Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1905-06-03
THE WINGS OF
THE MORNING.


CONTINUED FROM SEVENTH PAGE.
o..
his "a time CD play upon the high strung
senSibilteS ol tlis youthful daughter
q tle gods. a. seek Co win from her
confession OF love that few brief
days or weeks might prove 90 be only
a sposmodic but momentarily all pow
erful gratitude for the protection be
had given herr
And DE spoke aloud. striving to
laugh. lest his words should falter.
You can console yourself with the
thought. Miss neane. that your pres
ence on tie island viii Ina no way affect
my fate az the hands os the Dyaks.
Had they caught me unprepared today
my head would now be covered with "a
solution OF the special varnish they
carry on every foreign expedition"
And yet these men are human be-
ingsr'
Fer purposes OF classification. yes
Keeping 20 strict fact. Il was lucky for
ne that YOU raised the alarm and gave
me a chance 20 discount the odds Of
mere numbc - 81. you see. you really
Nta AAt n -NNA tT.u.
What can be done now 70 save our
hvest Anything viii be better than TO
await another attack
The first thing to- do is TO Try 10
get some sleep before daylight How
did you know ! was not in the castlef''
4 cannot tell YOU. awoAe and
knew you were not near me III wake
in the night / can always tell whether
or not you are in the next room SO
I dressed and came out"
All be said quietly. Evidently
snore."
IRIS retrested and the sailor. tired
out az last. managed 90 close his weary
cyes
Next morning he hastily constructed
a pole OF sufficient length and strong
enough 70 bear his weight by tying two
'tturdy young trees together with ropes.
Iris helped him 20 raise ii against the
face of the precipice gnd he at once
climbed 10 the Ledge.
Here he found his observations OF the
previous night abundanfly verified. The
ledge was even wider than he dared TO
hope. nearly ten feet deep i'm one part.
and il sloped sharply downward from
the outer lip of the rock. BY lying Tat
and carefully testing all points of view
he ascertaincd that the only possible
positions from which even glimpse
OF the interior floor could be obtained
were the branches OF few tall trees
and the extreme right OF the opposing
precipice. nearly ninety yards distant.
II.
and provisions. and he quickly saw
that even some sort OF shelter from the
fierce rays OF the sun and the often
piercing cold OF the night might be
achieved by judlciously rigging up "a
tarpauiin.
This j. genuine bit Of good luck. "
he unused. Here. provided neither OF
us is hit. we can hold out for a week
or longer az a pinch. How can IL be
possible that ! should have lived on
this ISLAND SO many days and yet hit
upon this nook Of safety by mere
chance. as il wereT
Not until he reached the level again
could he solve the puzzle Then he
perceived that the way In which the
clin bulged out on both sides prevent
81 the ledge from becoming evident In
profile. while. seen in the glare Of the
sunlight. IL suggested nothing more
than a slight indentation.
He rapidly sketched 10 Iris the de
fensive plan which the eagles nest
suggested. Access must be provided
by means OF a rope ladder. securely
fastened inside the ledge and capable
OF bling pulled up or let down at the
viii OF the occupants. Then the place
must be kept constantly stocked with
JudiciOus supply OF provisions, water
and ammunition. They could be COW
cred with q tarpaulln and thus kept In
fairly good condition.
We ought 10 sleep there every
night" he went on, anC his mind was
SO engrosSed with the tactical side OF
the preparations that he did not notice
how Iris blanched at the suggestion.
Surely not until danger actually
threatensy' she cried.
Danger threatens us each hour after
sunset II may come any night. though
l expect at least a fortnights reprleve
Nevertheless / intend TO act as II To-
night may witness the first shot OF
the siege
do you mean thatT' she sighed
And my little room is becoming sc
very cozy"'
jerks always accepted her words lit
orally.
We'll" he announced, after a pause
1T may not be necessary TO take w
our quarters there until the eleventh
hour. After l have hoisted up Oul
stores and made the ladder / will en-
deavor 10 devise an efficient Gordon oil
sentinels around our position. We viii
see"
Not another word could Iris get GU
OF him on the topic. Indeed. he provided
her with plenty OF work. BY this time
she could splice rope more neatly
than her tutor. and her particular bust
ness was TO prepare no less than sixty
rungs for the rope ladder. This was
an impossible task for one day, bu
after dinner the sailor helped her
They toiled late, until their fingers
were sore and their backbones creake,
as they sat upright.
Meanwhile jerks swarmed up TIT
pole again and drew up after him I