Show If I take tako the wings n of the morning BY LOWS LOUIS TRACY A and the lead hold i sea dwell me mc me rte even and Psalm in ne the Thy there uttermost right t shall m 9 s hand Thy 10 parts hand shall of THE T WINGS W I N 6 S OF 0 f THE T H M MORNING OR N 1 N 6 American Author Disappearance u of f Emperor The h of Final Lady The War Nar Delta Della Strange Sange etc eta An Copyright 1903 by Edward J Clode CHAPTER XV The drifting smoke was still so dense that not even the floor o of the valley could be discerned Jenks dared not leave Iris at such a moment He feared to bring her down the thc ladder lest an another another another other shell sheH might be fired But some something thing must be done to end their sue sus suspense pense He called to Mir Jan Tan Take oft off your turban and hold it above your head if you think they can see you rou from the warship It is all right sahib came the theL L 7 cheering answer One boat Is close in inshore Inshore 1 shore I think from the uniforms they r are English sahibs such as I have seen at Garden Reach The have all allson gone son e Nevertheless Jenks waited There was nothing to gain by being too precipitate pre precipitate precipitate A false step now might undo the achievements of many weeks Mir Jan Tan was dancing about beneath in a state of ot wild excitement They have seen the turning to their sampans sahib he no yelled and the second se ond 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 sonders onders Better wait here dearest he said The Tho enemy may be driven back in inthis Inthis inthis this direction and I cannot expose you to further risk The sailors will soon land Jand and you can then descend in per perfect feet safety The boom of or a cannon came from the sea Instinctively tho the girl ducked for safety though her h r companion smiled at ather ather ather her fears for tor 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 more guns were w re fired The man 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 wUl proba probably probably bly bI be taken to the mainland and hanged banged for tor their crimes so the manner of their end is not of much conse consequence consequence consequence quence To the girls manifest relief there was no more firing and Mir Mil Jan Tan 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 o f existence She laved laced her face with water and sought her discarded skirt Soon Boon the steady tramp of d feet advancing at the double do ble was heard hear hearon d on the shingle and an officers voice speaking the crude Hindustani of the th e engine room and forecastle shouted to t 0 Mir Jan Tan Hi you black fellow Are there any white people here Jenks sang out Yes two of us Perched on on the rock roc k over oer your our heads We are comin coming g down He cast loose the rope ladder Iris Iri s was ivas limp and trembling Steady sweetheart he whispered Dont forget the slip sUp between the cu cup and the lip Up Hold tight But have no n o fear I will be just beneath It was as well he took this precaution She was now so unnerved that an un unguarded unguarded unguarded guarded movement might have led to toan toan t tan o an accident But the knowledge that her lover was near the touch of his hl hand guiding her feet on to the rungs rung of the ladder sustained her They had d almost reached the level when a loud lou d exclamation and the crash of a heavy blow caused Jenks to halt hatt and look loo k downward A Dyak lying at the foot toot of one of o othe f the scaling ladders and severely wounded by a shell splinter witnessed d their descent In his left hand h he e grasped a parang his right arm was wa es s bandaged Though unable to rise the th e vengeful pirate mustered his remaining remain remainIng Ing strength to crawl toward the sway lug ing ladder It was SAli in 10 inspired inspired with the hate and venom of the tho dying ding snake Even yet et he hoped to deal deala a mortal stroke at the man who ha had d defied him and all aU his cutthroat band lie Ire might have succeeded as Jenks Jenk was so taken up with Iris were it not no t for the watchful eyes e es of Mir Mil Tan Jan The Th e sprang at him with an a n oath and gave him hint such a murderous s whack with the butt of a rifle that the th Dyak chief collapsed and breathed ou out t his fierce spirit in a groan At the first glance Jenks did not rec recognize recognize recognize SAH SAli owing to hi his s ehan change e of costume Through the thin thinner thinner thinner ner smoke he could see several sailors sailor s running up Look out there he cried There They e is a lady here If any an Dyak moves knock him on the head But with the passing of the chiefa chief a their last peril had gone The next in instant Instant instant stant they were standing on the firm fins ground round and a British naval lieutenant lieutenan t was saying eagerly We seem to have turned up in the th S Snick nick of time Do you ou by any chance chanc e belong to the Sirdar We are ar the sole sale survivors an answered answered answered the sailor You two only Yes She struck on the northwest t reef of this island during a typhoon t phoon This lady Miss Iris Deane D ane and I were flung ashore Miss Deane Can it be possible 9 Let me congratulate you ou most heartily Sir Arthur Athur Deane is on board the Ori Or Orient Orient Orent ent at this moment The Orient Iris was dazed The uniforms th the pleasant faces of the English sailors sailor s the strange sensation of ot hearing fa familiar familiar familiar words In tones other than those thos e of the man she loved bewildered her Yes explained the officer with a sympathetic smile our ship you know in the offing there It was all too wonderful to be quite quit e understood yet et She turned to Robert Do you hear They Th say my father tather is not far tar away awa Take Tak me to him No need for that miss interrupted interrupts d a warrant officer Here he is coming comin g ashore He wanted to come with us u but the captain would not permit it as a s s there seemed to be some trouble e 3 ahead Sure enough even the girls giris swim swimming swimming swimming ming eyes could distinguish the gray gra bearded civilian seated beside an officer office in the of a small gig now now no w threading a path through the broken broke n reef beyond be ond Turtle beach In five min minutes minutes minutes utes father and daughter would meet Meanwhile the officer Intent on duty dut y addressed Jenks again May lay I ask who you are arely My ly name is Anstruther Robert An Anstruther Anstruther Anstruther Iris clinging to his arm heard the th e reply So he had abandoned all aU pretense e He tas ready to face tace the world ather atthe r side She stole a loving glance at him himas hi m as 1 1 she cried Yes Captain Anstruther of the In Indian Ind dian illan d an Staff corps If It he will not tell ten yo you u all uti that he has done how he has save saved d l my life twenty times how he has fought ought against eighty men ask me meThe meThe meThe The naval officer did not need to look looka a second time at Iris Irl face to lengthen the list of ot o Captain achievements bygone byone more item He sighed si A good sailor always al does sigh when a particularly pretty girl is labeled la labeled labeled Engaged But he could be very polite Captain Anstruther does not appear to have left much for tor us to do Miss Deane he said Indeed turning to Robert is there any way in which my men will be usefulL useful L Il would recommend that they drag the green stuff off that fire and stop the he smoke Then a detachment should go g o round the north side of the Island and drive the remaining into the hands of the party you have landed as asI asI asI I understand at the further end of the south beach Mir fir Jan Tan the dan here who has been a most faithful faith faithful ful ul ally during part of our siege sl ge will act set as guide The other man cast a comprehensive glance lance g over the rock with its scaling ladders and dangling rope ladder the cave the fife little groups of dead or un unconscious unconscious unconscious conscious pirates for every wounded man who could a limb had crawled away after atter the first shell burst and drew a deep breath How long have you been up there he asked Over thirty hours It was WM a great fight Somewhat worse than it looks said Anstruther This is only the end of it Altogether we have havo accounted for nearly nearl two score of the fife poor dev ils Do you think you can make them prisoners without killing any more of o f them asked Iris That depends entirely on them themselves themselves themselves selves Miss Deane My 11 men will not no fire a shot unless they encounter re resistance resistance stance si Robert looked toward the approach approachIng ing i ng boat She would not land yet for fora fo foa r a couple of minutes By the way he said will you tell teU me your name Playdon Lieutenant Philip H Playdon Pla don donDo Do you know to what nation this island belongs It Is nomans land I think It i is s marked uninhabited on the chart Then said Anstruther I call cal I upon you Lieutenant Playdon and all al I others here hero present to witness that I Robert late of the Indian India n army arm acting on behalf of myself and andI an d Miss M iss Iris Deane declare that we Ave have I taken possession of ot this island in the th e name of ot his Britannic majesty the tho kin king kingor g of or England that we are the joint Deco occupiers occupiers piers and owners thereof and claim all al property rights vested therein These formal phrases coming at such sucha t a moment amazed his hearers Iris alone had an inkling of the underlying g motive i iI I dont suppose anyone at will dispute e i your title said the naval officer gravely He unquestionably imagined imagine d that suffering and exposure had slight slightly ly disturbed the other mans senses yet ye et ethe t he had seldom seen any person who wit o to looked to be In tn more complete posses possession possession sion slop of his iris faculties Thank you replied Robert with wit h equal composure though he felt In Inclined inclined dined to laugh at Playdon s mystifies mystification m tion I 1 only wished to secure a sufficient sufficient number of witnesses for far a verbal declaration When hen I have a few min minutes minutes mins utes to spare I will affix a legal notice on the wall in front of our cave cae Playdon bowed silently There was something in the speakers manner that puzzled him He detailed a n small guard to accompany Robert and Iris who now walked toward the beach and asked Mir Jan Tan to pilot him as suggest suggested eed ed eil by Anstruther The boat boa was yet many yards from shore when Iris ran forward and stretched out her arms to the tits man who was staring at her with wistful de despair despair span Father Father she cried Dont you ou know me Sir Arthur Deane was looking lookin at the two t wo strange figures on the sands and each moment his heart sank lower This island held his final hope Dur During During ing many man weary weeps 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 ot the Sirdar He met naught save blank nothing nothingness ness the silence of or the great ocean mausoleum Not a boat a spar a life buoy buo was east cast up by the waves to yield faintest trace of the lost steamer Every naval man knew what had hap happened happened happened The vessel had met mot with some mishap to her r struck a derelict or turned turtle during that memorable typhoon of March 17 li and 18 She had gone down with all hands handsHer handsHer handsHer Her fate tate was a foregone conclusion No ships boat could live lle in that sea even If i the crew were able to launch one It was another of oceans trag tragedies tragedies tragedies edies with the fifth act left to the im imagination Imagination Imagination To examine every sand patch and shoal in the China sea was an impossible task All AU the Orient could do was to visit the principal islands Islands islands ands and Institute inquiries among the fishermen and small traders At last the previous night a Malay Mala tempted by hope of reward boarded the vessel when lying at anchor off the large Island sl and away to the south and told the captain a wondrous tale talc of ot a devil haunted h place inhabited by b two white spirits a male and a female whither a local pirate named SAli SAl had gone Kone by b chance with his men and suffered great loss But SAli was bewitched by the female male f spirit and had returned there with a great force swearing to capture her heror heror heror or perish The spirits the Malay lalay said had dwelt upon the Island for many years His father and grandfather knew the place and feared it SAli SAti would never be seen again This queer yarn was the first indi indication indication cation cotton they received of the where whereabouts whereof of any persons who might pos possibly possibly sibly be shipwrecked Europeans though not survivors from the Sirdar Anyhow the tiny dot lay in the ves yes vessels vessels sels gels northward track so a course a was set to arrive island soon after dawn Events on shore as seen neon by the of officer officer facer on watch told their own awn tale talc Wherever are fighting there is mischief on foot so the Orient took tooka a hand in the proceedings But Sir Arthur Deane after an agonized ag agonized agonized scrutiny of the persons escorted by the sailors to the waters edge sadly acknowledged that tha neither of these could be the daugh daughter daughe ter whom he sought He bowed his h s head in humble resignation and h he thought he was the fhe victim of a cruel crue hallucination when Iris tremulous ac accents accents accents cents reached his ears ar Father father Dont Dont you know me mer i r He Ho stood up amazed amazed and trembling Yes dear father It Is IsI I your own little girl given back to you ou Oh dear Oh dear I cannot see you for my tears They had bad some difficulty to keep him in the boat and the man pulling stroke smashed a stout oar with the next wrench wren h hAnd And so they met at It last and the sail sailors sailors sailors ors left them alone to crowd round Anstruther and ply him with a hun dred questions Although he fell In with w ith their humor and gradually pieced together the th stirring story which was supplemented each instant by the ar arrival arrival arrival rival of disconsolate and the comments of ot 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 others anxiety Then Iris called to him Robert I want you The use ue of his Christian name cre created created created something akin to a sensation Sir Arthur Deane was startled startles even een evenin evenin 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 Arthur Anstruther to whom alone under Gods will I nn owe e 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 daughters life I owe you that which I can never repay And AndI I owe you my own life too for I could not have survived the knowledge that she was dead acad Robert |