HEPPNER GAZETTE TIMES, HEPPNER, OREGON, THURSDAY. MARCH 8, 1928.
PAGE THREE
RED- HAIR
AND
5LBLUE SEA
STANLEY R. OSBORN
ILLUSTRATIONS BY HENRY JAY LEE
COPYRIGHT BV CHAJOES 8CE1BNERS 8ON8
WHAT HAPPENED BEFOBB
Palmvrft Tree. nhnnrri th
bow, is startled by seeing a hand thrust
through the port of her oabln. She
manes a secret Investigation and dis
covers a stowaway. She is disappoint-
ed In his mild appearance and tella him
so. Obeying his command to glance at
ine uoor sne sees a nuge, nerce, cop
per-hued man with a ten-inch knife
neia Deiween grinning lips! Burke,
the stowaway, exulalns that it la a inkn
But Palmyra is shaken. Next day Burke
and the brown man go up on deck. The
oiowuway eniertams tnem with wild
tales of adventuresome life which his
listeners refuse to believe! Now read
CHAPTER in.
Enemies and Friends.
Some sixteen days later in Mrs.
Crawford's cabin a conference was
under way.
"But, my dear, my dear," Pal
myra's mother was protesting, "how
can you say everything's going right
wnen r&lm spends most of her time
-listening to that, that miserable
stowaway; that human toad. Her
father is beside himself with anxie
ty."
The man made a deprecatory
sound.
"Events," said the hostess im
pressively, "have only too well
shown that I, that we intervened
Just in time. Your daughter was
on the verge of falling in love with
John Thurston."
The father uttered a protest
"I don't see we've gained any
thing.
'But where are your eyes?" de
manded the hostess. "As I said in
California, Van, with his refined
personality, fits into the yacht's cab
in like 'The Young King Charles'
into a gilded frame. Thurston, on
the contrary, is a great, robust be
ing. He looks well enough ashore,
but here, in these little compart
ments, on this narrow deck, his
hands and feet seem in the way."
She paused to smile at them reas
suringly.
"Surely, with John at his worst,
Van at his best need we fear?"
Meanwhile, Constance Crawford
was forward at the .Rainbow's bow,
sailing through the tropic night up
on enchanted waters.
When John Thurston presently
joined Constance, she looked up
with a frown. "I was just think
ing," she explained, "that Palm Tree
doesn't at all realize what Burke
may be getting into his mind. I
believe the little fraud's quite puffed
up over the idea he's made some
thing of a conquest."
Thurston answered rather absent
ly. "Anyhow," he said, "Burke's
over the side at Honolulu and gone
forever."
She assented.
John was silent for some time.
Then: "I'd like to go, too," he burst
out "I, I've been trying to tell you
I've taken your advice: asked her to
become my wife."
"Yes," she answered without mov
ing. "I know."
"Sho told you?" he exclaimed.
"No. You did."
He was chagrined. "I suppose I
do look like that," he said.
"On the contrary. You've been
"splendid." She glanced up friend
ily. "But I still think it was the
right thing to do. A week or two
hence absolutely no hope. Oh, why
didn't you speak in California? She
originally liked you bst I'm sure
of It. Docs still, If she only knew.
Or," Constance added ruefully,
"would If they'd let her alone."
He laughed with some bitterness.
"Oh, I know what you mean."
He fell Into a sudden petulance.
When Thurston spoke again it
was apparently in an effort to get
into a more cheerful vein. .
"Seemingly," he said, "I have an
other well-wisher aboard."
With a pocket flashlight he made
visible for her a small object of wo
ven fibre: a bark cordVound round
. a packet perhaps two inches square.
"When I came on deck this morn
ing," he explained, "Olive incarnat
ed himself before me; looked about
furtively, jerked my coat-tails up,
fastened this round my waist. Then
he gave me a friendly grin and van
ished." "But," she puzzled, "what is it?"
"Inside there's a bit of fine mat,
seven hairs and a fcooth, a good
luck charm."
"But,; but why . . ,"
"How should I know?"
She was thoughtful. "At any rate,"
she said finally, "he seems to be
wishing you good luck."
She examined the amulet again
with an absent attention. Then,
the smile fading from her lips:
"John, promise me you will not
leave the Rainbow at Honolulu." '
The yacht was pushing on at her
best pace, setting up such a lively
stir at her prow as to achieve the
small, private rainbow for which
she had been named.
Burke and Palmyra were on deck
Burke was quizzically regarding
the pensive Palmyra.
As though, defining her very
thoughts, he spoke.
"Excuse me, Miss," he said.
"Those others " a slightly con
temptuous gesture. "They're tame.
That's what tame. But you? Why,
you're different Y'sure wasn't In
tended for their little ol' birdcage
kind of life. Nature meant y'for
something lively-like, something up
and doing."
The girl laughed. "Nature," she
said, "meant me for a pirate. It's
in my blood," she affirmed. "First,
a Norseman ravaging the coasts of
England. Then, a British admiral
ravaging everything else. And
lastly, old Captain Ebenezer, with
John Paul Jones, descending once
more upon the coasts of England."
Burke grinned in admiration.
The girl turrfed to go; than
paused, laughing back at him over
her shoulder. "You, Ponape Burke,"
she said; "you and I I'm afraid
we were born too late."
At the rate the Rainbow was sail'
ing, it was evldant the yacht must
soon make a landfall. Indeed, al
ready eyes were peering through
powerful glasses seeking for the
first shadowy silhouette of the
peaks of Oahu.
As the Rainbow raised the pano
rama of dead craters that stands,
rather barren, above the verdant
town of Honolulu, none upon her
decks was as expectant as Palmyra
Tree. For from the chaff of Ponape
Burke's narration she had win
nowed the clean grain of beauty
and romance that is the life of this
Island world of the palm tree. Her
imagination was a-glow.
Through the gateway of Hono
lulu sne was to sail on into this
world where Happiness is aueen.
"bne was to sail across the track
less sea as those brown mariners
of old.
As the girl, thus deep in reverie
stood watching the distant peaks,
she became aware of a presence at
her side. Turning, she started upon
encountering tne brown man Olive
He gave tongue to a few sylla
bles, paused perplexed, then fell
back upon pantomime. The hour of
departure had come. Soon Burke
and he would go over the side and,
forever, into oblivion.
Palmyra smiled. She tried to
overcome her aversion, to respond
to his attempted farewell. As he
had done, she moved to sneak.
found herself helpless, returned the
smile.
The brown man, thus counten
anced, laid the square finger upon
ner own Breast Having thus iden
tified the girl as the being of the
drama, he raised his hand, with ex
tended arm, straight over his head.
She thought he invoked the One
above. But she gave this up when
sne saw that he waggled, fluttered
the fingers.
When she shook her head, re
greuuny, ne abandoned the up
raised nana as rutile. He brought
out a ring. Palymra Tree had never
seen such a ring: tortoise shell
inland with silver. There were let
ters on it; seemingly one word,
thrice repeated and separated bv
aiscs tne word "N-l."
Olive pointed to the letters, then
to the girl and once more held aloft
the hand with the moving Angers.
But again she shook her head.
The brswn man stood baffled.
Then, grinning anew, he hurried
away forward.
The savage, presently returnine.
thrust into the girl's hand a litho
graph, an advertisement of Egyp
tian cigarettes. "
He pointed to the silver letters of
the ring and pronounced the word,
NI," then to her with a second "Ni"
and to the picture with a third. He
dropped the ring into her fingers.
At last the girl who was named
Palmtree understood. For there in
the advertisement was a palmtree.
The upraised hand had symbolized
the palm herself. Olive but sought
to give her a ring with her name
upon it
When the hour of leavetaking
came, however, he seemed to have
re-entered the silence, and the fare
wells devolved upon Ponape Burke.
As this little stowaway reached
her in his round he achieved a sim
ple eloquence of feeling. "You've
been k nd t me. miss." he said. "I
ain't a-going t'forget It. Nor vou."
She shook hands with an unas-
sumed friendliness. "I'm sure," she
said, "we shall see you aeain."
Sharply he glanced at her, as if
eager to know whether she really
nao such a hope. Then he shrug
ged, island-wise. "It's a large ocean,
lady. With you and me it's just
lights passing In the dark; a hail,
and then nothing."
A minute later Palmyra's plrales
were swinging over the side into
their boat.
Burke raised his hat jauntily. But
it was rather at the savage the girl
looked. Over the white man's shoul
der he Beemed to be watching her
to the end with that strangely ex
pressionless but intent stare.
Palmyra faced ibruptiy away and
snatched the ring from her finger.
Xes, she whispered, "I, I'm cer
tainly glad lo have seen toe last of
him " .
One short week ashore and the
good ship Rainbow was at sea
igain. Bound she was now for the
heart of Oceanlc'a, the Equatorial
Isles of Micronesia. As the yacht
was to put John Thurston aboard a
Phllippnie transport at Guam, only
little southing, said the hostess,
would take them In among the Gil
berts, the Marshalls, the Carolines,
that Milky Way of atolls along the
Line, of which Ponape Burke had
talked so alluringly.
What Mrs. Crawford did not ex
plain was that the real duty, as she
saw it, lay in depriving ThurBton's
long legs of a chance, in this less
cramped setting of Honolulu, to
snap back t" perspective. '
By rejecting both her lovers Van
shortly after John Palmyra had
gained a reprieve from that ques
tion as to whether she was in love
with one man or just dandy good
pals with two.
The peaks of Oahu sank back Into
the moann. the deep, deep ocean
whence they had risen. One day,
two days, four, six upon a tempera
mental sea; a whole week of heavy
skies and rain and storm seemed to
have carried the girl no further.
A second week came and went; a
week of summer sea and lusty
trades and flying yacht. But still no
answer.
The third week came and neared
Its end. Intermittent now the breeze,
lor they touched the equatorial zone
of light and variable airs. A whole
day through, perhaps, the Rainbow
would scarcely move.
Slowly, und-nsolojsly, Palmvra
had been. responding to the condi
tions created by the wily Mrs.
Crawford. As the breeze, with each
knot of westing, had been sinking
more dangerously into the dol
drums, the breath of her own feel
ing had stirred, risen fresh, fair,
constant, until it reached the deep
sweep of a maiden's first acknow
ledged love.
Gladly she was confessing It now,
this belated recognition of love for
the man of her parent s choice, Van
Buren Rutger.
And she must have treated John
Thurston abor.lnably. With each
moment that she gave herself more
convincedly up to love, her pity for
rnurston grew.
But when, on the twenty-second
evening out from Honolulu tomor
row they were to sight their first
atoll ihe hour came for the formrl
announcement of her betrothal, the
girl was radiantly happy.
True, at the moment when Mrs,
Crawford spoke, it was upon the
face of John Thurston that Pal
myras eyes rested, and she could
not wince at the flash of pain there
revealed. But no girl In love can.
on ner Deirotnal night, lone be un
happy over the face of a rejected
suitor.
So It was, that night as Palmvra
lay asleep in her stateroom, her
body gently moving with the lift
and fall of the yacht in the mid-
Pacific calm, there was a tender
smile upon her lips.
And the tender smile was still
lingering, in an alluring warmth
and sweetness and beauty, when -the
Kalnbow, caught all unaware by a
sudden squall, came down with a
crash upon the teeth of a reef
that should not have been there.
On a craft such as the Rainbow
interest naturally centers about the
navigation.
What better then for Mrs. Craw
ford in her amiable intrigue than to
set up Van Buren Rutger as a gen
tleman navigator? How more
pleasantly important than, hand
some, graceful, jaunty in his white
uniform he poised with sextant to
take the sun or bent over the charts
with Constance and the Wampolds
and Palmyra?
In so featuring Van as a yachts
manhe was no more than a fairly
competent amateur the hostess
had meant that Pedersen in the
background should unostentatiously
check up on his work at every point
But . . .
The sailing master was a man
vain, self-important Jealous of his
prerogatives, touchy as to his dignity.
Not understanding Mrs. Craw
ford's motive, he chose to regard
the arrangement as an imputation
upon his seamanship, his fitness
whicn he himself doubted longer
to command.
Van soon discovered then that
this sick and sulky old man was
only making an outward show; in
reality having nothing whatever to
do with the navigation, leaving the
fate of the yacht absolutely in Van's
own hands.
A certain Inability to take a stand
in anything unpleasant, difficult to
make up his mind and act in an
emergency, kept Van at first from
telling the noatess. Later he con
tinued with an object. He knew -she
did not truly rely on him In this
showy fraud of navigation; he sus
pected Palmyra was not deceived
Knowing his own weakness, he had
the weak mnn'b fear of seeing that
knowledge teflected in the face3 of
others. Therefore, he would, with
out aid, sail the Rainbow to and
through the Line Island groups. And
tnen, wnen at last ne told the girl
sne couia not nut admire his per-
lormance.
On the night of the wreck, Van
really heroic in persisting against a
quacking unconfldence that kept
mm often awake had stolen on
deck in the mid-watch to reassure
himself. His first glance told him
the clouds were gathering for
squall.
Like most unadver.turous persons,
van repenea at being thought tim
id. Before rousing the watch he
paused to make sure the clouds
meant wind. As he studied the skv
he gradually became aware of a low
sound as of an express train far
away. Startled, he swept the sea:
then laughed In self-contempt More
tnan once lately in dreams or wak
ing he had sprung up at that fan
cied sound of surf. The yacht should
not have land aboard until late the
next day. To call out there was on
island a-lee, if -there were none,
would be to make himself absurd,
Staring now up at the blackening
SKy. again oil Into tne gloom of sea,
he stood, balanced in suspense be
tween his fear of storm and lee
shore, and his dread of ridicule. For
this first time Van had life and
death in his hands and could not
decide what to do.
The sound of surf being at its
minimum after two days' calm, the
first breath of the squall was upon
the yacht before Van was galvaniz
ed into action by discovering, broad
on the port bow, a dim low-lvine
something against the sky the sil
houette of palms. '
But even as the doomed Rainbow
thus lay between hammer and anvil,
she could have been extricated had
not Captain Pedersen himself gone
to pieces.
In the precious remaining mo
ments a bewildered crew tried to
execute Incoherent orders, while
the yacht was beaten down upon
the waiting coral.
Following the crash upon the
reef, Thurston picked himself up
and scrambled to the deck just as
sea came roaring aboard. Saved
by a- spring into the rigging he
waited a chance to reach Pedersen,
whose condition he had sensed.
Seizing the sailing master he whirl
ed him round.
You're drunk," he cried. "Or, or
crazy."
The other quailed under the steely
light in Thurston's eye.
Get below."
I'll take charge,'' Thurston an
nounced.
The pumps showed Chat the wreck
was taking tfaier badly. Such boats
could be launched were got
ready.
The men obeyed unquestioningly.
They liked, respected Thurston. He
knew little of ships but they recog
nized in his voice the quality of
command.
During the hours which followed
The Cream
1 of the
Tobacco
Crop
3T sJW
I .N
William T- Tilden 2nd
to protect his throat
smokes Luckies
'During the course of some of my stage appearances, 1
am called upon at intervals to smoke a cigarette and
naturally I have to he careful about my choice. I smoke
Lucky Strikes and have yet to feel the slightest effect
upon my throat? A c- . ,
it s toasted
No Throat Irritation-No Cough.
01928, The American Tobacco Co., Inc.
it might have seemed to Palmyra
that the wreck had been arranged
for the sole purpose of bringing out
the difference between John Thurs
ton and Van Buren Rutger.
Where Van was sunk In self-accusing
misery, Thurston's spirits
were buoyant. The man was serene,
methodical, busy. And he had action
at last; intense, vital. In fighting to
save tne woman he loved he could
forget, forvthe moment, that he had
lost her forever.
Where Van was soon sodden with
fatigue, John seemed fresher with
every hour.
It had been decided to leave the
women in the cabin where they had
been penned, rather than risk the
ugly surf that broke about the after
companion.
But Van, In his self-accusing
frenzy, was conscious only that he
had placed his betrothed In the
hands of death, that he must save
her.
He rushed toward the cabin com-
panionway. Before anyone noticed,
he had thrown it open in the face
of another sea. A second later he
was swept down its steps bv the
flooding water.
Catching up Palmyra he strue-
gled back and out again on the
deck. Only then, at a warning cry.
did he seem consciously to perceive
what force it was that delivered
these blows. Stopping short he
looked back. A crest reared above
the wreck, gathering itself like some
animate beast for the spring. Van,
horror stricken, started one way,
another; stood frozen in his tracks.
In an instant the sea would have
oeen upon him. From that slippery
listing deck both man and girl
would, in all chance, have been ear
ned overboard to death.
In the blinding roar, all she knew
was that Van's arms were round
her, that he held her safe. Never
did she suspect it was to another
pair of arms she owed her life.
Of all these revelations, these
manifestations of the weakness of
Van Buren Rutger, the strength of
John Thurston, the girl noted none.
On the night of her betrothal she
would scarcely have been like, un
der any circumstances, to draw
comparisons. And here darkness
and groping confusion and the voice
of waters conspired with Thurston
himself to hide the truth.
Palmyra's love weathered the
storm, unquestioning, serene.
(Continued next week.)
Invaluable Statistics
The best vegetable soup Is usually
made with vegetables.
It is (till possible to secure whis
key in the United States.
Michelangelo was not the Inventor
of golf knickers.
If a piece of burning wood three
inches long be dropped into a fifty
pound box of dynamite, there will
be an explosion.
It is two hundred and twenty
miles from Peru, Indiana, to a point
two hundred and twenty miles away
from Peru, Indiana.
Saint Peter never mastered the
art of shaving himself with a safety
razor.
It has been estimated that 9,721
toothpicks are lost every year.
The Spanish language is spoken
in Spain.
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Question: Why is
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diet of children?
Answer: Because when
it is mixed with milk it
makes milk a more effi
cient rickets-preventing
food and builder of strong
bones. Children like it
best in the form of
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