Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1925-02-11
that came into my head"

And /, he SAID, picked up the
first rifle I could lay hands on. Now
Miss Deane, as the affair has ended so
happily, may | venture to ask you to
remain in the cave until 1 return?'
ooh, please she began.
Really, l must insist. l would not
leave you if it were not quite impera-
tive You cannot come with me-"
Then she understood one at least of
the tasks he must perform, and she
meekly obeyed.
He thought it best to go along Turtle
Beach to the cove, and thence follow
the Dyaks' trail through the wood, as
this line Of advance would entail prac-
tically complete circuit of the island.
He omitted no precautions in his adj
vance. Often he stopped and listened
intently. Whenever he doubled back
and peered along the way he had
come, to see if any lurking foes were
breaking shelter behind him.
The marks on the sanu proved that
only one sampan had been beached.
Thence he found nothing of special in
terest until he came, upon the chiefs
gun, lying close to the trees on the
north side. 1t was very ornamental
weapon, a muzzle-Ioader The stock
was inlaid with gold and ivory, and
the piece had evidently been looted
from some mandarin's junk surprised
and sacked in a former foray.
The lock was smashed by the i'm
pact of the Lee-Metford bullet, but
close investigation of the trigger
guard, and the discovery of certain
unmistakable evidences on the beach,
showed that the Dyak leader had lost
two if not three fingers of his right
hand.
$50 he has something more than his
passion to nurse" unused jerks. THAT
at any rate is fortunate. He will be in
no mood for further enterprise for
some time to come
He dreaded lest any of the Dyaks
should be only badly wounded and
likely to live. 1t was an actual relief
to his nerves to find that the imprO-
vised Dumdums had done their work
too we'll to permit anxiety on that
score. On the principle that dead
Injun is a good Injun" these Dyaks
were good Dyaks.
He gathered the guns, swords and
krisses of the slain, with all their I'M
couth belts and ornaments. In purSu-
ance of a vaguely defined plan of flu
ture action he also Invested some of
the men of their coarse garments, and
collected six queer-loOking hats,
shaped like inverted basins. These
things he placed in heap near the
pitcher-plants. Thenceforth, for half
an hour, the placid surface of the la
COON was disturbed by the black dor
sal fins of many sharks.
To one of the sailors temperament
there was nothing revolving in the
concluding portion of his task. He had
a God-giyen right to live. 1t was his
paramount duty, RENTED only by
death itself, to endeavor to save Iris
from the indescribabIe fate from which
no power could rescue her if ever she
fell into the hands of these yindictive
savages. Therefore it was war between
him and them, war to the bitter end,
war with no humane mitigation of its
horrors and penalties, the last dread
arbitrament of man forced to adopt
the methods of the tiger.
His guess at the weather conditions
heralded by the change of wind was
right AS the two partOOk of their ev-
ening meal the complaining surf
dashed the reef, and the tremulous
branches of the taller trees voiced the
approach of a gale. A tropical storm,
not a typhoon, but a belated burst of
the periodic rains, deluged the island
before midnight. Hours earlier Iris
retired, utterly worn by the events OF
the day. Needless to say, there was no
singing that evening. The gale chanted
a wild melody in mournfui chords, and
the noise of the watery downpOur on
the tarpaulin roof of Belle Vue
Castle was such as to render CONVEX
sation impossible, save in wearying
shouts.
Luckily, Jenks's carpentry was eff
fective. though rough. The building
was water-tight, and he had calked
every crevice with unraveled rope I'M
til Iris's apartment was free from the
tiniest draught
The very fury of the external tur-
MOL acted as a lullaby to the girl.
She was soon asleep, and the sailor
was left to his thoughts.
Sleep he could not. He smoked
steadily, with a magnificent prodigal-
ity. for his small stock of tobacco was
fast diminishing. He ransacked his
brains to discover some method of es-
cape from this enchanted island, where
fairies jostled with demons, and hours
of utter happiness found their bane in
moments of frightful peril.
Of course he ought to have killed
those fellows who escaped. Their sam
nan might have provided a last deS-
perate expedient if other savages eff
fected landing. Well, there was no
use in being wise after the event, and,
scheme as he might, he could devise
no way to avoid disaster during the
next attack.
This, he felt certain, would take
place at night The Dyaks would land
in force, rush the cave and hut, and
overpower him by sheer numbers The
fight if fight there was, would be
sharp, but decisive. Perhaps, if he re-
ceived some warning, Iris and he
might retreat in the darkness to the
cover of the trees. A last stand could
be made among the boulders on Sum-
nit Rock But of what avail to pur-
chase their freedom until daylight?
And them
If ever man wrestled with desperate
problem, jerks wrought that night.
He smoked and pondered until the
storm passed, and, with the change
fulness of a poets muse, full moon
flooded the island in glorious radi-
ance.
He rose, opened the door, and stood
without, listening for a little while to