The Oregon daily journal., May 28, 1916, Page 61, Image 61

THE SUNDAY FICTION MAGAZINE, MAY 28, 1916.
Nat-al stepped out
upon the beach. In
her hand she still
held the paddle. Tur
came toward her.
time to be lost. The man is hidden in a
cove south of here along the shore. He is
fast bound, and was left without a guard.
If we hurry we may reach him before my
people regain him. If we. can elude your
warriors, and the delay that would follow
the discovery of me, we may yet be in
time."
Tur hurried from the shelter followed by
Nat-ul.
The man was careful to keep his face
averted from the girl while they traversed
the area lit by the camp and beast fires,
so he forged ahead, trusting to her desire
to find her man to urge her after him.
Nor did he overestimate the giri's anxiety
to find Nu, the son of Nu.
Nat-ul followed swiftly upon Tur's heels
through the deserted village and across
the beach, from whence the sounds of eon
flict rose beside the sea.
Tur kept to the north of the fighters, go
ing to a spot upon the beach where he had
left his own boat. He found the craft
without difficulty, pushed it into the
water, lifted Nat-ul
into it, and shoved it
through the surf.
To Tur the work re
quired but a moment:
he was as much; at
home in the boiling
surf as upon dry land.
Seated in the stern
with Nat-ul facing him
in the bow, he forced
the dugout beyond the
prrip of the rollers. Nat-ul took up a sec
ond paddle that lay at her feet, plying it,
awkwardly, perhaps, but not without good
effect.
She could scarce wait until the boat
reached the cove, and every effort of her
own addel so much to the speed of the
craft.
Tur kept the boat's head toward the
open sea. It was his purpose to turn
toward the south after they were well out,
and,, moving slowly during the night,
await the breaking of dawn to disclose the
whereabouts of his fellows.
That they, too, would paddle slowly
southward he was sure.
Presently he caught sight of the out
line of a boat just ahead. Probably be
yond that were others. He had been for
tunate to stumble upon the last boatload
of his fleeing tribe.
He did not hail them for two reasons.
One was that he did not wish the girl to
know that he was not bearing her south
toward -the cove the imaginary location
her man; and the other
was due to the danger of
attracting the attention of
the enemy, who might have
captured some of the boats
and be carrying the pursuit
out upon the sea.
Presently a third possi-
' bility kept him quiet the
boat ahead miht contain warriors of the
enemy searching for fugitives. Tur did
not know that the tribe of Nu was entire
ly unfamiliar with navigation that never
before had they dreamed of such a thing
as a boat.
So Tur followed the boat ahead in si
lence straight out to sea.
To Nat-ul it seemed that the cove must
be a long distance away.. In the darkness
she did not perceive that they were travel
ing directly away from shore. After a
long time she heard the pounding of surf
to the left of the boat.
She was startled and confused. Travel
ing south, as she supposed they had been
doing, the surf should have been off the
right side of the boat.
"Where are we?" she asked. "There is
land upon the left, whereas it should be
upon the right."
Tur laughed.
"We must be lost," he said; but Nat-ul
knew now that she had been deceived. At
the same instant there came over her a
sudden sense of familiarity in the voice of
her companion.
Where had she heard it before? She
strove to pierce the darkness that shroud
ed the features of the man at the opposite
end of the boat.
"Who are you?" she asked. "Where
are you taking me?"
"You will soon be with your man," re
plied Tur, but there was an Ill-concealed
note of . gloating that did not escape
Nat-ul.
j no girl now remained silt-nt. She nc
longer paddled, but sat listening to the
booming of the surf which she realized
that they rapidly were approaching.
What shore was'it?
Her mind was working rapidly. She
was accustomed to depending largely on a
well developed Instinct for locality and di
rection upon land, and while It did not aid
her much upou the water, it at least pre
served her from the hopeless bewilderment
that besets the average modern when once
he loses his bearings, preventing any
semblance of rational thought in the es
tablishment of his whereabouts.
Nat-ul knew that they had not turned
toward' the north once after they had left
the shore, and so she knew that the main
land could not be upon their left.
Therefore the surf upon that hand must
be breaking upon the shore of one of the
slands that she only too well knew lay off
the mainland. Which of the islands they
were approaching she could not guess, but
any of them was sufficiently horrible In
her estimation.
Nat-ul planned quickly against the
emergency which confronted her. She
knew, or thought, that the man had
brought her here where she would be ut
terly helpless In his power. Her people
could not follow them.
There would be none to succor or
avenge.
''Tur was wielding his paddle rapidly
and vigorously now. He shot the boat Just
ahead of an enormous roller that present
ly caught and lifted it upon its crest, car
rying It swiftly up the beach.
As the keel touched the sand Tur
leaped cut and dragged the craft as far
up as ho could, while the wave receded to
the ocean. ,
Nat-ul stepped out upon the beach. In
her hand she still held the paddle. Tur
came toward her. He was quite close, ami
even in the darkness she saw his features
and recognized them.
He reached toward her arm to seize her.
"Come," he said. "Come to your mate.'
Like a flash the crude, heavy paddle