The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-09-16


as she cried,
Yes: Captain Aastruther OF the In
dian stan corps If he viii not tell
you all that he has done. how he has
saved my life twenty times, how he
has fought single handed against
eighty men, ask me-.
Captain AnsUruther does not appear
to have left much for us TO do, Miss
Deane" the officer said. Indeed
turning to Robert. us there amy way
in which my men viii be usefult'
II would recommend that they drag
the green stun of that fire and stop
the smoke Then detachment should
go round the north side Of the island
and drive the remaining Dyaks into
the hands OF the party Won have landed.
as | understand, at the farther end of
the south beach Mir Jan, the NOLAN
medan here. who has been most faith
full ally during part of oar siege, will
act as guide.
The other man cast comprehensive
glance over the rock. with its scaling
ladders and dangling rope ladder, the
cave, the little groups of dead or I'M
conscious piratcs-for every wounded
man who could move a limb had
crawled away after the first shell burst
and drew a deep breath.
How long were you up there?' he
asked
lover thirty hours"
ut was q great nght"'
Somewhat worse than it looks" said
Anstruther This is only the end of
it. Altogether we have accounted for
nearly twoscore of the poor devils"
Robert looked toward the approach
ing boat She would not land yet for
q couple of minutes.
by the way" he said, will you
tell me your nameI
"Playdon - Lieutenant Philip II.
Playdon."
do you know to what nation this
island belongsF'
ut is no mans land, / think. 1t is
marked 'unnhabited' on the chart
Then said Anstruther, Il call upon
you, Lieutenant Playdon. and all others
here present to witness that /, Robert
Anstruther, late of the Indian army,
acting on behalf of myself and Miss
Iris Deane, declare that we have taken
possession of this island IN the name
OF his Britannia majesty the king of
piers and owners thereof and claim all
property rights vested therein
These formal phrases, coming at such
a moment, amazed his hearers. Iris
alone had an inkling of the underlying
motive.
II don't suppose any one viii dispute
your title" said the naval officer grave
ly. He unquestionably imagined that
Il
turbed the other mans senses.
.Thank YOU" replied Robert with
equal composure. though he felt in
clined to laugh at playdon's mystifica-
| ton Il only wished to secure suffi-
/ cient number of witnesses FOR a verbal
| declaration When | have few min
| utes to spare | will afiiy legal notice
| on the wall in front of our cave
Playtlon bowed silently. There was
something in the speakers manner that
| puzzled him. He detailed small guard
+! to accompany Robert and Iris, who
| now walked toward the beach, and
asked Mir Jan to pilot him as suggest
ed by Anstruther.
The boat was yet many yords from
shore when Iris ran forward and
| stretched ont her arms to the man who
was staring at her with wistful de-
spair.
Father. Father she cried. "Don't
! you know me?'
/ Sir Arthur Deane was looking at the
/ two strange figures on the sands, and
each moment his heart sank lower
This island held his final hope. During
| many weary weeks, since the day when
/ a kindly admiral placed the cruiser
| Orient at his disposal. he had secured
the China sea, the coasts of Borneo and
| Java for some tidings of the Ill fated
| Sirdar.
To examine every sand patch and
tree covered shoaI in the China sea was
an impossible task. All the Orient
could do was to visit the principal is
lands and institute inquiries among tue
| fishermen and small traders. At last
the previous night. a Malay, tempted
/ by hope OF reward, boarded the vessel
/ when lying at anchor off the large IS
land away to the south and told the
captain a wondrous tale of devil
haunted place inhabited by two white
spirits. a male and a female. whittier
| a local pirate named TaIng SAh had
gone by chance with bis men and SUI
fered great loss. But Taung S'Ali was
bewitched by the female spirit and had
returned there with q great force
swearing to capture her or perish. The
spirits, the Malay said, had dwelt upon
the island for many years His father
and grandfather knew the place and
feared it. Taung SAL would never be
seen again.
This queer yarn was the first indica-
ton they received of the whereabouts
of any persons who might possibly be
shipwrecked Europeans. though not
survivors from the Sfriar- Anyhow
the tiny dot lay in the vessels north,
ward track, so a course was set 10 ar
rive Off the island soon after dawn
Events on shore, as seen by the Off
Ger on watch. told their own tale
Wherever Dyaks are fighting there Is
mischief on foot. so the Orient took
hand in the proceedings
But Sir Arthur Deane, after an ago
nized scrutiny of the weird looking
persons escorted By the sailors TO the
/ Frsfrf al fFu-