Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-12-01
By LOUIS
TRACY
Copyright. 1905. by
Edward ]. Clode

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 nature, but Iris ratified on:
II carried my tin Of water to the
pitcher plant and was listening to the
greedy roots gurgling away for dear
life when suddenly four men sprang
out from among the trees and seized
my arms before l could reach my re-
volver."
THANK heaven you failed!
"You think that If had fired at them
they would have retaliated. Yes, espe-
cially if I had hit the chief. But it was
he who instantly gave some order, and
suppose it meant that they were not
to hurt me- AS a matter Of fact, they
seemed to be quite as much astonished
as l was alarmed But if they could
hold my hands they could not stop my
voice SO readily. Oh. didn't yell?"
you did"
81 suppose you could not hear me
distinctly"
"Quite distinctly"
every word?"
Eyes"
She bent to pick some leaves and bits
Of dry grass from her dress. well,
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 IT, he said. picked up the first
rifle could lay my hands on. Now,
Miss Deane, as the affair has ended so
happily, may venture to ask you to
remain in de cave until I return?"
ooh, please she began.
"Really, must insist. I would not
leave you If it were not quite impera-
tive. You cannot come with me-" 81.
Then she understood one at 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 adj
vance. Often he stopped and listened
intently. Whenever he doubled point
or passed among the trees he crept
back and oeered along the way he had
come to see if any lurking foes were
breaking shelter behind him.
The marks on the sand proved that
only one sampan had been beached.
Thence he found nothing of special In
terest until he came upon the chiefs
gun lying close to the trees on the
north side. 1t was a very ornamental
weapon, muzzle loader. The stock
was inlaid with gold and ivory, and
the piece had evidently been looted
from some mandarin's junk surprised
and sacked in former foray.
The lock was smashed by the impact
OF jerks rifle bullet, but close In
vestigation of the trigger guard and
the discovery Of certain unnAstakable
evidences on the beach showed that
the Dyak leader had lost two If not
three fingers of his right hand.
$50 he has something more than his
passion to nurse" unused jerks. That,
at any rate, is fortunate. He will be
In no mood for further enterprise for
some time to come"
He dreaded lest any Of the Dyaks
should be only badly wounded and like
" to live. 1t was an actual relief to
his nerves to find that the improvised
s..~. a,.,,.o 4 lo,,o %hn}r xxynrlr knO vuo11
to permit anxiety on that score.
He gathered the guns, swords and
creeses of the slain, with oil their I'M
couth belts and ornaments. In pursu-
ance of a vaguely defined plan of fu-
ture action he also Invested some of
the men Of their coarse garments and
collected six queer looking hats shaped
like inverted basins. These things he
placed in 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 at 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 typhoon,
but belated burst of the periodic
rains-deluged the island before mid
night. Hours earlier Iris retired, utter
" worn by the events of the day.
The gale chanted wild melody In
mournful chords, and the noise Of the
watery downpour on the tarpaulin root
of Belle Vue castle was such as to rem
der conversation impossible save in
verifying shouts.
Luckily jerks carpentry was efec.
tive, though rough. The building was
water tight, and he had calked every
crevice with unraveled rope until Iris
apartment was free from the tiniest
draft.
The very fury of the external turmoil
acted as lullaby to the girl. She was
soon asleep, and the sailor was left tc
his thoughts.
Sleep he could not. He smoked stead
lily, with a magnificent prodigality, fol
his small stock of tobacco was fast d.
minishing. He ransacked his brains te
discover some method Of escape from
this enchanted island where fairies
jostled with demons and hours Of utter
happiness found their bane in moments
of frightful peril.
OF course he ought to have killed
those fellows who escaped. Their sam