Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-09-21

self to witness the tumult what has hap
pened?"
They have been routed by box Of
matches and a few dried bones" he an
swered.
There was no time for further speech.
lie was absorbed in estimating the prob
able number OF the Dyaks Thus far, he
had seen about fifty, Moreover, he did not
wish to acquaint Iris with the actual de-
tails OF the artifice that had been 80
potent Her alluslon TO the box of water
sodden Tandstlckors gave him the notion
OF utilizing as active ally the bleached
remains OF the poor fellow who had long
ago fallen a victim 10 this identical mob OF
cutthroats or their associates. He gathered
the principal bones from their resting place
near the well, rubbed them with the ends
OF the matches after damping the sulphur
again. ana arranged them with ghastly
effect on the pile of rubbish at the further
end OF the cave, creeping under the cheval
de frise for the purpose.
Though not so vivid as he wished, the
F., pale -glimmering headess skeleton I'm the
Intense darkness OF the interior was appall-
| ing enough in all conscience Fortunately
| the fumes Of the sulphur fed on the bony
substance. They endured a sufficient time
TO scare every Dyak who caught a glimpse
| OF the monstrous object crouching In
luminous horror within the dismal cavern.
Not even the stirring exhortations OF the
| chiet. whose voice was raised in furious
| speech. could induce his adherents TO
again approach that affrighting spot. At
| last the daring scoundrel himself, still
| welding his naked sword, strode right up
| to the very doorway. Stricken with sud
den stupor. he gazed at the htful CLEANS
| within. He prodded the cheval de frise
| with the parang. Here was something
definite and solid. Then he dragged one OF
the wounded men out into the moonlight.
Again jerks experienced an itching de-
sire to send a bullet through the Dyak's
| head; again he resisted the impulse. And
| so passed that which Is vouchsafed by Fate
to few men-a second opportunity.
Another vehement harangue by the chief
| goaded some venturesome spirits into
| carrying their wounded comrade out of
| sight, presumably TO the hut. Inspired by
| their leaders fearless example. they even
| removed the third injured Dyak from the
vicinity of the cave but the celerity Of
their retreat caused the wretch to bawl In
| agony.
Their next undertaking was no sooner
| appreciated by the sailor than he hurriedly
| caused Iris to shelter herself beneath the
| tarpaulin, while he covered close to the
floor of the ledge, looking only through the
| screen of tall grasses They kindled fire
near the well. Soon its ruddy glare lit up
| the dark rock with fantastic chickering's,
and drew scintillations from the weapons
| and ornaments of the hideously picturesque
horde gathered in its vicinity.
They spoke n language of hard vowels
| ana nasal resonance, and ate what he
judged to be dry fish, millets and strips of
tough preserved meat. which they cooked
on small iron skewers stuck among the
glowing embers. His heart sank as he
| counted sixty-one, all told, assembled with
| in forty yards of the ledge.
| Probably several others were guardne
the boats or prowling about the island In.
| deed, events proved that more than eighty
men had come ashore in three large sam.
pans. roomy and fleet craft, well fitted fol
piratical excursions up river estuaries OF
along coast.
They were mostly bare-legged rascals
wearing Malay hats, loose jackets reachlnl
TO the knee, and sandals. One man differed
essentially from the others. He was habitet
Mahommedan, and his skin was brown
while the swarthy Dyaks were yellow be.
meath the dirt jerks thought, from tn,
manner in which his turban was tied, thai
he must be n Punjabi Mussulman-very
likely an escaped convict from the Anda.
mans.
The most careful scrutiny did not revea
any arms of precision. They all carried
rnuzzle-loaders, either antiquated hintlocks
or guns sufficiently modern TO be fitted with
nipples for percussion caps
Each Dyak. of course. sported a parans
and dagger-like krlss; a few bore spears
and about a dozen shouldered a Ions
straight piece Of bamboo. The nature OF
this implement the sailor could not de-
termine at the moment. When the knowl
edge did come, 1t came so rapidly that he
was saved from many earlier hours of abld,
ing dread for one OF those innocuous-Iook.
ing weapons was fraught with more quie,
deadllness than Calling gun.
In the neighborhood of the fire an ami.
mated discussion took place. Though IL was
easy to see that the chief was all-para-
mount. his fellow tribesmen exercised a
| democratic right OF free speech and out.
| spoken opinion.
Flashing eyes and expressive hands were
turned toward cave and hut. Once when
the debate grew warm, the chief snatched
| up burning branch and held II over the
blackened embers OF the fire extinguished
by jerks He seemed to draw some definite
conclusion from an examination OF the char