Page:Weird Tales Volume 02 Number 2 (1937-02).djvu/91

. Overhead the stars glowed and glimmered in startling brilliance. The sky was so intensely clear it seemed as though it were a great inverted bowl. As he strode forward with his precious burden, he could scarcely see a yard before him. The fronds of the coconut palms far above stood out clearly in silhouette against an azure sky. Far in the distance the hill-tops loomed up grimly, half concealed in shadows. He walked slowly and cautiously by, but even so he collided with tree-trunks in the frond-shaded grove. The sea was not far away, where the outrigger canoes lay hidden, but he decided not to attempt to reach it in the darkness. He wished to keep Kum-Kum from danger. To continue onward would have been extremely perilous.

Very carefully he deposited her lovely form upon the sand. Although she sighed softly, she did not awaken. A thousand strange fancies flitted through his mind as he sat beside her. He thought of Gloria in New York, thousands of miles away. He wondered if she had kept her promise and divorced him. The reflection did not make him happy. Then he glanced toward Kum-Kum. In spite of himself he smiled. He was a bit like a modern Bluebeard. He already had one wife and now he was stealing a pagan girl. Where he was fleeing, he had not stopped to consider. He was bound for Hikuera. Beyond that he had never given a thought. Could he leave Kum-Kum there, abandon her after setting her free? If he did, Jolly Cauldron would eventually locate her and carry her back to the island. If he took Kum-Kum with him, away from the South Seas, there would be numerous difficulties when he got back to so-called civilized countries. He would be traveling with a lovely maiden who was unchaperoned and who was not his wife, not to mention the fact that he could not understand a word that maiden uttered. If he went back to New York with Kum-Kum, what explanation could he give Gloria?

At dawn Kum-Kum awoke. She sat up and gazed about her. Surprize, even dismay, was written on her face. She could not understand how she happened to be lying hidden in the jungle growth. Guy could not explain, for he spoke no French.

Kum-Kum rose to her feet and began walking back toward the house. Guy was amazed. Even though she knew no English it should have been apparent to her that this was her supreme opportunity to get free. It took him but a minute to overtake her. He seized her by the arm. As he did so she turned upon him like a cornered animal. This rather complicated things. And time was precious. There was only one thing to do. He must take her against her will and explain afterward when they could find a French interpreter. So he seized her in his arms.

It was like grasping a wildcat. Her fury was marvelous. She beat him in the face with her clenched fists. She scratched and kicked and even attempted to bite. In doing so her warm red lips came close to his, making his senses reel, till he did not mind the pain. The more she fought the tighter he held her. Thus slowly he made his way to the beach where Fernay Corday kept his canoes, and there he beheld Jolly Cauldron calmly awaiting him.

"Hello, dog," he drawled; "you're getting more playful than a kitten. Up to new pranks every day."

words, Guy released his hold on the struggling Kum-Kum. Instantly she broke from him and rushed to Jolly Cauldron's arms. Had she turned to stone before him, Guy could not have been more surprized. Speechless with amazement, he watched