Category: Historical Novels
IN range of my outlook seaward as I lay on the yellow strand was a grotesque figure standing near and gazing inland. His powerful frame was broad and squat; his long arms, ending with immense hands, hung loosely at his sides; his hair was ragged; and out of his blank face blue...
AFTER a hard run, I laid Mr. Vancouver across Hobart’s shoulder. There was no need to urge all speed to the colony. I turned back to meet the pursuers, and ran swiftly until I e...
22. CHAPTER XXII.--Wit and Dash to the Fore.IT was some time before Lentala could lift her face to her subjects. The king’s renunciation--the finishing touch to the bold diplomacy with which he had turned the crisis--had...
19. CHAPTER XIX.--The Strength of the White Blood.Something had given him a fearful blow, and I guessed it was the danger to which Lentala had been exposed. His face was haggard again; his gait was unsteady; he doddered and mum...
15. CHAPTER XV.--The Lash in Unwilling Hands.I WAS absorbed in conjuring up plans for Mr. Vancouver’s rescue; but the more I thought of it, the madder the undertaking seemed. Suppose we should take him; would not the whole...
12. CHAPTER XII.--Dramatic Discoveries.THE passage was crooked. The darkness was unqualified, and so dense that it seemed resistant and hard to breathe. It was the sort of blackness that penetrates to the heart and q...
18. CHAPTER XVIII.--To the Rescue of the King.ON our way to the royal apartments, Beela again took us through the vaults. I used the opportunity to fix in my memory the exact places where the arms and ammunition from our ve...
13. CHAPTER XIII.--Preparation for the Crisis.I Would respect Beelo’s wish that she appear as a boy, and must keep hammering into my mind the words, Boy, Lad, Dear Little Brother. I must not for a moment think of her otherw...
21. CHAPTER XXI--Both Sides of the Wall.HABIT is the strongest force in animate nature. Though I was shaken, the bent of an urgent purpose remained, and I went forward to it with all the will at my command.
20. CHAPTER XX.--A Habit of Concealment.“He’s not there now,” she replied, seating herself, “but with the queen. Christopher, go and stand down the corridor, opposite the queen’s apartments, and wait for the king. Tho...
16. CHAPTER XVI.--A Light in the Gloom.YOU are late!” blithely greeted Beela when we arrived at the palace gate after leaving Mr. Vancouver. “That shows how much you think of the beautiful, the angel, the sweet, the...
14. CHAPTER XIV.---A Glimpse Into the Abyss.THE drenching, thunder-ridden storm was so favoring that I determined to investigate Mr. Vancouver’s circumstances, and, if possible, ascertain the plans focusing in him; for si...
10. CHAPTER X.--The Finding of a Man.THE president said nothing, but gave a signal to Christopher, who brought up a basket containing rope-ends and strips of cloth, of native manufacture. I understood what I was ne...
11. CHAPTER XI.--Faces Set Toward Danger.“You are dear old Choseph, aren’t you?” he said. “Oh, everything has happened!” he flung out. “The king is terribly angry with Lentala for interfering with the arrest of the you...
2. CHAPTER II.--The Falling of a FongTHE interpreter made a genuflection to the throne, and beckoned to Captain Mason and me. I thought that Mr. Vancouver ought to be included, but the skipper ignored my inquiring...
7. CHAPTER VII.--Secrets For Two.“That is as one thinks.” I could not restrain a smile at his ungraciousness, particularly as I saw that Annabel’s effect on him had impaired his frankness. “For that matter,” he...
8. CHAPTER VIII.--A Crumbling Edge.A gurgling laugh raised my head. Twenty feet away, in a direction opposite to that in which Beelo had disappeared, I saw him lying on the ground, kicking up his heels, and, his...
4. CHAPTER IV.--Behind a Laughing Mask.FORSEEING the time when a visible danger would bring mob-madness to the colony, Captain Mason gave his entire attention to strengthening his control. To that end he kept every o...
17. CHAPTER XVII.--Disciplined by a Woman.SLEEP held away that night. The revelations of the privy council had been startling. Some things were clear. One was that the king was a shrewd, easy-going, kindly man, vastly w...
9. CHAPTER IX.--An Iron Hand Comes Down.Annabel emerged late; she and Dr. Preston had been with the suffering child that night; but she looked much more worn and depressed than the night’s vigil warranted. I greeted h...
3. CHAPTER III.--The Menace of the Face.CAPTAIN Mason and I occupied the same hut, but we held no converse that night before falling into heavy slumber. Christopher insisted on sleeping outside the door. If any of our...
24. CHAPTER XXIV.--The Parting Hour.Here was something portentously solemn in Christopher’s manner when he came one brilliant morning with a summons from the queen to lunch with her and Annabel. I was aware of Cap...
1. CHAPTER I.--On Unknown Shores.IN range of my outlook seaward as I lay on the yellow strand was a grotesque figure standing near and gazing inland. His powerful frame was broad and squat; his long arms, endin...
5. CHAPTER V.--The Opening of a Pit.WHEN Christopher began my training and pursued it with such amazing thoroughness, my feeling of being ridiculous disappeared. My love of adventure in these preparations was ming...
6. CHAPTER VI.--Witcheries in Hand.NOT a word was spoken after I had dressed and we were returning to camp, but Captain Mason’s walk lacked its usual firmness. What would he do? There is no accounting for the ras...