by Louis Tracy
CHAPTER XII
A TRUCE
Though his eyes, like live coals, glowered with sullen fire at thestrip of sand and the rocks in front, his troubled brain paidperfunctory heed to his task. The stern sense of duty, the ingrainedforce of long years of military discipline and soldierly thought,compelled him to keep watch and ward over his fortress, but he couldnot help asking himself what would happen if Iris were seriouslywounded.
There was one enemy more potent than these skulking Dyaks, a foe moreirresistible in his might, more pitiless in his strength, whoseassaults would tax to the utmost their powers of resistance. In anotherhour the sun would be high in the heavens, pouring his ardent rays uponthem and drying the blood in their veins.
Hitherto, the active life of the island, the shade of trees, hut orcave, the power of unrestricted movement and the possession of water inany desired quantity, robbed the tropical heat of the day of its chiefterrors. Now all was changed. Instead of working amidst gratefulfoliage, they were bound to the brown rock, which soon would glow withradiated energy and give off scorching gusts like unto the opening of afurnace-door.
This he had foreseen all along. The tarpaulin would yield them somedegree of uneasy protection, and they both were in perfect physicalcondition. But--if Iris were wounded! If the extra strain brought feverin its wake! That way he saw nothing but blank despair, to be ended,for her, by delirium and merciful death, for him by a Berserk rushamong the Dyaks, and one last mad fight against overwhelming numbers.
Then the girl's voice reached him, self-reliant, almost cheerful--
"You will be glad to hear that the cut has stopped bleeding. It is onlya scratch."
So a kindly Providence had spared them yet a little while. The cloudpassed from his mind, the gathering mist from his eyes. In that instanthe thought he detected a slight rustling among the trees where thecliff shelved up from the house. Standing as he was on the edge of therock, this was a point he could not guard against.
When her welcome assurance recalled his scattered senses, he steppedback to speak to her, and in the same instant a couple of bulletscrashed against the rock overhead. Iris had unwittingly saved him froma serious, perhaps fatal, wound.
He sprang to the extreme right of the ledge and boldly looked into thetrees beneath. Two Dyaks were there, belated wanderers cut off from themain body. They dived headlong into the undergrowth for safety, but oneof them was too late. The Lee-Metford reached him, and itsreverberating concussion, tossed back and forth by the echoing rocks,drowned his parting scream.
In the plenitude of restored vigor the sailor waited for no counterdemonstration. He turned and crouchingly approached the southern end ofhis parapet. Through his screen of grass he could discern the longblack hair and yellow face of a man who lay on the sand and twisted hishead around the base of the further cliff. The distance, oft measured,was ninety yards, the target practically a six-inch bull's-eye. Jenkstook careful aim, fired, and a whiff of sand flew up.
Perhaps he had used too fine a sight and ploughed a furrow beneath theDyak's ear. He only heard a faint yell, but the enterprising headvanished and there were no more volunteers for that particular service.
He was still peering at the place when a cry of unmitigated anguishcame from Iris--
"Oh, come quick! Our water! The casks have burst!"
It was not until Jenks had torn the tarpaulin from off their stores,and he was wildly striving with both hands to scoop up some preciousdrops collected in the small hollows of the ledge, that he realized thefull magnitude of the disaster which had befallen them.
During the first rapid exchange of fire, before the enemy vacated thecliff, several bullets had pierced the tarpaulin. By a stroke ofexceeding bad fortune two of them had struck each of the water-barrelsand started the staves. The contents quietly ebbed away beneath thebroad sheet, and flowing inwards by reason of the sharp slope of theledge, percolated through the fault. Iris and he, notwithstanding theirfrenzied efforts, were not able to save more than a pint of grittydiscolored fluid. The rest, infinitely more valuable to them than allthe diamonds of De Beers, was now oozing through the natural channelcut by centuries of storm, dripping upon the headless skeleton in thecave, soaking down to the very heart of their buried treasure.
Jenks was so paralyzed by this catastrophe that Iris became alarmed. Asyet she did not grasp its awful significance. That he, her hero, sobrave, so confident in the face of many dangers, should betray suchsense of irredeemable loss, frightened her much more than the incidentitself.
Her lips whitened. Her words become incoherent.
"Tell me," she whispered. "I can bear anything but silence. Tell me, Iimplore you. Is it so bad?"
The sight of her distress sobered him. He ground his teeth together asa man does who submits to a painful operation and resolves not toflinch beneath the knife.
"It is very bad," he said; "not quite the end, but near it."
"The end," she bravely answered, "is death! We are living anduninjured. You must fight on. If the Lord wills it we shall not die."
He looked in her blue eyes and saw there the light of Heaven.
"God bless you, dear girl," he murmured brokenly. "You would cheer anyman through the Valley of the Shadow, were he Christian orFaint-heart."
Her glance did not droop before his. In such moments heart speaks toheart without concealment.
"We still have a little water," she cried. "Fortunately we are notthirsty. You have not forgotten our supply of champagne and brandy?"
There was a species of mad humor in the suggestion. Oh for anothermiracle that should change the wine into water!
He could only fall in with her unreflective mood and leave the dreadfultruth to its own evil time. In their little nook the power of the sunhad not yet made itself felt. By ordinary computation it was about nineo'clock. Long before noon they would be grilling. Throughout the nextfew hours they must suffer the torture of Dives with one meager pint ofwater to share between them. Of course the wine and spirit must beshunned like a pestilence. To touch either under such conditions wouldbe courting heat, apoplexy, and death. And next day!
He tightened his jaws before he answered--
"We will console ourselves with a bottle of champagne for dinner.Meanwhile, I hear our friends shouting to those left on this side ofthe island. I must take an active interest in the conversation."
He grasped a rifle and lay down on the ledge, already gratefully warm.There was a good deal of sustained shouting going on. Jenks thought herecognized the chief's voice, giving instructions to those who had comefrom Smugglers' Cove and were now standing on the beach near thequarry.
"I wonder if he is hungry," he thought. "If so, I will interfere withthe commissariat."
Iris peeped forth at him.
"Mr. Jenks!"
"Yes," without turning his head. He knew it was an ordinary question.
"May I come too?"
"What! expose yourself on the ledge!"
"Yes, even that. I am so tired of sitting here alone."
"Well, there is no danger at present. But they might chance to see you,and you remember what I--"
"Yes, I remember quite well. If that is all--" There was a rustle ofgarments. "I am very mannish in appearance. If you promise not to lookat me I will join you."
"I promise."
Iris stepped forth. She was flushed a little, and, to cover herconfusion, may be, she picked up a Lee-Metford.
"Now there are two guns," she said, as she stood near him.
He could see through the tail of his eye that a slight but elegantlyproportioned young gentleman of the sea-faring profession had suddenlyappeared from nowhere. He was glad she had taken this course. It mightbetter the position were the Dyaks to see her thus.
"The moment I tell you, you must fall flat," he warned her. "Noceremony about it. Just flop!"
"I don't know anything better calculated to make one flop than abullet," she laughed. Not yet did the tragedy of the broken kegs appealto
her.
"Yes, but it achieves its purpose in two ways. I want you to adopt theprecautionary method."
"Trust me for that. Good gracious!"
The sailor's rifle went off with an unexpected bang that froze theexclamation on her lips. Three Dyaks were attempting to run thegauntlet to their beleaguered comrades. They carried a jar and twowicker baskets. He with the jar fell and broke it. The others doubledback like hares, and the first man dragged himself after them. Jenksdid not fire again.
Iris watched the wounded wretch crawling along the ground. Her eyesgrew moist, and she paled somewhat. When he vanished she looked intothe valley and at the opposing ledge; three men lay dead within twentyyards of her. Two others dangled from the rocks. It took her some timeto control her quavering utterance sufficiently to say--
"I hope I may not have to use a gun. I know it cannot be helped, but ifI were to kill a human being I do not think I would ever rest again."
"In that case I have indeed murdered sleep today," was the unfeelingreply.
"No! no! A man must be made of sterner stuff. We have a right to defendourselves. If need be I will exercise that right. Still it is horrid,oh, so horrid!"
She could not see the sailor's grim smile. It would materially affecthis rest, for the better, were he able to slay every Dyak on the islandwith a single shot. Yet her gentle protest pleased him. She could notat the same time be callous to human suffering and be Iris. But hedeclined the discussion of such sentiments.
"You were going to say something when a brief disturbance took place?"he inquired.
"Yes. I was surprised to find how hot the ledge has become."
"You notice it more because you are obliged to remain here."
After a pause--
"I think I understand now why you were so upset by the loss of ourwater supply. Before the day ends we will be in great straits, enduringagonies from thirst!"
"Let us not meet the devil half-way," he rejoined. He preferred theunfair retort to a confession which could only foster dismay.
"But, please, I am thirsty now."
He moved uneasily. He was only too conscious of the impish weakness,common to all mankind, which creates a desire out of sheer inability tosatisfy it. Already his own throat was parched. The excitement of theearly struggle was in itself enough to engender an acute thirst. Hethought it best to meet their absolute needs as far as possible.
"Bring the tin cup," he said. "Let us take half our store and use theremainder when we eat. Try to avoid breathing through your mouth. Thehot air quickly affects the palate and causes an artificial dryness. Wecannot yet be in real need of water. It is largely imagination."
Iris needed no second bidding. She carefully measured out half a pintof the unsavory fluid--the dregs of the casks and the scourings of theledge.
"I will drink first," she cried.
"No, no," he interrupted impatiently. "Give it to me."
She pretended to be surprised.
"As a mere matter of politeness----"
"I am sorry, but I must insist."
She gave him the cup over his shoulder. He placed it to his lips andgulped steadily.
"There," he said, gruffly. "I was in a hurry. The Dyaks may makeanother rush at any moment."
Iris looked into the vessel.
"You have taken none at all," she said.
"Nonsense!"
"Mr. Jenks, be reasonable! You need it more than I. I d-don't wantto--live w-without--you."
His hands shook somewhat. It was well there was no call for accurateshooting just then.
"I assure you I took all I required," he declared with unnecessaryvehemence.
"At least drink your share, to please me," she murmured.
"You wished to humbug me," he grumbled. "If you will take the firsthalf I will take the second."
And they settled it that way. The few mouthfuls of tepid water gavethem new life. One sense can deceive the others. A man developing allthe symptoms of hydrophobia has been cured by the assurance that thedog which bit him was not mad. So these two, not yet aflame withdrought, banished the arid phantom for a little while.
Nevertheless, by high noon they were suffering again. The time passedvery slowly. The sun rose to the zenith and filled earth and air withhis ardor. It seemed to be a miracle--now appreciated for the firsttime in their lives--that the sea did not dry up, and the leaves witheron the trees. The silence, the deathly inactivity of all things, becameintolerable. The girl bravely tried to confine her thoughts to the taskof the hour. She displayed alert watchfulness, an instant readiness towarn her companion of the slightest movement among the trees or by therocks to the north-west, this being the arc of their periphery assignedto her.
Looking at a sunlit space from cover, and looking at the same placewhen sweltering in the direct rays of a tropical sun, are kindredoperations strangely diverse in achievement. Iris could not reconcilethe physical sensitiveness of the hour with the careless hardihood ofthe preceding days. Her eyes ached somewhat, for she had tilted hersou'wester to the back of her head in the effort to cool her throbbingtemples. She put up her right hand to shade the too vivid reflection ofthe glistening sea, and was astounded to find that in a few minutes theback of her hand was scorched. A faint sound of distant shoutingdisturbed her painful reverie.
"How is it," she asked, "that we feel the heat so much today? I havehardly noticed it before."
"For two good reasons--forced idleness and radiation from thisconfounded rock. Moreover, this is the hottest day we have experiencedon the island. There is not a breath of air, and the hot weather hasjust commenced."
"Don't you think," she said, huskily, "that our position here is quitehopeless?"
They were talking to each other sideways. The sailor never turned hisgaze from the southern end of the valley.
"It is no more hopeless now than last night or this morning," hereplied.
"But suppose we are kept here for several days?"
"That was always an unpleasant probability."
"We had water then. Even with an ample supply it would be difficult tohold out. As things are, such a course becomes simply impossible."
Her despondency pierced his soul. A slow agony was consuming her.
"It is hard, I admit," he said. "Nevertheless you must bear up untilnight falls. Then we will either obtain water or leave this place."
"Surely we can do neither."
"We may be compelled to do both."
"But how?"
In this, his hour of extremest need, the man was vouchsafed a shred ofluck. To answer her satisfactorily would have baffled a Talleyrand. Butbefore he could frame a feeble pretext for his too sanguine prediction,a sampan appeared, eight hundred yards from Turtle Beach, andstrenuously paddled by three men. The vague hallooing they had heardwas explained.
The Dyaks, though to the manner born, were weary of sun-scorched rocksand salt water. The boat was coming in response to their signals, andthe sight inspired Jenks with fresh hope. Like a lightning flash camethe reflection that if he could keep them away from the well anddestroy the sampan now hastening to their assistance, perhaps conveyingthe bulk of their stores, they would soon tire of slaking their thirst,on the few pitcher-plants growing on the north shore.
"Come quick," he shouted, adjusting the backsight of a rifle. "Lie downand aim at the front of that boat, a little short if anything. Itdoesn't matter if the bullets strike the sea first."
He placed the weapon in readiness for her and commenced operationshimself before Iris could reach his side. Soon both rifles werepitching twenty shots a minute at the sampan. The result of theirlong-range practice was not long in doubt. The Dyaks danced from seatto seat in a state of wild excitement. One man was hurled overboard.Then the craft lurched seaward in the strong current, and Jenks toldIris to leave the rest to him.
Before he could empty a second magazine a fortunate bullet ripped aplank out and the sampan filled and went down, amidst a shrill yell ofexecration from the back of the cliff
. The two Dyaks yet livingendeavored to swim ashore, half a mile through shark-invested reefs.The sailor did not even trouble about them. After a few franticstruggles each doomed wretch flung up his arms and vanished. In theclear atmosphere the on-lookers could see black fins cutting thepellucid sea.
This exciting episode dispelled the gathering mists from the girl'sbrain. Her eyes danced and she breathed hard. Yet something worriedher.
"I hope I didn't hit the man who fell out of the boat," she said.
"Oh," came the prompt assurance, "I took deliberate aim at that chap.He was a most persistent scoundrel."
Iris was satisfied. Jenks thought it better to lie than to tell thetruth, for the bald facts hardly bore out his assertion. Judging fromthe manner of the Dyak's involuntary plunge he had been hit by aricochet bullet, whilst the sailor's efforts were wholly confined tosinking the sampan. However, let it pass. Bullet or shark, the end wasthe same.
They were quieting down--the thirst fiend was again slowly saltingtheir veins--when something of a dirty white color fluttered into sightfrom behind the base of the opposite cliff. It was rapidly withdrawn,to reappear after an interval. Now it was held more steadily and abrown arm became visible. As Jenks did not fire, a turbaned head poppedinto sight. It was the Mahommedan.
"No shoot it," he roared. "Me English speak it."
"Don't you speak Hindustani?" shouted Jenks in Urdu of the HigherProficiency.
"Han, sahib!"[Footnote: Yes, sir.] was the joyful response. "Will yourhonor permit his servant to come and talk with him?"
"Yes, if you come unarmed."
"And the chief, too, sahib?"
"Yes, but listen! On the first sign of treachery I shoot both of you!"
"We will keep faith, sahib. May kites pick our bones if we fail!"
Then there stepped into full view the renegade Mussulman and hisleader. They carried no guns; the chief wore his kriss.
THE TWO HALTED SOME TEN PACES IN FRONT OF THE CAVERN.AND THE BELLIGERENTS SURVEYED EACH OTHER.]
"Tell him to leave that dagger behind!" cried the sailor imperiously.As the enemy demanded a parley he resolved to adopt the conqueror'stone from the outset. The chief obeyed with a scowl, and the twoadvanced to the foot of the rock.
"Stand close to me," said Jenks to Iris. "Let them see you plainly, butpull your hat well down over your eyes."
She silently followed his instructions. Now that the very crisis oftheir fate had arrived she was nervous, shaken, conscious only of adesire to sink on her knees, and pray.
One or two curious heads were craned round the corner of the rock.
"Stop!" cried Jenks. "If those men do not instantly go away I will fireat them."
The Indian translated this order and the chief vociferated someclanging syllables which had the desired effect. The two halted someten paces in front of the cavern, and the belligerents surveyed eachother. It was a fascinating spectacle, this drama in real life. Theyellow-faced Dyak, gaudily attired in a crimson jacket and sky-bluepantaloons of Chinese silk--a man with the _beaute du diable_,young, and powerfully built--and the brown-skinned white-clothedMahommedan, bony, tall, and grey with hardship, looked up at theoccupants of the ledge. Iris, slim and boyish in her male garments, wasdwarfed by the six-foot sailor, but her face was blood-stained, andJenks wore a six weeks' stubble of beard. Holding their Lee-Metfordswith alert ease, with revolvers strapped to their sides, they presenteda warlike and imposing tableau in their inaccessible perch. In the pathof the emissaries lay the bodies of the slain. The Dyak leader scowledagain as he passed them.
"Sahib," began the Indian, "my chief, Taung S'Ali, does not wish tohave any more of his men killed in a foolish quarrel about a woman.Give her up, he says, and he will either leave you here in peace, orcarry you safely to some place where you can find a ship manned bywhite men."
"A woman!" said Jenks, scornfully. "That is idle talk! What woman ishere?"
This question nonplussed the native.
"The woman whom the chief saw half a month back, sahib."
"Taung S'Ali was bewitched. I slew his men so quickly that he sawspirits."
The chief caught his name and broke in with a question. A volley oftalk between the two was enlivened with expressive gestures by TaungS'Ali, who several times pointed to Iris, and Jenks now anathematizedhis thoughtless folly in permitting the Dyak to approach so near. TheMahommedan, of course, had never seen her, and might have persuaded theother that in truth there were two men only on the rock.
His fears were only too well founded. The Mussulman salaamedrespectfully and said--
"Protector of the poor, I cannot gainsay your word, but Taung S'Alisays that the maid stands by your side, and is none the less the womanhe seeks in that she wears a man's clothing."
"He has sharp eyes, but his brain is addled," retorted the sailor. "Whydoes he come here to seek a woman who is not of his race? Not only hashe brought death to his people and narrowly escaped it himself, but hemust know that any violence offered to us will mean the exterminationof his whole tribe by an English warship. Tell him to take away hisboats and never visit this isle again. Perhaps I will then forget histreacherous attempt to murder us whilst we slept last night."
The chief glared back defiantly, whilst the Mahommedan said--
"Sahib, it is beet not to anger him too much. He says he means to havethe girl. He saw her beauty that day and she inflamed his heart. Shehas cost him many lives, but she is worth a Sultan's ransom. He caresnot for warships. They cannot reach his village in the hills. By thetomb of Nizam-ud-din, sahib, he will not harm you if you give her up,but if you refuse he will kill you both. And what is one woman more orless in the world that she should cause strife and blood-letting?"
The sailor knew the Eastern character too well not to understand theman's amazement that he should be so solicitous about the fate of oneof the weaker sex. It was seemingly useless to offer terms, yet thenative was clearly so anxious for an amicable settlement that he caughtat a straw.
"You come from Delhi?" he asked.
"Honored one, you have great wisdom."
"None but a Delhi man swears by the tomb on the road to the Kutub. Youhave escaped from the Andamans?"
"Sahib, I did but slay a man in self-defence."
"Whatever the cause, you can never again see India. Nevertheless, youwould give many years of your life to mix once more with thebazaar-folk in the Chandni Chowk, and sit at night on a charpoy nearthe Lahore Gate?"
The brown skin assumed a sallow tinge.
"That is good speaking," he gurgled.
"Then help me and my friend to escape. Compel your chief to leave theisland. Kill him! Plot against him! I will promise you freedom andplenty of rupees. Do this, and I swear to you I will come in a ship andtake you away. The miss-sahib's father is powerful. He has greatinfluence with the Sirkar."[Footnote: The Government of India.]
Taung S'Ali was evidently bewildered and annoyed by this passionateappeal which he did not understand. He demanded an explanation, and theready-witted native was obliged to invent some plausible excuse. Yetwhen he raised his face to Jenks there was the look of a hunted animalin his eyes.
"Sahib," he said, endeavoring to conceal his agitation. "I am one amongmany. A word from me and they would cut my throat. If I were with youthere on the rock I would die with you, for I was in the KumaonRissala[Footnote: A native cavalry regiment.] when the trouble befellme. It is of no avail to bargain with a tiger, sahib. I suppose youwill not give up the miss-sahib. Pretend to argue with me. I will helpin any way possible."
Jenks's heart bounded when this unlooked-for offer reached his ears.The unfortunate Mahommedan was evidently eager to get away from thepiratical gang into whose power he had fallen. But the chief wasimpatient, if not suspicious of these long speeches.
Angrily holding forth a Lee-Metford the sailor shouted--
"Tell Taung S'Ali that I will slay him and all his men ere tomorrow'ssun rises. He knows something of my power, but not all. Tonight, at
thetwelfth hour, you will find a rope hanging from the rock. Tie thereto avessel of water. Fail not in this. I will not forget your services. Iam Anstruther Sahib, of the Belgaum Rissala."
The native translated his words into a fierce defiance of Taung S'Aliand his Dyaks. The chief glanced at Jenks and Iris with an ominoussmile. He muttered something.
"Then, sahib. There is nothing more to be said. Beware of the trees onyour right. They can send silent death even to the place where youstand. And I will not fail you tonight, on my life," cried theinterpreter.
"I believe you. Go! But inform your chief that once you havedisappeared round the rock whence you came I will talk to him only witha rifle."
Taung S'Ali seemed to comprehend the Englishman's emphatic motions.Waving his hand defiantly, the Dyak turned, and, with one partingglance of mute assurance, the Indian followed him.
And now there came to Jenks a great temptation. Iris touched his armand whispered--
"What have you decided? I did not dare to speak lest he should hear myvoice."
Poor girl! She was sure the Dyak could not penetrate her disguise,though she feared from the manner in which the conference broke up thatit had not been satisfactory.
Jenks did not answer her. He knew that if he killed Taung S'Ali his menwould be so dispirited that when the night came they would fly. Therewas so much at stake--Iris, wealth, love, happiness, life itself--alldepended on his plighted word. Yet his savage enemy, a slayer of women,a human vampire soiled with every conceivable crime, was stalking backto safety with a certain dignified strut, calmly trusting to the whiteman's bond.
Oh, it was cruel! The ordeal of that ghastly moment was more tryingthan all that he had hitherto experienced. He gave a choking sob ofrelief when the silken-clad scoundrel passed out of sight without evendeigning to give another glance at the ledge or at those who silentlywatched him.
Iris could not guess the nature of the mortal struggle raging in thesailor's soul.
"Tell me," she repeated, "what have you done?"
"Kept faith with that swaggering ruffian," he said, with an odd feelingof thankfulness that he spoke truly.
"Why? Have you made him any promise?"
"Unhappily I permitted him to come here, so I had to let him go. Herecognized you instantly."
This surprised her greatly.
"Are you sure? I saw him pointing at me, but he seemed to be in such abad temper that I imagined that he was angry with you for exchanging aprepossessing young lady for an ill-favored youth."
Jenks with difficulty suppressed a sigh. Her words for an instant hadthe old piquant flavor.
Keeping a close watch on the sheltering promontory, he told her allthat had taken place. Iris became very downcast when she grasped theexact state of affairs. She was almost certain when the Dyaks proposeda parley that reasonable terms would result. It horrified her beyondmeasure to find that she was the rock on which negotiations werewrecked. Hope died within her. The bitterness of death was in herbreast.
"What an unlucky influence I have had on your existence!" sheexclaimed. "If it were not for me this trouble at least would be sparedyou. Because I am here you are condemned. Again, because I stopped youfrom shooting that wretched chief and his companions they are nowdemanding your life as a forfeit. It is all my fault. I cannot bearit."
She was on the verge of tears. The strain had become too great for her.After indulging in a wild dream of freedom, to be told that they mustagain endure the irksome confinement, the active suffering, the slowhorrors of a siege in that rocky prison, almost distracted her.
Jenks was very stern and curt in his reply.
"We must make the best of a bad business," he said. "If we are in atight place the Dyaks are not much better off, and eighteen of theirnumber are dead or wounded. You forget, too, that Providence has sentus a most useful ally in the Mahommedan. When all is said and done,things might be far worse than they are."
Never before had his tone been so cold, his manner so abrupt, not evenin the old days when he purposely endeavored to make her dislike him.
She walked along the ledge and timidly bent over him.
"Forgive me!" she whispered; "I did forget for the moment, not only thegoodness of Providence, but also your self-sacrificing devotion. I amonly a woman, and I don't want to die yet, but I will not live unlessyou too are saved."
Once already that day she had expressed this thought in other words.Was some shadowy design flitting through her brain? Suppose they werefaced with the alternatives of dying from thirst or yielding to theDyaks. Was there another way out? Jenks shivered, though the rock wasgrilling him. He must divert her mind from this dreadful brooding.
"The fact is," he said with a feeble attempt at cheerfulness, "we areboth hungry and consequently grumpy. Now, suppose you prepare lunch. Wewill feel ever so much better after we have eaten."
The girl choked back her emotion, and sadly essayed the task ofproviding a meal which was hateful to her. In doing so she saw herBible, lying where she had placed it that morning, the leaves stillopen at the 91st Psalm. She had indeed forgotten the promise itcontained--
"For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thyways."
A few tears fell now and made little furrows down her soiled cheeks.But they were helpful tears, tears of resignation, not of despair.Although the "destruction that wasteth at noonday" was trying hersorely she again felt strong and sustained.
She even smiled on detecting an involuntary effort to clear her stainedface. She was about to carry a biscuit and some tinned meat to thesailor when a sharp exclamation from him caused her to hasten to hisside.
The Dyaks had broken cover. Running in scattered sections across thesands, they were risking such loss as the defenders might be able toinflict upon them during a brief race to the shelter and food to beobtained in the other part of the island.
Jenks did not fire at the scurrying gang. He was waiting for one man,Taung S'Ali. But that redoubtable person, having probably suggestedthis dash for liberty, had fully realized the enviable share ofattention he would attract during the passage. He therefore discardedhis vivid attire, and, by borrowing odd garments, made himselfsufficiently like unto the remainder of his crew to deceive the sailoruntil the rush of men was over. Among them ran the Mahommedan, who didnot look up the valley but waved his hand.
When all had quieted down again Jenks understood how he had beenfooled. He laughed so heartily that Iris, not knowing either the causeof his merriment or the reason of his unlooked-for clemency to theflying foe, feared the sun had affected him.
He at once quitted the post occupied during so protracted a vigil.
"Now," he cried, "we can eat in peace. I have stripped the chief of hisfinery. His men can twit him on being forced to shed his gorgeousplumage in order to save his life. Anyhow, they will leave us in peaceuntil night falls, so we must make the best of a hot afternoon."
But he was mistaken. A greater danger than any yet experienced nowthreatened them, though Iris, after perusing that wonderful psalm,might have warned him of it had she known the purpose of those longbamboos carried by some of the savages.
For Taung S'Ali, furious and unrelenting, resolved that if he could notobtain the girl he would slay the pair of them; and he had terribleweapons in his possession--weapons that could send "silent death evento the place where they stood."
