Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-06

his craftsmanship somewhat uncertain.
He fired too soon. and though he did not
miss, the only effect his shot had was to
make the bear turn about and go sham
bling down the glacier toward the beach
with ungainly haste. Roscoe hurried after
him and fired two more shots. Whether
they hit or not he could not tell. Certain
~ they did not serve to check the bear s
flight. The next moment he had rounded
the corner Of the cliff and disappeared
down the beach in the direction of the
hut.
Roscoe hesitated. but only for a mo-
ment. then, with an oath. he set out i'm
pursuit. 1t was not SO much the protec-
ton which the rifle afforded him that
was responsible for this new courage as
it was that the mere feel of it In his
hands brought him back in touch once
more with the everyday matter-of-fact
world, and made his visions and ghosts
seem a little unreal.
1t was fully dark down here in the
shadow of the cliff. The numbering yell
low shape of the bear was indistinguisf-
able against the icy beach. That didn't
matter. for he could follow along we'll
enough by the bloody tracks the wounded
beast had left
The last of the twilight was still in the
sky. and half his chances were directed
thither. looking for something which he
told himself could not possibly exist. eX-
cept in his own fancy. yet fully expected
to see nevertheless, the shadow Of Cay
impending in the lower air, like brood
ing spirit. just above the tiny square OF
light which marked the location of the
hut
Roscoe abandoned his pursuit of the
bear; all thought Of 1t. in fact, was gone
from his mind; but he did not, as on
former occasion, drop down prone upon
the ground, his face buried in his arms;
nor did he turn and flee like one bag
ridden up the beach. He faltered. 1t Is
true, and his knees trembled beneath him.
and yet. slowly and with many pauses, he
made his way forward.
He was horribly afraid all the time.
but curiosity was all the while overpow-
ering fear. He was not more than two
hundred yards away when Cayley alight-
ed beside the girl.
At what he saw then Roscoe dropped
his rifle on the beach. with Whispered
OATH and rubbed his eyes. The light
which diffused itself from the open win
dow of the hut was not much. but 1t was
enough to reveal the fact that this great
man-bird, this golden winged spirit, which
had kept him in terror for his own san
ity all these months. was taking of his
wings and was folding them up in bun
die, in as matter-of-fact way as II he
We're furling an umbrella. He stood there
now, just an ordinary human figure Of
man: the very man. in fact, that he had
seen before and would have killed long
ago had it not been for his oyermaster-
ing terror of the thing with wings.
He presented fair mark now and was
i'm easy range but Roscoe was too thor
oughly astonished to seize the opportun-
ity, and In q moment 1t was gone again.
The two figures shrank Into the shadow
of the hut. and the next moment the light
disappeared.
When Cayley fired for the first time at
the bear Roscoe thought for moment
he was firing at him, but the venomous
hiss with which the wounded beast an
shot eHnlaino6 the
Roscoe squatted down on the beach and
set himself to thinking.
In the light of what he had just seen
the explanation of the thing which had
so puzzled and terrified him became al
most ludicrously simple. During the
years that had elapsed since any news
of the civilized world had come to him
somebody had invented flying machine