Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 31, Number 195, 12 August 1906 — Page 3

Page Three i o t tat mi . inr'3 of the W ne ePe n ne Story are Real and Not fe xn in tt A Komance 01 Love ana m venture mat im 7ta lo ABnoiJKr TnU A Will HnW liAPanl. 3K Kimnorc onn rrso at ?ir c tqptt E-src? Ai3 Ml Ulliai AX J X U1U UllU 1 1A1 JS.X.U1U. lilt; 1AVG.U I er's Attention From the Opening , Chapter jf MoFflll x uptO) uuu ai.&v x tut nx j.xu.vj ijiuo Woven About Them is Most Ingenious By LOUIS i:: TRACY js: Copyright. 1903. by VJ d ward J. CloJe

Tiie Richmond Palladium, Sunday, August 12, 1906.

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' lie ni&Sed Into the house and imatched from tin; nek one of the rifles repofdug there in apple pie order, each wll.li a iillfl magazine attached uixl n cart rid iff already In position. , Then he ran with long strides not fh rough the treeu, whore he could son nothing. ?ut toward the beach, whence in forty yards the phec whore Iris probably was would become visible. At once he saw her struggling in tlvi grasp of two ferocious looking Iyaks, one by his garments a person of consequence, the other a half naked sa v.ig hideous and repulsive in appearance. Around them seven men armed with fcuns and parangs were dancing with excitement. Iris' captors were endeavoring to tie lier 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 playIn;. The pair evidently found her a. tough handful, and the inferior Pyak, either to stop her screams for she was fchrieking, "Kobert, come to me!" with all her might or to stilJe her into submission, roughly placed his Inure hand over her mouth. These things the sailor noticed instantly. Some men, brave t rashness, ready as lie to give his life to save her, Would have raced madly over the intervening ground, scarce a furlong, and attempted a heroic combat of ouj ngainst tiino. Not no Jenks. With the methodical exactness of the parade ground he settled down on one knee and leveled the ritle. None of the Pyaks saw him. All Were intent on the sensational prize

In the grasp of two ferocious looking Dyalis. they had secured, a young and beautiful white woman so contentedly roamiug about the shores of this fetish island. With the slow speed advised by the Itoman philosopher the back sight and fore sight of the ritle eame Into line Avith the breast of the coarse brute clutching the girl's face. Then something bit ldm nbove the heart and simultaneously tore half of Lis back into fragments. lie fell, with a queer Bob, ami 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 ami safety. Again and yet again the ritle gave Its short, sharp snarl, and two more Pyaks collapsed on the sand. Six were left, their leader being still uiieoupclously preserved from death by the figure of the Hying girl. A fourth Pyak dropped. The survivors, cruel savages, but not towards, unslung their guns. The sailor, white faced, grim, with nn unpleasnnt gleam in his deep set eyes and a lower jaw protruding, noticed their preparations. "To the left!" he shouted. "lUm toward the trees'."' Iris heard him and strove to obey, lut her strength was failing her. and she staggered blindly. After a few deppalring efforts she lurched feebly to her knees and tumbled face downward on the broken coral that had tripped lier fultering footsteps. Jenks was watching her, watching the remaining Pyaks. from whom a spluttering volley came, picking out his quarry with the murderous ease of n terrier in a rat pit. Something like a. 4-ee in a violent hurry hummed past bis ear, and a rock near bis right foot was struck a tremendous blow by an Unseen agency. He liked this. It would le a battle, not a battue. The fifth lyak crumpled into the distortion of death, and then their leader took deliberate aim at the kneeling marksman who threatened to wipe him uud his baud out of existence. P.ut his deliberation, though skillful, was too profound. The sailor tired first nnd 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 jio part of Jenks' programme to allow them to escape. He aimed again at the man nearest the trees. There was 6 ftham click and nothing more. The

cartridge was a misfire. He hastily sought to eject it, and the rifle jammed. Springim to hi:; feet. wih a yell, heran forward. The flying men caught a glimpse of him and accelerated their movement. Just as he reached Iris they vaniskf d among the trees. Slinging the ritle over his shoulder. fce picked up tbe ifirl In his arms. She was coiiHcious, but breathless. "You are not hurt'" he gasped, his eyes blazing into her face with an int nsity that she afterward remembered us appalling. "No." she Whispered.

"IJs:i," he continued jerks. "Try and obey me will carry you - to the cave fcdioot iiiiv one you see-till in labored exactly. I stop there. I come." She heard him wonderingly. Was he jroing 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, ami she would not know what happened to him until it was all over, ilradunlly 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 cril, and without waiting for an answer ran to the house for another ritle. This time, to her amazement, he darted back through Prospect park toward the south beach. The sailor knew that the Dyaks had latided 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 was the chief. Then Jenks understood that his bullet had hit the lock of the I (yak's uplifted weapon, with the result alre.-.dy described. By a mirnclo he had escapcu. He coolly prepared to slay the three of them with the same calm purpose that distinguished the opening phase of this singularly one shied conflict. The distance was much greater, perhaps SoO yards from the point where the boat eame into view. He knelt and fired, lie judged that the missile struck the craft between the trio. "I didn't allow for the sun on the side of the fore sight," 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 snyl. "No fear of that," he replied, turning away from her. "Where are the others;" "Dead!" "Do you mean that you killed nearly all those meuV" "Six of them. There were nine in all." He knelt again, lifting the r'Je. Iris threw herself on her knees by his side. There was something awful to her in this chill and businesslike declaration of a fixed purpose. "Mr. Jenks," she slid, 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 (Tod'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 comradesand secure you," he added. "It may be the will of Providence for Mich 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. FIPA" looked long and steadfastly at the retreating boat. Soon it diminished to a mere speck on the smooth sea. The even T breeze kept its canvas taut, and the sailor knew that no ruse was intended. The Hyaks 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 n:iy resistance difficult and a prolonged defence impossible. Would help come lirst? a distracting question to which definite answer could not he given. The sailor's brow frowned in deep lines; his brain throbbed now with an anxiety singularly at variance with Ids 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 uppealingly ; "Please, Mr. Jenks, do not be angry with me. 1 could not help it. I could not bear to see you shoot them." Then he abruptly awoke to tae realities of the moment. "Come." he said. Ids 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 can-

a complete collapse if any once. further alarms threatened at Yet he was almost positive though se.-rch al)ne would set at rest the hist misgiving that o:dy one sampan had visited the island. Pvi.lently the Pyaks were unprepared as he for the events ef the nrerf-ding half hour i tiey were nth r isitmg the island to procure turtle and beche-de-mer or hud 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 mut 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 Pyaks knew of this affrighting hollow and would not approach any nearer to it than was unavoidable. Could he twist tliis circuinsjance 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 (Jn 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, while he bent his brows in worrying thought, the color was returning to Iris' 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 dilliculties 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. 1 admit that I cried a little when you pushed me aside on the beach and raised your gun to tire at those poor wretches flying for their lives. Yet perhaps I was wrong to hinder you." "You were wrong," he gravely inter rupted. "Then you should not have heeded me. No, I don't mean that. You always consider me hrst, don't you? No matter what I ask you to do you eudeavor to please me, even when you kiiow all the time that I am acting or speaking foolishly." The unthinking naivete of her words sent the blood coursing wildly through his veins. "Never mind." she went ou, with earnest simplicity. "Cod 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 conies. 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, although 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 lirst 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 in ability to grasp the complexities of j feminine nature, but Iris rattled on: "I carried my tin of water to the j pitcher plant and was listening to the j greedy roots gurgling away for dear j life when suddenly four men sprang j out from among the trees and seized my arms before I could reach my re- ' volver." j "Thank heaven you failed!" "You think that if I had tired at them ; they would have retaliated. Yes. espe- j cially if I had hit the chief. But it was ! he who instantly gave some order, and j I supiHise it meant that they were not to hurt me. As a matter of fact, they seemed to be juite 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." "1 suppose you could not hear me distinctly?" "Quite distinctly." "livery word?" , "Yes." She bent to pick some leaves and hits of dry grass from her dress. "Well, you know." she continued rapidly, "in such moments one cannot ehooe one's words. I just shouted the lirst thing that eame into my head.'" "And I." he said. "piekM up the first rifle I could lay my hands on. Now, Miss Peane. 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 ob&rad.

Hire, lie area a en

CONTINUED FROM LAST SUNDAY

He thought it be-t to go along Turtle br-neh to the cove awl thence follow the Pyaks" trail through the woxl. us this line of advance would entail practically a complete circuit of the island. He omitted no precautions In his advance. Often he stopped nnd listened Intently. Whenever he doubled a point or passe l 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 ou 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 ou 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 Jenks' rifle bullet, but (dose investigation of the trigger guard and the discovery of certain unmistakable evidences ni the beach showed that the pyak leader had lost two if not three lingers 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 f ime to come." He dreaded lest any of the Pyaks should be only badly wounded and likely to live. It was an actual relief to his nerves to find that the improvised dumdums had done their work too well to permit anxiety on tluit score. He gathered the guns, swords and creeses of the slain, with all their uncouth belts and ornaments. In pursunnce 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 tins of many sharks. 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. 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' carpentry was effective, though rough. The building was water tight, and he had calked every crevice with unraveled rope until Iris' apartment was free from the tiniest draft. 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 Pyaks would land in force, rush the cave ami hut and overpower him by sheer numbers. The light, if tight there was, would be sharp, but decisive. Perhaps if he reil'id done their work too vtU. reived some warning Iris and iue might retreat in the darkness to the cover of the trees. A last stand could be made among the bowlders 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 nnd 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, looking steadily at the brilliant luminary for some time; then his

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-.-.-. ne ;t 1 1 "'"Tea ny rne strong lights thrown upon the nigged face of the precipice into which the cavern burrowed. Suddenly he uttered a startled exclamation. "By Jove!'' he murmured. "I never noticed that before." i no reature wnich so earnestly claimed his attention was a deep ledge directly over the mouth of the cave, but some forty feet from the ground. Be hind it the wall of rock sloped dark ly inward, suggesting a recess extend ing 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 influences of rain and sun had ex tended 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 ditlicuit to estimate accurately from the ground level. The sailor was a man of action, lie chose the nearest tall tree and began to climb. He was not eight feet from the ground before seeral 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 iu 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 inward to the line of the fault. The place was a perfect eagle's nest. A chamois could not reach it from any direction. K 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. "Weil," 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 Pyaks. "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 iu peace? Perhaps if I had not been here they would not have iiijur-d you. Somehow I seem to be bound up with your misfortunes." "I would not have it otherwise were it in my power," lie answered. Por an instant he left unchallenged the girl's assumption that she was iu 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 .bis 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 Peane. that your presence on the island. will in no way affect my fate at the hands of the Pyaks. 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." "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. Howdid 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 ia the next room. So I dressed and came out." "Ah!" he said quietly. "Evidently X SfCX&" ' - -

ins retreated, and the sailor, tired out at last, managed to close h:s weary eyes. Next morning he hastily constructed s pole of snfhV:nt length and str".v; enough to begr Lis weight by tying twj tuuray young trees together witn ropes. Iris helped him to raise it against the

face of the precipie- wnd Le at ouce climbed to the ledg. Here lie found his observations of the previous night abundantly verified. The ledge was even v ider than he dared to hope, neany ten feet deep in one part, and it sloped sharply downward from the outer lip of the rock. By lying flat and carefully testing all points of viewhe ascertained that the only possil.de positions from wdiich even a glimpse of the interior floor could he obtained were the branches of a few tail trees and the extreme right of the opposing precipice, nearly ninety yards distant. There was ample room to store water and provisions, and lie quickly saw that even some s-rt of shelter from the tierce 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 goixl 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 ou 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 wdiich the cliff bulged out on both sides prevented the ledge from becoming evident in profile, while, seen 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. "banger 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!" 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 Jeuks swarmed up the pole again and drew up after him a crowbar, the sledge hammer and the pickax. 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 hiiu 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 w here Iris couhl remain in absolute safety when barricaded by stores, while, 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 gunlocks to bavy fagots. 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 go on strike." "If you do," he answered, "you will create a precedent." "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 Lis post to the most distant one." He picked np a fagot with its queer attachment, shouldered a rifle and smiled when he saw the businesslike air with which Iris slung a revolver around Ler waist. They walked rapidly to Smugglers' cove, and the girl soon perceived the ingenuity of his automatic signal. He Eecurely bound the block of wood to a

tree wtiere it was hnl.ton by the unrtor growth. Breaking The bullet out of a cartridge, lie placed the blank charge ia position in front of the hammer, the case being' firmly ckispl by a beet nail. To the trigger, the spring of vhlch he had eased to a slight pres-i sure. Le attached a piece of unraveled rop; and this he carefully trained among the trees at a height of six inches from the ground, using as carr.crs nails driven iuto the trunks. The ultimate result was that a mere swish o!" Ins' dress against the taut cord exploded the cartridge. "There:'' he exclaimed exultantly. "When 1 have driven stakes into the. sand to the water's x!ge on both sides of the cove. 1 will defy them to lajid by night without giving us warning." "Po eii know." said Iris, iu all seriousness, "I think you are the clever est man in the world." He was manifestly pleased by the success of his ingenious coutrivance and forthwith completed the cordon. To make doubly sure he set another snare farther within the trees. He was certain the Pyaks would not pas along Turtle beach if they could heVy it. By this time the light was failing. "That will suffice for the present." he told the girl. "Tomorrow we will place oilier sentries in position at strategic points. Then we can sleep in the custla with tolerable safety." By the meager light of the tiny lamp they labored sedulously at the rope ladder until Iris' eyes were closing with sheer weariness. Neither of them had slept much during the preceding; night, and they were both completely tired. The first streaks of dawn were tipping the opposite crags with roseato tints when the sailor was suddenly aroused by what he believed to be a gunshot. He could not be sure. Ho 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 armyin Flanders, it Is believed. There was not a moment to be lost, lie rushed into Iris' room and gathered her iu his arms, lie oxplained to the

Up he ucut, hand over hand. girl as he ran with her to the foot of the rock that she must cling to his shoulders with unfaltering courage while 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. T'p 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. "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 Clled sea and land svith its brightness. At last, despite the girl's tears and prayers. Jenks insisted on making a reconnaissance in person. Let this portion of thir adventures be passed over with merciful brevity. Both watch guns had been fired by a troop of tiny wou-wou monkeys. Iris did not know whether to laugh or cry, w hen Jenks. with much difficulty, lowered her to Mother Farth again and marveled the while how he had managed to carry forty feet info the air a young woman who weighed so solidly. They sat down to a iKdated breakfast, and Jenks then been me 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 bis achievement. (To be Continued Next Sunday.)

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