Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-08-27
Copyright 1915 by The Century Co. Copyrlehf
1s09-1sl0 by The Success Company.

Inc next instant Roscoe was bending
over h body, jerking sayagely at the
frozen buckles. which resisted his i'm
patient fingers. But they would not be
denied. If they were clumsy. the
hands were strong.
It was not five minutes later when
Roscoe. rifle and ammunition belt in
his hands, was hurrying on toward his
cave once more. The body lay just
where his desecrating hands left ii.
The rifle was uninJnred; thai he had
seen at q glance though, OF course, all
the mechanism of its breeeh was frog
en- fast. But a half hours hard work
with cleaning rod and rags OF what
once had been a shirt, sufficed to put
it into commission again.
Then, with the rifle over his shout
der, he swaggeIed out OF the cave. with
his first glance abroad, he started. His
devil was being kind to him today.
There could be no doubt of that. Only.
was he being too kind? Roscoe won
dered a little ~uneasily. For. shambling
along the ice through the thickening
twilight, not a hundred PAGES away.
was a big bear Roscoe was tired OF
wairus e The thought Of q bear
~ AS1A
Three years disuse, however, had
made his craftsmanship somewhat url-
certain. 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 stumbling 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. Certainly they did
not serve to check the bears flight.
The next momen 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
in pursuit. II was moi so mucn the
protection which the rifle afforned him
that was responsible for this new cour-
age 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.
It was fully dark down here in the
shadow of the cliff. The numbering
yellow shape of the bear was indis-
tinguishable against the icy beach.
That didn't matter, for he could follow
along we'll enough by the bloody tracks
the wounded bear had left.
The last of the twilight was still in
the sky, and half his glances were d.
rected thither. looking for something
which he told himself could not posi-
bly, exist. except in his own fancy, yet
fully expected 10 see nevertheless, the
shadow of Cayley's great wings. And
at last he saw it impending in the
lower air. like a brooding 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 it. in fact. was
gone from his n1Nnd: but he did not, as
on a former occasion, drop down prone
upon the ground, his face buried in his
arms; nor did he turn and flee like
one hag-ridden up the beach. He fall
tered. it is true. and his knees trem-
bled 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 over
towering fear. He was not more than
two hundred yards ava when Cayley
alighted beside the girl.
At what he saw then Roscoe dropped
his rifle on the beach. with a whispered
oath, and rubbed his eyes. The light
winch diffused itself from the open
window of the hut was not much. but
it was enough to reveal the fact that
this great man-bird. his colder winged
spirit which had kept him in terror
for his own sanity all these months
was taking on his wings and was
folding them up into a bundle. in as
matter of fact a way as if he were
furling an umbrella. He stood there
now, just an ordinary human figure of
a man; the Very a in fact. that he
had seen before and would have killed
long ago had it not zen for his over
mastering terror of the thing with
wings.
He presented a fair mark now and
was in easy range but Roscoe was foo
thoroughly a~stonished TO seize the OPP
portunity. and in a moment It was gone
again. The two figures shrank into b
shadow Of the hut. and the next mo-
ment the light disappeared.
When Cayley fired, for the first time.
at the bear Roscoe thought for a mo-
ment he was firing at him. but the
venomous hiss with which the wounded
beast answered the shot explained the
situation Roscoe squatted down on
the beach and set himself to thinking.
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