SYNOPSIS. Philip Cayley , accused of a crime of which ho Is not guilty , resigns from the army in disgrace and his affection for his friend. Lieut. Perry Hunter , turns to hatred. Cayley seeks solitude , where he perfects a flying machine. While soaring over the Arctic regions , he picks up a curiously shaped stick he had seen In the assassin's hand. Mounting again , he dis covers a yacht anchored In the bay. De scending near the steamer , he meets a girl on an Ice floe. He learns that the girl's name Is Jeanne Fielding and that the yacht has come north to seek signs Of her father , Captain Fielding , an arctic explorer. A party from the yacht Is ma king search ashore. After Cayley departs Joanne finds that he had dropped a cu riously-shaped stick. Captain Planck and the surviving crew of his wrecked whaler are in hiding on the coast A giant ruf- man namedRoscoe , had murdered Fielding and his two companions , after the ex plorer had revealed the location of an mormous ledge of pure gold. Roscoe then took command of the party. It develops that the ruffian had committed the mur- 3er witnessed by Cayley. Roscoe plans to capture the yacht and escape with a big load of gold. Jeanne tells Fanshaw , owner of the yacht , about the visit of the 'sky-man ' and shows him the stick left by Cayley. Fanshaw declares that it Is an Eskimo throwing-stlck , used to shoot darts. Tom "Fanshaw returns from the searching party with a sprained ankle. Perry Hunter is found murdered and Cayley Is accused of the crime but Jeanne believes him Innocent. A relief party goes to find the searchers. Tom professes his love for Jeanne. She rows ashore and enters an abandoned hut , and there finds her father's diary , which discloses the ex plorer's suspicion of Roscoe. The ruf- flan returns to the hut and sees Jeanne. He is Intent on murder , when the sky man swoops down and the ruffian flees. Jeanne gives Cayley her father's diary to read. The yacht disappears and Ros- coe's plans to capture it are revealed. Jeanne's only hope Is in Cayley. CHAPTER XII Continued. "And that's what might have hap pened , oh , so easily , to you. Yes , it might Tve been realizing that. And I sha'n't forget. " Her eyes had bright- jened and she pressed her hands to [ them for Just one moment ; then she straightened up briskly. "Anyway , I'll not make a scene about it now , " she 'said. ' "I'll show a little practical [ sense and help you with the break fast" "No , we're camping out today , and on such occasions the men always do the cooking. Go back to your book while I skin this fowl and dress It. " Then as she utill hesitated , he went on : "The must beautiful garment I ever saw , anywhere , was on a Chu- cotte Indian girl. It was made of noth ing but the breasts of these eiders. 'But ' the process isn't pretty. I'd much rather you went back to your book. " Seeing that he meant it , she did as he asked. A single half page of Jwhat was written upon those closely ruled pages was enough to absorb her again completely. The power it had over her seemed to grow rather than to lessen. When Cayley came up with the big bird which was to serve for their breakfast , impaled upon a sharp stick ready to be roasted over the fire , she no more than looked up at him , with a smile very friendly , but half-apologetic , and then went on with her reading. He crouched down near by her , built a little frame-work of sticks above the fire and began his 'cooking. ' It was , perhaps , ten minutes after [ that when he saw the book drop sud- jdenly from her hands. When he glanced up at her , she was looking seaward out over those miles of plunging , heaving ice. And , under his eyes , her face turned white as marble. Her bloodless lips were parted. They did not move at all and they looked as If they were frozen. He could not see that she was breathing. Her eyes were turned away from him and he was glad of that For another moment more , at least , he nee"d not read the look in them. For now , at last , he was sure she understood. He himself fixed his eyes upon the fire and waited. "There's something here , " she whis pered , "here in this book of father's , that that I want you to read. " It was still open at the page she had been reading when she had dropped it. With his 'first glance at what was written there he saw how she had come , so suddenly to understand. "September 18th. Field-ice came into the bay last night , just as it has come at about this season in the two preceding years a dense fog and a whole gale blowing from the east. To me its , coming is a relief. It is , in a way , the official beginning of winter. The tantalizing hope of a. rescue is now put away on the shelf to wait for another summer. After all , to men in our condition a temporary hopeless ness is much more comfortable than hope itself. The long winter night gives an opportunity to revive our be lief that with another season of open water , rescue will' come. "I have been very busy lately stock ing our larder for the next six months. Fortunately , I have succeeded in killIng - Ing bears and walruses enough to keep us supplied. I wish I could feel as easy about our fuel. We have swept the beach clear of drift-wood , but shall have barely enough to get through the winter with. For myself , who have no real hope at all , it doesn't greatly matter. I greet the dawn of each of these interminable arctic days with intense weariness. And I never bid farewell to the sun for another winter without an involuntary 'In manus Tuas. ' " Cayley read the entry through slow ly. "I'm glad it happened this way , " he said when he finished , "glad it was your father who told you. All this past hour I've been -wondering how I could tell you , how I could make you understand. " The girl had been half-reclining up on the great sheepskin , her weight supported by one hand. While Cayley read , this support failed her , and'she sank down , rather slowly , until her head was burled in the arms which were stretched out as If in blind sup plication. As Cayley spoke , he covered those clasped , outstretched hands with one of his own. The touch and the sound af his voice steadied her a little. "You've known , then , from the Brst ? " The words came brokenly , tialf-voiced , muffled. He bent down over her to hear them. "Yes , I knew from the first. " He said no more than that just then , but remained as he was , his. aand covering her two , holding them tight , his body bending over hers irotectingly. After a little while she ceased shud- lering , and answered the pressure of lis hand with a sudden clasp of her .wo ; then drew them away again and sat erect Her eyes , when they rose to his 'ace , were still wide with fear a leeper-seated fear , really , than her first noinentary panic. But now she had That Gocpei Begins With Breakfast , ' * He Said. I91O BY TH * CENTURY CO COPYPIOHT 1010 Or THt SUCCCSS CO It in control and spoke steadll ; enough. "There is no chance at all , do yoi think ? " "For the Aurora to come back ? No not this season , at least ; no possibli .chance. " "And how much ammunition hav < you , Mr. Cayley ? " "Thirty-one cartridges , besides th < ones in the revolver. " He would have said something more but with a little gesture she prevented him. "You've been thinking it out , ' she said. "You know what it mean : now , and I I feel that I don't. I can'i quite realize it yet. You. must give me a little time to think , too. " He had to assent to that , though h < knew , in advance , the direction hei thoughts must take , and foresaw the dreadful conclusion of them. And the answer he had to make to that con elusion ? Well , he had it ready. How long that silence lasted , neith er of them knew. He sat there beside her , and yet even his eyes allowed her perfect solitude. He mended the fire and attended to his cooking as quietly as before , when the girl was I reading. Finally a little move of hers , pre paratory to speech , gave him leave to look at her. In those silent min utes , however long they were , her face had changed. It was grave now , in tensely thoughtful , but the color had come back into it. It was alive again. "When I asked you a while ago if there were any chance , you asked me if I meant a chance for the return of the Aurora , and said there was none. That was what I meant then , but it's not what I mean now. Is there any chance at all ? I haven't been able to see any myself , and I've been over it all pretty carefully. Do you see any ? You you must tell me the truth , please. " "I haven't ben trying to assess the chances. I spent my hour thinking about something else , and I can't an swer your question really with a yes or a no. " "Not with a yes , but can't you an swer it with a no ? Aren't you per fectly sure , in your heart , tiat there's no chance at all ? " "Not yet , " he answered. * There may be a chance , and if there is , we can meet it half way. " Then he stretched out his * hand. "That red- bound book there is our Bible now. Do you remember what your father said ? 'We , can live like Christians , and we can always hopeHe thought , when he put that bottle , which con tained his message , into the sea , that there was hardly one chance in a mil lion of its resulting in an effectual re lief. Yet he went on living as a brave man lives , a day at a time. And when he died , he died without fear. Doing that , he not only helped himself , but he helps us in a way that he couldn't possibly have foreseen. " Her eyes filled suddenly with tears , and a smile , of a divine sad tender ness , touched for an instant her mouth. "But that isn't our case , you know. Ours isn't as simple as that. " "What makes the difference ? "Your wings. " She said it hardly above a whisper , and as she said it she turned a little paler and her brave lips trembled. But in an instant her will had taken command again. "I am sure you see. It's quite plain , " she went on steadily. "If you will spread them , those great wings of yours , and take to the air with them , and fly away , as you are free to do , and leave me here alone , as I really am aione , the only person marooned here if you'll do that , then I'll fol low my father's gospel. But you won't ? o away. You can't not a man like you , and I know that. I know I mustn't even suggest it. " Her voice sank again and grew un steady. "While I am starving , you will be starving , too. And while I am freezing , you will freeze. " She ! stopped there with a shudder and a leep , gasping sob ; then , "Won't you jo ? " she cried out. "You said once ; hat one of us might be dreaming , but .hat one was not I. Can't you believe t's so ? Can't you wake up from the iream that is turning into a night- nare , and fly away ? . No , you can't ! iTou can't ! There is only one way out f it ! " There was the conclusion he had oreseen , had foreseen long before he : ould formulate it the inevitable con- dusion that had led him to pray fern : n hour. .And , now he thanked God hat the answer was ready. But before he could speak she urned to him with a sudden transi- ion of mood , which left him gasping. ? he face she turned upon him now ras radiant , flushed with life , fear- 5ss. She held out both hands to him. Come , " she said ; "that's over. You're o forget it ever happened , and you're D do something for me that I want. 7111 you ? I want this for a holiday , list as I set out to make it when I aw the yacht was gone. The day's s bright as it was then , and we an make the hours pure gold. It all epends on us. Come , will you do that ar me ? " Giving him her hands , she had leant him to assist her. to rise , but he isregarded the intention and knelt D one knee beside her. "Jeanne , " e said. Har color fluttered like a flax at that , and she caught her breath "Thank you Philip. " "We'll have our holiday , Jeanne , bul we must have a better understanding first. " "No ! No more ! I can't ! " But he went steadily on : "You sale there was only one way out , and ] knew what you meant. It is a way out a way that I can't deny youi right to take , if we're talking oi rights. During the five years that ] spent at Sandoval I always regarded it as a right that I could exercise when I chose. Perhaps that is pne ol the reasons I never exercised it. But , Jeanne , if you elect to take that way , I shall take it with you. " She struggled away from him , turned and faced him with horror-stricken eyes. "You must not say that ! You've no right to threaten me with that ! No right ! " Then , clutching at his hands again , "You must promise ! " Again she pulled her hands away and covered her face with them. She was trembling uncontrollably. "It was not a threat , " he said stead ily. "It was a promise , a promise I have the right to make. I make it again , now , Jeanne a solemn prom ise before God. Whether it's living or dying , I shall go beside you. " "No right " she repeated In a whis per. "What possible right could you have to make a promise like that a threat that calls Itself a promise ? " . "I have the only right there Is. Listen. Last night , when you were lying there asleep , I sat thinking , thinking about you , about the love I had for you ; about the change which that love had made in me and would go on making after I had lost you. For I faced losing you. I knew that when they sent a boat ashore for you , I should have to let you go without a word. If I could have heard a prophecy then , that today I should be telling you I loved you , telling it vith a clear heart and conscience , I should have gone half-mad for joy. It seemed as if the thing could never happen. I am a man with a stain upon me , and yes terday that stain made It Impossible to say anything to you but goodby. I meant to say it , and take my way through the air again and live out the rest of my life on what , from your bounty , you had already given me. "But the coming of a new day has changed-all that. It has given me the right to tell you what I have told you , and it gives me the right to make that promise. Isn't that quite plain ? Don't you understand ? " "I must think , " she gasped. "You must let me think. " "No , " he said , "I have not asked for an answer. There is nothing that you have to tell me. Nothing that I'm waiting to hear. No decision that you must make. You understand what I said and you know it's true. The supreme fact in my universe is just you. That gives me the right to follow you wherever you go. But you are still free. You can stay here , where Fate has put you and let me stay here , too , being sure that all the happiness in the world there is for me is to be found here at your side , in helping you. And then if the torture of privation , loneliness and despair become too hard " She turned to him then and inter rupted. Her words came quietly , un accompanied by any gesture of her ex pressive hands. She spoke with the utmost simplicity. "They won't be too hard , I think neither the privation nor the loneli ness. There won't be any despair not with you , my friend. And and we will follow my father's gospel. " She saw the blood go ebbing- out of tiis face , and then come back with a surge. He drew in two or three great breathe of the keen , winelike air. Then , in a strangely matter-of-fact fashion , he seated himself beside her. "That gospel begins with breakfast , ' de said. CHAPTER XIII. Captain Fielding's Gospel. Side by side , upon that great sheep skin , they sat , those two people , in he very lap of death. A reasonable ; stlmate of their chances would give , hem , perhaps , a week to live. With jxceptional fortune , that week might itretch itself into a month. The great > lue spirit of the arctic would darken o purple , and to black. The icy hand if the savage polar winter would get ts clutches upon them. They had lothlng to resist it with. No stores of immunitlon or of food. No clothing , ixcept what they wore. No fuel , save ? hat they could contrive to gather Jong the talus before the winter gales rould make further search Impossible. Neither Jeanne nor Cayley was of a ort to face the prospect of that death irith resignation. They were young , atensely alive , and with Jeanne , at sast , the best and biggest part of life ly , or had lain until yesterday , in a road open road before her. But a respect like the one that lay before hem brings its own anaesthetic with „ It was so utterly hopeless that it ecame unreal. The face of the future , ito which she had cast just one hor- Ifled glance , was so hideous that to tie girl , at least , it was Hke some lonster mask of carnival too gro- ssquely horrible to be taken seri- usly. That IB partly the reason why ahe , succeeded in surprising Cayley by sit ting down to breakfast with him Ii the same mood and spirit which sh < had shown before when she did nbi know. "I'm about half famished , " she sale as they began their meal , "at leasi that duck smells perfectly lire sistlble. It's done to a turn , I think In a way , It's rather a joke that we should begin our arctic privations with a roast duck. " "There's something queer about thai hut , " he said , "something that gets queerer the more I think about it Why do you suppose the Walrus peo- pie abandoned it ? Or , rather , do you suppose they did abandon it ? They couldn't have built another house without dismantling this one. There are no trftes on this land to furnish timber , and there certainly isn't any hardware store where they could have those doors swung on hinges. But those doors swung on hanges last night and the bolt worked , and , more or less , the walls and roof kept out the gale. For this style of architecture it's in pretty good repair. " The girl was only half convinced. "That great heap of stones in there , " she began , "doesn't look like good re pair or recent habitation. " "No It doesn't , " he rejoined. "It's been made to look as little that way as possible. It wouldn't have got into that condition otherwise In 100 yeara Come , let's have a look. It's something to hope for , at any rate. " "To hope for ? " she repeated ques- tloningly. He had already entered the hut , and did not at once volunteer any further explanation , but from the shine of ex citement she could see in his eyes , It was evident that he contemplated something better than merely holdIng - Ing deajth at arms' length for a little while. To the girl's eyes there was but lit tle about the interior of the hut to ac count for such a hope , even though she saw that all of the things he had said about It were true. The flimsy inner doors were still hinged to their frames , and were provided with a miscellaneous assortment of catches. It was marine hardware , all of It , evi dently from her father's ship , the Phoenix. The bunks and shelves which lined the walls looked perfectly solid and well built. But the general ap pearance of the room presented a look of disrepair. It was absolutely un furnished. The great heap of smoke- blackened stones , of various sizes and shapes , and the hole in the roof above them , attested that they had once been a fire-place. From the forlorn aspect of the room the girl gladly turned her eyes away and stood looking at Cayley instead. He had been sweeping the walls , roof and floor in a general survey. Now , abruptly , he went over to the heap of stones , picked up one of them , rubbed his thumb over it and scrutinized , with an air of considerable interest , the black smear It left. "That would account for the drift wood , " he said absently. At that he might have seen in the ; irl's face a look of half-amused im patience , but his abstraction was too leep for him to notice it. He walked over to one of the side walls , pulled open what proved to 3e a big solid shutter , revealing a jlazed window , and , for a long while , stood there , unconscious of the look : he girl had turned upon him , uncon scious of his present surroundings. "Yes , something to hope for , certain- y. " He turned away from the win- low as he said it , and smiled at her. 'A good hope a good fighting hope hat when the relief comes back next iummer they'll find you here alive. " "If you say so , I'll believe it , " said he girl , "because you told me the ruth before. But do you mind telling ' * ne why'f "I should have thought of it soon- sr. I should have noticed it last light. My guess was right , that's all. ? his is not an abandoned hut. Don't 'ou see , It's in almost perfect repair ? 'he hinges on this shutter work , al- hough If you look closely you can see hat some one gave a tug at them not Dng ago In an attempt to pull them ut. And that patch on the wall was ut on within a month. The men rho wrecked this placed worked hastl- T and showed no great degree of Imag- lation. They hadn't much time , you ee , because they couldn't have begun ntil they caught their firat glimpse t the yacht. They had finished the > b before they could send a party shore. " t "But why in the world should they o such a thing ? " the girl protested. 1 He shook his head. "I haven't ] orked that out yet , not fully , at any ite. After * all , it's not the question lat concerns us. " "I'm still In a maze about it. What id you mean about the drift wood ? " "Why , the soot on these stones lowed me that. They haven't been Liming drift wood In this fire-place , hey've been burning coal or oil , per- ips. I hadn't thought of that. That's hy the drift wood collected again out I tere on the talus. You remember > ur father speaks of having used it 1 ? There have been a dozen men ring here ever since , and they didn't > ed it. So they must have had some her sort of fuel , * "You mean they've got a supply somewhere hidden ? " He nodded. "Not only a supply of fuel , but of food , too. You remember your father also speaks of having his larder completely stocked for the win ter at this time ? Well , these fellow \ . weren't expecting any relief. They must have stocked their larder , too. Of course , " he went on a moment later , "I realized vaguely all alonjf that there must be stores somewhere here on the land because men were living here , but on the theory that they had abandoned the beach and were living in some undiscovered part of the mainland , our chance of finding those stores was almost nothing at alL Finding them would be like trying to find Point Barrow in a fog. But you see , if they kept them here in thesa huts , and- then hid them when they caught sight of the yacht , while they may be well hidden , they can't be far away. There wouldn't have been tlma to move them far ; certainly not over the glacier and into the Interior there. It must all be hidden somewhere , here on the coast. When we find that hiding ; place , we shall probably find all th stores we need .for the winter. " "Then , I suppose , the next thing ferns ns to do is to go out and find It. " "Not quite the next thing. Unless we have exceptional luck , we can hardly hope to find It for several days ; it may take a fortnight , and we. must have some temporary security first. In the meantime there Is no telling what sort of weather we will have. It's rather late for these beau tiful , mild days , I fancy. No , the first thing to do Is to rebuild this fireplace and bring in a lot of drift wood and all those birds that were killed last night by flying against the cliff. When we have made this hut habitable against a spell of 40 below zero weath er , such as we're likely to have at any time , and have accumulated stores of fuel and food for a few days , thea we'll begin our search. I had better zet to work at once. I think I can re "You'd Better Take Belt and Holster and All. " build this fire-place by myself. Will you go and begin carrying in fire wood , and as many of those ducks and geese and loons as you can find there along the talus ? " She nodded , and turned to leave the hut. "Take the revolver with you , " he called after her. At that she halted abruptly in the doorway. "Why should I have it any more than you ? " Then , answering his smile with one of her own , she added : "I suppose a well-trained crew doesn't demand reasons for the captain's or ders only " "There's a perfectly good reason , rm working In the shelter , and you In the open. Besides that , I'm stronger and I have my sheath knife. If I were attacked by anything , I could give a better account of myself than you. could. You'd better take belt and holster and all , and buckle it right around your waist. " When Philip finally had his fire place rebuilt , in a temporary fashloa which he thought would serve till greater leisure should allow him to perfect It , he stepped outside the hut md looked , first down and then up- : he shore in search for her , and was lisappoint&d at finding her nowhere n sight. She must be dreadfully tired , he bought , and with that thought decid- 5d to set out to find her. First , how- iver , he transferred the remnants of he fire from the flat stone before the mt to his newly constructed hearth , leaped on more wood and noted , with , atlsfaction , that his makeshift chim- ley drew well and did not smoke in- olerably. He had discovered an empty : ask under a heap of rubbish in the- toreroom and this he filled with hunks of ice and set by the fire to aelt Five minutes later he was just a wheeling , glinting , sun-bathed specie a the amber air , the thrilling , prin ting , winelike air. He had taken to Js wings , upon leaving the hut , sinx ly because they offered him th ulckest , easiest way of finding Jeaat e. * BB COMTJLN U E1X&