mainder of his existence, be it a day or many a year, he
would be glorified by the knowledge that in one incomparable heart he
reigned supreme, unchallenged, if only for the hour. Fatigue, anxiety,
bitter recollection and present danger, were overwhelmed and forgotten
in the nearness, the intangible presence of Iris. He looked up to the
starry vault, and, yielding to the spell, he, too, prayed.

It was a beautiful night. After a baking hot day the rocks were
radiating their stored-up heat, but the pleasant south-westerly breeze
that generally set in at sunset tempered the atmosphere and made sleep
refreshing. Jenks could not settle down to rest for a little while
after Iris left him. She did not bring forth her lamp, and, unwilling
to disturb her, he picked up a resinous branch, lit it in the dying
fire, and went into the cave.

He wanted to survey the work already done, and to determine whether it
would be better to resume operations in the morning from inside the
excavation or from the ledge. Owing to the difficulty of constructing a
vertical upward shaft, and the danger of a sudden fall of heavy
material, he decided in favor of the latter course, although it
entailed lifting all the refuse out of the hole. To save time,
therefore, he carried his mining tools into the open, placed in
position the _cheval de frise_ long since constructed for the
defence of the entrance, and poured water over the remains of the fire.

This was his final care each night before stretching his weary limbs on
his couch of branches. It caused delay in the morning, but he neglected
no precaution, and there was a possible chance of the Dyaks failing to
discover the Eagle's Nest if they were persuaded by other indications
that the island was deserted.

He entered the hut and was in the act of pulling off his boots, when a
distant shot rang sharply through the air. It was magnified tenfold by
the intense silence. For a few seconds that seemed to be minutes he
listened, cherishing the quick thought that perhaps a turtle, wandering
far beyond accustomed limits, had disturbed one of the spring-gun
communications on the sands. A sputtering volley, which his trained ear
recognized as the firing of muzzle-loaders, sounded the death-knell of
his last hope.

The Dyaks had landed! Coming silently and mysteriously in the dead of
night, they were themselves the victims of a stratagem they designed to
employ. Instead of taking the occupants of Rainbow