Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-03

this bit of beach," he said, I'VE can't be
rushed nor surprised. No one can attack
us without either coming down the
glacier at one end. or around the prom
ton they've got to approach without
cover. OF course If there are lot of
them, we sha have any chance. But
it may be there's only one. and it's likely
that there are not more than three.
But at night" said the girl, at night
there'n be nothing to prevent their COM
ing as close as they please. They may be
out there now, not dozen yards away.
They're not doing much If they are.
We're securely barricaded here. and they
i can't attempt to break in without giving
us fair warning. Unless there are too
many of them we should beat them at
that game. No: the time 10 look out for
them is when we're outside the hut, out
on the beach doing the things we'll have
to do-bringing in firewood, looking for
more game, and so on.
Shall we have to do that? can't we
just stay in here. safe?"
The daylight will answer that question
for me- he said. I'VE must make the
most of it, A month from now there'll
be but little We mustn't make prisoners
of ourselves until the winter does 1T for
us. There is one thing. though" he add
ed thoughtfully after little silence. one
thing that ! must do at once. and that Is
to destroy these sheds where they kept
..
as good cover as any enemy could ASK
for. They hinder our view up the beach.
How long do you suppose it will last
she asked, in voice that shook little
How long can it last? How long can
we live like that, even Supposing that our
watch is effective and that they aren't
able to surprise us?" She clasped her
hands. with a shudder. and gripped them
between her knees. ''Oh, if it would only
happen soon,' she went on, Whatever
it isl
What | don't understand" said Cay
ley lis why they haven't attacked us al
ready. Why have they waited until we
are fortified and secure? Why didn't
they attack us yesterday morning when
they would have found us helpless"
"Or yesterday afternoon she supple
mented. down, the beach around the
promontory, then, when we know he must
have been so near. That's rather horri-
BILE all by itself, just the fact that ne
didn't"
What the girl said was perfectly true
Cayley felt it himself sharply as she
did. Aside from that one element in 1T,
their situation, though terrible. was real
was the sort of situation that sufficient
ly determined courage and sufficient
ly alert wariness could cope with.
But their immunity from attack during
all those hours when the enemy must
have been close at hand. and when OPP
portunitieS for attacking had been Sc
plentiful, had something uncanny about
it, and gave to this terrible adventure OF
theirs something of the quality of horror
'.Of course said Cayley. there must
be a perfectly valid explanation of it.
and it may be one that we can discover
for ourselves, if we set about it,
So, as sanely and as logically as poSsl-
ble dismissing as far as they could the
nameless dreadful terror that surrounded
the situation. they began to reconstruct
the story of the member or members. OF
the Walrus' party who had not been
aboard the Aurora when the gale drove
her out to sea.
1--WE both slept late that morning.
said Cayley. 1.-The yacht was gone when
we came out of the hut and first looked
seward 1 expected at that time to find
part of the Walrus party camped near
by l opened the hut door cautiously on
that account, and my reason for assum-
ing that none of them was left here was
the idea that they'd have been here on
the beach near the hut. if they'd been
anywhere. Well, we know now that that
assumption was wrong. There was some
one here any way. It's probable that
with the very first return of the light he
discovered the fact that the Aurora had
been blown out to sea, hours before we
did.
Yet no one came near the hut all day,
and I take that to mean that they, or he.
avoided it. 1t would have been an OBJ
they avoided it, unless because they knew
that we were here. If they knew, they
certainly had plenty of opportunities to
attack u.s. because we were often sepa-
rated that day. 1 was in the hut and you
were out on the beach gathering fire.
wood
(To be continued tomorrow