Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1905-05-30

girls clothes were falling to pieces.
jerks triel the fihers Of trees. che
snews Of blrds-every possible expedi-
ent he could hit upon-and perhaps
after experiments covering some weeks
he might have succeeded. But modern
dress stuffs, weakened by aniline dyes
and stiifcned with Chinese clay, per-
nit of no such exhaustive research. 1t
must be remembered that the lady
passengers on board the Sirdar were
dressed to suit the tropics. and the hard
usage given by Iris to her scanty stock
was never contemplated by the Man.
chester or Bradford looms responsible
for the durability of the material.
AS the days passed the position be-
came irksome. 1t even threatened
complete collapse during some critical
moment. and the two often silently sur
Geyed the large number of merely male
garments in their possession. Of course
| in the matter Of coats and waistcoats
there was no difficulty whatever Iris
had long been wearing those portions
| of the doctors uniform. But when 1t
came to the rest
At last one memorable morning she
crossed tie Rubicon. jerks had climb
cd. us usual. to the Summit rock. He
came back with the exciting news that
| he thought-he could not be certain,
but there were indications inspiring
/ O., tl,n$ pr.l n
| the faroff island he could discern the
smoke of assteamer.
Though he had eyes for faint cloud
of vapor at least fifty miles distant,
he saw nothing Of a remarkable change
| effected nearer home. Outwardly Iris
was attired in her wonted manner, but
| if her companions mind were not who'll
ly monopolized by the BLUSH haze de-
tected OIL the horizon lie must have no
ticed the turned up ends Of pair OF
trousers beneath the hem of her tat
tered skirt.
1t did occur to him that Iris re-
ceived his momentous announcement
with an odd air of hauteur and 1t was
! passing strange she did not offer to
accompany him when, after b0lting his
breakfast. he returned to the observa-
tory.
lie came back in an hour. and the
| lines OH his face were deeper than be-
| fore.
a false ALARM" he said curtly in re-
sponse to her questioning look.
And that was all, though she nerved
herself to walk steadily past him on
he. way to the we'll This was discon-
certing, even annoying, to Il positive
young woman like Iris. Resolving to
end the ordeal she stood rigidly before
| him.
Well" she said. 1--WE done it,
"IIave you:" lie exclaimed blankly.
Yes. They're little too long, and l
feel very awkward. but they're better
than-than my poor old dress unsup-
ported"
Size blushed furiously, to the sailors
complete bewilderment but she brave
| ly persevered and stretched out an un-
willing foot.
"Oh, l seew he growled. and he, too,
reddened.
And during the remainder Of the day
he did not once look at her feet. In
deed. he had far more serious matters
to distract his thoughts, for Iris, fe-
verishly anxious to be busy, suddenly
suggested that it would be good
thing were she able to use rifle If
fight ut close quarters became neces-
sary.
The recoil of the Lee-Metford is 50
slight that any woman can manipulate
the weapon with effect. provided she
Is not called upon to fire from stand
ing position, in which case the weight
Is liable to cause bad aiming. Though
Il came rather late in the day. jerks
caught ut the idea. He accustomed
her in the first instance to the use OF
blank cartridges. Then when fairly
proficient in holding and sighting-a
child can learn how to refill the clip
and eject each empty shell-She fired
= ten rounds of service ammunition. The
target was white circle OH rock at
eighty yards, and those of the ten
shots that missed the absolute marx
would have made an enemy ut the
same distance extremely uncomforta-
BILE.
Iris was much pleased with her pro-
ticiency. Now" she cried, ''instead of
being q hindrance to you l may be
some help. In any case, the Dyaks Will
think there are two men to face, and
they have good reason to fear one OF
U.s."
Then a new light dawned upon
jerks.
why did you not think Of 1t be-.
fore:' he demanded. Don't you see.
Miss Deane, the possibility suggested
by your words? am sorry to be COM
PEELED to speak plainly, but feel sure
that IL those scOundrels do attack us IN
force it will be more to secure you
than to avenge the loss Of their fellow
tribesmen. First and foremost, the sea-
going Dyaks are pirates and maraud-
ers. They prowl about the coast look
ing not so much for fight as for loot
and women. Now, If they return and
apparently and two well armed men
awaiting them, with no prospect OF
plunder. there is chance that they
may abandon the enterprise"
Iris did not finch from the topic.
She well knew its grave Importance.
in other words" she said, Il must
be seen by them dressed only in male
clothing?
Yes; as a last resource. that Is.
have some hope that they may not dis
cover our whereabouts owing to the
precautions we have adopted. Perched
up there on the ledge, we will be pro-
foundly uncomfortable. but that Will
be nothing II 1t secures our safety"
She did not reply ut once. Then
she said musingly: "Forty-four days!
Surely there has been ample time to
ecour the China sea from end to end
In search Of us! My father would nev-
er abandon hope until he had the
most positive knowledge that the Sir
dar was lost with all on board"
The sailor. through long schooling,
was prepared with an answer: Each
day makes the prospect OF escape
brighter. Though was naturally dis
appointed this morning. ! must state