20 
LAND & WATER 
CHAT A 
c// T^omance of the South Seas 
"By H. T>E FERE STAC POOLE 
April 6, igib 
Synopsis : Macquart, an adventurer who has spent- 
must of his life at sea, finds himself in Sydney on his beam 
ends. He has a wonderful story of gold hidden up a river in 
New Guinea, and makes the acquaintance of Tillman, a sporting 
man about town, fond of yarhting and racing, and of Houghton, 
a well-educated Englishman out of a job. Through Tillman's 
influence he is introduced to a wealthy woolbroker. Screed, who, 
having heard Macquart's story and examined his plans, which 
agree -with an Admiralty chart, agrees to finance the enterprise. 
Screed purchases a yawl, the " Barracuda." Just before they 
leave Macquart encounters an old shipmate. Captain Hull, 
who is fully acquainted with his villainies. Hull gets in touch 
with Screed, who engages him and brings him aboard the yacht 
just as they are about to sail. By degrees Captain Hull prac- 
tically assumes command of the enterprise through force of 
character. After adventures they arrive at New Guinea and 
anchor in a lagoon. They go by boat up a river where they 
make the acquaintance of a drunken Dutchman, Wiart, who 
is in charge of a rubber and camphor station. They catch 
sight of a beautiful Dyak girl, Chaya. According to Macquart's 
story a man named Lant, wlw had seized this treausure, sunk his 
ship and murdered his crew with the exception of one man. 
" Smith." Lant then settled here, buried the treasure, and married 
a Dyak woman, chief of her tribe. Lant was murdered by 
" Smith," whom Captain Hull and the rest make little doubt 
was no other than Macquart. Chaya, with whom Houghton 
has -fallen in love, is Lant's half-caste daughter. Macquart 
guides them to a spot on the river-bank where he declares -the 
cache to be. They dig through that night and the following but 
find nothing ; they begin to think he is deceiving them. Then 
he starts the surmise that the Dyaks have moved the treasure 
to a sacred grove in the jungle. Wiart is his authority for this, 
and he persuades his shipmates to go with him in search of it. 
CHAPTER XX 
A Picture in the Forest 
IT was noon next day when Macquart, who had been in 
the house with Wiart having a long talk, drew the 
others together for a consultation. 
He led them among the trees to a spot where a clearing 
had been made by Nature, a regular room of the woods roofed 
with blue sky and walled with the liquid shadow of foliage. 
Macquart took his seat on the trunk of a camphor tree long 
fallen, Tillman sat down beside him, whilst Hull and Houghton 
remained standing. 
■' Well, I've fixed it," said Macquart. " He's open to 
lead us to the place, not to-day because he has to look after 
the rubber chaps, it's pay-day, but to-morrow." 
" Will he be sober ? think you ? " asked Hull. 
" He's off the drink. When we landed he was just at the 
end of a burst. He'll be right enough now for a couple of 
months and then he'll have another. He's that sort." 
" Well," said Hull, " I guess you know more of the 
fellow's clock-works than I do. I can't stomach the blighter 
no how. Them whiskers of his sticks in my gizzard. I 
never could abide whiskers on a man — them pork chop style. 
If a man's a man, let him grow a full face of hair or stick to 
a moustache. Them sort of whiskers is unholy, and I don't 
mind a drinkin' man that takes his drink proper, but that 
chap don't. He's a last night's drunk goin' about in trousers. 
Bv Jiminy, boys, if we don't hit the cache, we'll export him 
as an objec' lesson. Them temp'rance guys would give a 
hundred thousand dollars for him to take round the States, 
they would so." 
" Well, he's our last chance," said Macquart, " and I 
pin my faith to him, I do so. You mayn't like him, but 
don't say anything to rile him ; he's the kej^ to this pro- 
position." 
" We won't do anything to rile him," said Tillman. 
Where's Houghton going ? " 
Houghton had walked off and was away among the 
trees. 
"It's that gal," said the Captain, " she was peekin' at 
us from the trees and he's gone after her. She's after him, 
too, or my name's not Hull. We only wanted a cage of 
turkle doves to add to our top hamper and b' gosh, 1 believe 
we've got one." 
Houghton had glimpsed her, a white glint among the 
trees. She had been looking at them. He knew quite well 
that if he had not been of the party she would not have been 
there. Forgetting the others and heedless of everything, he 
made towards her. Seeing him coming she evaded him with- 
out taking flight, allowing herself to be seek every now 
and then and every now and then vanishing completely from 
sight. 
This was the edge of the great and mysterious forest that 
throws its cloak far and wide over New Guinea. The trees 
just here were not very closely set but swinging lianas tufted 
with growths and huge shrubs with foot-broad leaves gave 
ample cover for anyone pursued. Not wishing to call out, 
half laughing, half vexed, hit in the face by leaves and 
clutched at now and then by thorns, he continued the ptirsuit 
till now where the trees were denser and the gloom more 
profound he stood lost and without sight of her, surrounded 
on all sides by a barrier that on all sides was the same. 
Parrots were crying in the tree-tops and the push of the 
wind against the foliage came as' a deep sigh, the voice of 
leagues of trees sleeping and half disturbed in their sleep. 
"Then came a scuttering in the branches up above, and a 
nut hit him on the shoulder and as he glanced up another 
nut caught him a sharp blow on the cheek. He was being 
pelted by little monkeys, swarms of little monkeys, skipping 
from branch to branch, hanging by their tails or by one hand. 
He was wiping his cheek when a laugh sounded almost at 
his elbow, and, turning, he saw Chaya. She was pushing 
back the leaves that hid her to peep at him and before she 
could escape he caught her. 
He held her hands, and as he drew her towards him he 
felt as though he were drawing towards him the very 
soul of the mysterious forests, the very spirit of this tropical 
land, unknown and strange. She looked straight and deep 
into his eyes, and for a moment the prisoner and the captor 
changed places ; then, breaking the spell, he released her 
hands to seize her to him, and he seized only air. She had 
eluded him again and he found himself face to face with 
nothing but swaying leaves. She had vanished as completely 
and suddenly as though the forest had snatched her from him. 
The forest that was her accomplice and of which she was 
the true child. 
He pushed the still swaying leaves aside, thought that 
he perceived a glimpse of her and pursued it to find — nothing. 
Then after half an hour of fruitless wandering, he broke into 
an open glade and found himself close to the Papuan village. 
There was a great commotion in the village, one of the rubber 
gatherers had been brought in. He was lying on the ground 
turning from side to side, crying out and, to all appearances, 
delirious. 
As Houghton approached, the unfortunate man ceased 
his outcries, raised himself with a supreme effort nearly to his 
feet and then fell back. He was dead. The natives, seeing 
the white man, pointed to the corpse and seemed trj'ing to 
explain matters. Then one of them shook something from 
a mat basket, pointed to it and to the corpse. The thing he 
had shaken from the basket was a scorpion, rather smaller 
than the one from which Chaya had saved Houghton. It had 
bitten the unfortunate man only half an hour ago and liere 
lay the result. 
Houghton shivered at the thought of what he had escaped. 
It was like an object-lesson of what tliis country held for the 
unwary, a picture of its dangers for all who tread the paths 
of life or love. 
CHAPTER XXI 
The Great Thorn Bush 
Saji knew nothing of the meetings between Houghton and 
Chaya. Had he done so, Houghton's story would have 
come to a very abrupt end. Saji was a being who moved 
entirely in bhnkers with a more than vivid view of his 
immediate objective, but with great darkness on either side 
of him. So we might fancy the tiger to move through the 
jungle. 
Having received his commission to watch the strangers 
and especially Macquart, he fulfilled it to the letter. The 
reward of his obedience would be Chaya ; that was sufficient 
to blind him to everything else but his work. 
Hull and his companions had found themselves unobserved 
