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lil fihe Win ^CHAPTER VIIL ^ mHEY looked long and steadfastly at tte retreating boat. Soon it diminished to a mere speck on the' smooth sea. The even i breeze kept its canvas tant, and the j sailor knew that no ruse was intended. The Dyaks were flying.from the island In. fear and raga They would return with" a force sufficient to insure the Streaking of their vengeance. That he would again encounter them at no distant date Jenks had no doubt j whatever. They would land in such j numbers as to render any resistance . . difficult and a prolonged defense im- i ' possible. "Would. help"~come ."first?-a I distracting question to which definite | answer could not be given. The sail- i or's brow frowned in deep lines; his torain throbbed now with an anxiety singularly at variance with his cool de? meanor during the fight He was ut? terly unconscious that his left arm en? circled the shoulder of the girl until she gently disengaged herself and said appealingly: "Please, Mr. Jenks, do not be angry with me. I could not help it I could Bot bear to see you shoot them." i/;-.-.. Then he abruptly awoke to the real? ities of the moment "Come," he said, his drawn features ; relaxing into,, a wonderfully pleasing smile. "We will return to our castle. We are safe for the remainder of this day, at any rate." S Something must be said or done to reassure her. She was still grievously disturbed, and he naturally ascribed ncr agitation to the horror of her cap? ture- He dreaded a complete collapse j if any further alarms threatened at ! once. Yet he was .almost positive though search alone would set at rest the last misgiving-that only one sam? pan had visited the island. Evidently tne Dyaks were unprepared as he for the events of the preceding half hour. ? !They were either visiting the island to procure turtle and beche-de-mer or had merely called there en route to some x>ther destination, and the change in ?he wind had unexpectedly compelled 4hem to put ashore. Beyond all doubt 4hey must have been surprised by the -warmth ?>? the reception they encoun? tered. Probably when he went to Summit rock that morning the savages had lowered their sail and were steadily paddling north against wind and cur? rent The most careful scrutiny of the sea would fail to reveal them beyond a distance of six or seven miles at the utmost After landing in the hidden bay on the south side they crossed the island through the trees instead of taking the more natural open way along the beach. Why? The fact that he and Iris were then passing the grown over tract leading to the valley of death instantly determined this point The Dyaks knew of this affrighting hollow and womd not approach any nearer to it than-was unavoidable. Could he twist this circumstance to advantage if Iris and he were still stranded there when the superstitious sea rovers next put iii an appearance? He would see. All depended on the girl's strength. If she gave way now; if, instead of tak? ing instant measures for safety, he were called upon to nurse her through a fever, the outlook became not only desperate, but hopeless. ' And, while he bent his brows in worrying thought, the color was re? turning to Iris' cheeks and natural buoyancy to her step, it is the fault of all men to underrate the marvelous courage and constancy of woman in the face of difficulties and trials. Jenks was no exception to the rule. "You do not ask me for any account of my adventures," she said quietly, after watching his perplexed expres? sion in silence for some time. Her tone almost startled him, its un assumed cheerfulness was so unlooked for. "No," he answered. "I thought you were too overwrought to talk of them at present" "Overwrought! Not a bit of it! I was dead beat with the struggle and with screaming for you, but please don't imagine that I am going to faint or treat you to a display of hysteria j now that all the excitement has ended. ! . X admit that I cried a little when you ! pushed me aside on the beach and rais? ed your gun to fire at those poor wretches flying for their lives. Yet perhaps I was wrong to hinder you." "You were wrong," he gravely inter rupted. "Then you should not have heeded me. No, I don't mean that. You al? ways consider me first, don't you? No matter what I ask you to do you en? deavor to please me, even when you know all the time that I am acting or speaking foolishly." The unthinking naivete of her words sent the blood coursing wildly through * Ids veins. "Never mind," she went on, with earnest simplicity. "God has been very good to us. I cannot believe that he has preserved us from so many dangers to permit us to perish mis? erably a few hours or days before help comes. And I do want to tell you ex? actly what happened." ' "Then you shall," he answered. "But first drink this." They had reached their camping ground, and he hastened to procure a small quantity, of. brand v. By LOUIS ??I$ TRACY g-M? ? . * . . . . * Copyright 1903, by Edwcr? J. Clode She swallowed" the spirit; although she really needed 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 very different. I knew the men would not ?uri me-after the first shock of their appearance had passed, I mean. I also knew, that you would save me. But you,, Mr. Jenks, had to do the fighting. You were called upon to rescue precious, me. Good gra? cious! No wonder you were excited." The sailor mentally expressed his in? ability to grasp the complexities of feminine nature, but Iris rattled on: ""I carried my lin "of "water ~to the pitcher plant and was listening to the greedy roots gurgling away for dear life when suddenly four men sprang out from among the trees and seized my arms before I could reach my re? volver." "Thank heaven you failed!" .Ton think that if I had fired at them they would have retaliated. Yes, espe? cially if I had hit the chief. But it was he who instantly gave some order, and I suppose it meant "that they were not to hurt me. As a matter of fact, they seemed to be quite as much astonished as I was alarmed. But if they could hold my hands they could not stop my voice so 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, -Tn such moments one cannot choose one's words. I just shouted the first thing that came into my head." "And I,", he said, "picked up the first rifle I could lay my hands on. Now, Miss Deane, as the affair has ended so happily, may I venture to ask you to remain in the cave until I return?" "Oh, please"- she began. "Beally, I must insist I would not leave you if it were not quite impera? tive. You cannot come with me." Then she understood one at least of the tasks he must perform, and she meekly obeyed. He thought it best to go along Turtle beach to the cove and thence follow the Dyaks' trail through the wood, as this line of advance would entail prac? tically a complete circuit of the island. He omitted no precautions in his ad? vance. Often he stopped and listened intently. Whenever he doubled a point or passed among the trees he crept back and peered along the way he had come to see if any. lurking foes were breaking shelter behind him. The marks on the sand proved that only one sampan had been beached. Thence he found nothing of special in? terest until he came upon the chief's gun lying close to the trees on the north side. It was a very ornamental weapon, a muzzle loader. Tae stock was inlaid with gold and ivory, and the piece had evidently been looted from some mandarin's junk surprised and sacked in a former foray. The lock was smashed by the Impact of Jenks' rifle bullet, but close in? vestigation of the trigger guard and the discovery of certain unmistakable evidences on the beach showed that the Dyak leader had lost 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 further enterprise for some time to come."" He dreaded, lest any of the Dyaks should be only badly wounded and like? ly to live. It was na actual relief to his nerves to find that the improvised dumdums had done their work too well to permit anxiety on that score. He gathered the guns, swords and creeses of the slain, with all their un? couth belts and ornaments. In pursu? ance of a vaguely defined plan of fu? ture action he also divested some of the men of their coarse garments and collected six queer looking hats shapeil like inverted basins. These things he placed in a heap near the pitcher plants. Thenceforth for half an hour the placid surface of the lagoon wa; disturbed by the black dorsal fins of many sharks. His guess at the weather conditions heralded by the change of wind was right. As the two partook of their even? ing meal the complaining surf lashed the reef, and the tremulous branches of the taller trees voiced the approach of a gale. A tropical storm-not a typhoon, but a belated burst of the periodic rains-deluged the island before mid? night. Hours earlier Iris retired, utter? ly worn by the events of the day. The gale chanted a wild melody in mournful chords, and the noise of the watery downpour on the tarpaulin roof of Belle Vue castle was such as to ren? der conversation impossible save in wearying shouts. Luckily Jenks' carpentry was effec? tive, though rough. The building was water tight and he had calked every crevice with unraveled rope until Iris' apartment was free from the tiniest draft. The very fury of the external turmoil acted as a lullaby to the girl. She was j soon asleep, and the sailor was left to his thoughts. I Sleep he could not He smoked stead? ily with a magnificent r^rjodigality^ for his small stock of tobacco was fast di? minishing. He ransacked his brains to discover some method of escape from this enchanted island, where fairies jostled with demons and hours of utter happiness found their bane in moments of frightful peril. Of course he ought to have killed those fellows wi? escaped. Their sam? pan might have provided a inst desper? ate expedient if oilier savages effected a landing. Well, there iras no use in being wise after the event, and, scheme as he might, he could devise no way to avoid disaster during the next attack. This, Le felt certain, would take place at night. The Dyaks would land in force, nish the cave and hut and overpower Lim hy sheer numbers. Thc fight, if fight there was, would be sharp, but decisive. Perhaps if he re Had done their work too well. eeived some,.warning Iris and he might retreat in-the"4 darkness to the cover of the trees. A last stand could be made among the bowlders on Summit rock. But of what avail to purchase their freedom until daylight? And then If ever man wrestled with desperate problem, Jenks wrought that night. He smoked and pondered until the .storm passed, and, with the changeful ness of a poet's muse, a full moon flooded the island in glorious radiance. He rose, opened the door and stood without, looking steadily at the bril? liant luminary for some time; then his eyes were attracted by the strong lights thrown upon the rugged face of the precipice into which the cavern burrowed. Suddenly he uttered a star? tled exclamation. "By Jovel" he murmured. "I never noticed that before.'* , The feature which so earnestly claim? ed his attention was a deep ledge di? rectly over the mouth of the cave, but some forty feet from the ground. Be? hind It the wall of rock sloped dark? ly inward, suggesting a recess extend? ing by haphazard computation at least a couple of yards. It occurred to him that perhaps the fault in the interior of the tunnel had its outcrop here, and the influences of rain and sun had ex? tended the weak point thus exposed in the bold panoply of stone. He surveyed the ledge from different points of view. It was quite inacces? sible and most difiicult to estimate ac? curately from the ground level. The sailor was a man of action. He chose thc nearest tall tree and began to climb. He was not eight feet from the ground before several birds flew out from its leafy recesses, filling the air with shrill clucking. "The devil take them!" he growled, for he feared that the commotion would awaken Iris. He was still la? boriously worming his way through the Inner maze of branches when a well kno\vn voice reached him from the ground. "Mr. Jenks, what on earth are you doing up there?" "Oh! So those wretched fowls arous? ed 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 thorn that induces a maximum ot 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 some rea? sonable ground for even a mad ex? cuse." "Mr. Jenks, tell me at once what you are doing." Tris strove to be severe, but there was a touch of anxiety in her tone that in? stantly made the sailor apologetic. He told her about the ledge and explained his half formed notion that here they might secure a safe retreat in case of further attack, a refuge from which they might defy assault during many days. It was, he said, absolutely im? possible to walt until the morning. He must at once satisfy himself whether the project was impracticable or wor? thy of further investigation. So the girl only enjoined him to be careful, and he vigorously renewed the climb. At last, some twenty-five feet from the ground, an accidental parting In the branches enabled him to get a good look at the ledge. One glance set his heart beating joyously. It was qt least fifteen feet in length. It shelved back until its depth was lost in the blackness of the shadows, and the floor must be either nearly level or sloping slightly inward to the line of the fault. The place was a perfect eagle's nest. A chamois could not reach it from any j direction. It became accessible to man ? only by means of a ladder or a balloon. ! More excited by_ this, discovery than he cared for Iris to know, he endear ored to appear unconcerned when he regained the ground. '.Weil," she said, "tell me all about it." He described the nature of the cavity as well as he understood it at the rn > ment r.nd emphasized Lis previous ex? planation of its virtues. Here they might reasonably hope to make a suc? cessful stand against the Dyaks. '.Then you feel sure that those awful creatures will come back?" she said slQwIy. "Only too sure, unfortunately." "How remorseless poor humanity is when the veneer is stripped off! Why cannot they leave us in peace? Per? haps if I had not been hore they would not have injured you. Somehow I seem to be bound up with your misfortunes." "I would not have it otherwise were it in my powes," he answered. For an instant he left unchallenged the girl's assumption -that she was in any way responsible for the disasters which had broken up his career. He looked into her eyes and almost forgot him? self. Then the sense of fair dealing that dominates every true gentleman rose within -him and gripped his waver? ing eruptions with ruthless force. Was his a time to play upon the high strung sensibilities of this youthful daughter of the gods, to seek to win from her a confession of love that a few brief days or weeks might prove to be only a spasmodic but momentarily all pow? erful gratitude for the protection he had given her? And he spoke aloud, y striving _ to laugh, lest his words should falter: "You can console yourself with the thought, Miss Deane, that your pres? ence on the island-will in no way affect my fate at the hands of the Dyaks. Had they caught me unprepared today my head would now be covered with a solution of the special varnish they carry on every foreign expedition." "And yet these men are human be? ings!" "For purposes of classification, yes. Keeping to strict fact, it was lucky for me that you raised the alarm and gave me a chance to discount the odds of mere numbers. So, you see, you really did me a good turn." "What can be done now to save our lives? Anything will be better than to await another attack." "The first thing to do is to try to get some sleep before daylight. How did you know I was not in the castle?" "I cannot tell you. I awoke and knew you were not near me. If I wake in the night I can always tell whether or not you are in the next room. So I dressed and came out" "Ah!" he said quietly. "Evidently I snore." Iris retreated, and the sailor, tired out at last, managed to close his weary eyes. Next morning he hastily constructe:! a pole of sufficient length and strong enough to bear his weight by tying two sturdy young trees together with ropes. Iris helped him to raise it against the face of the precipice, and he at once climbed to the ledge. Here he found his observations of the previous night abundantly verified. The ledge was even wider than he dared to hope, nearly ten feet deep in one part, and it sloped sharply downward from the outer lip of the rock. By lying fiat and carefully testing all point? of view he ascertained that the only possible positions from which even a glimpse of the interior floor could be obtained were the branches of a few tall trees and the extreme right of the opposing precipice, nearly ninety yards distant. There was ample room to store water and provisions, and he quickly saw that even some sort of shelter from the fierce rays of the sun and the often piercing cold of the night might be achieved by judiciously rigging up a tarpaulin. "This is a genuine bit of good luck," he mused. ?"Here, provided neither of us is hit, we can hold out for a week or longer at a pinch. How can it be possible that I should have lived on this island so many days and yet 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 he perceived that the way in which the cliff bulged out on both sides prevent? ed the ledge from becoming evident in profile, while, seen in the glare of the sunlight, it suggested nothing more than a slight indentation. He rapidly sketched to Iris the de? fensive plan which the eagle's nest suggested. Access must be provided by means of a rope ladder, securely fastened inside the ledge and capable of being pulled up or let down at the will of the occupants. Then the place must be kept constantly stocked with a judicious supply of provisions, water and ammunition. They could be cov? ered with a tarpaulin and thus kept in fairly good condition. "We ought to sleep there every night," he went on, and his mind was so engrossed with the tactical 3ide of the prep?rations that he did not notice 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 intend to act as if to? night may witness the first shot of the siege." "Do you mean that?" she sighed. "And my little room is becoming so very cozy!" Jenks always accepted her words lit? erally,_ _ [TO BE COXTIXTJED.] Ill Lnck Averted. "My dear," said Mrs. Spenders by way of preliminary, "would you con? sider an opal unlucky?" "I would if I got a bill for one and had to pay it." began her husband sternly. "Oh," she interrupted, "I'm so glad I ordered a diamond instead!"-Cath? olic Standard and Times. He Thought He Stopped the Paper. An acquaintance met Horace Gree? ley one day, and said: "Mr. Greeley, I've stopped your paper." "Have you?"' said the editor. "Well, that's too bad." And he went his way. The next morning Mr. Greeley met his subscriber again, and said "I thought yau had stopped the Tri? bune?" "So I did." "Then there must be some mistake." said Mr. Greeley, "for I just came from the office and the presses were running, the clerks were as busy as ever, the compositors were hard at work, and the business was going on the same as yesterday and the day be? fore." '"Oh," ejaculated the subscriber, "I didn't mean that I had stopped the paper: I stopped only my copy of it, because I didn't like your editorials." "Pshaw!" retorted Mr. Greeley. "It wasn't worth taking up my time to tell me such a trifle as that. My dear sir, if you expect to control the utter? ance of the Tribune by the purchase of one copy a day. or if you think to find any newspapers or magazines worth reading that will never express convictions at right angles with your own, you are doomed to disappoint? ment." Corn Planting. "It has been a great mystery to me," said an experienced farmer to the re? porter on Wednesday, "why this coun? ty has made so little progress in the matter of corn planting. I refer es? pecially to the manner of putting in the seed. "There are quite a number of ma? chine planters in use, it is true," he continued," but if you take our coun? ty as a whole you will find that most of the corn acreage is still put : in the old fashioned way-drooped by ?hand. "There are on the market scores of machine corn planters, any of them capable of planting corn more satis? factorily and more economically than is possible by the hand method, and considering the low cost of a good corn planter, I can't see howr any man can afford to hold on to the old time method. "The advantage of a good corn planter over hand methods does not begin to stop with the mere putting of the seeds in the furrow. It only be? gins there. The man with a good planter even a single furrow machine, can plant three acres of corn while the hand dropper is planting one acre, and with a double furrow machine, one can do six times as much as the hand dropper. "And the machine does it so much better. Xot only is the corn dropped at regular intervals; but it is put in a straight even line, and the great ad- | vantage comes in the working. A machine planted field can be cultivat? ed with 50 per cent less labor than is required in the case of a hand planted field, and that advantage continues from the first thinning out on until the corn is pulled. "There are middle-aged farmers out West who have never seen corn drop? ped by hand, and when you tell them of the methods still in vogue in this country, they wonder what kind of plodders we are anyway."-Yorkville Enquirer. CASTOR IA For Infants and Children. The Kind You Have Always Bought Bears the Signatare of THE HEGE LOG BEAM SAW MILL WITH HEACOCK-KING FEED WONKS ENGINES AND BOILERS, WOODWOEKTNG MACHINEBY, COTTON GINNING. BRICK MAKING AND SHINGLE AND LATH MACHINEBY, COEN MILLS, ETC., ETC. GIBBES MACHINERY CO.*; Columbia, S. C. THE GIBBES SHINGLE MACHINE DeLORHE'S PHARMACY, 23 South Main St. Open from 7 a. m. to 10 p. m. ; Sunday, 9 a. m. to 1 p. m. Having consolidated my two stores, I will be pleased to see all my customers at the above stand, where I am better pre? pared than ever to serve them. Your prescriptions will be called for and delivered. Phone 45. Full line of Drugs, Garden Seed and Cigars. Your patronage solicited. Call bell for night work. Potash as Necessary as Rain The quaiitv and quantity of the croos depend cn a sufficiency of in the soil. Fertilizers which are iow in Potash will never produce satisfactory results. m Even- farmer should be familiar with the proper proportions of ingredients that sro to make the best fertilizers for every ?aaa OX crop. We have published a senes ofbooKs, containing: the latest researches on this ail important subject, which we will sena free if you ask. Write now while you think ot it to the GERMAN KALI WOKKS Sew York-93 Nassau Street, or Atlanta, Ga.-22^ South, Broad Street. Y PICKED UPI! BY "Writing Life Insurance In The Penn Mutua! Insurance Co. I 1BERAL contracts to live agents *^ in unoccupied territory. ADDRESS PERRY MOSES, JR. . General ?gent, Sumter, S. G. $100,000.00 Capital. THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK of Sumter, S. C. THE Comptroller of the Currency hav? ing approved the increase of the Capital of this Bank to $100,000.00. depositors now have as security for their deposits : Capital, - - $100,000 00 Stockholders' Individual Lia? bility, - - - '00,000 00 Surplus and Undivided Prof - its, ... 25,000 00 Total Securit; for Depositors, $225,000 00 ONLY NATIONBANK ii* CITY OF SUMTER. Largest Capital of S?J Bank in this section of So Strongest Bani ir Eastern part of this State. Interest allowed on deposits to a limited amount. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. A. J. CHINA, President. NEILL O'DONNELL, Vice Pretrident.' H. D. BARNETT, R. D. LEE, G. A. LEMMON, JOHN REID, E. P. KICKER. R. L. EE MUNDS, Cashier. R. D. LEE, Solicitor. BOOKKEEPERS. J. L. McCsllum, D. J. Winn, Jr. _Oliver lu Yates._ THE BANK OF SUMTER, SUMTER, S. C. City and County Depository. Capital stock paid in, $75,000 00 Undivided surplus, 16,000 00 Individual liability of stockhold? ers in excess of their stocky 75,000 00 Transacts a general banking business; also has a Saving Bank Department De? posits of $1 and upward received. Inter 3st allowed at the rate of 4 per cent, per annum, payable semi-annually. W. F. B. HAYNSWO'rTTH, President. R. I. MASSING, W. F. RHAME, vice-President. Cashier. Jan. 31. _ THE SUITER SAVINGS BANK. HORACE HARBS*, President. I. C. STRAUSS? vice-President. GEO. L. RICEER, Cashier. Capital Stock, $25,000 Liability of Stockholders, 2?*,000 Every Facility For the transaction of business is afford ed those who deposit their money with The Sumter Savings Bank? Important papers can be drawn up and signed in a private room set aside for use of oar clients and any information de? sired will be cheerfully furnished by the management. Savings deposited here draw interest at the rate of 4 per cent per annum. $1.00 will open an account and secure a bank book. i ar figB fin ?hw 1 I a 8 I F sw**m Opposite U. S. Patent Office WASHINGTON D.C.