Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1925-03-18

nally conquered the night, and the
placid sea offered turquoise pain u
the infinite the scene was resCIul'
gently bewitching. He knew that, away
there to the north, P. and 0. steamers
! Messageries Maritimes, and NoIth
German Lloyd liners were steadliy
churning the blue depths enroute 10
Japan or the Straits settlements
They carried hundreds of European
passengers, men and women, even III
| tie children, who were far remover
/ from the knowledge that tragedies
such as this Dyak horror lay almost
| in their path People in London were
| Just going to the. theater. He recalled
! the familiar jingle of the hansomS
scampering along Piccadilly, the more
stately pace of the private carriages
crossing the Park. Was it possible thaG
in the world of today-the world OF
telegraphs and express trains, or the
newspaper and the motor car-tWo
inoffensive human beings could De
done to death so shamefully and open
ly as would be the fate OF Iris ana
himself if they fell into the hands Oh
these savages! 1t was lnconcelVaDle,
intolerable! But it was true!
j And then, by an odd trick of mem
ory. his mind reverted, not to the
Yorkshire manor he learnt to love as
a boy, but to a little French inland
town where he once passed a summer
holiday intent on improving his knowl-
edge of the language. Interior France
is even more remote, more secluded,
more provincial, than agricultural
England. There no breath of the outer
world intrudes. All is laborious, cir
cumspect, trifle poverty-stricken,
but beautified by an Arcadian simpli-
city. Yet one memorable day, when
walking by the banks of river, he
came upon three men dragging from
out pool the water-soaked body of
a young girl into whose fair forehead
the blunt knob often seen on the back
of an old-fashioned axe had been driv-
en- with cruel force. So, even in that
tiny old-world hamlet, murder and
lust could stalk hand in hand.
He shuddered Why did such a hate
full vision trouble him? ResOlutely
banning the raven-winged specter, he
slid back down the ledge and gently
wakened Iris. She sat up instantly and
gazed at him with wondering eyes.
Fearful lest she should forget her
surroundings, he placed a warning
finger on his lips.
"Oh," she said in whisper, care
they still here?"
He told her what had happened, anC
suggested that they should have some
thing to eat whilst the coast was clear
beneath. She needed no second bid
ding, for the long vigil of the previous
night had made her very hungry, anC
the two breakfasted right royalty or
biscuit, cold fowl, ham, and good wa
ter.
In this, the inner section of their re
, fuge, they could be seen only by {
bird or by man standing nthe dis
tant rocky shelf that formed the
southern extremity of the opposite
; cliff, and the sailor kept a close look
; out in that direction.
Iris was about to throw the remains
of the feast into an empty oil-tin pro
vided for refuse when jerks re
. strained her
mo" he said, smilingly. Scraps
should be the first course next time
We must not waste an atom of food.
How thoughtless of mel" she ex
claimed. "Please tell me you thinl
! they will go away today"
But the sailor flung himself fiat or
the ledge and grasped Lee-Metford
"Be still, on your life," he said
Squeeze into your corner. There is {
, Dyak on the opposite cliff"
True enough, a man had climbed tt
: that unhappily placed rocky table, anC
, was shouting something to a confrert
+ high on the cliff over their heads. A!
yet he had not seen them, no ever
. noticed the place where they were con
> cealed. The sailor imagined from tt
| Dyak's gestures, that he was cOmmun
, icating the uselessneSS of further
+ search on the western part of the
island.
+ When the conversation ceased, HI
hoped the lood-voiced savage would
> descend. But no! The scout looked int
, the valley, at the well, the house, tn,
cave. Still he did not see the ledge
At that unlucky moment three birds
driven from the trees on the crest b!
: the passagle of the Dyaks, flew dowI
5 the face of the cliff and began circ
) ling quest for some safe perch OF
: which to alight.
, jerks swOre with an emphasis no
) the les earnest because it was mute
and took steady aim at the Dyak's lef
breast. The birds fiuttered about il
t ever smaller circles. Then one o
them dropped easily on to the lip O
the rock. Instantly his bright eyes en-
countered those of the man, and h
darted off with scream that brough
+ his mates after him.
The Dyak evidently noted the be
havior of the birds-his only lore wa!
the reading of such signs-and gaZeC
intently at the ledge. jerks he coulC
not distinguish behind the screen o
grass. He might perhaps see some por
+ ton of the tarpaulin covering the
stores, but at the distance it must re
semble a weather-beaten segment o.
the cliff. Yet something puzzled him
After steady scrutiny he turned anC
, yelled to others on the beach.
j The crucial moment had arrived
jerks pressed the trigger, and the Dy
ak hurtled through the air, fallins
headlong out of sight.
The sound of this, the first shot OF
! real warfare. awOke Rainbow Island
, into tremendous activity. The winged
life of the place filled the air with
raucous cries, whilst shouting Dyaks
, scurried in all directions Severa
came into the valley. Those nearest
the fallen man picked him up and car
, ried him to the we'll He was quite
dead, and, although amidst his other
. injuries they soon found the bullet
wound. they evidently did not know