Herndon had no objections,” I lied ”He thought ould prove useful”
Leith scowled angrily, but the Professor gave an ihtedness prevented hi the frohich passed over the face of his partner, but the sour look fled iirls expressed a desire to keep me in the party
”Oh, please let Mr Verslun come,” cried Miss Barbara ”It willof the stock of food,” growled Leith, as if atteo on half hed Holman
”And he can have some of mine,” cried Miss Barbara
”And rinned as he noted the feeling of the party It would not be diploainst the wishes of all, and he knew it With a wave of his hand he ordered Kaipi to the fire where So, and nodded his head as an intirowled, as I fell upon the plate of tinned sal the shooting this afternoon?”
”I was,” I replied ”I fired ot off the trail and couldn't find our way back to it I thought on account of the way that the path wound in and out that your party ht be near the spot where ere bushed”
He h of relief Unless Newer to make sure that the news of my desertion would reach Leith, I felt that I was safe
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