Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1905-06-03

life when suddenly four men sprang
| out from among the trees end seized
my arms before could reach my re
voIver"
Thank heaven you failedr
you thiuk that II had fired at them
they would have retaliated. Yes. espe-
cially II had hit the chief. But IL was
be who instantly gave some order. and
I suppose it meant that they were not
TO hurt me. AS a matter of fact. they
seemed TO be quite as much astonishcd
| as l was alarmed. But II they could
hold my hands they could not stop my
voice so readily. oh. didn't I yeuY'
You did
IL suppose you could not hear me
i distinctly"
quite distinctly"
Every word?"
yes"
She bent to pick some leaves and bits
OF dry grass from her dress. well
You know" she continued rapidly. lin
such moments one cannot choose ones
words. I just shouted the first thing
that came into my head"
And l." be said. picked up the first
rife could lay my hands on. Now.
Miss Deane. as the affair has ended SO
happily. may / venture 10 ask you TO
remain in the cave until l returng"
ooh. please she began
Really. | must insist. l would not
leave YOU il IL were not quite impera-
tive. You cannot come with me"
Then she understood one ut least OF
the tasks he must perform. and she
mcckly obeycd.
He thought il best 10 20 along Turtle
beach 20 the cove and thence follow
the Dyaks' trail through the wood. as
this line OF advance would entail prac-
tically a complete circuit Of the island
He omitted no precautions I'm his ad-
vance. Often be stopped and listened
intently. Whenever he doubled point
or passed among the trees he crept
back and pecred along the way he had
come 10 see II any lurking foes were
breaking shelter behind him.
The marks on the sand proved that
only one sampan had been beached.
Thence he found nothing OF special in
terest until he came upon the chiefs
gun lying close TO the trees on the
north side. IL was very ornamental
weapon. muzzle loader. The stock
was inlaid 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 rife bullet. but close In
vestigation OF the trigger guard and
IN q .f d..
evidences on the beach showed that
the Dyak leader had lost two II not
three fingers Of his right hand.
$50 he has something more than his
passion 10 nurse" unused jerks. That
at any rate, is fortunate lie will be
in no mood for further enterprise for
some time To come"
He dreaded lest any OF the Dynks
should be only badly wounded and like
ly 10 live II was an actual relief 10
his nerves to find that the improvised
dumdgms had done their work too well
10 permit anxiety on that score.
He gathered the guns, swords and
creeSes OF the slain, with all their I'M
couth belts and ornaments. In pursu-
ance Of vaguely defined plan Of fu-
ture action he Also Invested some OF
the men Of their coarse garments and
collected six queer looking hats shaped
Ike inverted basins. These things he
placed Ia heap near the pitcher
plants. Thenceforth for half an hour
the plach surface OF the lagoon was
disturbed by the black dorsal fins OF
many sharks.
-. a..
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
rains-deluged the island before mid
night. Hours earlier Iris retired. utter
~ worn by the events of the dav
The gale chanted n wild melody i'm
mournful chords. and the noise OF the
watery downpOur on the tarpaulin roof
OF Belle Nue castle was such as 10 rem
der conversation impossible save in
wearying shouts
Luckily jerks carpentry was effec-
i've, though rough. The building was
"oNcA AiEAls duu i2 naQ cQlked every
crevice with unraveled rope until Iris
apartment was free from the tiniest
draft
The very fury of the external turmoil
acted as lullaby 10 the girl. She was
soon asleep, and the sailor was left to
his thoughts.
Sleep he could not He smoked stead |
uy, with magnificent prodigaIity. for |
his small stock of tobacco was fast di- |
miAishing. lie 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.
or course he ought TO have killed |
those fellows who escaped. Their sam |
pan might have provided last desper-
ate expedient IL other savages effected /
n 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