In contriving these same scarecrows—­which, by the way, he had vaguely intended at first to erect on the beach in order to frighten the invaders and induce them to fire a warning volley—­the sailor paid closer heed to the spoils gathered from the fallen.  One, at least, of the belts was made of human hair, and some among its long strands could have come only from the flaxen-haired head of a European child.  This fact, though ghastly enough, confirmed him in his theory that it was impossible to think of temporizing with these human fiends.  Unhappily such savage virtues as they possess do not include clemency to the weak or hospitality to defenceless strangers.  There was nothing for it but a fight to a finish, with the law of the jungle to decide the terms of conquest.

That morning, of course, he had not been able to visit Summit Rock until after his cautious survey of the island.  Once there, however, he noticed that the gale two nights earlier had loosened two of the supports of his sky sign.  It was not a difficult or a long job to repair the damage.  With the invaluable axe he cut several wedges and soon made all secure.

Now, during each of the two daily examinations of the horizon which he never omitted, he minutely scrutinized the sea between Rainbow Island and the distant group.  It was, perhaps, a needless precaution.  The Dyaks would come at night.  With a favorable wind they need not set sail until dusk, and their fleet sampans would easily cover the intervening forty miles in five hours.

He could not be positive that they were actual inhabitants of the islands to the south.  The China Sea swarms with wandering pirates, and the tribe whose animosity he had earned might be equally noxious to some peaceable fishing community on the coast.  Again and again he debated the advisability of constructing a seaworthy raft and endeavoring to make the passage.  But this would be risking all on a frightful uncertainty, and the accidental discovery of the Eagle’s Nest had given him new hope.  Here he could make a determined and prolonged stand, and in the end help must come.  So he dismissed the navigation project, and devoted himself wholly to the perfecting of the natural fortress in the rock.

That night they finished the rope-ladder.  Indeed, Jenks was determined not to retire to rest until it was placed in situ; he did not care to try a second time to carry Iris to that elevated perch, and it may be remarked that thenceforth the girl, before going to sleep, simply changed one ragged dress for another.

One of the first things he contemplated was the destruction, if possible, of the point on the opposite cliff which commanded the ledge.  This, however, was utterly impracticable with the appliances at his command.  The top of the rock sloped slightly towards the west, and nothing short of dynamite or regular quarrying operations would render it untenable by hostile marksmen.