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diff --git a/14917-8.txt b/14917-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..36096c4 --- /dev/null +++ b/14917-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11566 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Wings of the Morning, by Louis Tracy + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Wings of the Morning + +Author: Louis Tracy + +Release Date: February 6, 2005 [eBook #14917] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WINGS OF THE MORNING*** + + +E-text prepared by G. Edward Johnson and the Project Gutenberg Online +Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 14917-h.htm or 14917-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/9/1/14917/14917-h/14917-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/9/1/14917/14917-h.zip) + + + + + +THE WINGS OF THE MORNING + +by + +LOUIS TRACY + +Author of _A Son of the Immortals_, _The Stowaways_, _The Message_, +_The Wheel o' Fortune_, etc. + +New York Grosset & Dunlap Publishers + +1903. + + + + + + + +_If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts +of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall +hold me. Psalm CXXXIX, 9, 10_ + + + + +[Illustration: INVOLUNTARILY SHE CAUGHT HIS ARM. HE STEPPED A HALF-PACE +IN FRONT OF HER TO WARD OFF ANY DANGER THAT MIGHT BE HERALDED BY THIS +UNCANNY PHENOMENON. _Frontispiece_] + + + + +CONTENTS + +I The Wreck of the _Sirdar_ +II The Survivors +III Discoveries +IV Rainbow Island +V Iris to the Rescue +VI Some Explanations +VII Surprises +VIII Preparations +IX The Secret of the Cave +X Reality v. Romance--The Case for the Plaintiff +XI The Fight +XII A Truce +XIII Reality v. Romance--The Case for the Defendant +XIV The Unexpected Happens +XV The Difficulty of Pleasing Everybody +XVI Bargains, Great and Small +XVII Rainbow Island Again--and Afterward + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE WRECK OF THE _SIRDAR_ + + +Lady Tozer adjusted her gold-rimmed eye-glasses with an air of +dignified aggressiveness. She had lived too many years in the Far East. +In Hong Kong she was known as the "Mandarin." Her powers of merciless +inquisition suggested torments long drawn out. The commander of the +_Sirdar_, homeward bound from Shanghai, knew that he was about to +be stretched on the rack when he took his seat at the saloon table. + +"Is it true, captain, that we are running into a typhoon?" demanded her +ladyship. + +"From whom did you learn that, Lady Tozer?" Captain Ross was wary, +though somewhat surprised. + +"From Miss Deane. I understood her a moment ago to say that you had +told her." + +"I?" + +"Didn't you? Some one told me this morning. I couldn't have guessed it, +could I?" Miss Iris Deane's large blue eyes surveyed him with innocent +indifference to strict accuracy. Incidentally, she had obtained the +information from her maid, a nose-tilted coquette who extracted ship's +secrets from a youthful quartermaster. + +"Well--er--I had forgotten," explained the tactful sailor. + +"Is it true?" + +Lady Tozer _was_ unusually abrupt today. But she was annoyed by +the assumption that the captain took a mere girl into his confidence +and passed over the wife of the ex-Chief Justice of Hong Kong. + +"Yes, it is," said Captain Ross, equally curt, and silently thanking +the fates that her ladyship was going home for the last time. + +"How horrible!" she gasped, in unaffected alarm. This return to +femininity soothed the sailor's ruffled temper. + +Sir John, her husband, frowned judicially. That frown constituted his +legal stock-in-trade, yet it passed current for wisdom with the Hong +Kong bar. + +"What evidence have you?" he asked. + +"Do tell us," chimed in Iris, delightfully unconscious of interrupting +the court. "Did you find out when you squinted at the sun?" + +The captain smiled. "You are nearer the mark than possibly you imagine, +Miss Deane," he said. "When we took our observations yesterday there +was a very weird-looking halo around the sun. This morning you may have +noticed several light squalls and a smooth sea marked occasionally by +strong ripples. The barometer is falling rapidly, and I expect that, as +the day wears, we will encounter a heavy swell. If the sky looks wild +tonight, and especially if we observe a heavy bank of cloud approaching +from the north-west, you see the crockery dancing about the table at +dinner. I am afraid you are not a good sailor, Lady Tozer. Are you, +Miss Deane?" + +"Capital! I should just love to see a real storm. Now promise me +solemnly that you will take me up into the charthouse when this typhoon +is simply tearing things to pieces." + +"Oh dear! I do hope it will not be very bad. Is there no way in which +you can avoid it, captain? Will it last long?" + +The politic skipper for once preferred to answer Lady Tozer. "There is +no cause for uneasiness," he said. "Of course, typhoons in the China +Sea are nasty things while they last, but a ship like the _Sirdar_ +is not troubled by them. She will drive through the worst gale she is +likely to meet here in less than twelve hours. Besides, I alter the +course somewhat as soon as I discover our position with regard to its +center. You see, Miss Deane--" + +And Captain Ross forthwith illustrated on the back of a menu card the +spiral shape and progress of a cyclone. He so thoroughly mystified the +girl by his technical references to northern and southern hemispheres, +polar directions, revolving air-currents, external circumferences, and +diminished atmospheric pressures, that she was too bewildered to +reiterate a desire to visit the bridge. + +Then the commander hurriedly excused himself, and the passengers saw no +more of him that day. + +But his short scientific lecture achieved a double result. It rescued +him from a request which he could not possibly grant, and reassured +Lady Tozer. To the non-nautical mind it is the unknown that is fearful. +A storm classed as "periodic," whose velocity can be measured, whose +duration and direction can be determined beforehand by hours and +distances, ceases to be terrifying. It becomes an accepted fact, akin +to the steam-engine and the electric telegraph, marvelous yet +commonplace. + +So her ladyship dismissed the topic as of no present interest, and +focused Miss Deane through her eye-glasses. + +"Sir Arthur proposes to come home in June, I understand?" she inquired. + +Iris was a remarkably healthy young woman. A large banana momentarily +engaged her attention. She nodded affably. + +"You will stay with relatives until he arrives?" pursued Lady Tozer. + +The banana is a fruit of simple characteristics. The girl was able to +reply, with a touch of careless hauteur in her voice: + +"Relatives! We have none--none whom we specially cultivate, that is. I +will stop in town a day or two to interview my dressmaker, and then go +straight to Helmdale, our place in Yorkshire." + +"Surely you have a chaperon!" + +"A chaperon! My dear Lady Tozer, did my father impress you as one who +would permit a fussy and stout old person to make my life miserable?" + +The acidity of the retort lay in the word "stout." But Iris was not +accustomed to cross-examination. During a three months' residence on +the island she had learnt how to avoid Lady Tozer. Here it was +impossible, and the older woman fastened upon her asp-like. Miss Iris +Deane was a toothsome morsel for gossip. Not yet twenty-one, the only +daughter of a wealthy baronet who owned a fleet of stately ships--the +_Sirdar_ amongst them--a girl who had been mistress of her +father's house since her return from Dresden three years ago--young, +beautiful, rich--here was a combination for which men thanked a +judicious Heaven, whilst women sniffed enviously. + +Business detained Sir Arthur. A war-cloud over-shadowed the two great +divisions of the yellow race. He must wait to see how matters +developed, but he would not expose Iris to the insidious treachery of a +Chinese spring. So, with tears, they separated. She was confided to the +personal charge of Captain Ross. At each point of call the company's +agents would be solicitous for her welfare. The cable's telegraphic eye +would watch her progress as that of some princely maiden sailing in +royal caravel. This fair, slender, well-formed girl--delightfully +English in face and figure--with her fresh, clear complexion, limpid +blue eyes, and shining brown hair, was a personage of some importance. + +Lady Tozer knew these things and sighed complacently. + +"Ah, well," she resumed. "Parents had different views when I was a +girl. But I assume Sir Arthur thinks you should become used to being +your own mistress in view of your approaching marriage." + +"My--approaching--marriage!" cried Iris, now genuinely amazed. + +"Yes. Is it not true that you are going to marry Lord Ventnor?" + +A passing steward heard the point-blank question. + +It had a curious effect upon him. He gazed with fiercely eager eyes at +Miss Deane, and so far forgot himself as to permit a dish of water ice +to rest against Sir John Tozer's bald head. + +Iris could not help noting his strange behavior. A flash of humor +chased away her first angry resentment at Lady Tozer's interrogatory. + +"That may be my happy fate," she answered gaily, "but Lord Ventnor has +not asked me." + +"Every one says in Hong Kong--" began her ladyship. + +"Confound you, you stupid rascal! what are you doing?" shouted Sir +John. His feeble nerves at last conveyed the information that something +more pronounced than a sudden draught affected his scalp; the ice was +melting. + +The incident amused those passengers who sat near enough to observe it. +But the chief steward, hovering watchful near the captain's table, +darted forward. Pale with anger he hissed-- + +"Report yourself for duty in the second saloon tonight," and he hustled +his subordinate away from the judge's chair. + +Miss Deane, mirthfully radiant, rose. + +"Please don't punish the man, Mr. Jones," she said sweetly. "It was a +sheer accident. He was taken by surprise. In his place I would have +emptied the whole dish." + +The chief steward smirked. He did not know exactly what had happened; +nevertheless, great though Sir John Tozer might be, the owner's +daughter was greater. + +"Certainly, miss, certainly," he agreed, adding confidentially:--"It +_is_ rather hard on a steward to be sent aft, miss. It makes such +a difference in the--er--the little gratuities given by the +passengers." + +The girl was tactful. She smiled comprehension at the official and bent +over Sir John, now carefully polishing the back of his skull with a +table napkin. + +"I am sure you will forgive him," she whispered. "I can't say why, but +the poor fellow was looking so intently at me that he did not see what +he was doing." + +The ex-Chief Justice was instantly mollified. He did not mind the +application of ice in that way--rather liked it, in fact--probably ice +was susceptible to the fire in Miss Deane's eyes. + +Lady Tozer was not so easily appeased. When Iris left the saloon she +inquired tartly: "How is it, John, that Government makes a shipowner a +baronet and a Chief Justice only a knight?" + +"That question would provide an interesting subject for debate at the +Carlton, my dear," he replied with equal asperity. + +Suddenly the passengers still seated experienced a prolonged sinking +sensation, as if the vessel had been converted into a gigantic lift. +They were pressed hard into their chairs, which creaked and tried to +swing round on their pivots. As the ship yielded stiffly to the sea a +whiff of spray dashed through an open port. + +"There," snapped her ladyship, "I knew we should run into a storm, yet +Captain Ross led us to believe---- John, take me to my cabin at once." + +From the promenade deck the listless groups watched the rapid advance +of the gale. There was mournful speculation upon the _Sirdar's_ +chances of reaching Singapore before the next evening. + +"We had two hundred and ninety-eight miles to do at noon," said +Experience. "If the wind and sea catch us on the port bow the ship will +pitch awfully. Half the time the screw will be racing. I once made this +trip in the _Sumatra_, and we were struck by a south-east typhoon +in this locality. How long do you think it was before we dropped anchor +in Singapore harbor?" + +No one hazarded a guess. + +"Three days!" Experience was solemnly pompous. "Three whole days. They +were like three years. By Jove! I never want to see another gale like +that." + +A timid lady ventured to say-- + +"Perhaps this may not be a typhoon. It may only be a little bit of +a storm." + +Her sex saved her from a jeer. Experience gloomily shook his head. + +"The barometer resists your plea," he said. "I fear there will be a +good many empty saddles in the saloon at dinner." + +The lady smiled weakly. It was a feeble joke at the best. "You think we +are in for a sort of marine steeple-chase?" she asked. + +"Well, thank Heaven, I had a good lunch," sniggered a rosy-faced +subaltern, and a ripple of laughter greeted his enthusiasm. + +Iris stood somewhat apart from the speakers. The wind had freshened and +her hat was tied closely over her ears. She leaned against the +taffrail, enjoying the cool breeze after hours of sultry heat. The sky +was cloudless yet, but there was a queer tinge of burnished copper in +the all-pervading sunshine. The sea was coldly blue. The life had gone +out of it. It was no longer inviting and translucent. That morning, +were such a thing practicable, she would have gladly dived into its +crystal depths and disported herself like a frolicsome mermaid. Now +something akin to repulsion came with the fanciful remembrance. + +Long sullen undulations swept noiselessly past the ship. Once, after a +steady climb up a rolling hill of water, the _Sirdar_ quickly +pecked at the succeeding valley, and the propeller gave a couple of +angry flaps on the surface, whilst a tremor ran through the stout iron +rails on which the girl's arms rested. + +The crew were busy too. Squads of Lascars raced about, industriously +obedient to the short shrill whistling of jemadars and quartermasters. +Boat lashings were tested and tightened, canvas awnings stretched +across the deck forward, ventilator cowls twisted to new angles, and +hatches clamped down over the wooden gratings that covered the holds. +Officers, spotless in white linen, flitted quietly to and fro. When the +watch was changed. Iris noted that the "chief" appeared in an old blue +suit and carried oilskins over his arm as he climbed to the bridge. + +Nature looked disturbed and fitful, and the ship responded to her mood. +There was a sense of preparation in the air, of coming ordeal, of +restless foreboding. Chains clanked with a noise the girl never noticed +before; the tramp of hurrying men on the hurricane deck overhead +sounded heavy and hollow. There was a squeaking of chairs that was +abominable when people gathered up books and wraps and staggered +ungracefully towards the companion-way. Altogether Miss Deane was not +wholly pleased with the preliminaries of a typhoon, whatever the +realities might be. + +And then, why did gales always spring up at the close of day? Could +they not start after breakfast, rage with furious grandeur during +lunch, and die away peacefully at dinner-time, permitting one to sleep +in comfort without that straining and groaning of the ship which seemed +to imply a sharp attack of rheumatism in every joint? + +Why did that silly old woman allude to her contemplated marriage to +Lord Ventnor, retailing the gossip of Hong Kong with such malicious +emphasis? For an instant Iris tried to shake the railing in comic +anger. She hated Lord Ventnor. She did not want to marry him, or +anybody else, just yet. Of course her father had hinted approval of his +lordship's obvious intentions. Countess of Ventnor! Yes, it was a nice +title. Still, she wanted another couple of years of careless freedom; +in any event, why should Lady Tozer pry and probe? + +And finally, why did the steward--oh, poor old Sir John! What +_would_ have happened if the ice had slid down his neck? +Thoroughly comforted by this gleeful hypothesis, Miss Deane seized a +favorable opportunity to dart across to the starboard side and see if +Captain Ross's "heavy bank of cloud in the north-west" had put in an +appearance. + +Ha! there it was, black, ominous, gigantic, rolling up over the horizon +like some monstrous football. Around it the sky deepened into purple, +fringed with a wide belt of brick red. She had never seen such a +beginning of a gale. From what she had read in books she imagined that +only in great deserts were clouds of dust generated. There could not be +dust in the dense pall now rushing with giant strides across the +trembling sea. Then what was it? Why was it so dark and menacing? And +where was desert of stone and sand to compare with this awful expanse +of water? What a small dot was this great ship on the visible surface! +But the ocean itself extended away beyond there, reaching out to the +infinite. The dot became a mere speck, undistinguishable beneath a +celestial microscope such as the gods might condescend to use. + +Iris shivered and aroused herself with a startled laugh. + +A nice book in a sheltered corner, and perhaps forty winks until +tea-time--surely a much more sensible proceeding than to stand there, +idly conjuring up phantoms of affright. + +The lively fanfare of the dinner trumpet failed to fill the saloon. By +this time the _Sirdar_ was fighting resolutely against a stiff +gale. But the stress of actual combat was better than the eerie +sensation of impending danger during the earlier hours. The strong, +hearty pulsations of the engines, the regular thrashing of the screw, +the steadfast onward plunging of the good ship through racing seas and +flying scud, were cheery, confident, and inspiring. + +Miss Deane justified her boast that she was an excellent sailor. She +smiled delightedly at the ship's surgeon when he caught her eye through +the many gaps in the tables. She was alone, so he joined her. + +"You are a credit to the company--quite a sea-king's daughter," he +said. + +"Doctor, do you talk to all your lady passengers in that way?" + +"Alas, no! Too often I can only be truthful when I am dumb." + +Iris laughed. "If I remain long on this ship I will certainly have my +head turned," she cried. "I receive nothing but compliments from the +captain down to--to---- + +"The doctor!" + +"No. You come a good second on the list." + +In very truth she was thinking of the ice-carrying steward and his +queer start of surprise at the announcement of her rumored engagement. +The man interested her. He looked like a broken-down gentleman. Her +quick eyes traveled around the saloon to discover his whereabouts. She +could not see him. The chief steward stood near, balancing himself in +apparent defiance of the laws of gravitation, for the ship was now +pitching and rolling with a mad zeal. For an instant she meant to +inquire what had become of the transgressor, but she dismissed the +thought at its inception. The matter was too trivial. + +With a wild swoop all the plates, glasses, and cutlery on the saloon +tables crashed to starboard. Were it not for the restraint of the +fiddles everything must have been swept to the floor. There were one or +two minor accidents. A steward, taken unawares, was thrown headlong on +top of his laden tray. Others were compelled to clutch the backs of +chairs and cling to pillars. One man involuntarily seized the hair of a +lady who devoted an hour before each meal to her coiffure. The +_Sirdar_, with a frenzied bound, tried to turn a somersault. + +"A change of course," observed the doctor. "They generally try to avoid +it when people are in the saloon, but a typhoon admits of no labored +politeness. As its center is now right ahead we are going on the +starboard tack to get behind it." + +"I must hurry up and go on deck," said Miss Deane. + +"You will not be able to go on deck until the morning." + +She turned on him impetuously. "Indeed I will. Captain Ross promised +me--that is, I asked him----" + +The doctor smiled. She was so charmingly insistent. "It is simply +impossible," he said. "The companion doors are bolted. The promenade +deck is swept by heavy seas every minute. A boat has been carried away +and several stanchions snapped off like carrots. For the first time in +your life, Miss Deane, you are battened down." + +The girl's face must have paled somewhat. He added hastily, "There is +no danger, you know, but these precautions are necessary. You would not +like to see several tons of water rushing down the saloon stairs; now, +would you?" + +"Decidedly not." Then after a pause, "It is not pleasant to be fastened +up in a great iron box, doctor. It reminds one of a huge coffin." + +"Not a bit. The _Sirdar_ is the safest ship afloat. Your father +has always pursued a splendid policy in that respect. The London and +Hong Kong Company may not possess fast vessels, but they are seaworthy +and well found in every respect." + +"Are there many people ill on board?" + +"No; just the usual number of disturbed livers. We had a nasty accident +shortly before dinner." + +"Good gracious! What happened?" + +"Some Lascars were caught by a sea forward. One man had his leg +broken." + +"Anything else?" + +The doctor hesitated. He became interested in the color of some +Burgundy. "I hardly know the exact details yet," he replied. "Tomorrow +after breakfast I will tell you all about it." + +An English quartermaster and four Lascars had been licked from off the +forecastle by the greedy tongue of a huge wave. The succeeding surge +flung the five men back against the quarter. One of the black sailors +was pitched aboard, with a fractured leg and other injuries. The others +were smashed against the iron hull and disappeared. + +For one tremulous moment the engines slowed. The ship commenced to veer +off into the path of the cyclone. Captain Ross set his teeth, and the +telegraph bell jangled "Full speed ahead." + +"Poor Jackson!" he murmured. "One of my best men. I remember seeing his +wife, a pretty little woman, and two children coming to meet him last +homeward trip. They will be there again. Good God! That Lascar who was +saved has some one to await him in a Bombay village, I suppose." + +The gale sang a mad requiem to its victims. The very surface was torn +from the sea. The ship drove relentlessly through sheets of spray that +caused the officers high up on the bridge to gasp for breath. They held +on by main force, though protected by strong canvas sheets bound to the +rails. The main deck was quite impassable. The promenade deck, even the +lofty spar deck, was scourged with the broken crests of waves that +tried with demoniac energy to smash in the starboard bow, for the +_Sirdar_ was cutting into the heart of the cyclone. + +The captain fought his way to the charthouse. He wiped the salt water +from his eyes and looked anxiously at the barometer. + +"Still falling!" he muttered. "I will keep on until seven o'clock and +then bear three points to the southward. By midnight we should be +behind it." + +He struggled back into the outside fury. By comparison the sturdy +citadel he quitted was Paradise on the edge of an inferno. + +Down in the saloon the hardier passengers were striving to subdue the +ennui of an interval before they sought their cabins. Some talked. One +hardened reprobate strummed the piano. Others played cards, chess, +draughts, anything that would distract attention. + +The stately apartment offered strange contrast to the warring elements +without. Bright lights, costly upholstery, soft carpets, carved panels +and gilded cornices, with uniformed attendants passing to and fro +carrying coffee and glasses--these surroundings suggested a floating +palace in which the raging seas were defied. Yet forty miles away, +somewhere in the furious depths, four corpses swirled about with +horrible uncertainty, lurching through battling currents, and perchance +convoyed by fighting sharks. + +The surgeon had been called away. Iris was the only lady left in the +saloon. She watched a set of whist players for a time and then essayed +the perilous passage to her stateroom. She found her maid and a +stewardess there. Both women were weeping. + +"What is the matter?" she inquired. + +The stewardess tried to speak. She choked with grief and hastily went +out. The maid blubbered an explanation. + +"A friend of hers was married, miss, to the man who is drowned." + +"Drowned! What man?" + +"Haven't you heard, miss? I suppose they are keeping it quiet. An +English sailor and some natives were swept off the ship by a sea. One +native was saved, but he is all smashed up. The others were never seen +again." + +Iris by degrees learnt the sad chronicles of the Jackson family. She +was moved to tears. She remembered the doctor's hesitancy, and her own +idle phrase--"a huge coffin." + +Outside the roaring waves pounded upon the iron walls. + +Were they not satiated? This tragedy had taken all the grandeur out of +the storm. It was no longer a majestic phase of nature's power, but an +implacable demon, bellowing for a sacrifice. And that poor woman, with +her two children, hopefully scanning the shipping lists for news of the +great steamer, news which, to her, meant only the safety of her +husband. Oh, it was pitiful! + +Iris would not be undressed. The maid sniveled a request to be allowed +to remain with her mistress. She would lie on a couch until morning. + +Two staterooms had been converted into one to provide Miss Deane with +ample accommodation. There were no bunks, but a cozy bed was screwed to +the deck. She lay down, and strove to read. It was a difficult task. +Her eyes wandered from the printed page to mark the absurd antics of +her garments swinging on their hooks. At times the ship rolled so far +that she felt sure it must topple over. She was not afraid; but +subdued, rather astonished, placidly prepared for vague eventualities. +Through it all she wondered why she clung to the belief that in another +day or two the storm would be forgotten, and people playing quoits on +deck, dancing, singing coon songs in the music-room, or grumbling at +the heat. + +Things were ridiculous. What need was there for all this external fury? +Why should poor sailors be cast forth to instant death in such awful +manner? If she could only sleep and forget--if kind oblivion would blot +out the storm for a few blissful hours! But how could one sleep with +the consciousness of that watery giant thundering his summons upon the +iron plates a few inches away? + +Then came the blurred picture of Captain Ross high up on the bridge, +peering into the moving blackness. How strange that there should be +hidden in the convolutions of a man's brain an intelligence that laid +bare the pretences of that ravenous demon without. Each of the ship's +officers, the commander more than the others, understood the why and +the wherefore of this blustering combination of wind and sea. Iris knew +the language of poker. Nature was putting up a huge bluff. + +What was it the captain said in his little lecture? "When a ship meets +a cyclone north of the equator on a westerly course she nearly always +has the wind at first on the port side, but, owing to the revolution of +the gale, when she passes its center the wind is on the starboard +side." + +Yes, that was right, as far as the first part was concerned. Evidently +they had not yet passed the central path. Oh, dear! She was so tired. +It demanded a physical effort to constantly shove away an unseen force +that tried to push you over. How funny that a big cloud should travel +up against the wind! And so, amidst confused wonderment, she lapsed +into an uneasy slumber, her last sentient thought being a quiet +thankfulness that the screw went thud-thud, thud-thud with such firm +determination. + +After the course was changed and the _Sirdar_ bore away towards +the south-west, the commander consulted the barometer each half-hour. +The tell-tale mercury had sunk over two inches in twelve hours. The +abnormally low pressure quickly created dense clouds which enhanced the +melancholy darkness of the gale. + +For many minutes together the bows of the ship were not visible. +Masthead and sidelights were obscured by the pelting scud. The engines +thrust the vessel forward like a lance into the vitals of the storm. +Wind and wave gushed out of the vortex with impotent fury. + +At last, soon after midnight, the barometer showed a slight upward +movement. At 1.30 a.m. the change became pronounced; simultaneously the +wind swung round a point to the westward. + +Then Captain Ross smiled wearily. His face brightened. He opened his +oilskin coat, glanced at the compass, and nodded approval. + +"That's right," he shouted to the quartermaster at the steam-wheel. +"Keep her steady there, south 15 west." + +"South 15 west it is, sir," yelled the sailor, impassively watching the +moving disk, for the wind alteration necessitated a little less help +from the rudder to keep the ship's head true to her course. + +Captain Ross ate some sandwiches and washed them down with cold tea. He +was more hungry than he imagined, having spent eleven hours without +food. The tea was insipid. He called through a speaking-tube for a +further supply of sandwiches and some coffee. + +Then he turned to consult a chart. He was joined by the chief officer. +Both men examined the chart in silence. + +Captain Ross finally took a pencil. He stabbed its point on the paper +in the neighborhood of 14° N. and 112° E. + +"We are about there, I think." + +The chief agreed. "That was the locality I had in my mind." He bent +closer over the sheet. + +"Nothing in the way tonight, sir," he added. + +"Nothing whatever. It is a bit of good luck to meet such weather here. +We can keep as far south as we like until daybreak, and by that +time--How did it look when you came in?" + +"A trifle better, I think." + +"I have sent for some refreshments. Let us have another +_dekko_[Footnote: Hindustani for "look"--word much used by sailors +in the East.] before we tackle them." + +The two officers passed out into the hurricane. Instantly the wind +endeavored to tear the charthouse from off the deck. They looked aloft +and ahead. The officer on duty saw them and nodded silent +comprehension. It was useless to attempt to speak. The weather was +perceptibly clearer. + +Then all three peered ahead again. They stood, pressing against the +wind, seeking to penetrate the murkiness in front. Suddenly they were +galvanized into strenuous activity. + +A wild howl came from the lookout forward. The eyes of the three men +glared at a huge dismasted Chinese junk, wallowing helplessly in the +trough of the sea, dead under the bows. + +The captain sprang to the charthouse and signaled in fierce pantomime +that the wheel should be put hard over. + +The officer in charge of the bridge pressed the telegraph lever to +"stop" and "full speed astern," whilst with his disengaged hand he +pulled hard at the siren cord, and a raucous warning sent stewards +flying through the ship to close collision bulkhead doors. The "chief" +darted to the port rail, for the _Sirdar's_ instant response to +the helm seemed to clear her nose from the junk as if by magic. + +It all happened so quickly that whilst the hoarse signal was still +vibrating through the ship, the junk swept past her quarter. The chief +officer, joined now by the commander, looked down into the wretched +craft. They could see her crew lashed in a bunch around the capstan on +her elevated poop. She was laden with timber. Although water-logged, +she could not sink if she held together. + +A great wave sucked her away from the steamer and then hurled her back +with irresistible force. The _Sirdar_ was just completing her +turning movement, and she heeled over, yielding to the mighty power of +the gale. For an appreciable instant her engines stopped. The mass of +water that swayed the junk like a cork lifted the great ship high by +the stern. The propeller began to revolve in air--for the third officer +had corrected his signal to "full speed ahead" again--and the cumbrous +Chinese vessel struck the _Sirdar_ a terrible blow in the counter, +smashing off the screw close to the thrust-block and wrenching the +rudder from its bearings. + +There was an awful race by the engines before the engineers could shut +off steam. The junk vanished into the wilderness of noise and tumbling +seas beyond, and the fine steamer of a few seconds ago, replete with +magnificent energy, struggled like a wounded leviathan in the grasp of +a vengeful foe. + +She swung round, as if in wrath, to pursue the puny assailant which had +dealt her this mortal stroke. No longer breasting the storm with +stubborn persistency, she now drifted aimlessly before wind and wave. +She was merely a larger plaything, tossed about by Titantic gambols. +The junk was burst asunder by the collision. Her planks and cargo +littered the waves, were even tossed in derision on to the decks of the +_Sirdar_. Of what avail was strong timber or bolted iron against +the spleen of the unchained and formless monster who loudly proclaimed +his triumph? The great steamship drifted on through chaos. The typhoon +had broken the lance. + +But brave men, skilfully directed, wrought hard to avert further +disaster. After the first moment of stupor, gallant British sailors +risked life and limb to bring the vessel under control. + +By their calm courage they shamed the paralyzed Lascars into activity. +A sail was rigged on the foremast, and a sea anchor hastily constructed +as soon as it was discovered that the helm was useless. Rockets flared +up into the sky at regular intervals, in the faint hope that should +they attract the attention of another vessel she would follow the +disabled _Sirdar_ and render help when the weather moderated. + +When the captain ascertained that no water was being shipped, the +damage being wholly external, the collision doors were opened and the +passengers admitted to the saloon, a brilliant palace, superbly +indifferent to the wreck and ruin without. + +Captain Ross himself came down and addressed a few comforting words to +the quiet men and pallid women gathered there. He told them exactly +what had happened. + +Sir John Tozer, self-possessed and critical, asked a question. + +"The junk is destroyed, I assume?" he said. + +"It is." + +"Would it not have been better to have struck her end on?" + +"Much better, but that is not the view we should take if we encountered +a vessel relatively as big as the _Sirdar_ was to the unfortunate +junk." + +"But," persisted the lawyer, "what would have been the result?" + +"You would never have known that the incident had happened, Sir John." + +"In other words, the poor despairing Chinamen, clinging to their little +craft with some chance of escape, would be quietly murdered to suit our +convenience." + +It was Iris's clear voice that rang out this downright exposition of +the facts. Sir John shook his head; he carried the discussion no +further. + +The hours passed in tedious misery after Captain Ross's visit. Every +one was eager to get a glimpse of the unknown terrors without from the +deck. This was out of the question, so people sat around the tables to +listen eagerly to Experience and his wise saws on drifting ships and +their prospects. + +Some cautious persons visited their cabins to secure valuables in case +of further disaster. A few hardy spirits returned to bed. + +Meanwhile, in the charthouse, the captain and chief officer were +gravely pondering over an open chart, and discussing a fresh risk that +loomed ominously before them. The ship was a long way out of her usual +course when the accident happened. She was drifting now, they +estimated, eleven knots an hour, with wind, sea, and current all +forcing her in the same direction, drifting into one of the most +dangerous places in the known world, the south China Sea, with its +numberless reefs, shoals, and isolated rocks, and the great island of +Borneo stretching right across the path of the cyclone. + +Still, there was nothing to be done save to make a few unobtrusive +preparations and trust to idle chance. To attempt to anchor and ride +out the gale in their present position was out of the question. + +Two, three, four o'clock came, and went. Another half-hour would +witness the dawn and a further clearing of the weather. The barometer +was rapidly rising. The center of the cyclone had swept far ahead. +There was only left the aftermath of heavy seas and furious but +steadier wind. + +Captain Ross entered the charthouse for the twentieth time. + +He had aged many years in appearance. The smiling, confident, debonair +officer was changed into a stricken, mournful man. He had altered with +his ship. The _Sirdar_ and her master could hardly be recognized, +so cruel were the blows they had received. + +"It is impossible to see a yard ahead," he confided to his second in +command. "I have never been so anxious before in my life. Thank God the +night is drawing to a close. Perhaps, when day breaks----" + +His last words contained a prayer and a hope. Even as he spoke the ship +seemed to lift herself bodily with an unusual effort for a vessel +moving before the wind. + +The next instant there was a horrible grinding crash forward. Each +person who did not chance to be holding fast to an upright was thrown +violently down. The deck was tilted to a dangerous angle and remained +there, whilst the heavy buffeting of the sea, now raging afresh at this +unlooked-for resistance, drowned the despairing yells raised by the +Lascars on duty. + +The _Sirdar_ had completed her last voyage. She was now a battered +wreck on a barrier reef. She hung thus for one heart-breaking second. +Then another wave, riding triumphantly through its fellows, caught the +great steamer in its tremendous grasp, carried her onward for half her +length and smashed her down on the rocks. Her back was broken. She +parted in two halves. Both sections turned completely over in the utter +wantonness of destruction, and everything--masts, funnels, boats, hull, +with every living soul on board--was at once engulfed in a maelstrom of +rushing water and far-flung spray. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE SURVIVORS + + +When the _Sirdar_ parted amidships, the floor of the saloon heaved +up in the center with a mighty crash of rending woodwork and iron. Men +and women, too stupefied to sob out a prayer, were pitched headlong +into chaos. Iris, torn from the terrified grasp of her maid, fell +through a corridor, and would have gone down with the ship had not a +sailor, clinging to a companion ladder, caught her as she whirled along +the steep slope of the deck. + +He did not know what had happened. With the instinct of +self-preservation he seized the nearest support when the vessel struck. +It was the mere impulse of ready helpfulness that caused him to stretch +out his left arm and clasp the girl's waist as she fluttered past. By +idle chance they were on the port side, and the ship, after pausing for +one awful second, fell over to starboard. + +The man was not prepared for this second gyration. Even as the stairway +canted he lost his balance; they were both thrown violently through the +open hatchway, and swept off into the boiling surf. Under such +conditions thought itself was impossible. A series of impressions, a +number of fantastic pictures, were received by the benumbed faculties, +and afterwards painfully sorted out by the memory. Fear, anguish, +amazement--none of these could exist. All he knew was that the lifeless +form of a woman--for Iris had happily fainted--must be held until death +itself wrenched her from him. Then there came the headlong plunge into +the swirling sea, followed by an indefinite period of gasping oblivion. +Something that felt like a moving rock rose up beneath his feet. He was +driven clear out of the water and seemed to recognize a familiar object +rising rigid and bright close at hand. It was the binnacle pillar, +screwed to a portion of the deck which came away from the charthouse +and was rent from the upper framework by contact with the reef. + +He seized this unlooked-for support with his disengaged hand. For one +fleet instant he had a confused vision of the destruction of the ship. +Both the fore and aft portions were burst asunder by the force of +compressed air. Wreckage and human forms were tossing about foolishly. +The sea pounded upon the opposing rocks with the noise of ten thousand +mighty steam-hammers. + +A uniformed figure--he thought it was the captain--stretched out an +unavailing arm to clasp the queer raft which supported the sailor and +the girl. But a jealous wave rose under the platform with devilish +energy and turned it completely over, hurling the man with his +inanimate burthen into the depths. He rose, fighting madly for his +life. Now surely he was doomed! But again, as if human existence +depended on naught more serious than the spinning of a coin, his knees +rested on the same few staunch timbers, now the ceiling of the +music-room, and he was given a brief respite. His greatest difficulty +was to get his breath, so dense was the spray through which he was +driven. Even in that terrible moment he kept his senses. The girl, +utterly unconscious, showed by the convulsive heaving of her breast +that she was choking. With a wild effort he swung her head round to +shield her from the flying scud with his own form. + +The tiny air-space thus provided gave her some relief, and in that +instant the sailor seemed to recognize her. He was not remotely capable +of a definite idea. Just as he vaguely realized the identity of the +woman in his arms the unsteady support on which he rested toppled over. +Again he renewed the unequal contest. A strong resolute man and a +typhoon sea wrestled for supremacy. + +This time his feet plunged against something gratefully solid. He was +dashed forward, still battling with the raging turmoil of water, and a +second time he felt the same firm yet smooth surface. His dormant +faculties awoke. It was sand. With frenzied desperation, buoyed now by +the inspiring hope of safety, he fought his way onwards like a maniac. + +Often he fell, three times did the backwash try to drag him to the +swirling death behind, but he staggered blindly on, on, until even the +tearing gale ceased to be laden with the suffocating foam, and his +faltering feet sank in deep soft white sand. + +[Illustration: WITH FRENZIED DESPERATION, BUOYED NOW BY THE INSPIRING +HOPE OF SAFETY, HE FOUGHT HIS WAY ONWARD LIKE A MANIAC.] + +Then he fell, not to rise again. With a last weak flicker of exhausted +strength he drew the girl closely to him, and the two lay, clasped +tightly together, heedless now of all things. + +How long the man remained prostrate he could only guess subsequently. +The _Sirdar_ struck soon after daybreak and the sailor awoke to a +hazy consciousness of his surroundings to find a shaft of sunshine +flickering through the clouds banked up in the east. The gale was +already passing away. Although the wind still whistled with shrill +violence it was more blustering than threatening. The sea, too, though +running very high, had retreated many yards from the spot where he had +finally dropped, and its surface was no longer scourged with venomous +spray. + +Slowly and painfully he raised himself to a sitting posture, for he was +bruised and stiff. With his first movement he became violently ill. He +had swallowed much salt water, and it was not until the spasm of +sickness had passed that he thought of the girl. + +She had slipped from his breast as he rose, and was lying, face +downwards, in the sand. The memory of much that had happened surged +into his brain with horrifying suddenness. + +"She cannot be dead," he hoarsely murmured, feebly trying to lift her. +"Surely Providence would not desert her after such an escape. What a +weak beggar I must be to give in at the last moment. I am sure she was +living when we got ashore. What on earth can I do to revive her?" + +Forgetful of his own aching limbs in this newborn anxiety, he sank on +one knee and gently pillowed Iris's head and shoulders on the other. +Her eyes were closed, her lips and teeth firmly set--a fact to which +she undoubtedly owed her life, else she would have been suffocated--and +the pallor of her skin seemed to be that terrible bloodless hue which +indicates death. The stern lines in the man's face relaxed, and +something blurred his vision. He was weak from exhaustion and want of +food. For the moment his emotions were easily aroused. + +"Oh, it is pitiful," he almost whimpered. "It cannot be!" + +With a gesture of despair he drew the sleeve of his thick jersey across +his eyes to clear them from the gathering mist. Then he tremblingly +endeavored to open the neck of her dress and unclasp her corsets. He +had a vague notion that ladies in a fainting condition required such +treatment, and he was desperately resolved to bring Iris Deane back to +conscious existence if it were possible. His task was rendered +difficult by the waistband of her dress. He slipped out a clasp-knife +and opened the blade. + +Not until then did he discover that the nail of the forefinger on his +right hand had been torn out by the quick, probably during his +endeavors to grasp the unsteady support which contributed so materially +to his escape. It still hung by a shred and hindered the free use of +his hand. Without any hesitation he seized the offending nail in his +teeth and completed the surgical operation by a rapid jerk. + +Bending to resume his task he was startled to find the girl's eyes wide +open and surveying him with shadowy alarm. She was quite conscious, +absurdly so in a sense, and had noticed his strange action. + +"Thank God!" he cried hoarsely. "You are alive." + +Her mind as yet could only work in a single groove. + +"Why did you do that?" she whispered. + +"Do what?" + +"Bite your nail off!" + +"It was in my way. I wished to cut open your dress at the waist. You +were collapsed, almost dead, I thought, and I wanted to unfasten your +corsets." + +Her color came back with remarkable rapidity. From all the rich variety +of the English tongue few words could have been selected of such +restorative effect. + +She tried to assume a sitting posture, and instinctively her hands +traveled to her disarranged costume. + +"How ridiculous!" she said, with a little note of annoyance in her +voice, which sounded curiously hollow. But her brave spirit could not +yet command her enfeebled frame. She was perforce compelled to sink +back to the support of his knee and arm. + +"Do you think you could lie quiet until I try to find some water?" he +gasped anxiously. + +She nodded a childlike acquiescence, and her eyelids fell. It was only +that her eyes smarted dreadfully from the salt water, but the sailor +was sure that this was a premonition of a lapse to unconsciousness. + +"Please try not to faint again," he said. "Don't you think I had better +loosen these things? You can breathe more easily." + +A ghost of a smile flickered on her lips. "No--no," she murmured. "My +eyes hurt me--that is all. Is there--any--water?" + +He laid her tenderly on the sand and rose to his feet. His first glance +was towards the sea. He saw something which made him blink with +astonishment. A heavy sea was still running over the barrier reef which +enclosed a small lagoon. The contrast between the fierce commotion +outside and the comparatively smooth surface of the protected pool was +very marked. At low tide the lagoon was almost completely isolated. +Indeed, he imagined that only a fierce gale blowing from the north-west +would enable the waves to leap the reef, save where a strip of broken +water, surging far into the small natural harbor, betrayed the position +of the tiny entrance. + +Yet at this very point a fine cocoanut palm reared its stately column +high in air, and its long tremulous fronds were now swinging wildly +before the gale. From where he stood it appeared to be growing in the +midst of the sea, for huge breakers completely hid the coral +embankment. This sentinel of the land had a weirdly impressive effect. +It was the only fixed object in the waste of foam-capped waves. Not a +vestige of the _Sirdar_ remained seaward, but the sand was +littered with wreckage, and--mournful spectacle!--a considerable number +of inanimate human forms lay huddled up amidst the relics of the +steamer. + +This discovery stirred him to action. He turned to survey the land on +which he was stranded with his helpless companion. To his great relief +he discovered that it was lofty and tree-clad. He knew that the ship +could not have drifted to Borneo, which still lay far to the south. +This must be one of the hundreds of islands which stud the China Sea +and provide resorts for Haïnan fishermen. Probably it was inhabited, +though he thought it strange that none of the islanders had put in an +appearance. In any event, water and food, of some sort, were assured. + +But before setting out upon his quest two things demanded attention. +The girl must be removed from her present position. It would be too +horrible to permit her first conscious gaze to rest upon those crumpled +objects on the beach. Common humanity demanded, too, that he should +hastily examine each of the bodies in case life was not wholly extinct. + +So he bent over the girl, noting with sudden wonder that, weak as she +was, she had managed to refasten part of her bodice. + +"You must permit me to carry you a little further inland," he explained +gently. + +Without another word he lifted her in his arms, marveling somewhat at +the strength which came of necessity, and bore her some little +distance, until a sturdy rock, jutting out of the sand, offered shelter +from the wind and protection from the sea and its revelations. + +"I am so cold, and tired," murmured Iris. "Is there any water? My +throat hurts me." + +He pressed back the tangled hair from her forehead as he might soothe a +child. + +"Try to lie still for a very few minutes," he said. + +"You have not long to suffer. I will return immediately." + +His own throat and palate were on fire owing to the brine, but he first +hurried back to the edge of the lagoon. There were fourteen bodies in +all, three women and eleven men, four of the latter being Lascars. The +women were saloon passengers whom he did not know. One of the men was +the surgeon, another the first officer, a third Sir John Tozer. The +rest were passengers and members of the crew. They were all dead; some +had been peacefully drowned, others were fearfully mangled by the +rocks. Two of the Lascars, bearing signs of dreadful injuries, were +lying on a cluster of low rocks overhanging the water. The remainder +rested on the sand. + +The sailor exhibited no visible emotion whilst he conducted his sad +scrutiny. When he was assured that this silent company was beyond +mortal help he at once strode away towards the nearest belt of trees. +He could not tell how long the search for water might be protracted, +and there was pressing need for it. + +When he reached the first clump of brushwood he uttered a delighted +exclamation. There, growing in prodigal luxuriance, was the beneficent +pitcher-plant, whose large curled-up leaf, shaped like a teacup, not +only holds a lasting quantity of rain-water, but mixes therewith its +own palatable and natural juices. + +With his knife he severed two of the leaves, swearing emphatically the +while on account of his damaged finger, and hastened to Iris with the +precious beverage. She heard him and managed to raise herself on an +elbow. + +The poor girl's eyes glistened at the prospect of relief. Without a +word of question or surprise she swallowed the contents of both leaves. + +Then she found utterance. "How odd it tastes! What is it?" she +inquired. + +But the eagerness with which she quenched her thirst renewed his own +momentarily forgotten torture. His tongue seemed to swell. He was +absolutely unable to reply. + +The water revived Iris like a magic draught. Her quick intuition told +her what had happened. + +"You have had none yourself," she cried. "Go at once and get some. And +please bring me some more." + +He required no second bidding. After hastily gulping down the contents +of several leaves he returned with a further supply. Iris was now +sitting up. The sun had burst royally through the clouds, and her +chilled limbs were gaining some degree of warmth and elasticity. + +"What is it?" she repeated after another delicious draught. + +"The leaf of the pitcher-plant. Nature is not always cruel. In an +unusually generous mood she devised this method of storing water." + +Miss Deane reached out her hand for more. Her troubled brain refused to +wonder at such a reply from an ordinary seaman. The sailor deliberately +spilled the contents of a remaining leaf on the sand. + +"No, madam," he said, with an odd mixture of deference and firmness. +"No more at present. I must first procure you some food." + +She looked up at him in momentary silence. + +"The ship is lost?" she said after a pause. + +"Yes, madam." + +"Are we the only people saved?" + +"I fear so." + +"Is this a desert island?" + +"I think not, madam. It may, by chance, be temporarily uninhabited, but +fishermen from China come to all these places to collect tortoise-shell +and _bêche-de-mer_. I have seen no other living beings except +ourselves; nevertheless, the islanders may live on the south side." + +Another pause. Amidst the thrilling sensations of the moment Iris found +herself idly speculating as to the meaning of _bêche-de-mer_, and +why this common sailor pronounced French so well. Her thoughts reverted +to the steamer. + +"It surely cannot be possible that the _Sirdar_ has gone to +pieces--a magnificent vessel of her size and strength?" + +He answered quietly--"It is too true, madam. I suppose you hardly knew +she struck, it happened so suddenly. Afterwards, fortunately for you, +you were unconscious." + +"How do you know?" she inquired quickly. A flood of vivid recollection +was pouring in upon her. + +"I--er--well, I happened to be near you, madam, when the ship broke up, +and we--er--drifted ashore together." + +She rose and faced him. "I remember now," she cried hysterically. "You +caught me as I was thrown into the corridor. We fell into the sea when +the vessel turned over. You have saved my life. Were it not for you I +could not possibly have escaped." + +She gazed at him more earnestly, seeing that he blushed beneath the +crust of salt and sand that covered his face. "Why," she went on with +growing excitement, "you are the steward I noticed in the saloon +yesterday. How is it that you are now dressed as a sailor?" + +He answered readily enough. "There was an accident on board during the +gale, madam. I am a fair sailor but a poor steward, so I applied for a +transfer. As the crew were short-handed my offer was accepted." + +Iris was now looking at him intently. + +"You saved my life," she repeated slowly. It seemed that this obvious +fact needed to be indelibly established in her mind. Indeed the girl +was overwrought by all that she had gone through. Only by degrees were +her thoughts marshaling themselves with lucid coherence. As yet, she +recalled so many dramatic incidents that they failed to assume due +proportion. + +But quickly there came memories of Captain Ross, of Sir John and Lady +Tozer, of the doctor, her maid, the hundred and one individualities of +her pleasant life aboard ship. Could it be that they were all dead? The +notion was monstrous. But its ghastly significance was instantly borne +in upon her by the plight in which she stood. Her lips quivered; the +tears trembled in her eyes. + +"Is it really true that all the ship's company except ourselves are +lost?" she brokenly demanded. + +The sailor's gravely earnest glance fell before hers. "Unhappily there +is no room for doubt," he said. + +"Are you quite, quite sure?" + +"I am sure--of some." Involuntarily he turned seawards. + +She understood him. She sank to her knees, covered her face with her +hands, and broke into a passion of weeping. With a look of infinite +pity he stooped and would have touched her shoulder, but he suddenly +restrained the impulse. Something had hardened this man. It cost him an +effort to be callous, but he succeeded. His mouth tightened and his +expression lost its tenderness. + +"Come, come, my dear lady," he exclaimed, and there was a tinge of +studied roughness in his voice, "you must calm yourself. It is the +fortune of shipwreck as well as of war, you know. We are alive and must +look after ourselves. Those who have gone are beyond our help." + +"But not beyond our sympathy," wailed Iris, uncovering her swimming +eyes for a fleeting look at him. Even in the utter desolation of the +moment she could not help marveling that this queer-mannered sailor, +who spoke like a gentleman and tried to pose as her inferior, who had +rescued her with the utmost gallantry, who carried his Quixotic zeal to +the point of first supplying her needs when he was in far worse case +himself, should be so utterly indifferent to the fate of others. + +He waited silently until her sobs ceased. + +"Now, madam," he said, "it is essential that we should obtain some +food. I don't wish to leave you alone until we are better acquainted +with our whereabouts. Can you walk a little way towards the trees, or +shall I assist you?" + +Iris immediately stood up. She pressed her hair back defiantly. + +"Certainly I can walk," she answered. "What do you propose to do?" + +"Well, madam--" + +"What is your name?" she interrupted imperiously. + +"Jenks, madam. Robert Jenks." + +"Thank you. Now, listen, Mr. Robert Jenks. My name is Miss Iris Deane. +On board ship I was a passenger and you were a steward--that is, until +you became a seaman. Here we are equals in misfortune, but in all else +you are the leader--I am quite useless. I can only help in matters by +your direction, so I do not wish to be addressed as 'madam' in every +breath. Do you understand me?" + +Conscious that her large blue eyes were fixed indignantly upon him Mr. +Robert Jenks repressed a smile. She was still hysterical and must be +humored in her vagaries. What an odd moment for a discussion on +etiquette! + +"As you wish, Miss Deane," he said. "The fact remains that I have many +things to attend to, and we really must eat something." + +"What can we eat?" + +"Let us find out," he replied, scanning the nearest trees with keen +scrutiny. + +They plodded together through the sand in silence. Physically, they +were a superb couple, but in raiment they resembled scarecrows. Both, +of course, were bare-headed. The sailor's jersey and trousers were old +and torn, and the sea-water still soughed loudly in his heavy boots +with each step. + +But Iris was in a deplorable plight. Her hair fell in a great wave of +golden brown strands over her neck and shoulders. Every hairpin had +vanished, but with a few dexterous twists she coiled the flying tresses +into a loose knot. Her beautiful muslin dress was rent and draggled. It +was drying rapidly under the ever-increasing power of the sun, and she +surreptitiously endeavored to complete the fastening of the open +portion about her neck. Other details must be left until a more +favorable opportunity. + +She recalled the strange sight that first met her eyes when she +recovered consciousness. + +"You hurt your finger," she said abruptly. "Let me see it." + +They had reached the shelter of the trees, pleasantly grateful now, so +powerful are tropical sunbeams at even an early hour. + +He held out his right hand without looking at her. Indeed, his eyes had +been studiously averted during the past few minutes. Her womanly +feelings were aroused by the condition of the ragged wound. + +"Oh, you poor fellow," she said. "How awful it must be! How did it +happen? Let me tie it up." + +"It is not so bad now," he said. "It has been well soaked in salt +water, you know. I think the nail was torn off when we--when a piece of +wreckage miraculously turned up beneath us." + +Iris shredded a strip from her dress. She bound the finger with deft +tenderness. + +"Thank you," he said simply. Then he gave a glad shout. "By Jove! Miss +Deane, we are in luck's way. There is a fine plantain tree." + +The pangs of hunger could not be resisted. Although the fruit was +hardly ripe they tore at the great bunches and ate ravenously. Iris +made no pretence in the matter, and the sailor was in worse plight, for +he had been on duty continuously since four o'clock the previous +afternoon. + +At last their appetite was somewhat appeased, though plantains might +not appeal to a gourmand as the solitary joint. + +"Now," decided Jenks, "you must rest here a little while, Miss Deane. I +am going back to the beach. You need not be afraid. There are no +animals to harm you, and I will not be far away." + +"What are you going to do on the beach?" she demanded. + +"To rescue stores, for the most part." + +"May I not come with you--I can be of some little service, surely?" + +He answered slowly: "Please oblige me by remaining here at present. In +less than an hour I will return, and then, perhaps, you will find +plenty to do." + +She read his meaning intuitively and shivered. "I could not do +_that_," she murmured. "I would faint. Whilst you are away I will +pray for them--my unfortunate friends." + +As he passed from her side he heard her sobbing quietly. + +When he reached the lagoon he halted suddenly. Something startled him. +He was quite certain that he had counted fourteen corpses. Now there +were only twelve. The two Lascars' bodies, which rested on the small +group of rocks on the verge of the lagoon, had vanished. + +Where had they gone to? + + + + +CHAPTER III + +DISCOVERIES + + +The sailor wasted no time in idle bewilderment. He searched carefully +for traces of the missing Lascars. He came to the conclusion that the +bodies had been dragged from off the sun-dried rocks into the lagoon by +some agency the nature of which he could not even conjecture. + +They were lying many feet above the sea-level when he last saw them, +little more than half an hour earlier. At that point the beach shelved +rapidly. He could look far into the depths of the rapidly clearing +water. Nothing was visible there save several varieties of small fish. + +The incident puzzled and annoyed him. Still thinking about it, he sat +down on the highest rock and pulled off his heavy boots to empty the +water out. He also divested himself of his stockings and spread them +out to dry. + +The action reminded him of Miss Deane's necessities. He hurried to a +point whence he could call out to her and recommend her to dry some of +her clothing during his absence. He retired even more quickly, fearing +lest he should be seen. Iris had already displayed to the sunlight a +large portion of her costume. + +Without further delay he set about a disagreeable but necessary task. +From the pockets of the first officer and doctor he secured two +revolvers and a supply of cartridges, evidently intended to settle any +dispute which might have arisen between the ship's officers and the +native members of the crew. He hoped the cartridges were uninjured; but +he could not test them at the moment for fear of alarming Miss Deane. + +Both officers carried pocket-books and pencils. In one of these, +containing dry leaves, the sailor made a careful inventory of the money +and other valuable effects he found upon the dead, besides noting names +and documents where possible. Curiously enough, the capitalist of this +island morgue was a Lascar jemadar, who in a belt around his waist +hoarded more than one hundred pounds in gold. The sailor tied in a +handkerchief all the money he collected, and ranged pocket-books, +letters, and jewelry in separate little heaps. Then he stripped the men +of their boots and outer clothing. He could not tell how long the girl +and he might be detained on the island before help came, and fresh +garments were essential. It would be foolish sentimentality to trust to +stores thrown ashore from the ship. + +Nevertheless, when it became necessary to search and disrobe the women +he almost broke down. For an instant he softened. Gulping back his +emotions with a savage imprecation he doggedly persevered. At last he +paused to consider what should be done with the bodies. His first +intent was to scoop a large hole in the sand with a piece of timber; +but when he took into consideration the magnitude of the labor +involved, requiring many hours of hard work and a waste of precious +time which might be of infinite value to his helpless companion and +himself, he was forced to abandon the project. It was not only +impracticable but dangerous. + +Again he had to set his teeth with grim resolution. One by one the +bodies were shot into the lagoon from the little quay of rock. He knew +they would not be seen again. + +He was quite unnerved now. He felt as if he had committed a colossal +crime. In the smooth water of the cove a number of black fins were +cutting arrow-shaped ripples. The sharks were soon busy. He shuddered. +God's Providence had ferried him and the girl across that very place a +few hours ago. How wonderful that he and she should be snatched from +the sea whilst hundreds perished! Why was it? And those others--why +were they denied rescue? For an instant he was nearer to prayer than he +had been for years. + +Some lurking fiend of recollection sprang from out the vista of bygone +years and choked back the impulse. He arose and shook himself like a +dog. There was much to be done. He gathered the clothes and other +articles into a heap and placed portions of shattered packing-cases +near--to mislead Iris. Whilst thus engaged he kicked up out of the sand +a rusty kriss, or Malay sword. The presence of this implement startled +him. He examined it slowly and thrust it out of sight. + +Then he went back to her, after donning his stockings and boots, now +thoroughly dry. + +"Are you ready now, Miss Deane?" he sang out cheerily. + +"Ready? I have been waiting for you." + +Jenks chuckled quietly. "I must guard my tongue: it betrays me," he +said to himself. + +Iris joined him. By some mysterious means she had effected great +improvement in her appearance. Yet there were manifest gaps. + +"If only I had a needle and thread--" she began. + +"If that is all," said the sailor, fumbling in his pockets. He produced +a shabby little hussif, containing a thimble, scissors, needles and +some skeins of unbleached thread. Case and contents were sodden or +rusted with salt water, but the girl fastened upon this treasure with a +sigh of deep content. + +"Now, please," she cried, "I want a telegraph office and a ship." + +It was impossible to resist the infection of her high spirits. This +time he laughed without concealment. + +"We will look for them, Miss Deane. Meanwhile, will you oblige me by +wearing this? The sun is climbing up rapidly." + +He handed her a sou'wester which he carried. He had secured another for +himself. The merriment died away from her face. She remembered his +errand. Being an eminently sensible young woman she made no protest, +even forcing herself to tie the strings beneath her chin. + +When they reached the sands she caught sight of the pile of clothes and +the broken woodwork, with the small heaps of valuables methodically +arranged. The harmless subterfuge did not deceive her. She darted a +quick look of gratitude at her companion. How thoughtful he was! After +a fearful glance around she was reassured, though she wondered what had +become of--them. + +"I see you have been busy," she said, nodding towards the clothes and +boots. + +It was his turn to steal a look of sharp inquiry. 'Twere an easier task +to read the records of time in the solid rock than to glean knowledge +from the girl's face. + +"Yes," he replied simply. "Lucky find, wasn't it?" + +"Most fortunate. When they are quite dry I will replenish my wardrobe. +What is the first thing to be done?" + +"Well, Miss Deane, I think our programme is, in the first place, to +examine the articles thrown ashore and see if any of the cases contain +food. Secondly, we should haul high and dry everything that may be of +use to us, lest the weather should break again and the next tide sweep +away the spoil. Thirdly, we should eat and rest, and finally, we must +explore the island before the light fails. I am convinced we are alone +here. It is a small place at the best, and if any Chinamen were ashore +they would have put in an appearance long since." + +"Do you think, then, that we may remain here long?" + +"It is impossible to form an opinion on that point. Help may come in a +day. On the other hand----" + +"Yes?" + +"It is a wise thing, Miss Deane, to prepare for other contingencies." + +She stood still, and swept the horizon with comprehensive eyes. The +storm had vanished. Masses of cloud were passing away to the west, +leaving a glorious expanse of blue sky. Already the sea was calming. +Huge breakers roared over the reef, but beyond it the waves were +subsiding into a heavy unbroken swell. + +The sailor watched her closely. In the quaint oilskin hat and her +tattered muslin dress she looked bewitchingly pretty. She reminded him +of a well-bred and beautiful society lady whom he once saw figuring as +Grace Darling at a fashionable bazaar. + +But Miss Iris's thoughts were serious. + +"Do you mean," she said slowly, without moving her gaze from the +distant meeting-place of sky and water, "that we may be imprisoned here +for weeks, perhaps months?" + +"If you cast your mind back a few hours you will perhaps admit that we +are very fortunate to be here at all." + +She whisked round upon him. "Do not fence with my question, Mr. Jenks. +Answer me!" + +He bowed. There was a perceptible return of his stubborn cynicism when +he spoke. + +"The facts are obvious, Miss Deane. The loss of the _Sirdar_ will +not be definitely known for many days. It will be assumed that she has +broken down. The agents in Singapore will await cabled tidings of her +whereabouts. She might have drifted anywhere in that typhoon. +Ultimately they will send out a vessel to search, impelled to that +course a little earlier by your father's anxiety. Pardon me. I did not +intend to pain you. I am speaking my mind." + +"Go on," said Iris bravely. + +"The relief ship must search the entire China Sea. The gale might have +driven a disabled steamer north, south, east or west. A typhoon travels +in a whirling spiral, you see, and the direction of a drifting ship +depends wholly upon the locality where she sustained damage. The coasts +of China, Java, Borneo, and the Philippines are not equipped with +lighthouses on every headland and cordoned with telegraph wires. There +are river pirates and savage races to be reckoned with. Casting aside +all other possibilities, and assuming that a prompt search is made to +the south of our course, this part of the ocean is full of reefs and +small islands, some inhabited permanently, others visited occasionally +by fishermen." He was about to add something, but checked himself. + +"To sum up," he continued hurriedly, "we may have to remain here for +many days, even months. There is always a chance of speedy help. We +must act, however, on the basis of detention for an indefinite period. +I am discussing appearances as they are. A survey of the island may +change all these views." + +"In what way?" + +He turned and pointed to the summit of the tree-covered hill behind +them. + +"From that point," he said, "we may see other and larger islands. If +so, they will certainly be inhabited. I am surprised this one is not." + +He ended abruptly. They were losing time. Before Iris could join him he +was already hauling a large undamaged case out of the water. + +He laughed unmirthfully. "Champagne!" he said, "A good brand, too!" + +This man was certainly an enigma. Iris wrinkled her pretty forehead in +the effort to place him in a fitting category. His words and accent +were those of an educated gentleman, yet his actions and manners were +studiously uncouth when he thought she was observing him. The veneer of +roughness puzzled her. That he was naturally of refined temperament she +knew quite well, not alone by perception but by the plain evidence of +his earlier dealings with her. Then why this affectation of coarseness, +this borrowed aroma of the steward's mess and the forecastle? + +To the best of her ability she silently helped in the work of salvage. +They made a queer collection. A case of champagne, and another of +brandy. A box of books. A pair of night glasses. A compass. Several +boxes of ship's biscuits, coated with salt, but saved by their +hardness, having been immersed but a few seconds. Two large cases of +hams in equally good condition. Some huge dish-covers. A bit of twisted +ironwork, and a great quantity of cordage and timber. + +There was one very heavy package which their united strength could not +lift. The sailor searched round until he found an iron bar that could +be wrenched from its socket. With this he pried open the strong outer +cover and revealed the contents--regulation boxes of Lee-Metford +ammunition, each containing 500 rounds. + +"Ah!" he cried, "now we want some rifles." + +"What good would they be?" inquired Iris. + +He softly denounced himself as a fool, but he answered at once: "To +shoot birds, of course, Miss Deane. There are plenty here, and many of +them are edible." + +"You have two revolvers and some cartridges." + +"Yes. They are useful in a way, but not for pot hunting." + +"How stupid of me! What you really need is a shot-gun." + +He smiled grimly. At times his sense of humor forced a way through the +outward shield of reserve, of defiance it might be. + +"The only persons I ever heard of," he said, "who landed under +compulsion on a desert island with a ship-load of requisites, were the +Swiss Family Robinson." + +"Good gracious!" cried Iris irrelevantly; "I had not even thought of +Robinson Crusoe until this moment. Isn't it odd? I--we--" + +She pulled herself up short, firmly resolved not to blush. Without +flinching she challenged him to complete her sentence. He dared not do +it. He could not be mean enough to take advantage of her slip. + +Instantly he helped her embarrassment. "I hope the parallel will not +hold good," he said. "In any event, you, Miss Deane, fill a part less +familiar in fiction." + +The phrase was neat. It meant much or little, as fancy dictated. Iris +at first felt profoundly grateful for his tact. Thinking the words over +at leisure she became hot and very angry. + +They worked in silence for another hour. The sun was nearing the +zenith. They were distressed with the increasing heat of the day. Jenks +secured a ham and some biscuits, some pieces of driftwood and the +binoculars, and invited Miss Deane to accompany him to the grove. She +obeyed without a word, though she wondered how he proposed to light a +fire. To contribute something towards the expected feast she picked up +a dish-cover and a bottle of champagne. + +The sailor eyed the concluding item with disfavor. "Not whilst the sun +is up." he said. "In the evening, yes." + +"It was for you," explained Iris, coldly. "I do not drink wine." + +"You must break the pledge whilst you are here, Miss Deane. It is often +very cold at night in this latitude. A chill would mean fever and +perhaps death." + +"What a strange man!" murmured the girl. + +She covertly watched his preparations. He tore a dry leaf from a +notebook and broke the bullet out of a cartridge, damping the powder +with water from a pitcher-plant. Smearing the composition on the paper, +he placed it in the sun, where it dried at once. He gathered a small +bundle of withered spines from the palms, and arranged the driftwood on +top, choosing a place for his bonfire just within the shade. Then, +inserting the touch-paper among the spines, he unscrewed one of the +lenses of the binoculars, converted it into a burning-glass, and had a +fine blaze roaring merrily in a few minutes. With the aid of pointed +sticks he grilled some slices of ham, cut with his clasp-knife, which +he first carefully cleaned in the earth. The biscuits were of the +variety that become soft when toasted, and so he balanced a few by +stones near the fire. + +Iris forgot her annoyance in her interest. A most appetizing smell +filled the air. They were having a picnic amidst delightful +surroundings. Yesterday at this time--she almost yielded to a rush of +sentiment, but forced it back with instant determination. Tears were a +poor resource, unmindful of God's goodness to herself and her +companion. Without the sailor what would have become of her, even were +she thrown ashore while still living? She knew none of the expedients +which seemed to be at his command. It was a most ungrateful proceeding +to be vexed with him for her own thoughtless suggestion that she +occupied a new rôle as Mrs. Crusoe. + +"Can I do nothing to help?" she exclaimed. So contrite was her tone +that Jenks was astonished. + +"Yes," he said, pointing to the dish-cover. "If you polish the top of +that with your sleeve it will serve as a plate. Luncheon is ready." + +He neatly dished up two slices of ham on a couple of biscuits and +handed them to her, with the clasp-knife. + +"I can depend on my fingers," he explained. "It will not be the first +time." + +"Have you led an adventurous life?" she asked, by way of polite +conversation. + +"No," he growled. + +"I only thought so because you appear to know all sorts of dodges for +prolonging existence--things I never heard of." + +"Broiled ham--and biscuits--for instance?" + +At another time Iris would have snapped at him for the retort. Still +humbly regretful for her previous attitude she answered meekly-- + +"Yes, in this manner of cooking them, I mean. But there are other +items--methods of lighting fires, finding water, knowing what fruits +and other articles may be found on a desert island, such as plantains +and cocoanuts, certain sorts of birds--and _bêche-de-mer_." + +For the life of her she could not tell why she tacked on that weird +item to her list. + +The sailor inquired, more civilly--"Then you are acquainted with +trepang?" + +"Who?" + +"Trepang--_bêche-de-mer_, you know." + +Iris made a desperate guess. "Yes," she said, demurely. "It makes +beautiful backs for hair brushes. And it looks so nice as a frame for +platinotype photographs. I have--" + +Jenks swallowed a large piece of ham and became very red. At last he +managed to say--"I beg your pardon. You are thinking of tortoise-shell. +_Bêche-de-mer_ is a sort of marine slug." + +"How odd!" said Iris. + +She had discovered at an early age the tactical value of this remark, +and the experience of maturer years confirmed the success of juvenile +efforts to upset the equanimity of governesses. Even the sailor was +silenced. + +Talk ceased until the meal was ended. Jenks sprang lightly to his feet. +Rest and food had restored his faculties. The girl thought dreamily, as +he stood there in his rough attire, that she had never seen a finer +man. He was tall, sinewy, and well formed. In repose his face was +pleasant, if masterful. Its somewhat sullen, self-contained expression +was occasional and acquired. She wondered how he could be so energetic. +Personally she was consumed with sleepiness. + +He produced a revolver. + +"Do you mind if I fire a shot to test these cartridges?" he inquired. +"The powder is all right, but the fulminate in the caps may be +damaged." + +She agreed promptly. He pointed the weapon at a cluster of cocoanuts, +and there was a loud report. Two nuts fell to the ground, and the air +was filled with shrill screams and the flapping of innumerable wings. +Iris was momentarily dismayed, but her senses confirmed the sailor's +explanation--"Sea-birds." + +He reloaded the empty chamber, and was about to say something, when a +queer sound, exactly resembling the gurgling of water poured from a +large bottle, fell upon their ears. It came from the interior of the +grove, and the two exchanged a quick look of amazed questioning. Jenks +took a hasty step in the direction of the noise, but he stopped and +laughed at his own expense. Iris liked the sound of his mirth. It was +genuine, not forced. + +"I remember now," he explained. "The wou-wou monkey cries in that +peculiar warble. The presence of the animal here shows that the island +has been inhabited at some time." + +"You remember?" repeated the girl. "Then you have been in this part of +the world before?" + +"No. I mean I have read about it." + +Twice in half an hour had he curtly declined to indulge in personal +reminiscences. + +"Can you use a revolver?" he went on. + +"My father taught me. He thinks every woman should know how to defend +herself if need be." + +"Excellent. Well, Miss Deane, you must try to sleep for a couple of +hours. I purpose examining the coast for some distance on each side. +Should you want me, a shot will be the best sort of signal." + +"I am very tired," she admitted. "But you?" + +"Oh, I am all right. I feel restless; that is, I mean I will not be +able to sleep until night comes, and before we climb the hill to survey +our domain I want to find better quarters than we now possess." + +Perhaps, were she less fatigued, she would have caught the vague +anxiety, the note of distrust, in his voice. But the carpet of sand and +leaves on which she lay was very seductive. Her eyes closed. She +nestled into a comfortable position, and slept. + +The man looked at her steadily for a little while. Then he moved the +revolver out of harm's way to a spot where she must see it instantly, +pulled his sou'wester well over his eyes and walked off quietly. + +They were flung ashore on the north-west side of the island. Except for +the cove formed by the coral reef, with its mysterious palm-tree +growing apparently in the midst of the waves, the shape of the coast +was roughly that of the concave side of a bow, the two visible +extremities being about three-quarters of a mile apart. + +He guessed, by the way in which the sea raced past these points, that +the land did not extend beyond them. Behind him, it rose steeply to a +considerable height, 150 or 200 feet. In the center was the tallest +hill, which seemed to end abruptly towards the south-west. On the +north-east side it was connected with a rocky promontory by a ridge of +easy grade. The sailor turned to the south-west, as offering the most +likely direction for rapid survey. + +He followed the line of vegetation; there the ground was firm and +level. There was no suggestion of the mariner's roll in his steady +gait. Alter his clothing, change the heavy boots into spurred +Wellingtons, and he would be the _beau idéal_ of a cavalry +soldier, the order of Melchisedec in the profession of arms. + +He was not surprised to find that the hill terminated in a sheer wall +of rock, which stood out, ominous and massive, from the wealth of +verdure clothing the remainder of the ridge. Facing the precipice, and +separated from it by a strip of ground not twenty feet above the +sea-level in the highest part, was another rock-built eminence, quite +bare of trees, blackened by the weather and scarred in a manner that +attested the attacks of lightning. + +He whistled softly. "By Jove!" he said. "Volcanic, and highly +mineralized." + +The intervening belt was sparsely dotted with trees, casuarinas, poon, +and other woods he did not know, resembling ebony and cedar. A number +of stumps showed that the axe had been at work, but not recently. He +passed into the cleft and climbed a tree that offered easy access. As +he expected, after rising a few feet from the ground, his eyes +encountered the solemn blue line of the sea, not half a mile distant. + +He descended and commenced a systematic search. Men had been here. Was +there a house? Would he suddenly encounter some hermit Malay or +Chinaman? + +At the foot of the main cliff was a cluster of fruit-bearing trees, +plantains, areca-nuts, and cocoa-palms. A couple of cinchonas caught +his eye. In one spot the undergrowth was rank and vividly green. The +cassava, or tapioca plant, reared its high, passion-flower leaves above +the grass, and some sago-palms thrust aloft their thick-stemmed trunks. + +"Here is a change of menu, at any rate," he communed. + +Breaking a thick branch off a poon tree he whittled away the minor +stems. A strong stick was needful to explore that leafy fastness +thoroughly. + +A few cautious strides and vigorous whacks with the stick laid bare the +cause of such prodigality in a soil covered with drifted sand and lumps +of black and white speckled coral. The trees and bushes enclosed a +well--safe-guarded it, in fact, from being choked with sand during the +first gale that blew. + +Delighted with this discovery, more precious than diamonds at the +moment, for he doubted the advisability of existing on the water supply +of the pitcher-plant, he knelt to peer into the excavation. The well +had been properly made. Ten feet down he could see the reflection of +his face. Expert hands had tapped the secret reservoir of the island. +By stretching to the full extent of his arm, he managed to plunge the +stick into the water. Tasting the drops, he found that they were quite +sweet. The sand and porous rock provided the best of filter-beds. + +He rose, wall pleased, and noted that on the opposite side the +appearance of the shrubs and tufts of long grass indicated the +existence of a grown-over path towards the cliff. He followed it, +walking carelessly, with eyes seeking the prospect beyond, when +something rattled and cracked beneath his feet. Looking down, he was +horrified to find he was trampling on a skeleton. + +Had a venomous snake coiled its glistening folds around his leg he +would not have been more startled. But this man of iron nerve soon +recovered. He frowned deeply after the first involuntary heart-throb. + +With the stick he cleared away the undergrowth, and revealed the +skeleton of a man. The bones were big and strong, but oxidized by the +action of the air. Jenks had injured the left tibia by his tread, but +three fractured ribs and a smashed shoulder-blade told some terrible +unwritten story. + +Beneath the mournful relics were fragments of decayed cloth. It was +blue serge. Lying about were a few blackened objects--brass buttons +marked with an anchor. The dead man's boots were in the best state of +preservation, but the leather had shrunk and the nails protruded like +fangs. + +A rusted pocket-knife lay there, and on the left breast of the skeleton +rested a round piece of tin, the top of a canister, which might have +reposed in a coat pocket. Jenks picked it up. Some curious marks and +figures were punched into its surface. After a hasty glance he put it +aside for more leisurely examination. + +No weapon was visible. He could form no estimate as to the cause of the +death of this poor unknown, nor the time since the tragedy had +occurred. + +Jenks must have stood many minutes before he perceived that the +skeleton was headless. At first he imagined that in rummaging about +with the stick he had disturbed the skull. But the most minute search +demonstrated that it had gone, had been taken away, in fact, for the +plants which so effectually screened the lighter bones would not permit +the skull to vanish. + +Then the frown on the sailor's face became threatening, thunderous. He +recollected the rusty kriss. Indistinct memories of strange tales of +the China Sea crowded unbidden to his brain. + +"Dyaks!" he growled fiercely. "A ship's officer, an Englishman +probably, murdered by head-hunting Dyak pirates!" + +If they came once they would come again. + +Five hundred yards away Iris Deane was sleeping. He ought not to have +left her alone. And then, with the devilish ingenuity of coincidence, a +revolver shot awoke the echoes, and sent all manner of wildfowl +hurtling through the trees with clamorous outcry. + +Panting and wild-eyed, Jenks was at the girl's side in an inconceivably +short space of time. She was not beneath the shelter of the grove, but +on the sands, gazing, pallid in cheek and lip, at the group of rocks on +the edge of the lagoon. + +"What is the matter?" he gasped. + +"Oh, I don't know," she wailed brokenly. "I had a dream, such a +horrible dream. You were struggling with some awful thing down there." +She pointed to the rocks. + +"I was not near the place," he said laboriously. It cost him an effort +to breathe. His broad chest expanded inches with each respiration. + +"Yes, yes, I understand. But I awoke and ran to save you. When I got +here I saw something, a thing with waving arms, and fired. It vanished, +and then you came." + +The sailor walked slowly to the rocks. A fresh chip out of the stone +showed where the bullet struck. One huge boulder was wet, as if water +had been splashed over it. He halted and looked intently into the +water. Not a fish was to be seen, but small spirals of sand were +eddying up from the bottom, where it shelved steeply from the shore. + +Iris followed him. "See," she cried excitedly. "I was not mistaken. +There _was_ something here." + +A creepy sensation ran up the man's spine and passed behind his ears. +At this spot the drowned Lascars were lying. Like an inspiration came +the knowledge that the cuttlefish, the dreaded octopus, abounds in the +China Sea. + +His face was livid when he turned to Iris. "You are over-wrought by +fatigue, Miss Deane," he said. "What you saw was probably a seal;" he +knew the ludicrous substitution would not be questioned. "Please go and +lie down again." + +"I cannot," she protested. "I am too frightened." + +"Frightened! By a dream! In broad daylight!" + +"But why are _you_ so pale? What has alarmed you?" + +"Can you ask? Did you not give the agreed signal?" + +"Yes, but--" + +Her inquiring glance fell. He was breathless from agitation rather than +running. He was perturbed on her account. For an instant she had looked +into his soul. + +"I will go back," she said quietly, "though I would rather accompany +you. What are you doing?" + +"Seeking a place to lay our heads," he answered, with gruff +carelessness. "You really must rest, Miss Deane. Otherwise you will be +broken up by fatigue and become ill." + +So Iris again sought her couch of sand, and the sailor returned to the +skeleton. They separated unwillingly, each thinking only of the other's +safety and comfort. The girl knew she was not wanted because the man +wished to spare her some unpleasant experience. She obeyed him with a +sigh, and sat down, not to sleep, but to muse, as girls will, +round-eyed, wistful, with the angelic fantasy of youth and innocence. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +RAINBOW ISLAND + + +Across the parched bones lay the stick discarded by Jenks in his alarm. +He picked it up and resumed his progress along the pathway. So closely +did he now examine the ground that he hardly noted his direction. The +track led straight towards the wall of rock. The distance was not +great--about forty yards. At first the brushwood impeded him, but soon +even this hindrance disappeared, and a well-defined passage meandered +through a belt of trees, some strong and lofty, others quite immature. + +More bushes gathered at the foot of the cliff. Behind them he could see +the mouth of a cave; the six months' old growth of vegetation about the +entrance gave clear indication as to the time which had elapsed since a +human foot last disturbed the solitude. + +A few vigorous blows with the stick cleared away obstructing plants and +leafy branches. The sailor stooped and looked into the cavern, for the +opening was barely five feet high. He perceived instantly that the +excavation was man's handiwork, applied to a fault in the hard rock. A +sort of natural shaft existed, and this had been extended by manual +labor. Beyond the entrance the cave became more lofty. Owing to its +position with reference to the sun at that hour Jenks imagined that +sufficient light would be obtainable when the tropical luxuriance of +foliage outside was dispensed with. + +At present the interior was dark. With the stick he tapped the walls +and roof. A startled cluck and the rush of wings heralded the flight of +two birds, alarmed by the noise. Soon his eyes, more accustomed to the +gloom, made out that the place was about thirty feet deep, ten feet +wide in the center, and seven or eight feet high. + +At the further end was a collection of objects inviting prompt +attention. Each moment he could see with greater distinctness. Kneeling +on one side of the little pile he discerned that on a large stone, +serving as a rude bench, were some tin utensils, some knives, a +sextant, and a quantity of empty cartridge cases. Between the stone and +what a miner terms the "face" of the rock was a four-foot space. Here, +half imbedded in the sand which covered the floor, were two pickaxes, a +shovel, a sledge-hammer, a fine timber-felling axe, and three crowbars. + +In the darkest corner of the cave's extremity the "wall" appeared to be +very smooth. He prodded with the stick, and there was a sharp clang of +tin. He discovered six square kerosene-oil cases carefully stacked up. +Three were empty, one seemed to be half full, and the contents of two +were untouched. With almost feverish haste he ascertained that the +half-filled tin did really contain oil. + +"What a find!" he ejaculated aloud. Another pair of birds dashed from a +ledge near the roof. + +"Confound you!" shouted the sailor. He sprang back and whacked the +walls viciously, but all the feathered intruders had gone. + +So far as he could judge the cave harbored no further surprises. +Returning towards the exit his boots dislodged more empty cartridges +from the sand. They were shells adapted to a revolver of heavy caliber. +At a short distance from the doorway they were present in dozens. + +"The remnants of a fight," he thought. "The man was attacked, and +defended himself here. Not expecting the arrival of enemies he provided +no store of food or water. He was killed whilst trying to reach the +well, probably at night." + +He vividly pictured the scene--a brave, hardy European keeping at bay a +boatload of Dyak savages, enduring manfully the agonies of hunger, +thirst, perhaps wounds. Then the siege, followed by a wild effort to +gain the life-giving well, the hiss of a Malay parang wielded by a +lurking foe, and the last despairing struggle before death came. + +He might be mistaken. Perchance there was a less dramatic explanation. +But he could not shake off his, first impressions. They were garnered +from dumb evidence and developed by some occult but overwhelming sense +of certainty. + +"What was the poor devil doing here?" he asked. "Why did he bury +himself in this rock, with mining utensils and a few rough stores? He +could not be a castaway. There is the indication of purpose, of +preparation, of method combined with ignorance, for none who knew the +ways of Dyaks and Chinese pirates would venture to live here alone, if +he could help it, and if he really were alone." The thing was a +mystery, would probably remain a mystery for ever. + + "Be it steel or be it lead, + Anyhow the man is dead." + +There was relief in hearing his own voice. He could hum, and think, and +act. Arming himself with the axe he attacked the bushes and branches of +trees in front of the cave. He cut a fresh approach to the well, and +threw the litter over the skeleton. At first he was inclined to bury it +where it lay, but he disliked the idea of Iris walking unconsciously +over the place. No time could be wasted that day. He would seize an +early opportunity to act as grave-digger. + +After an absence of little more than an hour he rejoined the girl. She +saw him from afar, and wondered whence he obtained the axe he +shouldered. + +"You are a successful explorer," she cried when he drew near. + +"Yes, Miss Deane. I have found water, implements, a shelter, even +light." + +"What sort of light--spiritual, or material?" + +"Oil." + +"Oh!" + +Iris could not remain serious for many consecutive minutes, but she +gathered that he was in no mood for frivolity. + +"And the shelter--is it a house?" she continued. + +"No, a cave. If you are sufficiently rested you might come and take +possession." + +Her eyes danced with excitement. He told her what he had seen, with +reservations, and she ran on before him to witness these marvels. + +"Why did you make a new path to the well?" she inquired after a rapid +survey. + +"A new path!" The pertinent question staggered him. + +"Yes, the people who lived here must have had some sort of free +passage." + +He lied easily. "I have only cleared away recent growth," he said. + +"And why did they dig a cave? It surely would be much more simple to +build a house from all these trees." + +"There you puzzle me," he said frankly. + +They had entered the cavern but a little way and now came out. + +"These empty cartridges are funny. They suggest a fort, a battle." +Woman-like, her words were carelessly chosen, but they were crammed +with inductive force. + +Embarked on the toboggan slope of untruth the sailor slid smoothly +downwards. + +"Events have colored your imagination, Miss Deane. Even in England men +often preserve such things for future use. They can be reloaded." + +"Yes, I have seen keepers do that. This is different. There is an air +of--" + +"There is a lot to be done," broke in Jenks emphatically. "We must +climb the hill and get back here in time to light another fire before +the sun goes down. I want to prop a canvas sheet in front of the cave, +and try to devise a lamp." + +"Must I sleep inside?" demanded Iris. + +"Yes. Where else?" + +There was a pause, a mere whiff of awkwardness. + +"I will mount guard outside," went on Jenks. He was trying to improve +the edge of the axe by grinding it on a soft stone. + +The girl went into the cave again. She was inquisitive, uneasy. + +"That arrangement--" she began, but ended in a sharp cry of terror. The +dispossessed birds had returned during the sailor's absence. + +"I will kill them," he shouted in anger. + +"Please don't. There has been enough of death in this place already." + +The words jarred on his ears. Then he felt that she could only allude +to the victims of the wreck. + +"I was going to say," she explained, "that we must devise a partition. +There is no help for it until you construct a sort of house. Candidly, +I do not like this hole in the rock. It is a vault, a tomb." + +"You told me that I was in command, yet you dispute my orders." He +strove hard to appear brusquely good-humored, indifferent, though for +one of his mould he was absurdly irritable. The cause was over-strain, +but that explanation escaped him. + +"Quite true. But if sleeping in the cold, in dew or rain, is bad for +me, it must be equally bad for you. And without you I am helpless, you +know." + +His arms twitched to give her a reassuring hug. In some respects she +was so childlike; her big blue eyes were so ingenuous. He laughed +sardonically, and the harsh note clashed with her frank candor. Here, +at least, she was utterly deceived. His changeful moods were +incomprehensible. + +"I will serve you to the best of my ability, Miss Deane," he exclaimed. +"We must hope for a speedy rescue, and I am inured to exposure. It is +otherwise with you. Are you ready for the climb?" + +Mechanically she picked up a stick at her feet. It was the sailor's +wand of investigation. He snatched it from her hands and threw it away +among the trees. + +"That is a dangerous alpenstock," he said. "The wood is unreliable. It +might break. I will cut you a better one," and he swung the axe against +a tall sapling. + +Iris mentally described him as "funny." She followed him in the upward +curve of the ascent, for the grade was not difficult and the ground +smooth enough, the storms of years having pulverized the rock and +driven sand into its clefts. The persistent inroads of the trees had +done the rest. Beyond the flight of birds and the scampering of some +tiny monkeys overhead, they did not disturb a living creature. + +The crest of the hill was tree-covered, and they could see nothing +beyond their immediate locality until the sailor found a point higher +than the rest, where a rugged collection of hard basalt and the +uprooting of some poon trees provided an open space elevated above the +ridge. + +For a short distance the foothold was precarious. Jenks helped the girl +in this part of the climb. His strong, gentle grasp gave her +confidence. She was flushed with exertion when they stood together on +the summit of this elevated perch. They could look to every point of +the compass except a small section on the south-west. Here the trees +rose behind them until the brow of the precipice was reached. + +The emergence into a sunlit panorama of land and sea, though expected, +was profoundly enthralling. They appeared to stand almost exactly in +the center of the island, which was crescent-shaped. It was no larger +than the sailor had estimated. The new slopes now revealed were covered +with verdure down to the very edge of the water, which, for nearly a +mile seawards, broke over jagged reefs. The sea looked strangely calm +from this height. Irregular blue patches on the horizon to south and +east caught the man's first glance. He unslung the binoculars he still +carried and focused them eagerly. + +"Islands!" he cried, "and big ones, too!" + +"How odd!" whispered Iris, more concerned in the scrutiny of her +immediate surroundings. Jenks glanced at her sharply. She was not +looking at the islands, but at a curious hollow, a quarry-like +depression beneath them to the right, distant about three hundred yards +and not far removed from the small plateau containing the well, though +isolated from it by the south angle of the main cliff. + +Here, in a great circle, there was not a vestige of grass, shrub, or +tree, nothing save brown rock and sand. At first the sailor deemed it +to be the dried-up bed of a small lake. This hypothesis would not +serve, else it would be choked with verdure. The pit stared up at them +like an ominous eye, though neither paid further attention to it, for +the glorious prospect mapped at their feet momentarily swept aside all +other considerations. + +"What a beautiful place!" murmured Iris. "I wonder what it is called." + +"Limbo." + +The word came instantly. The sailor's gaze was again fixed on those +distant blue outlines. Miss Deane was dissatisfied. + +"Nonsense!" she exclaimed. "We are not dead yet. You must find a better +name than that." + +"Well, suppose we christen it Rainbow Island?" + +"Why 'Rainbow'?" + +"That is the English meaning of 'Iris,' in Latin, you know." + +"So it is. How clever of you to think of it! Tell me, what is the +meaning of 'Robert,' in Greek?" + +He turned to survey the north-west side of the island. "I do not know," +he answered. "It might not be far-fetched to translate it as 'a ship's +steward: a menial.'" + +Miss Iris had meant her playful retort as a mere light-hearted quibble. +It annoyed her, a young person of much consequence, to have her kindly +condescension repelled. + +"I suppose so," she agreed; "but I have gone through so much in a few +hours that I am bewildered, apt to forget these nice distinctions." + +Where these two quareling, or flirting? Who can tell? + +Jenks was closely examining the reef on which the _Sirdar_ struck. +Some square objects were visible near the palm tree. The sun, glinting +on the waves, rendered it difficult to discern their significance. + +"What do you make of those?" he inquired, handing the glasses, and +blandly ignoring Miss Deane's petulance. Her brain was busy with other +things while she twisted the binoculars to suit her vision. Rainbow +Island--Iris--it was a nice conceit. But "menial" struck a discordant +note. This man was no menial in appearance or speech. Why was he so +deliberately rude? + +"I think they are boxes or packing-cases," she announced. + +"Ah, that was my own idea. I must visit that locality." + +"How? Will you swim?" + +"No," he said, his stern lips relaxing in a smile, "I will not swim; +and by the way, Miss Deane, be careful when you are near the water. The +lagoon is swarming with sharks at present. I feel tolerably assured +that at low tide, when the remnants of the gale have vanished, I will +be able to walk there along the reef." + +"Sharks!" she cried. "In there! What horrible surprises this speck of +land contains! I should not have imagined that sharks and seals could +live together." + +"You are quite right," he explained, with becoming gravity. "As a rule +sharks infest only the leeward side of these islands. Just now they are +attracted in shoals by the wreck." + +"Oh." Iris shivered slightly. + +"We had better go back now. The wind is keen here, Miss Deane." + +[Illustration: HE WAS SO BUSY THAT HE PAID LITTLE HEED TO IRIS, BUT THE +ODOR OF FRIED HAM WAS WAFTED TO HIM] + +She knew that he purposely misunderstood her gesture. His attitude +conveyed a rebuke. There was no further room for sentiment in their +present existence; they had to deal with chill necessities. As for the +sailor, he was glad that the chance turn of their conversation enabled +him to warn her against the lurking dangers of the lagoon. There was no +need to mention the devil-fish now; he must spare her all avoidable +thrills. + +They gathered the stores from the first _al fresco_ dining-room +and reached the cave without incident. Another fire was lighted, and +whilst Iris attended to the kitchen the sailor felled several young +trees. He wanted poles, and these were the right size and shape. He +soon cleared a considerable space. The timber was soft and so small in +girth that three cuts with the axe usually sufficed. He dragged from +the beach the smallest tarpaulin he could find, and propped it against +the rock in such manner that it effectually screened the mouth of the +cave, though admitting light and air. + +He was so busy that he paid little heed to Iris. But the odor of fried +ham was wafted to him. He was lifting a couple of heavy stones to stay +the canvas and keep it from flapping in the wind, when the girl called +out-- + +"Wouldn't you like to have a wash before dinner?" + +He straightened himself and looked at her. Her face and hands were +shining, spotless. The change was so great that his brow wrinkled with +perplexity. + +"I am a good pupil," she cried. "You see I am already learning to help +myself. I made a bucket out of one of the dish-covers by slinging it in +two ropes. Another dish-cover, some sand and leaves supplied basin, +soap, and towel. I have cleaned the tin cups and the knives, and see, +here is my greatest treasure." + +She held up a small metal lamp. + +"Where in the world did you find that?" he exclaimed. + +"Buried in the sand inside the cave." + +"Anything else?" + +His tone was abrupt She was so disappointed by the seeming want of +appreciation of her industry that a gleam of amusement died from her +eyes and she shook her head, stooping at once to attend to the toasting +of some biscuits. + +This time he was genuinely sorry. + +"Forgive me, Miss Deane," he said penitently. "My words are dictated by +anxiety. I do not wish you to make discoveries on your own account. +This is a strange place, you know--an unpleasant one in some respects." + +"Surely I can rummage about my own cave?" + +"Most certainly. It was careless of me not to have examined its +interior more thoroughly." + +"Then why do you grumble because I found the lamp?" + +"I did not mean any such thing. I am sorry." + +"I think you are horrid. If you want to wash you will find the water +over there. Don't wait. The ham will be frizzled to a cinder." + +Unlucky Jenks! Was ever man fated to incur such unmerited odium? He +savagely laved his face and neck. The fresh cool water was delightful +at first, but it caused his injured nail to throb dreadfully. When he +drew near to the fire he experienced an unaccountable sensation of +weakness. Could it be possible that he was going to faint? It was too +absurd. He sank to the ground. Trees, rocks, and sand-strewn earth +indulged in a mad dance. Iris's voice sounded weak and indistinct. It +seemed to travel in waves from a great distance. He tried to brush away +from his brain these dim fancies, but his iron will for once failed, +and he pitched headlong downwards into darkness. + +When he recovered the girl's left arm was round his neck. For one +blissful instant he nestled there contentedly. He looked into her eyes +and saw that she was crying. A gust of anger rose within him that he +should be the cause of those tears. + +"Damn!" he said, and tried to rise. + +"Oh! are you better?" Her lips quivered pitifully. + +"Yes. What happened? Did I faint?" + +"Drink this." + +She held a cup to his mouth and he obediently strove to swallow the +contents. It was champagne. After the first spasm of terror, and when +the application of water to his face failed to restore consciousness, +Iris had knocked the head off the bottle of champagne. + +He quickly revived. Nature had only given him a warning that he was +overdrawing his resources. He was deeply humiliated. He did not +conceive the truth, that only a strong man could do all that he had +done and live. For thirty-six hours he had not slept. During part of +the time he fought with wilder beasts than they knew at Ephesus. The +long exposure to the sun, the mental strain of his foreboding that the +charming girl whose life depended upon him might be exposed to even +worse dangers than any yet encountered, the physical labor he had +undergone, the irksome restraint he strove to place upon his conduct +and utterances--all these things culminated in utter relaxation when +the water touched his heated skin. + +But he was really very much annoyed. A powerful man always is annoyed +when forced to yield. The revelation of a limit to human endurance +infuriates him. A woman invariably thinks that the man should be +scolded, by way of tonic. + +"How _could_ you frighten me so?" demanded Iris, hysterically. +"You must have felt that you were working too hard. You made me rest. +Why didn't you rest yourself?" + +He looked at her wistfully. This collapse must not happen again, for +her sake. These two said more with eyes than lips. She withdrew her +arm; her face and neck crimsoned. + +"There," she said with compelled cheerfulness. "You are all right now. +Finish the wine." + +He emptied the tin. It gave him new life. "I always thought," he +answered gravely, "that champagne was worth its weight in gold under +certain conditions. These are the conditions." + +Iris reflected, with elastic rebound from despair to relief, that men +in the lower ranks of life do not usually form theories on the +expensive virtues of the wine of France. But her mind was suddenly +occupied by a fresh disaster. + +"Good gracious!" she cried. "The ham is ruined." + +It was burnt black. She prepared a fresh supply. When it was ready, +Jenks was himself again. They ate in silence, and shared the remains of +the bottle. The man idly wondered what was the _plat du jour_ at +the Savoy that evening. He remembered that the last time he was there +he had called for _Jambon de York aux épinards_ and half a pint of +Heidseck. + +"_Coelum non animum mutant, qui trans mare currant_," he thought. +By a queer trick of memory he could recall the very page in Horace +where this philosophical line occurs. It was in the eleventh epistle of +the first book. A smile illumined his tired face. + +Iris was watchful. She had never in her life cooked even a potato or +boiled an egg. The ham was her first attempt. + +"My cooking amuses you?" she demanded suspiciously. + +"It gratifies every sense," he murmured. "There is but one thing +needful to complete my happiness." + +"And that is?" + +"Permission to smoke." + +"Smoke what?" + +He produced a steel box, tightly closed, and a pipe, "I will answer you +in Byron's words," he said-- + + "'Sublime tobacco! which from east to west + Cheers the tar's labour or the Turkman's rest.'" + +"Your pockets are absolute shops," said the girl, delighted that his +temper had improved. "What other stores do you carry about with you?" + +He lit his pipe and solemnly gave an inventory of his worldly goods. +Beyond the items she had previously seen he could only enumerate a +silver dollar, a very soiled and crumpled handkerchief, and a bit of +tin. A box of Norwegian matches he threw away as useless, but Iris +recovered them. + +"You never know what purpose they may serve," she said. In after days a +weird significance was attached to this simple phrase. + +"Why do you carry about a bit of tin?" she went on. + +How the atmosphere of deception clung to him! Here was a man compelled +to lie outrageously who, in happier years, had prided himself on +scrupulous accuracy even in small things. + +"Plague upon it!" he silently protested. "Subterfuge and deceit are as +much at home in this deserted island as in Mayfair." + +"I found it here, Miss Deane," he answered. + +Luckily she interpreted "here" as applying to the cave. + +"Let me see it. May I?" + +He handed it to her. She could make nothing of it, so together they +puzzled over it. The sailor rubbed it with a mixture of kerosene and +sand. Then figures and letters and a sort of diagram were revealed. At +last they became decipherable. By exercising patient ingenuity some one +had indented the metal with a sharp punch until the marks assumed this +aspect (see cut, following page). + +Iris was quick-witted. "It is a plan of the island," she cried. + +"Also the latitude and the longitude." + +"What does 'J.S.' mean?" + +"Probably the initials of a man's name; let us say John Smith, for +instance." + +"And the figures on the island, with the 'X' and the dot?" + +"I cannot tell you at present," he said. "I take it that the line +across the island signifies this gap or canyon, and the small +intersecting line the cave. But 32 divided by 1, and an 'X' surmounted +by a dot are cabalistic. They would cause even Sherlock Holmes to smoke +at least two pipes. I have barely started one." + +[Illustration] + +She ran to fetch a glowing stick to enable him to relight his pipe. + +"Why do you give me such nasty little digs?" she asked. "You need not +have stopped smoking just because I stood close to you." + +"Really, Miss Deane--" + +"There, don't protest. I like the smell of that tobacco. I thought +sailors invariably smoked rank, black stuff which they call thick +twist." + +"I am a beginner, as a sailor. After a few more years before the mast I +may hope to reach perfection." + +Their eyes exchanged a quaintly pleasant challenge. Thus the man--"She +is determined to learn something of my past, but she will not succeed." + +And the woman--"The wretch! He is close as an oyster. But I will make +him open his mouth, see if I don't." + +She reverted to the piece of tin. "It looks quite mysterious, like the +things you read of in stories of pirates and buried treasure." + +"Yes," he admitted. "It is unquestionably a plan, a guidance, given to +a person not previously acquainted with the island but cognizant of +some fact connected with it. Unfortunately none of the buccaneers I can +bring to mind frequented these seas. The poor beggar who left it here +must have had some other motive than searching for a cache." + +"Did he dig the cave and the well, I wonder?" + +"Probably the former, but not the well. No man could do it unaided." + +"Why do you assume he was alone?" + +He strolled towards the fire to kick a stray log. "It is only idle +speculation at the best, Miss Deane," he replied. "Would you like to +help me to drag some timber up from the beach? If we get a few big +planks we can build a fire that will last for hours. We want some extra +clothes, too, and it will soon be dark." + +The request for co-operation gratified her. She complied eagerly, and +without much exertion they hauled a respectable load of firewood to +their new camping-ground. They also brought a number of coats to serve +as coverings. Then Jenks tackled the lamp. Between the rust and the +soreness of his index finger it was a most difficult operation to open +it. + +Before the sun went down he succeeded, and made a wick by unraveling a +few strands of wool from his jersey. When night fell, with the +suddenness of the tropics, Iris was able to illuminate her small +domain. + +They were both utterly tired and ready to drop with fatigue. The girl +said "Good night," but instantly reappeared from behind the tarpaulin. + +"Am I to keep the lamp alight?" she inquired. + +"Please yourself, Miss Deane. Better not, perhaps. It will only burn +four or five hours, any way." + +Soon the light vanished, and he lay down, his pipe between his teeth, +close to the cave's entrance. Weary though he was, he could not sleep +forthwith. His mind was occupied with the signs on the canister head. + +"32 divided by 1; an 'X' and a dot," he repeated several times. "What +do they signify?" + +Suddenly he sat up, with every sense alert, and grabbed his revolver. +Something impelled him to look towards the spot, a few feet away, where +the skeleton was hidden. It was the rustling of a bird among the trees +that had caught his ear. + +He thought of the white framework of a once powerful man, lying there +among the bushes, abandoned, forgotten, horrific. Then he smothered a +cry of surprise. + +"By Jove!" he muttered. "There is no 'X' and dot. That sign is meant +for a skull and cross-bones. It lies exactly on the part of the island +where we saw that queer-looking bald patch today. First thing tomorrow, +before the girl awakes, I must examine that place." + +He resolutely stretched himself on his share of the spread-out coats, +now thoroughly dried by sun and fire. In a minute he was sound asleep. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +IRIS TO THE RESCUE + + "Before mine eyes in opposition sits + Grim death." + --_Milton_. + + +He awoke to find the sun high in the heavens. Iris was preparing +breakfast; a fine fire was crackling cheerfully, and the presiding +goddess had so altered her appearance that the sailor surveyed her with +astonishment. + +He noiselessly assumed a sitting posture, tucked his feet beneath him, +and blinked. The girl's face was not visible from where he sat, and for +a few seconds he thought he must surely be dreaming. She was attired in +a neat navy-blue dress and smart blouse. Her white canvas shoes were +replaced by strong leather boots. She was quite spick and span, this +island Hebe. + +So soundly had he slept that his senses returned but slowly. At last he +guessed what had happened. She had risen with the dawn, and, conquering +her natural feeling of repulsion, selected from the store he +accumulated yesterday some more suitable garments than those in which +she escaped from the wreck. + +He quietly took stock of his own tattered condition, and passed a +reflective hand over the stubble on his chin. In a few days his face +would resemble a scrubbing-brush. In that mournful moment he would have +exchanged even his pipe and tobacco-box--worth untold gold--for shaving +tackle. Who can say why his thoughts took such trend? Twenty-four hours +can effect great changes in the human mind if controlling influences +are active. + +Then came a sharp revulsion of feeling. His name was Robert--a menial. +He reached for his boots, and Iris heard him. + +"Good morning," she cried, smiling sweetly. "I thought you would never +awake. I suppose you were very, very tired. You were lying so still +that I ventured to peep at you a long time ago." + +"Thus might Titania peep at an ogre," he said. + +"You didn't look a bit like an ogre. You never do. You only try to talk +like one--sometimes." + +"I claim a truce until after breakfast. If my rough compliment offends +you, let me depend upon a more gentle tongue than my own-- + + "'Her Angel's face + As the great eye of heaven, shyned bright, + And made a sunshine in the shady place.' + +"Those lines are surely appropriate. They come from the _Faerie +Queene_." + +"They are very nice, but please wash quickly. The eggs will be hard." + +"Eggs!" + +"Yes; I made a collection among the trees. I tasted one of a lot that +looked good. It was first-rate." + +He had not the moral courage to begin the day with a rebuke. She was +irrepressible, but she really must not do these things. He smothered a +sigh in the improvised basin which was placed ready for him. + +Miss Deane had prepared a capital meal. Of course the ham and biscuits +still bulked large in the bill of fare, but there were boiled eggs, +fried bananas and an elderly cocoanut. These things, supplemented by +clear cold water, were not so bad for a couple of castaways, hundreds +of miles from everywhere. + +For the life of him the man could not refrain from displaying the +conversational art in which he excelled. Their talk dealt with Italy, +Egypt, India. He spoke with the ease of culture and enthusiasm. Once he +slipped into anecdote _à propos_ of the helplessness of British +soldiers in any matter outside the scope of the King's Regulations. + +"I remember," he said, "seeing a cavalry subaltern and the members of +an escort sitting, half starved, on a number of bags piled up in the +Suakin desert. And what do you think were in the bags?" + +"I don't know," said Iris, keenly alert for deductions. + +"Biscuits! They thought the bags contained patent fodder until I +enlightened them." + +It was on the tip of her tongue to pounce on him with the comment: +"Then you have been an officer in the army." But she forbore. She had +guessed this earlier. Yet the mischievous light in her eyes defied +control. He was warned in time and pulled himself up short. + +"You read my face like a book," she cried, with a delightful little +_moue_. + +"No printed page was ever so--legible." + +He was going to say "fascinating," but checked the impulse. He went on +with brisk affectation-- + +"Now, Miss Deane, we have gossiped too long. I am a laggard this +morning; but before starting work, I have a few serious remarks to +make." + +"More digs?" she inquired saucily. + +"I repudiate 'digs.' In the first place, you must not make any more +experiments in the matter of food. The eggs were a wonderful effort, +but, flattered by success, you may poison yourself." + +"Secondly?" + +"You must never pass out of my sight without carrying a revolver, not +so much for defence, but as a signal. Did you take one when you went +bird's-nesting?" + +"No. Why?" + +There was a troubled look in his eyes when he answered-- + +"It is best to tell you at once that before help reaches us we may be +visited by cruel and blood-thirsty savages. I would not even mention +this if it were a remote contingency. As matters stand, you ought to +know that such a thing may happen. Let us trust in God's goodness that +assistance may come soon. The island has seemingly been deserted for +many months, and therein lies our best chance of escape. But I am +obliged to warn you lest you should be taken unawares." + +Iris was serious enough now. + +"How do you know that such danger threatens us?" she demanded. + +He countered readily. "Because I happen to have read a good deal about +the China Sea and its frequenters," he said. "I am the last man in the +world to alarm you needlessly. All I mean to convey is that certain +precautions should be taken against a risk that is possible, not +probable. No more." + +She could not repress a shudder. The aspect of nature was so beneficent +that evil deeds seemed to be out of place in that fair isle. Birds were +singing around them. The sun was mounting into a cloudless sky. The +gale had passed away into a pleasant breeze, and the sea was now +rippling against the distant reef with peaceful melody. + +The sailor wanted to tell her that he would defend her against a host +of savages if he were endowed with many lives, but he was perforce +tongue-tied. He even reviled himself for having spoken, but she saw the +anguish in his face, and her woman's heart acknowledged him as her +protector, her shield. + +"Mr. Jenks," she said simply, "we are in God's hands. I put my trust in +Him, and in you. I am hopeful, nay more, confident. I thank you for +what you have done, for all that you will do. If you cannot preserve me +from threatening perils no man could, for you are as brave and gallant +a gentleman as lives on the earth today." + +Now, the strange feature of this extraordinary and unexpected outburst +of pent-up emotion was that the girl pronounced his name with the +slightly emphasized accentuation of one who knew it to be a mere +disguise. The man was so taken aback by her declaration of faith that +the minor incident, though it did not escape him, was smothered in a +tumult of feeling. + +He could not trust himself to speak. He rose hastily and seized the axe +to deliver a murderous assault upon a sago palm that stood close at +hand. + +Iris was the first to recover a degree of self-possession. For a moment +she had bared her soul. With reaction came a sensitive shrinking. Her +British temperament, no less than her delicate nature, disapproved +these sentimental displays. She wanted to box her own ears. + +With innate tact she took a keen interest in the felling of the tree. + +"What do you want it for?" she inquired, when the sturdy trunk creaked +and fell. + +Jenks felt better now. + +"This is a change of diet," he explained. "No; we don't boil the leaves +or nibble the bark. When I split this palm open you will find that the +interior is full of pith. I will cut it out for you, and then it will +be your task to knead it with water after well washing it, pick out all +the fiber, and finally permit the water to evaporate. In a couple of +days the residuum will become a white powder, which, when boiled, is +sago." + +"Good gracious!" said Iris. + +"The story sounds unconvincing, but I believe I am correct. It is worth +a trial." + +"I should have imagined that sago grew on a stalk like rice or wheat." + +"Or Topsy!" + +She laughed. A difficult situation had passed without undue effort. +Unhappily the man reopened it. Whilst using a crowbar as a wedge he +endeavored to put matters on a straightforward footing. + +"A little while ago," he said, "you seemed to imply that I had assumed +the name of Jenks." + +But Miss Deane's confidential mood had gone. "Nothing of the kind," she +said, coldly. "I think Jenks is an excellent name." + +She regretted the words even as they fell from her lips. The sailor +gave a mighty wrench with the bar, splitting the log to its clustering +leaves. + +"You are right," he said. "It is distinctive, brief, dogmatic. I cling +to it passionately." + +Soon afterwards, leaving Iris to the manufacture of sago, he went to +the leeward side of the island, a search for turtles being his +ostensible object. When the trees hid him he quickened his pace and +turned to the left, in order to explore the cavity marked on the tin +with a skull and cross-bones. To his surprise he hit upon the remnants +of a roadway--that is, a line through the wood where there were no +well-grown trees, where the ground bore traces of humanity in the shape +of a wrinkled and mildewed pair of Chinese boots, a wooden sandal, even +the decayed remains of a palki, or litter. + +At last he reached the edge of the pit, and the sight that met his eyes +held him spellbound. + +The labor of many hands had torn a chasm, a quarry, out of the side of +the hill. Roughly circular in shape, it had a diameter of perhaps a +hundred feet, and at its deepest part, towards the cliff, it ran to a +depth of forty feet. On the lower side, where the sailor stood, it +descended rapidly for some fifteen feet. + +Grasses, shrubs, plants of every variety, grew in profusion down the +steep slopes, wherever seeds could find precarious nurture, until a +point was reached about ten or eleven feet from the bottom. There all +vegetation ceased as if forbidden to cross a magic circle. + +Below this belt the place was a charnel-house. The bones of men and +animals mingled in weird confusion. Most were mere skeletons. A few +bodies--nine the sailor counted--yet preserved some resemblance of +humanity. These latter were scattered among the older relics. They wore +the clothes of Dyaks. Characteristic hats and weapons denoted their +nationality. The others, the first harvest of this modern Golgotha, +might have been Chinese coolies. When the sailor's fascinated vision +could register details he distinguished yokes, baskets, odd-looking +spades and picks strewed amidst the bones. The animals were all of one +type, small, lanky, with long pointed skulls. At last he spied a +withered hoof. They were pigs. + +Over all lay a thick coating of fine sand, deposited from the eddying +winds that could never reach the silent depths. The place was gruesome, +horribly depressing. Jenks broke out into a clammy perspiration. He +seemed to be looking at the secrets of the grave. + +At last his superior intelligence asserted itself. His brain became +clearer, recovered its power of analysis. He began to criticize, +reflect, and this is the theory he evolved-- + +Some one, long ago, had discovered valuable minerals in the volcanic +rock. Mining operations were in full blast when the extinct volcano +took its revenge upon the human ants gnawing at its vitals and +smothered them by a deadly outpouring of carbonic acid gas, the +bottled-up poison of the ages. A horde of pigs, running wild over the +island--placed there, no doubt, by Chinese fishers--had met the same +fate whilst intent on dreadful orgy. + +Then there came a European, who knew how the anhydrate gas, being +heavier than the surrounding air, settled like water in that terrible +hollow. He, too, had striven to wrest the treasure from the stone by +driving a tunnel into the cliff. He had partly succeeded and had gone +away, perhaps to obtain help, after crudely registering his knowledge +on the lid of a tin canister. This, again, probably fell into the hands +of another man, who, curious but unconvinced, caused himself to be set +ashore on this desolate spot, with a few inadequate stores. Possibly he +had arranged to be taken off within a fixed time. + +But a sampan, laden with Dyak pirates, came first, and the intrepid +explorer's bones rested near the well, whilst his head had gone to +decorate the hut of some fierce village chief. The murderers, after +burying their own dead--for the white man fought hard, witness the +empty cartridges--searched the island. Some of them, ignorantly +inquisitive, descended into the hollow. They remained there. The +others, superstitious barbarians, fled for their lives, embarking so +hastily that they took from the cave neither tools nor oil, though they +would greatly prize these articles. + +Such was the tragic web he spun, a compound of fact and fancy. It +explained all perplexities save one. What did "32 divided by 1" mean? +Was there yet another fearsome riddle awaiting solution? + +And then his thoughts flew to Iris. Happen what might, her bright +picture was seldom absent from his brain. Suppose, egg-hunting, she had +stumbled across this Valley of Death! How could he hope to keep it +hidden from her? Was not the ghastly knowledge better than the horror +of a chance ramble through the wood and the shock of discovery, nay, +indeed, the risk of a catastrophe? + +He was a man who relieved his surcharged feelings with strong +language--a habit of recent acquisition. He indulged in it now and felt +better. He rushed back through the trees until he caught sight of Iris +industriously kneading the sago pith in one of those most useful +dish-covers. + +He called to her, led her wondering to the track, and pointed out the +fatal quarry, but in such wise that she could not look inside it. + +"You remember that round hole we saw from the summit rock?" he said. +"Well, it is full of carbonic acid gas, to breathe which means +unconsciousness and death. It gives no warning to the inexperienced. It +is rather pleasant than otherwise. Promise me you will never come near +this place again." + +Now, Iris, too, had been thinking deeply. Robert Jenks bulked large in +her day-dreams. Her nerves were not yet quite normal. There was a catch +in her throat as she answered-- + +"I don't want to die. Of course I will keep away. What a horrid island +this is! Yet it might be a paradise." + +She bit her lip to suppress her tears, but, being the Eve in this +garden, she continued-- + +"How did you find out? Is there anything--nasty--in there?" + +"Yes, the remains of animals, and other things. I would not have told +you were it not imperative." + +"Are you keeping other secrets from me?" + +"Oh, quite a number." + +He managed to conjure up a smile, and the ruse was effective. She +applied the words to his past history. + +"I hope they will not be revealed so dramatically," she said. + +"You never can tell," he answered. They were in prophetic vein that +morning. They returned in silence to the cave. + +"I wish to go inside, with a lamp. May I?" he asked. + +"Certainly. Why not?" + +He had an odd trick of blushing, this bronzed man with a gnarled soul. +He could not frame a satisfactory reply, but busied himself in +refilling the lamp. + +"May I come too?" she demanded. + +He flung aside the temptation to answer her in kind, merely assenting, +with an explanation of his design. When the lamp was in order he held +it close to the wall and conducted a systematic survey. The geological +fault which favored the construction of the tunnel seemed to diverge to +the left at the further end. The "face" of the rock exhibited the marks +of persistent labor. The stone had been hewn away by main force when +the dislocation of strata ceased to be helpful. + +His knowledge was limited on the subject, yet Jenks believed that the +material here was a hard limestone rather than the external basalt. +Searching each inch with the feeble light, he paused once, with an +exclamation. + +"What is it?" cried Iris. + +"I cannot be certain," he said, doubtfully. "Would you mind holding the +lamp whilst I use a crowbar?" + +In the stone was visible a thin vein, bluish white in color. He managed +to break off a fair-sized lump containing a well-defined specimen of +the foreign metal. + +They hurried into the open air and examined the fragment with curious +eyes. The sailor picked it with his knife, and the substance in the +vein came off in laminated layers, small, brittle scales. + +"Is it silver?" Iris was almost excited. + +"I do not think so. I am no expert, but I have a vague idea--I have +seen----" + +He wrinkled his brows and pressed away the furrows with his hand, that +physical habit of his when perplexed. + +"I have it," he cried. "It is antimony." + +Miss Deane pursed her lips in disdain. Antimony! What was antimony? + +"So much fuss for nothing," she said. + +"It is used in alloys and medicines," he explained. "To us it is +useless." + +He threw the piece of rock contemptuously among the bushes. But, being +thorough in all that he undertook, he returned to the cave and again +conducted an inquisition. The silver-hued vein became more strongly +marked at the point where it disappeared downwards into a collection of +rubble and sand. That was all. Did men give their toil, their lives, +for this? So it would appear. Be that as it might, he had a more +pressing work. If the cave still held a secret it must remain there. + +Iris had gone back to her sago-kneading. Necessity had made the lady a +bread-maid. + +"Fifteen hundred years of philology bridged by circumstance," mused +Jenks. "How Max Müller would have reveled in the incident!" + +Shouldering the axe he walked to the beach. The tide was low and the +circular sweep of the reef showed up irregularly, its black outlines +sticking out of the vividly green water like jagged teeth. + +Much débris from the steamer was lying high and dry. It was an easy +task for an athletic man to reach the palm tree, yet the sailor +hesitated, with almost imperceptible qualms. + +"A baited rat-trap," he muttered. Then he quickened his pace. With the +first active spring from rock to rock his unacknowledged doubts +vanished. He might find stores of priceless utility. The reflection +inspired him. Jumping and climbing like a cat, in two minutes he was +near the tree. + +He could now see the true explanation of its growth in a seemingly +impossible place. Here the bed of the sea bulged upwards in a small +sand cay, which silted round the base of a limestone rock, so different +in color and formation from the coral reef. Nature, whose engineering +contrivances can force springs to mountain tops, managed to deliver to +this isolated refuge a sufficient supply of water to nourish the palm, +and the roots, firmly lodged in deep crevices, were well protected from +the waves. + +Between the sailor and the tree intervened a small stretch of shallow +water. Landward this submerged saddle shelved steeply into the lagoon. +Although the water in the cove was twenty fathoms in depth, its crystal +clearness was remarkable. The bottom, composed of marvelously white +sand and broken coral, rendered other objects conspicuous. He could see +plenty of fish, but not a single shark, whilst on the inner slope of +the reef was plainly visible the destroyed fore part of the +_Sirdar_, which had struck beyond the tree, relatively to his +present standpoint. He had wondered why no boats were cast ashore. Now +he saw the reason. Three of them were still fastened to the davits and +carried down with the hull. + +Seaward the water was not so clear. The waves created patches of foam, +and long submarine plants swayed gently in the undercurrent. + +To reach Palm-tree Rock--anticipating its subsequent name--he must +cross a space of some thirty feet and wade up to his waist. + +He made the passage with ease. + +Pitched against the hole of the tree was a long narrow case, very +heavy, iron-clamped; and marked with letters in black triangles and the +broad arrow of the British Government. + +"Rifles, by all the gods!" shouted the sailor. They were really by the +Enfield Small Arms Manufactory, but his glee at this stroke of luck +might be held to excuse a verbal inaccuracy. + +The _Sirdar_ carried a consignment of arms and ammunition from +Hong Kong to Singapore. Providence had decreed that a practically +inexhaustible store of cartridges should be hurled across the lagoon to +the island. And here were Lee-Metfords enough to equip half a company. +He would not risk the precious axe in an attempt to open the case. He +must go back for a crowbar. + +What else was there in this storehouse, thrust by Neptune from the +ocean bed? A chest of tea, seemingly undamaged. Three barrels of flour, +utterly ruined. A saloon chair, smashed from its pivot. A battered +chronometer. For the rest, fragments of timber intermingled with +pulverized coral and broken crockery. + +A little further on, the deep-water entrance to the lagoon curved +between sunken rocks. On one of them rested the _Sirdar's_ huge +funnel. The north-west section of the reef was bare. Among the wreckage +he found a coil of stout rope and a pulley. He instantly conceived the +idea of constructing an aerial line to ferry the chest of tea across +the channel he had forded. + +He threaded the pulley with the rope and climbed the tree, adding a +touch of artistic completeness to the ruin of his trousers by the +operation. He had fastened the pulley high up the trunk before he +realized how much more simple it would be to break open the chest where +it lay and transport its contents in small parcels. + +He laughed lightly. "I am becoming addleheaded," he said to himself. +"Anyhow, now the job is done I may as well make use of it." + +Recoiling the rope-ends, he cast them across to the reef. In such small +ways do men throw invisible dice with death. With those two lines he +would, within a few fleeting seconds, drag himself back from eternity. + +Picking up the axe, he carelessly stepped into the water, not knowing +that Iris, having welded the incipient sago into a flat pancake, had +strolled to the beach and was watching him. + +The water was hardly above his knees when there came a swirling rush +from the seaweed. A long tentacle shot out like a lasso and gripped his +right leg. Another coiled round his waist. + +"My God!" he gurgled, as a horrid sucker closed over his mouth and +nose. He was in the grip of a devil-fish. + +A deadly sensation of nausea almost overpowered him, but the love of +life came to his aid, and he tore the suffocating feeler from his face. +Then the axe whirled, and one of the eight arms of the octopus lost +some of its length. Yet a fourth flung itself around his left ankle. A +few feet away, out of range of the axe, and lifting itself bodily out +of the water, was the dread form of the cuttle, apparently all head, +with distended gills and monstrous eyes. + +The sailor's feet were planted wide apart. With frenzied effort he +hacked at the murderous tentacles, but the water hindered him, and he +was forced to lean back, in superhuman strain, to avoid losing his +balance. If once this terrible assailant got him down he knew he was +lost. The very need to keep his feet prevented him from attempting to +deal a mortal blow. + +The cuttle was anchored by three of its tentacles. Its remaining arm +darted with sinuous activity to again clutch the man's face or neck. +With the axe he smote madly at the curling feeler, diverting its aim +time and again, but failing to deliver an effective stroke. + +With agonized prescience the sailor knew that he was yielding. Were the +devil-fish a giant of its tribe he could not have held out so long. As +it was, the creature could afford to wait, strengthening its grasp, +tightening its coils, pulling and pumping at its prey with remorseless +certainty. + +He was nearly spent. In a paroxysm of despair he resolved to give way, +and with one mad effort seek to bury the axe in the monster's brain. +But ere he could execute this fatal project--for the cuttle would have +instantly swept him into the trailing weeds--five revolver shots rang +out in quick succession. Iris had reached the nearest rock. + +The third bullet gave the octopus cause to reflect. It squirted forth a +torrent of dark-colored fluid. Instantly the water became black, +opaque. The tentacle flourishing in air thrashed the surface with +impotent fury; that around Jenks's waist grew taut and rigid. The axe +flashed with the inspiration of hope. Another arm was severed; the huge +dismembered coil slackened and fell away. + +Yet was he anchored immovably. He turned to look at Iris. She never +forgot the fleeting expression of his face. So might Lazarus have +looked from the tomb. + +"The rope!" she screamed, dropping the revolver and seizing the loose +ends lying at her feet. + +She drew them tight and leaned back, pulling with all her strength. The +sailor flung the axe to the rocks and grasped the two ropes. He raised +himself and plunged wildly. He was free. With two convulsive strides he +was at the girl's side. + +He stumbled to a boulder and dropped in complete collapse. After a time +he felt Iris's hand placed timidly on his shoulder. He raised his head +and saw her eyes shining. + +"Thank you," he said. "We are quits now." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SOME EXPLANATIONS + + +Fierce emotions are necessarily transient, but for the hour they +exhaust the psychic capacity. The sailor had gone through such mental +stress before it was yet noon that he was benumbed, wholly incapable of +further sensation. Seneca tells how the island of Theresæa arose in a +moment from the sea, thereby astounding ancient mariners, as well it +might. Had this manifestation been repeated within a cable's length +from the reef, Jenks was in mood to accept it as befitting the new +order of things. + +Being in good condition, he soon recovered his physical powers. He was +outwardly little the worse for the encounter with the devil-fish. The +skin around his mouth was sore. His waist and legs were bruised. One +sweep of the axe had cut clean through the bulging leather of his left +boot without touching the flesh. In a word, he was practically +uninjured. + +He had the doglike habit of shaking himself at the close of a fray. He +did so now when he stood up. Iris showed clearer signs of the ordeal. +Her face was drawn and haggard, the pupils of her eyes dilated. She was +gazing into depths, illimitable, unexplored. Compassion awoke at sight +of her. + +"Come," said Jenks, gently. "Let us get back to the island." + +He quietly resumed predominance, helping her over the rough pathway of +the reef, almost lifting her when the difficulties were great. + +He did not ask her how it happened that she came so speedily to his +assistance. Enough that she had done it, daring all for his sake. She +was weak and trembling. With the acute vision of the soul she saw +again, and yet again, the deadly malice of the octopus, the divine +despair of the man. + +Reaching the firm sand, she could walk alone. She limped. Instantly her +companion's blunted emotions quickened into life. He caught her arm and +said hoarsely-- + +"Are you hurt in any way?" + +The question brought her back from dreamland. A waking nightmare was +happily shattered into dim fragments. She even strove to smile +unconcernedly. + +"It is nothing," she murmured. "I stumbled on the rocks. There is no +sprain. Merely a blow, a bit of skin rubbed off, above my ankle." + +"Let me carry you." + +"The idea! Carry me! I will race you to the cave." + +It was no idle jest. She wanted to run--to get away from that inky +blotch in the green water. + +"You are sure it is a trifle?" + +"Quite sure. My stocking chafes a little; that is all. See, I will show +you." + +She stooped, and with the quick skill of woman, rolled down the +stocking on her right leg. Modestly daring, she stretched out her foot +and slightly lifted her dress. On the outer side of the tapering limb +was an ugly bruise, scratched deeply by the coral. + +He exhibited due surgical interest. His manner, his words, became +professional. + +"We will soon put that right," he said. "A strip off your muslin dress, +soaked in brandy, will----" + +"Brandy!" she exclaimed. + +"Yes; we have some, you know. Brandy is a great tip for bruised wounds. +It can be applied both ways, inside and out." + +This was better. They were steadily drifting back to the commonplace. +Whilst she stitched together some muslin strips he knocked the head off +a bottle of brandy. They each drank a small quantity, and the generous +spirit brought color to their wan cheeks. The sailor showed Iris how to +fasten a bandage by twisting the muslin round the upper part of his +boot. For the first time she saw the cut made by the axe. + +"Did--the thing--grip you there?" she nervously inquired. + +"There, and elsewhere. All over at once, it felt like. The beast +attacked me with five arms." + +She shuddered. "I don't know how you could fight it," she said. "How +strong, how brave you must be." + +This amused him. "The veriest coward will try to save his own life," he +answered. "If you use such adjectives to me, what words can I find to +do justice to you, who dared to come close to such a vile-looking +creature and kill it. I must thank my stars that you carried the +revolver." + +"Ah!" she said, "that reminds me. You do not practice what you preach. +I found your pistol lying on the stone in the cave. That is one reason +why I followed you." + +It was quite true. He laid the weapon aside when delving at the rock, +and forgot to replace it in his belt. + +"It was stupid of me," he admitted; "but I am not sorry." + +"Why?" + +"Because, as it is, I owe you my life." + +"You owe me nothing," she snapped. "It is very thoughtless of you to +run such risks. What will become of me if anything happens to you? My +point of view is purely selfish, you see." + +"Quite so. Purely selfish." He smiled sadly. "Selfish people of your +type are somewhat rare, Miss Deane." + +Not a conversation worth noting, perhaps, save in so far as it is +typical of the trite utterances of people striving to recover from some +tremendous ordeal. Epigrams delivered at the foot of the scaffold have +always been carefully prepared beforehand. + +The bandage was ready; one end was well soaked in brandy. She moved +towards the cave, but he cried-- + +"Wait one minute. I want to get a couple of crowbars." + +"What for?" + +"I must go back there." He jerked his head in the direction of the +reef. She uttered a little sob of dismay. + +"I will incur no danger this time," he explained. "I found rifles +there. We must have them; they may mean salvation." + +When Iris was determined about anything, her chin dimpled. It puckered +delightfully now. + +"I will come with you," she announced. + +"Very well. I will wait for you. The tide will serve for another hour." + +He knew he had decided rightly. She could not bear to be alone--yet. +Soon the bandage was adjusted and they returned to the reef. Scrambling +now with difficulty over the rough and dangerous track, Iris was +secretly amazed by the remembrance of the daring activity she displayed +during her earlier passage along the same precarious roadway. + +Then she darted from rock to rock with the fearless certainty of a +chamois. Her only stumble was caused, she recollected, by an absurd +effort to avoid wetting her dress. She laughed nervously when they +reached the place. This time Jenks lifted her across the intervening +channel. + +"Is this the spot where you fell?" he asked, tenderly. + +"Yes; how did you guess it?" + +"I read it in your eyes." + +"Then please do not read my eyes, but look where you are going." + +"Perhaps I was doing that too," he said. + +They were standing on the landward side of the shallow water in which +he fought the octopus. + +Already the dark fluid emitted by his assailant in its final +discomfiture was passing away, owing to the slight movement of the +tide. + +Iris was vaguely conscious of a double meaning in his words. She did +not trouble to analyze them. All she knew was that the man's voice +conveyed a subtle acknowledgment of her feminine divinity. The +resultant thrill of happiness startled, even dismayed her. This +incipient flirtation must be put a stop to instantly. + +"Now that you have brought me here with so much difficulty, what are +you going to do?" she said. "It will be madness for you to attempt to +ford that passage again. Where there is one of those horrible things +there are others, I suppose." + +Jenks smiled. Somehow he knew that this strict adherence to business +was a cloak for her real thoughts. Already these two were able to +dispense with spoken word. + +But he sedulously adopted her pretext. + +"That is one reason why I brought the crowbars," he explained. "If you +will sit down for a little while I will have everything properly +fixed." + +He delved with one of the bars until it lodged in a crevice of the +coral. Then a few powerful blows with the back of the axe wedged it +firmly enough to bear any ordinary strain. The rope-ends reeved through +the pulley on the tree were lying where they fell from the girl's hand +at the close of the struggle. He deftly knotted them to the rigid bar, +and a few rapid turns of a piece of wreckage passed between the two +lines strung them into a tautness that could not be attained by any +amount of pulling. + +Iris watched the operation in silence. The sailor always looked at his +best when hard at work. The half-sullen, wholly self-contained +expression left his face, which lit up with enthusiasm and concentrated +intelligence. That which he essayed he did with all his might. Will +power and physical force worked harmoniously. She had never before seen +such a man. At such moments her admiration of him was unbounded. + +He, toiling with steady persistence, felt not the inward spur which +sought relief in speech, but Iris was compelled to say something. + +"I suppose," she commented with an air of much wisdom, "you are +contriving an overhead railway for the safe transit of yourself and the +goods?" + +"Y--yes." + +"Why are you so doubtful about it?" + +"Because I personally intended to walk across. The ropes will serve to +convey the packages." + +She rose imperiously. "I absolutely forbid you to enter the water +again. Such a suggestion on your part is quite shameful. You are taking +a grave risk for no very great gain that I can see, and if anything +happens to you I shall be left all alone in this awful place." + +She could think of no better argument. Her only resource was a woman's +expedient--a plea for protection against threatening ills. + +The sailor seemed to be puzzled how best to act. + +"Miss Deane," he said, "there is no such serious danger as you imagine. +Last time the cuttle caught me napping. He will not do so again. Those +rifles I must have. If it will serve to reassure you, I will go along +the line myself." + +He made this concession grudgingly. In very truth, if danger still +lurked in the neighboring sea, he would be far less able to avoid it +whilst clinging to a rope that sagged with his weight, and thus working +a slow progress across the channel, than if he were on his feet and +prepared to make a rush backwards or forwards. + +Not until Iris watched him swinging along with vigorous overhead +clutches did this phase of the undertaking occur to her. + +"Stop!" she screamed. + +He let go and dropped into the water, turning towards her. + +"What is the matter now?" he said. + +"Go on; do!" + +He stood meekly on the further side to listen to her rating. + +"You knew all the time that it would be better to walk, yet to please +me you adopted an absurdly difficult method. Why did you do it?" + +"You have answered your own question." + +"Well, I am very, very angry with you." + +"I'll tell you what," he said, "if you will forgive me I will try and +jump back. I once did nineteen feet three inches in--er--in a meadow, +but it makes such a difference when you look at a stretch of water the +same width." + +"I wish you would not stand there talking nonsense. The tide will be +over the reef in half an hour," she cried. + +Without another word he commenced operations. There was plenty of rope, +and the plan he adopted was simplicity itself. When each package was +securely fastened he attached it to a loop that passed over the line +stretched from the tree to the crowbar. To this loop he tied the +lightest rope he could find and threw the other end to Iris. By pulling +slightly she was able to land at her feet even the cumbrous +rifle-chest, for the traveling angle was so acute that the heavier the +article the more readily it sought the lower level. + +They toiled in silence until Jenks could lay hands on nothing more of +value. Then, observing due care, he quickly passed the channel. For an +instant the girl gazed affrightedly at the sea until the sailor stood +at her side again. + +"You see," he said, "you have scared every cuttle within miles." And he +thought that he would give many years of his life to be able to take +her in his arms and kiss away her anxiety. + +But the tide had turned; in a few minutes the reef would be partly +submerged. To carry the case of rifles to the mainland was a manifestly +impossible feat, so Jenks now did that which, done earlier, would have +saved him some labor--he broke open the chest, and found that the +weapons were apparently in excellent order. + +He snapped the locks and squinted down the barrels of half a dozen to +test them. These he laid on one side. Then he rapidly constructed a +small raft from loose timbers, binding them roughly with rope, and to +this argosy he fastened the box of tea, the barrels of flour, the +broken saloon-chair, and other small articles which might be of use. He +avoided any difficulty in launching the raft by building it close to +the water's edge. When all was ready the rising tide floated it for +him; he secured it to his longest rope, and gave it a vigorous push off +into the lagoon. Then he slung four rifles across his shoulders, asked +Iris to carry the remaining two in like manner, and began to manoeuvre +the raft landwards. + +"Whilst you land the goods I will prepare dinner," announced the girl. + +"Please be careful not to slip again on the rocks," he said. + +"Indeed I will. My ankle gives me a reminder at each step." + +"I was more concerned about the rifles. If you fell you might damage +them, and the incoming tide will so hopelessly rust those I leave +behind that they will be useless." + +She laughed. This assumption at brutality no longer deceived her. + +"I will preserve them at any cost, though with six in our possession +there is a margin for accidents. However, to reassure you, I will go +back quickly. If I fall a second time you will still be able to replace +any deficiencies in our armament." + +Before he could protest she started off at a run, jumping lightly from +rock to rock, though the effort cost her a good deal of pain. +Disregarding his shouts, she persevered until she stood safely on the +sands. Then saucily waving a farewell, she set off towards the cave. + +Had she seen the look of fierce despair that settled down upon Jenks's +face as he turned to his task of guiding the raft ashore she might have +wondered what it meant. In any case she would certainly have behaved +differently. + +By the time the sailor had safely landed his cargo Iris had cooked +their midday meal. She achieved a fresh culinary triumph. The eggs were +fried! + +"I am seriously thinking of trying to boil a ham," she stated gravely. +"Have you any idea how long it takes to cook one properly?" + +"A quarter of an hour for each pound." + +"Admirable! But we can measure neither hours nor pounds." + +"I think we can do both. I will construct a balance of some kind. Then, +with a ham slung to one end, and a rifle and some cartridges to the +other, I will tell you the weight of the ham to an ounce. To ascertain +the time, I have already determined to fashion a sun-dial. I remember +the requisite divisions with reasonable accuracy, and a little +observation will enable us to correct any mistakes." + +"You are really very clever, Mr. Jenks," said Iris, with childlike +candor. "Have you spent several years of your life in preparing for +residence on a desert island?" + +"Something of the sort. I have led a queer kind of existence, full of +useless purposes. Fate has driven me into a corner where my odds and +ends of knowledge are actually valuable. Such accidents make men +millionaires." + +"Useless purposes!" she repeated. "I can hardly credit that. One uses +such a phrase to describe fussy people, alive with foolish activity. +Your worst enemy would not place you in such a category." + +"My worst enemy made the phrase effective at any rate, Miss Deane." + +"You mean that he ruined your career?" + +"Well--er--yes. I suppose that describes the position with fair +accuracy." + +"Was he a very great scoundrel?" + +"He was, and is." + +Jenks spoke with quiet bitterness. The girl's words had evoked a sudden +flood of recollection. For the moment he did not notice how he had been +trapped into speaking of himself, nor did he see the quiet content on +Iris's face when she elicited the information that his chief foe was a +man. A certain tremulous hesitancy in her manner when she next spoke +might have warned him, but his hungry soul caught only the warm +sympathy of her words, which fell like rain on parched soil. + +"You are tired," she said. "Won't you smoke for a little while, and +talk to me?" + +He produced his pipe and tobacco, but he used his right hand awkwardly. +It was evident to her alert eyes that the torn quick on his injured +finger was hurting him a great deal. The exciting events of the morning +had caused him temporarily to forget his wound, and the rapid coursing +of the blood through the veins was now causing him agonized throbs. + +With a cry of distress she sprang to her feet and insisted upon washing +the wound. Then she tenderly dressed it with a strip of linen well +soaked in brandy, thinking the while, with a sudden rush of color to +her face, that although he could suggest this remedy for her slight +hurt, he gave no thought to his own serious injury. Finally she pounced +upon his pipe and tobacco-box. + +"Don't be alarmed," she laughed. "I have often filled my father's pipe +for him. First, you put the tobacco in loosely, taking care not to use +any that is too finely powdered. Then you pack the remainder quite +tightly. But I was nearly forgetting. I haven't blown, through the pipe +to see if it is clean." + +She suited the action to the word, using much needless breath in the +operation. + +"That is a first-rate pipe," she declared. "My father always said that +a straight stem, with the bowl at a right angle, was the correct shape. +You evidently agree with him." + +"Absolutely." + +"You will like my father when you meet him. He is the very best man +alive, I am sure." + +"You two are great friends, then?" + +"Great friends! He is the only friend I possess in the world." + +"What! Is that quite accurate?" + +"Oh, quite. Of course, Mr. Jenks, I can never forget how much I owe to +you. I like you immensely, too, although you are so--so gruff to me at +times. But--but--you see, my father and I have always been together. I +have neither brother nor sister, not even a cousin. My dear mother died +from some horrid fever when I was quite a little girl. My father is +everything to me." + +"Dear child!" he murmured, apparently uttering his thoughts aloud +rather than addressing her directly. "So you find me gruff, eh?" + +"A regular bear, when you lecture me. But that is only occasionally. +You can be very nice when you like, when you forget your past troubles. +And pray, why do you call me a child? + +"Have I done so?" + +"Not a moment ago. How old are you, Mr. Jenks? I am twenty--twenty last +December." + +"And I," he said, "will be twenty-eight in August." + +"Good gracious!" she gasped. "I am very sorry, but I really thought you +were forty at least." + +"I look it, no doubt. Let me be equally candid and admit that you, too, +show your age markedly." + +She smiled nervously. "What a lot of trouble you must have had +to--to--to give you those little wrinkles in the corners of your mouth +and eyes," she said. + +"Wrinkles! How terrible!" + +"I don't know. I think they rather suit you; besides, it was stupid of +me to imagine you were so old. I suppose exposure to the sun creates +wrinkles, and you must have lived much in the open air." + +"Early rising and late going to bed are bad for the complexion," he +declared, solemnly. + +"I often wonder how army officers manage to exist," she said. "They +never seem to get enough sleep, in the East, at any rate. I have seen +them dancing for hours after midnight, and heard of them pig-sticking +or schooling hunters at five o'clock next morning." + +"So you assume I have been in the army?" + +"I am quite sure of it." + +"May I ask why?" + +"Your manner, your voice, your quiet air of authority, the very way you +walk, all betray you." + +"Then," he said sadly, "I will not attempt to deny the fact. I held a +commission in the Indian Staff Corps for nine years. It was a hobby of +mine, Miss Deane, to make myself acquainted with the best means of +victualing my men and keeping them in good health under all sorts of +fanciful conditions and in every kind of climate, especially under +circumstances when ordinary stores were not available. With that object +in view I read up every possible country in which my regiment might be +engaged, learnt the local names of common articles of food, and +ascertained particularly what provision nature made to sustain life. +The study interested me. Once, during the Soudan campaign, it was +really useful, and procured me promotion." + +"Tell me about it." + +"During some operations in the desert it was necessary for my troop to +follow up a small party of rebels mounted on camels, which, as you +probably know, can go without water much longer than horses. We were +almost within striking distance, when our horses completely gave out, +but I luckily noticed indications which showed that there was water +beneath a portion of the plain much below the general level. Half an +hour's spade work proved that I was right. We took up the pursuit +again, and ran the quarry to earth, and I got my captaincy." + +"Was there no fight?" + +He paused an appreciable time before replying. Then he evidently made +up his mind to perform some disagreeable task. The watching girl could +see the change in his face, the sharp transition from eager interest to +angry resentment. + +"Yes," he went on at last, "there was a fight. It was a rather stiff +affair, because a troop of British cavalry which should have supported +me had turned back, owing to the want of water already mentioned. But +that did not save the officer in charge of the 24th Lancers from being +severely reprimanded." + +"The 24th Lancers!" cried Iris. "Lord Ventnor's regiment!" + +"Lord Ventnor was the officer in question." + +Her face crimonsed. "Then you know him?" she said. + +"I do." + +"Is he your enemy?" + +"Yes." + +"And that is why you were so agitated that last day on the +_Sirdar_, when poor Lady Tozer asked me if I were engaged to him?" + +"Yes." + +"How could it affect you? You did not even know my name then?" + +Poor Iris! She did not stop to ask herself why she framed her question +in such manner, but the sailor was now too profoundly moved to heed the +slip. She could not tell how he was fighting with himself, fiercely +beating down the inner barriers of self-love, sternly determined, once +and for all, to reveal himself in such light to this beautiful and +bewitching woman that in future she would learn to regard him only as +an outcast whose company she must perforce tolerate until relief came. + +"It affected me because the sudden mention of his name recalled my own +disgrace. I quitted the army six months ago, Miss Deane, under very +painful circumstances. A general court-martial found me guilty of +conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman. I was not even given a +chance to resign. I was cashiered." + +He pretended to speak with cool truculence. He thought to compel her +into shrinking contempt. Yet his face blanched somewhat, and though he +steadily kept the pipe between his teeth, and smoked with studied +unconcern, his lips twitched a little. + +And he dared not look at her, for the girl's wondering eyes were fixed +upon him, and the blush had disappeared as quickly as it came. + +"I remember something of this," she said slowly, never once averting +her gaze. "There was some gossip concerning it when I first came to +Hong Kong. You are Captain Robert Anstruther?" + +"I am." + +"And you publicly thrashed Lord Ventnor as the result of a quarrel +about a woman?" + +"Your recollection is quite accurate." + +"Who was to blame?" + +"The lady said that I was." + +"Was it true?" + +Robert Anstruther, late captain of Bengal Cavalry, rose to his feet. He +preferred to take his punishment standing. + +"The court-martial agreed with her, Miss Deane, and I am a prejudiced +witness," he replied. + +"Who was the--lady?" + +"The wife of my colonel, Mrs. Costobell." + +"Oh!" + +Long afterwards he remembered the agony of that moment, and winced even +at the remembrance. But he had decided upon a fixed policy, and he was +not a man to flinch from consequences. Miss Deane must be taught to +despise him, else, God help them both, she might learn to love him as +he now loved her. So, blundering towards his goal as men always blunder +where a woman's heart is concerned, he blindly persisted in allowing +her to make such false deductions as she chose from his words. + +Iris was the first to regain some measure of self-control. + +"I am glad you have been so candid, Captain Anstruther," she commenced, +but he broke in abruptly-- + +"Jenks, if you please, Miss Deane. Robert Jenks." + +There was a curious light in her eyes, but he did not see it, and her +voice was marvelously subdued as she continued-- + +"Certainly, Mr. Jenks. Let me be equally explicit before we quit the +subject. I have met Mrs. Costobell. I do not like her. I consider her a +deceitful woman. Your court-martial might have found a different +verdict had its members been of her sex. As for Lord Ventnor, he is +nothing to me. It is true he asked my father to be permitted to pay his +addresses to me, but my dear old dad left the matter wholly to my +decision, and I certainly never gave Lord Ventnor any encouragement. I +believe now that Mrs. Costobell lied, and that Lord Ventnor lied, when +they attributed any dishonorable action to you, and I am glad that you +beat him in the Club. I am quite sure he deserved it." + +Not one word did this strange man vouchsafe in reply. He started +violently, seized the axe lying at his feet, and went straight among +the trees, keeping his face turned from Iris so that she might not see +the tears in his eyes. + +As for the girl, she began to scour her cooking utensils with much +energy, and soon commenced a song. Considering that she was compelled +to constantly endure the company of a degraded officer, who had been +expelled from the service with ignominy, she was absurdly contented. +Indeed, with the happy inconsequence of youth, she quickly threw all +care to the winds, and devoted her thoughts to planning a surprise for +the next day by preparing some tea, provided she could surreptitiously +open the chest. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +SURPRISES + + +Before night closed their third day on the island Jenks managed to +construct a roomy tent-house, 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. It required the united strength of Iris and himself to +haul into position the heavy sheet that topped the structure, whilst he +was compelled to desist from active building operations in order to +fashion a rough ladder. Without some such contrivance he could not get +the topmost supports adjusted at a sufficient height. + +Although the edifice required at least two more days of hard work +before 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 absolutely 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, I shall be reluctantly obliged to dose you with a +concoction of that tree there." + +He pointed to a neighboring cinchona, and Iris naturally asked why he +selected that particular brand. + +"Because it is quinine, not made up in nice little tabloids, but _au +naturel_. It will not be a bad plan if we prepare a 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 reminds me--" + +But the words died away on her lips in sudden fright. They were +standing on the level plateau in front of the cave, well removed from +the trees, and they could see distinctly on all sides, for the sun was +sinking in a cloudless sky and the air was preternaturally clear, being +free now from the tremulous haze of the hot hours. + +Across the smooth expanse of sandy ground came the agonized shrieks of +a startled bird--a large bird, it would seem--winging its way towards +them with incredible swiftness, and uttering a succession of loud +full-voiced notes of alarm. + +Yet the strange thing was that not a bird was to be seen. At that hour +the ordinary feathered inhabitants of the island were quietly nestling +among the branches preparatory to making a final selection of the +night's resting-place. None of them would stir unless actually +disturbed. + +Iris drew near to the sailor. Involuntarily 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 phenomenon. Together they strained +their eyes in the direction of the approaching sound, but apparently +their sight was bewitched; as nothing whatever was visible. + +"Oh, what is it?" wailed Iris, who now clung to Jenks 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 +a 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. Jenks. What was it?" + +"A beetle!" he managed to gasp. + +"A beetle?" + +"Yes, a small, insignificant-looking fellow, too--so small that I 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 I do not like such beetles; I always hated them, but this latest +variety is positively detestable. Such nasty things ought to be kept in +zoological 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 marvelous beverage. Curiously +enough, the lifting of the veil upon the man's earlier history made +these two much better friends. With more complete acquaintance there +was far less tendency towards certain passages which, under ordinary +conditions, could be construed as nothing else than downright +flirtation. + +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 to be able to recall the chief musical numbers. Iris had a sweet +and sympathetic mezzo-soprano voice, Jenks an excellent baritone, and, +to the secret amazement of the girl, he rendered one or two well-known +Anglo-Indian barrack-room ditties with much humor. + +This, then, was the _mise-en-scéne_. + +Iris, seated in the broken saloon-chair, which the sailor had firmly +wedged into the sand for her accommodation, was attired in a +close-fitting costume selected from the small store of garments so +wisely preserved by Jenks. She wore a pair of clumsy men's boots +several sizes too large for her. Her hair was tied up in a gipsy knot +on the back of her head, and the light of a cheerful log fire danced in +her blue eyes. + +Jenks, unshaven and ragged, squatted tailor wise near her. Close at +hand, on two sides, the shaggy walls of rock rose in solemn grandeur. +The neighboring trees, decked now in the sable livery of night, were +dimly outlined against the deep misty blue of sea and sky or wholly +merged in the shadow of the cliffs. + +They lost themselves in the peaceful influences of the hour. +Shipwrecked, remote from human land, environed by dangers known or only +conjectured, two solitary beings on a tiny island, thrown haphazard +from the depths of the China Sea, this young couple, after passing +unscathed through perils unknown even to the writers of melodrama, +lifted up their voices in the sheer exuberance of good spirits and +abounding vitality. + +The girl was specially attracted by "The Buffalo Battery," a rollicking +lyric known to all Anglo-India from Peshawur to Tuticorin. The air is +the familiar one of the "Hen Convention," and the opening verse runs in +this wise: + + I love to hear the sepoy with his bold and martial tread, + And the thud of the galloping cavalry re-echoes through my head. + But sweeter far than any sound by mortal ever made + Is the tramp of the Buffalo Battery a-going to parade. + _Chorus_: For it's "Hainya! hainya! hainya! hainya!" + Twist their tails and go. + With a "Hâthi! hâthi! hâthi!" ele-_phant_ and buffa_lo_, + "Chow-chow, chow-chow, chow-chow, chow-chow," + "Tèri ma!" "Chel-lo!" + Oh, that's the way they shout all day, and drive the buffalo. + +Iris would not be satisfied until she understood the meaning of the +Hindustani phrases, mastered the nasal pronunciation of "hainya," +and placed the artificial accent on _phant_ and _lo_ in the +second line of the chorus. + +Jenks was concluding the last verse when there came, hurtling through +the air, the weird cries of the singing beetle, returning, perchance, +from successful foray on Palm-tree Rock. This second advent of the +insect put an end to the concert. Within a quarter of an hour they were +asleep. + +Thenceforth, for ten days, they labored unceasingly, starting work at +daybreak and stopping only when the light failed, finding the long +hours of sunshine all too short for the manifold tasks demanded of +them, yet thankful that the night brought rest. The sailor made out a +programme to which he rigidly adhered. In the first place, he completed +the house, which had two compartments, an inner room in which Iris +slept, and an outer, which served as a shelter for their meals and +provided a bedroom for the man. + +Then he constructed a gigantic sky-sign on Summit Rock, the small +cluster of boulders on top of the cliff. His chief difficulty was to +hoist into place the tall poles he needed, and for this purpose he had +to again visit Palm-tree Rock in order to secure the pulley. By +exercising much ingenuity in devising shear-legs, he at last succeeded +in lifting the masts into their allotted receptacles, where they were +firmly secured. Finally he was able to swing into air, high above the +tops of the neighboring trees, the loftiest of which he felled in order +to clear the view on all sides, the name of the ship _Sirdar_, +fashioned in six-foot letters nailed and spliced together in sections +and made from the timbers of that ill-fated vessel. + +Meanwhile he taught Iris how to weave a net out of the strands of +unraveled cordage. With this, weighted by bullets, he contrived a +casting-net and caught a lot of small fish in the lagoon. At first they +were unable to decide which varieties were edible, until a happy +expedient occurred to the girl. + +"The seabirds can tell us," she said. "Let us spread out our haul on +the sands and leave them. By observing those specimens seized by the +birds and those they reject we should not go far wrong." + +Though her reasoning was not infallible it certainly proved to be a +reliable guide in this instance. Among the fish selected by the +feathered connoisseurs they hit upon two species which most resembled +whiting and haddock, and these turned out to be very palatable and +wholesome. + +Jenks knew a good deal of botany, and enough about birds to +differentiate between carnivorous species and those fit for human food, +whilst the salt in their most fortunate supply of hams rendered their +meals almost epicurean. Think of it, ye dwellers in cities, content +with stale buns and leathery sandwiches when ye venture into the wilds +of a railway refreshment-room, these two castaways, marooned by queer +chance on a desert island, could sit down daily to a banquet of +vegetable soup, fish, a roast bird, ham boiled or fried, and a sago +pudding, the whole washed down by cool spring water, or, should the +need arise, a draught of the best champagne! + +From the rusty rifles on the reef Jenks brought away the bayonets and +secured all the screws, bolts, and other small odds and ends which +might be serviceable. From the barrels he built a handy grate to +facilitate Iris's cooking operations, and a careful search each morning +amidst the ashes of any burnt wreckage accumulated a store of most +useful nails. + +The pressing need for a safe yet accessible bathing place led him and +the girl to devote one afternoon to a complete survey of the +coast-line. By this time they had given names to all the chief +localities. The northerly promontory was naturally christened North +Cape; the western, Europa Point; the portion of the reef between their +habitation and Palm-tree Rock became Filey Brig; the other section +North-west Reef. The flat sandy passage across the island, containing +the cave, house, and well, was named Prospect Park; and the extensive +stretch of sand on the south-east, with its guard of broken reefs, was +at once dubbed Turtle Beach when Jenks discovered that an immense +number of green turtles were paying their spring visit to the island to +bury their eggs in the sand. + +The two began their tour of inspection by passing the scene of the +first desperate struggle to escape from the clutch of the typhoon. Iris +would not be content until the sailor showed her the rock behind which +he placed her for shelter whilst he searched for water. For a moment +the recollection of their unfortunate companions on board ship brought +a lump into her throat and dimmed her eyes. + +"I remember them in my prayers every night," she confided to him. "It +seems so unutterably sad that they should be lost, whilst we are alive +and happy." + +The man distracted her attention by pointing out the embers of their +first fire. It was the only way to choke back the tumultuous feelings +that suddenly stormed his heart. Happy! Yes, he had never before known +such happiness. How long would it last? High up on the cliff swung the +signal to anxious searchers of the sea that here would be found the +survivors of the _Sirdar_. And then, when rescue came, when Miss +Deane became once more the daughter of a wealthy baronet, and he a +disgraced and a nameless outcast--! He set his teeth and savagely +struck at a full cup of the pitcher-plant which had so providentially +relieved their killing thirst. + +"Oh, why did you do that?" pouted Iris. "Poor thing! it was a true +friend in need. I wish I could do something for it to make it the best +and leafiest plant of its kind on the island." + +"Very well!" he answered; "you can gratify your wish. A tinful of fresh +water from the well, applied daily to its roots, will quickly achieve +that end." + +The moroseness of his tone and manner surprised her. For once her quick +intuition failed to divine the source of his irritation. + +"You give your advice ungraciously," she said, "but I will adopt it +nevertheless." + +A harmless incident, a kindly and quite feminine resolve, yet big with +fate for both of them. + +Jenks's unwonted ill-humor--for the passage of days had driven from his +face all its harshness, and from his tongue all its assumed +bitterness--created a passing cloud until the physical exertion of +scrambling over the rocks to round the North Cape restored their normal +relations. + +A strong current raced by this point to the south-east, and tore away +the outlying spur of the headland to such an extent that the sailor was +almost inclined to choose the easier way through the trees. Yet he +persevered, and it may be confessed that the opportunities thus +afforded of grasping the girl's arm, of placing a steadying hand on her +shoulder, were dominant factors in determining his choice. + +At last they reached the south side, and here they at once found +themselves in a delightfully secluded and tiny bay, sandy, tree-lined, +sheltered on three sides by cliffs and rocks. + +"Oh," cried Iris, excitedly, "what a lovely spot! a perfect Smugglers' +Cove." + +"Charming enough to look at," was the answering comment, "but open to +the sea. If you look at the smooth riband of water out there, you will +perceive a passage through the reef. A great place for sharks, Miss +Deane, but no place for bathers." + +"Good gracious! I had forgotten the sharks. I suppose they must live, +horrid as they are, but I don't want them to dine on me." + +The mention of such disagreeable adjuncts to life on the island no +longer terrified her. Thus do English new-comers to India pass the first +three months' residence in the country in momentary terror of snakes, +and the remaining thirty years in complete forgetfulness of them. + +They passed on. Whilst traversing the coral-strewn south beach, with +its patches of white soft sand baking in the direct rays of the sun, +Jenks perceived traces of the turtle which swarmed in the neighboring +sea. + +"Delicious eggs and turtle soup!" he announced when Iris asked him why +he was so intently studying certain marks on the sand, caused by the +great sea-tortoise during their nocturnal visits to the +breeding-ground. + +"If they are green turtle," he continued, "we are in the lap of luxury. +They lard the alderman and inspire the poet. When a ship comes to our +assistance I will persuade the captain to freight the vessel with them +and make my fortune." + +"I suppose, under the circumstances, you were not a rich man, Mr. +Jenks," said Iris, timidly. + +"I possess a wealthy bachelor uncle, who made me his heir and allowed +me four hundred a year; so I was a sort of Croesus among Staff Corps +officers. When the smash came he disowned me by cable. By selling my +ponies and my other belongings I was able to walk out of my quarters +penniless but free from debt." + +"And all through a deceitful woman!" + +"Yes." + +Iris peeped at him from under the brim of her sou'wester. He seemed to +be absurdly contented, so different was his tone in discussing a +necessarily painful topic to the attitude he adopted during the attack +on the pitcher-plant. + +She was puzzled, but ventured a further step. + +"Was she very bad to you, Mr. Jenks?" + +He stopped and laughed--actually roared at the suggestion. + +"Bad to me!" he repeated. "I had nothing to do with her. She was +humbugging her husband, not me. Fool that I was, I could not mind my +own business." + +So Mrs. Costobell was not flirting with the man who suffered on her +account. It is a regrettable but true statement that Iris would +willingly have hugged Mrs. Costobell at that moment. She walked on air +during the next half-hour of golden silence, and Jenks did not remind +her that they were passing the gruesome Valley of Death. + +Rounding Europa Point, the sailor's eyes were fixed on their immediate +surroundings, but Iris gazed dreamily ahead. Hence it was that she was +the first to cry in amazement-- + +"A boat! See, there! On the rocks!" + +There was no mistake. A ship's boat was perched high and dry on the +north side of the cape. Even as they scrambled towards it Jenks +understood how it had come there. + +When the _Sirdar_ parted amidships the after section fell back +into the depths beyond the reef, and this boat must have broken loose +from its davits and been driven ashore here by the force of the western +current. + +Was it intact? Could they escape? Was this ark stranded on the island +for their benefit? If it were seaworthy, whither should they steer--to +those islands whose blue outlines were visible on the horizon? + +These and a hundred other questions coursed through his brain during +the race over the rocks, but all such wild speculations were promptly +settled when they reached the craft, for the keel and the whole of the +lower timbers were smashed into matchwood. + +But there were stores on board. Jenks remembered that Captain Ross's +foresight had secured the provisioning of all the ship's boats soon +after the first wild rush to steady the vessel after the propeller was +lost. Masts, sails, oars, seats--all save two water-casks--had gone; +but Jenks, with eager hands, unfastened the lockers, and here he found +a good supply of tinned meats and biscuits. They had barely recovered +from the excitement of this find when the sailor noticed that behind +the rocks on which the craft was firmly lodged lay a small natural +basin full of salt water, replenished and freshened by the spray of +every gale, and completely shut off from all seaward access. + +It was not more than four feet deep, beautifully carpeted with sand, +and secluded by rocks on all sides. Not the tiniest crab or fish was to +be seen. It provided an ideal bath. + +Iris was overjoyed. She pointed towards their habitation. + +"Mr. Jenks," she said, "I will be with you at tea-time." + +He gathered all the tins he was able to carry and strode off, enjoining +her to fire her revolver if for the slightest reason she wanted +assistance, and giving a parting warning that if she delayed too long +he would come and shout to her. + +"I wonder," said the girl to herself, watching his retreating figure, +"what he is afraid of. Surely by this time we have exhausted the +unpleasant surprises of the island. Anyhow, now for a splash!" + +She was hardly in the water before she began to be afraid on account of +Jenks. Suppose anything happened to him whilst she was thoughtlessly +enjoying herself here. So strongly did the thought possess her that she +hurriedly dressed again and ran off to find him. + +He was engaged in fastening a number of bayonets transversely to a long +piece of timber. + +"What are you doing that for?" she asked. + +"Why did you return so soon? Did anything alarm you?" + +"I thought you might get into mischief," she confessed. + +"No. On the other hand, I am trying to make trouble for any unwelcome +visitors," he replied. "This is a _cheval de frise_, which I +intend to set up in front of our cave in case we are compelled to +defend ourselves against an attack by savages. With this barring the +way they cannot rush the position." + +She sighed. Rainbow Island was a wild spot after all. Did not thorns +and briers grow very close to the gates of Eden? + +On the nineteenth day of their residence on the island the sailor +climbed, as was his invariable habit, to the Summit Rock whilst Iris +prepared breakfast. At this early hour the horizon was clearly cut as +the rim of a sapphire. He examined the whole arc of the sea with his +glasses, but not a sail was in sight. According to his calculations, +the growing anxiety as to the fate of the _Sirdar_ must long ere +this have culminated in the dispatch from Hong Kong or Singapore of a +special search vessel, whilst British warships in the China Sea would +be warned to keep a close lookout for any traces of the steamer, to +visit all islands on their route, and to question fishermen whom they +encountered. So help might come any day, or it might be long deferred. +He could not pierce the future, and it was useless to vex his soul with +questionings as to what might happen next week. The great certainty of +the hour was Iris--the blue-eyed, smiling divinity who had come into +his life--waiting for him down there beyond the trees, waiting to +welcome him with a sweet-voiced greeting; and he knew, with a fierce +devouring joy, that her cheek would not pale nor her lip tremble when +he announced that at least another sun must set before the expected +relief reached them. + +He replaced the glasses in their case and dived into the wood, giving a +passing thought to the fact that the wind, after blowing steadily from +the south for nearly a week, had veered round to the north-east during +the night. Did the change portend a storm? Well, they were now prepared +for all such eventualities, and he had not forgotten that they +possessed, among other treasures, a box of books for rainy days. And a +rainy day with Iris for company! What gale that ever blew could offer +such compensation for enforced idleness? + +The morning sped in uneventful work. Iris did not neglect her cherished +pitcher-plant. After luncheon it was her custom now to carry a dishful +of water to its apparently arid roots, and she rose to fulfil her +self-imposed task. + +"Let me help you," said Jenks. "I am not very busy this afternoon." + +"No, thank you. I simply won't allow you to touch that shrub. The dear +thing looks quite glad to see me. It drinks up the water as greedily as +a thirsty animal." + +"Even a cabbage has a heart, Miss Deane." + +She laughed merrily. "I do believe you are offering me a compliment," +she said. "I must indeed have found favor in your eyes." + +He had schooled himself to resist the opening given by this class of +retort, so he turned to make some corrections in the scale of the +sun-dial he had constructed, aided therein by daily observations with +the sextant left by the former inhabitant of the cave. + +Iris had been gone perhaps five minutes when he heard a distant shriek, +twice repeated, and then there came faintly to his ears his own name, +not "Jenks," but "Robert," in the girl's voice. Something terrible had +happened. It was a cry of supreme distress. Mortal agony or +overwhelming terror alone could wring that name from her lips. +Precisely in such moments this man acted with the decision, the +unerring judgment, the instantaneous acceptance of great risk to +accomplish great results, that marked him out as a born soldier. + +He rushed into the house and snatched from the rifle-rack one of the +six Lee-Metfords reposing there in apple-pie order, each with a filled +magazine attached and a cartridge already in position. + +Then he ran, with long swift strides, not through the trees, where he +could see nothing, but towards the beach, whence, in forty yards, the +place where Iris probably was would become visible. + +At once he saw her, struggling in the grasp of two ferocious-looking +Dyaks, one, by his garments, a person of consequence, the other a +half-naked savage, hideous and repulsive in appearance. Around them +seven men, armed with guns and parangs, were dancing with excitement. + +Iris's captors were endeavoring to tie her arms, but she was a strong +and active Englishwoman, with muscles well knit by the constant labor +of recent busy days and a frame developed by years of horse-riding and +tennis-playing. The pair evidently found her a tough handful, and the +inferior Dyak, either to stop her screams--for she was shrieking +"Robert, come to me!" with all her might--or to stifle her into +submission, roughly placed his huge hand over her mouth. + +These things the sailor noticed instantly. Some men, brave to rashness, +ready as he to give his life to save her, would have raced madly over +the intervening ground, scarce a furlong, and attempted a heroic combat +of one against nine. + +Not so Jenks. + +With the methodical exactness of the parade-ground he settled down on +one knee and leveled the rifle. At that range the Lee-Metford bullet +travels practically point-blank. Usually it is deficient in "stopping" +power, but he had provided against this little drawback by notching all +the cartridges in the six rifles after the effective manner devised by +an expert named Thomas Atkins during the Tirah campaign. + +None of the Dyaks saw him. All were intent on the sensational prize +they had secured, a young and beautiful white woman so contentedly +roaming about the shores of this Fetish island. With the slow speed +advised by the Roman philosopher, the backsight and foresight of the +Lee-Metford came into line with the breast of the coarse brute +clutching the girl's face. + +Then something bit him above the heart and simultaneously tore half of +his back into fragments. He fell, with a queer sob, and the others +turned to face this unexpected danger. + +Iris, knowing only that she was free from that hateful grasp, wrenched +herself free from the chief's hold, and ran with all her might along +the beach, to Jenks and safety. + +Again, and yet again, the rifle gave its short, sharp snarl, and two +more Dyaks collapsed on the sand. Six were left, their leader being +still unconsciously preserved from death by the figure of the flying +girl. + +A fourth Dyak dropped. + +The survivors, cruel savages but not cowards, unslung their guns. The +sailor, white-faced, grim, with an unpleasant gleam in his deep-set +eyes and a lower jaw protruding, noticed their preparations. + +"To the left!" he shouted. "Run towards the trees!" + +Iris heard him and strove to obey. But her strength was failing her, +and she staggered blindly. After a few despairing efforts she lurched +feebly to her knees, and tumbled face downwards on the broken coral +that had tripped her faltering footsteps. + +Jenks was watching her, watching the remaining Dyaks, from whom a +spluttering volley came, picking out his quarry with the murderous ease +of a terrier in a rat-pit. Something like a bee in a violent hurry +hummed past his ear, and a rock near his right foot was struck a +tremendous blow by an unseen agency. He liked this. It would be a +battle, not a battue. + +The fifth Dyak crumpled into the distortion of death, and then their +leader took deliberate aim at the kneeling marksman who threatened to +wipe him and his band out of existence. But his deliberation, though +skilful, was too profound. The sailor fired first, and was +professionally astonished to see the gaudily attired individual tossed +violently backward for many yards, finally pitching headlong to the +earth. Had he been charged by a bull in full career he could not have +been more utterly discomfited. The incident was sensational but +inexplicable. + +Yet another member of the band was prostrated ere the two as yet +unscathed thought fit to beat a retreat. This they now did with +celerity, but they dragged their chief with them. It was no part of +Jenks's programme to allow them to escape. He aimed again at the man +nearest the trees. There was a sharp click and nothing more. The +cartridge was a mis-fire. He hastily sought to eject it, and the rifle +jammed. These little accidents will happen, even in a good weapon like +the Lee-Metford. + +Springing to his feet with a yell he ran forward. The flying men caught +a glimpse of him and accelerated their movements. Just as he reached +Iris they vanished among the trees. + +Slinging the rifle over his shoulder, he picked up the girl in his +arms. She was conscious, but breathless. + +"You are not hurt?" he gasped, his eyes blazing into her face with an +intensity that she afterwards remembered as appalling. + +"No," she whispered. + +"Listen," he continued in labored jerks. "Try and obey me--exactly. I +will carry you--to the cave. Stop there. Shoot any one you see--till I +come." + +She heard him wonderingly. Was he going to leave her, now that he had +her safely clasped to his breast? Impossible! Ah, she understood. Those +men must have landed in a boat. He intended to attack them again. He +was going to fight them single-handed, and she would not know what +happened to him until it was all over. Gradually her vitality returned. +She almost smiled at the fantastic conceit that _she_ would desert +_him_. + +Jenks placed her on her feet at the entrance to the cave. + +"You understand," he cried, and without waiting for an answer, ran to +the house for another rifle. This time, to her amazement, he darted +back through Prospect Park towards the south beach. The sailor knew +that the Dyaks had landed at the sandy bay Iris had christened +Smugglers' Cove. They were acquainted with the passage through the reef +and came from the distant islands. Now they would endeavor to escape by +the same channel. They must be prevented at all costs. + +He was right. As they came out into the open he saw three men, not two, +pushing off a large sampan. One of them, _mirabile dictu_, was the +chief. Then Jenks understood that his bullet had hit the lock of the +Dyak's uplifted weapon, with the result already described. By a miracle +he had escaped. + +He coolly prepared to slay the three of them with the same calm purpose +that distinguished the opening phase of this singularly one-sided +conflict. The distance was much greater, perhaps 800 yards from the +point where the boat came into view. He knelt and fired. He judged that +the missile struck the craft between the trio. + +"I didn't allow for the sun on the side of the foresight," he said. "Or +perhaps I am a bit shaky after the run. In any event they can't go +far." + +A hurrying step on the coral behind him caught his ear. Instantly he +sprang up and faced about--to see Iris. + +"They are escaping," she said. + +"No fear of that," he replied, turning away from her. + +"Where are the others?" + +"Dead!" + +"Do you mean that you killed nearly all those men?" + +"Six of them. There were nine in all." + +He knelt again, lifting the rifle. Iris threw herself on her knees by +his side. There was something awful to her in this chill and +business-like declaration of a fixed purpose. + +"Mr. Jenks," she said, clasping her hands in an agony of entreaty, "do +not kill more men for my sake!" + +"For my own sake, then," he growled, annoyed at the interruption, as +the sampan was afloat. + +"Then I ask you for God's sake not to take another life. What you have +already done was unavoidable, perhaps right. This is murder!" + +He lowered his weapon and looked at her. + +"If those men get away they will bring back a host to avenge their +comrades--and secure you," he added. + +"It may be the will of Providence for such a thing to happen. Yet I +implore you to spare them." + +He placed the rifle on the sand and raised her tenderly, for she had +yielded to a paroxysm of tears. Not another word did either of them +speak in that hour. The large triangular sail of the sampan was now +bellying out in the south wind. A figure stood up in the stern of the +boat and shook a menacing arm at the couple on the beach. + +It was the Malay chief, cursing them with the rude eloquence of his +barbarous tongue. And Jenks well knew what he was saying. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +PREPARATIONS + + +They looked long and steadfastly at the retreating boat. Soon it +diminished to a mere speck on the smooth sea. The even breeze kept its +canvas taut, and the sailor knew that no ruse was intended--the Dyaks +were flying from the island in fear and rage. They would return with a +force sufficient to insure the wreaking of their vengeance. + +That he would again encounter them at no distant date Jenks had no +doubt whatever. They would land in such numbers as to render any +resistance difficult and a prolonged defence impossible. Would help +come first?--a distracting question to which definite answer could not +be given. The sailor's brow frowned in deep lines; his brain throbbed +now with an anxiety singularly at variance with his cool demeanor +during the fight. He was utterly unconscious that his left arm +encircled the shoulder of the girl until she gently disengaged herself +and said appealingly-- + +"Please, Mr. Jenks, do not be angry with me. I could not help it. I +could not bear to see you shoot them." + +Then he abruptly awoke to the realities of the moment. + +"Come." he said, his drawn features relaxing into a wonderfully +pleasing smile. "We will return to our castle. We are safe for the +remainder of this day, at any rate." + +Something must be said or done to reassure her. She was still +grievously disturbed, and he naturally ascribed her agitation to the +horror of her capture. He dreaded a complete collapse if any further +alarms threatened at once. Yet he was almost positive--though search +alone would set at rest the last misgiving--that only one sampan had +visited the island. Evidently the Dyaks were unprepared as he for the +events of the preceding half-hour. They were either visiting the island +to procure turtle and _bêche-de-mer_ or had merely called there +_en route_ to some other destination, and the change in the wind +had unexpectedly compelled them to put ashore. Beyond all doubt they +must have been surprised by the warmth of the reception they +encountered. + +Probably, when he went to Summit Rock that morning, the savages had +lowered their sail and were steadily paddling north against wind and +current. The most careful scrutiny of the sea would fail to reveal them +beyond a distance of six or seven miles at the utmost. + +After landing in the hidden bay on the south side, they crossed the +island through the trees instead of taking the more natural open way +along the beach. Why? The fact that he and Iris were then passing the +grown-over tract leading to the Valley of Death instantly determined +this point. The Dyaks knew of this affrighting hollow, and would not +approach any nearer to it than was unavoidable. Could he twist this +circumstance to advantage if Iris and he were still stranded there when +the superstitious sea-rovers next put in an appearance? He would see. +All depended on the girl's strength. If she gave way now--if, instead +of taking instant measures for safety, he were called upon to nurse her +through a fever--the outlook became not only desperate but hopeless. + +And, whilst he bent his brows in worrying thought, the color was +returning to Iris's cheeks, and natural buoyancy to her step. It is the +fault of all men to underrate the marvelous courage and constancy of +woman in the face of difficulties and trials. Jenks was no exception to +the rule. + +"You do not ask me for any account of my adventures," she said quietly, +after watching his perplexed expression in silence for some time. + +Her tone almost startled him, its unassumed cheerfulness was so +unlooked for. + +"No," he answered. "I thought you were too overwrought to talk of them +at present." + +"Overwrought! Not a bit of it! I was dead beat with the struggle and +with screaming for you, but please don't imagine that I am going to +faint or treat you to a display of hysteria now that all the excitement +has ended. I admit that I cried a little when you pushed me aside on +the beach and raised your gun to fire at those poor wretches flying for +their lives. Yet perhaps I was wrong to hinder you." + +"You were wrong," he gravely interrupted. + +"Then you should not have heeded me. No, I don't mean that. You always +consider me first, don't you? No matter what I ask you to do you +endeavor to please me, even when you know all the time that I am acting +or speaking foolishly." + +The unthinking _naïveté_ of her words sent the blood coursing +wildly through his veins. + +"Never mind," she went on with earnest simplicity. "God has been very +good to us. I cannot believe that He has preserved us from so many +dangers to permit us to perish miserably a few hours, or days, before +help comes. And I _do_ want to tell you exactly what happened." + +"Then you shall," he answered. "But first drink this." They had reached +their camping-ground, and he hastened to procure a small quantity of +brandy. + +She swallowed the spirit with a protesting _moue_. She really +needed no such adventitious support, she said. + +"All right," commented Jenks. "If you don't want a drink, I do." + +"I can quite believe it," she retorted. "_Your_ case is very +different. _I_ knew the men would not hurt me--after the first +shock of their appearance had passed, I mean--I also knew that you +would save me. But you, Mr. Jenks, had to do the fighting. You were +called upon to rescue precious me. Good gracious! No wonder you were +excited." + +The sailor mentally expressed his inability to grasp the complexities +of feminine nature, but Iris rattled on---- + +"I carried my tin of water to the pitcher-plant, and was listening to +the greedy roots gurgling away for dear life, when suddenly four men +sprang out from among the trees and seized my arms before I could reach +my revolver." + +"Thank Heaven you failed." + +"You think that if I had fired at them they would have retaliated. Yes, +especially if I had hit the chief. But it was he who instantly gave +some order, and I suppose it meant that they were not to hurt me. As a +matter of fact, they seemed to be quite as much astonished as I was +alarmed. But if they could hold my hands they could not stop my voice +so readily. Oh! didn't I yell?" + +"You did." + +"I suppose you could not hear me distinctly?" + +"Quite distinctly." + +"Every word?" + +"Yes." + +She bent to pick some leaves and bits of dry grass from her dress. +"Well, you know," she continued rapidly, "in such moments one cannot +choose one's words. I just shouted the first thing that came into my +head." + +"And I," he said, "picked up the first rifle I could lay hands on. Now, +Miss Deane, as the affair has ended so happily, may I venture to ask +you to remain in the cave until I return?" + +"Oh, please--" she began. + +"Really, I must insist. I would not leave you if it were not quite +imperative. You _cannot_ come with me." + +Then she understood one at least of the tasks he must perform, and she +meekly obeyed. + +He thought it best to go along Turtle Beach to the cove, and thence +follow the Dyaks' trail through the wood, as this line of advance would +entail practically a complete circuit of the island. He omitted no +precautions in his advance. Often he stopped and listened intently. +Whenever he doubled a point or passed among the trees he crept back and +peered along the way he had come, to see if any lurking foes were +breaking shelter behind him. + +The marks on the sand proved that only one sampan had been beached. +Thence he found nothing of special interest until he came upon the +chief's gun, lying close to the trees on the north side. It was a very +ornamental weapon, a muzzle-loader. The stock was inlaid with gold and +ivory, and the piece had evidently been looted from some mandarin's +junk surprised and sacked in a former foray. + +The lock was smashed by the impact of the Lee-Metford bullet, but close +investigation of the trigger-guard, and the discovery of certain +unmistakable evidences on the beach, showed that the Dyak leader had +lost two if not three fingers of his right hand. + +"So he has something more than his passion to nurse," mused Jenks. +"That at any rate is fortunate. He will be in no mood for further +enterprise for some time to come." + +He dreaded lest any of the Dyaks should be only badly wounded and +likely to live. It was an actual relief to his nerves to find that the +improvised Dum-dums had done their work too well to permit anxiety on +that score. On the principle that a "dead Injun is a good Injun" these +Dyaks were good Dyaks. + +He gathered the guns, swords and krisses of the slain, with all their +uncouth belts and ornaments. In pursuance of a vaguely defined plan of +future action he also divested some of the men of their coarse +garments, and collected six queer-looking hats, shaped like inverted +basins. These things he placed in a heap near the pitcher-plants. +Thenceforth, for half an hour, the placid surface of the lagoon was +disturbed by the black dorsal fins of many sharks. + +To one of the sailor's temperament there was nothing revolting in the +concluding portion of his task. He had a God-given right to live. It +was his paramount duty, remitted only by death itself, to endeavor to +save Iris from the indescribable fate from which no power could rescue +her if ever she fell into the hands of these vindictive savages. +Therefore it was war between him and them, war to the bitter end, war +with no humane mitigation of its horrors and penalties, the last dread +arbitrament of man forced to adopt the methods of the tiger. + +His guess at the weather conditions heralded by the change of wind was +right. As the two partook of their evening meal the complaining surf +lashed the reef, and the tremulous branches of the taller trees voiced +the approach of a gale. A tropical storm, not a typhoon, but a belated +burst of the periodic rains, deluged the island before midnight. Hours +earlier Iris retired, utterly worn by the events of the day. Needless +to say, there was no singing that evening. The gale chanted a wild +melody in mournful chords, and the noise of the watery downpour on the +tarpaulin roof of Belle Vue Castle was such as to render conversation +impossible, save in wearying shouts. + +Luckily, Jenks's carpentry was effective, though rough. The building +was water-tight, and he had calked every crevice with unraveled rope +until Iris's apartment was free from the tiniest draught. + +The very fury of the external turmoil acted as a lullaby to the girl. +She was soon asleep, and the sailor was left to his thoughts. + +Sleep he could not. He smoked steadily, with a magnificent prodigality, +for his small stock of tobacco was fast diminishing. He ransacked his +brains to discover some method of escape from this enchanted island, +where fairies jostled with demons, and hours of utter happiness found +their bane in moments of frightful peril. + +Of course he ought to have killed those fellows who escaped. Their +sampan might have provided a last desperate expedient if other savages +effected a landing. Well, there was no use in being wise after the +event, and, scheme as he might, he could devise no way to avoid +disaster during the next attack. + +This, he felt certain, would take place at night. The Dyaks would land +in force, rush the cave and hut, and overpower him by sheer numbers. +The fight, if fight there was, would be sharp, but decisive. Perhaps, +if he received some warning, Iris and he might retreat in the darkness +to the cover of the trees. A last stand could be made among the +boulders on Summit Rock. But of what avail to purchase their freedom +until daylight? And then---- + +If ever man wrestled with desperate problem, Jenks wrought that night. +He smoked and pondered until the storm passed, and, with the +changefulness of a poet's muse, a full moon flooded the island in +glorious radiance. He rose, opened the door, and stood without, +listening for a little while to the roaring of the surf and the crash +of the broken coral swept from reef and shore by the backwash. + +The petty strife of the elements was soothing to him. "They are +snarling like whipped dogs," he said aloud. "One might almost fancy her +ladyship the Moon appearing on the scene as a Uranian Venus, cowing sea +and storm by the majesty of her presence." + +Pleased with the conceit, he looked steadily at the brilliant luminary +for some time. Then his eyes were attracted by the strong lights thrown +upon the rugged face of the precipice into which the cavern burrowed. +Unconsciously relieving his tired senses, he was idly wondering what +trick of color Turner would have adopted to convey those sharp yet +weirdly beautiful contrasts, when suddenly he uttered a startled +exclamation. + +"By Jove!" he murmured. "I never noticed that before." + +The feature which so earnestly claimed his attention was a deep ledge, +directly over the mouth of the cave, but some forty feet from the +ground. Behind it the wall of rock sloped darkly inwards, suggesting a +recess extending by haphazard computation at least a couple of yards. +It occurred to him that perhaps the fault in the interior of the tunnel +had its outcrop here, and the deodorizing influences of rain and sun +had extended the weak point thus exposed in the bold panoply of stone. + +He surveyed the ledge from different points of view. It was quite +inaccessible, and most difficult to estimate accurately from the ground +level. The sailor was a man of action. He chose the nearest tall tree +and began to climb. He was not eight feet from the ground before +several birds flew out from its leafy recesses, filling the air with +shrill clucking. + +"The devil take them!" he growled, for he feared that the commotion +would awaken Iris. He was still laboriously worming his way through the +inner maze of branches when a well-known voice reached him from the +ground. + +"Mr. Jenks, what on earth are you doing up there?" + +"Oh! so those wretched fowls aroused you?" he replied. + +"Yes; but why did you arouse them?" + +"I had a fancy to roost by way of a change" + +"Please be serious." + +"I am more than serious. This tree grows a variety of small sharp thorn +that induces a maximum of gravity--before one takes the next step." + +"But why do you keep on climbing?" + +"It is sheer lunacy, I admit. Yet on such a moonlit night there is some +reasonable ground for even a mad excuse." + +"Mr. Jenks, tell me at once what you are doing." + +Iris strove to be severe, but there was a touch of anxiety in her tone +that instantly made the sailor apologetic. He told her about the ledge, +and explained his half-formed notion that here they might secure a safe +retreat in case of further attack--a refuge from which they might defy +assault during many days. It was, he said, absolutely impossible to +wait until the morning. He must at once satisfy himself whether the +project was impracticable or worthy of further investigation. + +So the girl only enjoined him to be careful, and he vigorously renewed +the climb. At last, some twenty-five feet from the ground, an +accidental parting in the branches enabled him to get a good look at +the ledge. One glance set his heart beating joyously. It was at least +fifteen feet in length; it shelved back until its depth was lost in the +blackness of the shadows, and the floor must be either nearly level or +sloping slightly inwards to the line of the fault. + +The place was a perfect eagle's nest. A chamois could not reach it from +any direction; it became accessible to man only by means of a ladder or +a balloon. + +More excited by this discovery than he cared for Iris to know, he +endeavored to appear unconcerned when he regained the ground. + +"Well," she said, "tell me all about it." + +He described the nature of the cavity as well as he understood it at +the moment, and emphasized his previous explanation of its virtues. +Here they might reasonably hope to make a successful stand against the +Dyaks. + +"Then you feel sure that those awful creatures will come back?" she +said slowly. + +"Only too sure, unfortunately." + +"How remorseless poor humanity is when the veneer is stripped off! Why +cannot they leave us in peace? I suppose they now cherish a blood feud +against us. Perhaps, if I had not been here, they would not have +injured you. Somehow I seem to be bound up with your misfortunes." + +"I would not have it otherwise were it in my power," he answered. For +an instant he left unchallenged the girl's assumption that she was in +any way responsible for the disasters which had broken up his career. +He looked into her eyes and almost forgot himself. Then the sense of +fair dealing that dominates every true gentleman rose within him and +gripped his wavering emotions with ruthless force. Was this a time to +play upon the high-strung sensibilities of this youthful daughter of +the gods, to seek to win from her a confession of love that a few brief +days or weeks might prove to be only a spasmodic, but momentarily +all-powerful, gratitude for the protection he had given her? + +And he spoke aloud, striving to laugh, lest his words should falter-- + +"You can console yourself with the thought, Miss Deane, that your +presence on the island will in no way affect my fate at the hands of +the Dyaks. Had they caught me unprepared today my head would now be +covered with a solution of the special varnish they carry on every +foreign expedition." + +"Varnish?" she exclaimed. + +"Yes, as a preservative, you understand." + +"And yet these men are human beings!" + +"For purposes of classification, yes. Keeping to strict fact, it was +lucky for me that you raised the alarm, and gave me a chance to +discount the odds of mere numbers. So, you see, you really did me a +good turn." + +"What can be done now to save our lives? Anything will be better than +to await another attack." + +"The first thing to do is to try to get some sleep before daylight. How +did you know I was not in the Castle?" + +"I cannot tell you. I awoke and knew you were not near me. If I wake in +the night I can always tell whether or not you are in the next room. So +I dressed and came out." + +"Ah!" he said, quietly. "Evidently I snore." + +This explanation killed romance. + +Iris retreated and the sailor, tired out at last, managed to close his +weary eyes. + +Next morning he hastily constructed a pole of sufficient length and +strong enough to bear his weight, by tying two sturdy young trees +together with ropes. Iris helped him to raise it against the face of +the precipice, and he at once climbed to the ledge. + +Here he found his observations of the previous night abundantly +verified. The ledge was even wider than he dared to hope, nearly ten +feet deep in one part, and it sloped sharply downwards from the outer +lip of the rock. By lying flat and carefully testing all points of +view, he ascertained that the only possible positions from which even a +glimpse of the interior floor could be obtained were the branches of a +few tall trees and the extreme right of the opposing precipice, nearly +ninety yards distant. There was ample room to store water and +provisions, and he quickly saw that even some sort of shelter from the +fierce rays of the sun and the often piercing cold of the night might +be achieved by judiciously rigging up a tarpaulin. + +"This is a genuine bit of good luck," he mused. "Here, provided neither +of us is hit, we can hold out for a week or longer, at a pinch. How can +it be possible that I should have lived on this island so many days and +yet hit upon this nook of safety by mere chance, as it were?" + +Not until he reached the level again could he solve the puzzle. Then he +perceived that the way in which the cliff bulged out on both sides +prevented the ledge from becoming evident in profile, whilst, seen +_en plein face_ in the glare of the sunlight, it suggested nothing +more than a slight indentation. + +He rapidly sketched to Iris the defensive plan which the Eagle's Nest +suggested. Access must be provided by means of a rope-ladder, securely +fastened inside the ledge, and capable of being pulled up or let down +at the will of the occupants. Then the place must be kept constantly +stocked with a judicious supply of provisions, water, and ammunition. +They could be covered with a tarpaulin, and thus kept in fairly good +condition. + +"We ought to sleep there every night," he went on, and his mind was so +engrossed with the tactical side of the preparations that he did not +notice how Iris blanched at the suggestion. + +"Surely not until danger actually threatens?" she cried. + +"Danger threatens us each hour after sunset. It may come any night, +though I expect at least a fortnight's reprieve. Nevertheless, I intend +to act as if tonight may witness the first shot of the siege." + +"Do you mean that?" she sighed. "And my little room is becoming so very +cozy!" + +Belle Vue Castle, their two-roomed hut, was already a home to them. + +Jenks always accepted her words literally. + +"Well," he announced, after a pause, "it may not be necessary to take +up our quarters there until the eleventh hour. After I have hoisted up +our stores and made the ladder, I will endeavor to devise an efficient +cordon of sentinels around our position. We will see." + +Not another word could Iris get out of him on the topic. Indeed, he +provided her with plenty of work. By this time she could splice a rope +more neatly than her tutor, and her particular business was to prepare +no less than sixty rungs for the rope-ladder. This was an impossible +task for one day, but after dinner the sailor helped her. They toiled +late, until their fingers were sore and their backbones creaked as they +sat upright. + +Meanwhile Jenks swarmed up the pole again, and drew up after him a +crowbar, the sledge-hammer, and the pickaxe. With these implements he +set to work to improve the accommodation. Of course he did not attempt +seriously to remove any large quantity of rock, but there were +projecting lumps here and inequalities of floor there which could be +thumped or pounded out of existence. + +It was surprising to see what a clearance he made in an hour. The +existence of the fault helped him a good deal, as the percolation of +water at this point had oxidized the stone to rottenness. To his great +joy he discovered that a few prods with the pick laid bare a small +cavity which could be easily enlarged. Here he contrived a niche where +Iris could remain in absolute safety when barricaded by stores, whilst, +with a squeeze, she was entirely sheltered from the one dangerous point +on the opposite cliff, nor need she be seen from the trees. + +Having hauled into position two boxes of ammunition--for which he had +scooped out a special receptacle--the invaluable water-kegs from the +stranded boat, several tins of biscuits and all the tinned meats, +together with three bottles of wine and two of brandy, he hastily +abandoned the ledge and busied himself with fitting a number of +gun-locks to heavy faggots. + +Iris watched his proceedings in silence for some time. At last the +interval for luncheon enabled her to demand an explanation. + +"If you don't tell me at once what you intend to do with those strange +implements," she said, "I will form myself into an amalgamated engineer +and come out on strike." + +"If you do," he answered, "you will create a precedent. There is no +recorded case of a laborer claiming what he calls his rights when his +life is at stake. Even an American tramp has been known to work like a +fiend under that condition." + +"Simply because an American tramp tries, like every other mere male, to +be logical. A woman is more heroic. I once read of a French lady being +killed during an earthquake because she insisted on going into a +falling house to rescue that portion of her hair which usually rested +on the dressing-table whilst she was asleep." + +"I happen to know," he said, "that you are personally unqualified to +emulate her example." + +She laughed merrily, so lightly did yesterday's adventure sit upon her. +The allusion to her disheveled state when they were thrown ashore by +the typhoon simply impressed her as amusing. Thus quickly had she +become inured to the strange circumstances of a new life. + +"I withdraw the threat and substitute a more genuine plea--curiosity," +she cried. + +"Then you will be gratified promptly. These are our sentinels. Come +with me to allot his post to the most distant one." + +He picked up a faggot with its queer attachment, shouldered a +Lee-Metford, and smiled when he saw the business-like air with which +Iris slung a revolver around her waist. + +They walked rapidly to Smugglers' Cove, and the girl soon perceived the +ingenuity of his automatic signal. He securely bound the block of wood +to a tree where it was hidden by the undergrowth. Breaking the bullet +out of a cartridge, he placed the blank charge in position in front of +the striker, the case being firmly clasped by a bent nail. To the +trigger, the spring of which he had eased to a slight pressure, he +attached a piece of unraveled rope, and this he carefully trained among +the trees at a height of six inches from the ground, using as carriers +nails driven into the trunks. The ultimate result was that a mere swish +of Iris's dress against the taut cord exploded the cartridge. + +"There!" he exclaimed, exultantly. "When I have driven stakes into the +sand to the water's edge on both sides of the cove, I will defy them to +land by night without giving us warning." + +"Do you know," said Iris, in all seriousness, "I think you are the +cleverest man in the world." + +"My dear Miss Deane, that is not at all a Trades Unionist sentiment. +Equality is the key-note of their propaganda." + +Nevertheless he was manifestly pleased by the success of his ingenious +contrivance, and forthwith completed the cordon. To make doubly sure, +he set another snare further within the trees. He was certain the Dyaks +would not pass along Turtle Beach if they could help it. By this time +the light was failing. + +"That will suffice for the present," he told the girl. "Tomorrow we +will place other sentries in position at strategic points. Then we can +sleep in the Castle with tolerable safety." + +By the meager light of the tiny lamp they labored sedulously at the +rope-ladder until Iris's eyes were closing with sheer weariness. +Neither of them had slept much during the preceding night, and they +were both completely tired. + +It was with a very weak little smile that the girl bade him "good +night," and they were soon wrapped in that sound slumber which comes +only from health, hard work, and wholesome fare. + +The first streaks of dawn were tipping the opposite crags with roseate +tints when the sailor was suddenly aroused by what he believed to be a +gunshot. He could not be sure. He was still collecting his scattered +senses, straining eyes and ears intensely, when there came a second +report. + +Then he knew what had happened. The sentries on the Smugglers' Cove +post were faithful to their trust. The enemy was upon them. + +At such a moment Jenks was not a man who prayed. Indeed, he was prone +to invoke the nether powers, a habit long since acquired by the British +army, in Flanders, it is believed. + +There was not a moment to be lost. He rushed into Iris's room, and +gathered in his arms both her and the weird medley of garments that +covered her. He explained to the protesting girl, as he ran with her to +the foot of the rock, that she must cling to his shoulders with +unfaltering courage whilst he climbed to the ledge with the aid of the +pole and the rope placed there the previous day. It was a magnificent +feat of strength that he essayed. In calmer moments he would have +shrunk from its performance, if only on the score of danger to the +precious burden he carried. Now there was no time for thought. Up he +went, hand over hand, clinging to the rough pole with the tenacity of a +limpet, and taking a turn of the rope over his right wrist at each +upward clutch. At last, breathless but triumphant, he reached the +ledge, and was able to gasp his instructions to Iris to crawl over his +bent back and head until she was safely lodged on the broad platform of +rock. + +Then, before she could expostulate, he descended, this time for the +rifles. These he hastily slung to the rope, again swarmed up the pole, +and drew the guns after him with infinite care. + +Even in the whirl of the moment he noticed that Iris had managed to +partially complete her costume. + +"Now we are ready for them," he growled, lying prone on the ledge and +eagerly scanning both sides of Prospect Park for a first glimpse of +their assailants. + +For two shivering hours they waited there, until the sun was high over +the cliff and filled sea and land with his brightness. At last, despite +the girl's tears and prayers, Jenks insisted on making a reconnaissance +in person. + +Let this portion of their adventures be passed over with merciful +brevity. Both watch-guns had been fired by the troupe of tiny wou-wou +monkeys! Iris did not know whether to laugh or cry, when Jenks, with +much difficulty, lowered her to mother earth again, and marveled the +while how he had managed to carry forty feet into the air a young woman +who weighed so solidly. + +They sat down to a belated breakfast, and Jenks then became conscious +that the muscles of his arms, legs, and back were aching hugely. It was +by that means he could judge the true extent of his achievement. Iris, +too, realized it gradually, but, like the Frenchwoman in the +earthquake, she was too concerned with memories of her state of +deshabille to appreciate, all at once, the incidents of the dawn. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE SECRET OF THE CAVE + + +The sailor went after those monkeys in a mood of relentless severity. +Thus far, the regular denizens of Rainbow Island had dwelt together in +peace and mutual goodwill, but each diminutive wou-wou must be taught +not to pull any strings he found tied promiscuously to trees or stakes. +As a preliminary essay, Jenks resolved to try force combined with +artifice. Failing complete success, he would endeavor to kill every +monkey in the place, though he had in full measure the inherent dislike +of Anglo-India to the slaying of the tree-people. + +This, then, is what he did. After filling a biscuit tin with good-sized +pebbles, he donned a Dyak hat, blouse, and belt, rubbed earth over his +face and hands, and proceeded to pelt the wou-wous mercilessly. For +more than an hour he made their lives miserable, until at the mere +sight of him they fled, shrieking and gurgling like a thousand +water-bottles. Finally he constructed several Dyak scarecrows and +erected one to guard each of his alarm-guns. The device was thoroughly +effective. Thenceforth, when some adventurous monkey--swinging with +hands or tail among the treetops in the morning search for appetizing +nut or luscious plantain--saw one of those fearsome bogies, he raised +such a hubbub that all his companions scampered hastily from the +confines of the wood to the inner fastnesses. + +In contriving these same scarecrows--which, by the way, he had vaguely +intended at first to erect on the beach in order to frighten the +invaders and induce them to fire a warning volley--the sailor paid +closer heed to the spoils gathered from the fallen. One, at least, of +the belts was made of human hair, and some among its long strands could +have come only from the flaxen-haired head of a European child. This +fact, though ghastly enough, confirmed him in his theory that it was +impossible to think of temporizing with these human fiends. Unhappily +such savage virtues as they possess do not include clemency to the weak +or hospitality to defenceless strangers. There was nothing for it but a +fight to a finish, with the law of the jungle to decide the terms of +conquest. + +That morning, of course, he had not been able to visit Summit Rock +until after his cautious survey of the island. Once there, however, he +noticed that the gale two nights earlier had loosened two of the +supports of his sky sign. It was not a difficult or a long job to +repair the damage. With the invaluable axe he cut several wedges and +soon made all secure. + +Now, during each of the two daily examinations of the horizon which he +never omitted, he minutely scrutinized the sea between Rainbow Island +and the distant group. It was, perhaps, a needless precaution. The +Dyaks would come at night. With a favorable wind they need not set sail +until dusk, and their fleet sampans would easily cover the intervening +forty miles in five hours. + +He could not be positive that they were actual inhabitants of the +islands to the south. The China Sea swarms with wandering pirates, and +the tribe whose animosity he had earned might be equally noxious to +some peaceable fishing community on the coast. Again and again he +debated the advisability of constructing a seaworthy raft and +endeavoring to make the passage. But this would be risking all on a +frightful uncertainty, and the accidental discovery of the Eagle's Nest +had given him new hope. Here he could make a determined and prolonged +stand, and in the end help _must_ come. So he dismissed the +navigation project, and devoted himself wholly to the perfecting of the +natural fortress in the rock. + +That night they finished the rope-ladder. Indeed, Jenks was determined +not to retire to rest until it was placed _in situ_; he did not +care to try a second time to carry Iris to that elevated perch, and it +may be remarked that thenceforth the girl, before going to sleep, +simply changed one ragged dress for another. + +One of the first things he contemplated was the destruction, if +possible, of the point on the opposite cliff which commanded the ledge. +This, however, was utterly impracticable with the appliances at his +command. The top of the rock sloped slightly towards the west, and +nothing short of dynamite or regular quarrying operations would render +it untenable by hostile marksmen. + +During the day his Lee-Metfords, at ninety yards' range, might be +trusted to keep the place clear of intruders. But at night--that was +the difficulty. He partially solved it by fixing two rests on the ledge +to support a rifle in exact line with the center of the enemy's +supposed position, and as a variant, on the outer rest he marked lines +which corresponded with other sections of the entire front available to +the foe. + +Even then he was not satisfied. When time permitted he made many +experiments with ropes reeved through the pulley and attached to a +rifle action. He might have succeeded in his main object had not his +thoughts taken a new line. His aim was to achieve some method of +opening and closing the breech-block by means of two ropes. The +difficulty was to secure the preliminary and final lateral movement of +the lever bolt, but it suddenly occurred to him that if he could manage +to convey the impression that Iris and he had left the island, the +Dyaks would go away after a fruitless search. The existence of ropes +along the face of the rock--an essential to his mechanical +scheme--would betray their whereabouts, or at any rate excite dangerous +curiosity. So he reluctantly abandoned his original design, though not +wholly, as will be seen in due course. + +In pursuance of his latest idea he sedulously removed from the foot of +the cliff all traces of the clearance effected on the ledge, and, +although he provided supports for the tarpaulin covering, he did not +adjust it. Iris and he might lie _perdu_ there for days without +their retreat being found out. This development suggested the necessity +of hiding their surplus stores and ammunition, and what spot could be +more suitable than the cave? + +So Jenks began to dig once more in the interior, laboring manfully with +pick and shovel in the locality of the fault with its vein of antimony. +It was thus that he blundered upon the second great event of his life. + +Rainbow Island had given him the one thing a man prizes above all +else--a pure yet passionate love for a woman beautiful alike in body +and mind. And now it was to endow him with riches that might stir the +pulse of even a South African magnate. For the sailor, unmindful of +purpose other than providing the requisite _cache_, shoveling and +delving with the energy peculiar to all his actions, suddenly struck a +deep vein of almost virgin gold. + +To facilitate the disposal at a distance of the disturbed debris, he +threw each shovelful on to a canvas sheet, which he subsequently +dragged among the trees in order to dislodge its contents. After doing +this four times he noticed certain metallic specks in the fifth load +which recalled the presence of the antimony. But the appearance of the +sixth cargo was so remarkable when brought out into the sunlight that +it invited closer inspection. Though his knowledge of geology was +slight--the half-forgotten gleanings of a brief course at Eton--he was +forced to believe that the specimens he handled so dubiously contained +neither copper nor iron pyrites but glittering yellow gold. Their +weight, the distribution of the metal through quartz in a transition +state between an oxide and a telluride, compelled recognition. + +Somewhat excited, yet half skeptical, he returned to the excavation and +scooped out yet another collection. This time there could be no +mistake. Nature's own alchemy had fashioned a veritable ingot. There +were small lumps in the ore which would need alloy at the mint before +they could be issued as sovereigns, so free from dross were they. + +Iris had gone to Venus's Bath, and would be absent for some time. Jenks +sat down on a tree-stump. He held in his hand a small bit of ore worth +perhaps twenty pounds sterling. Slowly the conjectures already pieced +together in his mind during early days on the island came back to him. + +The skeleton of an Englishman lying there among the bushes near the +well; the Golgotha of the poison-filled hollow; the mining tools, both +Chinese and European; the plan on the piece of tin--ah, the piece of +tin! Mechanically the sailor produced it from the breast-pocket of his +jersey. At last the mysterious sign "32/1" revealed its +significance. Measure thirty-two feet from the mouth of the tunnel, dig +one foot in depth, and you came upon the mother-lode of this +gold-bearing rock. This, then, was the secret of the cave. + +The Chinese knew the richness of the deposit, and exploited its +treasures by quarrying from the other side of the hill. But their crass +ignorance of modern science led to their undoing. The accumulation of +liberated carbonic acid gas in the workings killed them in scores. They +probably fought this unseen demon with the tenacity of their race, +until the place became accursed and banned of all living things. Yet +had they dug a little ditch, and permitted the invisible terror to flow +quietly downwards until its potency was dissipated by sea and air, they +might have mined the whole cliff with impunity. + +The unfortunate unknown, J.S.--he of the whitened bones--might have +done this thing too. But he only possessed the half-knowledge of the +working miner, and whilst shunning the plague-stricken quarry, adopted +the more laborious method of making an adit to strike the deposit. He +succeeded, to perish miserably in the hour when he saw himself a +millionaire. + +Was this a portent of the fate about to overtake the latest comers? +Jenks, of course, stood up. He always, stood square on his feet when +the volcano within him fired his blood. + +"No, by God!" he almost shouted. "I will break the spell. I am sent +here by Providence, not to search for gold but to save a woman's life, +and if all the devils of China and Malay are in league against me I +will beat them!" + +The sound of his own voice startled him. He had no notion that he was +so hysterical. Promptly his British phlegm throttled the demonstration. +He was rather ashamed of it. + +What was all the fuss about? With a barrow-load of gold he could not +buy an instant's safety for Iris, not to mention himself. The language +difficulty was insuperable. Were it otherwise, the Dyaks would simply +humbug him until he revealed the source of his wealth, and then murder +him as an effective safeguard against foreign interference. + +Iris! Not once since she was hurled ashore in his arms had Jenks so +long forgotten her existence. Should he tell her? They were partners in +everything appertaining to the island--why keep this marvelous +intelligence from her? + +Yet was he tempted, not ignobly, but by reason of his love for her. +Once, years ago, when his arduous professional studies were distracted +by a momentary infatuation for a fair face, a woman had proved fickle +when tempted by greater wealth than he possessed. For long he was a +confirmed misogynist, to his great and lasting gain as a leader of men. +But with more equable judgment came a fixed resolution not to marry +unless his prospective bride cared only for him and not for his +position. To a Staff Corps officer, even one with a small private +income, this was no unattainable ideal. Then he met with his +_débâcle_ in the shame and agony of the court-martial. Whilst his +soul still quivered under the lash of that terrible downfall, Iris came +into his life. He knew not what might happen if they were rescued. The +time would quickly pass until the old order was resumed, she to go back +to her position in society, he to become again a disgraced ex-officer, +apparently working out a mere existence before the mast or handing +plates in a saloon. + +Would it not be a sweet defiance of adversity were he able, even under +such conditions, to win her love, and then disclose to her the +potentialities of the island? Perchance he might fail. Though rich as +Croesus he would still be under the social ban meted out to a cashiered +officer. She was a girl who could command the gift of coronets. With +restoration to her father and home, gratitude to her preserver would +assuredly remain, but, alas! love might vanish like a mirage. Then he +would act honorably. Half of the stored wealth would be hers to do as +she chose with it. + +Yes, this was a possible alternative. In case of accident to himself, +and her ultimate escape, he must immediately write full details of his +discovery, and entrust the document to her, to be opened only after his +death or six months after their release. + +The idea possessed him so thoroughly that he could brook no delay. He +searched for one of the note-books taken from the dead officers of the +_Sirdar_, and scribbled the following letter: + + "DEAR MISS DEANE: + + "Whether I am living or dead when you read these words, you will + know that I love you. Could I repeat that avowal a million times, + in as many varied forms, I should find no better phrase to express + the dream I have cherished since a happy fate permitted me to + snatch you from death. So I simply say, 'I love you.' I will + continue to love you whilst life lasts, and it is my dearest hope + that in the life beyond the grave I may still be able to voice my + love for you. + + "But perhaps I am not destined to be loved by you. Therefore, in + the event of my death before you leave the island, I wish to give + you instructions how to find a gold mine of great value which is + hidden in the rock containing the cave. You remember the sign on + the piece of tin which we could not understand. The figure 32 + denotes the utmost depth of the excavation, and the 1 signifies + that one foot below the surface, on reaching the face of the rock, + there is a rich vein of gold. The hollow on the other side of the + cliff became filled with anhydrate gas, and this stopped the + operations of the Chinese, who evidently knew of the existence of + the mine. This is all the information the experts employed by Sir + Arthur Deane will need. The facts are unquestionable. + + "Assuming that I am alive, we will, of course, be co-partners in + the mine. If I am dead, I wish one-sixth share to be given to my + uncle, William Anstruther, Crossthwaite Manor, Northallerton, + Yorkshire, as a recompense for his kindness to me during my early + life. The remainder is to be yours absolutely. + + "ROBERT ANSTRUTHER." + + +He read this remarkable document twice through to make sure that it +exactly recorded his sentiments. He even smiled sarcastically at the +endowment of the uncle who disinherited him. Then, satisfied with the +perusal, he tore out the two leaves covered by the letter and began to +devise a means of protecting it securely whilst in Iris's possession. + +At that moment he looked up and saw her coming towards him across the +beach, brightly flushed after her bath, walking like a nymph clothed in +tattered garments. Perceiving that he was watching her, she waved her +hand and instinctively quickened her pace. Even now, when they were +thrown together by the exigencies of each hour, she disliked to be long +separated from him. + +Instantly the scales fell from his mental vision. What! Distrust Iris! +Imagine for one second that riches or poverty, good repute or ill, +would affect that loyal heart when its virginal font was filled with +the love that once in her life comes to every true woman! Perish the +thought! What evil spirit had power to so blind his perception of all +that was strong and beautiful in her character. Brave, uncomplaining +Iris! Iris of the crystal soul! Iris, whose innocence and candor were +mirrored in her blue eyes and breathed through her dear lips! Here was +Othello acting as his own tempter, with not an Iago within a thousand +miles. + +Laughing at his fantastic folly, Jenks tore the letter into little +pieces. It might have been wiser to throw the sheets into the embers of +the fire close at hand, but for the nonce he was overpowered by the +great awakening that had come to him, and he unconsciously murmured the +musical lines of Tennyson's "Maud": + + "She is coming, my own, my sweet; + Were it ever so airy a tread. + My heart would hear her and beat + Were it earth in an earthy bed; + My dust would hear her and beat, + Had I lain for a century dead, + Would start and tremble under her feet, + And blossom in purple and red." + +"Good gracious! Don't gaze at me in that fashion. I don't look like a +ghost, do I?" cried Iris, when near enough to note his rapt expression. + +"You would not object if I called you a vision?" he inquired quietly, +averting his eyes lest they should speak more plainly than his tongue. + +"Not if you meant it nicely. But I fear that 'specter' would be a more +appropriate word. _V'la ma meilleure robe de sortie_!" + +She spread out the front widths of her skirt, and certainly the +prospect was lamentable. The dress was so patched and mended, yet so +full of fresh rents, that a respectable housemaid would hesitate before +using it to clean fire-irons. + +"Is that really your best dress?" he said. + +"Yes. This is my blue serge. The brown cloth did not survive the +soaking it received in salt water. After a few days it simply crumbled. +The others are muslin or cotton, and have been--er--adapted." + +"There is plenty of men's clothing," he began. + +"Unfortunately there isn't another island," she said, severely. + +"No. I meant that it might be possible to--er--contrive some sort of +rig that will serve all purposes." + +"But all my thread is gone. I have barely a needleful left." + +"In that case we must fall back on our supply of hemp." + +"I suppose that might be made to serve," she said. "You are never at a +loss for an expedient." + +"It will be a poor one, I fear. But you can make up for it by buying +some nice gowns at Doucet's or Worth's." + +She laughed delightedly. "Perhaps in his joy at my reappearance my dear +old dad may let me run riot in Paris on our way home. But that will not +last. We are fairly well off, but I cannot afford ten thousand a year +for dress alone." + +"If any woman can afford such a sum for the purpose, you are at least +her equal." + +Iris looked puzzled. "Is that your way of telling me that fine feathers +would make me a fine bird?" she asked. + +"No. I intend my words to be understood in their ordinary sense. You +are very, very rich, Miss Deane--an extravagantly wealthy young +person." + +"Of course you know you are talking nonsense. Why, only the other day +my father said--" + +"Excuse me. What is the average price of a walking-dress from a leading +Paris house?" + +"Thirty pounds." + +"And an evening dress?" + +"Oh, anything, from fifty upwards." + +He picked up a few pieces of quartz from the canvas sheet. + +"Here is your walking-dress," he said, handing her a lump weighing +about a pound. "With the balance in the heap there you can stagger the +best-dressed woman you meet at your first dinner in England." + +"Do you mean by pelting her?" she inquired, mischievously. + +"Far worse. By wearing a more expensive costume." + +His manner was so earnest that he compelled seriousness. Iris took the +proffered specimen and looked at it. + +"From the cave, I suppose? I thought you said antimony was not very +valuable?" + +"That is not antimony. It is gold. By chance I have hit upon an +extremely rich lode of gold. At the most modest computation it is worth +hundreds of thousands of pounds. You and I are quite wealthy people, +Miss Deane." + +Iris opened her blue eyes very wide at this intelligence. It took her +breath away. But her first words betokened her innate sense of fair +dealing. + +"You and I! Wealthy!" she gasped. "I am so glad for your sake, but tell +me, pray, Mr. Jenks, what have _I_ got to do with it?" + +"You!" he repeated. "Are we not partners in this island? By squatter's +right, if by no better title, we own land, minerals, wood, game, and +even such weird belongings as ancient lights and fishing privileges." + +"I don't see that at all. You find a gold mine, and coolly tell me that +I am a half owner of it because you dragged me out of the sea, fed me, +housed me, saved my life from pirates, and generally acted like a +devoted nursemaid in charge of a baby. Really, Mr. Jenks--" + +"Really, Miss Deane, you will annoy me seriously if you say another +word. I absolutely refuse to listen to such an argument." + +Her outrageously unbusiness-like utterances, treading fast on the heels +of his own melodramatic and written views concerning their property, +nettled him greatly. Each downright syllable was a sting to his +conscience, but of this Iris was blissfully unaware, else she would not +have applied caustic to the rankling wound caused by his momentary +distrust of her. + +For some time they stood in silence, until the sailor commenced to +reproach himself for his rough protest. Perhaps he had hurt her +sensitive feelings. What a brute he was, to be sure! She was only a +child in ordinary affairs, and he ought to have explained things more +lucidly and with greater command over his temper. And all this time +Iris's face was dimpling with amusement, for she understood him so well +that had he threatened to kill her she would have laughed at him. + +"Would you mind getting the lamp?" he said softly, surprised to catch +her expression of saucy humor. + +"Oh, please may I speak?" she inquired. "I don't want to annoy you, but +I am simply dying to talk." + +He had forgotten his own injunction. + +"Let us first examine our mine," he said. "If you bring the lamp we can +have a good look at it." + +Close scrutiny of the work already done merely confirmed the accuracy +of his first impressions. Whilst Iris held the light he opened up the +seam with a few strokes of the pick. Each few inches it broadened into +a noteworthy volcanic dyke, now yellow in its absolute purity, at times +a bluish black when fused with other metals. The additional labor +involved caused him to follow up the line of the fault. Suddenly the +flame of the lamp began to flicker in a draught. There was an +air-passage between cave and ledge. + +"I am sorry," cried Jenks, desisting from further efforts, "that I have +not recently read one of Bret Harte's novels, or I would speak to you +in the language of the mining camp. But in plain Cockney, Miss Deane, +we are on to a good thing if only we can keep it." + +They came back into the external glare. Iris was now so serious that +she forgot to extinguish the little lamp. She stood with outstretched +hand. + +"There is a lot of money in there," she said. + +"Tons of it." + +"No need to quarrel about division. There is enough for both of us." + +"Quite enough. We can even spare some for our friends." + +He took so readily to this definition of their partnership that Iris +suddenly became frigid. Then she saw the ridiculous gleam of the tiny +wick and blew it out. + +"I mean," she said, stiffly, "that if you and I do agree to go shares +we will each be very rich." + +"Exactly. I applied your words to the mine alone, of course." + +A slight thing will shatter a daydream. This sufficed. The sailor +resumed his task of burying the stores. + +"Poor little lamp!" he thought. "When it came into the greater world +how soon it was snuffed out." + +But Iris said to herself, "What a silly slip that was of mine! Enough +for both of us, indeed! Does he expect me to propose to him? I wonder +what the letter was about which he destroyed as I came back after my +bath. It must have been meant for me. Why did he write it? Why did he +tear it up?" + +The hour drew near when Jenks climbed to the Summit Rock. He shouldered +axe and rifle and set forth. Iris heard him rustling upwards through +the trees. She set some water to boil for tea, and, whilst bringing a +fresh supply of fuel, passed the spot where the torn scraps of paper +littered the sand. + +She was the soul of honor, for a woman, but there was never a woman yet +who could take her eyes off a written document which confronted her. +She could not help seeing that one small morsel contained her own name. +Though mutilated it had clearly read--Miss Deane." + +"So it _was_ intended for me!" she cried, throwing down her bundle +and dropping to her knees. She secured that particular slip and +examined it earnestly. Not for worlds would she pick up all the scraps +and endeavor to sort them. Yet they had a fascination for her, and at +this closer range she saw another which bore the legend--"I love you!" + +Somehow the two seemed to fit together very nicely. + +Yet a third carried the same words--"I love you!" They were still quite +coherent. She did not want to look any further. She did not even turn +over such of the torn pieces as had fluttered to earth face downwards. + +Opening the front of her bodice she brought to light a small gold +locket containing miniatures of her father and mother. Inside this +receptacle she carefully placed the three really material portions of +the sailor's letter. When Jenks walked down the hill again he heard her +singing long before he caught sight of her, sedulously tending the +fire. + +As he came near he perceived the remains of his useless document. He +stooped and gathered them up, forthwith throwing them among the glowing +logs. + +"By the way, what were you writing whilst I had my bath?" inquired +Iris, demurely. + +"Some information about the mine. On second thoughts, however, I saw it +was unnecessary." + +"Oh, was that all?" + +"Practically all." + +"Then some part was impracticable?" + +He glanced sharply at her, but she was merely talking at random. + +"Well, you see," he explained, "one can do so little without the +requisite plant. This sort of ore requires a crushing-mill, a smelting +furnace, perhaps big tanks filled with cyanide of potassium." + +"And, of course, although you can do wonders, you cannot provide all +those things, can you?" + +Jenks deemed this query to be unanswerable. + +They were busy again until night fell. Sitting down for a little while +before retiring to rest, they discussed, for the hundredth time, the +probabilities of speedy succor. This led them to the topic of available +supplies, and the sailor told Iris the dispositions he had made. + +"Did you bury the box of books?" she asked. + +"Yes, but not in the cave. They are at the foot of the cinchona over +there. Why? Do you want any?" + +"I have a Bible in my room, but there was a Tennyson among the others +which I glanced at in spare moments." + +The sailor thanked the darkness that concealed the deep bronze of face +and neck caused by this chance remark. He vaguely recollected the +manner in which the lines from "Maud" came to his lips after the +episode of the letter. Was it possible that he had unknowingly uttered +them aloud and Iris was now slily poking fun at him? He glowed with +embarrassment. + +"It is odd that you should mention Tennyson," he managed to say calmly. +"Only today I was thinking of a favorite passage." + +Iris, of course, was quite innocent this time. + +"Oh, do tell me. Was it from 'Enoch Arden'?" + +He gave a sigh of relief. "No. Anything but that," he answered. + +"What then?" + +"'Maud.'" + +"Oh, 'Maud.' It is very beautiful, but I could never imagine why the +poet gave such a sad ending to an idyllic love story." + +"They too often end that way. Moreover, 'Enoch Arden' is not what you +might call exhilarating." + +"No. It is sad. I have often thought he had the 'Sonata Pathétique' in +his mind when he wrote it. But the note is mournful all through. There +is no promise of happiness as in 'Maud.'" + +"Then it is my turn to ask questions. Why did you hit upon that poem +among so many?" + +"Because it contains an exact description of our position here. Don't +you remember how the poor fellow + + + "'Sat often in the seaward-gazing gorge, + A shipwrecked sailor, waiting for a sail.' + + +"I am sure Tennyson saw our island with poetic eye, for he goes on-- + + + "'No sail from day to day, but every day + The sunrise broken into scarlet shafts + Among the palms and ferns and precipices; + The blaze upon the waters to the east; + The blaze upon his island overhead; + The blaze upon the waters to the west; + Then the great stars that globed themselves in Heaven, + The hollower-bellowing ocean, and again + The scarlet shafts of sunrise--but no sail." + + +She declaimed the melodious verse with a subtle skill that amazed her +hearer. Profoundly moved, Jenks dared not trust himself to speak. + +"I read the whole poem the other day," she said after a silence of some +minutes. "Sorrowful as it is, it comforted me by comparison. How +different will be our fate to his when 'another ship stays by this +isle'!" + +Yet neither of them knew that one line she had recited was more +singularly applicable to their case than that which they paid heed to. +"The great stars that globed themselves in Heaven," were shining clear +and bright in the vast arch above. Resplendent amidst the throng rose +the Pleiades, the mythological seven hailed by the Greeks as an augury +of safe navigation. And the Dyaks--one of the few remaining savage +races of the world--share the superstition of the people who fashioned +all the arts and most of the sciences. + +The Pleiades form the Dyak tutelary genius. Some among a bloodthirsty +and vengeful horde were even then pointing to the clustering stars that +promised quick voyage to the isle where their kinsmen had been struck +down by a white man who rescued a maid. Nevertheless, Grecian romance +and Dyak lore alike relegate the influence of the Pleiades to the sea. +Other stars are needed to foster enterprise ashore. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +REALITY _V_. ROMANCE--THE CASE FOR THE PLAINTIFF + + +Night after night the Pleiades swung higher in the firmament; day after +day the sailor perfected his defences and anxiously scanned the ocean +for sign of friendly smoke or hostile sail. This respite would not have +been given to him, were it not for the lucky bullet which removed two +fingers and part of a third from the right hand of the Dyak chief. Not +even a healthy savage can afford to treat such a wound lightly, and ten +days elapsed before the maimed robber was able to move the injured limb +without a curse. + +Meanwhile, each night Jenks slept less soundly; each day his face +became more careworn. He began to realize why the island had not been +visited already by the vessel which would certainly be deputed to +search for them--she was examining the great coast-line of China and +Siam. + +It was his habit to mark the progress of time on the rudely made +sun-dial which sufficiently served their requirements as a clock. Iris +happened to watch him chipping the forty-fourth notch on the edge of +the horizontal block of wood. + +"Have we really been forty-four days here?" she inquired, after +counting the marks with growing astonishment. + +"I believe the reckoning is accurate," he said. "The _Sirdar_ was +lost on the 18th of March, and I make this the 1st of May." + +"May Day!" + +"Yes. Shall we drive to Hurlingham this afternoon?" + +"Looked at in that way it seems to be a tremendous time, though indeed, +in some respects, it figures in my mind like many years. That is when I +am thinking. Otherwise, when busy, the days fly like hours." + +"It must be convenient to have such an elastic scale." + +"Most useful. I strive to apply the quick rate when you are grumpy." + +Iris placed her arms akimbo, planted her feet widely apart, and +surveyed Jenks with an expression that might almost be termed impudent. +They were great friends, these two, now. The incipient stage of +love-making had been dropped entirely, as ludicrously unsuited to their +environment. + +When the urgent necessity for continuous labor no longer spurred them +to exertion during every moment of daylight, they tackled the box of +books and read, not volumes which appealed to them in common, but +quaint tomes in the use of which Jenks was tutor and Iris the scholar. + +It became a fixed principle with the girl that she was very ignorant, +and she insisted that the sailor should teach her. For instance, among +the books he found a treatise on astronomy; it yielded a keen delight +to both to identify a constellation and learn all sorts of wonderful +things concerning it. But to work even the simplest problem required a +knowledge of algebra, and Iris had never gone beyond decimals. So the +stock of notebooks, instead of recording their experiences, became +covered with symbols showing how x plus y equaled x² minus 3,000,000. + +As a variant, Jenks introduced a study of Hindustani. His method was to +write a short sentence and explain in detail its component parts. With +a certain awe Iris surveyed the intricacies of the Urdu compound verb, +but, about her fourth lesson, she broke out into exclamations of +extravagant joy. + +"What on earth is the matter now?" demanded her surprised mentor. + +"Don't you see?" she exclaimed, delightedly. "Of course you don't! +People who know a lot about a thing often miss its obvious points. I +have discovered how to write Kiplingese. All you have to do is to tell +your story in Urdu, translate it literally into English, and there you +are!" + +"Quite so. Just do it as Kipling does, and the secret is laid bare. By +the same rule you can hit upon the Miltonic adjective." + +Iris tossed her head. + +"I don't know anything about the Miltonic adjective, but I am sure +about Kipling." + +This ended the argument. She knitted her brows in the effort to master +the ridiculous complexities of a language which, instead of simply +saying "Take" or "Bring," compels one to say "Take-go" and "Take-come." + +One problem defied solution--that of providing raiment for Iris. The +united skill of the sailor and herself would not induce unraveled +cordage to supply the need of thread. It was either too weak or too +knotty, and meanwhile the girl's clothes were falling to pieces. Jenks +tried the fibers of trees, the sinews of birds--every possible +expedient he could hit upon--and perhaps, after experiments covering +some weeks, he might have succeeded. But modern dress stuffs, weakened +by aniline dyes and stiffened with Chinese clay, permit of no such +exhaustive research. It must be remembered that the lady passengers on +board the _Sirdar_ were dressed to suit the tropics, and the hard +usage given by Iris to her scanty stock was never contemplated by the +Manchester or Bradford looms responsible for the durability of the +material. + +As the days passed the position became irksome. It even threatened +complete callapse during some critical moment, and the two often +silently surveyed the large number of merely male garments in their +possession. Of course, in the matter of coats and waistcoats there was +no difficulty whatever. Iris had long been wearing those portions of +the doctor's uniform. But when it came to the rest-- + +At last, one memorable morning, she crossed the Rubicon. Jenks had +climbed, as usual, to the Summit Rock. He came back with the exciting +news that he thought--he could not be certain, but there were +indications inspiring hopefulness--that towards the west of the far-off +island he could discern the smoke of a steamer. + +Though he had eyes for a faint cloud of vapor at least fifty miles +distant he saw nothing of a remarkable change effected nearer home. +Outwardly, Iris was attired in her wonted manner, but if her +companion's mind were not wholly monopolized by the bluish haze +detected on the horizon, he must have noticed the turned-up ends of a +pair of trousers beneath the hem of her tattered skirt. + +It did occur to him that Iris received his momentous announcement with +an odd air of hauteur, and it was passing strange she did not offer to +accompany him when, after bolting his breakfast, he returned to the +observatory. + +He came back in an hour, and the lines on his face were deeper than +before. + +"A false alarm," he said curtly in response to her questioning look. + +And that was all, though she nerved herself to walk steadily past him +on her way to the well. This was disconcerting, even annoying to a +positive young woman like Iris. Resolving to end the ordeal, she stood +rigidly before him. + +"Well," she said, "I've done it!" + +"Have you?" he exclaimed, blankly. + +"Yes. They're a little too long, and I feel very awkward, but they're +better than--than my poor old dress unsupported." + +She blushed furiously, to the sailor's complete bewilderment, but she +bravely persevered and stretched out an unwilling foot. + +"Oh. I see!" he growled, and he too reddened. + +"I can't help it, can I?" she demanded piteously. "It is not unlike a +riding-habit, is it?" + +Then his ready wit helped him. + +"An excellent compromise," he cried. "A process of evolution, in fact. +Now, do you know, Miss Deane, that would never have occurred to me." + +And during the remainder of the day he did not once look at her feet. +Indeed, he had far more serious matters to distract his thoughts, for +Iris, feverishly anxious to be busy, suddenly suggested that it would +be a good thing were she able to use a rifle if a fight at close +quarters became necessary. + +The recoil of the Lee-Metford is so slight that any woman can +manipulate the weapon with effect, provided she is not called upon to +fire from a standing position, in which case the weight is liable to +cause bad aiming. Though it came rather late in the day, Jenks caught +at the idea. He accustomed her in the first instance to the use of +blank cartridges. Then, when fairly proficient in holding and +sighting--a child can learn how to refill the clip and eject each empty +shell--she fired ten rounds of service ammunition. The target was a +white circle on a rock at eighty yards, and those of the ten shots that +missed the absolute mark would have made an enemy at the same distance +extremely uncomfortable. + +Iris was much pleased with her proficiency. "Now," she cried, "instead +of being a hindrance to you I may be some help. In any case, the Dyaks +will think there are two men to face, and they have good reason to fear +one of us." + +Then a new light dawned upon Jenks. + +"Why did you not think of it before?" he demanded. "Don't you see, Miss +Deane, the possibility suggested by your words? I am sorry to be +compelled to speak plainly, but I feel sure that if those scoundrels do +attack us in force it will be more to secure you than to avenge the +loss of their fellow tribesmen. First and foremost, the sea-going Dyaks +are pirates and marauders. They prowl about the coast looking not so +much for a fight as for loot and women. Now, if they return, and +apparently find two well-armed men awaiting them, with no prospect of +plunder, there is a chance they may abandon the enterprise." + +Iris did not flinch from the topic. She well knew its grave importance. + +"In other words," she said, "I must be seen by them dressed only in +male clothing?" + +"Yes, as a last resource, that is. I have some hope that they may not +discover our whereabouts owing to the precautions we have adopted. +Perched up there on the ledge we will be profoundly uncomfortable, but +that will be nothing if it secures our safety." + +She did not reply at once. Then she said musingly--"Forty-four days! +Surely there has been ample time to scour the China Sea from end to end +in search of us? My father would never abandon hope until he had the +most positive knowledge that the _Sirdar_ was lost with all on +board." + +The sailor, through long schooling, was prepared with an answer--"Each +day makes the prospect of escape brighter. Though I was naturally +disappointed this morning, I must state quite emphatically that our +rescue may come any hour." + +Iris looked at him steadily. + +"You wear a solemn face for one who speaks so cheerfully," she said. + +"You should not attach too great significance to appearances. The owl, +a very stupid bird, is noted for its philosophical expression." + +"Then we will strive to find wisdom in words. Do you remember, Mr. +Jenks, that soon after the wreck you told me we might have to remain +here many months?" + +"That was a pardonable exaggeration." + +"No, no. It was the truth. You are seeking now to buoy me up with false +hope. It is sixteen hundred miles from Hong Kong to Singapore, and half +as much from Siam to Borneo. The _Sirdar_ might have been driven +anywhere in the typhoon. Didn't you say so, Mr. Jenks?" + +He wavered under this merciless cross-examination. + +"I had no idea your memory was so good," he said, weakly. + +"Excellent, I assure you. Moreover, during our forty-four days +together, you have taught me to think. Why do you adopt subterfuge with +me? We are partners in all else. Why cannot I share your despair as +well as your toil?" + +She blazed out in sudden wrath, and he understood that she would not be +denied the full extent of his secret fear. He bowed reverently before +her, as a mortal paying homage to an angry goddess. + +"I can only admit that you are right," he murmured. "We must pray that +God will direct our friends to this island. Otherwise we may not be +found for a year, as unhappily the fishermen who once came here now +avoid the place. They have been frightened by the contents of the +hollow behind the cliff. I am glad you have solved the difficulty +unaided, Miss Deane. I have striven at times to be coarse, even brutal, +towards you, but my heart flinched from the task of telling you the +possible period of your imprisonment." + +Then Iris, for the first time in many days, wept bitterly, and Jenks, +blind to the true cause of her emotion, picked up a rifle to which, in +spare moments, he had affixed a curious device, and walked slowly +across Prospect Park towards the half-obliterated road leading to the +Valley of Death. + +The girl watched him disappear among the trees. Through her tears shone +a sorrowful little smile. + +"He thinks only of me, never of himself," she communed. "If it pleases +Providence to spare us from these savages, what does it matter to me +how long we remain here? I have never been so happy before in my life. +I fear I never will be again. If it were not for my father's terrible +anxiety I would not have a care in the world. I only wish to get away, +so that one brave soul at least may be rid of needless tortures. All +his worry is on my account, none on his own." + +That was what tearful Miss Iris thought, or tried to persuade herself +to think. Perhaps her cogitations would not bear strict analysis. +Perhaps she harbored a sweet hope that the future might yet contain +bright hours for herself and the man who was so devoted to her. She +refused to believe that Robert Anstruther, strong of arm and clear of +brain, a Knight of the Round Table in all that was noble and chivalric, +would permit his name to bear an unwarrantable stigma when--and she +blushed like a June rose--he came to tell her that which he had +written. + +The sailor returned hastily, with the manner of one hurrying to perform +a neglected task. Without any explanation to Iris he climbed several +times to the ledge, carrying arm-loads of grass roots which he planted +in full view. Then he entered the cave, and, although he was furnished +only with the dim light that penetrated through the distant exit, she +heard him hewing manfully at the rock for a couple of hours. At last he +emerged, grimy with dust and perspiration, just in time to pay a last +visit to Summit Rock before the sun sank to rest. He asked the girl to +delay somewhat the preparations for their evening meal, as he wished to +take a bath, so it was quite dark when they sat down to eat. + +Iris had long recovered her usual state of high spirits. + +"Why were you burrowing in the cavern again?" she inquired. "Are you in +a hurry to get rich?" + +"I was following an air-shaft, not a lode," he replied. "I am +occasionally troubled with after wit, and this is an instance. Do you +remember how the flame of the lamp flickered whilst we were opening up +our mine?" + +"Yes." + +"I was so absorbed in contemplating our prospective wealth that I +failed to pay heed to the true significance of that incident. It meant +the existence of an upward current of air. Now, where the current goes +there must be a passage, and whilst I was busy this afternoon among the +trees over there,"--he pointed towards the Valley of Death--"it came to +me like an inspiration that possibly a few hours' hewing and delving +might open a shaft to the ledge. I have been well rewarded for the +effort. The stuff in the vault is so eaten away by water that it is no +more solid than hard mud for the most part. Already I have scooped out +a chimney twelve feet high." + +"What good can that be?" + +"At present we have only a front door--up the face of the rock. When my +work is completed, before tomorrow night I hope, we shall have a back +door also. Of course I may encounter unforeseen obstacles as I advance. +A twist in the fault would be nearly fatal, but I am praying that it +may continue straight to the ledge." + +"I still don't see the great advantage to us." + +"The advantages are many, believe me. The more points of attack +presented by the enemy the more effective will be our resistance. I +doubt if they would ever be able to rush the cave were we to hold it, +whereas I can go up and down our back staircase whenever I choose. If +you don't mind being left in the dark I will resume work now, by the +light of your lamp." + +But Iris protested against this arrangement. She felt lonely. The long +hours of silence had been distasteful to her. She wanted to talk. + +"I agree," said Jenks, "provided you do not pin me down to something I +told you a month ago." + +"I promise. You can tell me as much or as little as you think fit. The +subject for discussion is your court-martial." + +He could not see the tender light in her eyes, but the quiet sympathy +of her voice restrained the protest prompt on his lips. Yet he blurted +out, after a slight pause-- + +"That is a very unsavory subject." + +"Is it? I do not think so. I am a friend, Mr. Jenks, not an old one, I +admit, but during the past six weeks we have bridged an ordinary +acquaintanceship of as many years. Can you not trust me?" + +Trust her? He laughed softly. Then, choosing his words with great +deliberation, he answered--"Yes, I can trust you. I intended to tell +you the story some day. Why not tonight?" + +Unseen in the darkness Iris's hand sought and clasped the gold locket +suspended from her neck. She already knew some portion of the story he +would tell. The remainder was of minor importance. + +"It is odd," he continued, "that you should have alluded to six years a +moment ago. It is exactly six years, almost to a day, since the trouble +began." + +"With Lord Ventnor?" The name slipped out involuntarily. + +"Yes. I was then a Staff Corps subaltern, and my proficiency in native +languages attracted the attention of a friend in Simla, who advised me +to apply for an appointment on the political side of the Government of +India. I did so. He supported the application, and I was assured of the +next vacancy in a native state, provided that I got married." + +He drawled out the concluding words with exasperating slowness. Iris, +astounded by the stipulation, dropped her locket and leaned forward +into the red light of the log fire. The sailor's quick eye caught the +glitter of the ornament. + +"By the way," he interrupted, "what is that thing shining on your +breast?" + +She instantly clasped the trinket again. "It is my sole remaining +adornment," she said; "a present from my father on my tenth birthday. +Pray go on!" + +"I was not a marrying man, Miss Deane, and the requisite qualification +nearly staggered me. But I looked around the station, and came to the +conclusion that the Commissioner's niece would make a suitable wife. I +regarded her 'points,' so to speak, and they filled the bill. She was +smart, good-looking, lively, understood the art of entertaining, was +first-rate in sports and had excellent teeth. Indeed, if a man selected +a wife as he does a horse, she--" + +"Don't be horrid. Was she really pretty?" + +"I believe so. People said she was." + +"But what did _you_ think?" + +"At the time my opinion was biased. I have seen her since, and she +wears badly. She is married now, and after thirty grew very fat." + +Artful Jenks! Iris settled herself comfortably to listen. + +"I have jumped that fence with a lot in hand," he thought. + +"We became engaged," he said aloud. + +"She threw herself at him," communed Iris. + +"Her name was Elizabeth--Elizabeth Morris." The young lieutenant of +those days called her "Bessie," but no matter. + +"Well, you didn't marry her, anyhow," commented Iris, a trifle sharply. + +And now the sailor was on level ground again. + +"Thank Heaven, no," he said, earnestly. "We had barely become engaged +when she went with her uncle to Simla for the hot weather. There she +met Lord Ventnor, who was on the Viceroy's staff, and--if you don't +mind, we will skip a portion of the narrative--I discovered then why +men in India usually go to England for their wives. Whilst in Simla on +ten days' leave I had a foolish row with Lord Ventnor in the United +Service Club--hammered him, in fact, in defence of a worthless woman, +and was only saved from a severe reprimand because I had been badly +treated. Nevertheless, my hopes of a political appointment vanished, +and I returned to my regiment to learn, after due reflection, what a +very lucky person I was." + +"Concerning Miss Morris, you mean?" + +"Exactly. And now exit Elizabeth. Not being cut out for matrimonial +enterprise I tried to become a good officer. A year ago, when +Government asked for volunteers to form Chinese regiments, I sent in my +name and was accepted. I had the good fortune to serve under an old +friend, Colonel Costobell; but some malign star sent Lord Ventnor to +the Far East, this time in an important civil capacity. I met him +occasionally, and we found we did not like each other any better. My +horse beat his for the Pagoda Hurdle Handicap--poor old Sultan! I +wonder where he is now." + +"Was your horse called 'Sultan'?" + +"Yes. I bought him in Meerut, trained him myself, and ferried him all +the way to China. I loved him next to the British Army." + +This was quite satisfactory. There was genuine feeling in his voice +now. Iris became even more interested. + +"Colonel Costobell fell ill, and the command of the regiment devolved +upon me, our only major being absent in the interior. The Colonel's +wife unhappily chose that moment to flirt, as people say, with Lord +Ventnor. Not having learnt the advisability of minding my own business, +I remonstrated with her, thus making her my deadly enemy. Lord Ventnor +contrived an official mission to a neighboring town and detailed me for +the military charge. I sent a junior officer. Then Mrs. Costobell and +he deliberately concocted a plot to ruin me--he, for the sake of his +old animosity--you remember that I had also crossed his path in +Egypt--she, because she feared I would speak to her husband. On +pretence of seeking my advice, she inveigled me at night into a +deserted corner of the Club grounds at Hong Kong. Lord Ventnor +appeared, and as the upshot of their vile statements, which created an +immediate uproar, I--well, Miss Deane, I nearly killed him." + +Iris vividly recalled the anguish he betrayed when this topic was +inadvertently broached one day early in their acquaintance. Now he was +reciting his painful history with the air of a man far more concerned +to be scrupulously accurate than aroused in his deepest passions by the +memory of past wrongs. What had happened in the interim to blunt these +bygone sufferings? Iris clasped her locket. She thought she knew. + +"The remainder may be told in a sentence," he said. "Of what avail were +my frenzied statements against the definite proofs adduced by Lord +Ventnor and his unfortunate ally? Even her husband believed her and +became my bitter foe. Poor woman! I have it in my heart to pity her. +Well, that is all. I am here!" + +"Can a man be ruined so easily?" murmured the girl, her exquisite tact +leading her to avoid any direct expression of sympathy. + +"It seems so. But I have had my reward. If ever I meet Mrs. Costobell +again I will thank her for a great service." + +Iris suddenly became confused. Her brow and neck tingled with a quick +access of color. + +"Why do you say that?" she asked; and Jenks, who was rising, either did +not hear, or pretended not to hear, the tremor in her tone. + +"Because you once told me you would never marry Lord Ventnor, and after +what I have told you now I am quite sure you will not." + +"Ah, then you _do_ trust me?" she almost whispered. + +He forced back the words trembling for utterance. He even strove weakly +to assume an air of good-humored badinage. + +"See how you have tempted me from work, Miss Deane," he cried. "We have +gossiped here until the fire grew tired of our company. To bed, please, +at once." + +Iris caught him by the arm. + +"I will pray tonight, and every night," she said solemnly, "that your +good name may be cleared in the eyes of all men as it is in mine. And I +am sure my prayer will be answered." + +She passed into her chamber, but her angelic influence remained. In his +very soul the man thanked God for the tribulation which brought this +woman into his life. He had traversed the wilderness to find an oasis +of rare beauty. What might lie beyond he neither knew nor cared. +Through the remainder of his existence, be it a day or many a year, he +would be glorified by the knowledge that in one incomparable heart he +reigned supreme, unchallenged, if only for the hour. Fatigue, anxiety, +bitter recollection and present danger, were overwhelmed and forgotten +in the nearness, the intangible presence of Iris. He looked up to the +starry vault, and, yielding to the spell, he, too, prayed. + +It was a beautiful night. After a baking hot day the rocks were +radiating their stored-up heat, but the pleasant south-westerly breeze +that generally set in at sunset tempered the atmosphere and made sleep +refreshing. Jenks could not settle down to rest for a little while +after Iris left him. She did not bring forth her lamp, and, unwilling +to disturb her, he picked up a resinous branch, lit it in the dying +fire, and went into the cave. + +He wanted to survey the work already done, and to determine whether it +would be better to resume operations in the morning from inside the +excavation or from the ledge. Owing to the difficulty of constructing a +vertical upward shaft, and the danger of a sudden fall of heavy +material, he decided in favor of the latter course, although it +entailed lifting all the refuse out of the hole. To save time, +therefore, he carried his mining tools into the open, placed in +position the _cheval de frise_ long since constructed for the +defence of the entrance, and poured water over the remains of the fire. + +This was his final care each night before stretching his weary limbs on +his couch of branches. It caused delay in the morning, but he neglected +no precaution, and there was a possible chance of the Dyaks failing to +discover the Eagle's Nest if they were persuaded by other indications +that the island was deserted. + +He entered the hut and was in the act of pulling off his boots, when a +distant shot rang sharply through the air. It was magnified tenfold by +the intense silence. For a few seconds that seemed to be minutes he +listened, cherishing the quick thought that perhaps a turtle, wandering +far beyond accustomed limits, had disturbed one of the spring-gun +communications on the sands. A sputtering volley, which his trained ear +recognized as the firing of muzzle-loaders, sounded the death-knell of +his last hope. + +The Dyaks had landed! Coming silently and mysteriously in the dead of +night, they were themselves the victims of a stratagem they designed to +employ. Instead of taking the occupants of Rainbow Island unawares they +were startled at being greeted by a shot the moment they landed. The +alarmed savages at once retaliated by firing their antiquated weapons +point-blank at the trees, thus giving warning enough to wake the Seven +Sleepers. + +Iris, fully dressed, was out in a moment. + +"They have come!" she whispered. + +"Yes," was the cheery answer, for Jenks face to face with danger was a +very different man to Jenks wrestling with the insidious attacks of +Cupid. "Up the ladder! Be lively! They will not be here for half an +hour if they kick up such a row at the first difficulty. Still, we will +take no risks. Cast down those spare lines when you reach the top and +haul away when I say 'Ready!' You will find everything to hand up +there." + +He held the bottom of the ladder to steady it for the girl's climb. +Soon her voice fell, like a message from a star-- + +"All right! Please join me soon!" + +The coiled-up ropes dropped along the face of the rock. Clothes, pick, +hatchet, hammer, crowbars, and other useful odds and ends were swung +away into the darkness, for the moon as yet did not illumine the crag. +The sailor darted into Belle Vue Castle and kicked their leafy beds +about the floor. Then he slung all the rifles, now five in number, over +his shoulders, and mounted the rope-ladder, which, with the spare +cords, he drew up and coiled with careful method. + +"By the way," he suddenly asked, "have you your sou'wester?" + +"Yes." + +"And your Bible?" + +"Yes. It rests beneath my head every night. I even brought our +Tennyson." + +"Ah," he growled fiercely, "this is where the reality differs from the +romance. Our troubles are only beginning now." + +"They will end the sooner. For my part, I have utter faith in you. If +it be God's will, we will escape; and no man is more worthy than you to +be His agent." + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE FIGHT + + +The sailor knew so accurately the position of his reliable sentinels +that he could follow each phase of the imaginary conflict on the other +side of the island. The first outbreak of desultory firing died away +amidst a chorus of protest from every feathered inhabitant of the isle, +so Jenks assumed that the Dyaks had gathered again on the beach after +riddling the scarecrows with bullets or slashing them with their heavy +razor-edged parangs, Malay swords with which experts can fell a stout +sapling at a single blow. + +A hasty council was probably held, and, notwithstanding their fear of +the silent company in the hollow, an advance was ultimately made along +the beach. Within a few yards they encountered the invisible cord of +the third spring-gun. There was a report, and another fierce outbreak +of musketry. This was enough. Not a man would move a step nearer that +abode of the dead. The next commotion arose on the ridge near the North +Cape. + +"At this rate of progress," said Jenks to the girl, "they will not +reach our house until daylight." + +"I almost wish they were here," was the quiet reply. "I find this +waiting and listening to be trying to the nerves." + +They were lying on a number of ragged garments hastily spread on the +ledge, and peering intently into the moonlit area of Prospect Park. The +great rock itself was shrouded in somber shadows. Even if they stood up +none could see them from the ground, so dense was the darkness +enveloping them. + +He turned slightly and took her hand. It was cool and moist. It no more +trembled than his own. + +"The Dyaks are far more scared than you," he murmured with a laugh. +"Cruel and courageous as they are, they dare not face a spook." + +"Then what a pity it is we cannot conjure up a ghost for their benefit! +All the spirits I have ever read about were ridiculous. Why cannot one +be useful occasionally?" + +The question set him thinking. Unknown to the girl, the materials for a +dramatic apparition were hidden amidst the bushes near the well. He +cudgeled his brains to remember the stage effects of juvenile days; but +these needed limelight, blue flares, mirrors, phosphorus. + +The absurdity of hoping to devise any such accessories whilst perched +on a ledge in a remote island--a larger reef of the thousands in the +China Sea--tickled him. + +"What is it?" asked Iris. + +He repeated his list of missing stage properties. They had nothing to +do but to wait, and people in the very crux and maelstrom of existence +usually discuss trivial things. + +"I don't know anything about phosphorus," said the girl, "but you can +obtain queer results from sulphur, and there is an old box of Norwegian +matches resting at this moment on the shelf in my room. Don't you +remember? They were in your pocket, and you were going to throw them +away. Why, what are you doing?" + +For Jenks had cast the rope-ladder loose and was evidently about to +descend. + +"Have no fear," he said; "I will not be away five minutes." + +"If you are going down I must come with you. I will not be left here +alone." + +"Please do not stop me," he whispered earnestly. "You must not come. I +will take no risk whatever. If you remain here you can warn me +instantly. With both of us on the ground we will incur real danger. I +want you to keep a sharp lookout towards Turtle Beach in case the Dyaks +come that way. Those who are crossing the island will not reach us for +a long time." + +She yielded, though unwillingly. She was tremulous with anxiety on his +account. + +He vanished without another word. She next saw him in the moonlight +near the well. He was rustling among the shrubs, and he returned to the +rock with something white in his arms, which he seemingly deposited at +the mouth of the cave. He went back to the well and carried another +similar burthen. Then he ran towards the house. The doorway was not +visible from the ledge, and she passed a few horrible moments until a +low hiss beneath caught her ear. She could tell by the creak of the +rope-ladder that he was ascending. At last he reached her side, and she +murmured, with a gasping sob-- + +"Don't go away again. I cannot stand it." + +He thought it best to soothe her agitation by arousing interest. Still +hauling in the ladder with one hand, he held out the other, on which +luminous wisps were writhing like glow-worms' ghosts. + +"You are responsible," he said. "You gave me an excellent idea, and I +was obliged to carry it out." + +"What have you done?" + +"Arranged a fearsome bogey in the cave." + +"But how?" + +"It was not exactly a pleasant operation, but the only laws of +necessity are those which must be broken." + +She understood that he did not wish her to question him further. +Perhaps curiosity, now that he was safe, might have vanquished her +terror, and led to another demand for enlightenment, but at that +instant the sound of an angry voice and the crunching of coral away to +the left drove all else from her mind. + +"They are coming by way of the beach, after all," whispered Jenks. + +He was mistaken, in a sense. Another outburst of intermittent firing +among the trees on the north of the ridge showed that some, at least, +of the Dyaks were advancing by their former route. The appearance of +the Dyak chief on the flat belt of shingle, with his right arm slung +across his breast, accompanied by not more than half a dozen followers, +showed that a few hardy spirits had dared to pass the Valley of Death +with all its nameless terrors. + +They advanced cautiously enough, as though dreading a surprise. The +chief carried a bright parang in his left hand; the others were armed +with guns, their swords being thrust through belts. Creeping forward on +tip-toe, though their distant companions were making a tremendous row, +they looked a murderous gang as they peered across the open space, now +brilliantly illuminated by the moon. + +Jenks had a sudden intuition that the right thing to do now was to +shoot the whole party. He dismissed the thought at once. All his +preparations were governed by the hope that the pirates might abandon +their quest after hours of fruitless search. It would be most unwise, +he told himself, to precipitate hostilities. Far better avoid a +conflict altogether, if that were possible, than risk the immediate +discovery of his inaccessible retreat. + +In other words he made a grave mistake, which shows how a man may err +when over-agonized by the danger of the woman he loves. The bold course +was the right one. By killing the Dyak leader he would have deprived +the enemy of the dominating influence in this campaign of revenge. When +the main body, already much perturbed by the unseen and intangible +agencies which opened fire at them in the wood, arrived in Prospect +Park to find only the dead bodies of their chief and his small force, +their consternation could be turned into mad panic by a vigorous +bombardment from the rock. + +Probably, in less than an hour after their landing, the whole tribe +would have rushed pell-mell to the boats, cursing the folly which led +them to this devil-haunted island. But it serves no good purpose to say +what might have been. As it was the Dyaks, silent now and moving with +the utmost caution, passed the well, and were about to approach the +cave when one of them saw the house. + +Instantly they changed their tactics. Retreating hastily to the shade +of the opposite cliff they seemed to await the coming of +reinforcements. The sailor fancied that a messenger was dispatched by +way of the north sands to hurry up the laggards, because the distant +firing slackened, and, five minutes later, a fierce outbreak of yells +among the trees to the right heralded a combined rush on the Belle Vue +Castle. + +The noise made by the savages was so great--the screams of bewildered +birds circling overhead so incessant--that Jenks was compelled to speak +quite loudly when he said to Iris-- + +"They must think we sleep soundly not to be disturbed by the volleys +they have fired already." + +She would have answered, but he placed a restraining hand on her +shoulder, for the Dyaks quickly discovering that the hut was empty, ran +towards the cave and thus came in full view. + +As well as Jenks could judge, the foremost trio of the yelping horde +were impaled on the bayonets of the _cheval de frise_, learning +too late its formidable nature. The wounded men shrieked in agony, but +their cries were drowned in a torrent of amazed shouts from their +companions. Forthwith there was a stampede towards the well, the cliff, +the beaches, anywhere to get away from that awesome cavern where ghosts +dwelt and men fell maimed at the very threshold. The sailor, leaning as +far over the edge of the rock as the girl's expostulations would +permit, heard a couple of men groaning beneath, whilst a third limped +away with frantic and painful haste. + +"What is it?" whispered Iris, eager herself to witness the tumult. +"What has happened?" + +"They have been routed by a box of matches and a few dried bones," he +answered. + +There was no time for further speech. He was absorbed in estimating the +probable number of the Dyaks. Thus far, he had seen about fifty. +Moreover, he did not wish to acquaint Iris with the actual details of +the artifice that had been so potent. Her allusion to the box of +water-sodden Tändstickors gave him the notion of utilizing as an active +ally the bleached remains of the poor fellow who had long ago fallen a +victim to this identical mob of cut-throats or their associates. He +gathered the principal bones from their resting-place near the well, +rubbed them with the ends of the matches after damping the sulphur +again, and arranged them with ghastly effect on the pile of rubbish at +the further end of the cave, creeping under the _cheval de frise_ +for the purpose. + +Though not so vivid as he wished, the pale-glimmering headless skeleton +in the intense darkness of the interior was appalling enough in all +conscience. Fortunately the fumes of the sulphur fed on the bony +substance. They endured a sufficient time to scare every Dyak who +caught a glimpse of the monstrous object crouching in luminous horror +within the dismal cavern. + +Not even the stirring exhortations of the chief, whose voice was raised +in furious speech, could induce his adherents to again approach that +affrighting spot. At last the daring scoundrel himself, still wielding +his naked sword, strode right up to the very doorway. Stricken with +sudden stupor, he gazed at the fitful gleams within. He prodded the +_cheval de frise_ with the parang. Here was something definite and +solid. Then he dragged one of the wounded men out into the moonlight. + +Again Jenks experienced an itching desire to send a bullet through the +Dyak's head; again he resisted the impulse. And so passed that which is +vouchsafed by Fate to few men--a second opportunity. + +Another vehement harangue by the chief goaded some venturesome spirits +into carrying their wounded comrade out of sight, presumably to the +hut. Inspired by their leader's fearless example, they even removed the +third injured Dyak from the vicinity of the cave, but the celerity of +their retreat caused the wretch to bawl in agony. + +Their next undertaking was no sooner appreciated by the sailor than he +hurriedly caused Iris to shelter herself beneath the tarpaulin, whilst +he cowered close to the floor of the ledge, looking only through the +screen of tall grasses. They kindled a fire near the well. Soon its +ruddy glare lit up the dark rock with fantastic flickerings, and drew +scintillations from the weapons and ornaments of the hideously +picturesque horde gathered in its vicinity. + +They spoke a language of hard vowels and nasal resonance, and ate what +he judged to be dry fish, millets, and strips of tough preserved meat, +which they cooked on small iron skewers stuck among the glowing embers. +His heart sank as he counted sixty-one, all told, assembled within +forty yards of the ledge. Probably several others were guarding the +boats or prowling about the island. Indeed, events proved that more +than eighty men had come ashore in three large sampans, roomy and fleet +craft, well fitted for piratical excursions up river estuaries or along +a coast. + +They were mostly bare-legged rascals, wearing Malay hats, loose jackets +reaching to the knee, and sandals. One man differed essentially from +the others. He was habited in the conventional attire of an Indian +Mahommedan, and his skin was brown, whilst the swarthy Dyaks were +yellow beneath the dirt. Jenks thought, from the manner in which his +turban was tied, that he must be a Punjabi Mussulman--very likely an +escaped convict from the Andamans. + +The most careful scrutiny did not reveal any arms of precision. They +all carried muzzle-loaders, either antiquated flintlocks, or guns +sufficiently modern to be fitted with nipples for percussion caps. + +Each Dyak, of course, sported a parang and dagger-like kriss; a few +bore spears, and about a dozen shouldered a long straight piece of +bamboo. The nature of this implement the sailor could not determine at +the moment. When the knowledge did come, it came so rapidly that he was +saved from many earlier hours of abiding; dread, for one of those +innocuous-looking weapons was fraught with more quiet deadliness than a +Gatling gun. + +In the neighborhood of the fire an animated discussion took place. +Though it was easy to see that the chief was all-paramount, his +fellow-tribesmen exercised a democratic right of free speech and +outspoken opinion. + +Flashing eyes and expressive hands were turned towards cave and hut. +Once, when the debate grew warm, the chief snatched up a burning branch +and held it over the blackened embers of the fire extinguished by +Jenks. He seemed to draw some definite conclusion from an examination +of the charcoal, and the argument thenceforth proceeded with less +emphasis. Whatever it was that he said evidently carried conviction. + +Iris, nestling close to the sailor, whispered-- + +"Do you know what he has found out?" + +"I can only guess that he can tell by the appearance of the burnt wood +how long it is since it was extinguished. Clearly they agree with him." + +"Then they know we are still here?" + +"Either here or gone within a few hours. In any case they will make a +thorough search of the island at daybreak." + +"Will it be dawn soon?" + +"Yes. Are you tired?" + +"A little cramped--that is all." + +"Don't think I am foolish--can you manage to sleep?" + +"Sleep! With those men so near!" + +"Yes. We do not know how long they will remain. We must keep up our +strength. Sleep, next to food and drink, is a prime necessity." + +"If it will please you, I will try," she said, with such sweet +readiness to obey his slightest wish that the wonder is he did not kiss +her then and there. By previous instruction she knew exactly what to +do. She crept quietly back until well ensconced in the niche widened +and hollowed for her accommodation. There, so secluded was she from the +outer world of horror and peril, that the coarse voices beneath only +reached her in a murmur. Pulling one end of the tarpaulin over her, she +stretched her weary limbs on a litter of twigs and leaves, commended +herself and the man she loved to God's keeping, and, wonderful though +it may seem, was soon slumbering peacefully. + +The statement may sound passing strange to civilized ears, accustomed +only to the routine of daily life and not inured to danger and wild +surroundings. But the soldier who has snatched a hasty doze in the +trenches, the sailor who has heard a fierce gale buffeting the walls of +his frail ark, can appreciate the reason why Iris, weary and surfeited +with excitement, would have slept were she certain that the next +sunrise would mark her last hour on earth. + +Jenks, too, composed himself for a brief rest. He felt assured that +there was not the remotest chance of their lofty perch being found out +before daybreak, and the first faint streaks of dawn would awaken him. + +These two, remote, abandoned, hopelessly environed by a savage enemy, +closed their eyes contentedly and awaited that which the coming day +should bring forth. + +When the morning breeze swept over the ocean and the stars were +beginning to pale before the pink glory flung broadcast through the sky +by the yet invisible sun, the sailor was aroused by the quiet +fluttering of a bird about to settle on the rock, but startled by the +sight of him. + +His faculties were at once on the alert, though he little realized the +danger betokened by the bird's rapid dart into the void. Turning first +to peer at Iris, he satisfied himself that she was still asleep. Her +lips were slightly parted in a smile; she might be dreaming of summer +and England. He noiselessly wormed his way to the verge of the rock and +looked down through the grass-roots. + +The Dyaks were already stirring. Some were replenishing the fire, +others were drawing water, cooking, eating, smoking long thin-stemmed +pipes with absurdly small bowls, or oiling their limbs and weapons with +impartial energy. The chief yet lay stretched on the sand, but, when +the first beams of the sun gilded the waters, a man stooped over the +prostrate form and said something that caused the sleeper to rise +stiffly, supporting himself on his uninjured arm. They at once went off +together towards Europa Point. + +"They have found the boat," thought Jenks. "Well, they are welcome to +all the information it affords." + +The pair soon returned. Another Dyak advanced to exhibit one of Jenks's +spring-gun attachments. The savages had a sense of humor. Several +laughed heartily when the cause of their overnight alarms was revealed. +The chief alone preserved a gloomy and saturnine expression. + +He gave some order at which they all hung back sheepishly. Cursing them +in choice Malay, the chief seized a thick faggot and strode in the +direction of the cave. Goaded into activity by his truculent demeanor, +some followed him, and Jenks--unable to see, but listening +anxiously--knew that they were tearing the _cheval de frise_ from +its supports. Nevertheless none of the working party entered the +excavation. They feared the parched bones that shone by night. + +"Poor J.S.!" murmured the sailor. "If his spirit still lingers near the +scene of his murder he will thank me for dragging him into the fray. He +fought them living and he can scare them dead." + +As he had not been able to complete the communicating shaft it was not +now of vital importance should the Dyaks penetrate to the interior. Yet +he thanked the good luck that had showered such a heap of rubbish over +the spot containing his chief stores and covering the vein of gold. +Wild as these fellows were, they well knew the value of the precious +metal, and if by chance they lighted upon such a well-defined lode they +might not quit the island for weeks. + +At last, on a command from the chief, the Dyaks scattered in various +directions. Some turned towards Europa Point, but the majority went to +the east along Turtle Beach or by way of the lagoon. Prospect Park was +deserted. They were scouring both sections of the island in full force. + +The quiet watcher on the ledge took no needless risks. Though it was +impossible to believe any stratagem had been planned for his special +benefit an accident might betray him. With the utmost circumspection he +rose on all fours and with comprehensive glance examined trees, +plateau, and both strips of beach for signs of a lurking foe. He need +have no fear. Of all places in the island the Dyaks least imagined that +their quarry had lain all night within earshot of their encampment. + +At this hour, when the day had finally conquered the night, and the +placid sea offered a turquoise path to the infinite, the scene was +restful, gently bewitching. He knew that, away there to the north, P. +and O. steamers, Messageries Maritimes, and North German Lloyd liners +were steadily churning the blue depths _en route_ to Japan or the +Straits Settlements. They carried hundreds of European passengers, men +and women, even little children, who were far removed from the +knowledge that tragedies such as this Dyak horror lay almost in their +path. People in London were just going to the theater. He recalled the +familiar jingle of the hansoms scampering along Piccadilly, the more +stately pace of the private carriages crossing the Park. Was it +possible that in the world of today--the world of telegraphs and +express trains, of the newspaper and the motor car--two inoffensive +human beings could be done to death so shamefully and openly as would +be the fate of Iris and himself if they fell into the hands of these +savages! It was inconceivable, intolerable! But it was true! + +And then, by an odd trick of memory, his mind reverted, not to the +Yorkshire manor he learnt to love as a boy, but to a little French +inland town where he once passed a summer holiday intent on improving +his knowledge of the language. Interior France is even more remote, +more secluded, more provincial, than agricultural England. There no +breath of the outer world intrudes. All is laborious, circumspect, a +trifle poverty-stricken, but beautified by an Arcadian simplicity. Yet +one memorable day, when walking by the banks of a river, he came upon +three men dragging from out a pool the water-soaked body of a young +girl into whose fair forehead the blunt knob often seen on the back of +an old-fashioned axe had been driven with cruel force. So, even in that +tiny old-world hamlet, murder and lust could stalk hand in hand. + +He shuddered. Why did such a hateful vision trouble him? Resolutely +banning the raven-winged specter, he slid back down the ledge and +gently wakened Iris. She sat up instantly and gazed at him with +wondering eyes. + +Fearful lest she should forget her surroundings, he placed a warning +finger on his lips. + +"Oh," she said in a whisper, "are they still here?" + +He told her what had happened, and suggested that they should have +something to eat whilst the coast was clear beneath. She needed no +second bidding, for the long vigil of the previous night had made her +very hungry, and the two breakfasted right royally on biscuit, cold +fowl, ham, and good water. + +In this, the inner section of their refuge, they could be seen only by +a bird or by a man standing on the distant rocky shelf that formed the +southern extremity of the opposite cliff, and the sailor kept a close +lookout in that direction. + +Iris was about to throw the remains of the feast into an empty oil-tin +provided for refuse when Jenks restrained her. + +"No," he said, smilingly. "Scraps should be the first course next time. +We must not waste an atom of food." + +"How thoughtless of me!" she exclaimed. "Please tell me you think they +will go away today." + +But the sailor flung himself flat on the ledge and grasped a +Lee-Metford. + +"Be still, on your life," he said. "Squeeze into your corner. There is +a Dyak on the opposite cliff." + +True enough, a man had climbed to that unhappily placed rocky table, +and was shouting something to a confrère high on the cliff over their +heads. As yet he had not seen them, nor even noticed the place where +they were concealed. The sailor imagined, from the Dyak's gestures, +that he was communicating the uselessness of further search on the +western part of the island. + +When the conversation ceased, he hoped the loud-voiced savage would +descend. But no! The scout looked into the valley, at the well, the +house, the cave. Still he did not see the ledge. At that unlucky moment +three birds, driven from the trees on the crest by the passage of the +Dyaks, flew down the face of the cliff and began a circling quest for +some safe perch on which to alight. + +Jenks swore with an emphasis not the less earnest because it was mute, +and took steady aim at the Dyak's left breast. The birds fluttered +about in ever smaller circles. Then one of them dropped easily on to +the lip of the rock. Instantly his bright eyes encountered those of the +man, and he darted off with a scream that brought his mates after him. + +The Dyak evidently noted the behavior of the birds--his only lore was +the reading of such signs--and gazed intently at the ledge. Jenks he +could not distinguish behind the screen of grass. He might perhaps see +some portion of the tarpaulin covering the stores, but at the distance +it must resemble a weather-beaten segment of the cliff. Yet something +puzzled him. After a steady scrutiny he turned and yelled to others on +the beach. + +The crucial moment had arrived. Jenks pressed the trigger, and the Dyak +hurtled through the air, falling headlong out of sight. + +The sound of this, the first shot of real warfare, awoke Rainbow Island +into tremendous activity. The winged life of the place filled the air +with raucous cries, whilst shouting Dyaks scurried in all directions. +Several came into the valley. Those nearest the fallen man picked him +up and carried him to the well. He was quite dead, and, although amidst +his other injuries they soon found the bullet wound, they evidently did +not know whence the shot came, for those to whom he shouted had no +inkling of his motive, and the slight haze from the rifle was instantly +swept away by the breeze. + +Iris could hear the turmoil beneath, and she tremulously asked-- + +"Are they going to attack us?" + +"Not yet," was the reassuring answer. "I killed the fellow who saw us +before he could tell the others." + +It was a bold risk, and he had taken it, though, now the Dyaks knew for +certain their prey had not escaped, there was no prospect of their +speedy departure. Nevertheless the position was not utterly hopeless. +None of the enemy could tell how or by whom their companion had been +shot. Many among the excited horde jabbering beneath actually looked at +the cliff over and over again, yet failed to note the potentialities of +the ledge, with its few tufts of grass growing where seeds had +apparently been blown by the wind or dropped by passing birds. + +Jenks understood, of course, that the real danger would arise when they +visited the scene of their comrade's disaster. Even then the wavering +balance of chance might cast the issue in his favor. He could only +wait, with ready rifle, with the light of battle lowering in his eyes. +Of one thing at least he was certain--before they conquered him he +would levy a terrible toll. + +He glanced back at Iris. Her face was pale beneath its mask of +sunbrown. She was bent over her Bible, and Jenks did not know that she +was reading the 91st Psalm. Her lips murmured-- + +"I will say unto the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in +Him will I trust." + +The chief was listening intently to the story of the Dyak who saw the +dead man totter and fall. He gave some quick order. Followed by a score +or more of his men he walked rapidly to the foot of the cliff where +they found the lifeless body. + +And Iris read-- + +"Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow +that flieth by day." + +Jenks stole one more hasty glance at her. The chief and the greater +number of his followers were out of sight behind the rocks. Some of +them must now be climbing to that fatal ledge. Was this the end? + +Yet the girl, unconscious of the doom impending, kept her eyes +steadfastly fixed on the book. + +"For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy +ways. + +"They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot +against a stone.... + +"He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in +trouble: I will deliver him and honour him." + +Iris did not apply the consoling words to herself. She closed the book +and bent forward sufficiently in her sheltering niche to permit her to +gaze with wistful tenderness upon the man whom she hoped to see +delivered and honored. She knew he would dare all for her sake. She +could only pray and hope. After reading those inspired verses she +placed implicit trust in the promise made. For He was good: His was the +mercy that "endureth forever." Enemies encompassed them with words of +hatred--fought against them without a cause--but there was One who +should "judge among the heathen" and "fill the places with dead +bodies." + +Suddenly a clamor of discordant yells fell upon her ears. Jenks rose to +his knees. The Dyaks had discovered their refuge and were about to open +fire. He offered them a target lest perchance Iris were not thoroughly +screened. + +"Keep close," he said. "They have found us. Lead will be flying around +soon." + +She flinched back into the crevice; the sailor fell prone. Four bullets +spat into the ledge, of which three pierced the tarpaulin and one +flattened itself against the rock. + +Then Jenks took up the tale. So curiously constituted was this man, +that although he ruthlessly shot the savage who first spied out their +retreat, he was swayed only by the dictates of stern necessity. There +was a feeble chance that further bloodshed might be averted. That +chance had passed. Very well. The enemy must start the dreadful game +about to be played. They had thrown the gage and he answered them. Four +times did the Lee-Metford carry death, unseen, almost unfelt, across +the valley. + +Ere the fourth Dyak collapsed limply where he stood, others were there, +firing at the little puff of smoke above the grass. They got in a few +shots, most of which sprayed at various angles off the face of the +cliff. But they waited for no more. When the lever of the Lee-Metford +was shoved home for the fifth time the opposing crest was bare of all +opponents save two, and they lay motionless. + +The fate of the flanking detachment was either unperceived or unheeded +by the Dyaks left in the vicinity of the house and well. Astounded by +the firing that burst forth in mid-air, Jenks had cleared the dangerous +rock before they realized that here, above their heads, were the white +man and the maid whom they sought. + +With stupid zeal they blazed away furiously, only succeeding in +showering fragments of splintered stone into the Eagle's Nest. And the +sailor smiled. He quietly picked up an old coat, rolled it into a ball +and pushed it into sight amidst the grass. Then he squirmed round on +his stomach and took up a position ten feet away. Of course those who +still carried loaded guns discharged them at the bundle of rags, +whereupon Jenks thrust his rifle beyond the edge of the rock and leaned +over. + +Three Dyaks fell before the remainder made up their minds to run. Once +convinced, however, that running was good for their health, they moved +with much celerity. The remaining cartridges in the magazine slackened +the pace of two of their number. Jenks dropped the empty weapon and +seized another. He stood up now and sent a quick reminder after the +rearmost pirate. The others had disappeared towards the locality where +their leader and his diminished troupe were gathered, not daring to +again come within range of the whistling Dum-dums. The sailor, holding +his rifle as though pheasant-shooting, bent forward and sought a +belated opponent, but in vain. In military phrase, the _terrain_ +was clear of the enemy. There was no sound save the wailing of birds, +the soft sough of the sea, and the yelling of the three wounded men in +the house, who knew not what terrors threatened, and vainly bawled for +succor. + +Again Jenks could look at Iris. Her face was bleeding. The sight +maddened him. + +"My God!" he groaned, "are you wounded?" + +She smiled bravely at him. + +"It is nothing," she said. "A mere splash from the rock which cut my +forehead." + +He dared not go to her. He could only hope that it was no worse, so he +turned to examine the valley once more for vestige of a living foe. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +A TRUCE + + +Though his eyes, like live coals, glowered with sullen fire at the +strip of sand and the rocks in front, his troubled brain paid +perfunctory heed to his task. The stern sense of duty, the ingrained +force of long years of military discipline and soldierly thought, +compelled him to keep watch and ward over his fortress, but he could +not help asking himself what would happen if Iris were seriously +wounded. + +There was one enemy more potent than these skulking Dyaks, a foe more +irresistible in his might, more pitiless in his strength, whose +assaults would tax to the utmost their powers of resistance. In another +hour the sun would be high in the heavens, pouring his ardent rays upon +them and drying the blood in their veins. + +Hitherto, the active life of the island, the shade of trees, hut or +cave, the power of unrestricted movement and the possession of water in +any desired quantity, robbed the tropical heat of the day of its chief +terrors. Now all was changed. Instead of working amidst grateful +foliage, they were bound to the brown rock, which soon would glow with +radiated energy and give off scorching gusts like unto the opening of a +furnace-door. + +This he had foreseen all along. The tarpaulin would yield them some +degree of uneasy protection, and they both were in perfect physical +condition. But--if Iris were wounded! If the extra strain brought fever +in its wake! That way he saw nothing but blank despair, to be ended, +for her, by delirium and merciful death, for him by a Berserk rush +among the Dyaks, and one last mad fight against overwhelming numbers. + +Then the girl's voice reached him, self-reliant, almost cheerful-- + +"You will be glad to hear that the cut has stopped bleeding. It is only +a scratch." + +So a kindly Providence had spared them yet a little while. The cloud +passed from his mind, the gathering mist from his eyes. In that instant +he thought he detected a slight rustling among the trees where the +cliff shelved up from the house. Standing as he was on the edge of the +rock, this was a point he could not guard against. + +When her welcome assurance recalled his scattered senses, he stepped +back to speak to her, and in the same instant a couple of bullets +crashed against the rock overhead. Iris had unwittingly saved him from +a serious, perhaps fatal, wound. + +He sprang to the extreme right of the ledge and boldly looked into the +trees beneath. Two Dyaks were there, belated wanderers cut off from the +main body. They dived headlong into the undergrowth for safety, but one +of them was too late. The Lee-Metford reached him, and its +reverberating concussion, tossed back and forth by the echoing rocks, +drowned his parting scream. + +In the plenitude of restored vigor the sailor waited for no counter +demonstration. He turned and crouchingly approached the southern end of +his parapet. Through his screen of grass he could discern the long +black hair and yellow face of a man who lay on the sand and twisted his +head around the base of the further cliff. The distance, oft measured, +was ninety yards, the target practically a six-inch bull's-eye. Jenks +took careful aim, fired, and a whiff of sand flew up. + +Perhaps he had used too fine a sight and ploughed a furrow beneath the +Dyak's ear. He only heard a faint yell, but the enterprising head +vanished and there were no more volunteers for that particular service. + +He was still peering at the place when a cry of unmitigated anguish +came from Iris-- + +"Oh, come quick! Our water! The casks have burst!" + +It was not until Jenks had torn the tarpaulin from off their stores, +and he was wildly striving with both hands to scoop up some precious +drops collected in the small hollows of the ledge, that he realized the +full magnitude of the disaster which had befallen them. + +During the first rapid exchange of fire, before the enemy vacated the +cliff, several bullets had pierced the tarpaulin. By a stroke of +exceeding bad fortune two of them had struck each of the water-barrels +and started the staves. The contents quietly ebbed away beneath the +broad sheet, and flowing inwards by reason of the sharp slope of the +ledge, percolated through the fault. Iris and he, notwithstanding their +frenzied efforts, were not able to save more than a pint of gritty +discolored fluid. The rest, infinitely more valuable to them than all +the diamonds of De Beers, was now oozing through the natural channel +cut by centuries of storm, dripping upon the headless skeleton in the +cave, soaking down to the very heart of their buried treasure. + +Jenks was so paralyzed by this catastrophe that Iris became alarmed. As +yet she did not grasp its awful significance. That he, her hero, so +brave, so confident in the face of many dangers, should betray such +sense of irredeemable loss, frightened her much more than the incident +itself. + +Her lips whitened. Her words become incoherent. + +"Tell me," she whispered. "I can bear anything but silence. Tell me, I +implore you. Is it so bad?" + +The sight of her distress sobered him. He ground his teeth together as +a man does who submits to a painful operation and resolves not to +flinch beneath the knife. + +"It is very bad," he said; "not quite the end, but near it." + +"The end," she bravely answered, "is death! We are living and +uninjured. You must fight on. If the Lord wills it we shall not die." + +He looked in her blue eyes and saw there the light of Heaven. + +"God bless you, dear girl," he murmured brokenly. "You would cheer any +man through the Valley of the Shadow, were he Christian or +Faint-heart." + +Her glance did not droop before his. In such moments heart speaks to +heart without concealment. + +"We still have a little water," she cried. "Fortunately we are not +thirsty. You have not forgotten our supply of champagne and brandy?" + +There was a species of mad humor in the suggestion. Oh for another +miracle that should change the wine into water! + +He could only fall in with her unreflective mood and leave the dreadful +truth to its own evil time. In their little nook the power of the sun +had not yet made itself felt. By ordinary computation it was about nine +o'clock. Long before noon they would be grilling. Throughout the next +few hours they must suffer the torture of Dives with one meager pint of +water to share between them. Of course the wine and spirit must be +shunned like a pestilence. To touch either under such conditions would +be courting heat, apoplexy, and death. And next day! + +He tightened his jaws before he answered-- + +"We will console ourselves with a bottle of champagne for dinner. +Meanwhile, I hear our friends shouting to those left on this side of +the island. I must take an active interest in the conversation." + +He grasped a rifle and lay down on the ledge, already gratefully warm. +There was a good deal of sustained shouting going on. Jenks thought he +recognized the chief's voice, giving instructions to those who had come +from Smugglers' Cove and were now standing on the beach near the +quarry. + +"I wonder if he is hungry," he thought. "If so, I will interfere with +the commissariat." + +Iris peeped forth at him. + +"Mr. Jenks!" + +"Yes," without turning his head. He knew it was an ordinary question. + +"May I come too?" + +"What! expose yourself on the ledge!" + +"Yes, even that. I am so tired of sitting here alone." + +"Well, there is no danger at present. But they might chance to see you, +and you remember what I--" + +"Yes, I remember quite well. If that is all--" There was a rustle of +garments. "I am very mannish in appearance. If you promise not to look +at me I will join you." + +"I promise." + +Iris stepped forth. She was flushed a little, and, to cover her +confusion, may be, she picked up a Lee-Metford. + +"Now there are two guns," she said, as she stood near him. + +He could see through the tail of his eye that a slight but elegantly +proportioned young gentleman of the sea-faring profession had suddenly +appeared from nowhere. He was glad she had taken this course. It might +better the position were the Dyaks to see her thus. + +"The moment I tell you, you must fall flat," he warned her. "No +ceremony about it. Just flop!" + +"I don't know anything better calculated to make one flop than a +bullet," she laughed. Not yet did the tragedy of the broken kegs appeal +to her. + +"Yes, but it achieves its purpose in two ways. I want you to adopt the +precautionary method." + +"Trust me for that. Good gracious!" + +The sailor's rifle went off with an unexpected bang that froze the +exclamation on her lips. Three Dyaks were attempting to run the +gauntlet to their beleaguered comrades. They carried a jar and two +wicker baskets. He with the jar fell and broke it. The others doubled +back like hares, and the first man dragged himself after them. Jenks +did not fire again. + +Iris watched the wounded wretch crawling along the ground. Her eyes +grew moist, and she paled somewhat. When he vanished she looked into +the valley and at the opposing ledge; three men lay dead within twenty +yards of her. Two others dangled from the rocks. It took her some time +to control her quavering utterance sufficiently to say-- + +"I hope I may not have to use a gun. I know it cannot be helped, but if +I were to kill a human being I do not think I would ever rest again." + +"In that case I have indeed murdered sleep today," was the unfeeling +reply. + +"No! no! A man must be made of sterner stuff. We have a right to defend +ourselves. If need be I will exercise that right. Still it is horrid, +oh, so horrid!" + +She could not see the sailor's grim smile. It would materially affect +his rest, for the better, were he able to slay every Dyak on the island +with a single shot. Yet her gentle protest pleased him. She could not +at the same time be callous to human suffering and be Iris. But he +declined the discussion of such sentiments. + +"You were going to say something when a brief disturbance took place?" +he inquired. + +"Yes. I was surprised to find how hot the ledge has become." + +"You notice it more because you are obliged to remain here." + +After a pause-- + +"I think I understand now why you were so upset by the loss of our +water supply. Before the day ends we will be in great straits, enduring +agonies from thirst!" + +"Let us not meet the devil half-way," he rejoined. He preferred the +unfair retort to a confession which could only foster dismay. + +"But, please, I am thirsty now." + +He moved uneasily. He was only too conscious of the impish weakness, +common to all mankind, which creates a desire out of sheer inability to +satisfy it. Already his own throat was parched. The excitement of the +early struggle was in itself enough to engender an acute thirst. He +thought it best to meet their absolute needs as far as possible. + +"Bring the tin cup," he said. "Let us take half our store and use the +remainder when we eat. Try to avoid breathing through your mouth. The +hot air quickly affects the palate and causes an artificial dryness. We +cannot yet be in real need of water. It is largely imagination." + +Iris needed no second bidding. She carefully measured out half a pint +of the unsavory fluid--the dregs of the casks and the scourings of the +ledge. + +"I will drink first," she cried. + +"No, no," he interrupted impatiently. "Give it to me." + +She pretended to be surprised. + +"As a mere matter of politeness----" + +"I am sorry, but I must insist." + +She gave him the cup over his shoulder. He placed it to his lips and +gulped steadily. + +"There," he said, gruffly. "I was in a hurry. The Dyaks may make +another rush at any moment." + +Iris looked into the vessel. + +"You have taken none at all," she said. + +"Nonsense!" + +"Mr. Jenks, be reasonable! You need it more than I. I d-don't want +to--live w-without--you." + +His hands shook somewhat. It was well there was no call for accurate +shooting just then. + +"I assure you I took all I required," he declared with unnecessary +vehemence. + +"At least drink your share, to please me," she murmured. + +"You wished to humbug me," he grumbled. "If you will take the first +half I will take the second." + +And they settled it that way. The few mouthfuls of tepid water gave +them new life. One sense can deceive the others. A man developing all +the symptoms of hydrophobia has been cured by the assurance that the +dog which bit him was not mad. So these two, not yet aflame with +drought, banished the arid phantom for a little while. + +Nevertheless, by high noon they were suffering again. The time passed +very slowly. The sun rose to the zenith and filled earth and air with +his ardor. It seemed to be a miracle--now appreciated for the first +time in their lives--that the sea did not dry up, and the leaves wither +on the trees. The silence, the deathly inactivity of all things, became +intolerable. The girl bravely tried to confine her thoughts to the task +of the hour. She displayed alert watchfulness, an instant readiness to +warn her companion of the slightest movement among the trees or by the +rocks to the north-west, this being the arc of their periphery assigned +to her. + +Looking at a sunlit space from cover, and looking at the same place +when sweltering in the direct rays of a tropical sun, are kindred +operations strangely diverse in achievement. Iris could not reconcile +the physical sensitiveness of the hour with the careless hardihood of +the preceding days. Her eyes ached somewhat, for she had tilted her +sou'wester to the back of her head in the effort to cool her throbbing +temples. She put up her right hand to shade the too vivid reflection of +the glistening sea, and was astounded to find that in a few minutes the +back of her hand was scorched. A faint sound of distant shouting +disturbed her painful reverie. + +"How is it," she asked, "that we feel the heat so much today? I have +hardly noticed it before." + +"For two good reasons--forced idleness and radiation from this +confounded rock. Moreover, this is the hottest day we have experienced +on the island. There is not a breath of air, and the hot weather has +just commenced." + +"Don't you think," she said, huskily, "that our position here is quite +hopeless?" + +They were talking to each other sideways. The sailor never turned his +gaze from the southern end of the valley. + +"It is no more hopeless now than last night or this morning," he +replied. + +"But suppose we are kept here for several days?" + +"That was always an unpleasant probability." + +"We had water then. Even with an ample supply it would be difficult to +hold out. As things are, such a course becomes simply impossible." + +Her despondency pierced his soul. A slow agony was consuming her. + +"It is hard, I admit," he said. "Nevertheless you must bear up until +night falls. Then we will either obtain water or leave this place." + +"Surely we can do neither." + +"We may be compelled to do both." + +"But how?" + +In this, his hour of extremest need, the man was vouchsafed a shred of +luck. To answer her satisfactorily would have baffled a Talleyrand. But +before he could frame a feeble pretext for his too sanguine prediction, +a sampan appeared, eight hundred yards from Turtle Beach, and +strenuously paddled by three men. The vague hallooing they had heard +was explained. + +The Dyaks, though to the manner born, were weary of sun-scorched rocks +and salt water. The boat was coming in response to their signals, and +the sight inspired Jenks with fresh hope. Like a lightning flash came +the reflection that if he could keep them away from the well and +destroy the sampan now hastening to their assistance, perhaps conveying +the bulk of their stores, they would soon tire of slaking their thirst, +on the few pitcher-plants growing on the north shore. + +"Come quick," he shouted, adjusting the backsight of a rifle. "Lie down +and aim at the front of that boat, a little short if anything. It +doesn't matter if the bullets strike the sea first." + +He placed the weapon in readiness for her and commenced operations +himself before Iris could reach his side. Soon both rifles were +pitching twenty shots a minute at the sampan. The result of their +long-range practice was not long in doubt. The Dyaks danced from seat +to seat in a state of wild excitement. One man was hurled overboard. +Then the craft lurched seaward in the strong current, and Jenks told +Iris to leave the rest to him. + +Before he could empty a second magazine a fortunate bullet ripped a +plank out and the sampan filled and went down, amidst a shrill yell of +execration from the back of the cliff. The two Dyaks yet living +endeavored to swim ashore, half a mile through shark-invested reefs. +The sailor did not even trouble about them. After a few frantic +struggles each doomed wretch flung up his arms and vanished. In the +clear atmosphere the on-lookers could see black fins cutting the +pellucid sea. + +This exciting episode dispelled the gathering mists from the girl's +brain. Her eyes danced and she breathed hard. Yet something worried +her. + +"I hope I didn't hit the man who fell out of the boat," she said. + +"Oh," came the prompt assurance, "I took deliberate aim at that chap. +He was a most persistent scoundrel." + +Iris was satisfied. Jenks thought it better to lie than to tell the +truth, for the bald facts hardly bore out his assertion. Judging from +the manner of the Dyak's involuntary plunge he had been hit by a +ricochet bullet, whilst the sailor's efforts were wholly confined to +sinking the sampan. However, let it pass. Bullet or shark, the end was +the same. + +They were quieting down--the thirst fiend was again slowly salting +their veins--when something of a dirty white color fluttered into sight +from behind the base of the opposite cliff. It was rapidly withdrawn, +to reappear after an interval. Now it was held more steadily and a +brown arm became visible. As Jenks did not fire, a turbaned head popped +into sight. It was the Mahommedan. + +"No shoot it," he roared. "Me English speak it." + +"Don't you speak Hindustani?" shouted Jenks in Urdu of the Higher +Proficiency. + +"Hañ, sahib!"[Footnote: Yes, sir.] was the joyful response. "Will your +honor permit his servant to come and talk with him?" + +"Yes, if you come unarmed." + +"And the chief, too, sahib?" + +"Yes, but listen! On the first sign of treachery I shoot both of you!" + +"We will keep faith, sahib. May kites pick our bones if we fail!" + +Then there stepped into full view the renegade Mussulman and his +leader. They carried no guns; the chief wore his kriss. + +[Illustration: THE TWO HALTED SOME TEN PACES IN FRONT OF THE CAVERN. +AND THE BELLIGERENTS SURVEYED EACH OTHER.] + +"Tell him to leave that dagger behind!" cried the sailor imperiously. +As the enemy demanded a parley he resolved to adopt the conqueror's +tone from the outset. The chief obeyed with a scowl, and the two +advanced to the foot of the rock. + +"Stand close to me," said Jenks to Iris. "Let them see you plainly, but +pull your hat well down over your eyes." + +She silently followed his instructions. Now that the very crisis of +their fate had arrived she was nervous, shaken, conscious only of a +desire to sink on her knees, and pray. + +One or two curious heads were craned round the corner of the rock. + +"Stop!" cried Jenks. "If those men do not instantly go away I will fire +at them." + +The Indian translated this order and the chief vociferated some +clanging syllables which had the desired effect. The two halted some +ten paces in front of the cavern, and the belligerents surveyed each +other. It was a fascinating spectacle, this drama in real life. The +yellow-faced Dyak, gaudily attired in a crimson jacket and sky-blue +pantaloons of Chinese silk--a man with the _beauté du diable_, +young, and powerfully built--and the brown-skinned white-clothed +Mahommedan, bony, tall, and grey with hardship, looked up at the +occupants of the ledge. Iris, slim and boyish in her male garments, was +dwarfed by the six-foot sailor, but her face was blood-stained, and +Jenks wore a six weeks' stubble of beard. Holding their Lee-Metfords +with alert ease, with revolvers strapped to their sides, they presented +a warlike and imposing tableau in their inaccessible perch. In the path +of the emissaries lay the bodies of the slain. The Dyak leader scowled +again as he passed them. + +"Sahib," began the Indian, "my chief, Taung S'Ali, does not wish to +have any more of his men killed in a foolish quarrel about a woman. +Give her up, he says, and he will either leave you here in peace, or +carry you safely to some place where you can find a ship manned by +white men." + +"A woman!" said Jenks, scornfully. "That is idle talk! What woman is +here?" + +This question nonplussed the native. + +"The woman whom the chief saw half a month back, sahib." + +"Taung S'Ali was bewitched. I slew his men so quickly that he saw +spirits." + +The chief caught his name and broke in with a question. A volley of +talk between the two was enlivened with expressive gestures by Taung +S'Ali, who several times pointed to Iris, and Jenks now anathematized +his thoughtless folly in permitting the Dyak to approach so near. The +Mahommedan, of course, had never seen her, and might have persuaded the +other that in truth there were two men only on the rock. + +His fears were only too well founded. The Mussulman salaamed +respectfully and said-- + +"Protector of the poor, I cannot gainsay your word, but Taung S'Ali +says that the maid stands by your side, and is none the less the woman +he seeks in that she wears a man's clothing." + +"He has sharp eyes, but his brain is addled," retorted the sailor. "Why +does he come here to seek a woman who is not of his race? Not only has +he brought death to his people and narrowly escaped it himself, but he +must know that any violence offered to us will mean the extermination +of his whole tribe by an English warship. Tell him to take away his +boats and never visit this isle again. Perhaps I will then forget his +treacherous attempt to murder us whilst we slept last night." + +The chief glared back defiantly, whilst the Mahommedan said-- + +"Sahib, it is beet not to anger him too much. He says he means to have +the girl. He saw her beauty that day and she inflamed his heart. She +has cost him many lives, but she is worth a Sultan's ransom. He cares +not for warships. They cannot reach his village in the hills. By the +tomb of Nizam-ud-din, sahib, he will not harm you if you give her up, +but if you refuse he will kill you both. And what is one woman more or +less in the world that she should cause strife and blood-letting?" + +The sailor knew the Eastern character too well not to understand the +man's amazement that he should be so solicitous about the fate of one +of the weaker sex. It was seemingly useless to offer terms, yet the +native was clearly so anxious for an amicable settlement that he caught +at a straw. + +"You come from Delhi?" he asked. + +"Honored one, you have great wisdom." + +"None but a Delhi man swears by the tomb on the road to the Kutub. You +have escaped from the Andamans?" + +"Sahib, I did but slay a man in self-defence." + +"Whatever the cause, you can never again see India. Nevertheless, you +would give many years of your life to mix once more with the +bazaar-folk in the Chandni Chowk, and sit at night on a charpoy near +the Lahore Gate?" + +The brown skin assumed a sallow tinge. + +"That is good speaking," he gurgled. + +"Then help me and my friend to escape. Compel your chief to leave the +island. Kill him! Plot against him! I will promise you freedom and +plenty of rupees. Do this, and I swear to you I will come in a ship and +take you away. The miss-sahib's father is powerful. He has great +influence with the Sirkar."[Footnote: The Government of India.] + +Taung S'Ali was evidently bewildered and annoyed by this passionate +appeal which he did not understand. He demanded an explanation, and the +ready-witted native was obliged to invent some plausible excuse. Yet +when he raised his face to Jenks there was the look of a hunted animal +in his eyes. + +"Sahib," he said, endeavoring to conceal his agitation. "I am one among +many. A word from me and they would cut my throat. If I were with you +there on the rock I would die with you, for I was in the Kumaon +Rissala[Footnote: A native cavalry regiment.] when the trouble befell +me. It is of no avail to bargain with a tiger, sahib. I suppose you +will not give up the miss-sahib. Pretend to argue with me. I will help +in any way possible." + +Jenks's heart bounded when this unlooked-for offer reached his ears. +The unfortunate Mahommedan was evidently eager to get away from the +piratical gang into whose power he had fallen. But the chief was +impatient, if not suspicious of these long speeches. + +Angrily holding forth a Lee-Metford the sailor shouted-- + +"Tell Taung S'Ali that I will slay him and all his men ere tomorrow's +sun rises. He knows something of my power, but not all. Tonight, at the +twelfth hour, you will find a rope hanging from the rock. Tie thereto a +vessel of water. Fail not in this. I will not forget your services. I +am Anstruther Sahib, of the Belgaum Rissala." + +The native translated his words into a fierce defiance of Taung S'Ali +and his Dyaks. The chief glanced at Jenks and Iris with an ominous +smile. He muttered something. + +"Then, sahib. There is nothing more to be said. Beware of the trees on +your right. They can send silent death even to the place where you +stand. And I will not fail you tonight, on my life," cried the +interpreter. + +"I believe you. Go! But inform your chief that once you have +disappeared round the rock whence you came I will talk to him only with +a rifle." + +Taung S'Ali seemed to comprehend the Englishman's emphatic motions. +Waving his hand defiantly, the Dyak turned, and, with one parting +glance of mute assurance, the Indian followed him. + +And now there came to Jenks a great temptation. Iris touched his arm +and whispered-- + +"What have you decided? I did not dare to speak lest he should hear my +voice." + +Poor girl! She was sure the Dyak could not penetrate her disguise, +though she feared from the manner in which the conference broke up that +it had not been satisfactory. + +Jenks did not answer her. He knew that if he killed Taung S'Ali his men +would be so dispirited that when the night came they would fly. There +was so much at stake--Iris, wealth, love, happiness, life itself--all +depended on his plighted word. Yet his savage enemy, a slayer of women, +a human vampire soiled with every conceivable crime, was stalking back +to safety with a certain dignified strut, calmly trusting to the white +man's bond. + +Oh, it was cruel! The ordeal of that ghastly moment was more trying +than all that he had hitherto experienced. He gave a choking sob of +relief when the silken-clad scoundrel passed out of sight without even +deigning to give another glance at the ledge or at those who silently +watched him. + +Iris could not guess the nature of the mortal struggle raging in the +sailor's soul. + +"Tell me," she repeated, "what have you done?" + +"Kept faith with that swaggering ruffian," he said, with an odd feeling +of thankfulness that he spoke truly. + +"Why? Have you made him any promise?" + +"Unhappily I permitted him to come here, so I had to let him go. He +recognized you instantly." + +This surprised her greatly. + +"Are you sure? I saw him pointing at me, but he seemed to be in such a +bad temper that I imagined that he was angry with you for exchanging a +prepossessing young lady for an ill-favored youth." + +Jenks with difficulty suppressed a sigh. Her words for an instant had +the old piquant flavor. + +Keeping a close watch on the sheltering promontory, he told her all +that had taken place. Iris became very downcast when she grasped the +exact state of affairs. She was almost certain when the Dyaks proposed +a parley that reasonable terms would result. It horrified her beyond +measure to find that she was the rock on which negotiations were +wrecked. Hope died within her. The bitterness of death was in her +breast. + +"What an unlucky influence I have had on your existence!" she +exclaimed. "If it were not for me this trouble at least would be spared +you. Because I am here you are condemned. Again, because I stopped you +from shooting that wretched chief and his companions they are now +demanding your life as a forfeit. It is all my fault. I cannot bear +it." + +She was on the verge of tears. The strain had become too great for her. +After indulging in a wild dream of freedom, to be told that they must +again endure the irksome confinement, the active suffering, the slow +horrors of a siege in that rocky prison, almost distracted her. + +Jenks was very stern and curt in his reply. + +"We must make the best of a bad business," he said. "If we are in a +tight place the Dyaks are not much better off, and eighteen of their +number are dead or wounded. You forget, too, that Providence has sent +us a most useful ally in the Mahommedan. When all is said and done, +things might be far worse than they are." + +Never before had his tone been so cold, his manner so abrupt, not even +in the old days when he purposely endeavored to make her dislike him. + +She walked along the ledge and timidly bent over him. + +"Forgive me!" she whispered; "I did forget for the moment, not only the +goodness of Providence, but also your self-sacrificing devotion. I am +only a woman, and I don't want to die yet, but I will not live unless +you too are saved." + +Once already that day she had expressed this thought in other words. +Was some shadowy design flitting through her brain? Suppose they were +faced with the alternatives of dying from thirst or yielding to the +Dyaks. Was there another way out? Jenks shivered, though the rock was +grilling him. He must divert her mind from this dreadful brooding. + +"The fact is," he said with a feeble attempt at cheerfulness, "we are +both hungry and consequently grumpy. Now, suppose you prepare lunch. We +will feel ever so much better after we have eaten." + +The girl choked back her emotion, and sadly essayed the task of +providing a meal which was hateful to her. In doing so she saw her +Bible, lying where she had placed it that morning, the leaves still +open at the 91st Psalm. She had indeed forgotten the promise it +contained-- + +"For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy +ways." + +A few tears fell now and made little furrows down her soiled cheeks. +But they were helpful tears, tears of resignation, not of despair. +Although the "destruction that wasteth at noonday" was trying her +sorely she again felt strong and sustained. + +She even smiled on detecting an involuntary effort to clear her stained +face. She was about to carry a biscuit and some tinned meat to the +sailor when a sharp exclamation from him caused her to hasten to his +side. + +The Dyaks had broken cover. Running in scattered sections across the +sands, they were risking such loss as the defenders might be able to +inflict upon them during a brief race to the shelter and food to be +obtained in the other part of the island. + +Jenks did not fire at the scurrying gang. He was waiting for one man, +Taung S'Ali. But that redoubtable person, having probably suggested +this dash for liberty, had fully realized the enviable share of +attention he would attract during the passage. He therefore discarded +his vivid attire, and, by borrowing odd garments, made himself +sufficiently like unto the remainder of his crew to deceive the sailor +until the rush of men was over. Among them ran the Mahommedan, who did +not look up the valley but waved his hand. + +When all had quieted down again Jenks understood how he had been +fooled. He laughed so heartily that Iris, not knowing either the cause +of his merriment or the reason of his unlooked-for clemency to the +flying foe, feared the sun had affected him. + +He at once quitted the post occupied during so protracted a vigil. + +"Now," he cried, "we can eat in peace. I have stripped the chief of his +finery. His men can twit him on being forced to shed his gorgeous +plumage in order to save his life. Anyhow, they will leave us in peace +until night falls, so we must make the best of a hot afternoon." + +But he was mistaken. A greater danger than any yet experienced now +threatened them, though Iris, after perusing that wonderful psalm, +might have warned him of it had she known the purpose of those long +bamboos carried by some of the savages. + +For Taung S'Ali, furious and unrelenting, resolved that if he could not +obtain the girl he would slay the pair of them; and he had terrible +weapons in his possession--weapons that could send "silent death even +to the place where they stood." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +REALITY _V_. ROMANCE--THE CASE FOR THE DEFENDANT + + +Residents in tropical countries know that the heat is greatest, or +certainly least bearable, between two and four o'clock in the +afternoon. + +At the conclusion of a not very luscious repast, Jenks suggested that +they should rig up the tarpaulin in such wise as to gain protection +from the sun and yet enable him to cast a watchful eye over the valley. +Iris helped to raise the great canvas sheet on the supports he had +prepared. Once shut off from the devouring sun rays, the hot breeze +then springing into fitful existence cooled their blistered but +perspiring skin and made life somewhat tolerable. + +Still adhering to his policy of combatting the first enervating attacks +of thirst, the sailor sanctioned the consumption of the remaining +water. As a last desperate expedient, to be resorted to only in case of +sheer necessity, he uncorked a bottle of champagne and filled the tin +cup. The sparkling wine, with its volume of creamy foam, looked so +tempting that Iris would then and there have risked its potency were +she not promptly withheld. + +Jenks explained to her that when the wine became quite flat and insipid +they might use it to moisten their parched lips. Even so, in their +present super-heated state, the liquor was unquestionably dangerous, +but he hoped it would not harm them if taken in minute quantities. + +Accustomed now to implicitly accept his advice, she fought and steadily +conquered the craving within her. Oddly enough, the "thawing" of their +scorched bodies beneath the tarpaulin brought a certain degree of +relief. They were supremely uncomfortable, but that was as naught +compared with the relaxation from the torments previously borne. + +For a long time--the best part of an hour, perhaps--they remained +silent. + +The sailor was reviewing the pros and cons of their precarious +condition. It would, of course, be a matter of supreme importance were +the Indian to be faithful to his promise. Here the prospect was +decidedly hopeful. The man was an old _sowar_, and the ex-officer +of native cavalry knew how enduring was the attachment of this poor +convict to home and military service. Probably at that moment the +Mahommedan was praying to the Prophet and his two nephews to aid him in +rescuing the sahib and the woman whom the sahib held so dear, for the +all-wise and all-powerful Sirkar is very merciful to offending natives +who thus condone their former crimes. + +But, howsoever willing he might be, what could one man do among so +many? The Dyaks were hostile to him in race and creed, and assuredly +infuriated against the foreign devil who had killed or wounded, in +round numbers, one-fifth of their total force. Very likely, the hapless +Mussulman would lose his life that night in attempting to bring water +to the foot of the rock. + +Well, he, Jenks, might have something to say in that regard. By +midnight the moon would illumine nearly the whole of Prospect Park. If +the Mahommedan were slain in front of the cavern his soul would travel +to the next world attended by a Nizam's cohort of slaughtered slaves. + +Even if the man succeeded in eluding the vigilance of his present +associates, where was the water to come from? There was none on the +island save that in the well. In all likelihood the Dyaks had a store +in the remaining sampans, but the native ally of the beleaguered pair +would have a task of exceeding difficulty in obtaining one of the jars +or skins containing it. + +Again, granting all things went well that night, what would be the +final outcome of the struggle? How long could Iris withstand the +exposure, the strain, the heart-breaking misery of the rock? The future +was blurred, crowded with ugly and affrighting fiends passing in +fantastic array before his vision, and mouthing dumb threats of madness +and death. + +He shook restlessly, not aware that the girl's sorrowful glance, +luminous with love and pain, was fixed upon him. Summarily dismissing +these grisly phantoms of the mind, he asked himself what the Mahommedan +exactly meant by warning him against the trees on the right and the +"silent death" that might come from them. He was about to crawl forth +to the lip of the rock and investigate matters in that locality when +Iris, who also was busy with her thoughts, restrained him. + +"Wait a little while," she said. "None of the Dyaks will venture into +the open until night falls. And I have something to say to you." + +There was a quiet solemnity in her voice that Jenks had never heard +before. It chilled him. His heart acknowledged a quick sense of evil +omen. He raised himself slightly and turned towards her. Her face, +beautiful and serene beneath its disfigurements, wore an expression of +settled purpose. For the life of him he dared not question her. + +"That man, the interpreter," she said, "told you that if I were given +up to the chief, he and his followers would go away and molest you no +more." + +His forehead seamed with sudden anger. + +"A mere bait," he protested. "In any event it is hardly worth +discussion." + +And the answer came, clear and resolute-- + +"I think I will agree to those terms." + +At first he regarded her with undisguised and wordless amazement. Then +the appalling thought darted through his brain that she contemplated +this supreme sacrifice in order to save him. A clammy sweat bedewed his +brow, but by sheer will power he contrived to say-- + +"You must be mad to even dream of such a thing. Don't you understand +what it means to you--and to me? It is a ruse to trap us. They are +ungoverned savages. Once they had you in their power they would laugh +at a promise made to me." + +"You may be mistaken. They must have some sense of fair dealing. Even +assuming that such was their intention, they may depart from it. They +have already lost a great many men. Their chief, having gained his main +object, might not be able to persuade them to take further risks. I +will make it a part of the bargain that they first supply you with +plenty of water. Then you, unaided, could keep them at bay for many +days. We lose nothing; we can gain a great deal by endeavoring to +pacify them." + +"Iris!" he gasped, "what are you saying?" + +The unexpected sound of her name on his lips almost unnerved her. But +no martyr ever went to the stake with more settled purpose than this +pure woman, resolved to immolate herself for the sake of the man she +loved. He had dared all for her, faced death in many shapes. Now it was +her turn. Her eyes were lit with a seraphic fire, her sweet face +resigned as that of an angel. + +"I have thought it out," she murmured, gazing at him steadily, yet +scarce seeing him. "It is worth trying as a last expedient. We are +abandoned by all, save the Lord; and it does not appear to be His holy +will to help us on earth. We can struggle on here until we die. Is that +right, when one of us may live?" + +Her very candor had betrayed her. She would go away with these +monstrous captors, endure them, even flatter them, until she and they +were far removed from the island. And then--she would kill herself. In +her innocence she imagined that self-destruction, under such +circumstances, was a pardonable offence. She only gave a life to save a +life, and greater love than this is not known to God or man. + +The sailor, in a tempest of wrath and wild emotion, had it in his mind +to compel her into reason, to shake her, as one shakes a wayward child. + +He rose to his knees with this half-formed notion in his fevered brain. +Then he looked at her, and a mist seemed to shut her out from his +sight. Was she lost to him already? Was all that had gone before an +idle dream of joy and grief, a wizard's glimpse of mirrored happiness +and vague perils? Was Iris, the crystal-souled--thrown to him by the +storm-lashed waves--to be snatched away by some irresistible and malign +influence? + +In the mere physical effort to assure himself that she was still near +to him he gathered her up in his strong hands. Yes, she was there, +breathing, wondering, palpitating. He folded her closely to his breast, +and, yielding to the passionate longings of his tired heart, whispered +to her-- + +"My darling, do you think I can survive your loss? You are life itself +to me. If we have to die, sweet one, let us die together." + +Then Iris flung her arms around his neck. + +"I am quite, quite happy now," she sobbed brokenly. "I +didn't--imagine--it would come--this way, but--I am thankful--it has +come." + +[Illustration: LOVE, TREMENDOUS IN ITS POWER, UNFATHOMABLE IN ITS +MYSTERY, HAD CAST ITS SPELL OVER THEM.] + +For a little while they yielded to the glamour of the divine knowledge +that amidst the chaos of eternity each soul had found its mate. There +was no need for words. Love, tremendous in its power, unfathomable in +its mystery, had cast its spell over them. They were garbed in light, +throned in a palace built by fairy hands. On all sides squatted the +ghouls of privation, misery, danger, even grim death; but they heeded +not the Inferno; they had created a Paradise in an earthly hell. + +Then Iris withdrew herself from the man's embrace. She was delightfully +shy and timid now. + +"So you really do love me?" she whispered, crimson-faced, with shining +eyes and parted lips. + +He drew her to him again and kissed her tenderly. For he had cast all +doubt to the winds. No matter what the future had in store she was his, +his only; it was not in man's power to part them. A glorious effulgence +dazzled his brain. Her love had given him the strength of Goliath, the +confidence of David. He would pluck her from the perils that environed +her. The Dyak was not yet born who should rend her from him. + +He fondled her hair and gently rubbed her cheek with his rough fingers. +The sudden sense of ownership of this fair woman was entrancing. It +almost bewildered him to find Iris nestling close, clinging to him in +utter confidence and trust. + +"But I knew, I knew," she murmured. "You betrayed yourself so many +times. You wrote your secret to me, and, though you did not tell me, I +found your dear words on the sands, and have treasured them next my +heart." + +What girlish romance was this? He held her away gingerly, just so far +that he could look into her eyes. + +"Oh, it is true, quite true," she cried, drawing the locket from her +neck. "Don't you recognize your own handwriting, or were you not +certain, just then, that you really did love me?" + +Dear, dear! How often would she repeat that wondrous phrase! Together +they bent over the tiny slips of paper. There it was again--"I love +you"--twice blazoned in magic symbols. With blushing eagerness she told +him how, by mere accident of course, she caught sight of her own name. +It was not very wrong, was it, to pick up that tiny scrap, or those +others, which she could not help seeing, and which unfolded their +simple tale so truthfully? Wrong! It was so delightfully right that he +must kiss her again to emphasize his convictions. + +All this fondling and love-making had, of course, an air of grotesque +absurdity because indulged in by two grimy and tattered individuals +crouching beneath a tarpaulin on a rocky ledge, and surrounded by +bloodthirsty savages intent on their destruction. Such incidents +require the setting of convention, the conservatory, with its wealth of +flowers and plants, a summer wood, a Chippendale drawing-room. And yet, +God wot, men and women have loved each other in this grey old world +without stopping to consider the appropriateness of place and season. + +After a delicious pause Iris began again---- + +"Robert--I must call you Robert now--there, there, please let me get a +word in even edgeways--well then, Robert dear, I do not care much what +happens now. I suppose it was very wicked and foolish of me to speak as +I did before--before you called me Iris. Now tell me at once. Why did +you call me Iris?" + +"You must propound that riddle to your godfather." + +"No wriggling, please. Why did you do it?" + +"Because I could not help myself. It slid out unawares." + +"How long have you thought of me only as Iris, your Iris?" + +"Ever since I first understood that somewhere in the wide world was a +dear woman to love me and be loved." + +"But at one time you thought her name was Elizabeth?" + +"A delusion, a mirage! That is why those who christened you had the +wisdom of the gods." + +Another interlude. They grew calmer, more sedate. It was so undeniably +true they loved one another that the fact was becoming venerable with +age. Iris was perhaps the first to recognize its quiet certainty. + +"As I cannot get you to talk reasonably," she protested, "I must appeal +to your sympathy. I am hungry, and oh, so thirsty." + +The girl had hardly eaten a morsel for her midday meal. Then she was +despondent, utterly broken-hearted. Now she was filled with new hope. +There was a fresh motive in existence. Whether destined to live an hour +or half a century, she would never, never leave him, nor, of course, +could he ever, ever leave her. Some things were quite impossible--for +example, that they should part. + +Jenks brought her a biscuit, a tin of meat, and that most doleful cup +of champagne. + +"It is not exactly _frappé_," he said, handing her the insipid +beverage, "but, under other conditions, it is a wine almost worthy to +toast you in." + +She fancied she had never before noticed what a charming smile he had. + +"'Toast' is a peculiarly suitable word," she cried. "I am simply +frizzling. In these warm clothes----" + +She stopped. For the first time since that prehistoric period when she +was "Miss Deane" and he "Mr. Jenks" she remembered the manner of her +garments. + +"It is not the warm clothing you feel so much as the want of air," +explained the sailor readily. "This tarpaulin has made the place very +stuffy, but we must put up with it until sundown. By the way, what is +that?" + +A light tap on the tarred canvas directly over his head had caught his +ear. Iris, glad of the diversion, told him she had heard the noise +three or four times, but fancied it was caused by the occasional +rustling of the sheet on the uprights. + +Jenks had not allowed his attention to wander altogether from external +events. Since the Dyaks' last escapade there was no sign of them in the +valley or on either beach. Not for trivial cause would they come again +within range of the Lee-Metfords. + +They waited and listened silently. Another tap sounded on the tarpaulin +in a different place, and they both concurred in the belief that +something had darted in curved flight over the ledge and fallen on top +of their protecting shield. + +"Let us see what the game is," exclaimed the sailor. He crept to the +back of the ledge and drew himself up until he could reach over the +sheet. He returned, carrying in his hand a couple of tiny arrows. + +"There are no less than seven of these things sticking in the canvas," +he said. "They don't look very terrible. I suppose that is what my +Indian friend meant by warning me against the trees on the right." + +He did not tell Iris all the Mahommedan said. There was no need to +alarm her causelessly. Even whilst they examined the curious little +missile another flew up from the valley and lodged on the roof of their +shelter. + +The shaft of the arrow, made of some extremely hard wood, was about ten +inches in length. Affixed to it was a pointed fish-bone, sharp, but not +barbed, and not fastened in a manner suggestive of much strength. The +arrow was neither feathered nor grooved for a bowstring. Altogether it +seemed to be a childish weapon to be used by men equipped with lead and +steel. + +Jenks could not understand the appearance of this toy. Evidently the +Dyaks believed in its efficacy, or they would not keep on +pertinaciously dropping an arrow on the ledge. + +"How do they fire it?" asked Iris. "Do they throw it?" + +"I will soon tell you," he replied, reaching for a rifle. + +"Do not go out yet," she entreated him. "They cannot harm us. Perhaps +we may learn more by keeping quiet. They will not continue shooting +these things all day." + +Again a tiny arrow traveled towards them in a graceful parabola. This +one fell short. Missing the tarpaulin, it almost dropped on the girl's +outstretched hand. She picked it up. The fish-bone point had snapped by +contact with the floor of the ledge. + +She sought for and found the small tip. + +"See," she said. "It seems to have been dipped in something. It is +quite discolored." + +Jenks frowned peculiarly. A startling explanation had suggested itself +to him. Fragments of forgotten lore were taking cohesion in his mind. + +"Put it down. Quick!" he cried. + +Iris obeyed him, with wonder in her eyes. He spilled a teasponful of +champagne into a small hollow of the rock and steeped one of the +fish-bones in the liquid. Within a few seconds the champagne assumed a +greenish tinge and the bone became white. Then he knew. + +"Good Heavens!" he exclaimed, "these are poisoned arrows shot through a +blowpipe. I have never before seen one, but I have often read about +them. The bamboos the Dyaks carried were sumpitans. These fish-bones +have been steeped in the juice of the upas tree. Iris, my dear girl, if +one of them had so much as scratched your finger nothing on earth could +save you." + +She paled and drew back in sudden horror. This tiny thing had taken the +semblance of a snake. A vicious cobra cast at her feet would be less +alarming, for the reptile could be killed, whilst his venomous fangs +would only be used in self-defence. + +Another tap sounded on their thrice-welcome covering. Evidently the +Dyaks would persist in their efforts to get one of those poisoned darts +home. + +Jenks debated silently whether it would be better to create a +commotion, thus inducing the savages to believe they had succeeded in +inflicting a mortal wound, or to wait until the next arrow fell, rush +out, and try conclusions with Dum-dum bullets against the sumpitan +blowers. + +He decided in favor of the latter course. He wished to dishearten his +assailants, to cram down their throats the belief that he was +invulnerable, and could visit their every effort with a deadly +reprisal. + +Iris, of course, protested when he explained his project. But the +fighting spirit prevailed. Their love idyll must yield to the needs of +the hour. + +He had not long to wait. The last arrow fell, and he sprang to the +extreme right of the ledge. First he looked through that invaluable +screen of grass. Three Dyaks were on the ground, and a fourth in the +fork of a tree. They were each armed with a blowpipe. He in the tree +was just fitting an arrow into the bamboo tube. The others were +watching him. + +Jenks raised his rifle, fired, and the warrior in the tree pitched +headlong to the ground. A second shot stretched a companion on top of +him. One man jumped into the bushes and got away, but the fourth +tripped over his unwieldy sumpitan and a bullet tore a large section +from his skull. The sailor then amused himself with breaking the +bamboos by firing at them. He came back to the white-faced girl. + +"I fancy that further practice with blowpipes will be at a discount on +Rainbow Island," he cried cheerfully. + +But Iris was anxious and distrait. + +"It is very sad," she said, "that we are obliged to secure our own +safety by the ceaseless slaughter of human beings. Is there no offer we +can make them, no promise of future gain, to tempt them to abandon +hostilities?" + +"None whatever. These Borneo Dyaks are bred from infancy to prey on +their fellow-creatures. To be strangers and defenceless is to court +pillage and massacre at their hands. I think no more of shooting them +than of smashing a clay pigeon. Killing a mad dog is perhaps a better +simile." + +"But, Robert dear, how long can we hold out?" + +"What! Are you growing tired of me already?" + +He hoped to divert her thoughts from this constantly recurring topic. +Twice within the hour had it been broached and dismissed, but Iris +would not permit him to shirk it again. She made no reply, simply +regarding him with a wistful smile. + +So Jenks sat down by her side, and rehearsed the hopes and fears which +perplexed him. He determined that there should be no further +concealment between them. If they failed to secure water that night, if +the Dyaks maintained a strict siege of the rock throughout the whole of +next day, well--they might survive--it was problematical. Best leave +matters in God's hands. + +With feminine persistency she clung to the subject, detecting his +unwillingness to discuss a possible final stage in their sufferings. + +"Robert!" she whispered fearfully, "you will never let me fall into the +power of the chief, will you?" + +"Not whilst I live." + +"You _must_ live. Don't you understand? I would go with them to +save you. But I would have died--by my own hand. Robert, my love, you +must do this thing before the end. I must be the first to die." + +He hung his head in a paroxysm of silent despair. Her words rung like a +tocsin of the bright romance conjured up by the avowal of their love. +It seemed to him, in that instant, they had no separate existence as +distinguished from the great stream of human life--the turbulent river +that flowed unceasingly from an eternity of the past to an eternity of +the future. For a day, a year, a decade, two frail bubbles danced on +the surface and raced joyously together in the sunshine; then they were +broken--did it matter how, by savage sword or lingering ailment? They +vanished--absorbed again by the rushing waters--and other bubbles rose +in precarious iridescence. It was a fatalist view of life, a dim and +obscurantist groping after truth induced by the overpowering nature of +present difficulties. The famous Tentmaker of Naishapur blindly sought +the unending purpose when he wrote:-- + + "Up from Earth's Centre through the Seventh Gate + I rose, and on the throne of Saturn sate, + And many a Knot unravel'd by the Road; + But not the Master-Knot of Human Fate. + + "There was the Door to which I found no Key; + There was the Veil through which I could not see: + Some little talk awhile of Me and Thee + There was--and then no more of Thee and Me." + +The sailor, too, wrestled with the great problem. He may be pardoned if +his heart quailed and he groaned aloud. + +"Iris," he said solemnly, "whatever happens, unless I am struck dead at +your feet, I promise you that we shall pass the boundary hand in hand. +Be mine the punishment if we have decided wrongly. And now," he cried, +tossing his head in a defiant access of energy, "let us have done with +the morgue. For my part I refuse to acknowledge I am inside until the +gates clang behind me. As for you, you cannot help yourself. You must +do as I tell you. I never knew of a case where the question of Woman's +Rights was so promptly settled." + +His vitality was infectious. Iris smiled again. Her sensitive highly +strung nerves permitted these sharp alternations between despondency +and hope. + +"You must remember," he went on, "that the Dyak score is twenty-one to +the bad, whilst our loss stands at love. Dear me, that cannot be right. +Love is surely not a loss." + +"A cynic might describe it as a negative gain." + +"Oh, a cynic is no authority. He knows nothing whatever about the +subject." + +"My father used to say, when he was in Parliament, that people who knew +least oft-times spoke best. Some men get overweighted with facts." + +They chatted in lighter vein with such pendulum swing back to +nonchalance that none would have deemed it possible for these two to +have already determined the momentous issue of the pending struggle +should it go against them. There is, glory be, in the Anglo-Saxon race +the splendid faculty of meeting death with calm defiance, almost with +contempt. Moments of panic, agonizing memories of bygone days, visions +of dear faces never to be seen again, may temporarily dethrone this +proud fortitude. But the tremors pass, the gibbering specters of fear +and lamentation are thrust aside, and the sons and daughters of Great +Britain answer the last roll-call with undaunted heroism. They know how +to die. + +And so the sun sank to rest in the sea, and the star, pierced the +deepening blue of the celestial arch, whilst the man and the woman +awaited patiently the verdict of the fates. + +Before the light failed, Jenks gathered all the poisoned arrows and +ground their vemoned points to powder beneath his heel. Gladly would +Iris and he have dispensed with the friendly protection of the +tarpaulin when the cool evening breeze came from the south. But such a +thing might not be even considered. Several hours of darkness must +elapse before the moon rose, and during that period, were their foes so +minded, they would be absolutely at the mercy of the sumpitan shafts if +not covered by their impenetrable buckler. + +The sailor looked long and earnestly at the well. Their own bucket, +improvised out of a dish-cover and a rope, lay close to the brink. A +stealthy crawl across the sandy valley, half a minute of grave danger, +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 descending 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 house 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 Lee-Metfords +as opposed to muzzle-loaders. Let him be surrounded on the level at +close quarters by a dozen determined men and he must surely succumb. + +Were it not for the presence of Iris he would have given no second +thought to the peril. It was just one of those undertakings which a +soldier jumps at. "Here goes for the V.C. or Kingdom Come!" is the +pithy philosophy of Thomas Atkins under such circumstances. + +Now, there was no V.C., but there was Iris. + +To act without consulting her was impossible, so they discussed the +project. Naturally she scouted it. + +"The Mahommedan may be able to help us," she pointed out. "In any event +let us wait until the moon wanes. That is the darkest hour. We do not +know what may happen meanwhile." + +The words had hardly left her mouth when an irregular volley was fired +at them from the right flank of the enemy's position. Every bullet +struck yards above their heads, 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 impregnated with minerals caused sparks to fly, and Jenks saw +that the Dyaks would obtain by this means a most dangerous index of +their faulty practice. Telling Iris to at once occupy her safe corner, +he rapidly adjusted a rifle on the wooden rests already prepared in +anticipation of an attack from that quarter, and fired three shots at +the opposing crest, whence came the majority of gun-flashes. + +One, at least, of the three found a human billet. There was a shout of +surprise 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, as there is a +lot of room to miss when aiming in the dark. Soon he imagined that the +burst of flame from his rifle helped the Dyaks, because several bullets +whizzed close to his head, and about this time firing recommenced from +the crest. + +Notwithstanding all his skill and manipulation of the wooden supports, +he failed to dislodge the occupants. Every minute one or more ounces of +lead pitched right into the ledge, damaging the stores and tearing the +tarpaulin, whilst those which struck the wall of rock were dangerous to +Iris by reason of the molten spray. + +He could guess what had happened. By lying flat on the sloping plateau, +or squeezing close to the projecting shoulder of the cliff, the Dyaks +were so little exposed that idle chance alone would enable him to hit +one of them. But they must be shifted, or this night bombardment would +prove the most serious development yet encountered. + +"Are you all right, Iris?" he called out. + +"Yes, dear," she answered. + +"Well, I want you to keep yourself covered by the canvas for a little +while--especially your head and shoulders. I am going to stop these +chaps. They have found our weak point, but I can baffle them." + +She did not ask what he proposed to do. He heard the rustling of the +tarpaulin as she pulled it. Instantly he cast loose the rope-ladder, +and, armed only with a revolver, dropped down the rock. He was quite +invisible to the enemy. On reaching the ground he listened for a +moment. There was no sound save the occasional reports ninety yards +away. He hitched up the lower rungs of the ladder until they were six +feet from the level, and then crept noiselessly, close to the rock, for +some forty yards. + +He halted beside a small poon-tree, and stooped to find something +embedded near its roots. At this distance he could plainly hear the +muttered conversation of the Dyaks, and could see several of them prone +on the sand. The latter fact proved how fatal would be an attempt on +his part to reach the well. They must discover him instantly once he +quitted the somber shadows of the cliff. He waited, perhaps a few +seconds longer than was necessary, endeavoring to pierce the dim +atmosphere and learn something of their disposition. + +A vigorous outburst of firing sent him back with haste. Iris was up +there alone. He knew not what might happen. 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 ladder swaying gently against the rock. Some +one was using it. He sprang forward, careless of consequence, and +seized the swinging end which had fallen free again. He had his foot on +the bottom rung when Iris's voice, close at hand and shrill with +terror, shrieked-- + +"Robert, where are you?" + +"Here!" he shouted; the next instant she dropped into his arms. + +A startled exclamation from the vicinity of the house, and some loud +cries from the more distant Dyaks 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 you!" + +"Up, for God's sake! I follow at your heels." + +She began to climb. He took some article from between his teeth, a +string apparently, and drew it towards him, mounting the ladder at the +same time. The end tightened. He was then about 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 am +close behind you." + +"I am quite safe," she gasped. + +Turning, and clinging on with one hand, he drew his revolver and fired +at the pair beneath, who could now faintly discern them, and were +almost within reach of the ladder. The shooting made them halt. He did +not know or care if they were hit. To frighten them was sufficient. +Several others were running across the sands to the cave, attracted by +the noise and the cries of the foremost pursuers. + +Then he gave a steady pull to the cord. The sharp crack of a rifle came +from the vicinity of the old quarry. He saw the flash among the trees. +Almost simultaneously a bright light leapt from the opposite ledge, +illumining the vicinity like a meteor. It lit up the rock, showed Iris +just vanishing into the safety of the ledge, and revealed Jenks and the +Dyaks to each other. There followed instantly a tremendous explosion +that shook earth and air, dislodging every loose stone in the +south-west pile of rocks, hurling from the plateau some of its +occupants, and wounding the remainder with a shower of lead and débris. + +The island birds, long since driven to the remote trees, clamored in +raucous peal, and from the Dyaks came yells of fright or anguish. + +The sailor, unmolested further, reached the ledge to find Iris +prostrate where she had fallen, dead or unconscious, he knew not which. +He felt his face become grey in the darkness. With a fierce tug he +hauled the ladder well away from the ground and sank to his knees +beside her. + +He took her into his arms. There was no light. He could not see her +eyes or lips. Her slight breathing seemed to indicate a fainting fit, +but there was no water, nor was it possible to adopt any of the +ordinary expedients suited to such a seizure. He could only wait in a +dreadful silence--wait, clasping her to his breast--and dumbly wonder +what other loss he could suffer ere the final release came. + +At last she sighed deeply. A strong tremor of returning life stirred +her frame. + +"Thank God!" he murmured, and bowed his head. Were the sun shining he +could not see her now, for his eyes were blurred. + +"Robert!" she whispered. + +"Yes, darling." + +"Are you safe?" + +"Safe! my loved one! Think of yourself! What has happened to you?" + +"I fainted--I think. I have no hurt. I missed you! Something told me +you had gone. I went to help you, or die with you. And then that noise! +And the light! What did you do?" + +He silenced her questioning with a passionate kiss. He carried her to a +little nook and fumbled among the stores until he found a bottle of +brandy. She drank some. Under its revivifying influence she was soon +able to listen to the explanation he offered--after securing the +ladder. + +In a tall tree near the Valley of Death he had tightly fixed a loaded +rifle which pointed at a loose stone in the rock overhanging the ledge +held by the Dyaks. This stone rested against a number of percussion +caps extracted from cartridges, and these were in direct communication +with a train of powder leading to a blasting charge placed at the end +of a twenty-four inch hole drilled with a crowbar. The impact of the +bullet against the stone could not fail to explode some of the caps. He +had used the contents of three hundred cartridges to secure a +sufficiency of powder, and the bullets were all crammed into the +orifice, being tamped with clay and wet sand. The rifle was fired by +means of the string, the loose coils of which were secreted at the foot +of the poon. By springing this novel mine he had effectually removed +every Dyak from the ledge, over which its contents would spread like a +fan. Further, it would probably deter the survivors from again +venturing near that fatal spot. + +Iris listened, only half comprehending. Her mind was filled with one +thought to the exclusion of all others. Robert had left her, had done +this thing without telling her. She forgave him, knowing he acted for +the best, but he must never, never deceive her again in such a manner. +She could not bear it. + +What better excuse could man desire for caressing her, yea, even +squeezing her, until the sobs ceased and she protested with a weak +little laugh---- + +"Robert, I haven't got much breath--after that excitement--but +please--leave me--the remains!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS + + +"You are a dear unreasonable little girl," he said. "Have you breath +enough to tell 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 that were not +possible--" + +He found her hand and pressed it to his lips. + +"I humbly crave your pardon," he said. "That explanation is more than +ample. It was I who behaved unreasonably. Of course I should have +warned you. Yet, sweetheart, I ran no risk. The real danger passed a +week ago." + +"How can that be?" + +"I might have been blown to pieces whilst adjusting the heavy stone in +front of the caps. I assure you I was glad to leave the place that day +with a whole skin. If the stone had wobbled, or slipped, well--it was a +case of determined _felo-de-se_." + +"May I ask how many more wild adventures 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 beginning, you thought I was nice on board +the _Sirdar_. Now, didn't you?" + +And they were safely embarked on a conversation of no interest to any +other person in the wide world, but which provided them with the most +delightful 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 midnight was at hand. + +They knelt on the parapet of the ledge, alert to catch any unusual +sound, and watching for any indication of human movement. But Rainbow +Island was now still as the grave. The wounded Dyaks had seemingly been +removed from hut and beach; the dead lay where they had fallen. The sea +sang a lullaby to the reef, and the fresh breeze whispered among the +palm fronds--that was all. + +"Perhaps they have gone!" murmured Iris. + +The sailor put his arm round her neck and gently pressed her lips +together. Anything would serve as an excuse for that sort of thing, but +he really did want absolute silence at that moment. If the Mussulman +kept his compact, the hour was at hand. + +An unlooked-for intruder disturbed the quietude of the scene. Their old +acquaintance, the singing beetle, chortled his loud way across the +park. Iris was dying--as women say--to remind Jenks of their first +meeting with that blatant insect, but further talk was impossible; +there was too much at stake--water they must have. + +Then the light hiss of a snake rose to them from the depths. That is a +sound never forgotten when once heard. It is like unto no other. +Indeed, the term "hiss" is a misnomer for the quick sibilant expulsion +of the breath by an alarmed or angered serpent. + +Iris paid no heed to it, but Jenks, who knew there was not a reptile of +the snake variety on the island, leaned over the ledge and emitted a +tolerably good imitation. The native was beneath. Probably the flight +of the beetle had helped his noiseless approach. + +"Sahib!" + +The girl started at the unexpected call from the depths. + +"Yes," said Jenks quietly. + +"A rope, sahib." + +The sailor lowered a rope. Something was tied to it beneath. The +Mahommedan apparently had little fear of being detected. + +"Pull, sahib." + +"Usually it is the sahib who says 'pull,' but circumstances alter +cases," communed Jenks. He hauled steadily at a heavy weight--a +goatskin filled with cold water. He emptied the hot and sour wine out +of the tin cup, and was about to hand the thrice-welcome draught to +Iris when a suspicious thought caused him to withhold it. + +"Let me taste first," he said. + +The Indian might have betrayed them to the Dyaks. More unlikely things +had happened. What if the water were poisoned or drugged? + +He placed the tin to his lips. The liquid was musty, having been in the +skin nearly two days. Otherwise it seemed to be all right. With a sigh +of profound relief he gave Iris the cup, and smiled at the most +unladylike haste with which she emptied it. + +"Drink yourself, and give me some more," she said. + +"No more for you at present, madam. In a few minutes, yes." + +"Oh, why not now?" + +"Do not fret, dear one. You can have all you want in a little while. +But to drink much now would make you very ill." + +Iris waited until he could speak again. + +"Why did you----" she began. + +But he bent over the parapet-- + +"_Koi hai_!"[Footnote: Equivalent to "Hello, there!"] + +"Sahib!" + +"You have not been followed?" + +"I think not, sahib. Do not talk too loud; they are foxes in cunning. +You have a ladder, they say, sahib. Will not your honor descend? I have +much to relate." + +Iris made no protest when Jenks explained the man's request. She only +stipulated that he should not leave the ladder, whilst she would remain +within easy earshot. The sailor, of course, carried his revolver. He +also picked up a crowbar, a most useful and silent weapon. Then he went +quietly downwards. Nearing the ground, he saw the native, who salaamed +deeply and was unarmed. The poor fellow seemed to be very anxious to +help them. + +"What is your name?" demanded the sailor. + +"Mir Jan, sahib, formerly _naik_[Footnote: Corporal.] in the +Kumaon Rissala." + +"When did you leave the regiment?" + +"Two years ago, sahib. I killed--" + +"What was the name of your Colonel?" + +"Kurnal I-shpence-sahib, a brave man, but of no account on a horse." + +Jenks well remembered Colonel Spence--a fat, short-legged warrior, who +rolled off his charger if the animal so much as looked sideways. Mir +Jan was telling the truth. + +"You are right, Mir Jan. What is Taung S'Ali doing now?" + +"Cursing, sahib, for the most part. His men are frightened. He wanted +them to try once more with the tubes that shoot poison, but they +refused. He could not come alone, for he could not use his right hand, +and he was wounded by the blowing up of the rock. You nearly killed me, +too, sahib. I was there with the bazaar-born whelps. By the Prophet's +beard, it was a fine stroke." + +"Are they going away, then?" + +"No, sahib. The dogs have been whipped so sore that they snarl for +revenge. They say there is no use in firing at you, but they are +resolved to kill you and the miss-sahib, or carry her off if she +escapes the assault." + +"What assault?" + +"Protector of the poor, they are building scaling-ladders--four in all. +Soon after dawn they intend to rush your position. You may slay some, +they say, but you cannot slay three score. Taung S'Ali has promised a +gold _tauk_[Footnote: A native ornament.] to every man who +survives if they succeed. They have pulled down your signal on the high +rocks and are using the poles for the ladders. They think you have a +_jadu_[Footnote: A charm.] sahib, and they want to use your own +work against you." + +This was serious news. A combined attack might indeed be dangerous, +though it had the excellent feature that if it failed the Dyaks would +certainly leave the island. But his sky-sign destroyed! That was bad. +Had a vessel chanced to pass, the swinging letters would surely have +attracted attention. Now, even that faint hope was dispelled. + +"Sahib, there is a worse thing to tell," said Mir Jan. + +"Say on, then." + +"Before they place the ladders against the cliff they will build a fire +of green wood so that the smoke will be blown by the wind into your +eyes. This will help to blind your aim. Otherwise, you never miss." + +"That will assuredly be awkward, Mir Jan." + +"It will, sahib. Soul of my father, if we had but half a troop with +us----" + +But they had not, and they were both so intent on the conversation that +they were momentarily off their guard. Iris was more watchful. She +fancied there was a light rustling amidst the undergrowth beneath the +trees on the right. And she could hiss too, if that were the correct +thing to do. + +So she hissed. + +Jenks swarmed half way up the ladder. + +"Yes, Iris?" he said. + +"I am not sure, but I imagine something moved among the bushes behind +the house." + +"All right, dear. I will keep a sharp look-out. Can you hear us +talking?" + +"Hardly. Will you be long?" + +"Another minute." + +He descended and told Mir Jan what the miss-sahib said. The native was +about to make a search when Jenks stopped him. + +"Here,"--he handed the man his revolver--"I suppose you can use this?" + +Mir Jan took it without a word, and Jenks felt that the incident atoned +for previous unworthy doubts of his dark friend's honesty. The +Mahommedan cautiously examined the back of the house, the neighboring +shrubs, and the open beach. After a brief absence he reported all safe, +yet no man has ever been nearer death and escaped it than he during +that reconnaissance. He, too, forgot that the Dyaks were foxes, and +foxes can lie close when hounds are a trifle stale. + +Mir Jan returned the revolver. + +"Sahib," he said with another salaam, "I am a disgraced man, but if you +will take me up there with you, I will fight by your side until both my +arms are hacked off. I am weary of these thieves. Ill chance threw me +into their company: I will have no more of them. If you will not have +me on the rock, give me a gun. I will hide among the trees, and I +promise that some of them shall die to-night before they find me. For +the honor of the regiment, sahib, do not refuse this thing. All I ask +is, if your honor escapes, that you will write to Kurnal +I-shpence-sahib, and tell him the last act of Mir Jan, _naik_ in B +troop." + +There was an intense pathos in the man's words. He made this +self-sacrificing offer with an utter absence of any motive save the old +tradition of duty to the colors. Here was Anstruther-sahib, of the +Belgaum Rissala, in dire peril. Very well, then, Corporal Mir Jan, late +of the 19th Bengal Lancers, must dare all to save him. + +Jenks was profoundly moved. He reflected how best to utilize the +services of this willing volunteer without exposing him to certain +death in the manner suggested. The native misinterpreted his silence. + +"I am not a _budmash_,[Footnote: Rascal.] sahib," he exclaimed +proudly. "I only killed a man because--" + +"Listen, Mir Jan. You cannot well mend what you have said. The Dyaks, +you are sure, will not come before morning?" + +"They have carried the wounded to the boats and are making the ladders. +Such was their talk when I left them." + +"Will they not miss you?" + +"They will miss the _mussak_,[Footnote: Goatskin.] sahib. It was +the last full one." + +"Mir Jan, do as I bid, and you shall see Delhi again, Have you ever +used a Lee-Metford?" + +"I have seen them, sahib; but I better understand the Mahtini." + +"I will give you a rifle, with plenty of ammunition, Do you go inside +the cave, there, and----" + +Mir Jan was startled. + +"Where the ghost is, sahib?" he said. + +"Ghost! That is a tale for children. There is no ghost, only a few +bones of a man murdered by these scoundrels long ago. Have you any +food?" + +"Some rice, sahib; sufficient for a day, or two at a pinch." + +"Good! We will get water from the well. When the fighting begins at +dawn, fire at every man you see from the back of the cave. On no +account come out. Then they can never reach you if you keep a full +magazine. Wait here!" + +"I thought you were never coming," protested Iris when Jenks reached +the ledge. "I have been quite creepy. I am sure there is some one down +there. And, please, may I have another drink?" + +The sailor had left the crowbar beneath. He secured a rifle, a spare +clip, and a dozen packets of cartridges, meanwhile briefly explaining +to Iris the turn taken by events so far as Mir Jan was concerned. She +was naturally delighted, and forgot her fears in the excitement caused +by the appearance of so useful an ally. She drank his health in a +brimming beaker of water. + +She heard her lover rejoin Mir Jan, and saw the two step out into the +moonlight, whilst Jenks explained the action of the Lee-Metford. +Fortunately Iris was now much recovered from the fatigue and privation +of the earlier hours. Her senses were sharpened to a pitch little +dreamed of by stay-at-home young ladies of her age, and she deemed it +her province to act as sentry whilst the two men conferred. Hence, she +was the first to detect, or rather to become conscious of, the stealthy +crawl of several Dyaks along the bottom of the cliff from Turtle Beach. +They advanced in Indian file, moving with the utmost care, and +crouching in the murky shadows like so many wild beasts stalking their +prey. + +"Robert!" she screamed. "The Dyaks! On your left!" + +But Iris was rapidly gaining some knowledge of strategy. Before she +shrieked her warning she grasped a rifle. Holding it at the +"Ready"--about the level of her waist--and depressing the muzzle +sufficiently, she began firing down the side of the rock as fast as she +could handle lever and trigger. Two of the nickel bullets struck a +projection and splashed the leading savages with molten metal. + +Unfortunately the Lee-Metford beneath was unloaded, being in Mir Jan's +possession for purposes of instruction. Jenks whipped out his revolver. + +"To the cave!" he roared, and Mir Jan's unwillingness to face a goblin +could not withstand the combined impetus of the sahib's order and the +onward rush of the enemy. He darted headlong for the entrance. + +[Illustration: IRIS BEGAN FIRING DOWN THE SIDE OF THE ROCK AS FAST AS +SHE COULD HANDLE LEVER AND TRIGGER.] + +Jenks, shooting blindly as he, too, ran for the ladder, emptied the +revolver just as his left hand clutched a rung. Three Dyaks were so +close that it would be folly to attempt to climb. He threw the weapon +into the face of the foremost man, effectually stopping his onward +progress, for the darkness made it impossible to dodge the missile. + +The sailor turned to dive into the cave and secure the rifle from Mir +Jan, when his shin caught the heavy crowbar resting against the rock. +The pain of the blow lent emphasis to the swing with which the +implement descended upon some portion of a Dyak anatomy. Jenks never +knew where he hit the second assailant, but the place cracked like an +eggshell. + +He had not time to recover the bar for another blow, so he gave the +point in the gullet of a gentleman who was about to make a vicious +sweep at him with a parang. The downfall of this worthy caused his +immediate successor to stumble, and Jenks saw his opportunity. With the +agility of a cat he jumped up the ladder. Once started, he had to go +on. He afterwards confessed to an unpleasant sensation of pins and +needles along his back during that brief acrobatic display; but he +reached the ledge without further injury, save an agonizing twinge when +the unprotected quick of his damaged finger was smartly rapped against +the rock. + +These things happened with the speed of thought. Within forty seconds +of Iris's shrill cry the sailor was breast high with the ledge and +calling to her-- + +"All right, old girl. Keep it up!" + +The cheerful confidence of his words had a wonderful effect on her. +Iris, like every good woman, had the maternal instinct strong within +her--the instinct that inspires alike the mild-eyed Sister of Charity +and the tigress fighting for her cubs. When Jenks was down below there, +in imminent danger of being cut to pieces, the gentle, lovable girl, +who would not willingly hurt the humblest of God's creatures, became +terrible, majestic in her frenzied purpose. Robert must be saved. If a +Maxim were planted on the rock she would unhesitatingly have turned the +lever and sprayed the Dyaks with bullets. + +But here he was close to her, unhurt and calmly jubilant, as was his +way when a stiff fight went well. He was by her side now, firing and +aiming too, for the Dyaks broke cover recklessly in running for +shelter, and one may do fair work by moonlight, as many a hunter of +wild duck can testify by the rheumatism in his bones. + +She had strength enough left to place the rifle out of harm's way +before she broke down and sobbed, not tearfully, but in a paroxysm of +reaction. Soon all was quiet beneath, save for the labored efforts of +some wounded men to get far away from that accursed rock. Jenks was +able to turn to Iris. He endeavored to allay her agitation, and +succeeded somewhat, for tears came, and she clung to him. It was +useless to reproach him. The whole incident was unforeseen: she was +herself a party to it. But what an escape! + +He lifted her in his arms and carried her to a seat where the tarpaulin +rested on a broken water-cask. + +"You have been a very good little girl and have earned your supper," he +said. + +"Oh, how can you talk so callously after such an awful experience?" she +expostulated brokenly. + +The Jesuits, say their opponents, teach that at times a "white lie" is +permissible. Surely this was an instance. + +"It is a small thing to trouble about, sweetheart," he explained. "You +spotted the enemy so promptly, and blazed away with such ferocity, that +they never got within yards of me." + +"Are you sure?" + +"I vow and declare that after we have eaten something, and sampled our +remaining bottle of wine, I will tell you exactly what happened." + +"Why not now?" + +"Because I must first see to Mir Jan. I bundled him neck and crop into +the cave. I hope I did not hurt him." + +"You are not going down there again?" + +"No need, I trust." + +He went to the side of the ledge, recovered the ladder which he had +hastily hauled out of the Dyaks' reach after his climb, and cried-- + +"Mir Jan." + +"Ah, sahib! Praised be the name of the Most High, you are alive. I was +searching among the slain with a sorrowful heart." + +The Mahommedan's voice came from some little distance on the left. + +"The slain, you say. How many?" + +"Five, sahib." + +"Impossible! I fired blindly with the revolver, and only hit one man +hard with the iron bar. One other dropped near the wood after I +obtained a rifle." + +"Then there be six, sahib, not reckoning the wounded. I have accounted +for one, so the miss-sahib must have--" + +"What is he saying about me?" inquired Iris, who had risen and joined +her lover. + +"He says you absolutely staggered the Dyaks by opening fire the moment +they appeared." + +"How did _you_ come to slay one, Mir Jan?" he continued. + +"A son of a black pig followed me into the cave. I waited for him in +the darkness. I have just thrown his body outside." + +"_Shabash!_[Footnote: "Well done!"] Is Taung S'Ali dead, by any +lucky chance?" + +"No, sahib, if he be not the sixth. I will go and see." + +"You may be attacked?" + +"I have found a sword, sahib. You left me no cartridges." + +Jenks told him that the clip and the twelve packets were lying at the +foot of the rock, where Mir Jan speedily discovered them. The +Mahommedan gave satisfactory assurance that he understood the mechanism +of the rifle 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 instant readiness to make a counter demonstration +were the native assailed. 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 a renegade Malay. He was so confident that the enemy had +had enough of it for the night that, after recovering Jenks's revolver, +he boldly went to the well and drew himself a supply of water. + +During supper, a feast graced by a quart of champagne worthy of the +Carlton, Jenks 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 happened. The Dyaks, having missed the +Mahommedan and their water-bag, searched for him and heard the +conversation at the foot of the rock. Knowing that their presence was +suspected, they went back for reinforcements, and returned by the +shorter and more advantageous route along Turtle Beach. + +Iris would have talked all night, but Jenks made her go to sleep, by +pillowing her head against his shoulder and smoothing her tangled +tresses with his hand. The wine, too, was helpful. In a few minutes her +voice became dreamy: soon she was sleeping like a tired child. + +He managed to lay her on a comfortable pile of ragged clothing and then +resumed his vigil. Mir Jan offered to mount guard beneath, but Jenks +bade 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 its train. He reviewed the events of the last twenty-four +hours. Iris and he--Miss Deane, Mr. Jenks, to each other--were then +undiscovered 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, a devoted adherent, was +seated beside the skeleton in the gloom of the cavern. + +What a topsy-turvy world it was, to be sure! What alternations between +despair and hope! What rebound from the gates of Death to the threshold +of Eden! How untrue, after all, was the nebulous philosophy of Omar, +the Tentmaker. Surely in the happenings of the bygone day there was +more than the purposeless + + + "Magic Shadow-show, + Play'd in a Box whose Candle is the Sun, + Round which we Phantom Figures come and go." + + +He had, indeed, cause to be humbly thankful. Was there not One who +marked the fall of a sparrow, who clothed the lilies, who knew the +needs of His creatures? There, in the solemn 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 festering bodies, that converted this +fair island into a reeking slaughter-house. Were it possible, by any +personal sacrifice, to divert the untutored savages from their deadly +quest, he would gladly condone their misdeeds and endeavor to assuage +the torments of the wounded. + +But he was utterly helpless, a pawn on that tiny chessboard where the +game was being played between Civilization and Barbarism. The fight +must go on to the bitter end: he must either vanquish or be vanquished. +There were other threads being woven into the garment of his life at +that moment, but he knew not of them. Sufficient for the day was the +evil, and the good thereof. Of both he had received full measure. + +A period of such reflection could hardly pass without a speculative +dive into the future. If Iris and he were rescued, what would happen +when they went forth once more into the busy world? Not for one instant +did he doubt her faith. She was true as steel, knit to him now by bonds +of triple brass. But, what would Sir Arthur Deane think of his +daughter's marriage to a discredited and cashiered officer? What was it +that poor Mir Jan called himself?--"a disgraced man." Yes, that was it. +Could that stain be removed? Mir Jan was doing it. Why not he?--by +other means, for his good name rested on the word of a perjured woman. +Wealth was potent, but not all-powerful. He would ask Iris to wait +until he came to her unsoiled by slander, purged of this odium cast +upon him unmerited. + +And all this goes to show that he, a man wise beyond his fellows, had +not yet learned the unwisdom of striving to lift the veil of tomorrow, +behind whose mystic curtain what is to be ever jostles out of place +what is hoped for. + +Iris, smiling in her dreams, was assailed by no torturing doubts. +Robert loved her--that was enough. Love suffices for a woman; a man +asks for honor, reputation, an unblemished record. + +To awake her he kissed her; he knew not, perchance it might be their +last kiss on earth. Not yet dawn, there was morning in the air, for the +first faint shafts of light were not visible from their eyrie owing to +its position. But there was much to be done. If the Dyaks carried out +the plan described by Mir Jan, he had a good many preparations to make. + +The canvas awning was rolled back and the stores built into a barricade +intended to shelter Iris. + +"What is that for?" she asked, when she discovered its nature. He told +her. She definitely refused to avail herself of any such protection. + +"Robert dear," she said, "if the attack comes to our very door, so to +speak, surely I must help you. Even my slight aid may stem a rush in +one place whilst you are busy in another." + +He explained to her that if hand-to-hand fighting were necessary he +would depend more upon a crowbar than a rifle to sweep the ledge clear. +She might be in the way. + +"Very well. The moment you tell me to get behind that fence I will do +so. Even there I can use a revolver." + +That reminded him. His own pistol was unloaded. He possessed only five +more cartridges of small caliber. He placed them in the weapon and gave +it to her. + +"Now you have eleven men's lives in your hands," he said. "Try not to +miss if you must shoot." + +In the dim light he could not see the spasm of pain that clouded her +face. No Dyak would reach her whilst he lived. If he fell, there was +another use for one of those cartridges. + +The sailor had cleared the main floor of the rock and was placing his +four rifles and other implements within easy reach when a hiss came +from beneath. + +"Mir Jan!" exclaimed Iris. + +"What now?" demanded Jenks over the side. + +"Sahib, they come!" + +"I am prepared. Let that snake get back to his hole in the rock, lest a +mongoose seize him by the head." + +Mir Jan, engaged in a scouting expedition on his own account, +understood that the officer-sahib's orders must be obeyed. He vanished. +Soon they heard a great crackling among the bushes on the right, but +Jenks knew even before he looked that the Dyaks had correctly estimated +the extent of his fire zone and would keep out of it. + +The first physical intimation of the enemy's design they received was a +pungent but pleasant smell of burning pine, borne to them by the +northerly breeze and filling the air with its aroma. The Dyaks kindled +a huge fire. The heat was perceptible even on the ledge, but the +minutes passed, and the dawn broadened into day without any other +result being achieved. + +Iris, a little drawn and pale with suspense, said with a timid giggle-- + +"This does not seem to be so very serious. It reminds me of my efforts +to cook." + +"There is more to follow, I fear, dear one. But the Dyaks are fools. +They should have waited until night fell again, after wearing us out by +constant vigilance all day. If they intend to employ smoke it would be +far worse for us at night." + +Phew! A volume of murky vapor arose that nearly suffocated them by the +first whiff of its noisome fumes. It curled like a black pall over the +face of the rock and blotted out sea and sky. They coughed incessantly, +and nearly choked, for the Dyaks had thrown wet seaweed on top of the +burning pile of dry wood. Mir Jan, born in interior India, knew little +about the sea or its products, and when the savages talked of seaweed +he thought they meant green wood. Fortunately for him, the ascending +clouds of smoke missed the cave, or infallibly he must have been +stifled. + +"Lie flat on the rock!" gasped Jenks. Careless of waste, he poured +water over a coat and made Iris bury her mouth and nose in the wet +cloth. This gave her immediate relief, and she showed her woman's wit +by tying the sleeves of the garment behind her neck. Jenks nodded +comprehension and followed her example, for by this means their hands +were left free. + +The black cloud grew more dense each few seconds. Nevertheless, owing +to the slope of the ledge, and the tendency of the smoke to rise, the +south side was far more tenable than the north. Quick to note this +favorable circumstance, the sailor deduced a further fact from it. A +barrier erected on the extreme right of the ledge would be a material +gain. He sprang up, dragged the huge tarpaulin from its former +location, and propped it on the handle of the pickaxe, driven by one +mighty stroke deep into a crevice of the rock. + +It was no mean feat of strength that he performed. He swung the heavy +and cumbrous canvas into position as if it were a dust cloth. He +emerged from the gloom of the driven cloud red-eyed but triumphant. +Instantly the vapor on the ledge lessened, and they could breathe, even +talk. Overhead and in front the smoke swept in ever-increasing density, +but once again the sailor had outwitted the Dyaks' manoeuvres. + +"We have won the first rubber," he whispered to Iris. + +Above, beneath, beyond, they could see nothing. The air they breathed +was hot and foetid. It was like being immured in a foul tunnel and +almost as dark. Jenks looked over the parapet. He thought he could +distinguish some vague figures on the sands, so he fired at them. A +volley of answering bullets crashed into the rock on all sides. The +Dyaks had laid their plans well this time. A firing squad stationed +beyond the smoke area, and supplied with all the available guns, +commenced and kept up a smart fusillade in the direction of the ledge +in order to cover the operations of the scaling party. + +Jenks realized that to expose himself was to court a serious wound and +achieve no useful purpose. He fell back out of range, laid down his +rifle and grabbed the crowbar. At brief intervals a deep hollow boom +came up from the valley. At first it puzzled them until the sailor hit +upon an explanation. Mir Jan was busy. + +The end of a strong roughly made ladder swung through the smoke and +banged against the ledge. Before Jenks could reach it those hoisting it +into position hastily retreated. They were standing in front of the +cave and the Mahommedan made play on them with a Lee-Metford at thirty +feet. + +Jenks, using his crowbar as a lever, toppled the ladder clean over. It +fell outwards and disconcerted a section of the musketeers. + +"Well done," cried Iris. + +The sailor, astounded by her tone, gave her a fleeting glance. She was +very pale now, but not with fear. Her eyes were slightly contracted, +her nostrils quivering, her lips set tight and her chin dimpled. She +had gone back thirty generations in as many seconds. Thus might one of +the daughters of Boadicea have looked whilst guiding her mother's +chariot against the Roman phalanx. Resting on one knee, with a revolver +in each hand, she seemed no puling mate for the gallant man who fought +for her. + +She caught his look. + +"We will beat them yet!" she cried again, and she smiled, not as a +woman smiles, but with the joy of a warrior when the fray is toward. + +There was no time for further speech. Three ladders were reared against +the rock. They were so poised and held below that Jenks could not force +them backwards. A fourth appeared, its coarse shafts looming into sight +like the horns of some gigantic animal. The four covered practically +the whole front of the ledge save where Mir Jan cleared a little space +on the level. + +The sailor was standing now, with the crowbar clenched in both hands. +The firing in the valley slackened and died away. A Dyak face, grinning +like a Japanese demon, appeared at the top of the ladder nearest to +Iris. + +"Don't fire!" shouted Jenks, and the iron bar crushed downwards. Two +others pitched themselves half on to the ledge. Now both crowbar and +revolver were needed. Three ladders were thus cumbered somewhat for +those beneath, and Jenks sprang towards the fourth and most distant. +Men were crowding it like ants. Close to his feet lay an empty +water-cask. It was a crude weapon, but effective when well pitched, and +the sailor had never made a better shot for a goal in the midst of a +hard-fought scrimmage than he made with that tub for the head of the +uppermost pirate. + +Another volley came from the sands. A bullet ploughed through his hair, +and sent his sou'wester flying. Again the besiegers swarmed to the +attack. One way or the other, they must succeed. A man and a +woman--even such a man and such a woman--could not keep at bay an +infuriated horde of fifty savages fighting at close quarters and under +these grievous conditions. + +Jenks knew what would happen. He would be shot in the head or breast +whilst repelling the scaling party. And Iris! Dear heart! She was +thinking of him. + +"Keep back! They can never gain the ledge!" she shrieked. + +And then, above the din of the fusillade, the yells of the assailants +and the bawling of the wounded, there came through the air a screaming, +tearing, ripping sound which drowned all others. It traveled with +incredible speed, and before the sailor could believe his ears--for he +well knew what it meant--a shrapnel shell burst in front of the ledge +and drenched the valley with flying lead. + +Jenks was just able to drag Iris flat against the rock ere the time +fuse operated and the bullets flew. He could form no theory, hazard no +conjecture. All he knew was that a 12-pounder shell had flown towards +them through space, scattering red ruin among the amazed scoundrels +beneath. Instantly he rose again, lest perchance any of the Dyaks +should have gained a foothold on the ledge. + +The ladders were empty. He could hear a good deal of groaning, the +footsteps of running men, and some distant shouting. + +"Sahib!" yelled Mir Jan, drawn from his retreat by the commotion +without. + +"Yes," shouted Jenks. + +The native, in a voice cracked with excitement, told him something. The +sailor asked a few rapid questions to make quite sure that Mir Jan was +not mistaken. + +Then he threw his arms round Iris, drew her close and whispered-- + +"My darling, we are saved! A warship has anchored just beyond the south +reef, and two boats filled with armed sailors are now pulling ashore." + +And she answered proudly-- + +"The Dyaks could never have conquered us, Robert. We were manifestly +under God's protection. Oh, my love, my love, I am so happy and +thankful!" + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE DIFFICULTY OF PLEASING EVERYBODY + + +The drifting smoke was still so dense that not even the floor of the +valley could be discerned. Jenks dared not leave Iris at such a moment. +He feared to bring her down the ladder lest another shell might be +fired. But something must be done to end their suspense. + +He called to Mir Jan-- + +"Take off your turban and hold it above your head, if you think they +can see you from the warship." + +"It is all right, sahib," came the cheering answer. "One boat is close +inshore. I think, from the uniforms, they are English sahibs, such as I +have seen at Garden Reach. The Dyaks have all gone." + +Nevertheless Jenks waited. There was nothing to gain by being too +precipitate. A false step now might undo the achievements of many +weeks. + +Mir Jan was dancing about beneath in a state of wild excitement. + +"They have seen the Dyaks running to their sampans, sahib," he yelled, +"and the second boat is being pulled in that direction. Yet another has +just left the ship." + +A translation made Iris excited, eager to go down and see these +wonders. + +"Better wait here, dearest," he said. "The enemy may be driven back in +this direction, and I cannot expose you to further risk. The sailors +will soon land, and you can then descend in perfect safety." + +The boom of a cannon came from the sea. Instinctively the girl ducked +for safety, though her companion smiled at her fears, for the shell +would have long preceded the report, had it traveled their way. + +"One of the remaining sampans has got under way," he explained, "and +the warship is firing at her." + +Two more guns were fired. The man-o'-war evidently meant business. + +"Poor wretches!" murmured Iris. "Cannot the survivors be allowed to +escape?" + +"Well, we are unable to interfere. Those caught on the island will +probably be taken to the mainland and hanged for their crimes, so the +manner of their end is not of much consequence." + +To the girl's manifest relief there was no more firing, and Mir Jan +announced that a number of sailors were actually on shore. Then her +thoughts turned to a matter of concern to the feminine mind even in the +gravest moments of existence. She laved her face with water and sought +her discarded skirt! + +Soon the steady tramp of boot-clad feet advancing at the double was +heard on the shingle, and an officer's voice, speaking the crude +Hindustani of the engine-room and forecastle, shouted to Mir Jan-- + +"Hi, you black fellow! Are there any white people here?" + +Jenks sang out-- + +"Yes, two of us! Perched on the rock over your heads. We are coming +down." + +He cast loose the rope-ladder. Iris was limp and trembling. + +"Steady, sweetheart," he whispered. "Don't forget the slip between the +cup and the lip. Hold tight! But have no fear! I will be just beneath." + +It was well he took this precaution. She was now so unnerved that an +unguarded movement might have led to an accident. But the knowledge +that her lover was near, the touch of his hand guiding her feet on to +the rungs of the ladder, sustained her. They had almost reached the +level when a loud exclamation and the crash of a heavy blow caused +Jenks to halt and look downwards. + +A Dyak, lying at the foot of one of the scaling ladders, and severely +wounded by a shell splinter, witnessed their descent. In his left hand +he grasped a parang; his right arm was bandaged. Though unable to rise, +the vengeful pirate mustered his remaining strength to crawl towards +the swaying ladder. It was Taung S'Ali, inspired with the hate and +venom of the dying snake. Even yet he hoped to deal a mortal stroke at +the man who had defied him and all his cut-throat band. He might have +succeeded, as Jenks was so taken up with Iris, were it not for the +watchful eyes of Mir Jan. The Mahommedan sprang at him with an oath, +and gave him such a murderous whack with the butt of a rifle that the +Dyak chief collapsed and breathed out his fierce spirit in a groan. + +At the first glance Jenks did not recognize Taung S'Ali, owing to his +change of costume. Through the thinner smoke he could see several +sailors running up. + +"Look out, there!" he cried. "There is a lady here. If any Dyak moves, +knock him on the head!" + +But, with the passing of the chief, their last peril had gone. The next +instant they were standing on the firm ground, and a British naval +lieutenant was saying eagerly-- + +"We seem to have turned up in the nick of time. Do you, by any chance, +belong to the _Sirdar_?" + +"We are the sole survivors," answered the sailor. + +"You two only?" + +"Yes. She struck on the north-west reef of this island during a +typhoon. This lady, Miss Iris Deane, and I were flung ashore--" + +"Miss Deane! Can it be possible? Let me congratulate you most heartily. +Sir Arthur Deane is on board the _Orient_ at this moment." + +"The _Orient_!" + +Iris was dazed. The uniforms, the pleasant faces of the English +sailors, the strange sensation of hearing familiar words in tones other +than those of the man she loved, bewildered her. + +"Yes," explained the officer, with a sympathetic smile. "That's our +ship, you know, in the offing there." + +It was all too wonderful to be quite understood yet. She turned to +Robert-- + +"Do you hear? They say my father is not far away. Take me to him." + +[Illustration: "WE ARE THE SOLE SURVIVORS," ANSWERED THE SAILOR.] + +"No need for that, miss," interrupted a warrant officer. "Here he is +coming ashore. He wanted to come with us, but the captain would not +permit it, as there seemed to be some trouble ahead." + +Sure enough, even the girl's swimming eyes could distinguish the +grey-bearded civilian seated beside an officer in the stern-sheets of a +small gig now threading a path through the broken reef beyond Turtle +Beach. In five minutes, father and daughter would meet. + +Meanwhile the officer, intent on duty, addressed Jenks again. + +"May I ask who you are?" + +"My name is Anstruther--Robert Anstruther." + +Iris, clinging to his arm, heard the reply. + +So he had abandoned all pretence. He was ready to face the world at her +side. She stole a loving glance at him as she cried-- + +"Yes, Captain Anstruther, of the Indian Staff Corps. If he will not +tell you all that he has done, how he has saved my life twenty times, +how he has fought single-handed against eighty men, ask me!" + +The naval officer did not need to look a second time at Iris's face to +lengthen the list of Captain Anstruther's achievements, by one more +item. He sighed. A good sailor always does sigh when a particularly +pretty girl is labeled "Engaged." + +But he could be very polite. + +"Captain Anstruther does not appear to have left much for us to do, +Miss Deane," he said. "Indeed," turning to Robert, "is there any way in +which my men will be useful?" + +"I would recommend that they drag the green stuff off that fire and +stop the smoke. Then, a detachment should go round the north side of +the island and drive the remaining Dyaks into the hands of the party +you have landed, as I understand, at the further end of the south +beach. Mir Jan, the Mahommedan here, who has been a most faithful ally +during part of our siege, will act as guide." + +The other man cast a comprehensive glance over the rock, with its +scaling ladders and dangling rope-ladder, the cave, the little groups +of dead or unconscious pirates--for every wounded man who could move a +limb had crawled away after the first shell burst--and drew a deep +breath. + +"How long were you up there?" he asked. + +"Over thirty hours." + +"It was a great fight!" + +"Somewhat worse than it looks," said Anstruther. "This is only the end +of it. Altogether, we have accounted for nearly two score of the poor +devils." + +"Do you think you can make them prisoners, without killing any more of +them?" asked Iris. + +"That depends entirely on themselves, Miss Deane. My men will not fire +a shot unless they encounter resistance." + +Robert looked towards the approaching boat. She would not land yet for +a couple of minutes. + +"By the way," he said, "will you tell me your name?" + +"Playdon--Lieutenant Philip H. Playdon." + +"Do you know to what nation this island belongs?" + +"It is no-man's land, I think. It is marked 'uninhabited' on the +chart." + +"Then," said Anstruther, "I call upon you, Lieutenant Playdon, and all +others here present, to witness that I, Robert Anstruther, late of the +Indian Army, acting on behalf of myself and Miss Iris Deane, declare +that we have taken possession of this island in the name of His +Britannic Majesty the King of England, that we are the joint occupiers +and owners thereof, and claim all property rights vested therein." + +These formal phrases, coming at such a moment, amazed his hearers. Iris +alone had an inkling of the underlying motive. + +"I don't suppose any one will dispute your title," said the naval +officer gravely. He unquestionably imagined that suffering and exposure +had slightly disturbed the other man's senses, yet he had seldom seen +any person who looked to be in more complete possession of his +faculties. + +"Thank you," replied Robert with equal composure, though he felt +inclined to laugh at Playdon's mystification. "I only wished to secure +a sufficient number of witnesses for a verbal declaration. When I have +a few minutes to spare I will affix a legal notice on the wall in front +of our cave." + +Playdon bowed silently. There was something in the speaker's manner +that puzzled him. He detailed a small guard to accompany Robert and +Iris, who now walked towards the beach, and asked Mir Jan to pilot him +as suggested by Anstruther. + +The boat was yet many yards from shore when Iris ran forward and +stretched out her arms to the man who was staring at her with wistful +despair. + +"Father! Father!" she cried. "Don't you know me?" + +Sir Arthur Deane was looking at the two strange figures on the sands, +and each moment his heart sank lower. This island held his final hope. +During many weary weeks, since the day when a kindly Admiral placed the +cruiser _Orient_ at his disposal, he had scoured the China Sea, +the coasts of Borneo and Java, for some tidings of the ill-fated +_Sirdar_. + +He met naught save blank nothingness, the silence of the great ocean +mausoleum. Not a boat, a spar, a lifebuoy, was cast up by the waves to +yield faintest trace of the lost steamer. Every naval man knew what had +happened. The vessel had met with some mishap to her machinery, struck +a derelict, or turned turtle, during that memorable typhoon of March 17 +and 18. She had gone down with all hands. Her fate was a foregone +conclusion. No ship's boat could live in that sea, even if the crew +were able to launch one. It was another of ocean's tragedies, with the +fifth act left to the imagination. + +To examine every sand patch and tree-covered shoal in the China Sea was +an impossible task. All the _Orient_ could do was to visit the +principal islands and institute inquiries among the fishermen and small +traders. At last, the previous night, a Malay, tempted by hope of +reward, boarded the vessel when lying at anchor off the large island +away to the south, and told the captain a wondrous tale of a +devil-haunted place inhabited by two white spirits, a male and a +female, whither a local pirate named Taung S'Ali had gone by chance +with his men and suffered great loss. But Taung S'Ali was bewitched by +the female spirit, and had returned there, with a great force, swearing +to capture her or perish. The spirits, the Malay said, had dwelt upon +the island for many years. His father and grandfather knew the place +and feared it. Taung S'Ali would never be seen again. + +This queer yarn was the first indication they received of the +whereabouts of any persons who might possibly be shipwrecked Europeans, +though not survivors from the _Sirdar_. Anyhow, the tiny dot lay +in the vessel's northward track, so a course was set to arrive off the +island soon after dawn. + +Events on shore, as seen by the officer on watch, told their own tale. +Wherever Dyaks are fighting there is mischief on foot, so the +_Orient_ took a hand in the proceedings. + +But Sir Arthur Deane, after an agonized scrutiny of the weird-looking +persons escorted by the sailors to the water's edge, sadly acknowledged +that neither of these could be the daughter whom he sought. He bowed +his head in humble resignation, and he thought he was the victim of a +cruel hallucination when Iris's tremulous accents reached his ears-- + +"Father, father! Don't you know me?" + +He stood up, amazed and trembling. + +"Yes, father dear. It is I, your own little girl given back to you. Oh +dear! Oh dear! I cannot see you for my tears." + +They had some difficulty to keep him in the boat, and the man pulling +stroke smashed a stout oar with the next wrench. + +And so they met at last, and the sailors left them alone, to crowd +round Anstruther and ply him with a hundred questions. Although he fell +in with their humor, and gradually pieced together the stirring story +which was supplemented each instant by the arrival of disconsolate +Dyaks and the comments of the men who returned from cave and beach, his +soul was filled with the sight of Iris and her father, and the happy, +inconsequent demands with which each sought to ascertain and relieve +the extent of the other's anxiety. + +Then Iris called to him-- + +"Robert, I want you." + +The use of his Christian name created something akin to a sensation. +Sir Arthur Deane was startled, even in his immeasurable delight at +finding his child uninjured--the picture of rude health and happiness. + +Anstruther advanced. + +"This is my father," she cried, shrill with joy. "And, father darling, +this is Captain Robert Anstruther, to whom alone, under God's will, I +owe my life, many, many times since the moment the _Sirdar_ was +lost." + +It was no time for questioning. Sir Arthur Deane took off his hat and +held out his hand-- + +"Captain Anstruther," he said, "as I owe you my daughter's life, I owe +you that which I can never repay. And I owe you my own life, too, for I +could not have survived the knowledge that she was dead." + +Robert took the proffered hand-- + +"I think, Sir Arthur, that, of the two, I am the more deeply indebted. +There are some privileges whose value cannot be measured, and among +them the privilege of restoring your daughter to your arms takes the +highest place." + +Then, being much more self-possessed than the older man, who was +naturally in a state of agitation that was almost painful, he turned to +Iris. + +"I think," he said, "that your father should take you on board the +_Orient_, Iris. There you may, perhaps, find some suitable +clothing, eat something, and recover from the exciting events of the +morning. Afterwards, you must bring Sir Arthur ashore again, and we +will guide him over the island. I am sure you will find much to tell +him meanwhile." + +The baronet could not fail to note the manner in which these two +addressed each other, the fearless love which leaped from eye to eye, +the calm acceptance of a relationship not be questioned or gainsaid. +Robert and Iris, without spoken word on the subject, had tactily agreed +to avoid the slightest semblance of subterfuge as unworthy alike of +their achievements and their love. Yet what could Sir Arthur Deane do? +To frame a suitable protest at such a moment was not to be dreamed of. +As yet he was too shaken to collect his thoughts. Anstruther's +proposal, however, helped him to blurt out what he intuitively felt to +be a disagreeable fact. Yet something must be said, for his brain +reeled. + +"Your suggestion is admirable," he cried, striving desperately to +affect a careless complaisance. "The ship's stores may provide Iris +with some sort of rig-out, and an old friend of hers is on board at +this moment, little expecting her presence. Lord Ventnor has +accompanied me in my search. He will, of course, be delighted--" + +Anstruther flushed a deep bronze, but Iris broke in-- + +"Father, why did _he_ come with you?" + +Sir Arthur, driven into this sudden squall of explanation, became +dignified. + +"Well, you see, my dear, under the circumstances, he felt an anxiety +almost commensurate with my own." + +"But why, why?" + +Iris was quite calm. With Robert near, she was courageous. Even the +perturbed baronet experienced a new sensation as his troubled glance +fell before her searching eyes. His daughter had left him a joyous, +heedless girl. He found her a woman, strong, self-reliant, purposeful. +Yet he kept on, choosing the most straightforward means as the only +honorable way of clearing a course so beset with unsuspected obstacles. + +"It is only reasonable, Iris, that your affianced husband should suffer +an agony of apprehension on your account, and do all that was possible +to effect your rescue." + +"My--affianced--husband?" + +"Well, my dear girl, perhaps that is hardly the correct phrase from +your point of view. Yet you cannot fail to remember that Lord +Ventnor--" + +"Father, dear," said Iris solemnly, but in a voice free from all +uncertainty, "my affianced husband stands here! We plighted our troth +at the very gate of death. It was ratified in the presence of God, and +has been blessed by Him. I have made no compact with Lord Ventnor. He +is a base and unworthy man. Did you but know the truth concerning him +you would not mention his name in the same breath with mine. Would he, +Robert?" + +Never was man so perplexed as the unfortunate shipowner. In the instant +that his beloved daughter was restored to him out of the very depths of +the sea, he was asked either to undertake the rôle of a disappointed +and unforgiving parent, or sanction her marriage to a truculent-looking +person of most forbidding if otherwise manly appearance, who had +certainly saved her from death in ways not presently clear to him, but +who could not be regarded as a suitable son-in-law solely on that +account. + +What could he do, what could he say, to make the position less +intolerable? + +Anstruther, quicker than Iris to appreciate Sir Arthur Deane's dilemma, +gallantly helped him. He placed a loving hand on the girl's shoulder. + +"Be advised by me, Sir Arthur, and you too, Iris," he said. "This is no +hour for such explanations. Leave me to deal with Lord Ventnor. I am +content to trust the ultimate verdict to you, Sir Arthur. You will +learn in due course all that has happened. Go on board, Iris. Meet Lord +Ventnor as you would meet any other friend. You will not marry him, I +know. I can trust you." He said this with a smile that robbed the words +of serious purport. "Believe me, you two can find plenty to occupy your +minds today without troubling yourselves about Lord Ventnor." + +"I am very much obliged to you," murmured the baronet, who, +notwithstanding his worry, was far too experienced a man of the world +not to acknowledge the good sense of this advice, no matter how +ruffianly might be the guise of the strange person who gave it. + +"That is settled, then," said Robert, laughing good-naturedly, for he +well knew what a weird spectacle he must present to the bewildered old +gentleman. + +Even Sir Arthur Deane was fascinated by the ragged and hairy giant who +carried himself so masterfully and helped everybody over the stile at +the right moment He tried to develop the change in the conversation. + +"By the way," he said, "how came you to be on the _Sirdar_? I have +a list of all the passengers and crew, and your name does not appear +therein." + +"Oh, that is easily accounted for. I shipped as a steward, in the name +of Robert Jenks." + +"Robert Jenks! A steward!" + +This was worse than ever. The unhappy shipowner thought the sky must +have fallen. + +"Yes. That forms some part of the promised explanation." + +Iris rapidly gathered the drift of her lover's wishes. "Come, father," +she cried merrily. "I am aching to see what the ship's stores, which +you and Robert pin your faith to, can do for me in the shape of +garments. I have the utmost belief in the British navy, and even a +skeptic should be convinced of its infallibility if H.M.S. +_Orient_ is able to provide a lady's outfit." + +Sir Arthur Deane gladly availed himself of the proffered compromise. He +assisted Iris into the boat, though that active young person was far +better able to support him, and a word to the officer in command sent +the gig flying back to the ship. Anstruther, during a momentary delay, +made a small request on his own account. Lieutenant Playdon, nearly as +big a man as Robert, despatched a note to his servant, and the gig +speedily returned with a complete assortment of clothing and linen. The +man also brought a dressing case, with the result that a dip in the +bath, and ten minutes in the hands of an expert valet, made Anstruther +a new man. + +Acting under his advice, the bodies of the dead were thrown into the +lagoon, the wounded were collected in the hut to be attended to by the +ship's surgeon, and the prisoners were paraded in front of Mir Jan, who +identified every man, and found, by counting heads, that none was +missing. + +Robert did not forget to write out a formal notice and fasten it to the +rock. This proceeding further mystified the officers of the +_Orient_, who had gradually formed a connected idea of the great +fight made by the shipwrecked pair, though Anstruther squirmed inwardly +when he thought of the manner in which Iris would picture the scene. As +it was, he had the first innings, and he did not fail to use the +opportunity. In the few terse words which the militant Briton best +understands, he described the girl's fortitude, her unflagging +cheerfulness, her uncomplaining readiness to do and dare. + +Little was said by his auditors, save to interpolate an occasional +question as to why such and such a thing was necessary, or how some +particular drawback had been surmounted. Standing near the well, it was +not necessary to move to explain to them the chief features of the +island, and point out the measures he had adopted. + +When he ended, the first lieutenant, who commanded the boats sent in +pursuit of the flying Dyaks--the _Orient_ sank both sampans as +soon as they were launched--summed up the general verdict-- + +"You do not need our admiration, Captain Anstruther. Each man of us +envies you from the bottom of his soul." + +"I do, I know--from the very bilge," exclaimed a stout midshipman, one +of those who had seen Iris. + +Robert waited until the laugh died away. + +"There is an error about my rank," he said. "I did once hold a +commission in the Indian army, but I was court-marshaled and cashiered +in Hong Kong six months ago. I was unjustly convicted on a grave +charge, and I hope some day to clear myself. Meanwhile I am a mere +civilian. It was only Miss Deane's generous sympathy which led her to +mention my former rank, Mr. Playdon." + +Had another of the _Orient's_ 12-pounder shells suddenly burst in +the midst of the group of officers, it would have created less dismay +than this unexpected avowal. Court-martialed! Cashiered! None but a +service man can grasp the awful significance of those words to the +commissioned ranks of the army and navy. + +Anstruther well knew what he was doing. Somehow, he found nothing hard +in the performance of these penances now. Of course, the ugly truth +must be revealed the moment Lord Ventnor heard his name. It was not +fair to the good fellows crowding around him, and offering every +attention that the frank hospitality of the British sailor could +suggest, to permit them to adopt the tone of friendly equality which +rigid discipline, if nothing else, would not allow them to maintain. + +The first lieutenant, by reason of his rank, was compelled to say +something-- + +"That is a devilish bad job, Mr. Anstruther," he blurted out. + +"Well, you know, I had to tell you." + +He smiled unaffectedly at the wondering circle. He, too, was an +officer, and appreciated their sentiments. They were unfeignedly sorry +for him, a man so brave and modest, such a splendid type of the soldier +and gentleman, yet, by their common law, an outcast. Nor could they +wholly understand his demeanor. There was a noble dignity in his +candor, a conscious innocence that disdained to shield itself under a +partial truth. He spoke, not as a wrong-doer, but as one who addresses +those who have been and will be once more his peers. + +The first lieutenant again phrased the thoughts of his juniors-- + +"I, and every other man in the ship, cannot help but sympathize with +you. But whatever may be your record--if you were an escaped convict, +Mr. Anstruther--no one could withhold from you the praise deserved for +your magnificent stand against overwhelming odds. Our duty is plain. We +will bring you to Singapore, where the others will no doubt wish to go +immediately. I will tell the Captain what you have been good enough to +acquaint us with. Meanwhile we will give you every assistance, +and--er--attention in our power." + +A murmur of approbation ran through the little circle. Robert's face +paled somewhat. What first-rate chaps they were, to be sure! + +"I can only thank you," he said unsteadily. "Your kindness is more +trying than adversity." + +A rustle of silk, the intrusion into the intent knot of men of a young +lady in a Paris gown, a Paris hat, carrying a Trouville parasol, and +most exquisitely gloved and booted, made every one gasp. + +"Oh, Robert dear, how _could_ you? I actually didn't know you!" + +Thus Iris, bewitchingly attired, and gazing now with provoking +admiration at Robert, who certainly offered almost as great a contrast +to his former state as did the girl herself. He returned her look with +interest. + +"Would any man believe," he laughed, "that clothes would do so much for +a woman?" + +"What a left-handed compliment! But come, dearest, Captain Fitzroy and +Lord Ventnor have come ashore with father and me. They want us to show +them everything! You will excuse him, won't you?" she added, with a +seraphic smile to the others. + +They walked off together. + +"Jimmy!" gasped the fat midshipman to a lanky youth. "She's got on your +togs!" + +Meaning that Iris had ransacked the _Orient's_ theatrical +wardrobe, and pounced on the swell outfit of the principal female +impersonator in the ship's company. + +Lieutenant Playdon bit the chin strap of his pith helmet, for the +landing party wore the regulation uniform for service ashore in the +tropics. He muttered to his chief-- + +"Damme if I've got the hang of this business yet." + +"Neither have I. Anstruther looks a decent sort of fellow, and the girl +is a stunner. Yet, d'ye know, Playdon, right through the cruise I've +always understood that she was the fiancée of that cad, Ventnor." + +"Anstruther appears to have arranged matters differently. Wonder what +pa will say when that Johnnie owns up about the court-martial." + +"Give it up, which is more than the girl will do, or I'm much mistaken. +Funny thing, you know, but I've a sort of hazy recollection of +Anstruther's name being mixed up with that of a Colonel's wife at Hong +Kong. Fancy Ventnor was in it too, as a witness. Stand by, and we'll +see something before we unload at Singapore." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +BARGAINS, GREAT AND SMALL + + +Lord Ventnor was no fool. Whilst Iris was transforming herself from a +semi-savage condition into a semblance of an ultra _chic_ +Parisienne--the _Orient's_ dramatic costumier went in for strong +stage effects in feminine attire--Sir Arthur Deane told the Earl +something of the state of affairs on the island. + +His lordship--a handsome, saturnine man, cool, insolently polite, and +plentifully endowed with the judgmatical daring that is the necessary +equipment of a society libertine--counseled patience, toleration, even +silent recognition of Anstruther's undoubted claims for services +rendered. + +"She is an enthusiastic, high-spirited girl," he urged upon his +surprised hearer, who expected a very different expression of opinion. +"This fellow Anstruther is a plausible sort of rascal, a good man in a +tight place too--just the sort of fire-eating blackguard who would fill +the heroic bill where a fight is concerned. Damn him, he licked me +twice." + +Further amazement for the shipowner. + +"Yes, it's quite true. I interfered with his little games, and he gave +me the usual reward of the devil's apothecary. Leave Iris alone. At +present she is strung up to an intense pitch of gratitude, having +barely escaped a terrible fate. Let her come back to the normal. +Anstruther's shady record must gradually leak out. That will disgust +her. In a week she will appeal to you to buy him off. He is hard +up--cut off by his people and that sort of thing. There you probably +have the measure of his scheming. He knows quite well that he can never +marry your daughter. It is all a matter of price." + +Sir Arthur willingly allowed himself to be persuaded. At the back of +his head there was an uneasy consciousness that it was not "all a +matter of price." If it were he would never trust a man's face again. +But Ventnor's well-balanced arguments swayed him. The course indicated +was the only decent one. It was humanly impossible for a man to chide +his daughter and flout her rescuer within an hour of finding them. + +Lord Ventnor played his cards with a deeper design. He bowed to the +inevitable. Iris said she loved his rival. Very well. To attempt to +dissuade her was to throw her more closely into that rival's arms. The +right course was to appear resigned, saddened, compelled against his +will to reveal the distressing truth. Further, he counted on +Anstruther's quick temper as an active agent. Such a man would be the +first to rebel against an assumption of pitying tolerance. He would +bring bitter charges of conspiracy, of unbelievable compact to secure +his ruin. All this must recoil on his own head when the facts were laid +bare. Not even the hero of the island could prevail against the +terrible indictment of the court-martial. Finally, at Singapore, three +days distant, Colonel Costobell and his wife were staying. Lord +Ventnor, alone of those on board, knew this. Indeed, he accompanied Sir +Arthur Deane largely in order to break off a somewhat trying +entanglement. He smiled complacently as he thought of the effect on +Iris of Mrs. Costobell's indignant remonstrances when the baronet asked +that injured lady to tell the girl all that had happened at Hong Kong. + +In a word, Lord Ventnor was most profoundly annoyed, and he cursed +Anstruther from the depths of his heart. But he could see a way out. +The more desperate the emergency the more need to display finesse. +Above all, he must avoid an immediate rupture. + +He came ashore with Iris and her father; the captain of the +_Orient_ also joined the party. The three men watched Robert and +the girl walking towards them from the group of officers. + +"Anstruther is a smart-looking fellow," commented Captain Fitzroy. "Who +is he?" + +Truth to tell, the gallant commander of the _Orient_ was secretly +amazed by the metamorphosis effected in Robert's appearance since he +scrutinized him through his glasses. Iris, too, unaccustomed to the +constraint of high-heeled shoes, clung to the nondescript's arm in a +manner that shook the sailor's faith in Lord Ventnor's pretensions as +her favored suitor. + +Poor Sir Arthur said not a word, but his lordship was quite at ease-- + +"From his name, and from what Deane tells me, I believe he is an +ex-officer of the Indian Army." + +"Ah. He has left the service?" + +"Yes. I met him last in Hong Kong." + +"Then you know him?" + +"Quite well, if he is the man I imagine." + +"That is really very nice of Ventnor," thought the shipowner. "The last +thing I should credit him with would be a forgiving disposition." + +Meanwhile Anstruther was reading Iris a little lecture. "Sweet one," he +explained to her, "do not allude to me by my former rank. I am not +entitled to it. Some day, please God, it will be restored to me. At +present I am a plain civilian." + +"I think you very handsome." + +"Don't tease, there's a good girl. It is not fair with all these people +looking." + +"But really, Robert, only since you scraped off the upper crust have I +been able to recognize you again. I remember now that I thought you +were a most distinguished looking steward." + +"Well, I am helpless. I cannot even squeeze you. By the way, Iris, +during the next few days say nothing about our mine." + +"Oh, why not?" + +"Just a personal whim. It will please me." + +"If it pleases you, Robert, I am satisfied." + +He pressed her arm by way of answer. They were too near to the waiting +trio for other comment. + +"Captain Fitzroy," cried Iris, "let me introduce Mr. Anstruther to you. +Lord Ventnor, you have met Mr. Anstruther before." + +The sailor shook hands. Lord Ventnor smiled affably. + +"Your enforced residence on the island seems to have agreed with you," +he said. + +"Admirably. Life here had its drawbacks, but we fought our enemies in +the open. Didn't we, Iris?" + +"Yes, dear. The poor Dyaks were not sufficiently modernized to attack +us with false testimony." + +His lordship's sallow face wrinkled somewhat. So Iris knew of the +court-martial, nor was she afraid to proclaim to all the world that +this man was her lover. As for Captain Fitzroy, his bushy eyebrows +disappeared into his peaked cap when he heard the manner of their +speech. + +Nevertheless Ventnor smiled again. + +"Even the Dyaks respected Miss Deane," he said. + +But Anstruther, sorry for the manifest uneasiness of the shipowner, +repressed the retort on his lips, and forthwith suggested that they +should walk to the north beach in the first instance, that being the +scene of the wreck. + +During the next hour he became auditor rather than narrator. It was +Iris who told of his wild fight against wind and waves, Iris who showed +them where he fought with the devil-fish, Iris who expatiated on the +long days of ceaseless toil, his dauntless courage in the face of every +difficulty, the way in which he rescued her from the clutch of the +savages, the skill of his preparations against the anticipated attack, +and the last great achievement of all, when, time after time, he foiled +the Dyaks' best-laid plans, and flung them off, crippled and +disheartened, during the many phases of the thirty hours' battle. + +She had an attentive audience. Most of the _Orient's_ officers +quietly came up and followed the girl's glowing recital with breathless +interest. Robert vainly endeavored more than once to laugh away her +thrilling eulogy. But she would have none of it. Her heart was in her +words. He deserved this tribute of praise, unstinted, unmeasured, +abundant in its simple truth, yet sounding like a legend spun by some +romantic poet, were not the grim evidences of its accuracy visible on +every hand. + +She was so volubly clear, so precise in fact, so subtle in her clever +delineations of humorous or tragic events, that her father was +astounded, and even Anstruther silently admitted that a man might live +until he equaled the years of a Biblical patriarch without discovering +all the resources of a woman. + +There were tears in her eyes when she ended; but they were tears of +thankful happiness, and Lord Ventnor, a silent listener who missed +neither word nor look, felt a deeper chill in his cold heart as he +realized that this woman's love could never be his. The knowledge +excited his passion the more. His hatred of Anstruther now became a +mania, an insensate resolve to mortally stab this meddler who always +stood in his path. + +Robert hoped that his present ordeal was over. It had only begun. He +was called on to answer questions without number. Why had the tunnel +been made? What was the mystery of the Valley of Death? How did he +manage to guess the dimensions of the sun-dial? How came he to acquire +such an amazing stock of out-of-the-way knowledge of the edible +properties of roots and trees? How? Why? Where? When? They never would +be satisfied, for not even the British navypoking its nose into the +recesses of the world--often comes across such an amazing story as the +adventures of this couple on Rainbow Island. + +He readily explained the creation of quarry and cave by telling them of +the vein of antimony embedded in the rock near the fault. Antimony is +one of the substances that covers a multitude of doubts. No one, not +excepting the doctors who use it, knows much about it, and in Chinese +medicine it might be a chief factor of exceeding nastiness. + +Inside the cavern, the existence of the partially completed shaft to +the ledge accounted for recent disturbances on the face of the rock, +and new-comers could not, of course, distinguish the bones of poor +"J.S." as being the remains of a European. + +Anstruther was satisfied that none of them hazarded the remotest guess +as to the value of the gaunt rock they were staring at, and chance +helped him to baffle further inquiry. + +A trumpeter on board the _Orient_ was blowing his lungs out to +summon them to luncheon, when Captain Fitzroy put a final query. + +"I can quite understand," he said to Robert, "that you have an +affection for this weird place." + +"I should think so indeed," muttered the stout midshipman, glancing at +Iris. + +"But I am curious to know," continued the commander, "why you lay claim +to the island? You can hardly intend to return here." + +He pointed to Robert's placard stuck on the rock. + +Anstruther paused before he answered. He felt that Lord Ventnor's dark +eyes were fixed on him. Everybody was more or less desirous to have +this point cleared up. He looked the questioner squarely in the face. + +"In some parts of the world," he said, "there are sunken reefs, +unknown, uncharted, on which many a vessel has been lost without any +contributory fault on the part of her officers?" + +"Undoubtedly." + +"Well, Captain Fitzroy, when I was stationed with my regiment in Hong +Kong I encountered such a reef, and wrecked my life on it. At least, +that is how it seemed to me then. Fortune threw me ashore here, after a +long and bitter submergence. You can hardly blame me if I cling to the +tiny speck of land that gave me salvation." + +"No," admitted the sailor. He knew there was something more in the +allegory than the text revealed, but it was no business of his. + +"Moreover," continued Robert smilingly, "you see I have a partner." + +"There cannot be the slightest doubt about the partner," was the prompt +reply. + +Then every one laughed, Iris more than any, though Sir Arthur Deane's +gaiety was forced, and Lord Ventnor could taste the acidity of his own +smile. + +Later in the day the first lieutenant told his chief of Anstruther's +voluntary statement concerning the court-martial. Captain Fitzroy was +naturally pained by this unpleasant revelation, but he took exactly the +same view as that expressed by the first lieutenant in Robert's +presence. + +Nevertheless he pondered the matter, and seized an early opportunity of +mentioning it to Lord Ventnor. That distinguished nobleman was vastly +surprised to learn how Anstruther had cut the ground from beneath his +feet. + +"Yes," he said, in reply to the sailor's request for information, "I +know all about it. It could not well be otherwise, seeing that next to +Mrs. Costobell I was the principal witness against him." + +"That must have been d----d awkward for you," was the unexpected +comment. + +"Indeed! Why?" + +"Because rumor linked your name with that of the lady in a somewhat +outspoken way." + +"You astonish me. Anstruther certainly made some stupid allegations +during the trial; but I had no idea he was able to spread this +malicious report subsequently." + +"I am not talking of Hong Kong, my lord, but of Singapore, months +later." + +Captain Fitzroy's tone was exceedingly dry. Indeed, some people might +deem it offensive. + +His lordship permitted himself the rare luxury of an angry scowl. + +"Rumor is a lying jade at the best," he said curtly. "You must +remember, Captain Fitzroy, that I have uttered no word of scandal about +Mr. Anstruther, and any doubts concerning his conduct can be set at +rest by perusing the records of his case in the Adjutant-General's +office at Hong Kong." + +"Hum!" said the sailor, turning on his heel to enter the chart-room. +This was no way to treat a real live lord, a personage of some +political importance, too, such as the Special Envoy to Wang Hai. +Evidently, Iris was no mean advocate. She had already won for the +"outcast" the suffrages of the entire ship's company. + +The girl and her father went back to the island with Robert. After +taking thought, the latter decided to ask Mir Jan to remain in +possession until he returned. There was not much risk of another Dyak +invasion. The fate of Taung S'Ali's expedition would not encourage a +fresh set of marauders, and the Mahommedan would be well armed to meet +unforeseen contingencies, whilst 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 Rainbow 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 afterwards take of his services. + +Mir Jan's answer was emphatic. He took 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 know that Allah has pardoned my +transgressions. I only killed a man because--" + +"Peace, Mir Jan. Let him rest." + +"Why is he worshiping you, Robert?" demanded Iris. + +He told her. + +"Really," she cried, "I must keep up my studies in Hindustani. It is +quite too sweet." + +And then, for the benefit of her father, she rattled off into a +spirited account of her struggles with the algebraic x and the Urdu +compound verb. + +Sir Arthur Deane managed to repress a sigh. In spite of himself he +could not help liking Anstruther. The man was magnetic, a hero, an +ideal gentleman. No wonder his daughter was infatuated with him. Yet +the future was dark and storm-tossed, full of sinister threats and +complications. Iris did not know the wretched circumstances which had +come to pass since they parted, and which had changed the whole aspect +of his life. How could he tell her? Why should it be his miserable lot +to snatch the cup of happiness from her lips? In that moment of silent +agony he wished he were dead, for death alone could remove the burthen +laid on him. Well, surely he might bask in the sunshine of her laughter +for another day. No need to embitter her joyous heart until he was +driven to it by dire necessity. + +So he resolutely brushed aside the woe-begone phantom of care, and +entered into the _abandon_ of the hour with a zest that delighted +her. The dear girl imagined that Robert, her Robert, had made another +speedy conquest, and Anstruther himself was much elated by the sudden +change in Sir Arthur Deane's demeanor. + +They behaved like school children on a picnic. They roared over Iris's +troubles in the matter of divided skirts, too much divided to be at all +pleasant. The shipowner tasted some of her sago bread, and vowed it was +excellent. They unearthed two bottles of champagne, the last of the +case, and promised each other a hearty toast at dinner. Nothing would +content Iris but that they should draw a farewell bucketful of water +from the well and drench the pitcher-plant with a torrential shower. + +Robert carefully secured the pocket-books, money and other effects +found on their dead companions. The baronet, of course, knew all the +principal officers of the _Sirdar_. He surveyed these mournful +relics with sorrowful interest. + +"The _Sirdar_ was the crack ship of my fleet, and Captain Ross my +most trusted commander," he said. "You may well imagine, Mr. +Anstruther, what a cruel blow it was to lose such a vessel, with all +these people on board, and my only daughter amongst them. I wonder now +that it did not kill me." + +"She was a splendid sea-boat, sir. Although disabled, she fought +gallantly against the typhoon. Nothing short of a reef would break her +up." + +"Ah, well," sighed the shipowner, "the few timbers you have shown me +here are the remaining assets out of £300,000." + +"Was she not insured?" inquired Robert. + +"No; that is, I have recently adopted a scheme of mutual +self-insurance, and the loss falls _pro rata_ on my other +vessels." + +The baronet glanced covertly at Iris. The words conveyed little meaning +to her. Indeed, she broke in with a laugh-- + +"I am afraid I have heard you say, father dear, that some ships in the +fleet paid you best when they ran ashore." + +"Yes, Iris. That often happened in the old days. It is different now. +Moreover, I have not told you the extent of my calamities. The +_Sirdar_ was lost on March 18, though I did not know it for +certain until this morning. But on March 25 the _Bahadur_ was sunk +in the Mersey during a fog, and three days later the _Jemadar_ +turned turtle on the James and Mary shoal in the Hooghly. Happily there +were no lives lost in either of these cases." + +Even Iris was appalled by this list of casualties. + +"My poor, dear dad!" she cried. "To think that all these troubles +should occur the very moment I left you!" + +Yet she gave no thought to the serious financial effect of such a +string of catastrophes. Robert, of course, appreciated this side of the +business, especially in view of the shipowner's remark about the +insurance. But Sir Arthur Deane's stiff upper lip deceived him. He +failed to realize that the father was acting a part for his daughter's +sake. + +Oddly enough, the baronet did not seek to discuss with them the +legal-looking document affixed near the cave. It claimed all rights in +the island in their joint names, and this was a topic he wished to +avoid. For the time, therefore, the younger man had no opportunity of +taking him into his confidence, 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 Bible, the copy of Tennyson's +poems, the battered tin cup, her revolver, and the Lee-Metford which +"scared" the Dyaks when they nearly caught Anstruther and Mir Jan +napping. Robert also gathered for her an assortment of Dyak hats, +belts, and arms, including Taung S'Ali's parang and a sumpitan. These +were her trophies, the _spolia opima_ of the campaign. + +His concluding act was to pack two of the empty oil tins with all the +valuable lumps of auriferous quartz he could find where he shot the +rubbish from the cave beneath the trees. On top of these he placed some +antimony ore, and Mir Jan, wondering why the sahib wanted the stuff, +carried the consignment to the waiting boat. Lieutenant Playdon, in +command of the last party of sailors to quit the island, evidently +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 speculating on the cause of this +extraordinary resolve, but, steadfast to his policy of avoiding +controversial matters, said nothing. A few words to the captain +procured enough stores to keep the Mahommedan for six months at least, +and whilst these were being landed, the question was raised how best to +dispose of the 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 sent to penal +servitude. Which is it to be?" + +It was Iris who decided. + +"I cannot bear to think of more lives being sacrificed," she protested. +"Perhaps if these men are treated mercifully and sent to their homes +after some punishment their example may serve as a deterrent to +others." + +So it was settled that way. The anchor rattled up to its berth and the +_Orient_ turned her head towards Singapore. As she steadily passed +away into the deepening azure, the girl and her lover watched the +familiar outlines of Rainbow Island growing dim in the evening light. +For a long while they could see Mir Jan's tall, thin figure motionless +on a rock at the extremity of Europa Point. Their hut, the reef, the +ledge, came into view as the cruiser swung round to a more northerly +course. + +Iris had thrown an arm across her father's shoulders. The three were +left alone just then, and they were silent for many minutes. At last, +the 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. The island was becoming vague, dream-like, a blurred +memory. + +"Robert," said the girl devoutly, "God has been very good to us." + +"Yes," he replied. "I was thinking, even this instant, of the verse +that is carved on the gate of the Memorial Well at Cawnpore: 'These are +they which came out of great tribulation.' We, too, have come out of +great tribulation, happily with our lives--and more. The decrees of +fate are indeed inscrutable." + +Iris turned to him a face roseate with loving comprehension. + +"Do you remember this hour yesterday?" she murmured--"how we suffered +from thirst--how the Dyaks began their second attack from the +ridge--how you climbed down the ladder and I followed you? Oh father, +darling," she went on impulsively, tightening her grasp, "you will +never know how brave he was, how enduring, how he risked all for me and +cheered me to the end, even though the end seemed to be the grave." + +"I think I am beginning to understand now," answered the shipowner, +averting his eyes lest Iris should see the tears in them. Their Calvary +was ended, they thought--was it for him to lead them again through the +sorrowful way? It was a heartrending task that lay before him, a task +from which his soul revolted. He refused even to attempt it. He sought +forgetfulness in a species of mental intoxication, and countenanced his +daughter's love idyll with such apparent approval that Lord Ventnor +wondered whether Sir Arthur were not suffering from senile decay. + +The explanation of the shipowner's position was painfully simple. Being +a daring yet shrewd financier, he perceived in the troubled condition +of the Far East a magnificent opportunity to consolidate the trading +influence of his company. He negotiated two big loans, one, of a +semi-private nature, to equip docks and railways in the chief maritime +province of China, the other of a more public character, with the +Government of Japan. All his own resources, together with those of his +principal directors and shareholders, were devoted to these objects. +Contemporaneously, he determined to stop paying heavy insurance +premiums on his fleet and make it self-supporting, on the well-known +mutual principle. + +His vessels were well equipped, well manned, replete with every modern +improvement, and managed with great commercial skill. In three or four +years, given ordinary trading luck, he must have doubled his own +fortune and earned a world-wide reputation for far-seeing sagacity. + +No sooner were all his arrangements completed than three of his best +ships went down, saddling his company with an absolute loss of nearly +£600,000, and seriously undermining his financial credit. A +fellow-director, wealthy and influential, resigned his seat on the +board, and headed a clique of disappointed stockholders. At once the +fair sky became overcast. A sound and magnificent speculation +threatened to dissolve in the Bankruptcy Court. + +Sir Arthur Deane's energy and financial skill might have enabled him to +weather this unexpected gale were it not for the apparent loss of his +beloved daughter with the crack ship of his line. Half-frenzied with +grief, he bade his enemies do their worst, and allowed his affairs to +get into hopeless confusion whilst he devoted himself wholly to the +search for Iris and her companions. At this critical juncture Lord +Ventnor again reached his side. His lordship possessed a large private +fortune and extensive estates. He was prudent withal, and knew how +admirably the shipowner's plans would develop if given the necessary +time. He offered the use of his name and money. He more than filled the +gap created by the hostile ex-director. People argued that such a +clever man, just returning from the 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. + +But--there was a bargain. If Iris lived, she must become the Countess +of Ventnor. His lordship was weary of peripatetic love-making. It was +high time he settled down in life, took an interest in the legislature, +and achieved a position in the world of affairs. He had a chance now. +The certain success of his friend's project, the fortunate completion +of his own diplomatic undertaking, marriage with a beautiful and +charming woman--these items would consolidate his career. If Iris were +not available, plenty of women, high-placed in society, would accept +such an eligible bachelor. But his heart was set on Iris. She was +honest, high-principled, pure in body and mind, and none prizes these +essentials in a wife more than a worn-out _roué_. + +He seized the first opportunity that presented itself to make Sir +Arthur Deane acquainted with a decision already dreaded by the +unfortunate shipowner. Iris must either abandon her infatuation for +Anstruther or bring about the ruin of her father. There was no mean. + +"If she declines to become Countess of Ventnor, she can marry whom she +likes, as you will be all paupers together," was the Earl's caustic +summing up. + +This brutal argument rather overshot the mark. The shipowner's face +flushed with anger, and Lord Ventnor hastened to retrieve a false step. + +"I didn't exactly mean to put it that way, Deane, but my temper is a +little short these days. My position on board this ship is intolerable. +As a matter of fair dealing to me, you should put a stop to your +daughter's attitude towards Anstruther, on the ground that her +engagement is neither approved of by you nor desirable under any +consideration." + +It may be assumed from this remark that even the Earl's sardonic temper +was ruffled by the girl's outrageous behavior. Nor was it exactly +pleasant to him to note how steadily Anstruther advanced in the favor +of every officer on the ship. By tacit consent the court-martial was +tabooed, at any rate until the _Orient_ reached Singapore. Every +one knew that the quarrel lay between Robert and Ventnor, and it is not +to be wondered at if Iris's influence alone were sufficient to turn the +scale in favor of her lover. + +The shipowner refused point-blank to interfere in any way during the +voyage. + +"You promised your co-operation in business even if we found that the +_Sirdar_ had gone down with all hands," he retorted bitterly. "Do +you wish me to make my daughter believe she has come back into my life +only to bring me irretrievable ruin?" + +"That appears to be the result, no matter how you may endeavor to +disguise it." + +"I thought the days were gone when a man would wish to marry a woman +against her will." + +"Nonsense! What does she know about it? The glamour of this island +romance will soon wear off. It would be different if Anstruther were +able to maintain her even decently. He is an absolute beggar, I tell +you. Didn't he ship on your own vessel as a steward? Take my tip, +Deane. Tell him how matters stand with you, and he will cool off." + +He believed nothing of the sort, but he was desperately anxious that +Iris should learn the truth as to her father's dilemma from other lips +than his own. This would be the first point gained. Others would +follow. + +The two men were conversing in the Earl's cabin. On the deck overhead a +very different chat was taking place. + +The _Orient_ was due in Singapore that afternoon. Iris was invited +into the chart-room on some pretext, and Lieutenant Playdon, delegated +by the commander and the first lieutenant, buttonholed Robert. + +With sailor-like directness he came straight to the point-- + +"A few of us have been talking about you, Anstruther, and we cannot be +far wrong in assuming that you are hard up. The fact that you took a +steward's job on the _Sirdar_ shows your disinclination to appeal +to your own people for funds. Now, once you are ashore, you will be +landed in difficulties. To cut any further explanations, I am +commissioned to offer you a loan of fifty pounds, which you can repay +when you like." + +Robert's mouth tightened somewhat. For the moment he could not find +words. Playdon feared he was offended. + +"I am sorry, old chap, if we are mistaken," he said hesitatingly; "but +we really thought--" + +"Please do not endeavor to explain away your generous act," exclaimed +Anstruther. "I accept it thankfully, on one condition." + +"Blow the condition. But what is it?" + +"That you tell me the names of those to whom I am indebted besides +yourself." + +"Oh, that is easy enough. Fitzroy and the first luff are the others. We +kept it to a small circle, don't you know. Thought you would prefer +that." + +Anstruther smiled and wrung his hand. There were some good fellows left +in the world after all. The three officers acted in pure good nature. +They were assisting a man apparently down in his luck, who would soon +be called on to face other difficulties by reason of his engagement to +a girl apparently so far removed from him in station. And the last +thing they dreamed of was that their kindly loan was destined to yield +them a better return than all the years of their naval service, for +their fifty pounds had gone into the pocket of a potential millionaire, +who was endowed with the faculty, rare in millionaires, of not +forgetting the friends of his poverty-stricken days. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +RAINBOW ISLAND AGAIN--AND AFTERWARD + + +Sir Arthur Deane was sitting alone in his cabin in a state of deep +dejection, when he was aroused by a knock, and Robert entered. + +"Can you give me half an hour?" he asked. "I have something to say to +you before we land." + +The shipowner silently motioned him to a seat. + +"It concerns Iris and myself," continued Anstruther. "I gathered from +your words when we met on the island that both you and Lord Ventnor +regarded Iris as his lordship's promised bride. From your point of view +the arrangement was perhaps natural and equitable, but since your +daughter left Hong Kong it happens that she and I have fallen in love +with each other. No; please listen to me. I am not here to urge my +claims on you. I won her fairly and intend to keep her, were the whole +House of Peers opposed to me. At this moment I want to tell you, her +father, why she could never, even under other circumstances, marry Lord +Ventnor." + +Then he proceeded to place before the astounded baronet a detailed +history of his recent career. It was a sordid story of woman's perfidy, +twice told. It carried conviction in every sentence. It was possible, +of course, to explain matters more fully to the baronet than to Iris, +and Anstruther's fierce resentment of the cruel wrong inflicted upon +him blazed forth with overwhelming force. The intensity of his wrath in +no way impaired the cogency of his arguments. Rather did it lend point +and logical brevity. Each word burned itself into his hearer's +consciousness, for Robert did not know that the unfortunate father was +being coerced to a distasteful compact by the scoundrel who figured in +the narrative as his evil genius. + +At the conclusion Sir Arthur bowed his head between his hands. + +"I cannot choose but believe you," he admitted huskily. "Yet how came +you to be so unjustly convicted by a tribunal composed of your brother +officers?" + +"They could not help themselves. To acquit me meant that they +discredited the sworn testimony not only of my Colonel's wife, but of +the civil head of an important Government Mission, not to mention some +bought Chinese evidence. Am I the first man to be offered up as a +sacrifice on the altar of official expediency?" + +"But you are powerless now. You can hardly hope to have your case +revised. What chance is there that your name will ever be cleared?" + +"Mrs. Costobell can do it if she will. The vagaries of such a woman are +not to be depended on. If Lord Ventnor has cast her off, her hatred may +'prove stronger than her passion. Anyhow, I should be the last man to +despair of God's Providence. Compare the condition of Iris and myself +today with our plight during the second night on the ledge! I refuse to +believe that a bad and fickle woman can resist the workings of destiny, +and it was a happy fate which led me to ship on board the +_Sirdar_, though at the time I saw it in another light." + +How different the words, the aspirations, of the two suitors. Quite +unconsciously, Robert could not have pleaded better. The shipowner +sighed heavily. + +"I hope your faith will be justified. If it be not--the more likely +thing to happen--do I understand that my daughter and you intend to get +married whether I give or withhold my sanction?" + +Anstruther rose and opened the door. + +"I have ventured to tell you," he said, "why she should not marry Lord +Ventnor. When I come to you and ask you for her, which I pray may be +soon, it will be time enough to answer that question, should you then +decide to put it." + +It must be remembered that Robert knew nothing whatever of the older +man's predicament, whilst the baronet, full of his own troubles, was in +no mood to take a reasonable view of Anstruther's position. Neither +Iris nor Robert could make him understand the long-drawn-out duel of +their early life on the island, nor was it easy to depict the +tumultuous agony of that terrible hour on the ledge when the girl +forced the man to confess his love by suggesting acceptance of the +Dyaks' terms. + +Thus, for a little while, these two were driven apart, and Anstruther +disdained to urge the plea that not many weeks would elapse before he +would be a richer man than his rival. The chief sufferer was Sir Arthur +Deane. Had Iris guessed how her father was tormented, she would not +have remained on the bridge, radiant and mirthful, whilst the +grey-haired baronet gazed with stony-eyed despair at some memoranda +which he extracted from his papers. + +"Ten thousand pounds!" he muttered. "Not a great sum for the +millionaire financier, Sir Arthur Deane, to raise on his note of hand. +A few months ago men offered me one hundred times the amount on no +better security. And now, to think that a set of jabbering fools in +London should so destroy my credit and their own, that not a bank will +discount our paper unless they are assured Lord Ventnor has joined the +board! Fancy me, of all men, being willing to barter my child for a few +pieces of gold!" + +The thought was maddening. For a little while he yielded to utter +despondency. It was quite true that a comparatively small amount of +money would restore the stability of his firm. Even without it, were +his credit unimpaired, he could easily tide over the period of +depression until the first fruits of his enterprise were garnered. +Then, all men would hail him as a genius. + +Wearily turning over his papers, he suddenly came across the last +letter written to him by Iris's mother. How she doted on their only +child! He recalled one night, shortly before his wife died, when the +little Iris was brought into her room to kiss her and lisp her +infantile prayers. She had devised a formula of her own--"God bless +father! God bless mother! God bless me, their little girl!" + +And what was it she cried to him from the beach? + +"Your own little girl given back to you!" + +Given back to him! For what--to marry that black-hearted scoundrel +whose pastime was the degradation of women and the defaming of honest +men? That settled it. Instantly the cloud was lifted from his soul. A +great peace came upon him. The ruin of his business he might not be +able to avert, but he would save from, the wreck that which he prized +more than all else--his daughter's love. + +The engines dropped to half speed--they were entering the harbor of +Singapore. In a few hours the worst would be over. If Ventnor +telegraphed to London his withdrawal from the board, nothing short of a +cabled draft for ten thousand pounds would prevent certain creditors +from filing a bankruptcy petition. In the local banks the baronet had +about a thousand to his credit. Surely among the rich merchants of the +port, men who knew the potentialities of his scheme, he would be able +to raise the money needed. He would try hard. Already he felt braver. +The old fire had returned to his blood. The very belief that he was +acting in the way best calculated to secure his daughter's happiness +stimulated and encouraged him. + +He went on deck, to meet Iris skipping down the hatchway. + +"Oh, there you are!" she cried. "I was just coming to find out why you +were moping in your cabin. You are missing the most beautiful view--all +greens, and blues, and browns! Run, quick! I want you to see every inch +of it." + +She held out her hand and pulled him gleefully up the steps. Leaning +against the taffrail, some distance apart from each other, were +Anstruther and Lord Ventnor. Need it be said to whom Iris drew her +father? + +"Here he is, Robert," she laughed. "I do believe he was sulking because +Captain Fitzroy was so very attentive to me. Yet you didn't mind it a +bit!" + +The two men looked into each other eyes. They smiled. How could they +resist the contagion of her sunny nature? + +"I have been thinking over what you said to me just now, Anstruther," +said the shipowner slowly. + +"Oh!" cried Iris. "Have you two been talking secrets behind my back?" + +"It is no secret to you--my little girl--" Her father's voice lingered +on the phrase. "When we are on shore, Robert, I will explain matters to +you more fully. Just now I wish only to tell you that where Iris has +given her heart I will not refuse her hand." + +"You darling old dad! And is that what all the mystery was about?" + +She took his face between her hands and kissed him. Lord Ventnor, +wondering at this effusiveness, strolled forward. + +"What has happened, Miss Deane?" he inquired. "Have you just discovered +what an excellent parent you possess?" + +The baronet laughed, almost hysterically. "'Pon my honor," he cried, +"you could not have hit upon a happier explanation." + +His lordship was not quite satisfied. + +"I suppose you will take Iris to Smith's Hotel?" he said with cool +impudence. + +Iris answered him. + +"Yes. My father has just asked Robert to come with us--by inference, +that is. Where are you going?" + +The adroit use of her lover's Christian name goaded his lordship to +sudden heat. + +"Indeed!" he snarled. "Sir Arthur Deane has evidently decided a good +many things during the last hour." + +"Yes," was the shipowner's quiet retort. "I have decided that my +daughter's happiness should be the chief consideration of my remaining +years. All else must give way to it." + +The Earl's swarthy face grew sallow with fury. His eyes blazed, and +there was a tense vibrato in his voice as he said-- + +"Then I must congratulate you, Miss Deane. You are fated to endure +adventures. Having escaped from the melodramatic perils of Rainbow +Island you are destined to experience another variety of shipwreck +here." + +He left them. Not a word had Robert spoken throughout the unexpected +scene. His heart was throbbing with a tremulous joy, and his lordship's +sneers were lost on him. But he could not fail to note the malignant +purpose of the parting sentence. + +In his quietly masterful way he placed his hand on the baronet's +shoulder. + +"What did Lord Ventnor mean?" he asked. + +Sir Arthur Deane answered, with a calm smile--"It is difficult to talk +openly at this moment. Wait until we reach the hotel." + +The news flew fast through the settlement that H.M.S. _Orient_ had +returned from her long search for the _Sirdar_. The warship +occupied her usual anchorage, and a boat was lowered to take off the +passengers. Lieutenant Playdon went ashore with them. A feeling of +consideration for Anstruther prevented any arrangements being made for +subsequent meetings. Once their courteous duty was ended, the officers +of the _Orient_ could not give him any further social recognition. + +Lord Ventnor was aware of this fact and endeavored to turn it to +advantage. + +"By the way, Fitzroy," he called out to the commander as he prepared to +descend the gangway, "I want you, and any others not detained by duty, +to come and dine with me tonight." + +Captain Fitzroy answered blandly--"It is very good of you to ask us, +but I fear I cannot make any definite arrangements until I learn what +orders are awaiting me here." + +"Oh, certainly. Come if you can, eh?" + +"Yes; suppose we leave it at that." + +It was a polite but decided rebuff. It in no way tended to sweeten Lord +Ventnor's temper, which was further exasperated when he hurt his shin +against one of Robert's disreputable-looking tins, with its +accumulation of debris. + +The boat swung off into the tideway. Her progress shorewards was +watched by a small knot of people, mostly loungers and coolies. Among +them, however, were two persons who had driven rapidly to the +landing-place when the arrival of the _Orient_ was reported. One +bore all the distinguishing marks of the army officer of high rank, but +the other was unmistakably a globetrotter. Only in Piccadilly could he +have purchased his wondrous _sola topi_, or pith helmet--with its +imitation _puggri_ neatly frilled and puckered--and no tailor who +ever carried his goose through the Exile's Gate would have fashioned +his expensive garments. But the old gentleman made no pretence that he +could "hear the East a-callin'." He swore impartially at the climate, +the place, and its inhabitants. At this instant he was in a state of +wild excitement. He was very tall, very stout, exceedingly red-faced. +Any budding medico who understood the pre-eminence enjoyed by _aq. +ad_ in a prescription, would have diagnosed him as a first-rate +subject for apoplexy. + +Producing a tremendous telescope, he vainly endeavored to balance it on +the shoulder of a native servant. + +"Can't you stand still, you blithering idiot!" he shouted, after futile +attempts to focus the advancing boat, "or shall I steady you by a clout +over the ear?" + +His companion, the army man, was looking through a pair of +field-glasses. + +"By Jove!" he cried, "I can see Sir Arthur Deane, and a girl who looks +like his daughter. There's that infernal scamp, Ventnor, too." + +The big man brushed the servant out of his way, and brandished the +telescope as though it were a bludgeon. + +"The dirty beggar! He drove my lad to misery and death, yet he has come +back safe and sound. Wait till I meet him. I'll--" + +"Now, Anstruther! Remember your promise. I will deal with Lord Ventnor. +My vengeance has first claim. What! By the jumping Moses, I do +believe--Yes. It is. Anstruther! Your nephew is sitting next to the +girl!" + +The telescope fell on the stones with a crash. The giant's rubicund +face suddenly blanched. He leaned on his friend for support. + +"You are not mistaken," he almost whimpered. "Look again, for God's +sake, man. Make sure before you speak. Tell me! Tell me!" + +"Calm yourself, Anstruther. It is Robert, as sure as I'm alive. Don't +you think I know him, my poor disgraced friend, whom I, like all the +rest, cast off in his hour of trouble? But I had some excuse. There! +There! I didn't mean that, old fellow. Robert himself will be the last +man to blame either of us. Who could have suspected that two +people--one of them, God help me! my wife--would concoct such a hellish +plot!" + +The boat glided gracefully alongside the steps of the quay, and Playdon +sprang ashore to help Iris to alight. What happened immediately +afterwards can best be told in his own words, as he retailed the story +to an appreciative audience in the ward-room. + +"We had just landed," he said, "and some of the crew were pushing the +coolies out of the way, when two men jumped down the steps, and a most +fiendish row sprang up. That is, there was no dispute or wrangling, but +one chap, who, it turned out, was Colonel Costobell, grabbed Ventnor by +the shirt front, and threatened to smash his face in if he didn't +listen then and there to what he had to say. I really thought about +interfering, until I heard Colonel Costobell's opening words. After +that I would gladly have seen the beggar chucked into the harbor. We +never liked him, did we?" + +"Ask no questions, Pompey, but go ahead with the yarn," growled the +first lieutenant. + +"Well, it seems that Mrs. Costobell is dead. She got enteric a week +after the _Orient_ sailed, and was a goner in four days. Before +she died she owned up." + +He paused, with a base eye to effect. Not a man moved a muscle. + +"All right," he cried. "I will make no more false starts. Mrs. +Costobell begged her husband's forgiveness for her treatment of him, +and confessed that she and Lord Ventnor planned the affair for which +Anstruther was tried by court-martial. It must have been a beastly +business, for Costobell was sweating with rage, though his words were +icy enough. And you ought to have seen Ventnor's face when he heard of +the depositions, sworn to and signed by Mrs. Costobell and by several +Chinese servants whom he bribed to give false evidence. He promised to +marry Mrs. Costobell if her husband died, or, in any event, to bring +about a divorce when the Hong Kong affair had blown over. Then she +learnt that he was after Miss Iris, and there is no doubt her fury +helped on the fever. Costobell said that, for his wife's sake, he would +have kept the wretched thing secret, but he was compelled to clear +Anstruther's name, especially as he came across the other old +Johnnie--" + +"Pompey, you are incoherent with excitement. Who is 'the other old +Johnnie'?" asked the first luff severely. + +"Didn't I tell you? Why, Anstruther's uncle, of course, a heavy old +swell with just a touch of Yorkshire in his tongue. I gathered that he +disinherited his nephew when the news of the court-martial reached him. +Then he relented, and cabled to him. Getting no news, he came East to +look for him. He met Costobell the day after the lady died, and the two +swore--the stout uncle can swear a treat--anyhow, they vowed to be +revenged on Ventnor, and to clear Anstruther's character, living or +dead. Poor old chap! He cried like a baby when he asked the youngster +to forgive him. It was quite touching. I can tell you----" + +Playdon affected to search for his pocket-handkerchief. + +"Do tell us, or it will be worse for you," cried his mentor. + +"Give me time, air, a drink! What you fellows want is a phonograph. Let +me see. Well, Costobell shook Ventnor off at last, with the final +observation that Anstruther's court-martial has been quashed. The next +batch of general orders will re-instate him in the regiment, and it +rests with him to decide whether or not a criminal warrant shall be +issued against his lordship for conspiracy. Do you fellows know what +conspir----?" + +"You cuckoo! What did Miss Deane do?" + +"Clung to Anstruther like a weeping angel, and kissed everybody all +round when Ventnor got away. Well--hands off. I mean her father, +Anstruther and the stout uncle. Unfortunately I was not on in that +scene. But, for some reason, they all nearly wrung my arm off, and the +men were so excited that they gave the party a rousing cheer as their +rickshaws went off in a bunch. Will no Christian gentleman get me a +drink?" + +The next commotion arose in the hotel when Sir Arthur Deane seized the +first opportunity to explain the predicament in which his company was +placed, and the blow which Lord Ventnor yet had it in his power to +deal. + +Mr. William Anstruther was an interested auditor. Robert would have +spoken, but his uncle restrained him. + +"Leave this to me, lad," he exclaimed. "When I was coming here in the +_Sirdar_ there was a lot of talk about Sir Arthur's scheme, and +there should not be much difficulty in raising all the brass required, +if half what I heard be true. Sit you down, Sir Arthur, and tell us all +about it." + +The shipowner required no second bidding. With the skill for which he +was noted, he described his operations in detail, telling how every +farthing of the first instalments of the two great loans was paid up, +how the earnings of his fleet would quickly overtake the deficit in +capital value caused by the loss of the three ships, and how, in six +months' time, the leading financial houses of London, Paris, and Berlin +would be offering him more money than he would need. + +To a shrewd man of business the project could not fail to commend +itself, and the Yorkshire squire, though a trifle obstinate in temper, +was singularly clear-headed in other respects. He brought his great +fist down on the table with a whack. + +"Send a cable to your company, Sir Arthur," he cried, "and tell them +that your prospective son-in-law will provide the ten thousand pounds +you require. I will see that his draft is honored. You can add, if you +like, that another ten will be ready if wanted when this lot is spent. +I did my lad one d--er--deuced bad turn in my life. This time, I think, +I am doing him a good one." + +"You are, indeed," said Iris's father enthusiastically. "The unallotted +capital he is taking up will be worth four times its face value in two +years." + +"All the more reason to make his holding twenty instead of ten," roared +the Yorkshireman. "But look here. You talk about dropping proceedings +against that precious earl whom I saw to-day. Why not tell him not to +try any funny tricks until Robert's money is safely lodged to your +account? We have him in our power. Dash it all, let us use him a bit." + +Even Iris laughed at this naive suggestion. It was delightful to think +that their arch enemy was actually helping the baronet's affairs at +that very moment, and would continue to do so until he was flung aside +as being of no further value. Although Ventnor himself had carefully +avoided any formal commitment, the cablegrams awaiting the shipowner at +Singapore showed that confidence had already been restored by the +uncontradicted use of his lordship's name. + +Robert at last obtained a hearing. + +"You two are quietly assuming the attitude of the financial magnates of +this gathering," he said. "I must admit that you have managed things +very well between you, and I do not propose for one moment to interfere +with your arrangements. Nevertheless, Iris and I are really the chief +moneyed persons present. You spoke of financial houses in England and +on the Continent backing up your loans six months hence, Sir Arthur. +You need not go to them. We will be your bankers." + +The baronet laughed with a whole-hearted gaiety that revealed whence +Iris got some part, at least, of her bright disposition. + +"Will you sell your island, Robert?" he cried. "I am afraid that not +even Iris could wheedle any one into buying it." + +"But father, dear," interrupted the girl earnestly, "what Robert says +is true. We have a gold mine there. It is worth so much that you will +hardly believe it until then? can no longer be any doubt in your mind. +I suppose that is why Robert asked me not to mention his discovery to +you earlier." + +"No, Iris, that was not the reason," said her lover, and the older men +felt that more than idle fancy inspired the astounding intelligence +that they had just heard. "Your love was more to me than all the gold +in the world. I had won you. I meant to keep you, but I refused to buy +you." + +He turned to her father. His pent-up emotion mastered him, and he spoke +as one who could no longer restrain his feelings. + +"I have had no chance to thank you for the words you uttered at the +moment we quitted the ship. Yet I will treasure them while life lasts. +You gave Iris to me when I was poor, disgraced, an outcast from my +family and my profession. And I know why you did this thing. It was +because you valued her happiness more than riches or reputation. I am +sorry now I did not explain matters earlier. It would have saved you +much needless suffering. But the sorrow has sped like an evil dream, +and you will perhaps not regret it, for your action today binds me to +you with hoops of steel. And you, too, uncle. You traveled thousands of +miles to help and comfort me in my anguish. Were I as bad as I was +painted, your kind old heart still pitied me; you were prepared to +pluck me from the depths of despair and degradation. Why should I hate +Lord Ventnor? What man could have served me as he did? He has given me +Iris. He gained for me at her father's hands a concession such as +mortal has seldom wrested from black-browed fate. He brought my uncle +to my side in the hour of my adversity. Hate him! I would have his +statue carved in marble, and set on high to tell all who passed how +good may spring out of evil--how God's wisdom can manifest itself by +putting even the creeping and crawling things of the earth to some +useful purpose." + +"Dash it all, lad," vociferated the elder Anstruther, "what ails thee? +I never heard you talk like this before!" + +The old gentleman's amazement was so comical that further tension was +out of the question. + +Robert, in calmer mood, informed them of the manner in which he hit +upon the mine. The story sounded like wildest romance--this finding of +a volcanic dyke guarded by the bones of "J.S." and the poison-filled +quarry--but the production of the ore samples changed wonder into +certainty. + +Next day a government metallurgist estimated the value of the contents +of the two oil-tins at about £500, yet the specimens brought from the +island were not by any means the richest available. + +And now there is not much more to tell of Rainbow Island and its +castaways. On the day that Captain Robert Anstruther's name appeared in +the _Gazette_, reinstating him to his rank and regiment, Iris and +he were married in the English Church at Hong Kong, for it was his +wife's wish that the place which witnessed his ignominy should also +witness his triumph. + +A good-natured admiral decided that the urgent requirements of the +British Navy should bring H.M.S. _Orient_ to the island before the +date fixed for the ceremony. Lieutenant Playdon officiated as best man, +whilst the _Orient_ was left so scandalously short-handed for many +hours that a hostile vessel, at least twice her size, might have +ventured to attack her. + +Soon afterwards, Robert resigned his commission. He regretted the +necessity, but the demands of his new sphere in life rendered this step +imperative. Mining engineers, laborers, stores, portable houses, +engines, and equipment were obtained with all haste, and the whole +party sailed on one of Sir Arthur Deane's ships to convoy a small +steamer specially hired to attend to the wants of the miners. + +At last, one evening, early in July, the two vessels anchored outside +Palm-tree Rock, and Mir Jan could be seen running frantically about the +shore, for no valid reason save that he could not stand still. The +sahib brought him good news. The Governor of Hong Kong felt that any +reasonable request made by Anstruther should be granted if possible. He +had written such a strong representation of the Mahommedan's case to +the Government of India that there was little doubt the returning mail +would convey an official notification that Mir Jan, formerly +_naik_ in the Kumaon Rissala--he who once killed a man--had been +granted a free pardon. + +The mining experts verified Robert's most sanguine views after a very +brief examination of the deposit. Hardly any preliminary work was +needed. In twenty-four hours a small concentrating plant was erected, +and a ditch made to drain off the carbonic anhydride in the valley. +After dusk a party of coolies cleared the quarry of its former +occupants. Towards the close of the following day, when the great +steamer once more slowly turned her head to the north-west, Iris could +hear the steady thud of an engine at work on the first consignment of +ore. + +Robert had been busy up to the last moment. There was so much to be +done in a short space of time. The vessel carried a large number of +passengers, and he did not wish to detain them too long, though they +one and all expressed their willingness to suit his convenience in this +respect. + +Now his share of the necessary preparations was concluded. His wife, +Sir Arthur and his uncle were gathered in a corner of the promenade +deck when he approached and told them that his last instruction ashore +was for a light to be fixed on Summit Rock as soon as the dynamo was in +working order. + +"When we all come back in the cold weather," he explained gleefully, +"we will not imitate the _Sirdar_ by running on to the reef, +should we arrive by night." + +Iris answered not. Her blue eyes were fixed on the fast-receding +cliffs. + +"Sweetheart," said her husband, "why are you so silent?" + +She turned to him. The light of the setting sun! illumined her face +with its golden radiance. + +"Because I am so happy," she said. "Oh, Robert, dear, so happy and +thankful." + + * * * * * + +POSTSCRIPT + +The latest news of Col. and Mrs. Anstruther is contained in a letter +written by an elderly maiden lady, resident in the North Riding of +Yorkshire, to a friend in London. It is dated some four years after the +events already recorded. + +Although its information is garbled and, to a certain extent, +inaccurate, those who have followed the adventures of the young couple +under discussion will be able to appreciate its opinions at their true +value. When the writer states facts, of course, her veracity is +unquestionable, but occasionally she flounders badly when she depends +upon her own judgment. + +Here is the letter: + + "MY DEAR HELEN: + + "I have not seen or heard of you during so long a time that I am + _simply dying_ to tell you all that is happening here. You + will remember that some people named Anstruther bought the Fairlawn + estate near our village some three years ago. They are, as you + know, _enormously_ rich. The doctor tells me that when they + are not squeezing money out of the wretched Chinese, they dig it in + _barrow-loads_ out of some magic island in the Atlantic or the + Pacific--I really forget which. + + "Anyhow, they could afford to _entertain_ much more than they + do. Mrs. Anstruther is very nice looking, and could be a leader of + society if she chose, but she _seems_ to care for no one but + her husband and her babies. She has a boy and a girl, very charming + children, I admit, and you seldom see her without them. They have a + French _bonne_ apiece, and a most _murderous_-looking + person--a Mahommedan native, I believe--stalks alongside and + behaves as if he would _instantly decapitate_ any person who + as much as looked at them. Such a procession you never saw! Mrs. + Anstruther's devotion to her husband is _too_ absurd. He is a + tall, handsome man, of distinguished appearance, but on the few + occasions I have spoken to him he impressed me as somewhat + _taciturn_. Yet to see the way in which his wife even + _looks_ at him you would imagine that he had not his equal in + the world! + + "I believe there is some _secret_ in their lives. Colonel + Anstruther used to be in the army--he is now in command of our + local yeomanry--and although his name is 'Robert,' _tout + court_, I have often heard Mrs. Anstruther call him 'Jenks.' + Their boy, too, is christened Robert _Jenks_ Anstruther.' Now, + my dear Helen, _do_ make inquiries about them in town circles. + I _particularly_ wish you to find out who is this person + 'Jenks'--a most vulgar name. I am sure you will unearth something + curious, because Mrs. Anstruther was a Miss Deane, daughter of the + baronet, and Anstruther's people are well known in Yorkshire. There + are absolutely no Jenkses connected with them on either side. + + "I think I can help you by another _clue_, as a very + _odd_ incident occurred at our hunt ball last week. The + Anstruthers, I must tell you, usually go away for the winter, to + China, or to their fabulous island. This year they remained at + home, and Colonel Anstruther became M.F.H., as he is certainly a + most liberal man so far as _sport_ and _charity_ are + concerned. + + "Well, dear, the Dodgsons--you remember the Leeds clothier + people--having _contrived_ to enter county society, invited + the Earl of Ventnor down for the ball. He, it seems, knew nothing + about Anstruther being M.F.H., and of course Mrs. Anstruther + _received_. The moment Lord Ventnor heard her name he was very + angry. He said he did not care to meet her, and left for London by + the next train. The Dodgsons were _awfully_ annoyed with him, + and Mrs. Dodgson had the bad taste to tell Mrs, Anstruther all + about it. And what do you think _she_ said--'Lord Ventnor need + not have been so frightened. My husband has not brought his + hunting-crop with him!' + + "I was not there, but young Barker told me that Mrs. Anstruther + looked very _impressive_ as she said this. 'Stunning!' was the + word he used, but young Barker is a _fool_, and thinks Mrs. A. + is the most beautiful woman in Yorkshire. Her dress, they say, was + _magnificent_, which I can hardly credit, as she usually goes + about in the _plainest_ tailor-made clothes. By the way. I + forgot to mention that the Anstruthers have restored our parish + church. The vicar, of course, is enraptured with them. I dislike + people who are so free with their money and yet reserved in their + friendship. It is a sure sign, when they _court_ popularity, + that they dread something leaking out about the _past_. + + "_Do_ write soon. Don't forget 'Jenks' and 'Lord Ventnor'; + those are the lines of _inquiry_. + + "Yours, + + "MATILDA. + + "PS.--Perhaps I am misjudging them. Mrs. Anstruther has just sent + me an invitation to an 'At Home' next Thursday.--M. + + "PPS.--Dear me, this letter will never get away, I have just + destroyed another envelope to tell you that the vicar came in to + tea. From what he told me about Lord Ventnor, I imagine that Mrs. + Anstruther said no more than he deserved.--M." + +NOTE.--Colonel Anstruther's agents discovered, after long and costly +inquiry, that a Shields man named James Spence, a marine engineer, +having worked for a time as a miner in California, shipped as third +engineer on a vessel bound for Shanghai. There be quitted her. He +passed some time ashore in dissipation, took another job on a Chinese +river steamer, and was last heard of some eighteen months before the +_Sirdar_ was wrecked. He then informed a Chinese boarding-house +keeper that he was going to make his fortune by accompanying some +deep-sea fishermen, and he bought some stores and tools from a +marine-store dealer. No one knew when or where he went, but from that +date all trace of him disappeared. The only persons who mourned his +loss were his mother and sister. The last letter they received from him +was posted in Shanghai. Though the evidence connecting him with the +recluse of Rainbow Island was slight, and purely circumstantial, +Colonel Anstruther provided for the future of his relatives in a manner +that secured their lasting gratitude. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WINGS OF THE MORNING*** + + +******* This file should be named 14917-8.txt or 14917-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/9/1/14917 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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