Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-09
CHAPTER x111-continued.

CHAPTER XllI-Cont1nued.
He hung his head in a paroxysm of silent
despair Her words rung like a tocsin of
the bright romance coniured up by the
avowal of their love. 1t seemed to him, IN
that instant they had no separate existence
as distinguished from the great stream OF
human life-the turbulent river that howed
increasingly from an eternity of the past
to an eternity of the future. For day, "a
year. a decade two frafl bubbles danced
on the surface and raced joyously together
in the sunshine: then they were broken
did it matter how, by savage sword or lin
gering ailment? They vanished-absorbed
again by the rushing waters-and other
bubbles rose in precarious irideseence. 1t
was fatalist view of life. dim and OBJ
scurantist cropping after truth induced by
the overpowering nature of present diff
culties. The famous Tentmaker of Naisha-
pur blndly sought the amending purpose
when he wrote:
up from Earth's Center through the Seventh Gate
l rose. and on the throne of Saturn safe,
And many Knot unrayel'd by the Road;
But not the Master-knot of Human Fate.
There was the Veil through which could not see:
Some little talk awhile of Ne and Thee
There was-and then no more of Thee and Me-
The sailor. too. wrestled with the great
quailed and he groaned aloud.
Iris he said Solemnly. what ever hap
pens unless l am struck dead at your feet,
l promise you that we shall pass the bound
airy hand in hand. Be mine the punishment
if we have decided wrongly. And now he
cried, tossing his head in defiant access of
energy, 'let us have done with the morgue.
For my part l refuse to acknowledge l am
inside until the gates clang behind me. As
for you you cannot help yourself. You
must do as | tell you. | never knew of a
case where the question of woman's rights
was so promptly settled"
His vitality was infectious Iris smiled
again. Her sensitive highly strung nerves
permitted these sharp alterations between
dependency and hope.
You must remember" he went on that
the Dyak score is twenty-one to the bad,
while our loss stands at love. Dear me,
that cannot be right. Love is surely not
loss
"A cynic might describe it as a negative
gain
"Oh. cynic is no authority He knows
nothing whatever about the subject"
My father used to say. when he was in
parliament. that people who knew least oft
times spoke best. Some men get over
weighted with facts
They chatted in lighter vein with such
pendulum swing back to nonchalance that
none would have deemed it possible for
these two to have already determined the
momentous issue of the pending struggle
should 1t go against them. There is glory
De, IN the Anglo-Saxon race the splendid
FACULTY of meeting death with calm defiance.
almost with contempt Moments of panic,
agonlZlng memories of bygone DAYS visions
of dear faces never to be seen again. may
temporarily dethrone this proud fortitude.
put the tfemors pass, the gibbering specters
VI rear and lamentation are thrust aside,
ana the sons and daughters of Great BRIT
am answer the last roll call with undaunted
herolsm. They know how to die.
my SO the sun sank to rest in the sea-
anu am, tne stars pierced the deepening blue of
the celestial arch, whilst the man and the
woman awaited patiently the verdict of the
fates wv VA 'iio
Before the light failed. jerks gathered all
'he poisoned arrows and ground their
Eenomed points to powder beneath his heel .
Gladly would Iris and he have dispensed
with the friendly protection of the tarpauIin
when the cool evening breeze came from the
south; But such thing might not be even
considered. Several hours of darkness must
elapse before the moon rose and during
that period. were their foes so minded thew
would be absolutely at the mercy of the
sumpltan SHAFTS If not covered by their i'm
penetrable buckler
The sailor looked long and earnestly at
the well. Their own bucket. improvised out
OF a dish cover and a rope, lay close to
me brink stealthy crawl across the
sandy valley, half a minute of grave dam
ger. and he would be up the ladder again
with enough water to serve their imperative
needs for days to come.
iiicle WttS little VI no TlSk IN descending
the rock. Soon after sunset it was wrap
ped In deepest gloom, for night succeeds
day in the tropics with wendrous speed.
The hazard lay in twice crossing the white
sand were any of the DyakS hiding he
hind the house or among the trees
He held no foohardy view of his own
powers. The one-sided nature of the con-
fiict thus far was due solely to his possess
sion of Lee-Metfords as opposed to muZzle-
leaders. Let him be surrounded on the
level at close quarters by a dozen deter
mined men and he must surely succumb.
Were it not for the presence of Iris he
would have given no second thought to the
peril. 1t was just one of those undertake
ings which a soldier jumps at. Here goes
for the V. c. or kingdom Gomez is the
pithy philosophy of Thomas Atkins under
such circumstances
Now, there was no " c., but there was
Iris.
TO act without consulting her was impos-
sible, so they discussed the project. Natu-
rally she secuted it.
The Mahommedan may be able to help
u.s." she pointed out. I'm any event let us
wait until the moon wanes. That is the
darkest hour. We do not know what may
happen meanwhile"
The words had hardly left her mouth
when irregular volley was fired at them
from the right flank of the enemy's posi-
ton. Every bullet struck yards above their
heads, the common failing of musketry at
night being to take too high an aim. But
the impact of the missiles on a rock
highly impregnated with minerals caused
sparks to fly, and jerks saw that the Dyaks
would obtain by this means most danger
Gus index of their faulty practice. Telling
Iris to at once occupy her safe corner he
rapidly adjusted rifle on the wooden rests
already prepared in anticipation of an at
tack from that quarter, and fired three
shots at the opposing crest whence came
the majority of gun flashes.
One at least of the three found a hui
man billet. There was a shout of surprise
and pain, and the next volley spurted
from the ground level. This could do no
damage owing to the angle but he en-
deavored to discomfort the marksmen by
keeping up a steady fire in their direc-
ton He did not dream of attaining other
than a moral effect, as there is a lot of
room to miss when aiming in the dark.
Soon he imagined that the burst of flame
from his rife helped the Dyaks, because
several bullets whizZed close to his head
and about this time firing recommended
from the crest
Notwithstanding all his skill and ma
nipulation of the wooden supports he
failed to dislodge the occupants. Every
minute one or more ounces of lead pitch
ed right into the ledge, damaging the
stores and tearing the tarpaulin, while