was to prepare
no less than sixty rungs for the rope-ladder. This was an impossible
task for one day, but after dinner the sailor helped her. They toiled
late, until their fingers were sore and their backbones creaked as they
sat upright.

Meanwhile Jenks swarmed up the pole again, and drew up after him a
crowbar, the sledge-hammer, and the pickaxe. With these implements he
set to work to improve the accommodation. Of course he did not attempt
seriously to remove any large quantity of rock, but there were
projecting lumps here and inequalities of floor there which could be
thumped or pounded out of existence.

It was surprising to see what a clearance he made in an hour. The
existence of the fault helped him a good deal, as the percolation of
water at this point had oxidized the stone to rottenness. To his great
joy he discovered that a few prods with the pick laid bare a small
cavity which could be easily enlarged. Here he contrived a niche where
Iris could remain in absolute safety when barricaded by stores, whilst,
with a squeeze, she was entirely sheltered from the one dangerous point
on the opposite cliff, nor need she be seen from the trees.

Having hauled into position two boxes of ammunition--for which he had
scooped out a special receptacle--the invaluable water-kegs from the
stranded boat, several tins of biscuits and all the tinned meats,
together with three bottles of wine and two of brandy, he hastily
abandoned the ledge and busied himself with fitting a number of
gun-locks to heavy faggots.

Iris watched his proceedings in silence for some time. At last the
interval for luncheon enabled her to demand an explanation.

"If you don't tell me at once what you intend to do with those strange
implements," she said, "I will form myself into an amalgamated engineer
and come out on strike."

"If you do," he answered, "you will create a precedent. There is no
recorded case of a laborer claiming what he calls his rights when his
life is at stake. Even an American tramp has been known to work like a
fiend under that condition."

"Simply because an American tramp tries, like every other mere male, to
be logical. A woman is more heroic. I once read of a French lady being
killed during an earthquake because she insisted on going into a
falling house to rescue that portion of her hair which usually rested
on the dressing-table whilst she was asleep."

"I happen to know," he said, "that you are personally unqual