Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-01


way he had come, to see If any lurking
foes were breaking shelter behind him.
The marks on the sand proved that only
one sampan had been beached. Thence
he found nothing of special interest until
he came upon the chiefs gun, lying close
to the trees on the north side. 1t was a
very ornamental weapon, muzzle loader.
The stock was inlaid with gold and ivory,
and the piece had evidently been looted
from some mandarin's junk surprised and
sacked in a former foray.
The lock was smashed by the impact OF
the Lee Metford bullet but close investlga-
ton of the triggerguard, and the discovery
of certain unmistakable evidences on the
beach, showed that the Dyak leader mad
lost two If not three fingers of his right
hand. ....
$50 he has something more than his pas
sion to nurse" unused jerks. That. at any
rate is fortunate. He will be In no mood
for further enterprise for some time to
come"
He dreaded lest any Of the Dyaks should
be only badly wounded and likely to i've:
1t was an actual relief to his nerves to ma
that the improvised Dumdums had done
their work too we'll to permit anxiety on
that score On the principle that DEAD
Injun Is a good Injun' these Dyaks were
good Dyaks.
He gathered the guns, swords ana krisses
Of the slain, with all their uncouth pel.s
and ornaments. In pursuance OF vaguely
defined plan of future action, ne dlso IN
vested some of the men of their coarse gar
ments and collected six queer-looking mats,
shaped like inverted basins Ihese thlnss
he placed in a heap near the pltcner plahts;
Thenceforth for half an hour the placid
surface of the lagoon was disturbed by
the black dorsal fms Of many sharks
To one of the sailors temperament there
was nothing revolving IN the consiu luis
portion of his task. He had God-g1ven
right to live. 1t was his paramount DUTY
RENTED only by death itself, to endeaVor
to save Iris from the indescribable rate
ever she fell into the hands of these vim
dictive savages. Therefore it was war be-
tween him and them-war to the pltter
end war with no humane mitigation OF us
horrors and penalties, the last dread arbit-
rament of man forced to adopt the meth
DDS of the tiger.
His guess at the weather conditions her-
aided by the change of wind was right. AS
the two partoQk Of their evening meal the
complaining surf dashed the reef and the
tremuous branches of the taller trees
voiced the approach Of gale. A tropical
storm, not a typhoon, but belated burst
of the periodic rains. deluged the Island be-
fore midnight. Hours earlier Iris retired,
utterly worn by the events of the day.
Needless to say, there was no singing that
evening. The gale chanted a wild melody
in mournful chords and the noise of the
watery downpour on the tarpaulin roof of
Belle Vue Castle was such as to render
conversation impossible, save in wearying
shouts.
Luckily jerks carpentry effective.
though rough. The building was water
tight and he had calked every crevice with
unraveled rope until Iris apartment was
free from the tiniest draft.
The very fury of the external turmoil
acted as a lullaby to the girl She was soon
asleep. and the sailor was left to his
thoughts.
Sleep he could not He smoked steadily,
with a magnificent prodigality. for his
small stock Of tobacco was fast diminish
ing. He ransacked his brains to discover
some method of escape from this enchanted
island. where fairies jostled with demons
and hours of utter happiness found their
bane in moments of frightful peril.
OF course he ought to have killed those
fellows who escaped. Their sampan might
have provided a last desperate expedient
II other savages effected landing. Well,
there use In being wise after the
event, and, scheme as he might, he could
devise no way to avoid disaster during the
next attack.
This, he felt certain, would take place at
night. The Dyaks would land in force
rush the cave and hut and Overpower him
by sheer numbers. The fight, If fight there
was, would be sharp but decisive. Perhaps
If he received some warning Iris and he
might retreat In the darkness to the cover
Of the trees last stand could be made
among the powders on Summit Rock. But
of what avail to purchase their freedom
until daylight? And then
If ever man wrestled with desperate prob
lem jerks wrought that night. He smoked
and pondered until the storm passed and
with the changefulness Of a poets muse,
full moon flooded the island in glorious
radiance
out, listening for a while to the roaring Of
the surf and the crash of the broken coral
swept from reef and shore by the back
wash.
soothing to him.
They are snarling like whipped dogs
he said aloud. "One might almost fancy
her ladyship the Moon appearing on the
scene as Uranian Venus. cowng sea and
storm by the majesty of her presence"
Pleased with the conceit he looked steadi-
ly at the brilliant luminary for some time.
Then his eyes were attracted by the strong
lights thrown upon the rugged face of the
precipice which the cavern burroWed. In
consciously relieving his tired senses, he
was idly wondering what trick of color
Turner would have adopted to convey those
sharp yet weirdly beautiful contrasts, when
suddenly he uttered a startled exclamation
by Jove!" he murmured Il never no.
ticed that before
The feature which SO earnestly claimed
his attention was a deep ledge, directly
over the mouth of the cave but some forty
of rock sloped darkly inward, suggesting
a recess extending by haphazard computa-
ton at least couple OF yards. 1t occurred
to him that perhaps the fault in the in
terror of the tunnel had Its outcrop here,
and the deodorizng influences OF rain and
sun had extended the weak point thus
exposed in the bold panoply of stone
He surveyed the ledge from different
points OF view. 1t was quite inaccessible,
and most difficult to estimate accurately
from the ground level. The sailor was
man of action. He chose the nearest tail
tree and began to climb. He was not
eight feet from the ground before several
birds few out from 1t leafy recesses, filling
the air with shril clucking.
The devil take them!' he growled for
he feared that the connection would awak-
en- Iris He was still laborousy worming
his way through the inner maze of branches
when well-known voice reached him from
the ground.
Mr. jerks, what on earth are you doing
up there?'
oh, so those wretched fowls aroused
you?" he replied.
Yes: but why did you arouse them?'
Il had a fancy to roost by way of a
change"
Please be serious.
Il am more than serious This tree
grows a variety of small sharp thorn that
induces a maximum of gravity-before one
takes the next STEP.
But why do you keep climbingY'
ut is sheer lunacy, l admit Yet on such
q moonlit night there Is some reasonable
ground for even "A mad