improvised out of a dish-cover and a rope, lay close to the brink. A
stealthy crawl across the sandy valley, half a minute of grave danger,
and he would be up the ladder again with enough water to serve their
imperative needs for days to come.

There was little or no risk in descending the rock. Soon after sunset
it was wrapped in deepest gloom, for night succeeds day in the tropics
with wondrous speed. The hazard lay in twice crossing the white sand,
were any of the Dyaks hiding behind the house or among the trees.

He held no foolhardy view of his own powers. The one-sided nature of
the conflict thus far was due solely to his possession of Lee-Metfords
as opposed to muzzle-loaders. Let him be surrounded on the level at
close quarters by a dozen determined men and he must surely succumb.

Were it not for the presence of Iris he would have given no second
thought to the peril. It was just one of those undertakings which a
soldier jumps at. "Here goes for the V.C. or Kingdom Come!" is the
pithy philosophy of Thomas Atkins under such circumstances.

Now, there was no V.C., but there was Iris.

To act without consulting her was impossible, so they discussed the
project. Naturally she scouted it.

"The Mahommedan may be able to help us," she pointed out. "In any event
let us wait until the moon wanes. That is the darkest hour. We do not
know what may happen meanwhile."

The words had hardly left her mouth when an irregular volley was fired