Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-05-26


walk across. The ropes will serve to
convcy the packages"
She rose iinperiursly. Il absolutely
forbid you To enter the water again.
Such suggestion on your part IS quite
shameful You are taking grave
risa f'r ho very great gain that l can
sex, and if anything happens to you
! shall be left oil alone in this awful
place"
She could think of no better arGu-
! ment Her only resource was n wo-
mans expedient-n plea for protection
against threatening Ills.
The sailor seemed to be puzzled how
| best to act.
Miss Deane," he said, there Is no
such serious danger as you imagine.
Last time the cutie caught me nap
ping. He will not do SO again. Those
rifles must have. If It will serve to
reassure you, will go along the line
myself"
Without another word he commenc-
ed operations. There was plenty Of
rope, and the plan he adopted was
ltSSIl. w hth CtNh PdNho6O
was securely fastened he attached 1t to
a loop that passed over the line stretch
ed from the tree to the crowbar. To
this loop he tied the lightest rope he
could find and threw the other end to
/ Iris. By pulling slightly she wss able
| to land at her feet even the cumbrous
rifle chest, for the travelling angle was
SO acute that the heavier the article
the more readily 1t sought the lower
level
They toiled in silence until jerks
could lay hands on nothing more OF
value Then, observing due care, he
quickly passed the channel. For an
instant the girl gazed aftrightedly at
the sea until the sailor stood at her
side again.
| The tide had turned. In O few min
utes the reef would be partly sub
merged. To carry the case Of rifles to
the mainland was a manifestly impos-
sible feat, so jerks now did that which
done earlier would have saved him
some labor. He broke open the chest
AMI found that the weapons were ap-
parently In excellent order.
He snapped the locks and squinted
down the barrels Of half dozen to
test them. These he laid on one side.
Then be rapidly constructed a small
raft from loose timbers. binding them
roughly with rope. and to this argosy
he fastened the box Of tea. the barrels
Of -four, the broken saloon chair and
other small articles which might be Of
use. He avoided any difficulty In
launching the raft by building 1t close
to the waters edge. When all was
ready the rising tide floated it for him.
He secured it to his longest rope and
gave it O vigorous push of into the la
COON. Then he slung four rifles across
his shoulders. asked Iris to carry the
remaining two in like manner and be-
gan to vancouver the raft landward.
"While you land the goods will
prepare dinner" announced the girl.
please be careful not to slip on the
rocks" he said. II am concerned about
the rifles. II you fell you might DAM
age them, and the incoming tide will
SO hopelessly rust those leave behind
that they will be useless"
II will preserve them at any cost,
though with six in our possession there
is a margin for accidents. However, to
reassure you. I will go back quickly"
Before be cold protest she started of
at n run, Jumping lightly from rock to
rock. Disregarding his shouts, she per-
severed until she stood safely on the
sands. Then, saucily waving fare
well, she set of toward the cave.
Had she seen the look Of fierce de-
spair that settled down upon jerks
face as he turned to his task Of guild
ing tho raft ashore she might have
wondered what it meant. In any case
she would certainly have behaved dif-
ferently.
BY the time the sailor had safely
landed his cargo Iris had cooked their
midday meal. She achieved a fresh
culinary triumph. The eggs were fried!
Il am seriously thinking Of trying to
boil ham," she stated gravely. "Havc
you any idea how long 1t takes to cook
one properlyr'
IA quarter Of an hour for each
pound"
Admirable! But we can measure
leither hours nor pounds"
Il think We can do both. will
construct balance of some kind.
Then, with a ham slung to one end and
rife and some cartridges to the other,
will tell you the weight Of the ham
| RI To Tot, %6n
have already determined to fashion a
sundial. remember the requisite
divisions with reasonable accuracy,
and little observation will enable Us
to correct any mistakes"
You are really very clever Mr..
jerks" said Iris, with childlike candor.
"Have you spent several years Of your
life in preparing for residence on O
desert islandr'
a queer kind Of existence, full Of USE
less purposes. Fate has driven me In
to a corner where my odds and ends
Of knowledge are actually valuable,
Such accidents make men millionaires. VI
Useless purposes" she repeated. II
can hardly credit that. One uses such
a phrase to describe fussy people, alive
with foolish activity. Your worst enc.
my would not place you in such a
category"
MY worst enemy made the phrase
effective at any rate, Miss Deane."
you mean that he ruined your ca
reerT
"Well-er-yes. I suppose that de-
scribes the position with fair accura
cy."
WAS he a very great scoundrel?"
"He was and is"
jerks spoke with quiet bitterness
The girls words had evoked q sudden
food Of recollection. For the moment
he did not notice how he had beer
trapped into speaking Of himself, mol
did he see the quiet content on Iris
face when she elected the information
that his chief foe was q man. A Ger
tain tremulous hesitancy in her man
ner when she next spoke might have
warned him, but his hungry SOU
caught only the warm sympathy of hel
words, which fell like rain on parched
soil.