JAVA JACK

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17528, 4 May 1925, Page 12

JAVA JACK

J “ STAR ” SERIAL. |

By

OTTWELL BINNS

Author or "A Mating in the Wilds.'' “The Treasure of Chris topiie,’' etc.

i CHAPTER XV. (Continued.) Then followed a sudden excited clamour of Chinese voices, the sound of a j pistol shot, and then lie saw San j Choon running for cover in the high | fern, straight in the direction where he himself was concealed. She disappeared from view, but a moment afterwards the man Brown came into his line of vision. His face was twisted with frightful rage, and his hand held a pistol; that he meant to kill the girl if he caught her was clear. But San Choon's diminutiveness was of great service to her in the thick greenery and spreading ferns, which seemed to have swallowed her from sight, lie saw her pursuer pause a"S if at fault, heard him shouting imprecations to Xjio, then as the latter appeared he began to thrash among the ferns and bushes once more. The man was almost oeside himself. He cursed the Chinamen for their slackness, oblivi- ? ous :>f all who might be listening, of everything except the passionate desire to avenge the treachery of which he conceived himself to be tne victim. Suddenly Xjio shouted to him in English, and from his place of concealment Callaghan caught Java’s name. For a moment the other stood as if thunderstruck, shouted a vile oath, plunged into the jungle and was gone. Xjio stood watching ms mad going for a moment, then he called to his remaining companions and began to talk to them hurriedly and with every appearance of excitement. He was still talking when over the crest of the ascent from the beach appeared a Malay, visible to Callaghan from his hiding place, but not to Njio. Another followed and another until six were on the top of the cliff, and then over the edge like a pink moon appeared t ie face of the Dutchman. One of the Malays whispered something to him. and then the party split in two, half j going one way and half the other. > Still Xjio talked; then apparently (caught sight of the advancing men, for with a cry of alarm to his friends he began to run. The other Chinamen followed like hares, and with a • yell the Malays broke cover and plunged into the jungle after them. Van Oosterdyke himself proceeded more slowly, stepping in a leisurely manner until he was lost to Callaghan’s view, and as he disappeared Callaghan had an inspiration. All the men who had been on the beach were now on the cliff. The way to the caves was quite clear if only he could slip out of the jungle | to the beach unseen. It was an even j chance that the chase in the wood j would continue to hold Van Oosterj dyke's attention. The opportunity was , too good to be thrown away. He took ic, stepping from fern to fern and trunk to trunk, until he reached a point where unperceived he could make a descent to the sands. He noted , that there was no one in sight, then j he half slid, half jumped down, and i began to run in the direction of the I caves. Apparently the masked entrances j were just as they had been when he i had seen them. The creepeis hung over them like a curtain, and for a second i lie wondered whether the two girls j could possibly have sought shelter in- | side. But. as he knew very well, he j had no time to waste in fruitless specu- ! lation; Van Oosterdyke or one of his j satellites might be back any minute, J or he might be observed from the ship, j Carefully he dragged aside the vines I of the creeper which hid the entrance and slipped inside, stopping a moment to adjust anew the living curtain. Then he turned and taking a couple ol steps forward, halted and stood listening. He heard nothing, but reflecting that if Nora and her companion had not yet been discovered by Van Oosterdyke. they would no doubt be crouching somewhere among the shadows, breathless, fearful of discovery and inclined to mistake for an enemy any one who might penetrate the cave, he called liis sister's name softlv, twice. ! "Xora : Nora!" | The not very heavy utterance seem- ! <’d lo make a quite prodigious sound in : the narrow cave, and as he stood he j thought he caught a whispered answer, j Eagerly he moved forward till he j readied the point wheie tne one cave joined the other, then, so suddenly that he had no chance at all. a lithe figure leaped out of the shadows and bore him to the sandy floor. < 11 AFTER XVI. SAX CHOON’S SACRIFICE. 1 or some time after the departure of Andy Callaghan, Bi&ke stood watching the Chinaman and giving an occasional glance in the direction of Java, who lav perfectly still, a heavy lrown on his face. Minutes passed and the Chinaman did not move fiom his seat on the edge of the boat. The kris was held in a loose hand acioss his knee, his head was slightly bent; and so .still was he that but for tne fact that the dark eyes were wide open, Blake would have sworn the man was asleep. After a little time the sailor began to find this silent watchfulness on the part ol the other a trifle irksome. It imposed silence and immobility on himself. and made it almost impossible to make a surprise attack upon the other. Quarter of an hour passed, without any change in the situation; Java lay with the frown upon his face, the Chinaman kept his unwinking watch, and the sailor still waited his opportunj ity. He was beginning to be quite seriously perturbed. He had no faith what- » ever in the promise which had been ! made to San Choon: he was convinced that there was no intention of keeping it, or why had a guard been left to watch over Java when, if San Choon delivered th.e other girl into their hands, he was to go free? And he knew that they might be back any time, and that if San Choon failed in her treacherous purpose, there would be no further delay in dealing with Java Jack. It was incumbent upon him that he { should do something for his rrieud

quickly, if lie were going to deliver him. The question was what? The Chinaman continued to sit there like a brazen image, the sun gleaming on his weapon, his eyes wide and alert. Seemingly he did not mean to move until the others returned, and so long as he remained where he was any approach to Java was quite impossible. Desperately the sailor began to cast about for some expedient that might draw the guard from his present position, and was still so engaged when across the wood there came a sudden clamour of voices and the sound of a pistol. “There's trouble!" he whispered to himself, and. turned to observe the effect of the noises on the man by the boat. The Chinaman was no longer seated. He was standing upright, kris in hand, a very alert look on his yellow face. Then, to Blake’s disappointment, after a moment he slipped back into the old attitude. The sailor was almost in despair and was meditating the quite desperate expedient of marching out from his place or concealment and, kris or no kris, flinging himself upon the fellow, when an expedient occurred to him. Among the vegetation at his feet were pebbles, no doubt cast up from the beach in the great storm which had wrecked the Van Tromp. He began to grope among them, selecting the smallest, and presently had a handful suitable for his purpose. Taking one, he flipped it. as a boy flips a marble, straight for the boat. His aim was true, and as it fell, making a rattling sound, the yellow man leaped to his feet and looked hastily round, plainly without discovering the cause. V hilst he so stood, Blake flipped a second small pebble. It struck the Chinaman between the shoulder blades, making him swing round, swift as lightning. For a moment he stared about him curiously, and then looked oddly at the prisoner whom he was guarding. Watching him, Blake could have laughed outright, for it was as plain as print that he was suspecting the man who Jay there, bound hand and foot, of being the cause of the mysterious happenings. Whilst the Chinaman was still pondering, the sailor launched another small pebble, a little short this time, so that it fell at the Celestial's feet. The man saw it, stooped promptly and picked it up. Then, holding it in his hand, he looked from it to the edge of the jungle. Plainly he guessed whence it had come, l'or after a moment he began to walk forward as if moved to investigate. Blake's heart thrilled at the sight. The man was going to give him his chance at iast, and not before it was time, for somewhere in the depth of the jungle there were sounds of movement which betokened that the maker of them was in a great hurry. If it should be that fellow who wanted to kill Java He did not finish the thought. The Chinaman, holding his kris carelesslv, came nearer, peering into the jungle from the sand's edge. Quarter of a minute later he was directly underneath the place where Blake crouched in concealment; only three yards or so separated them, and the sailor had the higher ground. Suddenly he lifted himself, his arm thrown back, and scarcely had the startled Chinaman glimpsed the apparition when a handful of pebbles thrown, with the sailor’s full strength, smote him in the face, and like a thunderbolt followed Blake himself. Taken utterly by surprise, the Chinaman went down under the other's onslaught, and the kris was knocked from his hand by the fall. But he was amazingly quick in his recovery, and j in no time at all the pair were rolling J over and over in the desperate and ghastly struggle of unarmed men who j are fighting to kill. The Celestial bit and scratched like a tiger, pounded I Blake’s face with his skull, strove to get I a strangle-hold of his throat, and when / that missed sought the sailor’s eyes J with cruel fingers. i 'To be continued).