Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-08-25
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MT The DyakS kindled huge fire.
The heat was rerceptible even on the
ledge. but the minutes passed and the
dawn hroadcned into day without any
OTHER result being achieved.
Iris, little drawn and pale with SuS-
penSe. said. with timid giggle:
This does not seem to be so very
serious 1t reminds me Of my efforts
10 cook"
There Is more to follow, l fear. dear
one. But the DyakS are fools. They
should have waited until night fell
again after wearing us out by constant
vigilance all day If they intend to EN-
ploy smoke it would be far worse for
US at night"
Phew. A volume of murky vapOr
arose that nearly suffocated them by
the first Whit Of its noisome fumes. 1t
curled like a blnck pail over the face Of
the rock and blotted out sea and sky.
They coughed necessarily and nearly
choked, for the Dyaks had thrown wet
seaweed on top Of the burning pile Of
dry wood. Mir Jan. born In interior In
dia, knew little about the sea or its
products. and when the savages talked
Of seaweed he thought they meant
green wood. Fortunately for him. the
ascending clouds of smoke missed the
cave or infallibly he must have been
stihed.
Lie fiat on the rock" gasped jerks.
Careless Of waste, he poured water
over q coat and made Iris bury her
mouth and nose in the wet cloth. This
gave her immediate relief, and she
showed her woman's wit by tying the
sleeves Of the garment behind her neck.
jerks nodded comprehension and fol-
lowed her example. for by this means
their hands were left free.
The black cloud grew more dense
each few seconds. Nevertheless, owing
to the slope Of the ledge and the tend
ency Of the smoke to rise, the south
side was far more tenable than the
north. Quick to note this favorable cir
cumstance, the sailor deduced a fur
Their fact from It A barrier erected on
the extreme right Of the ledge would
be material gain. He sprang up,
dragged the huge tarpaulin from its
former location and propped it on the
handle Of the pickax, driven by one
mighty stroke deep into q creyice Of
the rock.
1t was no mean feat Of strength that
he performed. He swung the heavy
and cumbrous canvas into position as
If it were dust cloth. He emerged
from the gloom Of the driven cloud red
eyed, but triumphant. Instantly the
vapor on the ledge lessened, and they
could breathe. even talk. Overhead
and in front the smoke swept in ever
increasing density, but once again the
sailor had outwitted the Dyaks' ma
neuvers.
I'VE have won the first rubber" he
whispered to Iris.
Above. beneath, beyond, they could
zee nothing. The air they breathed
was hot and fetid. It was like be-
ing imnured In a foul tunnel, and al
most as dark. jerks looked over the
parapet. He thought he could Gistin-
guish some vague figures on the sands,
50 he fred at them. A volley Of an
swering bullets crashed into the rock
on all sides. The Dyaks had laid their
plans well this time. A firing squad
stationed beyond the smoke area and
supplied with all the available guns
commenced and kept up q smart fusil-
lade In the direction Of the ledge In
order to cover the operations OF the
scaling party.
jerks realized that to expose himself
was to court serious wound and
achieve no useful purpose. He fell
back out Of range, laid down his rifle
and grabbed the crowbar. At brief in.
tervals q deep hollow boom came up
from the valley. At first It puzzled
them until the sailor hit upon an ex.
PLANTATION. Mir Jan was busy.
The end Of a strong. roughly made
ladder swung through the smoke and
banged against the ledge. Before
jerks could reach It those hoisting II
into position hastily retreated. They
were StanQlng In 'front.' OF the cave, and
the Mohammedan made play on them
with a rifle at thirty feet.
jerks. using his crowbar as q lever
toppled the ladder clean over. It fell
outward and disconnected section Of
the musketeers.
"Well done" cried Iris.
The sailor, astounded by her tone
gave her a fleeing glance. She was
very pale now, but not with fear. Her
eyes were slightly contracted, her nos
trils quivering, her lips set tight and
her chin dimpled. Resting on one knee
with a revolver in each hand, she seem.
ed no pulling mate for the gallant man
who fought for her
There was no time for further speech
Three ladders were reared against the