Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-02-08

There was little or no risk in de.
scending the rock. Soon after sunset
it was wrapped in deepest gloom, for
night succeeds day in the tropics with
wondrous speed. The hazard lay in
twice crossing the white sand, were
any of the Dyaks hiding behind the
house or among the trees.
He held no foolhsrdy view Of his
own powers. The one sided nature Of
the conflict thus far was due solely to
! his possession Of modern rifles as op.
posed to muzzle leaders. Let him be
surrounded on the level at close quar-.
tiers by dozen determined men and
| he must surely succumb.
Were il not for the presence OF Iris
he would have given no second thought
10 the peril 70 act without consult.
! ing her was impossible, so they dis
cusscd the project Naturally she
| secuted il.
"The Mohanmc1an may be able to
help us she pointed out. I'm any
! event let us wait until the moon wanes
That is the darkest hour. We do not
know what may happen meanwhile"
The words had hardly left her mouth
when an irregular vollcv was fred at
them from the right flank Of the en-
emy's position. Every bullet struck
yards above their heads, the common
failing of musketry at night being to
take too high an aim. But the impact
of the missiles on rock so highly i'm.
pregnated with minerals caused sparks
n nd Int l,n I.
would obtain by this means a most
dangerous index of their faulty prac.
tice. Telling Iris to at once occupy
her safe corner, he rapidly adjusted n
rifle on the wooden rests already pre-
pared in anticipation of an attack from
that quarter and fired three shots at
the opposing crest whence came the
majority Of gun flashes.
One at least of the three found Il hu.
man billet. There was shout Of sur.
prise and pain. and the next volcy
Spurted from tho ground level This
could do no damage owing to the angle.
but he endcavorcd To discomfort the
inarksmen by keeping up n steady fire
in their direction. lie did not dream
of attaining other than Il moral effect
as there is Il lot of room In miss when
aiming in the dark Soon he imagined
that the burst of flame from his rife
helped the Dyaks, because several bul.
lets whiZzed close TO his head, and
about this time firing recommended
from the crest.
Notwitbsta nding all his skill and ma.
nipula ton of the wooden supports he
failed to dislodge the occupants Ev-
cry minute one or more ounces of lead
pitched right into She ledge, damaging
the stores and tearing the talpaulin
while those which struck the wall of
rock were dangerous TO Iris by reason
of the molten spray.
lie could guess what had happened
BY lying fiat OF the sloping plateau or
squeezing close 10 the projecting Shout
der of the cliff the Dyaks were so little
exposed that idle chance alone would
enable him TO hit one of them. But
they must be shifted. or this night
bombardment would prove the most
serious development yet encountered.
Are you all right, 1rs;" he called
out
YES, dear she answered.
"Well, ! want you TO keep yourself
covered by the canvas for little
while, especially Your head and shout
dcrS. am going to stop these chaps
They have found our weak point, but
/ can baffle them
She did not ask what he proposed to
do. He heard the rustling of the tar
paulin as she pulled it. Instantly he
cast loose the rope ladder and. armed
only with revolver, dropped down the
rock. He was quite invisible TO the en-.
cmy. On reaching the ground he lis
tened for a moment. There was no
sound save the occasional reports nine
ty yards away. He hitched up the low
cr rungs Of the ladder until they We're
six feet from the level and then crcpt
nolselessly close TO the rock for some
forty yards
He halted beside small poon tree
and stopped to find something imbed-
dcd near its roots. At this distance he
could plainly hear the muttered con
Versatiop of the Dyaks and could see
several Of them prone on the sand. The
latter fact proved how fatal would he
an attempt on his part to reach the
well. They must discover him instant
ly once he quilted the sOmber shadows
of the cliff. lie waited perhaps n few
seconds longer than was necessary,
ondcavoring to pierce the dim atmOs- |
phcre and learn something of their dis !
position.
\ vigorous outburst Of firing sent !
him back with haste. Iris was NJ there |
alone. lie knew not what might hap. |
pen. lie was now feverishly anxious /,
To he with her again. TO hear her voice !
and be sure that all was we'll
TO his horror he found tho ladder !
swaying gently against the rock Some |
one was using it. lie sprang forward, |
careless OF consequence, and seized the |
swinging end, which had fallen free |
again He had his foot on the bottom
rung when Iris voice. close at hand |
and shrill with terror, shrieked
Robert where are YOU"
Here" he shouted. The next in.
slant she dropped into his arms.
a startled exclamation from the vi
cinity Of the house and some loud cries |
from the more distant Dyaks on the |
other side of Prospect park showed |
that they had been Oyprhpar d