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Ae Wings of
The Monin$
By LOUIS TRACY
Copyright, 1KB, by Edward J. Clodo
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CONTINUED.
"Humor Is a lying mo at the best,'1
lie said curtly. "You must remember.
Captain Fltzroy. that I have uttered
no word of seandal about Mr. An
struther, ami any doubts concerning
Ills conduct can be Hot at rest by pe
rusing the records of his case in the
adjutant general's olllce at Hong
kong." "Hum!" said the Bailor, turning on
his heel to enter the chart room.
The girl and her father went bark to
the Island with Kobert. After taking
thought the latter decided to ask Mir
.Ian to remain in possession until he
returned. There was not much risk
of another Iyak Invasion. The fate of
Taung S'AH's expedition would not en
courage a fresh set of marauders, and
the Mohammedan would be well armed
to meet unforeseen contingencies, while
on his (Anstruther's) representations
the Orient would land an abundance
of stores. In any event It was better
for the native to live In freedom on
Halnbow island than to be handed
over to the authorities as an escaped
convict, which must be his immediate
fate no matter what magnanimous
view the government of India might
afterward take of his services.
Mir .Tan's answer was emphatic. Ho
look off his turban and placed It on
Anstruther's feet.
"Sahib," he said, "I am your dog.
If some day I am found worthy to be
your faithful servant, then shall I
l;now that Allah hns pardoned my
transgressions."
In spite of himself Sir Arthur Deane
could not help liking Anstruther. The
lie looked the questioner squurclv i?i the
face.
man wvs mngnetic, a hero, an ideal
gentle n. No wonder his daughter
was infatuated with him. Yet the fu
ture was dark and storm tossed, full of
sinister threats and complications. Iris
did not know the wretched circum
stances which had come to pass since
they parted and which had chnuged
the whole aspect of his life. How
could ho tell her? Why should It bo his
miserable lot to snatch the cup of hap
piness from her lips? In that moment
of silent agony lie wished he wero
dead, for death alone could remove tho
lnirden laid on him. Well, surely ho
might bask In the sunshine of her
laughter for nuother day. No need to
embitter her Joyous heart until ho was
driven to It by dire necessity.
So ho resolutely brushed aside tho
woebegone phantom of care and en
tered Into the abandon of the hour
with a zest that delighted her. The
dear girl imagined that Hohort, her
Itobert, had made another speedy con
auest and Anstruther himself was
much elated by tho sudden change lr
Sir Arthur Deane's demeanor.
They behaved like school children on
a picnic. They roared over Iris' trou
bles In the matter of divided skirts, too
much divided to be at all pleasant. Tho
shipowner tasted some of her sago
bread and vowed it was excellent.
They unearthed two bottles of cham
pagne, tho last of tho case, and prom
ised each other a hearty toast at din
ner. Nothing would content Iris but
that they should draw a farewell buck
etful of water from the well and
drench tho pitcher plant with n torren
tial shower.
Kobert carefully secured tho pocket
books, money and other effects found
on their dead companions. Tho baro
net, of course, knew all the principal
o'llcers of the Sirdar. Ho surveyed
these mournful relics with sorrowful
interest.
"The Sirdar was thecrack ship of
my Hoot and Captain Ilos my nurd
trusted ominimder," lie said. "Yon
may well Imagine. Mr. Anstruther
what a cruel bl:)w it was to lose such n
vessel, with all these people on board
ind i. ; only daughter uiiioi.'g them. 1
wonder now that It did not kill me."
"She was a splendid sea boat, sir.
Although disabled, she fought gallant
ly against the typhoon. Nothing short
of a reef would break her up."
"Ail, well," sighed the shipowner,
"the few timbers you have shown me
hero are the remaining assets out of
,'iOO.(X)0."
"Was she not Insured?" inquired
Kobert.
"No that is, I have recently adopted
a scheme of mutual self Insurance, and
the loss falls pro rata on my other ves
sels." The baronet glanced covertly at Iris.
The words convoyed little meaning to
her. Indeed, she broke in with a
laugh:
"I am afraid I have heard you say.
father dear, thu some ships .In the
licet paid you best when they ran
ashore."
"Yes, Iris. That often happened in
the old days. It Is ditTeient now.
Moreover, I have not told you the ex
tent of my calamities. The Sirdar was
lost on March IS, though I did not
know it for certain until this morning.
Hut on March 12." the Kahadur was
sunk In the Mersey during a fog, and
three days later the Jemadar turned
turtle on the James and Mary shoal In
tho Hooghly. Happily there were no
lives lost in either of these cases."
Iris was appalled by this list of casu
alties, yet she gave no thought to the
serious tlnanclal effect of such a string
of catastrophes. Kobert, of course, ap
preciated tills side of tho business, espe
cially In view of the shipowner's re
mark about the insurance. Hut Sir
Arthur Deane's stiff upper lip deceived
him. He failed to realize that the fa
ther was acting a part for his daugh
ter's sake.
Oddly enough, the baronet did not
seek to discuss with them tho legal
looking document atllxed near the cave.
It claimed all rights in the island in
their Joint names, and this was a topic
lie wished to avoid. Kor the time,
therefore, the younger man had no op
portunity of taking him into his con
fidence, and Iris held faithfully to her
promise of silence.
The girl's ragged raiment, sou'wester
and strong boots were already packed
away on board. She now rescued the
Hible, the battered tin cup, her re
volver and tho rlllo which had "scared"
the Dyaks when they nearly caught
Anstruther and Mir Jan napping. Kob
ert also gathered for her an assort
ment of Dyak hats, belts and arms, In
cluding Taung S'Ali's parang and a
sunipitan. These wero her trophies,
the spoils of the campaign.
His concluding act was to pack two
of the empty oil tins with all tho val
uable lumps of auriferous quartz he
could find where he shot the rubbish
from the cave beneath tho trees. On
toj) of these ho placed some antimony
ore, and Mir Jan, wondering why the
sahib wanted the stuff, carried the con
signment to tho waiting boat. Lieuten
ant Playdon, in command of the last
party of sailors to quit tho Island, evi
dently expected Mir Jan to accompany
them, but Anstruther explained that
the man would await his return some
time in June or July.
Sir Arthur Deane found himself spec
ulating on the cause of this extraor
dinary resolve, but, Bteadfast to his
policy of avoiding controversial mat
ters, said nothing. A few words to
the captain procured enough stores to
keep the Mohammedan for six
months at least, and while theso were
being landed tho question was raised
how best to dispose of tho Dyaks.
The commander wished to consult the
convenience of his guests.
"If we go a little out of our way and
land them in Borneo," he said, "they
will be hanged without troubling you
further. If I take them to Singapore
they will be tried on your evidence
and scut to penal servitude. Which is
it to be?"
It was Iris who decided.
"I cannot bear to think of more Hvcfc
being sacrllleed," sho protested. "Per
haps If theso men are treated merci
fully and sent to their homes after
some punishment their example may
sorvo as a deterrent to others."
So It was settled that way. Tho an
chor rattled up to Its berth, and the
Orient turned her head toward Singa
pore. As Bho steadily passed away In
to tho deepening azure the girl and her
lover watched tho familiar outlines of
Rainbow Island growing dim in tho
evening light. For n long while they
could see Mir Jan's tall, thin figure
motionless on a rock at tho extremity
of Europa point. Their hut, tho reef,
tho ledge, came into view as tho cruis
er swung round to a moro northerly
couroe.
Iris had thrown an arm across her
father's shoulders. Tho three wore left
nlono Just then, and thoy wero silent
for many minutes, At last tho flying
miles merged the solitary palm beyond
the lagoon with the foliage on the cliff.
The wide cleft of Prospect park grew
less distinct. Mir Jan's white clothed
figure was lost In the dark background.
Tho Island was becoming vague,
dreamlike, a blurred memory.
"Kobert," said tho girl devoutly,
"Uod has been very good to us. Do
you remember tills hour yesterday?"
she murmured. "How wo suffered from
thirst; bow the lu 4- ;,
olid attack from t.,e i !
climbed down the l.i'hi.'i- ; .
lowed you? Oh. fathei. di:l.
went on InipiiNhel.x. tii.liw ..
grasp, "you will never know b w i
he was; how enduiing; b v In ;
all for nit and cheered no to ti.e
"I think I am l.eglnu.ng t i.
stand now," answered the sld; u
averting his eyes lest Irh :h mid k
the tears lu them. Their Calvary wi
ended, they thought. Was It for bin.
to lead them again through the sorrow
ful way? It was a heartrending task
that lay before him, a task from which
Ids soul revolted. He refused even to
attempt it.
Tho explanation of the shipowner's
position was painfully simple. Kcing a
daring yet shrewd tlnancler, lie per
ceived in the troubled condition of the
far east a magnificent opportunity to
consolidate the trading iullueiice of his
company. Ho negotiated two big loans,
one of a semiprivate nature to equip
docks and railways lu the chief mari
time province of China, the other of a
more public character with the govern
ment of Japan. All his own resources,
together with those of Ills principal di
rectors and shareholders, were devoted
to these objects. Contemporaneously
he determined to stop paying heavy in
surance premiums on ills tleet and
make It self supporting on the well
known mutual principle.
Ills vessels were well equipped, well
manned, replete with every modern im
provement and managed witli great
commercial skill. In three or four
years, given ordinary trading luck, he
must have doubled his own fortune.
No sooner were all his arrangements
completed than three of his best ships
went down, saddling his company with
an absolute loss of nearly Kioo.ooo and
seriously undermining his Uiiauclal
credit. A fellow director, wealthy and
influential, resigned his seat on the
board and headed a clique of disap
pointed stockholders. At once the fair
sky became overcast.
Sir Arthur Deane's energy and finan
cial skill might have enabled him to
weather tills unexpected gale were It
not for the apparent loss of ills beloved
daughter with the crack ship of ills
line. Half frenzied with grief, he bade
his enemies do their worst and allow
ed his affairs to got Into hopeless con
fusion while ho devoted himself wholly
to the search for Iris and her compan
ions. At this critical Juncture Lord
Ventnor again reached his side. Ills
lordship possessed a largo private for
tune and extensive estates. Ho was
prudent withal and knew how admi
rably the shipowner's plans would de
velop if given the necessary time. He
offered the use of his name and money.
Ho more than filled the gap created by
the hostile ex-director. People argued
that such a clever man, Just returning
from tho far east after accomplishing
a public mission of some importance,
must be a reliable guide. The mere
cabled intelligence of his Intention to
Join the board restored confidence- and
credit.
Hut there was n bargain. If Iris
lived she must become the Countess of
Ventnor. Ills lordship was weary of
peripatetic loveniaklng. It was high
time ho settled down In life, took an
Interest in the legislature and achieved
a position in tho world. of affairs. Ho
had a chance now. The certain success
of his friend's project, the fortunato
.l "jf
,, mm f- . - -l.l'lL 1W' ' ' 'I '"
" You will all be paupers.'
completion of his own diplomatic un
dertaking, marriage with a beautiful
and charming woman these Items
would consolidate his career. Ills heart
was set on Iris.
He seized tho first opportunity that
presented Itself to make Sir Arthur
Deane acquainted with a decision al
ready dreaded by tho unfortunato ship
owner. Iris must either abandon her
infatuation for Anstruther or bring
about tho ruin of her father. There
was no moan.
"If sho declines to become Countess
of Ventnor sho can marry whom sho
likes, as you will all bo paupers to
gether," was tho earl's caustic sum-
(Continued on Sixth Pago.)
ANBWLINBOF
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