Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-06-02
bars were smashed int match " ,nI

.
freshened hy the spray of every gale
and completely shut off from all sea
ward access.
1t was not more than four feet deep.
| beautifully carpcted with sand and se-
| cludcd by rocks on all sides. Not the
tiniest crab or fish WAS to be seen. 1t
provided an ideal BATH
Iris was ovcrjoyed. She pointed to-
ward their habItatiOn.
MIR. jerks" she said. II will be with
you ut teatimc''
lie gathered I'LL the tins he was able
to carry and strobe off. enjoining her
to fire her revolver if for the slightest
reason she wanted assistance, and Civ
Ing a parting warning that II she de-
layed too long he would come and
shout to her
Il wonder" said the girl to herself,
watching his retreatlng figure. what
he is afraid Of Surely by this time
we have exhausted the unpleasant sur
prises Of the island. Anyhow. now for
u splash"
She was hardly In the water before
she began to be afraid on account of
jerks. Suppose anything happened to
him while she was thoughtlessly enjoy
ing herself here! So strongly did the
thought possess her that she hurriedly
dressed again and ran off to find him.
He was engaged in fastening n num-
| Der Of bayonets transverscly to long
piece Of timber.
What are you doing that for?" she
| asked.
"Why did you return so soon? Did
anything alarm you"
II thought you might get into mis-,
| chief" she confessed.
mo. On the other hand, am trying
to make trouble for any unwelcome
visitors" he replied. IL intend to set
this up in front Of our cave in case we
are compelled to defend ourselves
against an attack by savages. With
this barring the way they cannot rush
the position
On the nineteenth day Of their resi-
dence on the island the sailor climbed,
as was his invariable habit, to the
Summit rock while Iris prepared break
fast. At this early hour the horizon
was clearly cut as the rim Of n sap
phire. He examined the whole arc Of
the sea with his glasses, but not q sail
was In sight. According to his calcu-
lations the growing anxiety rs to the
fate Of the Sirdar must long ere this
have eliminated in the dispatch rom
Hongkong or Singapore Of n special
search vessel. while British warships
in the China sea would be warned to
keep q close lookout for any traces of
the steamer, to visit all islands on their
route and to question fishermen whom
they encountered. So help might come
any day or 1t might be long deferred.
He could not pierce the future. and It
was useless to vex his soul with Ques-
tiOnings as to what might happen next
week. The great certainty Of the hour
was Iris-the blue eyed, smiling divin-
ity who had come into his life-wait-
ing for him down there beyond the
trees, waiting to welcome him with q
sweet voiced greeting, and he knew,
with a fierce devouring Joy. that her
check would not pale nor her lip trem-
bic when he announced that at least
another sun must set before the ex-
pected relief reached them.
He replaced the glasses in their case
and dived into thecwood, giving pass
ing thought to the fact that the wind,
after blowing steadily from the south
for nearly a week, had veered round to
the northeast during the night. Did
the change portend storm? Well.
they were now prepared for all such
eventualities, and he had not forgot.
ten that they possessed, among other
treasures, q box Of books for rainy
days. And a rainy day with Iris for
company! What gale that ever blew
could offer such compensation for en-
forced idleness?
The morning sped In uneventful
work. Iris did not neglect her cherish
ed pitcher plant. After luncheon II
was her custom now to carry a dish
full Of water to its apparently arid
roots, and she rose to fulflll her self i'm.
posed task.
Let me help you" said jerks. IL
am not very busy this afternoon"
mo. thank you. simply won't al
low you to touch that shrub. The dear
thing looks quite glad to see me. Il
drinks up the water as greedily as q
thirsty animal"
Iris had been gone perhaps five min
utes when he heard q distant shrek
twice repeated, and then there came
family to his ears his own name, moi
"Jenks." but Robert" In the girls
voice. Something terrible had hap
pened. 1t was q cry Of supreme dis
tress. Mortal agony or overwhelming
terror alone could wiring that name
from her lips. Precisely in such mo
ments this man acted with the deci
sion. the unering judgment. the In
Simultaneous acceptance Of great risk t.
accomplish great results, that marked
him out as a born soldier.
He rushed into the house and
matched from the rack one of the ri
des reposing there in apple pie order
each with a nlled magazine attached
and a cartridge already in position.
| Then he ran with long strides moi
through the trees, where he could se,
nothing. but toward the beach, whsno,
In forty yards the place where Iri.
probably was would become visible.
At once he saw her struggling in tn,
grasp of two ferocious looking Dyaks
one by his garments a person of conse
quence, the other a half naked savage
hideous and repulsive In appearance
Around them seven men armed witt
guns and parangs were dancing witt
excitement.
Iris captors were endeavorIng to til
her arms. but she was q strong and &C
tive Englishwoman. with muscles vel
knit by the constant labor of recent
busy days and a frame developed BY
years Of horse riding and tennis play
ing. The pair evidently found her q
Dough handful. and the inferior Dyak
either to stop her screams-for she was
shrieking. Robert, come to mew with
all her might-Or to stifie her into sub
mission, roughly placed his huge hand
over her mouth,