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Rh after his strenuous experiences of the last forty-eight hours, had been reduced to even more primitive simplicity: his shirt, for example, now lacked one entire sleeve.

"No," he told her, "don't waste time pitying me. I'm all right—and so is Alan! That's the main thing for you to understand; he's still alive and sound"

"Where is he? Take me to him!" she demanded.

"That's the rub," Barcus confessed, knuckling his hair. "I dassent take you to him. Judith might not like it. Besides, it isn't safe to mingle with the inhabitants of this tight little island, and you can't get to Alan without mingling considerably. Sit down; I'll tell you all about it, and we'll try to figure some way out. Maybe we can frame up a rescue under cover of night."

And when the girl settled herself beside him, he launched into a detailed report.

"It's Katam Island," he announced, "but the place has changed since I visited it some years ago. Then it was a decent community; now, unless all signs fail, it's a den of smugglers. I noticed a number of Chinese about; and when I ventured to introduce myself to the village gin-mill and ask a few innocent questions, the entire population landed on me like a thousand of brick. I suspect we've stumbled on a settlement of earnest workers at the gentle