April 13, igi6 
LAND & WATER 
CHAT A 
<^ l^mance of the South Seas 
"By H. T>E FERE STAC POOLE 
19 
Synopsis : Macquart, an adventurer who has spent 
most of his life at sea, finds himself in Sydney on his beam 
ends. He has a wofiderful story of gold hidden up a river in 
New Guinea, and makes the acquaintance of Tillman, a sporting 
man about town, fond of ya Ming 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, wlio, 
having heard Macquart's story, agrees to finance the enterprise. 
Screed purchases a yawl, the " Barracuda.'' Just before they 
lezve 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. 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, ivho 
is in charge of a rubber and camphor station. Here they 
meet a beautiful Dyak girl, Chaya. According to Macquart's 
story a man named Lant, who 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 ivhom 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. He 
persuades his shipmates to go with him in search of it. Th- 
Tourney leads them through what is called the Great Thorn Bush. 
CHAPTER XXII 
Macquart's Third Trick 
IT is the chief wonder of this part of the forests of New 
Guinea. Square miles upon square miles of Wait-a- 
Bit thorn, six feet in height, cut into a thousand 
intersecting roads and presenting a maze all the more 
intricate from the fact that the roads are sparsely occupied 
by trees. 
Where the thorn is there grows nothing but thorn, 
forming a terrible wall, impenetrable as a barbed wire en- 
tanglement. 
" There's a bad bit of stuff in front of us," said Wiart, 
" but we can get through before sundown ; the way through 
winds a bit, but I know the road, and if I should rniss it the 
compass will put us right." 
" Heave ahead," said Hull. 
Wiart, Macquart, and Jacky led the way, the others 
followed. Hull had closed up with his two companions and 
as they went along, Houghton proceeded to take him to task 
for his indiscretions. 
" It was no good of you opening that question with 
Wiart," said he. 
" What question ? " asked Hull. 
" Good Lord ! About the payment we'd give him. Two 
hundred pounds — what's two hundred pounds to the amount 
we're expecting to find ? " 
" And how's ha to know what we're expectin'," asked 
the other. " My idea was, if we nosed the stuff, to get rid 
of Don Whiskerandos before we carted it off, pay him a lump 
sum and get him drunk. He don't know what we're ex- 
pectin'." 
" How do you know he doesn't ? " 
" Who'd tell him ? " 
" How do you know Macquart hasn't told him ? " 
" He's not such a durned fool as that," said the Captain. 
" Where'd be the sense of lettin' another chap into the 
know ? " 
" Well, it's this way. Tillman and 1 have been sus- 
pecting that Macquart is up to some trick to do us three 
out and he's pulled Wiart in. Of course it's only suspicion, 
but if there is any understanding between them and if Wiart 
does know wliat we expect to find, the offer of two hundred 
will only strengthen his determination to help Macquart. 
He'll say to himself that with such a measly offer it's worth 
risking everything to go against us. I think we'd better let 
Wiart into the whole thing and make him a partner and 
see if we can get him to peach on Macquart, if jVIacquart has 
been doing any plotting. I could take him aside when we 
camp to-night and sound him if you fellows agree." 
" Let him in 1 " said HuO. " You'd better let the whole 
of New Guinea in whiles you're about it, and put up placards 
when we get back to Sydney statin' the job we've been after 
and the amount." 
" I think Houghton is right," said Tillman. " It's 
better to lose a bit than lose all. Macquart is a rat and he 
hates you, Hull, and would be only too glad to serve you 
some dirty trick." 
" Listen," said Houghton. 
They were pursuing their way along a thorn alley in 
sight of Macquart and the others who were leading the way 
and now, seeming to come from far away behind them, they 
heard a voice as though someone were haiUng them. 
A girl's voice evidently. Then it ceased. 
They looked back, but they could see nothing beyond 
the distance of twenty yards or so. Though the trees were 
so sparsely placed that walking between them was easy, in 
the aggregate they made an obstruction to the eye, to say 
nothing of the fact that the path was irregular in its course. 
" Come on," said Hull, " or we'll lose sight of them chaps 
in front. It's a bird, maybe, anyhow it's no consarn of ours." 
They resumed the way and their argument, till at last 
Hull gave in. 
" Well, if you chaps are set on it," said he, " I'm not 
goin' to stand against you, and Mac will have to pay the 
blighter out of his share. He's fooled the bizness up to this 
an' he'U have to pay for his foohn'." 
They had reached a part of the great thorn bush now, 
that was simply a maze of alleys. This great maze extends 
over many square miles, how many no man can say, for no 
man has ever mapped it or measured it. The whole of this 
district is hated by the natives and feared as the abode of 
evil spirits; small wonder, for nothing can be more sinister 
than this intricacy of paths hedged by the mournful thorn. 
Macquart and Wiart and Jacky, going steadily ahead, 
disappeared round an angle of the way, and when the others 
reached the angle they found bending paths leading from it in 
every direction, but of Macquart and Wiart and Jacky not a 
sign. 
It was as though the earth had swallowed them. 
" Hullo," cried Hull. " What's gone with them ' 
blighters ? " 
" They've given us the slip," said Tillman. His face had 
suddenly turned pale and his Ups so dry that he had to moisten 
them. 
Houghton, putting his hands to his mouth, shouted out. 
Not a sound came in reply. 
. " Quick," said Hull. " Drop everything and after 
them." 
He cast his bundle down, as did the others, and started 
off down the broadest of the paths before them ; it split 
into three ways, and dividing they each took a path, calling 
all the time to keep in touch. 
They found nothing, and after a while, fearing to lose 
company, each began to return along the way he had come by, 
only to be confronted with the fact that he did not know the 
way ; all sorts of feeding ways and side-cuts, passed without 
thinking, fonned now a problem move dark than the problem 
set by the Sphinx. 
Keeping in touch by calling, they managed at last to 
reunite, but they were now utterly mazed, without the least 
idea in which way to go — and the precious bundles were lost. 
Dusk would soon be falling, suddenly, like a shut lid, 
and they were without food. 
" Oh, cuss that swine! " cried Hull. " I oughter a' put 
a bullet through his carciss. This is the third fool trick he's 
played me. It's my fault ; I oughter a' known." 
" That beast Jacky must have played up to him," said 
Tillrrtan. 
Houghton said nothing for a moment. Then he spoke : 
" There's no use in abusing them, or thinking of them till 
we're able to catch them. What we've got to do is to get out 
of this infernal place ; we've got a compass, and if we strike 
consistently in one direction, we will be all right. That 
