The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1905-07-06

1ntently. Whenever he doubled point
or passed among the trees he crept
back and peered 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
Ihence 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 lnlaid 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 unmistakable
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
III no mood for further enterprise for
some time to Gomez
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
dumdums had done their work too well
to permit anxiety on that score.
He gathered the guns, swords and
creeses of the slain, with all their un-
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 bats 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 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
gale. A tropical storm-not typhoon,
but a belated burst Of the periodic
ralns-deluged the island before mid
night. Hours earlier Iris retired, utter
~ worn by the events of the day.
The gale chanted a wild melody in
mournful chords, and the noise Of the
Watery downpour on the tarpaulin roof
of Belle Vue castle was such as to rem
der conversation impossible save in
wearying shouts.
Luckily jerks carpentry was effec-
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 to
his thoughts.
Sleep he could not. He smoked stead
lily, with magnificent prodigality, for
his small stock of tobacco was fast di-
minishing. He ransacked his brains to
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
pan might have provided a last desper-
ate expedient If other savages effected
landing. Well, there was no use in
being wise after the event. and, scheme
as he might, he could devise no way to
avoid disaster during the next attack.
This, he felt certain, would take
place at night. The Dyaks would land
in force, rush the cave and hut and
overpower him by sheer numbers. The
fight, if fight there was, would be
sharp, but decisive Perhaps if he re-
e%&Z9e