Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-06-16
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AA By LOUIS !:
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a - ~ n II n NJ Copyright. 1905 by :.
Edward
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dny' II WAS. he said. absolutely I'm
possible tn Wnit until the morning. III,
must at once satisfy himself whethel
the project WAS impractlcable or wor
thy of further Investigation.
50 the girl only en1oined him to h,
careful, and he vigorously renewed til,
climb. At last. some twenty five fee
from III" ground. an accidental partin.
In the branches enabled him to get :
good look nj the l"lge Ono glance Sc
his heart beating joyously. 1t was a
least fifteen feet IN length. 1t shclvct
back until Its depth was lost In til,
blackncSs of the shadows. and the floo
must be either nearly level or slopins
slightly inward to the line of the fault
The place was Il perfect eagles nest
a chamois could not reach 1t from any
direction. 1t became accessible to MAJ
only by means of a ladder or balloon
More excited by this discovery THAI
he cared for Iris to know. be endeav
ored to appear uncOncerned when b,
regained the ground.
Well" she said, tell me all abou
it."
He described the nature Of the cavit,
as we'll as he understood it ut the mo
mcnt and emphasized his previous ex
PLANTATION Of Its virtues. Here they
might reasonably hope to make q sue
cessful stand against the Dyaks.
Then you feel sure that those awfu
creatures will come back" she salt
slowly.
only too sure, unfortunately"
How remOrseleSS poor humanity 1:
when the veneer is stripped off! Why
cannot they leave us in peace? Per
haps If I had not been here they would
not have injured you. Somehow 1 seen
to be bound up with your misfortunes'
Il would not have it otherwise were
1t In my power" he answered. For M
instant he left unchallenged the girl.
assumption that she was In any way
responsible for the disasters which
had broken up his career. He looked
into her eyes and almost forgot him
self. Then the sense Of fair dealine
that dominates every true gentleman
rose within him and gripped his waver
ing emotions with ruthless force. Was
his time to play upon the high strung
sensibilities Of this youthful daughter
Of the gods, to seek to win from her &
confession Of love that q few briel
days or weeks might prove to be only
a spasmodic but momentarily all pow
erful gratitude for the protection b,
had given herr
And he spoke aloud, striving t.
laugh, lest his words should falter:
"You can console yourself with tn,
thought, Miss Deane. that your pres
ence on the island will in no way affect
my fate at the hands Of the Dyaks
Had they caught me unprepared today
my head would now be covered with {
solution Of the special varnish they
carry on every foreign expedition"
And yet these men are human be
ingsr'
"For purposes Of classification, yes
Keeping to strict fact. 1t was lucky fol
me that you raised the alarm and gavt
me a chance to discount the odds o.
mere Numbers. 80. you see. you really
did me a good turn"
What can be done now to save oul
lives7 Anything will be better than t.
await another attack"
1.-The first thing to do is to try t.
get some sleep before daylight. How
did you know I was not In the castle 2
Il cannot tell you. awoke and
knew you were not near me. II I wake
in the night I can always tell whether
or not you are in the next room. 81
I dressed and came out"
"Ah" he said quietly. Evidently
I snore."
Iris retreated, and the sailor, tiret
out at last. managed to close his weary
eyes.
Next morning he hastily constructed
p pole Of sufficient length and strong
enough to bear his weight BY tying two
sturdy young trees together with ropes
Iris helped him to raise 1t against tn
face Of the precipics. end he at ono
climbed to the ledg~
Here he found his observations Of tn
previous night abundantly verified. Tn
ledge was even wider than he dared t,
hope, nearly ten feet deep in one part
and it sloped sharply downward from
the outer lip Of the rock. BY lying fla
and carefully testing all points of view
he ascertained that the only possibl
rr,1,1 I'll,
OF the interior floor could be obtainet
were the branches of q few tall tree
and the extreme right Of the opposing
precipice. nearly ninety yards distant
There was ample room to store waite
and provisions. and he quickly saw
that even some sort of shelter from tn,
fierce rays Of the sun and the oftel
piercing cold Of the night might b,
achieved by Judiciously rigging up ,
tarpaulin.
This is a genuine bit of good luck,
he unused. Here. provided neither O
us is hit, we can hold out for q weel
or longer at a pinch. How can It b.
possible that should have lived OF
this island 50 many days and yet hi
upon this nook of safety by mer,
chance, as 1t were7"
Not until he reached the level agail
could he solve the puzzle. Then b,
perceived that the way in which tn,
clin bulged out on both sides prevent
ed the ledge from becoming evident II
profile, while. seen in the glare Of til,
sunlight, It suggested nothing NOR
than a slight indentation.
he rapidly sketched to Iris the de
fensive plan which the eagles nes
suggested. Access must be provided
by means Of q rope ladder, securely
fastened inside the ledge and capabl,
Of being pulled up or let~down at tn,
will Of the occupants. Then the place
must be kept constantly stocked witt
a 5udicious supply Of provisions, water
and ammunition. They could be GOV
cred with O tarpaulin and thus kept II
fairly good condition.
I'VE ought to sleep there every
night" he went on, and his mind wat
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
threatensT she cried.
Danger threatens us each hour afte,
sunset. 1t may come any night, though