ion--that of providing raiment for Iris. The
united skill of the sailor and herself would not induce unraveled
cordage to supply the need of thread. It was either too weak or too
knotty, and meanwhile the girl's clothes were falling to pieces. Jenks
tried the fibers of trees, the sinews of birds--every possible
expedient he could hit upon--and perhaps, after experiments covering
some weeks, he might have succeeded. But modern dress stuffs, weakened
by aniline dyes and stiffened with Chinese clay, permit of no such
exhaustive research. It must be remembered that the lady passengers on
board the _Sirdar_ were dressed to suit the tropics, and the hard
usage given by Iris to her scanty stock was never contemplated by the
Manchester or Bradford looms responsible for the durability of the
material.

As the days passed the position became irksome. It even threatened
complete callapse during some critical moment, and the two often
silently surveyed the large number of merely male garments in their
possession. Of course, in the matter of coats and waistcoats there was
no difficulty whatever. Iris had long been wearing those portions of
the doctor's uniform. But when it came to the rest--

At last, one memorable morning, she crossed the Rubicon. Jenks had
climbed, as usual, to the Summit Rock. He came back with the exciting
news that he thought--he could not be certain, but there were
indications inspiring hopefulness--that towards the west of the far-off
island he could discern the smoke of a steamer.

Though he had eyes for a faint cloud of vapor at least fifty miles
distant he saw nothing of a remarkable change effected nearer home.
Outwardly, Iris was attired in her wonted manner, but if her
companion's mind were not wholly monopolized by the bluish haze
detected on the horizon, he must have noticed the turned-up ends of a
pair of trousers beneath the hem of her tattered skirt.

It did occur to him that Iris received his momentous announcement with
an odd air of hauteur, and it was passing strange she did not offer to
accompany him when, after bolting his breakfast, he returned to the
observatory.

He came back in an hour, and the lines on his face were deeper than
before.

"A false alarm," he said curtly in response to her questioning look.

And that was all, though she nerved herself to walk steadily past him
on her way to the well. This was disconcerting, even annoying to a
positive young woman like Iris. Resolvin