The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1905-06-21

were taking cohesion ID LIS NINA.
Put it down. Quick" be cried.
Iris oreyed him. with wonder in ber
eyes. He spilled i teaspoonful of cham
pagne into 4 small hollow of the rock
and steeDed one of the fish bones in tie
LIQUID. Within few seconds the cham
pagne assumed q greenish tinge and
tie bone became white. Then he knew.
Good heavens" he exclaimed. these
are poisoned arrows shot through 4
blowpipe l have never before seen
one, but l have often read about them.
The bamboos the Dyaks carried We're
sumpitans These fish bones have been
steeped in the juice of the upas tree.
Iris, my dear girl, if one of them had
so much as scratched your finger moth
ing on earth could save you
She paled and drew back in sudden
horror. Another tap sounded on their
three welcome covering. Evidently
the Dyaks would persist in their efforts
to get one of those poisoned darts
home.
jerks debated silently whether it
would be better to create a commotlon,
thus inducing the savages to believe
they had succeeded in inf1icting NOR
tai wound, or to wait until the next ar
row fell rush out and try conclusions
with dumdum bullets against the sum-
pitan blowers.
He decided in favor Of tie latter
course. He wished to dishearten his
assailants, to cram down their throats
the belief <Aat he was invulnerable
and could visit their every effort With
deadly reprisal.
Iris, Of course, protested when he ex-
planned his project But the fighting
spirit prevailed. Their love idyll must
yield to the needs Of the hour.
He had not long to wait. The last
arrow fell. and he sprang to the e1-
treme right of the ledge. First he
looked through that invaluable screen
of grass. Three DyakS were on the
ground and a fourth in the fork of a
tree. They were each armed with a
blowpipe. He in the tree was just tit
ting an arrow into the bamboo tube.
The others were watching him.
jerks raised his rife, fired. and the
warrior in the tree pitched headlong to
the ground. A second shot stretched
a companion on top Of him. One man
Jumped into the bushes and got away,
but the fourth tripped over his unwieldy
sumpitan, and a bullet tore large
section from his skull. The sailor then
amused himself with breaking the bam-
boos by firing at them. IIe came back
to the white faced girl.
st fancy that further practice with
blowpipes will be at a. discount on
Rainbow island" he cried cheerfully.
But Iris was anxious and distrait.
cit is very sad," she said, 'that we
are obliged to secure our own safety
by the ceaseless slaughter Of human
beings. Is there no offer we can make
them, no promise Of future gain, to
tempt them to abandon hostilities?'
.'None whatever. These Borneo Dy-
AXIS are bred from infancy to prey on
their fellow creatures. To be strangers
and defenseless is to court pillaSe and
massacre at their hands. / think no
more of shooting them than of smash
ing a clay pigeon. Killing mad dog
is perhaps a better smile"
But, Robert dear, how long can we
hold OUT"
What. Are you growing tired of
me already:''
He hoped to divert her thoughts from
this constantly recurring topic. Twice
within the hour had it been broached
and dismissed. but Iris would not per
nit him to shirk it again. She made
no reply, simply regarding him with 6
wistful smile.
So jerks sat down by her side and
rehearsed the hopes and fears which
perpleXed him. He determined that
there should be no further concealment
between them. If they failed to secure
water that night, if the Dyaks main
tained a strict siege of the rock
throughout the whole Of next day, we'll
they might suryive-it was profile
matical. Best leave matters III God
hands.
With feminine persistency she clunG
to the subject. detecting his unwilling
ness to discuss possible final stage in
their sufferngs.
Robert" she whispered fearfully,
you will never let me fall into the
power of the chief, will you?"
..Not while live
You must live. Don't you under
stand? 1 would go with them to save
you. But l would have died by nay
own hand. Robert, my love, you must
do this thing before the end. / must be
the first to die"
The sailor wrestled with the great
problem. He may be pardoned if his
heart Guailed and he groaned aloud.
Iris" he said solemnly, whatever
happens, unless l am struck dead at
your feet, promise you that we shall
pass the boundary hand in hand. Be
mine the punishment If we have de-