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Edwtnl J. Clod V-:-.?!'.':
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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
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Sft4fror
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"WHY."
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St. Joseph, Mo.
Scceora to
T. J. WASHUUKN.
EiUblliheJ la 1868.
t.
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Bead our market lath? In thli paper. WrIU u for any special Information desired.
51
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