Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1905)
) f ft' r : ri . V i -.-. aw mm - Bear aaae aai sai aaa aw aaw f a an aaa aaa aBBBaaai i &?v.- w mmi mw mm sa h an ji ."a i. h aai sai bby is:-i " AtAMW V 111V !5'?.7. '' " . E . 'iT Morning . !..?.' V -' M.v.i'.' Cprriht. IMS. by '$: Edwtnl J. Clod V-:-.?!'.': ,v By LOUIS TRACY (CONTIMI'KD.) Thoy cliuttcd in llgbtor vein with such pendulum swing hack to noiicha ' lance that none would have deemed it possible for these two to have already . detennlned the momentous issue of the pending struggle should it go against them. And so the sun sank to rest in the sea, and the stars pierced the deepen ing blue of the celestial arch, hlle the man and the woman awaited patiently the verdict of the fates. llefore the light failed Jenks gatli n'"d all the poisoned nrrows and ground their veuumed points to powder beneath ills heel. Gladly would Iris u ml he have dispensed with the friend ly protection of the tarpaulin when the cool evening btee.o came from the xouth. Hut such a thing might not be even considered. Several hours of dark ness must elapse before tho moon rose, and 'during that period, were their foes o minded, they would be absolutely at the mercy of the suinpltan shafts if not eoveied by their impenetrable buckler. The sailor looked long and earnestly nt the well. Their own bucket, lmpro A'ised out of a dish cover and a rope, lay close to the brink. A stealthy crawl across the sandy valley, half n minute of grave dnnger, and he would be up the ladder again with enough water to serve their imperative needs for days to come. There was little or no risk in de scending the rock. Soon after sunset It was wrapped In deepest gloom, for night succeeds day in the tropics with wondrous speed. The hazard lay in twice crossing the white sand, were any of the Dyaks hiding behind the liouse or among the trees. He held no foolhardy view of his own powers. The one sided nature of the conflict thus far was due solely to his possession of modern rifles as op posed to muzzle loaders. Let him be surrounded on the level at close quar ters by a dozen determined men and lie must surely succumb. Were it not for the presence of Iris he would have given no second thought to the peril. To act without consult ing her was Impossible, so they dis cussed the project. Naturally she .scouted it. "The Mohammedan may be able to help us," she pointed out. "In any event let us wait until the moon wnnes. That is the darkest hour. We do not Jtnow what may happen meanwhile." The words had hardly left her mouth when mi Irregular volley was fired at them from the right flank of the en emy's position. Every bullet struck jards above their beads, the common failing of musketry at night being to take too high an aim. But the Impact of the missiles on a rock so highly im pregnated with minerals caused spurks to fly. arid Jenks saw that the Dyaks, would obtain by this means a most dangerous Index of their faulty prac tice. Telling Iris to at once occupy her safe corner, he rupldly adjusted u rifle on the wooden rests already pre pared in anticipation of an attack from thnt (piarter and fired three Bhots nt the opposing crest whence came the majority of gun flashes. One at least of the three found a hu man billet. There was a shout of sur prise and pain, and the next volley spurted from the ground level. This could do no damage owing to the angle, but he endeavored to disconcert the marksmen by keeping up a steady fire In their direction. He did not dream of attaining other than a moral effect, ns there Is a lot of room to miss when aiming in the dark. Soon he Imagined that the burst of flame from his rifle lielped the Dyaks, because several bul lets whizzed close to his head, and i.bout this time firing recommenced I'roni' the crest. Notwithstanding all his skill and ma nipulation of the .wooden supports be failed to dislodge the occupants. Ev ery minute one or more ounces of lend pitched right into the ledge, damaging the stores and tearing the tarpaulin, while tiwso which struck the wall of rock were dangerous to Iris by reason of the molten spray. lie could guess what had happened. By lying flat on the sloping plateau or squeezing close to the projecting shoul der of the cliff the Dyaks were so little exposed that idle chance alone would enable him to hit one of them. But they must bo shifted, or tills night bombardment would prove the most Kerious development yet encountered. "Are you nil right, Iris?" he called out. "Yes, dear," she answered. "Well, I want you to keep yourself covered by the canvas for n little while, especially your head and shoul ders. 1 am going to stop these chops. They have found our weak point, but I can bailie them." She did not ask what he proposed to do. He heard the rustling of the tar paulin as she pulled it. Instantly lie cast loose the rope ladder and, armed only with n revolver, dropped down tho rock, lie was quite Invisible to the en emy. On reaching the ground he lis tened for a moment. There was no sound save the occasional reports nine ty yards away. lie libelled up the low er rungs of the ladder until they were six feet from tho level and then crept noiselessly close to the rock for some forty yards. lie halted beside a small poou tree and stooped to find something Imbed ded near its roots. At this distance he could plainly hear the muttered con versation of tho Dyaks and could see several of tlieni prone on the sand. The latter fact proved how fatal would be an attempt on his part to roach the well. They must discover him Instant ly once he quitted the somber shadows of the cliff. He waited perhaps a few seconds longer than was necessary, endeavoring to pierce the dim atmos phere and learn something of their dis position. A .vigorous outburst of firing sent him hack with haste. Iris was up there alone. He knew not what might hap pen. He was now feverishly anxious to be with her again, to hear her voice and be sure that all was well. To his horror he found the laddef swaying gently against the rock. Some one was using It. He sprang forward, careless of consequence, and seized tho swinging end, which had fallen free again. He bad his foot on the bottom rung when Iris' voice, close nt hand and shrill with terror, shrieked: "Itobert, where are you?" "Here!" he shouted. The next In Btunt she dropped into his nrms. A startled exclamation from the vi cinity of the house nnd some loud cries from the more distant Dynks 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!" "Not without 'yon!" "Up, for God's sake! I follow nt your heels!" She began to climb. He took some article from between his teeth, n string apparently, and drew it townrd him, mounting the ladder nt the same time. The end tightened. He wns then ubout ten feet from the ground. Two Dyaks, yelling fiercely, rushed from the cover of the house. "Go on," he said to Iris. "Don't lose your nerve, whatever happens. I nm close behind you." "I am quite safe," Bhe gasped. Turning and clinging on with one hnnd, he drew his revolver nnd fired nt the pair beneath, who could now faintly discern them, and were almost within reach of the ladder. The shoot ing mndo thenVhnlt. He did not know or care if they were hit. To frighten them wns sufficient. Several others A tranendqus explosion. were running across the sands to tho cave, attracted by the noise and the cries' of tho foremost pursuers. I Then ho gave a steady pull to the cord, The sharp crack of a ilfle came from tho vicinity of the old quarry. Ho saw the flash among the trees. Almost simultaneously a bright light leaped from tho opposite ledge, Illum inating the vicinity liko a meteor. It Ilt up the rock, showed Iris Just van; ' lshlng into the safety of the ledge and revealed Junks nnd the Dyaks to each other. Thore followed Instantly a tre mendoiis explosion that shook earth nnd nlr, dislodging every loose stone in the southwest pile of rocks, hurling from the plateau some of its occu pants and wounding the remainder with n shower of lead and debris. The sailor, unmolested further, reached tht lodge. In a tall tree near the valley of douth he had tightly fixed a loaded rllle which pointed at a loose stone In the rock overhanging the ledge held by the Dyaks. This stone rested against a number of precusslon caps extracted from cartridges, and these were In di rect communication with a train of powder leading to a blasting charge placed nt th end of a twenty-four Inch hole drilled with a crowbar. The im pact of the bullet against the stone could not fall to explode some of the caps. He had used the contents of HUH cartridges to secure a sutllcleney of powder, and the bullets were crammed Into the orifice, being tamped with clay and wet sand. The rifle was tired by means of the string, the loose eolls of which were secreted at the foot of the poon. By springing this novel mine he hud effectually removed every Dyak from the ledge, over whleh Its contents would spread like u fan. Further, It would probably deter the survivors from again venturing near the fatal spot. Iris listened, only half comprehend ing. Her mind was filled with one thought to the exclusion of all others. Itobert had left her, had done this tiling without telling her. She forgave him, knowing he acted for the best, but ho must never, never deceive her again In such u manner. She could not bear It. I'HAPTKU XIV. ATT ,., ,1. r vk'Li lire u urnr iiiireusuiiunie lit- y I tie girl," he said. "Have you I I breath enough to toll me why you came down the ladder?" "When I discovered you were gone I became wild with fright. Don't you see, I Imagined you were wounded and had fallen from the ledge. What else could I do but follow, either to help you, or, If thnt were not pos-slble"- He found her hand nnd pressed it to his lips. "I humbly crave your pardon," he said. "That explanation Is more than nmple. It was I who behaved un reasonably. Of course I should have warned you," "May I ask how many more wild ad ventures you undertook without my knowledge?" "One other, of great magnitude. I fell In love with you." "Nonsense!" she retorted. "I knew that long before you admitted it to yourself." "Date, please?" "Well, to begin at the very begin ning, you thought I wns nice on board the Sirdar. Now, didn't you?" And they were safely embarked on a conversation of no Interest to any oth er person In the wide world, but which provided them with the most delight ful topic imaginable. Thus the time sped until the rising moon silhouetted the cliff on the white carpet of coral strewn sand. The black shadow line traveled slowly closer to the base of the cliff, and Jenks, guided also by the stars, told Iris that mid night was at hand. They knelt on the parapet of tho ledge, alert to catch any unusual Bouud and watching for any indication of human movement. But Itulubow Is Innd was now still as the grave. Tho wounded Dyaks had seemingly been removed from but and bench. The dead lay where they had fallen. The sen sang n lullaby to the reef, nnd the fresh breezo whispered among the palm fronds that was nil. If the Mussulman kept bis compact the hour wns at hand. Then the light blss of a snake rose to them from the depths. Thnt Is a sound never forgot ten when once heard. It Is like unto no other. Indeed tho term "hiss" is a mlsuomer for the quick sibilant expul sion of the breath by nn alarmed or nngored serpent. Iris paid no heed to It; but Jenks, who knew there wns not n reptile of the Buake vuriety on the islnnd, leaned over the ledge and emitted n tolerably good imitation, Tho native wns be neath. "Sahib!" The girl started ut the unexpected call from the depths. "Yes," snld Jenks quietly. "A rope, snhlb.k' The sailor lowered n rope. Some-; thing wns tied to It beneath. The Mo-' hnmniedan nppurentiy had little fear of being detected. "Pull, sahib." "Usually It Is tho sahib who says 'pull,' but circumstances alter cases," communed Jenks. He hnuled steadily at a heavy weight, a goatskin filled with cold water, no emptied the hot nnd sour wine out of tho tin cup nnd was about to hand the thrice wel comed draft to Iris when n suspicious thought caused him to withhold It. "Let me tasto first," he said. Tho Indian might have betrayed them to tho Dyaks. More unlikely things had happened. What If tho wa ter were poisoned or drugged? He plnccd the tin to his llpsu The (Continued on Pago Three!) "" " i n? Ng A NBWLINB OFz GOODS Cashmeres, 27 inches wide 14c Dragswayn Suiting, 27 in. wide 20c Brocade Suiting, 36 inches wide 25c Fancy mixed Suiting, 36 in. wide 30c The latest things in Mohair.. .30, 50, 75c A large line of new Prints, Ginghams, Chev iots, Percales and other Wash Goods suitable for school wear. BURSON HOSE for ladies, the only hose made without a seam, 18 to 50c pair. Children's school hose at 10, 15, 18,25c BELTS in endless variety, from 22 to 41 in. waist measure Eggs Taken In Exchange for Merchandise F. NEWHOUSE DRY GOODS AND NOTIONS, ETC. A.B.(haSE NO For Twenty Years.. Sft4fror coavlaclitf book tot. "WHY." 1 Daring all those yoars A. B. CHASE Pianos have been acknowledged to be of the very highest grade. The most critical and expert musicians find thorn unsurpassed in Tone, Action and Durability We are district distributors of tho A. B. CHASE Pianos, and will gladly put you in touch with ono of our representatives, or mail you catalogues and opecinl prices. OLNEY-GASTON MUSIC CO. St. Joseph, Mo. Scceora to T. J. WASHUUKN. EiUblliheJ la 1868. t. Itoeate on the friseo System of ttle Both Lose (Honey Now Is the tint 9 to investigate tho resources and opportunity of securing good laud at very low figures in the Grout Southwest. Missouri, Arkansas Southern Kansas, Oklahoma, Indian Jerritory and Texas, are again to the front with a "Bump ing" Crop, Beating All Records Ask your home agent for Hmosoekors' Ratos and Tiokota, on sale tho first und third Tuesdays of aoh mouth, mul.ask us for descriptive literature, which will bo ninllodto you without cost. J. C. LOVRE1N, j Ass't Gen'l Passenger Agmt, Kansas City, Mor A. HILTON, Gen'l Passenger Agont, St. Louis, Mo. Consign Your Live Stock To CLAY, ROBINSON & GO. STOCK YARDS, KANSAS CITY, MO. Wf'also have our own houses at CHICAGO 8OUTH OMAHA SIOUX CITY SOUTH ST. JOSEPH DENVER Bead our market lath? In thli paper. WrIU u for any special Information desired. 51 i iM i v n 1 1' t 1 M 1 L
