I
*
r
I !
, .
Tottered Forward and Collapsed in a Heap.
W.ROSSES
,
1010 OV THt SUfcCCSS CO
SYNOPSIS.
Philip Cayley , accused of a crime of
tfhlch he is not guilty , resigns from the
Winy In disgrace and his affection for
pi friend , Lieut. Perry Hunter , turns to
htred. Cayley seeks solitude , where he
perfects a flying machine. "While soaring
ever the Arctic regions , he picks up a
CBriousJir shaped stick he had seen in the
mJsassinV hand. Mounting again , he dis
covers a yacht anchored in the bay. De-
ecendlng near the steamer , he meets a
lrl on an ice floe. He learns that the
girl's name is Jeanne Fielding and that
the yacht has come north to seek signs
'or her father. Captain Fielding , an arctic
explorer. A party from the yacht is ina-
Klng1 search ashore. After Cayley departs
Jeanne 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-
rhan namedRoscoe , had murdered Fielding
ajm his two companions , after the ex
plorer had revealed the location of an
enormous ledge of pure gold. Roscoe then
took command of the party. It develops
that the ruffian had committed the mur-
a r 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
sklmo throwing stick , used to shoot
darts. Tom Fanshaw returns from the
parching party with a sprained ankle.
Ferry 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
arsre for Jeanne. She rows ashore and
jnters an abandoned hut , and there finds
" fatner's , diary , which discloses the ex-
yorers suspicion of Roscoe. The ruf-
flan returns to the hut and sees Jeanne.
He ta intent on murder , when the sky-
fcan 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. The
eWotisness of their situation bepomes ap
parent to Jeanne and the sky-man.
CHA'PTER XIII. Continued.
/ Suddenly he was flying downward ,
as fast as gravity and his great wings
would take him. Drenched with the
sweat of a sudden terror , cleaving the
air so fast that the sound of its whinIng -
Ing rose to a scream through his taut
rigging. Down , he slanted , seaward
a little , past the end of the great head
land. Then , with the sudden exertion
of all his strength , upon one lowered
wing , the other flashing high like the
stroke of a scimitar , In the curve of
the shortest possible arc , he shot
landward , pounced , checked , and
alighted not far from the girl.
She had been seated upon a broken
ledge of rock when he had first caught
sight of her. She was in act of
'getting ' to her teei when he alighted ,
not a half dccen paces away.
She had been pale , but her color
; had come back now in a sudden surge.
Ehe was breathing unsteadily and her
{ bands were clasped against her
jbreast "You you musn't fly like
that , " she said. "If you had been an
, * agle , the way you wheeled and came
*
rushing down out of the sky would
jhave terrified me. I shut my ey s in
order not to see you killed. "
j He did not answer her at once , and
fche , looking Intently Into his face ,
( went on. "You know it was danger-
jous. You thought yourself that you
( were going to be killed. I can see
Jlhe horror ot it in your eyes. "
' . Then ho got his breath. "You're
pafo ? " he sectioned unsteadily. "You
i n ftrere In d tttftr , sudden danger , and in
error at 5t Vhat was what frighten-
frd me , tl < At codden knowledge. I came
fe/tfinf I should be too late. "
' 1 had a fright , " she admitted ; "but
I don't see how you could know. I'm
very sure I didn't cry out. "
"No , I heard nothing , no sound at
all. I just knew , and so I came to
you as fast as I could. What was it
that frightened you ? "
. "Nothing at all , I imagine. I was
sitting here on the ledge , looking at
that wonderful sky , and all at once
I found I was growing afraid. I didn't
know what it was about , at all. I sup
pose it was just because I was a little
tired and had begun to realize that I
was a long way from from home. I
had come around the headland , not
really to look for more firewood , but
In the hope that I might happen to
find a clue to where the stores are hid
den ; and , as I said , suddenly it
seemed a long way back and I began
to find myself afraid. And then , be
ing afraid , I well , I thought I saw
something moving up there behind the
rocks something big , bigger than a
man , and whitish-yellow. "
His eyes followed the direction in
which she had pointed , but could
make out nothing in the deep , vibrant
blue shadows.
"That's likely enough , " he told her.
"It was probably a bear. If it was ,
we're in luck. I'll come back by and
by and go gunning for him. But first ,
I'm going to take you home. "
She had used the word before , but
In what sense he was not entirely
sure ; and she had undoubtedly used
it not more than half consciously. At
any rate , when he said it now she
flushed a little , and so did he , and
their eyes , meeting , brightened sud
denly.
Silently he turned away from her
and began furling up his wings , and
she helped him , as she had helped
him that other time when he had tried
to convince her that he was not a
dream.
When it was done , they set out
slowly , in the deepening twilight , for
the hut.
"It's very good of you to walk down
here with me , " she said , "you who
could fly. "
CHAPTER XIV.
The Red-Bound Book.
By the time they had reached the
headland , the whole beach before
them was enveloped in the sapphire
shadow of the cliff , and the little clus
ter of huts toward which they were
trudging was hardly distinguishable.
It was not until they had halved the
distance that the girl made out the
little plume of rose-colored smoke that
floated above Philip's newly construct
ed chimney.
But the next instant he laid a hand
upon her arm and , with the other ,
pointed imperatively down the beach
toward the hut. "Whether you saw
him before , or not , " he said , with a
short grim laugh , "you can see him
now. "
Looking where he pointed , she saw.
a big , yellowish-white , ungainly thing
come lumbering round the corner of
the hut , upon all fours.
"A "bear , " he said , "and a good big
one. You're not to beafraid. . This is
really unmerited good luck. "
"Aren't they dangerous , these polar
bears ? " she asked.
In his answering laugn she heard
the ring of rising excitement. "I won't
deny , " he said , "that if I had my way
about it , I'd have you safely shut up
inside the hut there before I tried
conclusions with him. Give me the
revolver , and take care to keep out of
the line of fire. If you see a chance
to slip inside the hut , do it. And
don't assume that he's dead until I
tell you so. These polar bears have
no nerves at all. You can't shock
them. They don't stop until you have
put their 'locomotor facilities Complete
ly out of business. "
She was smiling when she Jianded
him the revolver. "Here's lucK , " she
said. "Don't he afraid for me. "
Cayley smiled , too. "Keep behind
me , but not so far that you're in any
danger of getting cut off in case I
have to dance around him a little.
There he's winded us already. "
Cayley turned for a last look at her.
He had slipped his bundled wings
from his liack and laid them on the
ice. He was still smiling , but some
what ironically. "I'm half afraid he'll
run away , " he said , "and half afraicl
he won't" > < * ' --.aSSiF- .
The next instant all doubt on that
head was set at rest. The monster
hissed and came lumb'erlng toward
them , pretty rapidly , across the ice.
Cayley advanced slowly to meet
him , but not in a direct line. Instead ,
he bore off in a curve to the left The
girl understood the maneuver instant
ly , and , herself , set out landward at a
brisk pace , moving in the arc of a cir
cle , parallel to his but larger , in
such a way as to keep the bear , Philip
and herself , as all three moved in dif
ferent directions , in a straight line.
They quartered round In this way ,
the bear swerving in well toward
Philip , until all three were in a line ,
about equidistant from the hut. Philip
and the bear , were , perhaps , a dozen
paces apart Without turning , he call
ed over his shoulder to her , "Now run
for it for the hut. I'll keep him
amused ont here. "
At the sound of his voice the bear
rushed him. The girl had never in
her life found anything so hard to do
as to obey orders now. But she did
obey and was running at top speed
toward the open door of the hut when
she heard Cayley fire for the first
time. Just as she reached it , she
heard his second shot. When she
turned about , panting , to observe the
result of it , the two seemed to her
to be at horribly close quarters. The
bear , reared up on his hind legs , had
just lunged forward.
He sprang back clear of the flashing ,
scythelike cut of those terrible claws.
A little to the girl's surpise and con
siderably to her alarm , he turned and
went sprinting up the beach toward
the talus , at full speed , the bear
wounded , but not in the least disabled ,
lumbering after him.
It takes a fast runner to outrun a
bear , but Cayley did it. When he
reached the .foot of the talus , the bear
was 20 paces behind him. She saw
him stop short , whirl round again and
face his pursuer with a shout
The bear also checked his speed
and reared up once more , towering ,
upon his hind legs. Then Cayley
fired twice , the shots coming so close
ly together as to be hardly distinguish
able. One or both of them took in
stantaneous effect. The great yellow
ish-white mass tottered forward , and
collapsed in a heap only a pace or two
from where Philip was standing.
He waved his hand at the girl , and
walked back for his wings. When
she met him , half way up the beach ,
he was carefully taking the spent
shells out of his revolver , one at a
time , and depositing them in his pock
et. "No telling how they may prove
useful , " he commented ; then , with a
quick look into her face , "I hope you
weren't frightened when you saw me
run. "
"I suppose 1 shouldn't have been ,
but I'll have to confess that I was.
You weren't trying to get away from
him , or you wouldn't have run in that
direction. But it looked rather dread
ful , just the same. Why did you
do it ? "
"We were too far down the beach ,
too near the water's edge before. It
was too late to skin him and cut him
up tonight , and I was afraid if a storm
were to come up before morning , a
really big storm , we might lose him.
It was a lot easier to get him up the
beach before I fired those last two
shots than it would have been after.
I thought at first of running toward
tne hut It occurred to me , only just
in time , that there was no use in ma
king an abattoir of our front yard. "
They had reached the hut , and as he
finished speaking , they entered it.
Even Philip caught his breath rather
suddenly with that first glance about
its transformed interior. The drift
wood fire , which glowed upon the
hearth , filled the whole room with
light , and bathed the walls and rafters
with warm colors.
Here was their fortress against the
cold and 'the dark ; a fortress , too ,
against despair. That rude hearth
which he .had built today was to be
their altar of hope.
The girl stood looking at it a mo
ment in silence , her lips pressed tight
together , one outstretched hand grop
ing for the door-jamb behind her , as
if she wanted the support of some
thing. Even in this warm firelight
she looked a little pale. By an evi
dent effort of will she was breathing
very deep and steadily. She did not
try to speak.
Cayley understood well enough what
it meant This place that they had
come back to for tKe night was home
now , probably the last home she would
ever have in the world , if one were to
balance the chances fairly. Its warmth
and light and. comparative comfort
did more to enforce a .realization of
their "tragic plight than anything be
fore had done. The thing she was
fighting with was a sudden wave of
plain terror.
Cayley went out into the little ves
tibule and closed and bolted the outer
door. He contrived to waste a minute
or two over the trifling task , In order
to give her that moment by herself.
When he came back , closing the in
ner door behind him as he did so , he
found that she had taken off her cap
and the heavy cur coat which had en
cumbered her shoulders all day , and
hung them upon a convenient wooden
peg In the wall. She was standing
near the fireplace now , warming her
cold fingers at the blaze.
Cayley started a little at sight of
her , for now she was transformed ,
too. Standing there , silhouetted
against the blaze , in her gray cardi
gan jacket and moleskins , she looked
like a young boy. He had discovered
before this that there was not a grain
of false modesty about her ; neverthe
less , It pleased him when , with a cer
tain charming frank simplicity , she
called his attention to her costume.
"It's a lucky thing , " she observed ,
"that I dressed for a scramble over
_ ,
- * " -"j- L - *
the Ice before * jcjqming ashore with
-Uncle Jerry and Mr Scales. And
lucky , tqp Juhat Ij dnjtchangejba
" "
" when"we returneid lo"the1 Aurora ?
left it the second time with no other
idea than of pulling about for awhile
in the dinghy. I'd have done that just
the same if I had dressed for dinner
that night , as I usually did. "
"Yes , " he said. "A skirt would
have been a pretty serious matter to
people in pur situation. "
"Show me the rest of cur house , "
she commanded presently. "This is
the only room I've seen. "
The subdivision of the hut was ac
complished by an L-shaped partition
seven feet or so from the outer
wall , around two sides of it. It
yielded two tiny , cubical bedrooms
( that was the purpose which the
wooden bunk in each of them
indicated ) ; and a third room of
the same width ( about seven feet ) ,
but running the entire length of the
side of the hut nearest the cliff. This
room had evidently served for stores
and for a kitchen , since part of the
reconstructed fireplace projected into
it It was in this last room where the
greater part of what the searchers
from the Aurora had dismissed as
"rubbish" was accumulated.
Cayley did as the girl commanded ,
and showed her every nook and cup
board which the four walls of the hut
contained. When they returned to
the living room where the fire was ,
she dropped down on one of the bunks
with a little sigh of fatigue.
"You've been disobeying orders , " he
said , looking her over with a serious
sort of smile. "You've let yourself
get too tired. You'll have to make
up for it by being exceptionally obedi
ent now. "
As he spoke , he shook out the sleep
ing-bag on the bunk , behind where
she was sitting.
"You're to lie down on that , " he
said , "until I can get supper ready ;
and directly after supper youire to
take this bag into whichever of those
bedrooms you would like for yours ,
and really undress and go to bed. "
She assented to that after a little
demur. That he had rightly guessed
the degree of her fatigue was attested
by the fact that when he re-entered
the hut after dressing the fowl that
was to provide their evening meal , he
found her cuddled up upon the great
sheepskin , fast asleep.
It was not until his rudimentary
culinary operations were about com
pleted that , glacing over to where she
lay , he found her regarding him with
a sleepy smile.
"I thought of something just as I
was dropping off to sleep , " she said ,
"a really beautiful idea. I tried to
call out and tell you , but I was too
sleepy. I hope I haven't lost it. It
was something about oh , I know.
Don't you suppose we might find a
clue to where the stores are hidden in
father's journal or in the maps ? "
He laid down the drum-stick he had
been about to bite into , and gazed at
her , partly in astonishment , partly in
a sort of amused dismay that the idea
had not occurred to him before. "That
suggestion , " he saidt "is worth the '
whole of my day's work. Of course
that's the way to begin our search
the only way , and tomorrow morn
ing "
"Tomorrow morning ! I thought the i
worst thing you could possibly say
would be after supper. I wanted to
let the duck go and begin the search
now. " She smiled at him. "You'll
compromise , won't you , on directly
after supper ? "
He assented with a laugh. "If you
can keep awake , but the first time I
catch you nodding "
"All right , " she said , "only let's hur
ry with the duck. " Then , a little later ,
'It can't be possible , can it , that we're
going to eat the whole of it at one
meal ? It's beginning to look that
way. "
There was one compensation to the
rudeness of their fare and the ex
iguity of their equipment. Clearing
up after dinner was an operation of
extreme simplicity.
When it was completed , Philip
heaped more wood on the fire , and in
the glow of the crackling flames tiiey
spread out the maps and began their
search.
"I believe , " said Cayley , "that the
journal will be worth more than the
maps in this search of ours tonight
Anyway , while you work one I can
work the other. "
She nodded , picked up the journal
and crossed over with it to another
of the bunks. There she seated herself -
self , , tucked her feet up comfortably
under her , tailor-fashion , , and , prop
ping her chin upon one palm , began to
read. The light coming from behind
tier made , to Cayley's vision , a misty
halo of her hair , and played softly
over the cheek and the fingers that
were half embedded in it
The sight of her made it hard for
him to stick to his maps. But present
ly he looked up with a sudden ques
tion. "Do you happen to find any
thing " he began , and then broke off
shortly.
From her face , half-shaded as It
was , he could see that what she had
been reading just then was no mere
description of this land upon which
theyfc had been cast away , but some
thing far more personal to the father
she had lost here.
"There's something perfectly terri
fying , " she said , "about father's de
scription of this man Roscoe. Over
here near the end , before the sun
came back to them , he tells of going
out for a walk by himself "and of dis
covering that Roscoe was stalking
him , in the hope , he thought , of dis
covering , in advance of the others ,
where the gold ledge was. In the twi
light , father says , he looked , in his
white bear-skins , perfectly enormous
and incredible. And Philip "
She closed the book , holding it tight
in both hands , and leaning forward a
Httle sjjhj yjntjon , "and Philip , his
* *
description s unds = oh Tsuppose it's
silly , but it sounds like the thing I
thought I saw today when I was alone
them on the beach , before you came
flying down out of the sky. It didn't
look like a bear. It wouldn't have
been so dreadful if it had. " * - -
"It's possible , " hesald _ _ gravely , "it
may'have been he whonTTTrightened I
off when I came down last night. Cer
tainly there was somebody , and that
somebody may stiff be here on shore ,
though I supposed he had gone out to
join in the attack on the yacht But
it's very strange , if there is any one ,
that we could have passed a whole
day without encountering him. "
The girl shivered ; then , with a
shake of her head as if dismissing the
uncanny thought from her mind , said :
"You started to ask me about some
thing else , and I interrupted. "
It took him a moment to collect his
thoughts. "Oh , yes. There's some
thing marked here on this map which
I took at irst for the location of the
hut , but it appears now that it was
marked before they built it. * I wonder
if , in the early pages of the journal ,
there was a description of any natural
formation about here like a cave ,
"
or
She made as If to open the book ,
then , suddenly , changed her intention
and held it out to him , instead.
"I haven't been playing fair , " she I
said. "I wasn't really looking for any
thing. I was just reading stories and
dreaming over them. It's his hand
writing , I think , that makes It so hard
to be good. It's well , almost like
hearing his voice. Won't you work
the book and the maps and give me
something to do with my hands , I
mean ? oh , I know I'm tired , but that
doesn't matter. "
Cayreys first impulse was to refuse ,
but it needed only one thoughtful look
'
into her face to convince him that the
kindest as well as the wisest , thing
was to do as she asked. An uncanny
horror of the monstrous Roscoe and
the appalling idea that he , and per
haps others of his gang , might be
sharing the solitude of this frozen
coast with them was plainly to fce i
read in her eyes , and her own prescription - i
scription for dispelling it was probably - 1
ably the best that could be thought of.
With a nod of assent , he rose and
went into the storeroom , returning the <
next moment with an armful of heavy ]
rope.
"In the old days of wooden ships , "
he said , "when they wanted to disci
pline , a sailor , they set him to picking
oakum. Next to pounding rust off the
anchor , it's the dullest job In the
world. But we need some for calking
up the cracks in our. walls. Do you i
mind ? " 1
"Mind ! " she echoed. "Did ysra thin *
I wanted to do embroidery ? "
Ht showed her how the work was to
be done , and in five minutes she was
Jbusily engaged at it. She had moved
to another bunk , a little further from ,
the fire , and he , with innocent artifice ,
had contrived that the big soft sleep
ing-bag should be spread out under
her.
Meanwhile he plunged into a sys
tematic search , through journal and
maps , for the thing that was to spell
either life or death for them.
At the end of an hour he looked - p >
suddenly , an exclamation of triumph
on his lips. But at the sight of her , It
died out in a smile. She had slipped
down on the sleeping-bag , her head
cradled in the crook of one arm. And
she was fast asleep.
CHAPTER XV.
Discoveries ,
The sunlight of another crystalline
day had made a path of gold across
the floor and half way up the wall
when Philip roused himself from what
he had intended to make the merest
cat-nap on one of the bunks , and with ,
difficulty rubbed his eyes open. The
savour of something good to eat was
already in his nostrils.
Jeanne , with her back to him , was
Sending ovejMjie ire , busy with the
* * * '
IKkTastT She heard him stirring ,
and looked around. - w"WEO * * - ]
"Oh , I'm sorry/ she said. "I didn't
mean to bang that pan down that way.
I meant you to go on sleeping for
hours and hours. "
Looking fairly at him as he sat
there on the bunk she saw his hands
clutch tightly over the edge of it ;
saw the color go ebbing out of his
face and then come surging back
again. She had seen him do that once
before.
. "Why what's the matter , Philip ? "
she asked.
"It's just the wonder of you , " he
said slowly ; "of waking up to find you
here , busy about this home of our
as if as If it were all true. I've been
very deep asleep. "
"You'd better get ready for breakfast
fast/ ' she said , in a tone whose mat
ter-of-fact inflection was a little exag
gerated. "It's nearly ready. "
When they had finished , and while
they still sat face to face across the
board plank which had served them
for a table , Cayley leaned forward a
little and , smiling , asked a question.
"What's the secret , Jeanne ? Your
eyes have been shining with mystery
ever since we sat down here. "
She laughed. "You're much too pen
etrating. I didn't .mean . you even to
dream there was a mystery to pene
trate. But well , it's time to tell you
now. any way. "
She , too , leaned forward a little and
shook her head at him with a tanta
lizing air of triumph.
"You didn't find the thing you were
looking for last night in father's jour
nal the place where they hid the
stores , I mean. "
"Oh , but I did ! " he cried. "I only-
waited to give you time to eat-a nec
essary and sensible breakfast before
I spoke of it I had It on the tip of
my tongue to suggest that we set
about finding it in good earnest , when
I saw , in your eyes , that you had a
mystery of your own. "
It was evident from the look in
those eyes now that she was both sur
prised and puzzled.
"You found it last night ! " she ex *
claimed. "Found it in the journal ,
and then never went to look at it ! "
( TO BE CONTINUED. )
Valuable Asset.
Learn to say "No. " It will be ot
more use to you than to learn to rc-.d
Latin. Spurgeon.
\
"Why What'a the Matter , Philip ? "
