Show If It I take the wings of the I C BY TRACY mo I and tho lead hold sea dwell me me lle even and Psalm In n the t Thy there uttermost right x 9 3 hand band Thy 10 parts rt hand shall a of THE I r W WINGS I N 6 S S OF 0 F THE 1 r I n H I MORNING M 0 R RN N I N NG G J Author Disappearance Copyright of ra 1503 1003 Th by tr Lady Edward dward ar lIt J Clode Clade do etc An e eS Continued from last Oh I 1 dont know she walled wailed bro kenly I had bad a dream such a horn horri ble ole dream You Tou 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 Jes I 1 understand But BuLl 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 Tho sailor walked slowly to the rocks A fresh tresh chip out of the stone showed where the bullet struck One Ope huge boulder was wet asif as if water Had ad been splashed over it He halted baited and looked intently into the water Not a fish was to be seen but small spirals of ot sand were eddying up from The iho bot bottom bottom tom torn where it shelved steeply from the tie shore Iris followed him See Sec she excitedly I r was not mistaken There was something here A creepy creep sensation ran up the mans spine and passed behind his ears At this thie 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 ate are overwrought by fa Ia fatigue fatigue tigue Miss Deane he said What you saw was probably a seal he ho knew the ludicrous substitution would not be questioned Please go go and lie He down again I r cannot she protested I r am too frightened Frightened I By a dream In broad daylight But why are you so pale What has alamed alarmed you youCan youCan youCan Can you ou ask Did you not give the agreed signal Yes but butHer butHer butHer 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 soulI 11 I will wilt go back she said quietly though I would rather accompany you What are you doing Seeking a place to lay our heads he lie answered with gruff gruft carelessness You really must rest r st 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 Th y separated unwillingly each thinking only of the others safe safety safety safety ty and an comfort The girl knew she was not wanted because the man wished to spare her some unpleasant experience She obeyed him with a aS sigh S arid and sat down not to sleep p but butto butto butto to muse as girls will eyed wistful with the angelic fantasy of ot youth and nd CHAPTER IV lv Rainbow Island Across ss the parched bones lay the stick discarded by Jenks in his alarm He picked it up and resumed his progress along alog the pathway So closely did he ho now examine the ground that he hard hardly hardly hardly ly noted his direction The track led straight towards the wall vall of rock The distance was not great about forty yards ards At first the brushwood impeded him hi but soon even this hindrance dis disappeared disappeared disappeared appeared and a passage meandered through a belt of trees some strong and lofty others quite immature More lore bushes gathered at the foot of the cliff clift Behind them he lie could see seethe seethe seethe the mouth of the cave the six months old growth of ot vegetation about the en entrance entrance trance gave clear indication as to the time which had elapsed since a human foot If lr at st disturbed the solitude A few vigorous blows with the stick cleared leared away obstructing plants and leafy leMy branches br The sailor stooped and looked into the cavern for the opening was barely five feet high He perceived instantly that the excavation was mans handiwork applied to a fault In the hard lIard rock A A sort of natural shaft ex cx existed exIsted isted and this had been extended by b 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 dent light would be obtainable when the 1 tropical luxuriance of foliage outside was wan dispensed with At present the Interior was dark With the stick he tapped lapped the walls and roof A startled cluck and the rush of wings heralded the flight light 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 ands seven s ven or eight feet teet high At the further end was a collection of objects inviting prompt attention Each moment he h 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 cart cartridge cartridge cartridge ridge cases Between the stone and what a miner terms the face of ot the rock was a space Here halt hall Imbedded In the sand which covered the floor were two pickaxes a shovel shoel a aA A sledgehammer a fine ax and three crowbars I In the darkest corner of the caves ex cx extremity extremity the wall appeared to be very ery I smooth He prodded with the stick sUck and there was a sharp dang clang of tin He dis die discovered discovered covered six square square quare cases carefully stacked up Three were empty one seemed to be half halt full and the con contents contents tents of two were untouched With ala al almost almost most feverish haste he ascertained that the tin did really contain oil What a find he ho ejaculated aloud Another pair pali of ot birds dashed from a ledge near the roof root Confound you shouted the sailor He Ho sprang ng back and whacked the walls viciously but all the feathered intruders ders ers had gone So far as he could judge the th cave har hay harl l bored ored no further surprises Returning 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 nan man was attacked and defended d ended himself here Not expecting the arrival of enemies he provided no store of food or 01 water He was killed whilst trying to reach the well probably at night He pictured the scene a brave European keeping at bay hay a boat boatload boatload boatload load of Dyak savages enduring man manfully manfully manfully fully the agonies of hunger thirst per wounds Then the siege followed lans apS 1 ps by bt by a wild effort to gain the well the hiss of ot a Malay parang by y a lurking foe and the last despairing despal struggle before death came He might ml ht be mistaken Perchance in there Ihre was a less dramatic explanation e pl But he could not shake off his first im impressions Impressions They were garnered from f 1 s I dumb evidence e ce and developed develop by some occult but overwhelming v sense of certai tatty tai y V hat That was the poor devil doing lire he asked Why did he bury himself in this rock with mining utensils sils and a few rough stores He could not be a castaway There Th re Is the indi hrdi indication cation of ot purpose of preparations of method combined with Ignorance for nonE who knew the ways of ot and Chinese pirates would venture to live here alone if it he could help It and if it he really were we e alone The thing was a mystery would probably remain a mys mystery mystery mystery tery forever 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 an act Arming himself with the ax M li h attacked the bushes and branches of trees in front of the cave He cut a afresh afresh afresh fresh approach to the well and an threw w the litter over the skeleton At first he was as inclined to bury it where it lay but he disliked the Idea of Iris walk wall walking walling walkIng ing unconsciously over te tile place No Notime Notime Notime time could be wasted that day He Hc would seize an early opportunity to act as gravedigger After an absence of little more than an hour e rejoined d the tho girl She Sha saw him from afar far and wondered whence he ho obtained the tho ax he shouldered You are a successful explorer she cried when he drew near Yes Miss diss Deane I have fou va wa water vater ter Implements i a shelter even ifS What What sort of at light spiritual or ma material material material Oil ony Ohl Oh not remain serious for many consecutive minutes but she gathered that he was ill M no mood for frivolity And the shelter Is it a house she continued No a ave cave If It you are sufficiently rested you might come and take pos possession possession possession session Her eyes eye danced with excitement He told Her IIer what he had seen with w th reservations and she ran qa 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 ques question question question tion staggered him Yes the th people who lived here must have had some sort of free pas passage passage sage sago He lied easily I have only cleared away recent growth he said And why did they dig a cave It surely would be build a 2 house hOUSEl from all aU these trees There you puzzle me he hie 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 batttle Womanlike Wo Womanlike manlike manlik her words were carelessly chosen but they were crammed with Inductive force Embarked on the toboggan slope of untruth the sailor slid sUd smoothly down downwards downwards downwards wards Events have colored your Imagination tion Miss Deane Even in England mon 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 em call We must climb cUr b the hill and get et back here In time to light another fire before the sun goes down I want to t prop a canvas sheet in iri front of ot the cave and try to devise a lams lam Must lust I sleep inside demanded Iris Yes Where else There was a pause a mere whiff of awkwardness I will mount guard outside went wenton on Jenks He was trying to improve the edge of the ax b by grinding it on a soft stone The girl went wont into the cave cave again She was wag inquisitive Uneasy ineasy That arrangement she Began but ended In a sharp cry of terror The d birds had returned during the sailors absence i iI II I 1 will wili kill them he shouted in an anger ange anger ger ge Please dont 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 ot the wreck I was going to say she explained that we must levise devise a partition There is no help for It until you con construct construct construct a sort of house Candidly I do donot donot donot not like this hole in the rock It is a avault avault avault vault a tomb You told me that I was in com corn command command mand yet you dispute my orders He strove hard to appear brusquely good humored indifferent though for one of his mould he was absurdly Irnita ble The cause was overstrain but that explanation escaped him Quite Quitt true But If Jt sleeping in the tho cold in dew or rain Is bad for me me ine It must be equally bad for you And AmI without you I 1 am helpless you know His arms twitched twitchell to give her a re assuring hug In several respects she sho sh was so childlike her big blue eyes were so ingenuous He laughed sar ear don leaHY and the harsh note clashed with her frank candor Here at least she was utterly deceived His change ful moods were incomprehensible VI tI I will serve you to tile tIe best of ot my ability Miss Deane he lie exclaimed We Ye must hope for fa a speedy rescue and I am inured to exposure It is otherwise with you O Are you ready for the climb Mechanically she picked up a stick at her feet It was the sailors wand of Investigation He snatched it from her hands and threw it away among the trees That Is a dangerous alpenstock penstock a he said The wood is unreliable It might break breal I will cut you a better one and he swung the ax against a tall sapling Iris mentally described him as fun ny fly She followed him in the upward curve of ot the ascent for the grade was not difficult and the ground smooth enough the storms of years having pulverized the rock and cri d driven sand Into Its clefts The persistent inroads of ot the trees had done the rest Beyond the flight of birds and the scampering of some tiny monkeys overhead they did not no disturb a living hiving creature The crest Vrest of ot the hill hilt was ered and they see nothing be beyond yond Yon t Immediate locality until the Hoj fou a point higher than the theres theres res where a rugged collection of hard basalt and the uprooting of soai poon trees provided an open space elevated above the ridge For a short distance the t e foothold footh ld was precarious Jenks Jenk helped the girl in this part of ot the climb cUmbo His strong gentle grasp gave her confidence She Shei was i as flushed with exertion when they stood together on the summit of ot this elevated perch They coulp couk JI U Jc to every point of ot the compass to t a aL L small section on the southwest Here the tr tree s rose behind them until the brow of ot the precipice was reached The emergence into a sunlit pan panorama panorama orama of ot land and sea sed se though expect expected expected ed was profoundly enthralling They appeared to stand almost exactly in hi inthe hithe n the center of the island which was It was no larger than the t e sailor ilor had estimated The new slopes now nov revealed were covered with verdure down to the tbt very edge of ot the water which for nearly a mile seaward broke over ver jagged reefs The sea looked strangely calm from this height Irregular blue patches on the horizon to south and east caught the mans first glance He 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 im immediate immediate Immediate mediate surroundings Jenks glanced at her sharply She was not looking at the Islands but at a curious hol hollow hollow hollow low a depression beneath them to the right distant about OO 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 ot grass shrub or tree nothing save brown rock and sand At first the sailor deemed it to be the bed of a small lake lak 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 at attention attention attention to it for the glorious prospect mapped at their feet momentarily swept aside all other considerations What W at a beautiful place murmured Iris I wonder what It Is called Limbo The word came Instantly The sail sailors sailors sailors ors gaze was again fixed on those dis die distant distant tant taut blue outlines Deane was die dis dissatisfied satisfied Nonsense she We are not dead yet You must find a better name than that Well Veil suppose we w christen it Rain Rainbow Rainbow RaInbow bow island Why Rainbow That is the English meaning of ot Iris in Latin you ou know So it is How clever of you to think of it Tell me what is the mean meaning meanIng meaning ing of ot Robert in Greek He turned to survey the northwest side of the island I do not know he answered It might not be far |