| Show If I take the t e wings of the morning t crI I I and dwell l n the t ngu uttermost t m s parts of J I l lead the Old sea me even and there thero shall 9 hand band Thy 10 hand shall T WINGS W I N G S OF 0 F T H MORNING M O R N I N 6 J Author American 4 Disappearance th t r BY BV of Emperor LOUIS The h of Final Lady TRACY A The War Della Delia Strange etc An Anthe I Continued from last Sunday The Sirdar carried a consignment of and ammunition from Hong Kong to tl Singapore Providence had decreed i that t at a practically Inexhaustible store of cartridges should be hurled across the lagoon to the Island And here were enough to equip half a company He would not risk the pre do clous s axe In an attempt to open the thease case rase ase He must go back for a crow bar What else was there in this store stare house h ouse thrust by Neptune from ocean 4 bed A chest ch t of ot tea seemingly un imaged maged Three barrels of flour utter y ruined A saloon chair smashed mashed am ash ed edrom from rom Its p pivot vot A battered er ri f a 1 ur 01 u the me Lea r st fragments vj of Si timber intermingled with pulverized coral and broken crockery A little further on the deep water entrance to the lagoon curved between unken sunken rocks On Or one of them rested the he huge funnel fu The Te north northwest northwest northwest west section of the reef was bare Among the wreckage he found a coil coli Tf Ut stout rope and a pulley pulle He in instantly conceived the idea of construct lug ing an aerial line to ferry the chest o otea otla otea tea across the channel he had forded He threaded the pulley with the rope I and nd climbed the tree trees adding a touch of artistic completeness to the ruin dl his I trousers by the operation He had fas fastened fast as ened t the pulley high up the trunk be before fore foro he realized how much more sim simple le It would be to break open the where It lay la and transport Its contents in small parcels He laughed lightly I am becoming he said to himself Any An how bow now the job is done I may as well make use of ot 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 Jines he would within 41 4 few fleeting seconds drag himself hark bark from eternity Picking up un the axe he carelessly into the Lilt water VaL nut not u Alluding knowing ur that Iris having welded the incipient sago ago 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 ruth from the seaweed A long tentacle shot out like a lasso and gripped his right leg Ipg Another coiled round his waist My God he gurgled as a horrid sucker flU closed over his mouth and nose He H was in the grip of a devil fish tIsh tIshA A deadly sensation of oC nausea almost overpowered him but the love of life fame came to his aid and he tore the suffocating suffocating cating feeler from his face Then the axe ax whirled and aud one of the eight arms of nf the octopus lost some of its length Yet ret a fourth flung itself around his left ankle A few feet away avay awa out of range tange of the axe and lifting itself bodily bod II out of the water was the dread I form of the cuttle cuttie apparently all aU head t I with distended gills and monstrous eyes eres The sailors feet were planted wide apart With frenzied effort he hacked at the murderous tentacles but the theater water ater hindered him and he was forced to lean back in superhuman strain to avoid Old losing his balance If once this If ble assailant got him down he hew w he was lost The very need to keep his feet prevented him from at to deal a mortal blow The cuttle was anchored by three of Its ta ts tentacles Its remaining arm darted with sinuous activity to toa again a ln clutch the mans face or orp peck p k With the axe atc he smote madly at the feeler Us Its ts aim time and again but falling failing to deliver an effective stroke With AVith agonized p the sailor knew w that he was Were Vert the Ue devil fish a giant of its tribe he h could not have held out so Ion As s it was the rho creature r could afford to wait A It str its raso aS tightening its s colls pulling and pumping at its it prey pre remorseless certainty c He was nearly Jarf spent pent In a 3 paroxysm of ot despair he resolved re to give Ive way wa and ana with one ma nut fort to iu lu bury the he ax in the monsters mon brain But ere x t he could execute this fatal project for tor the cuttle would have Instantly swept sept him Into the trailing weeds five revolver shots rang out in quick sue suc succession cession iris had reached the nearest rod rock The third bullet gave the octopus ause to reflect It squirted l forth a torrent of fluid Instant ly the water became black opaque The tentacle flourishing in air thrashed the surface with impotent fury that around Jenks waist grew taut and rigid The ax flashed d with the tion lion of If hope An Another ther arm was sev ev ered red the huge dismembered cell coll slack slackened ened enad and fell awa away Yet was he anchored immovably He lie turned to look at Iris She never ner for go ot the fleeting expression of his face might Lazarus have looked from tho the tomb The rope she screamed serea dropping the te revolver and seizing the loose ends li lj s g at t her feet var it LII them tight flit and bak pulling lUlling with all he strength The tailor flung the ax to th rock and aud Ute the two ropes rO 8 He raised him himself self and plunged wildly He lie was free With two convulsive strides he was wa at 1 Lr girls side He stumbled to tl a 3 boulder and in After Arter a mc me h lie he felt Iris hard hand placed timidly i n p his hi shoulder Hot I raised his head i Hid rd saw her eyes e es shining i Thank you ou ne le said We are arc I r rw rJ J CHAPTER VI VISome VISome VISome Some Explanations FierCe emotions are necessarily tran but for the hour they exhaust the he psychic capacity The sailor had gone ne through such mental me al stress be before fore foro ore it was yet noon that he was benumbed wholly Incapable of further sensation Seneca tells tella how the Island of arose in a moment from the sea SOO thereby astounding ancient mariners as well vell it might Had this manifestation been repeated within a cables length from the reef Jenks Jenka was In mood to a accept pt it as befitting the new order of things Being in good condition he soon re recovered recovered recovered covered his physical powers He was Outwardly little the worse for the en encounter encounter encounter counter with the devilfIsh The skin around his mouth was sore His waist and legs were bruised One sweep of the axe had cut out clean through the thet t bulgIng leather nf of his hIM left Ift boot hnot with lout out 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 50 now flOw 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 Com Corn Compassion Compassion passion awoke at sight of her Come Corne Said said Jenks gently Let us get back to the island He quietly resumed predominance helping her over the rough pathway of I the reef almost lifting her when the difficulties were great He did not ask her how it hap p ned that she he came so speedily to his assistance Enough that she had done it daring d ring all ali for his sake She was weak and trembling With the acute vision of the soul she saw sa w again and yet et 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 companions blunted emotions quick quickened quickened quickened ened into life He caught her arm and said hoarsely Are you ou hurt in any way wa The question brought her back from dreamland A waking nightmare was happily shattered shattered H Into dim u I She even strove to smile unconcerned ly 13 1 3 It is nothing she murmured I 1 stumbled on the rocks There is no sprain Merely Mereb a blow a bit of skin rubbed off above my ankle Let me carry you The Idea Carry me I will ilI race you to the tle cave It was no idle jest She wanted to run to get away awa from that inky ink blotch in the green water You Vou are sure it is a trifler Quite sure My Iy stocking blocking 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 lift lifted lifted lii t ted ed her dress On the outer side of the tapering limb was waa wa an ugly u ly bruise scratched deeply by the coral He exhibited due surgical interest His manner his words became pro We will vm soon put that right he be said A strip off your muslin dress soaked in brandy brand will Brandy she exclaimed vt Yes Ves we have some some you ou know Brandy is a great tip for bruised wounds It can ca be applied ways yay inside and out a This was better They were stead ily drifting back to the commonplace Whilst she stitched together some somo mus lin nfl 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 th upper part of his boot For tho the first time she saw the cut made by the axe Did the thing grip you ou there she nervously inquired There and elsewhere All AH over at once it felt like The beast attacked me with five arms She shuddered I dont know how you ou could fight tIght it she said How strong how brave you must be This amused him The cow coward coward coward ard will try to save his own life he Y Una tu AJ n 1 you yuu VUU use UC ou such ii tives to me what words can I find to do justice ju to you ou who dared to come close to such a 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 OUr pistol lying on the stone in the cave That is one reason why hy I followed you youIt youit ou It was as quite true He laid the I weapon aside when delving at the rock and forgot to replace it in his belt I was stupid of oC me Inc he lie admitted buY but I 1 am not sorry Why hy life Because as it is I owe you my m i 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 Js is purely purel selfish you see Quite so Purely selfish He smiled u I semen leU people ot UL of your type are somewhat rare Miss Deane Not a conversation worth noting per haps save in so far as it Is typical of the trite utterances of people ing to recover from some tremendous ordeal Epigrams delivered at the foot of the scaffold have always been care fully prepared beforehand The bandage was ready one end was well soaked in brandy She moved to wards the cave but he cried Walt Valt one minute I want to get a couple of crowbars What for forI 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 h explained I found rifles there We Ve must have them they may mean sal salvation salvation salvation When Iris was determined about any thing her chin dimpled It puckered delightfully now I will come with you she an announced announced announced Very well I will wait valt aft for you The tide will serve for another hour He H knew he had decided rightly She could not bear to be alone yet Soon the bandage was adjusted and they re turned to the reef Scrambling now with difficulty over the rough and dan track Iris was Vas secretly e amazed by the remembrance of the daring ac she displayed during her earlier passage along the same precarious roadway She then themi darted from rock to rock with the fearless certainty of a cha chamois chamois mois mols Her only stumble was caused she recollected by an absurd ab urd effort to avoid avold wetting her dress She laugh laughed ed nervously when they reached the thc place This time Jenks lifted her across the intervening channel Is this the spot where you ou fell he asked tenderly Yes how did you guess it I 1 read it In your eyes I ITh Then Th n please do not read my m eyes but look where you ou are going Perhaps I was doing that too he said They The were standing on the landward S 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 awa owing to the slight movement of the tide Ude Iris was vaguely aguel conscious of a double meaning in his words She did not trouble to analyze them li 11 she knew was that the mans voice con conveyed 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 t th n uL n JUU 11 1 me here with so much difficulty what are you ou going to do she said It will be madness for Cor you to attempt to ford that passage again Where there is one of those horrible things there are others I suppose Jenks smiled Somehow h knew that this strict adherence to business was a cloak for her real thoughts Already these two were able bh to dispense with spoken word But aut he sedulously adopted her pre vre text t That Is one reason why wh 1 brought the crowbars he explained If you will iii sit down for a little while I will have hac everything eer properly fixed He delved del d with one of the bars un til 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 r strain i The through the pul ley Ie on the tree were lying where they the fell from the girls hand at the close of the t e struggle He deftly knotted them to the rigid bar and a few rapid r turns of a piece of wreckage passed between the two lines strung them into a fi tautness that ouM na h 1 n H 44 by any an amount of pulling Iris watched the operation in silence The sailor always looked at his best when hard at work Tl Tue e half bait sullen wholly expression ion left his face which bich lit up with and concentrated intelligence That which he essayed he did with all his might Will VIII power and physical force worked harmoniously She had never neer before seen such a man At such moments her admiration of him bun was unbounded He toiling with steady persistence e felt not the Inward spur which sought relief in speech but Iris was compelled to say something I suppose she commented with an i air of much wisdom you ou are arc ing an overhead railway for the safe transit of yourself and the goods Y yes es Why are arc you ou so doubtful about it Because I personally intended to walk across The ropes will serve to th P v She rose imperiously I absolutely forbid you ou to enter the water again Such a suggestion on your part is quite shameful You are arc 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 ment meat Her only resource was a wom worn ans expedient a plea for protection against threatening ills The sailor seemed to be b puzzled how best host to act Miss Deane he said there is no such serious danger as you imagine Last time the cuttle caught me nap ping He will not do so again Those rifles rUles I must have If it will serve to reassure you ou 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 mn able to 4 It 1 ie i 0 lU 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 |
