Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1925-04-22


after his climb, and cried
mir JAN"
"Ah. sahibl Praised be the name of
the Most High, you are alive. l was
searching among the slain with sor-
rowful heart"
The Mahommedan's voice came from
some little distance to the left.
"The slain, you say. How many?'
Give sahib."
Impossible! l fired blindly with the
revolver, and only hit one man hard
with the iron bar. One other dropped
near the wood after | obtained a
rifle"
"Then there are six, sahib, not
reckoning the wounded. | have ac-
counted for one, so the miss-sahlb
must have-"
what is he saying about me-" in
quired iris, who had risen and joined
her lover.
'He says you absolutely staggered
the Dyaks by opening fire the mo-
ment they appeared"
"How did you come to Stay one,
Mir JAM" he continued.
"a son of a black pig followed me
i into the cave. I waited for him in the
darkness. I have just thrown his body
outside"
"Shabash! well done) Is Taung
sail dead, by any lucky chances?
mo. sahib, if he be not the sixth.
will go and see"
''You may be attacked"
81 have found a sword, sahib. You
left me no cartridges.
Jenks told him that the clip and the
twelve packets were lying at the toot
of the rock, where Mir Jan specify
discovered them. The Mahommedan
gave satisfactory assurance that ne
understood the mechanism OF the rlne
by filling and adjusting the magazine.
Then he went to examine the corpse
of the man who lay in the open near
the quarry path.
The sailor stood in readiness to
make a counter demonstration were
the native assaulted. But there was no
sign of the Dyaks. Mir Jan returned
with the news that the sixth victim OF
the brief yet fierce encounter was
renegade Malay. He was so confident
that the enemy had had enough OF IL
for the night that, after recovering
Jenks's revolver, he boldly went to
the we'll and drew himself a supply
of water.
During supper, feast graced by
quart of champagne worthy OF the
Carlton. jerks told Iris so much of
the story as was good for her: that is
to say, he cut down the casualty list
It was easy to see what had hap
pened. The Dyaks, having missed the
Mahommedan and their watef-Dag'
searched for him and heard the con-
of
Knowing that their presence was sus-
pected., they went back for reinforce
ments. and returned by the shorter and
more advantageous route along Turtle
Beach.
Iris would have talked all night,
but Jerks made her go to sleep, by
pillowing her head against his Shout
der and smoothing her tangled tres
SEES with his hand The wine, too, was
helpful. In a few minutes her voice
became dreamy: soon she was sleep
ing like a tired child.
He managed to lay her on a COM
Portable pile of ragged clothing and
then resumed his vigil. Mir Jan OF
fered to mount guard beneath, but
Jerks babe him go within the cave and
remain there, for the dawn would soon
be upon them.
Left alone with his thoughts, he
wondered what the rising sun would
bring in it's train. He reviewed the
events of the last twenty-four hours.
Iris and he-Niss Deane, Mr.. jerks,
to each other-were then undlscoV-
cred in their refuge, the Dyaks were
gathered around a roaring fire IN the
valley, and Mir Jan was keen IN the
hunt as the keenest among them. NOW,
Iris was his affianced bride, over
twenty of the enemy were killed and
many wounded, and Mir Jan, de-
voted adherent, was seated beside the
skeleton in the gloom of the cavern.
What a topsy-turvy world it was,
to be sure! What alterations between
despair and hope! What rebound from
the gates of Death to the threshold of
Eden! How untrue, after all, was the
neblous philosophy of Omar, the Tent
maker. Surely in the happenings OF
the bygone day there was more than
the purposelesS
magic Shadow-show
Play'd in Box whose Candle is the sun,
Round which we Phantom Figures come and
co.
He had, indeed, cause to be humbly
thankful. Was there not One who
marked the fall of sparrow, who
clothed the lilies, who knew the needs
of His creatures? There, in the SOL
emn temple of the night, he gave
thanks for the protection vouchsafed
to Iris and himself, and prayed that
it might be continued. He deplored
the useless bloodshed. the horror of
mangled limbs and fostering bodies,
that converted this fair island into a
reeking slaughter-house. Were it pos
sible, by any personal sacrifice, to di-
vert the untutored savages from their
deadly quest. he would gladly con-
done their misdeeds and endeavor to
assuage the torments of the wounded.
But he was utterly helpless, pawn
on that tiny chessboard where the
game was being played between Civ
i1iZatiOn and RarhariSr1 The fight