The existence of ropes along the face of the rock--an essential to his mechanical scheme--would betray their whereabouts, or at any rate excite dangerous curiosity.

So he reluctantly abandoned his original design, though not wholly, as will be seen in due course.
In pursuance of his latest idea he sedulously removed from the foot of the cliff all traces of the clearance effected on the ledge, and, although he provided supports for the tarpaulin covering, he did not adjust it.

Iris and he might lie _perdu_ there for days without their retreat being found out.

This development suggested the necessity of hiding their surplus stores and ammunition, and what spot could be more suitable than the cave?
So Jenks began to dig once more in the interior, laboring manfully with pick and shovel in the locality of the fault with its vein of antimony.
It was thus that he blundered upon the second great event of his life.
Rainbow Island had given him the one thing a man prizes above all else--a pure yet passionate love for a woman beautiful alike in body and mind.

And now it was to endow him with riches that might stir the pulse of even a South African magnate.