Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-08-11
Copyright. 1903. by
Edward J. Clode


Hnr,' of SHUTTING them than Of smash
inc n clay pigeon Killing n mad dnl
~ perhaps better smile
"But. Robert dear. how long can W,
hold out?'
what, Are you growing tired OF
n" already"
He it"pr! I" divert her thoughts from
this constantly recurring topic. Twic,
within the l.n,Ir Had it been hroachc
and diS,nISs,-l. but Iris would not per
init llini to Shirk ii again. She made
To- reply. simply regarding him with d
WiStful smile.
So jerks sat down by her side and
rc,raiS,-i the hopes and fears whici
pcrplcXrd him. He determined that
there should be no further conccalmcn,
between them. If they failed 10 secure
water that night, if the Dyaks main
tanned Il strict siege of the rock
throughout the whole of next day. well
they might survive-it was profile
matical. Best leave matters In Gods
hands
With feminine persistcncy she clunl
To the subject. detecting his unwilling
ness Ia discuss Il possible final stage In
their Suiierlngs
Robert" she whispered fcarfully
you will never let me fall into the
power Of the chief. will your
Not while live"
"You must live. Don't you under
stand: would 20 with them to save
you. Hut l would have died by my
own hand. Robert, my love, you must
do this thing before the end. I must be
the first to die
The sailor wrestled with the great
problem. He may be pardOned If his
heart quailed and he groaned aloud.
Iris" he said solemnly, whatever
happens, unless I am struck dead al
your feet. promise you that we shall
pass the boundary hand in hand. BE
mine the punishment II we have de
cided wrongly. And now" LIE cried
tossing his head in "A defiant access OF
energy, let us have done with the
morgue. For my part refuse to &c
knowledge l am inside until the gates
clang behind me"
They chatted In lighter vein will
such pendulum swing back to noncha
lance that none would have deemed II
possible for these two to have already
determined the momentous issue Of the
pending struggle should it go against
them.
And SO the sun sank to rest in the
sea, and the stars pierced the deepen
ing blue Of the celestial arch. while the
man and the woman awaited patiently
the verdict Of the fates.
Before the light failed jerks gath
cred all the poisoned arrows and
ground their venomed points to powder
beneath his heel. Gladly would Iris
and he have dispensed with the friend
ly protection Of the taIpaulin when the
cool evening breeze came from the
south. But such n thing might not be
even considered. Several hours Of dark.
ness must elapse before the moon rose
and during that period. We're their foei
so minded, they would be absolutely a,
the mercy Of the sumpitan shafts II MOI
covered by their 1mpenetrable buckler
The sailor looked long and earnestly
at the well. Their own bucket, tmprO
visel out Of dish cover and rope
lay close to the brink. A stealthy craw
across the sandy valley. half n minute
Of grave danger, and he would be w
the ladder again. with enough water t.
serve their. imperative needs for days
to come.
There was little or no risk in de
scending the rock. Soon after sunset
it was wrapped in deepest gloom, fol
night succeeds day In the tropics with
wondrous speed. The hazard lay ir
twice crossing the white sand. were
any Of the Dyaks hiding behind the
house or among the trees.
He held no foolhardy view of his
own powers. The one sided nature Of
the conflict thus far was due solely t
his possession Of modern rifles as op
surrounded on the level at close quar-
tiers by dozen determined men an(
he must surely succumb.
Were 1t not for the presence of Iris
he would have given no second though
to the peril. To act without consult
ing her was impossible, SO they dis
cussed the project. Naturally sh'
secuted 1t.
''The Mohammedan may be able t
help u.s." she pointed out. "In an!
event let us wait until the moon wanes
That Is the darkest hour. We do no
know what may happen meanwhile"
The words had hardly left her moutl
when an irregular volley was fired n
them from the right flank Of the en-
emy's position. Every bullet strucl
yards above their heads, the common
failing Of musketry at night being t.
take too high an aim. But the impac
| of the missiles on Il rock so highly i'm
pregnated with minerals caused spark
to fly, and jerks saw that the Dyak
would obtain by this means a mos
dangerous index of their faulty prac
tice. Telling Iris to at once occup!
her safe corner. he rapidly adjusted (
rifle on the wooden rests already pre-
pared in anticipation Of an attack iron
that quarter and fired three shots n
the opposing crest whence came tn
majority Of gun flashes.
One at least Of the three found hu
man billet. There was a shout Of sur
prise and pain, and the next volle,
spurted from the ground level. Thi
could do no damage owing to the angle
but he endeavored to discomfort tn
marksmen by keeping up a steady fir
in their direction. He did not dream
Of attaining other than a moral eeect
as there Is lot of room to miss whel
aiming in the dark. Soon he imagine'
that the burst Of flame from his rifl
helped the Dyaks, because several bul
lets whizzed close to his head, ant
about this time firing recommence'
from the crest
Notwithstanding all his skill and ma
nipulat1on Of the wooden supports b
failed to dislodge the occupants. Ey
cry minute one or more ounces Of len,
pitched right into the ledge, damaginJ
the stores and tearing the tarpaulln
while those which struck the wall O
rock were dangerous to Iris by reason
} hn IIt