Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-09-23

There" he said, grufiy Il was in a
hurry The Dyaks may make another rush
at any moment"
Iris looked into the vessel
You have taken none az ALL" she said
Nonsense :"
mfr. Jenks, be reasonable You need
Il more than I. I d-dont want to-live
w-without-you."
there was no call for accurate shooting
just then.
II assure you took all required" he
declared with unnecessary vehemence.
Al least drink your share, 20 please
me-" she murmured
You wished TO humbug me-" he grumbled.
III you will take the first half will take
the second"
And they settled II that way The few
mouthfuls OF tepid water gave them new
life. One sense can deceive the others. A
man developing all the Symptoms Of hydro
phobia has been cured by the assurance
that the dog which bit him was not mad
SO these two, not yet afame with drought
banished the arid phantom for little
while.
Nevertheless, by high noon they were
suffering again. The time passed very
slowly. The sun rose to the zenith and
filled earth and air with his ardor II
seemed to be n miraole-now appreciated
Tor the first time in their llves--that the
sea did not dry UP and the leaves wither
on the trees
The snence, the deathly inactivity of all
things, became intolerable. The girl bravely
tried to conflne her thoughts to the task
of the hour She displayed alert watchful-
ness an instant readiness to warn her
companion Of the slightest movement
among the trees or by the rocks to the
northwest, this being the arc of their
periphery assigned to her.
Looking at sunlit space from cover,
n vi 1AN rN0.aw ~ al
ering In the direct rays OF a tropical sun,
are kindred operations strangely diverse
IN achievement. Iris could not reconcile
the physical sensitiveness OF the hour with
the careless hardihood of the preceding
days. Her eyes ached somewhat for she
had tilted her sou'wester TO the back Of her
head in the effort to cool her throbbing
temples. She put up her right hand 70
shade tho too vivid reflection Of the glisten-
ing sea, and was astounded to find that In
few minutes the back of her hand was
scorched. A faint sound of distant shout
ing disturbed her painful reverie.
How is t." she asked, that we feel the
heat 80 much today2 1 have hardly no.
ticed II before"
For two good reasons-forced idleness
and radiation from this confounded rock
Moreover. this is the hottest day we have
experienced on tho island. There is not a
breath Of air, and the hot weather has Just
commenced"
Don't you think2" she said huslsily,
that our position here is quite hopeless?"
They were talking to each other side
ways. The sailor never turned his gaze
from the southern end OF the valley.
1T is no more hopeless now than last
night or this morning" he replied
But suppose we are kept here for sew
eral days?"
That was always an unpleasant prob
ability"
I'VE had water then. Even with an annie
supply it would be difficult to hold out.
As things are. such a course becomes
simply impossible"
Her dependency pierced his soul A slow
agony was consuming her.
1T is hard, 1 admit" he said. "Neverthe-
less you must bear up until night falls
Then We will either obtain water or leave
this place"
Surely we can do neither"
We may be compelled TO do both"
But how?"
man was vouchsafed a shred of luck To
answer her satisfactorily would have
baffied a Talleyrand. But before he could
frame n feeble pretext for his too SAN
guine prediction, sampan appeared eight
hundred yards away from Turtle Beach
and strenuously padded by three men.
The vague hallooing they had heard was
explained.
The Dyaks, though to the manner born
were weary of sun-scorched rocks and salt
water The boat was coming in response
TO their signals. and the sight inspired
jerks with fresh hope. Like a lightning
flash came tho reflection that II he could
keep them away from the we'll and destroy
the sampan now Fastening TO their assist
ance, perhaps conveying the bulk of their
stores, they would soon tire of shaking
their thirst on the few pitcher plants grow
ing on the north shore.
Come quick" he shouted. adjusting the
backsight of rifle. Lie down and aim
at the front of that boat. a little short IL
anything. 1t doesn't matter II the bullets
strike the sea first"
He placed the weapon in readiness for
her and commenced operations himself be-
fore Iris could reach his side. Soon both
rifles were pitching twenty shots a minute
AZ the sampan The result OF their long,
range practice was not long in doubt. The