Jasper County Democrat, Volume 8, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 July 1905 — The Wings of the Morning [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Wings of the Morning

By LOUIS TRACY

SYNOPSIS. Chapter I—The Sirdar, having amoag her passengers Iris Deane, daughter of the owner of the ship, and Robert Jenks, who is working as a waiter, is wrecked. lI—AH are lost save Miss Deane and Jenks, who are east ashore on an islet in the Pacific. Jenkins recovers stores and weapons from the wrecked vessel. He finds the skeleton of a European on the island. IV—A cave on the island is fitted up as a habitation. A chart of the island, mysteriously marked, is found on the skeleton. V—Jenks finds a hollow filled with human skeletons, the remains of a mining party. He is rescued from an octopus by Iris while recovering riles from the wreck of the Sirdar. Vi—Jenks tells Iris that his real name is Anstruther and that, through the machinations of Lord Ventnor, he has been unjustly dismissed in disgrace from the English army. Lord Ventnor has been mentioned on the Sirdar as affianced to Iris. Vll—lris is attacked by a party of fierce Dyaks (Polynesian natives). They are beaten off by Jenks, three, however escaping in their boat. The castaways dread their return. Vlll—Anstruther prepares to defend Iris and himself, fortifying a ledge of rock above their cave. IX—A rich gold mine, indicated on the mysterious chart of the island, is discovered in the cave. X and Xl—The Dyaks attack the Island. Among them is an escaped convict, an Indian Musselman. They discover the hiding place, but are defeated by the Englishman. XII. An unlucky shot costs Jenks and Iris their water supply. A truce with the savages, the Mussulman speaking Hindoo to Anstruther, acting as Interpreter. Mir Jan, the Indian, agrees to aid Anstruther and supply him with water. XHl—lris and Robert, in the midst of peril, avow their love for each other. The fight continues.

Tfiese things happened with ’the speed of thought Within forty seconds of Iris’ shrill cry the sailor was breast high with the ledge and calling to her: “All right old girl! Keep It up!” 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 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. Site was herself a partj- to it But what an escape! “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. "It is a small thing to trouble about, sweetheart,” l;e 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 in’o the cave. 1 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 Mohammedan’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”— “Wbat 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?” be 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."

“Well done! Is Taung B’All dead by any lucky chance?” “No, sahib, if be 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 Mohammedan gave satisfactory assurance that he understood the mechanism of the rifle by Alling 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 bad enough of it for the night that, after recovering Jenks’ revolver, he boldly went to the well

and drew himself a supply of water. During supper 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 Mohammedan and theif* 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 re-enforce-ments 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. He managed to lay her on a comfortable pile of ragged clothing and then resumed bls 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. A period of reflection could hardly pass without a speculative dive Into the future. If Iris and he were resell' f what would happen when they wen’, forth once more into the busy L'orld? 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/fhat 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 lie came to her unsoiled by slander, purged of this odium cast upon him unmerited.

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. 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 sucli 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 while 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 while 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. "Mit Jan!” exclaimed Iris. “What now?” demanded Jenks over the side. “Sahib, they corner* “I am prepared. Let that snake get back to bis hole in the rock, lest a mongoose seize him by the head.”

Mir Jan, engaged in a scouting expedition on bls 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 Are 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.” >r- i. .. 4K9

"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 Wack 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 pickax, 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* maneuvers. “We have won the first rubber,” he whispered to Iris. Above, beneath, beyond, they could see nothing. The air they breathed was hot and fetid. It was like being immured in a foul tunnel, and almost as dark. Jenks looked over the parapet. lie 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 fusil lade 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. lie 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 Mohammedan made play on them with a rifle at thirty feet. Jenks, using his crowbar as a lever, toppled the ladder clean over. It fell outward 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. Resting on one knee, with a revolver In each hand, she seemed no puling mate for the gallant man who fought for her. 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 backward. 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 clinched 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 downward. Two others pitched themselves half on to the ledge. Now both crowbar and revolver were needed. Three ladders were thus eumbered somewhat for those beneath, and Jenks sprang toward 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 plowed 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 while 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 twelve pounder shell had flown toward 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 bls 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.” [to be continued ]

That S3OO Chase Piano that The Democrat has been telling about for the past two weeks is now on exhibition in the show window of Rowles Parker’s dry goods store, on East Washington street. Read the conditions on which it is to be given away in another column.

Now both crowbar and revolver were needed.