When he caught sight of the fugitives, they were already out of effective pistol range.
FRONTISPIECE. See page 308.
THE ISLE OF
RETRIBUTION
BY
EDISON MARSHALL
WITH FRONTISPIECE BY
DOUGLAS DUER
BOSTON
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
1923
Copyright, 1923,
By Little, Brown, and Company.
Published February, 1923
Printed in the United States of America
The Isle of Retribution
I
The manifold powers of circumstance were inconspiracy against Ned Cornet this late Augustafternoon. No detail was important in itself. Ithad been drizzling slowly and mournfully, butdrizzle is not uncommon in Seattle. Ned Cornethad been passing the time pleasantly in the TotemClub, on Fourth Street, doing nothing in particular,nothing exceedingly bad or good or even unusuallydiverting; but such was quite a customarypractice with him. Finally, Cornet’s specialfriend, Rodney Coburn, had just returned from oneof his hundred sojourns in far places,—this timefrom an especially attractive salmon stream inCanada.
The two young men had met in Coburn’s roomat the Totem Club, and the steward had gonethither with tall glasses and ice. Coburn had notreturned empty-handed from Canada. Besidespleasant memories of singing reels and throbbingrods and of salmon that raced like wild sea horsesdown the riffles, he had brought that which wasmuch less healthful,—various dark bottles of time-honoredliquors. Partly in celebration of his return,and partly because of the superior quality ofthe goods that had accompanied him, his friend Nedraised his afternoon limit from two powerful pre-dinnercocktails to no less than four richly amberwhiskies-and-sodas. Thus their meeting was auspicious,and on leaving the club, about seven, itcame about that Ned Cornet met the rain.
It was not enough to bother him. He didn’teven think about it. It was only a lazy, smokydrizzle that