Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1925-02-18
"The Wings
of the Morning
Copyrighted by E. j. Clode)
BY LOUIS TRACY

night, ne went Oh, anu hAo AhAA.'
so engrossed with the tactical SIDE Oh
the preparations that he did not notlce
how Iris blanched at the suggestion
"Surely not until danger actually
threatens?' she cried.
danger threatens us each hour al
fer sunset. It may come any nlght
though l expect at least a fortnight
reprieve. Nevertheless, | intend to acl
as if tonight may witness the first sho'
of the siege.
"Do you mean that?" she sighed
"And my little room is becoming sc
very coZy!"
Belle Vue Castle, their two-roomed
hut, was already home to them.
Ienks always accepted her words
literally.
"WelI.' he announced, after pause
sit may not be necessary to take W
orr quarters there until the eleventh
hour. After l have hoisted up our
stores and made the ladder, l will en-
deayor to devise an efficient GORDON OF
sontinels around our position. We will
see.'
Not another word could Iris get out
of him on the topic. Indeed, he pro
vdied her with plenty OF work. by
this time she could splice rope more
neatly than her tutor, and her partlc-
ular business was to prepare no less
than sixty rungs for the rope-ladder
This was an impossible task for one
day. but after dinner the sailor helped
her. They toiled late, until their fingers
were sore and their backbones
creaked as they sat upright.
Meanwhile jerks swarmed up the
pole again, and drew up after him a
crowbar, the sledge-hammer, and the
pickaxe With these implements he set
to work to improve the accommoda-
ton. Of course he did not attempt ser
iously to remove any large quantity
of rock, but there were projecting
Jumps here and inequalities OF floor
there which could be thumped or
pounded out of existence.
1t was surprising to see what a
clearance he made in an hour. The
existence of the fault helped him a
good deal, as the percolatiOn of water
at this point had oxidized the stone
to rottenness. To his great joy he dis
covered that a few prOdS with the pick
laid bare a small cavity which could
be easily enlarged. Here he contrived
a niche where Iris could remain in alb
SOlute safety when barricaded by
stores, whilst, with a squeeze, she was
entirely sheltered from the one dan
gerous point on the opposite cliff, nod
need she be seen from the trees.
Having hauled into position two
boxes of ammunition-for which ne
had scooped out special receptacle
the invaluable water-kegs from the
stranded boat, several tins of biscuits
and all the timed meats, together with
three bottles of wine and two Of
brandy. he hastily abandoned the ledge
and busted himself with fitting a num-
Der of gun locks to heavy faggots.
Iris watched his proceedings in ST
lence for some time. At last the inter
val for luncheon enabled her to de-
mand an explanation.
IF you don't tell me at once what
you intend to do with those strange
implements" she said, Il will form
myself into an amalgamated engineer
and come out on strike"
eff YOU do he answered, you will
create a precedent. There is no re-
corded case of a laborer claiming what
he calls his rights when his life is at
stake Even an American tramp has
been known to work like fiend I'M
der that condition"
Simply because an American tramp
tries, like every other mere male, to
be logical A woman is more heroic. /
once read of a French lady being
killed during an earthquake because
she insisted on going into a falling
house to rescue that portion of her
hair which usually rested on the dres-
sing-table whilst she was asleep
Il happen to know" he said, that
you are personally unqualified to en-
ulate her example"
She laughed merrily, so lightly did
yesterdays adventure sit upon her.
The allusion to her disheveled state
when they were thrown ashore by the
typhoon simply impressed her as
amusing. Thus quickly had she be-
come Injured to the strange circum-
stances of a new life.
Il withdraw the threat and substi-
tute a more genuine plea-curiosity .
she cried
"Then you will be gratified prompt
iy. These are our sentinels. Come with
me to allot his post to the most dis
tant one"
He picked up a faggot with its queer
attachment, shouldered a Lee-Metford
and smiled when he saw the business
like air with which Iris slung a re-
Eolver around her waist
They walked rapidly to Smugglers
Cove and the girl soon perceived the
ingenuity of his automatic signal He
securely bound the block of wood to
tree where it was hidden by the I'M
dergrowth Breaking the bullet out of
q cartridge, he placed the blank
charge in position in front of the
striker, the case being firmly clasped
by bent nail. To the trigger, the
spring of which he had eased to a
slight pressure, he attached a piece of
unraveled rope, and this he carefully
trained among the trees at height of
six inches from the ground, using as