Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1925-01-14

A TALE OF ADVENTURE

VeyeQ a roDuke. There was no further
room for sentiment in their present
existence; they had to deal with chill
necessities. AS for the sailor, he was
glad that the chance turn of their
| conversation enabled him to warn her
against the lurking dangers of the Ia
/ COON. There was no need to mention
/ the devil-fish now he must spare her
all avoidable thrills.
They gathered the stores from the
| first al freSco dining-room and reached
the cave without incident. Another fire
was lighted, and whilst Iris attended
to the kitchen the sailor felled sever
al young trees. He wanted poles, and
these were the right size and shape.
He soon cleared a considerable space.
The timber was soft and so small in
girth that three cuts with the axe
usually sufficed He dragged from the
beach the smallest tarpaulin he could
| find, and propped it against the rock
! in such manner that it effectually
screened the mouth of the cave, though
admitting light and air.
He was so busy that he paid little
| heed to Iris. But the odor of fried
ham was waited TO him. He was lift
ing couple of heavy stones to stay
the canvas and keep it from Tapping
in the wind. when the girl called out
Wouldn't you like to have a wash
before dinner%
He Strengthened himself and looked
at her. Her face and hands were
shining, spotless. The change was so
great that his brow wrinkled with
perpleXity.
IT am good pupil" she cried. "You
| T II. Loo ,f,1r 10 1O1-O
self. [ made a bucket out of one of
the dish-covers by singing 1t in two
ropes. Another dish-cover, some sand
and leaves supplied basin, soap, and
towel. I have cleaned the tin cups and
the knives, and see, here is my great
est treasure
She held up small metal lamp.
"WEere in the world did you find
that? he exclaimed.
Buried i'll the sand inside the cave
Anything else?"
His tone was abrupt. She was so
disappointed by the seeming want of
appreciation of her industry that a
CLEAN of amusement died from her
eyes and she shook her head. stoop
ing at once to attend to the toasting
of some biscuits.
This time he was genuinely sorry.
"Forgive me. Miss Deane," he said
penitently "My words are dictated
by anxiety do not wish you to make
discoveries on your own account. This
is strange place, you know-an I'M
pleasant one in some respect.
"Surely I can rumage about my own
cave?"
"Most certainly. It was careless of
me not to have examined it's interior
more thoroughly"
"Then why do you grumble because
I found the lamp?"
"I did not mean any such thing. L
am sorry
"I think you are horrid: If you
want to wash you viii find the water
over there. Don't wait. The ham will
be frizzled to cinder
Unlucky jerks! Was ever man fated
to incur such unmerited odium? He
savagely 1aved his face and neck. The
fresh cool water was delightful at
first, but it caused his injured nail to
throb dreadfully When he drew near
to the fire he experienced an unac-
countable sensation of weakness.
Could it be possible that he was go
! ing to faint? 1t was too absurd. He
sank to the ground. Trees, rocks, and
sand-strewn earth INDUCED in mad
| dance. Iris's voice sounded weak and
indistinct It seemed to travel in waves
from a great distance. He tried to
brush away from lis brain these dim
fancies, but his iron will for once
failed, and he pitched headlong down.
wards into darkness.
! When he recovered the girls left
arm was round his neck For one
blissful instant he nestled there con-
tentedly He looked into her eyes and
saw that she was crying. A gust of
anger rose within him that he should
be the cause of those tears.
! Damn" he said, and tried to rise
| "Oh! are you better?" Her lips
! quivered pitifully.
| Eyes What happened? Did faint?"
! Drink this"
| She held a cup to his mouth and he
obediently strove to swallow the con-
tents. 1t was champagne. After the
| first spasm of terror, and when the
| application of water to his face failed
| to restore consciousness, Iris had
/ knocked the head off the bottle of
champagne.
/ He quickly revived. Nature had only
/ given him a warning that he was ov-
erdoing his resources. He was deeply
Inundated. He did not conceive the
truth, that only a strong man could
do ali that he had done and live. For
thirty-six hours he had not slept.
During part of the time he fought
with wilder beasts than they knew at
Ephasus The long exposure TO the
sun, the mental strain of his foreDod-
| ing that the charming girl whose life
depended upon him might be exposed
/ to even worse dangers than any yet
encountered, the physical labor he
had undergone. the irksome restraint
he strove to place upon his conduct
and utterances- these things Gull
minated in utter relaxation when the
water touched his heated skin.
But he was really very much an
noyed A powerful man always is an
I Il