Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1925-02-04
CHAPTER VII.


CHAPTER VII
SURPRISES
| Before night closed their third day
on the island jerks managed to con-
| struct a roomy PENTHOUSE with a
| framework of sturdy trees selected on
account of their location. To these he
nailed or tied crossbeams of felled
saplings; and the tarpaulins dragged
from the beach supplied roof and
| walls 1t required the united strength
| of Iris and himself to haul into posi-
| ton the heavy sheet that topped the
structure, whilst he was compelled to
desist from active building operations
| in order to fashion rough ladder.
! Without some such contrivance he
could not get the topmost supports
adjusted at a sufficient height.
| Although the edifice required
least two more days of hard work be-
| fore it would be fit for habitation Iris
wished to take up her quarters there
Immediately This the sailor would not
hear of.
"In the cave" he said, "you are alb
solutely sheltered from all the winds
that blow or rain that falls. Our villa,
! however, is painfully leaky and
draughty at present. When asleep, the
whole body is relaxed, and you are
| then most open to the attacks of cold
or fever, in which case, Miss Deane,
shall be reluctantly Obliged to dose
you with a concoction of that tree
| there"
| He pointed to a neighboring Gin
chona, and Iris naturally asked why
he selected that particular brand
Because it is quinine, not made up
in nice little tabloids, but au natural.
1t will not be bad plan if we pre-
pare strong infusion, and take a
small quantity every morning on the
excellent principle that prevention is
better than cure"
| The girl laughed.
| "Good gracious!" she said; "that re-
minds me-
| But the words died away on her
lips in sudden fright. They were
standing on the level plateau in front
of the cave, we'll removed from the
I trees, and they could see distinctly on
! all sides, for the sun was sinking in
cloudless sky and the air was pre-
ternaturally clear, being free now
from the tremulous haze of the hot
hours.
Across the smooth expanse of sandy
ground came the agonized shrieks of
startled bird-a large bird, it would
seem-winging its way towards them
with incredible swiftness, and utter
ing a succession of loud full-voiced
notes of alarm.
Yet the strange thing was that not
bird was to be seen. At that hour
the ordinary feathered inhabitants of
the island were quietly nesting
among the branches preparatory to
making final selection of the nights
resting place. None of them would
stir unless actually disturbed.
Iris drew near to the sailor. Invol-
UNFAIRLY she caught his arm. He
stepped a half-pace in front of her
to ward off any danger that might be
heralded by this new and uncanny
! phenomenor. Together they strained
their eyes in the direction of the ap-
preaching sound, but apparently their
sight was bewitched, as nothing what
ever was visible.
"Oh, what is it?" walled Iris, who
now chung to jerks in a state of great
apprehension.
The clucking noise came nearer,
passed them within a yard, and was
already some distance away towards
the reef when the sailor burst into
hearty laugh, none the less genuine
because of the relief it gave to his
bewildered senses.
Reassured, but still white with fear,
Iris cried: "Do speak, please, Mr..
jerks What is it?"
"a better he managed to gasp.
"a beetle?"
Eyes, a small, insignificant-lookin
fellow, too-so small that | did not
see him until he was almost out of
range. He has the loudest voice for
his size in the whole of creation. A
man able to shout on the same scale
could easily make himself heard for
twenty miles"
"Then | do not like such beetles; l
always hated them, but this latest
variety is positively detestable. Such
nasty things ought to be kept in zoolo-
gical gardens, and not turned loose
Moreover, my tea will be boiled into
spinach"
Nevertheless, the tea, though minus
sugar or milk, was grateful enough
and particularly acceptable to the
sailor, who entertained Iris with a
disquisition on the many virtues of
that marvellous beverage. Curiously
enough, the lifting of the veil upon
the mans earlier history made these
two much better friends. With more
complete acquaintance there was far
less tendency towards certain passag-
es which, under ordinary conditions,
could be construed as nothing else
than downright Irritation.
They made the pleasing discovery
that they could both sing. There was
hardly an opera in vogue that one or
other did not know sufficiently well