Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1905-05-16
"By Jovew he murmured. II never
noticed that before"

"By Jovew he murmured. 81 never
noticed that before"
The feature which so earnestly claim.
ed his attention was deep ledge d.
rectly over the mouth of the cave, but
some forty feet from the ground. Be
hind it the wall Of rock slOped dark
ly inward, suggesting recess extend
Ing by haphazard computation ut least
couple Of yards. 1t occurred TO him
that perhaps the fault in the interior
Of the tunnel had its outcrop here ANA
the influences of rain and sun had eX
tended the weak point thus expoSel in
the bold panoply Of stone.
He surveyed the ledge from different
points of view. 1t was quite inacces-
sible and most difficult to estimate nc.
curately from the ground level. Tie
sailor was man Of action. lie chose
the nearest tall tree and began II
climb. He was not eight feet from the
ground before several birds liew o::t
from It's leafy recesses. filling the air
with shrill clucking.
"The devil take them he growled.
for he feared that the commotion
would awaken Iris. He was still In.
boriously worming his way through
the inner maze of branches when y,
well known voice reached him from
the ground.
Mr.. jerks. what on earth are you
doing up there"
"Oh. So those wretchcd fowls arp,ls
ed you:" he replied.
Yes. but why did you arouse thcn?"
81 had Il fancy t. roDst by way Of
change"
"please be serious.
81 am more than serious This tree
grows variety Of small sharp thorn
that induces Il maximum of gravity
before one takes the next step"
But why do you keep OIL climbing"
1T is sheer lunacy. admit. Yet on
such moonit night there is S)lnc ren-
sonablc gronni for even II mad .'X-
cuse."
"AIr. jerks. tell me ut once what you
are doing"
Iris str0ve to be severe, but there WAS
a touch of anxiety in her tone that in
stantly made the sailor apo!ogetic. He
told her about the ledge and explained
his half formed notion that here they
might secure n safe retreat in ease Of
further attack. refuge from which
they might defy assault during MANY
days. 1t WAS. he said. absolutely i'm
possible to wait until the morning. He
must at once satisfy himself whether
the project was impracticable or wor-
thy of further investigation.
So the girl only enjoined him 10 be
careful. and he vigorously renewed the
climb. At last. some twenty-five feet
from the ground, IN accidental parting
in the branches enabled him h. get II
good look at the ledge. One giance sci
his heart beating joyously. 1t was at
least fifteen feet in length. 1t Shclvei
back until its depth was lost IN the
blackness of the shadows. and tie iioor
must be either nearly level or sloping
slightly inward to the line of the fault.
The place was Il perfect eagles nest.
A cEamOis could not reach 1t from any
direction. 1t became accessible to man
only by means OF a ladder or balloon.
More excited by this discovery than
lie cared for Iris to know, he endeav-
Ored t0 appear unconcerned when he
regaincd the ground.
Wei" she said. tell me all about
it."
He described the nature Of the cavity
us well as he understood it ut the mo
mcnt and emphasized his previous eX
plination Of its virtues. Here they
might reasonably hope to make Il sue
cessful stand against the Dyuks.
Then you feel sure that those awful
creatures will come back she said
slowly.
only too sure, unfortunately.
How remOrSclcss poor Humanity Is
when the veneer is stripped of. Why
cannot they leave us in peace: Per
haps If had not been here tley would
not have injured you. Somehow seen:
to be bound up with your misfortuncs.
II would not have it otherwise were
1t In my power" he answered. For Ill
instant he left unchallcnged the girls
RI, I,n To-,
responsible for the disasters which
had broken up his career lie looked
into her eyes and almost forgot him
self Then the sense Of fair dealing
that dominates every true gentleman
rose within him and gripped his waver-
ing emotions with ruthless force. Was
his Il time to play upon the high strung
sensibilities of this youthful daughter
of the gods. to seek TO win from her II
confession OF love that few brief
days or weeks might prove to be only
a spasmodic but momentarily all pow
erful gratitude for the protection hc
had given her:
And lie spoke aloud. striving to
laugh. lest his words should falter:
You can console yourself with the
thought. Miss Deane, that your pres
ence OH tie island will in no way aifec;
my fate ut the hands of the Dyaks.
Had they caught me unpreparcd today
my head would now be covered with Il
solution of the special varnish they
carry OH every foreign expedition
"And yet these men are human he
ings!"
For purposes Of classification, yes.
Keeping to strict fact, 1t was lucky for
me that you raised the alarm and gave
me a chance to discount the odds OF
mere numbers. So. you see. You really
did me good turn
what can be done now TO save our
lives? Anything will be better than to
await another attack
"The first thing 10 do is to try to
One Cold and an0t1eT