by Louis Tracy
CHAPTER VIII
PREPARATIONS
They looked long and steadfastly at the retreating boat. Soon itdiminished to a mere speck on the smooth sea. The even breeze kept itscanvas taut, and the sailor knew that no ruse was intended--the Dyakswere flying from the island in fear and rage. They would return with aforce sufficient to insure the wreaking of their vengeance.
That he would again encounter them at no distant date Jenks had nodoubt whatever. They would land in such numbers as to render anyresistance difficult and a prolonged defence impossible. Would helpcome first?--a distracting question to which definite answer could notbe given. The sailor's brow frowned in deep lines; his brain throbbednow with an anxiety singularly at variance with his cool demeanorduring the fight. He was utterly unconscious that his left armencircled the shoulder of the girl until she gently disengaged herselfand said appealingly--
"Please, Mr. Jenks, do not be angry with me. I could not help it. Icould not bear to see you shoot them."
Then he abruptly awoke to the realities of the moment.
"Come." he said, his drawn features relaxing into a wonderfullypleasing smile. "We will return to our castle. We are safe for theremainder of this day, at any rate."
Something must be said or done to reassure her. She was stillgrievously disturbed, and he naturally ascribed her agitation to thehorror of her capture. He dreaded a complete collapse if any furtheralarms threatened at once. Yet he was almost positive--though searchalone would set at rest the last misgiving--that only one sampan hadvisited the island. Evidently the Dyaks were unprepared as he for theevents of the preceding half-hour. They were either visiting the islandto procure turtle and _beche-de-mer_ or had merely called there_en route_ to some other destination, and the change in the windhad unexpectedly compelled them to put ashore. Beyond all doubt theymust have been surprised by the warmth of the reception theyencountered.
Probably, when he went to Summit Rock that morning, the savages hadlowered their sail and were steadily paddling north against wind andcurrent. The most careful scrutiny of the sea would fail to reveal thembeyond a distance of six or seven miles at the utmost.
After landing in the hidden bay on the south side, they crossed theisland through the trees instead of taking the more natural open wayalong the beach. Why? The fact that he and Iris were then passing thegrown-over tract leading to the Valley of Death instantly determinedthis point. The Dyaks knew of this affrighting hollow, and would notapproach any nearer to it than was unavoidable. Could he twist thiscircumstance to advantage if Iris and he were still stranded there whenthe superstitious sea-rovers next put in an appearance? He would see.All depended on the girl's strength. If she gave way now--if, insteadof taking instant measures for safety, he were called upon to nurse herthrough a fever--the outlook became not only desperate but hopeless.
And, whilst he bent his brows in worrying thought, the color wasreturning to Iris's cheeks, and natural buoyancy to her step. It is thefault of all men to underrate the marvelous courage and constancy ofwoman in the face of difficulties and trials. Jenks was no exception tothe 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 sounlooked for.
"No," he answered. "I thought you were too overwrought to talk of themat present."
"Overwrought! Not a bit of it! I was dead beat with the struggle andwith screaming for you, but please don't imagine that I am going tofaint or treat you to a display of hysteria now that all the excitementhas ended. I admit that I cried a little when you pushed me aside onthe beach and raised your gun to fire at those poor wretches flying fortheir lives. Yet perhaps I was wrong to hinder you."
"You were wrong," he gravely interrupted.
"Then you should not have heeded me. No, I don't mean that. You alwaysconsider me first, don't you? No matter what I ask you to do youendeavor to please me, even when you know all the time that I am actingor speaking foolishly."
The unthinking _naivete_ of her words sent the blood coursingwildly through his veins.
"Never mind," she went on with earnest simplicity. "God has been verygood to us. I cannot believe that He has preserved us from so manydangers to permit us to perish miserably a few hours, or days, beforehelp comes. And I _do_ want to tell you exactly what happened."
"Then you shall," he answered. "But first drink this." They had reachedtheir camping-ground, and he hastened to procure a small quantity ofbrandy.
She swallowed the spirit with a protesting _moue_. She reallyneeded 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 verydifferent. _I_ knew the men would not hurt me--after the firstshock of their appearance had passed, I mean--I also knew that youwould save me. But you, Mr. Jenks, had to do the fighting. You werecalled upon to rescue precious me. Good gracious! No wonder you wereexcited."
The sailor mentally expressed his inability to grasp the complexitiesof feminine nature, but Iris rattled on----
"I carried my tin of water to the pitcher-plant, and was listening tothe greedy roots gurgling away for dear life, when suddenly four mensprang out from among the trees and seized my arms before I could reachmy revolver."
"Thank Heaven you failed."
"You think that if I had fired at them they would have retaliated. Yes,especially if I had hit the chief. But it was he who instantly gavesome order, and I suppose it meant that they were not to hurt me. As amatter of fact, they seemed to be quite as much astonished as I wasalarmed. But if they could hold my hands they could not stop my voiceso readily. Oh! didn't I yell?"
"You did."
"I suppose you could not hear me distinctly?"
"Quite distinctly."
"Every word?"
"Yes."
She bent to pick some leaves and bits of dry grass from her dress."Well, you know," she continued rapidly, "in such moments one cannotchoose one's words. I just shouted the first thing that came into myhead."
"And I," he said, "picked up the first rifle I could lay hands on. Now,Miss Deane, as the affair has ended so happily, may I venture to askyou 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 quiteimperative. You _cannot_ come with me."
Then she understood one at least of the tasks he must perform, and shemeekly obeyed.
He thought it best to go along Turtle Beach to the cove, and thencefollow the Dyaks' trail through the wood, as this line of advance wouldentail practically a complete circuit of the island. He omitted noprecautions in his advance. Often he stopped and listened intently.Whenever he doubled a point or passed among the trees he crept back andpeered along the way he had come, to see if any lurking foes werebreaking shelter behind him.
The marks on the sand proved that only one sampan had been beached.Thence he found nothing of special interest until he came upon thechief's gun, lying close to the trees on the north side. It was a veryornamental weapon, a muzzle-loader. The stock was inlaid with gold andivory, and the piece had evidently been looted from some mandarin'sjunk surprised and sacked in a former foray.
The lock was smashed by the impact of the Lee-Metford bullet, but closeinvestigation of the trigger-guard, and the discovery of certainunmistakable evidences on the beach, showed that the Dyak leader hadlost two if not three fingers 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 furtherenterprise for some time to come."
He dreaded lest any of the Dyaks should be only badly wounded andlikely to live. It was an actual relief to his nerves to find that theimprovised Dum-dums had done their work too well to permit anxiety onthat score. On the principle that a "dead Injun is a goo
d Injun" theseDyaks were good Dyaks.
He gathered the guns, swords and krisses of the slain, with all theiruncouth belts and ornaments. In pursuance of a vaguely defined plan offuture action he also divested some of the men of their coarsegarments, and collected six queer-looking hats, shaped like invertedbasins. These things he placed in a heap near the pitcher-plants.Thenceforth, for half an hour, the placid surface of the lagoon wasdisturbed by the black dorsal fins of many sharks.
To one of the sailor's temperament there was nothing revolting in theconcluding portion of his task. He had a God-given right to live. Itwas his paramount duty, remitted only by death itself, to endeavor tosave Iris from the indescribable fate from which no power could rescueher if ever she fell into the hands of these vindictive savages.Therefore it was war between him and them, war to the bitter end, warwith no humane mitigation of its horrors and penalties, the last dreadarbitrament of man forced to adopt the methods of the tiger.
His guess at the weather conditions heralded by the change of wind wasright. As the two partook of their evening meal the complaining surflashed the reef, and the tremulous branches of the taller trees voicedthe approach of a gale. A tropical storm, not a typhoon, but a belatedburst of the periodic rains, deluged the island before midnight. Hoursearlier Iris retired, utterly worn by the events of the day. Needlessto say, there was no singing that evening. The gale chanted a wildmelody in mournful chords, and the noise of the watery downpour on thetarpaulin roof of Belle Vue Castle was such as to render conversationimpossible, save in wearying shouts.
Luckily, Jenks's carpentry was effective, though rough. The buildingwas water-tight, and he had calked every crevice with unraveled ropeuntil Iris's apartment was free from the tiniest draught.
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 hisbrains to discover some method of escape from this enchanted island,where fairies jostled with demons, and hours of utter happiness foundtheir bane in moments of frightful peril.
Of course he ought to have killed those fellows who escaped. Theirsampan might have provided a last desperate expedient if other savageseffected a landing. Well, there was no use in being wise after theevent, and, scheme as he might, he could devise no way to avoiddisaster during the next attack.
This, he felt certain, would take place at night. The Dyaks would landin force, rush the cave and hut, and overpower him by sheer numbers.The fight, if fight there was, would be sharp, but decisive. Perhaps,if he received some warning, Iris and he might retreat in the darknessto the cover of the trees. A last stand could be made among theboulders on Summit Rock. But of what avail to purchase their freedomuntil daylight? And then----
If ever man wrestled with desperate problem, Jenks wrought that night.He smoked and pondered until the storm passed, and, with thechangefulness of a poet's muse, a full moon flooded the island inglorious radiance. He rose, opened the door, and stood without,listening for a little while to the roaring of the surf and the crashof the broken coral swept from reef and shore by the backwash.
The petty strife of the elements was soothing to him. "They aresnarling like whipped dogs," he said aloud. "One might almost fancy herladyship the Moon appearing on the scene as a Uranian Venus, cowing seaand storm by the majesty of her presence."
Pleased with the conceit, he looked steadily at the brilliant luminaryfor some time. Then his eyes were attracted by the strong lights thrownupon the rugged face of the precipice into which the cavern burrowed.Unconsciously relieving his tired senses, he was idly wondering whattrick of color Turner would have adopted to convey those sharp yetweirdly beautiful contrasts, when suddenly he uttered a startledexclamation.
"By Jove!" he murmured. "I never noticed that before."
The feature which so earnestly claimed his attention was a deep ledge,directly over the mouth of the cave, but some forty feet from theground. Behind it the wall of rock sloped darkly inwards, suggesting arecess extending by haphazard computation at least a couple of yards.It occurred to him that perhaps the fault in the interior of the tunnelhad its outcrop here, and the deodorizing influences of rain and sunhad extended the weak point thus exposed in the bold panoply of stone.
He surveyed the ledge from different points of view. It was quiteinaccessible, and most difficult to estimate accurately from the groundlevel. The sailor was a man of action. He chose the nearest tall treeand began to climb. He was not eight feet from the ground beforeseveral birds flew out from its leafy recesses, filling the air withshrill clucking.
"The devil take them!" he growled, for he feared that the commotionwould awaken Iris. He was still laboriously worming his way through theinner maze of branches when a well-known voice reached him from theground.
"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 thornthat 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 somereasonable 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 tonethat instantly made the sailor apologetic. He told her about the ledge,and explained his half-formed notion that here they might secure a saferetreat in case of further attack--a refuge from which they might defyassault during many days. It was, he said, absolutely impossible towait until the morning. He must at once satisfy himself whether theproject was impracticable or worthy of further investigation.
So the girl only enjoined him to be careful, and he vigorously renewedthe climb. At last, some twenty-five feet from the ground, anaccidental parting in the branches enabled him to get a good look atthe ledge. One glance set his heart beating joyously. It was at leastfifteen feet in length; it shelved back until its depth was lost in theblackness of the shadows, and the floor must be either nearly level orsloping slightly inwards to the line of the fault.
The place was a perfect eagle's nest. A chamois could not reach it fromany direction; it became accessible to man only by means of a ladder ora balloon.
More excited by this discovery than he cared for Iris to know, heendeavored to appear unconcerned when he regained the ground.
"Well," she said, "tell me all about it."
He described the nature of the cavity as well as he understood it atthe moment, and emphasized his previous explanation of its virtues.Here they might reasonably hope to make a successful stand against theDyaks.
"Then you feel sure that those awful creatures will come back?" shesaid slowly.
"Only too sure, unfortunately."
"How remorseless poor humanity is when the veneer is stripped off! Whycannot they leave us in peace? I suppose they now cherish a blood feudagainst us. Perhaps, if I had not been here, they would not haveinjured you. Somehow I seem to be bound up with your misfortunes."
"I would not have it otherwise were it in my power," he answered. Foran instant he left unchallenged the girl's assumption that she was inany way responsible for the disasters which had broken up his career.He looked into her eyes and almost forgot himself. Then the sense offair dealing that dominates every true gentleman rose within him andgripped his wavering emotions with ruthless force. Was this a time toplay upon the high-strung sensibilities of this youthful daughter ofthe gods, to seek to win from her a confession of love that a few briefdays or weeks might prove to be only a spasmodic, but momentarilyall-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 Deane, that yourpresence on the island will in no way affect my fate at the hands ofthe Dyaks. Had they caught me unprepared today my head would now becovered with a solution of the special varnish they carry on everyforeign expedition."
"Varnish?" she exclaimed.
"Yes, as a preservative, you understand."
"And yet these men are human beings!"
"For purposes of classification, yes. Keeping to strict fact, it waslucky for me that you raised the alarm, and gave me a chance todiscount the odds of mere numbers. So, you see, you really did me agood turn."
"What can be done now to save our lives? Anything will be better thanto 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 inthe night I can always tell whether or not you are in the next room. SoI dressed and came out."
"Ah!" he said, quietly. "Evidently I snore."
This explanation killed romance.
Iris retreated and the sailor, tired out at last, managed to close hisweary eyes.
Next morning he hastily constructed a pole of sufficient length andstrong enough to bear his weight, by tying two sturdy young treestogether with ropes. Iris helped him to raise it against the face ofthe precipice, and he at once climbed to the ledge.
Here he found his observations of the previous night abundantlyverified. The ledge was even wider than he dared to hope, nearly tenfeet deep in one part, and it sloped sharply downwards from the outerlip of the rock. By lying flat and carefully testing all points ofview, he ascertained that the only possible positions from which even aglimpse of the interior floor could be obtained were the branches of afew tall trees and the extreme right of the opposing precipice, nearlyninety yards distant. There was ample room to store water andprovisions, and he quickly saw that even some sort of shelter from thefierce rays of the sun and the often piercing cold of the night mightbe achieved by judiciously rigging up a tarpaulin.
"This is a genuine bit of good luck," he mused. "Here, provided neitherof us is hit, we can hold out for a week or longer, at a pinch. How canit be possible that I should have lived on this island so many days andyet 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 heperceived that the way in which the cliff bulged out on both sidesprevented the ledge from becoming evident in profile, whilst, seen_en plein face_ in the glare of the sunlight, it suggested nothingmore than a slight indentation.
He rapidly sketched to Iris the defensive plan which the Eagle's Nestsuggested. Access must be provided by means of a rope-ladder, securelyfastened inside the ledge, and capable of being pulled up or let downat the will of the occupants. Then the place must be kept constantlystocked with a judicious supply of provisions, water, and ammunition.They could be covered with a tarpaulin, and thus kept in fairly goodcondition.
"We ought to sleep there every night," he went on, and his mind was soengrossed with the tactical side of the preparations that he did notnotice how Iris blanched at the suggestion.
"Surely not until danger actually threatens?" she cried.
"Danger threatens us each hour after sunset. It may come any night,though I expect at least a fortnight's reprieve. Nevertheless, I intendto 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 verycozy!"
Belle Vue Castle, their two-roomed hut, was already a home to them.
Jenks always accepted her words literally.
"Well," he announced, after a pause, "it may not be necessary to takeup our quarters there until the eleventh hour. After I have hoisted upour stores and made the ladder, I will endeavor to devise an efficientcordon of sentinels around our position. We will see."
Not another word could Iris get out of him on the topic. Indeed, heprovided her with plenty of work. By this time she could splice a ropemore neatly than her tutor, and her particular business was to prepareno less than sixty rungs for the rope-ladder. This was an impossibletask for one day, but after dinner the sailor helped her. They toiledlate, until their fingers were sore and their backbones creaked as theysat upright.
Meanwhile Jenks swarmed up the pole again, and drew up after him acrowbar, the sledge-hammer, and the pickaxe. With these implements heset to work to improve the accommodation. Of course he did not attemptseriously to remove any large quantity of rock, but there wereprojecting lumps here and inequalities of floor there which could bethumped or pounded out of existence.
It was surprising to see what a clearance he made in an hour. Theexistence of the fault helped him a good deal, as the percolation ofwater at this point had oxidized the stone to rottenness. To his greatjoy he discovered that a few prods with the pick laid bare a smallcavity which could be easily enlarged. Here he contrived a niche whereIris could remain in absolute safety when barricaded by stores, whilst,with a squeeze, she was entirely sheltered from the one dangerous pointon the opposite cliff, nor need she be seen from the trees.
Having hauled into position two boxes of ammunition--for which he hadscooped out a special receptacle--the invaluable water-kegs from thestranded boat, several tins of biscuits and all the tinned meats,together with three bottles of wine and two of brandy, he hastilyabandoned the ledge and busied himself with fitting a number ofgun-locks to heavy faggots.
Iris watched his proceedings in silence for some time. At last theinterval for luncheon enabled her to demand an explanation.
"If you don't tell me at once what you intend to do with those strangeimplements," she said, "I will form myself into an amalgamated engineerand come out on strike."
"If you do," he answered, "you will create a precedent. There is norecorded case of a laborer claiming what he calls his rights when hislife is at stake. Even an American tramp has been known to work like afiend under that condition."
"Simply because an American tramp tries, like every other mere male, tobe logical. A woman is more heroic. I once read of a French lady beingkilled during an earthquake because she insisted on going into afalling house to rescue that portion of her hair which usually restedon the dressing-table whilst she was asleep."
"I happen to know," he said, "that you are personally unqualified toemulate her example."
She laughed merrily, so lightly did yesterday's adventure sit upon her.The allusion to her disheveled state when they were thrown ashore bythe typhoon simply impressed her as amusing. Thus quickly had shebecome inured to the strange circumstances of a new life.
"I withdraw the threat and substitute a more genuine plea--curiosity,"she cried.
"Then you will be gratified promptly. These are our sentinels. Comewith me to allot his post to the most distant one."
He picked up a faggot with its queer attachment, shouldered aLee-Metford, and smiled when he saw the business-like air with whichIris slung a revolver around her waist.
They walked rapidly to Smugglers' Cove, and the girl soon perceived theingenuity of his automatic signal. He securely bound the block of woodto a tree where it was hidden by the undergrowth. Breaking the bulletout of a cartridge, he placed the blank charge in position in front ofthe striker, the case being firmly clasped by a bent nail. To thetrigger, the spring of which he had eased to a slight pressure, heattached a piece of unraveled rope, and this he carefully trained amongthe trees at a height of six inches from the ground, using as carriersnails driven into the trunks. The ultimate result was that a mere swishof Iris's dress against the taut cord exploded the cartridge.
"There!" he exclaimed, exultantly. "When I have driven stakes into thesand to the water's edge on both sides of the cove, I will defy them toland by night without giving us warning."
"Do you know," said Iris, in all seriousness, "I think you are thecleveres
t man in the world."
"My dear Miss Deane, that is not at all a Trades Unionist sentiment.Equality is the key-note of their propaganda."
Nevertheless he was manifestly pleased by the success of his ingeniouscontrivance, and forthwith completed the cordon. To make doubly sure,he set another snare further within the trees. He was certain the Dyakswould not pass along Turtle Beach if they could help it. By this timethe light was failing.
"That will suffice for the present," he told the girl. "Tomorrow wewill place other sentries in position at strategic points. Then we cansleep in the Castle with tolerable safety."
By the meager light of the tiny lamp they labored sedulously at therope-ladder until Iris's eyes were closing with sheer weariness.Neither of them had slept much during the preceding night, and theywere both completely tired.
It was with a very weak little smile that the girl bade him "goodnight," and they were soon wrapped in that sound slumber which comesonly from health, hard work, and wholesome fare.
The first streaks of dawn were tipping the opposite crags with roseatetints when the sailor was suddenly aroused by what he believed to be agunshot. He could not be sure. He was still collecting his scatteredsenses, straining eyes and ears intensely, when there came a secondreport.
Then he knew what had happened. The sentries on the Smugglers' Covepost were faithful to their trust. The enemy was upon them.
At such a moment Jenks was not a man who prayed. Indeed, he was proneto invoke the nether powers, a habit long since acquired by the Britisharmy, in Flanders, it is believed.
There was not a moment to be lost. He rushed into Iris's room, andgathered in his arms both her and the weird medley of garments thatcovered her. He explained to the protesting girl, as he ran with her tothe foot of the rock, that she must cling to his shoulders withunfaltering courage whilst he climbed to the ledge with the aid of thepole and the rope placed there the previous day. It was a magnificentfeat of strength that he essayed. In calmer moments he would haveshrunk from its performance, if only on the score of danger to theprecious burden he carried. Now there was no time for thought. Up hewent, hand over hand, clinging to the rough pole with the tenacity of alimpet, and taking a turn of the rope over his right wrist at eachupward clutch. At last, breathless but triumphant, he reached theledge, and was able to gasp his instructions to Iris to crawl over hisbent back and head until she was safely lodged on the broad platform ofrock.
Then, before she could expostulate, he descended, this time for therifles. These he hastily slung to the rope, again swarmed up the pole,and drew the guns after him with infinite care.
Even in the whirl of the moment he noticed that Iris had managed topartially complete her costume.
"Now we are ready for them," he growled, lying prone on the ledge andeagerly scanning both sides of Prospect Park for a first glimpse oftheir assailants.
For two shivering hours they waited there, until the sun was high overthe cliff and filled sea and land with his brightness. At last, despitethe girl's tears and prayers, Jenks insisted on making a reconnaissancein person.
Let this portion of their adventures be passed over with mercifulbrevity. Both watch-guns had been fired by the troupe of tiny wou-woumonkeys! Iris did not know whether to laugh or cry, when Jenks, withmuch difficulty, lowered her to mother earth again, and marveled thewhile how he had managed to carry forty feet into the air a young womanwho weighed so solidly.
They sat down to a belated breakfast, and Jenks then became consciousthat the muscles of his arms, legs, and back were aching hugely. It wasby that means he could judge the true extent of his achievement. Iris,too, realized it gradually, but, like the Frenchwoman in theearthquake, she was too concerned with memories of her state ofdeshabille to appreciate, all at once, the incidents of the dawn.
