Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1925-04-15

Z
1 your position. You may Stay some,
they say, but you cannot Stay three
score. Taung Sail has promised a
/ gold tauk Ca native ornament) to ev-
cry man who survives if they succeed
They have pulled down your signal
on the high rocks and are using the
| poles for the ladders. They think you
! have a jadu, Ca charm) sahib, and they
want to use your own work against
! you"
| This was serious news A combined
attack might indeed be dangerous
| though it had the excellent feature
| that if it failed the Dyaks would GER
| tainly leave the island But his sky
| sign destroyed! That was bad. Had
| a vessel CHANGED to pass, the swing
ing letters would surely have at
tracted attention. Now, even that faint
hope was dispelled.
"Sahib, there is a worse thing to
tell said Mir Jan.
Say on, then
Before they place the ladders
against the cliff they will build a fire
of green wood so that the smoke will
be blown by the wind into your eyes
| This will help to blind your aim 9th
erwise, you never miss"
"That will assuredly be awkward,
Mir JAM
"It will, sahib. Soul of my father, if
we had but half a troop with us"
But they had not. and they were
both so intent on the conversation
that they were momenetarily off their
guard. Iris was more watchful She
fancied there was a light rustling
amidst the underground beneath the
trees on the right. And she could hiss
too, if that were the correct thing to
do.
So she Kissed.
jerks swarmed half way up the lad
der.
Eyes, Iris?' he said
Il am not sure, but | imagine some
thing moved among the bushes be-
hind the house"
'All right dear. I will keep a sharp
lookout. Can you hear us talking?"
Hardly. Will you be long?"
Another minute"
He descended and told Mir Jan what
the miss-sahib said. The native was
about to make search when jerks
stopped him.
Here, he handed the man his re-
volver-'T suppose you can use this?"
Mir Jan took it without a word, and
jerks felt that the incident atoned for
previous unworthy doubts of his dark
friends honesty. The Mahommedan
cautiously examined the back of the
house, the neighboring shrubs, and
teh open beach, After a brief alb
sence he reported all safe, yet no man
has ever been nearer death and es-
capped it than he during that recon-
naissance. He, too forgot that the Dy-
axis were foxes, and foxes can lie close
when hounds are a trifle stale.
Mir Jan returned the revolver
"Sahib,' he said with another
salaam. Il am a disgraced man, but if
you will take me up there with you, |
will fight by your side until both my
arms are hacked Off I am weary of
these thieves: Ill chance threw me in
to their company: I will have no more
of them. If you will not have me on
the rock, give me a gun. | will hide
among the trees, and | promise that
some of them shall die tonight before
they find me. For the honor of the
regiment. sahib, do not refuse this
thing. All l ask is, if your honor es-
capes, that you will write to Kurnel
I-shpense-sahib, and tell him the last
act of Mir Jan, naik in B troop
There was an intense pathos in the
mans words He made this self-sac-
rificing offer with an utter absence of
any motive save the old tradition of
duty to the colors. Here was Anstruth-
er-sahib, of the Belgium Rissala, in
dire peril. Very well, then, Corporal
Mir Jan, late of the 10Th Bengal
Lancers, must dare all to save him.
jerks was profoundly moved He
reflected how best to utilize the SER
vices of this willing volunteer with
out exposing him to certain death in
the manner suggested. The native mis-
interpreted his silence
II am not a budmash, (RascaD sa-
hib,' he exclaimed proudly. II only
killed a man because"
Listen, Mir Jan. You cannot we'll
mend what you have said. The Dyaks, |
you are sure, will not come before
morning."
"They have carried the wounded to |
the boats and are making the ladders. |
Such was their talk when l left |
them"
t'Will they not miss your"
''They will miss the mussak goat |
skim sahib. 1t was the last full one /
mir Jan do as bid, and you shall |
see Delhi again. Have you ever used /
a Lee-Metford?
81 have seen them, sahib; but
better understand the Mahtini"
II will give you rifle, with plenty |
of ammunition. Do you go inside the |
cave, there, and
Mir Jan was startled.
where the ghost is, sahib?' he |
said.
Ghost! That is tale for children. |
There is no ghost, only few bones
of man murdered by these scoun-
drels long ago. Have you any food?"
"Some rice, sahib; sufficient for a
day. or two at pinch
"Goodi We will get water from the |
we'll When the fighting begins at |
dawn, fire at every man you see from
the back of the cave. On no account !
come out Then they can never reach