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

Robert, where are your"
"Here!" he shouted; the next in
slant she dropped into his arms.
A startled exclamation from the vi
cinity of the house, and some loud
cries from the more distant Dyaks on
the other side of Prospect Park,
showed that they had been overheard.
''Up!" he whispered Hold tight,
and go as quickly as you can"
mot without you'll"
.'Up, for Gods sake! l follow at your
heels"
She began to climb. He took some
article from between his teeth, string
apparently, and drew it towards him,
mounting the ladder at the same time.
The end tightened. He was then about
ten feet from the ground Two Dyaks,
yelling fiercely, rushed from the cover
of the house.
eco on" he said to Iris. Don't lose
your nerve whatever happens. l am
close behind you"
Il am quite safe" she gasped.
Turning, and Gins ing on with one
hand, he drew his revolver and fired at
the pair beneath, who could now faint
ly discern them, and were almost with
i'll reach of the ladder The shooting
made them halt. He did not know or
care if they were hit. To brighten them
was sufficient. Several others were
running across the sands to the cave,
attracted by the noise and the cries
of the foremost pursuers.
Then he gave a steady pull to the
cord The sharp crack of rifle came
from the vicinity of the old quarry.
He saw the flash among the trees. AL
most simultaneously bright light
leapt from the opposite ledge, illum-
ming the vicinity like a meteor. 1t
lit up the rock, showed Iris just van
ishing into the safety of the ledge,
and revealed jerks and the Dyaks to
each other. There followed instantly
a tremendous explosion that shook
earth and air, dislodging every loose
stone in the southwest pile of rocks
hurting from the plateau some of its
occupants, and wounding the remain
der with a shower of lead and debris.
The island birds, long since driven
to the remote trees, clamOred in
raucouS peal, and from the DyakS
came yells of fright and anguish.
The sailor, unmolested further,
trate where she had fallen, dead or
unconscious, he knew not which He
felt his face become grey in the dark
ness. With fierce tug he hauled the
ladder we'll away from the ground and
sank to his knees beside her.
He took her into his arms. There
was no light. He could not see her
eyes or lips. Her slight breathing
seemed to indicate a fainting fit, but
there was no water, nor was it pos
sible to adopt any of the ordinary ex-
pedients suited to such a seizure. He
could only wait in a dreadful silence
clasping her to his breast-and
dumbly wonder what other loss he
could suffer ere the final release came.
At last she sighed deeply. A strong
tremor of returning life stirred her
frame.
Thank God!" ne murmured, and
bowed his head. Were the sun shining
he could not see her now, for his eyes
were blurred.
Robert" she whispered
Eyes, darling
"Are you safe?"
''Safe! my loved one! Thing of your
self! What has happened to you?"
Il fainted-I think. have no hurt.
I missed you! Something told me you
had gone. l went to help you, or die
with you And then that noise! And
the light! What did you do?"
He silenced her questioning with a
passionate kiss. He carried her to a
little nook and fumbled among the
stores until he found a bottle of bran
dy. She drank some. Under its reviv-
flying influence she was soon able to
listen to the explanation he offered
after securing tn eladder.
In tall tree near the Valley of
Death he had tightly fixed a loaded
rifle which pointed at loose stone
in the rock overhanging the ledge held
by the Dyaks. This stone rested
against a number of percussion caps
extracted from cartridges, and these
we're in direct communication with a
train of powder leading to blasting
charge placed at the end of a twenty |
four inch hole drilled with a crowbar. !
The impact of the bullet against the !
stone could not fail to explode some
IF the caps. He had used the contents |
If three hundred cartridges to secure |
1 sufficiency of powder, and the bull
cts were all crammed into the orif1ce, !
being tamped with clay and wet sand. |
The rife was fired by means of the !
string, the loose coils of which were /
,ecreted at the foot of the pooh. By |
,pringing this novel mine he had eff
'ectually removed every Dyak from the /
edge, over which it's contents would |
spread like fan. Further, it would |
deter the survivors from
again venturing near that fatal spot.
Iris listened, only half comprehend
ng. Her mind was filled with one
hought to the exclusion of all others.
Robert had left her, had done this
hing without telling her. She forgave
him, knowing he acted for the best,
)ut he must never, never deceive her
lgain in such manner. She could
lot bear it.
What better excuse could man de-
sire for caressing her, yea, even
squeezing her, until the soh5 ceased