Part 13 (1/2)

”Mon Dieu!” exclaiue as he never did except under the stress of great excite suspiciously at the mucker

”Head-hunters,” said Theriere ”God! What an awful fate for that poor girl!”

Billy Byrne hite

”Yeh don't mean dat dey've lopped off her block?” he whispered in an awed voice Soht he had just voiced He did not attempt to analyze the sensation; but it was far froestion that the wo death at the hands of savages

”I'm afraid not, Byrne,” said Theriere, in a voice that none there would have recognized as that of the harsh and masterful second officer of the Halfmoon

”Yer afraid not!” echoed Billy Byrne, in amazement

”For her sake I hope that they did,” said Theriere; ”for such as she it would have been a far less horrible fate than the one I fear they have reserved her for”

”You mean--” queried Byrne, and then he stopped, for the realization of just what Theriere did mean swept over him quite suddenly

There was no particular reason why Billy Byrne should have felt toomen the finer sentiments which are so cherished a possession of those ently born and raised, even after they have learned that all women are not as was the feminine ideal of their boyhood

Billy's mother, always foul-mouthed and quarrelsome, had been a veritable demon when drunk, and drunk she had been whenever she could, by hook or crook, raise the price of whiskey Never, to Billy's recollection, had she spoken a word of endearment to him; and so terribly had she abused him that even while he was yet a little boy, scarce out of babyhood, he had learned to view her with a hatred as deep-rooted as is the affection of most little children for their mothers

When he had come to man's estate he had defended himself from the woman's brutal assaults as he would have defended himself from another man--when she had struck, Billy had struck back; the only thing to his credit being that he never had struck her except in self-defense

Chastity in wo to joke of--he did not believe that it existed; for he judged other women by the one he knew best--his mother And as he hated her, so he hated the since she not only was a woman, but a woe and inexplicable that the suggestion of the girl's probable fate should have affected Billy Byrne as it did He did not stop to reason about it at all--he siainst the creatures that had borne the girl away

Outwardly Billy showed no indication of the turotta find her, bo,” he said to Theriere ”We gotta find the skirt”

Ordinarily Billy would have blustered about the terrible things he would do to the objects of his wrath when once he had theely quiet--only the firray eyes gave token of the iron resolution within

Theriere, who had been walking slowly to and fro about the dead men, now called the others to him

”Here's their trail,” he said ”If it's as plain as that all the on't be long in overhauling the”

Before he had the words half out of histhe well-marked spoor of the samurai

”Wot kind of men do you suppose they are?” asked Red Sanders

”Malaysian head-hunters, unquestionably,” replied Theriere

Red Sanders shuddered inwardly The appellation had a ruesome sound

”Come on!” cried Theriere, and started off after the ht in the thick forest

Red Sanders and Wison took a few steps after the French him, and then a turn in the trail hid theoin' to get oose chase as this,” he said to Wison