Evening star., 1904-02-29

i
short for the manifold tasks demand
| ed of them, yet thankful that the
| night brought rest. The sailor made
out program to which he rigidly adhered
| which had two compartments, an inner
room in which Iris slept, and an outer,
| which served as shelter for their meals
| and provided bedroom for the man.
| Then he constructed a gigantic sky-sign
| on Summit Rock. the small cluster of boul-
ders on top of the cliff His chief difficulty
was to hoist into place the tall poles he
| needed, and for this purpose he had to
again visit Palm-tree Rock in order to Sc
| cure the pulley. BY exercising much in
| genuity in devisng shear-legs he at last
succeeded in lifting the masts into their
] allotted receptables. where they were firmly
| secured Finally he was able to swing into
| air, high above the tops of the neighbor-
| ing trees. the loftiest of which he felled in
| order to clear the view all sides, the
| name of the ship Sirdar, fashioned in six
| foot letters nailed and spliced together in
| sections and made from the timbers Of
/ that Inflated vessel
| Meanwhile he taught Iris how to weave
| a net out of the strands of unraveled cord
age. With this, weighted by bullets, he
| contrived casting net and caught lot of
| small fish in the lagoon. At first they
| were unable to decide which varieties were
edible, until happy expedient occurred to
| the girl. aGT
| ''The seabirds can tell u.s." she said. Let
| us spread out our haul on the sands and
| leave them. By observing those specimens
! seized by the birds and those they reject
| We should not go far wrong
Though her reasoning was not infallible
| it certainly proved to be a reliable guide
| in this instance. Among the fish selected
| by the feathered connoisseurs they hit upon
| two species which most resembled whiting
! and haddock. and these turned out to be
very palatable and wholesome
| jerks knew good deal of Botany, and
| enough about birds to differentiate between
| carnivorous species and those fit for hu-
| ma n yVh St 10 in mos
| tunate supply of hams rendered their meals
/ almost epicurean Think of it, We dwellers
| in cities content with stale buns and
| leathery sandwiches when ye venture into
| the wilds of a railway refreshment room,
| these two castaways, marooned by queer
| chance on a desert island. could sit down
| daily to banquet of vegetable soup. fish,
| a roast bird. ham boiled or fried, and
| sago pudding, the whole washed down by
| cool spring water, or, should the need
| arise, a draught of the best champagne!
From the rusty rifles the reef jerks
brought away the bayonets and secured all
| the screws. bolts and other small odds and
| ends which might be serviceable. From
| the barrels he built handy CRATE to facil-
| itateAIriS cooking operations, and care
| fnl search each morning amidst the ashes
| of any burnt wreckage accumulated a store
| of most useful nails.
| The pressing need for a safe yet accessi-
BILE bathing place led him and the girl TO
| devote one afternoon to a complete survey
| of the coast line. BY this time they had
/ given names TO all the cD1SI LOCALITIES. Inc
| northerly promontory was naturally chris
| tened North Cape; the western, Europa
Point; the portion of the reef be-
tween their habitation and Palm-tree
! Rock became Fiey Brig: the other sec
| ton Northwest Reef. The fiat sandy
| passage across the island containing the
| cave, house and WELL was named Prospect
! Park and the extensive stretch of sand
| on the southeast, with its guard of broken
| reefs, was at once dubbed Turtle Beach
| when jerks discovered that an immense
| number of green turtles were paying their
| spring visit TO the island to bury their
eggs in the sand
| The two began their tour of inspection by
| passing the scene of the first desperate
/ struggle to escape from the clutch Nof the
| typhoon. Iris would not be content until
| the sailor showed her the rock behind which
| he placed her for shelter while he searched
! for water For moment the recollection
! of their unfortunate companions on board
| ship brought a lump into her throat and
| dimmed her eyes.
II remember them in my prayers every
| night" she confided to him. 'It seems so
| unutterably sad that they should be lost,
| while we are alive and happy"
| The man distracted her attention by
| pointing out the embers Of their first fire.
| 1t was the only way to choke back the
| tumultuous feelings that suddenly stormed
| his heart. Happy! Yes, he had never be-
| fore known such happiness. How long
1 would it last? High up on the cliff swung
| the signal to anxious searchers of the sea
| that here would be found the survivors of
| the Sirdar. And then, when rescue came,
| when Miss Deane became once more the
| daughter of wealthy baronet, and he
| disgraced and nameless outcast-! He
| set his teeth and savagely struck at a full
cup Of the pitcher plant which had so prov
identially relieved their killing thirst.
| r'Oh, why did you do that?" pouted Iris
| Poor thing! 1t was true friend in need.
| wish could do something for 1t to make
1t the best and leafest plant of it's kind
| on the island
| VERY wellp' he answerad. "vou o,r or,+
ify your wish. A tinful of fresh water from
the well, applied daily to its roots, will
| quickly achieve that end"
| The morOseness of his tone and manner
surprised her. For once her quick intui-
ton failed to divine the source of his irri-
| tation.
You 5 give your advice ungraciously." she
| said, but l will adopt it nevertheless"
| harmless incident, kindly and quite
| FEMININE resolve, yet big with fate for
| both of them.
| age of days had driven from his face all
| its harshness. and from his tongue all its
assumed bftterness-createda passing cloud
untii the physical exertion Of scrambling
over the rocks to round the North Cane
! restored their normal relations
strong current raced by this point TO
| the southeast, and tore away the outlying
spur or the headland to such an extent that
the sailor was almost inclined to choose
the easier way through the trees Yet he
| persevered, and 1t may be confessed that
| tne opportunities thus afforded OF graspins
the girls arm, of placing a steadying hand
on her shoulder. were dominant factors in
determining his choice
AT last they reached the south side and
here they at once found themselves in q
delightfully."- secluded and tiny bay. sandy
tree-iined sheltered on three sides by cliffs
and rocks. '"'is
!. Oh, cried Iris. excitedly. what love-
| iy spot. perfect smugglers' cove"
Charming enough to look at" was the
answering comment .but open TO the sea
| II you look at the smooth riband of water
out there, you will perceive a passage
through the reef. A great place for
| ers."
Good gracious. had forgotten the
sharks. / suppose they must live. horrid
as they are, but l don't want them to dine
on me-"
The mention of such disagreeable ad-
juncts to life on the island no longer ter
rifed her. Thus do English newcomers to
| India pass the first three months residence
| In the country in momentary terror of
| snakes, and the remaining thirty years in
complete forgetfulness of them
They IN le<