The Red Cloud chief., 1905-06-09

wings hcraldcd the Hight or TWO DlruS
alarmed by the noise. Soon his eyes.
more accustomed 10 the gloom, made
out that the place was about thirty
feet deep. ten feet wide In the center
and seven or eight feet high.
At the farther end was n collection OF
objects inviting prompt attention. Each
moment he could see with greater dis
tinctncss. Kneeling on one side of the
little pile, he dlscerncd that on a large
stone serving M n rude bench were
some tin utensils, some knives, a sex
tant and n quantity Of empty cartridge
cases. Between the stone and what n
miner terms the face" of the rock was
a four foot space. Here, half Embedded
I'm the sand which covered the floor,
were two %pickaxes, a shovel, II slcdgc
hammer, II fine timber telling ax and
three crowbars.
In the darkest coruer of the caves
extremity the wall" appeared to be
stick. and there was Il sharp clang OF
tin. He discovered six square kerosene
oil cases carefully stacked up. Three
were empty, one seemed to be half full,
and the contents of two were I'M
touched. With almost feverish haste
he ascertaincd that the half filed tin
did really contain oil.
"What Il fnd!' he calculated aloud.
So far as he could judge. the cave
barborcd no further surprises. Return
ing toward the exit, his boots ~dislodgcd
more empty cartridges from the sand.
They were shells adapted to Il revolver
of heavy caliber. At a short distance
from the doorway they were present In
dozens.
''The remnants OF n fight" he
thought. ''The man was attacked and
defended himself here. Not expecting
the arrival of enemies, he provided no
store of food or water. He was killed
while trying To reach the well, probu-
bly, mt night"
He wildly pictured the scene-a
brave, hardy European keeping ut bay
Il boat load OF Dyak savages, enduring
manfully the agonies Of hunger, thirst,
perhaps wounds; then the siege. fol-
lowed by n wild effort to gain the life
giving well, the hiss Of u Malay parang
welded by a lurking foe and the last
despairing struggle before death came.
He might be mistaken. Perchance
there was a less dramatic explanation.
But he could not shake Off his first i'm.
pressions.
"What was the poor devil doing
here?" he asked. 'Why did he bury
himself in this rock, with mining uten-
sils and u few rough stores? He could
not be Il castaway. There Is the indi.
cation Of purpose, OF preparation, Of
method combined with ignorance, for
none who knew the ways of Dyaks and
Chinese pirates would venture to live
here alone IL he could help 1t, and II he
really were alone"
There was relief in hearing his own
voice. He could hum and think and
act. Aiming himself with the AK, he
attacked the bushes and branches OF
trees In front OF the cave. He cut a
fresh approach to the well and threw
the litter over the skeleton. At first
he was inclined to bury II where 1t
lay. but he dislikcd the idea OF Iris
walking unconsciOusly yer the place.
No time could be wasted that day. He
would seize nm early opportunity to
act as ~gravedigger.
After an absence Of little more than
nm hour he rejoined the girl. She saw
him from afar and wondered whence
he obtained the AK he shOuldered.
"You are a successful explorer" she
tried when he drew near.
"Yes, Miss Dcane. / have found wa.
.er, implements. a shelter, even light"
"What sort Of light"
"Oil."
"And the shslter-is 1t a houseT
"NO. a cave. IL you are sufficiently
rested you might come and take pos.
session."
Her eyes danced with excitement
He told her what he had seen, with
reservations, and she ran on before
him to witness these marvels.
"Why did you make n new path to
the well?" she inquired after a rapid
survey.
"a new PATH The pertinent ques
ton staggered him.
Eyes, the people who lived here mus
have had some sort Of free passage"
He lied easily. 81 have only cleared
away recent growth" he said.
"And why did they dig a cave? Il
surely would be much more simple Il
build n house from all these trees"
"There you puzzle me-" he sale