Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1905-05-16

the men would not hurt me-after the
first shock of their appearance had
passed, mean. l also knew that you
would save me- But you, Mr.. jerks
had to do the fighting. You were called
upon to rescue precious me. Good gra
cious! No wonder you were excited"
The sailor mentally expressed his In
ability to grasp the complexities OF
feminine natura, but Iris ratified on:
II carried my tin Of water to the
pitcher plant and was listening to the
greedy roots gargling away for dear
life when suddenly four men sprang
out from among the trees and seized
my arms before | could reach my re-
volver."
"Thank heaven you failed"
"You think that II l had fired at them
they would have retaliated. Yes, espe.
cially IL l had hit the chief. But 1t was
he who instantly gave some order and
I suppose it meant that they were not
to hurt me. AS matter Of fact, they
seemed to be quite as much astonished
as was alarmed. But il they could
hold my hands they could not stop my
voice so readily. Oh. didn't ! yellT'
"You did"
II suppose you could not hear ME
distinctly"
"Quite distinctly"
Every word:'
"Yes."
She bent to pick some leaves and bits
of dry grass from her dress. We'll,
you know" she continued rapidly, "in
such moments one cannot choose ones
words. I just shouted the first thing
that came into my head"
"And l." he said. picked up the first
rife l could lay my hands on. Now,
Miss Deane. as the affair has ended 80
happily, may | venture to ask you to
remain in the cave until return:"
"Oh, please she began.
"Really, l must insist l would not
.eave you II It were not quite impera-
tive. You cannot GONE with me-"
Then she understood one Mt least Of
the tasks he must perform. and she
meekly Obeyed.
He thought it best to go along Turtle
| beach to the cove and thence follow
the Dyaks' trail through the wood. as
this line Of advance would entail prac-
tically complete circuit of the island.
He omitted no precautions In his ad-
vance. Often he stopped and listened
intently. Whenever lie doubled Il point
or passed among the trees lie crept
back and peered along the way he had
come to see If any lurking foes were
breaking shelter behind him.
The marks Oh the sand proved that
only one sampan had been bcac!.cd.
Thence he found nothing OF special in
terest until he came upon the chiefs
gun lying close to the trees Oil the
north side 1t was Il very ornamental
weapon, Il Iii de loader. The stock
was inlaid with gold and ivor:. and
the piece haL evidently been looted
from some mundarin's junk surprised
and sacked in Il former foray.
The lock was smashed by the impact
Of Jenks' rifle bullet but close i'll
vestigation of the trigger guard and
the discovery of certain unnistakable
evidences on the beach showed that
the Dyak leader had lost two if not
three fingers Of his right hand.
so he has something more than his
passion to nurse" unused jerks. THAT.
at any rate is fortunate. lie will be
in no mood for further enterprise for
some time to come"
He dreaded lest any Of the pyaks
should be only badly wounded and like
ly to live. 1t was an actual relief to
his nerves to find that the improviscd
dumdums had done their work too well
to permit anxiety Oh that score.
He gathered the guns. swords and
creeses Of the slain, with all their un-
couth belts and ornaments. In pursu'
ance OF 4 vaguely defined plan Of fu-
ture action he also diveSted some of
the men of their coarse garments and
collected six queer looking hats shaped
like inverted basins. These things he
placed in a heap near the pitcher
plants. Thenceforth for half an hour
the placid surface of the lagoon was
disturbed by the black dorsal fins Of
many sharks.
His guess ut the weather conditions
heralded by the change of wind was
right AS the two partOok Of their even
ing meal the complaining surf dashed
the reef, and the tremulous branches OF
the taller trees voiced the approach OF
a gale. A tropical storm-not Il typhOon
but belated burst Of the periodic
rains-deluged the island before mid
night. Hours earlier Iris retired. utter.
~ worn by the events of tie day.
The gale chanted wild melody IL.
mournful chords. and the noise of the
watery downpour OH the tarpaulin roof
Of Belle Vue castle was such as to ren-
der conversation impossible save II.
wearying shouts.
Luckily jerks carpentry was effec'
tive, though rough. The building was
water tight. and he had calkcd every
crevice with unraveled rope until Iris
apartment was free from the tiR4esi
draft.
The very fury Of the external turmoil
acted as lullaby to the girl. She WAS
soon asleep. and the sailor was left to
his thoughts.
Sleep he could not. He smoked stead
lily, with a magnificent prodigality, for
his small stock of tobacco was fast d.
minishing. He ransacked his brains to
discover some method Of escape from
this enchanted island. where fairies
jostled with demons and hours of uttel
happiness found their bane In moments
Of frightful peril.
OF course he ought to have killed
those fellows who escaped. Their sam