Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1910-08-23


The cave was situated some Iittle
distance upsthe glacier, and the short
vest. though by far tho more ddf1cult.
Fwny OF reaching his destination lay,
not aaong the beach, but up through
the interior valley and across the
Eprectpitous coast range OF hills.
It was not the natural way to 90.
but the fant that It was actually
shorter gave him sort OF excuse for
gvoidinE another visit. just now. % the
scene OF his discontinue OF the night
before He swore at himself. not 30
much for taking this course as Tor the
reasons whaoh his common sense al
sieged against him.
His present route took him close to
the gold ledge, and the sight Of the
inexhaustible, precious, useless metal
that remained here brought upon ham
of his loss. a sense Of what that luck
less trip ashore from tho Aurora In
search Of that rosewood box had cost
him.
At an increased pace he descended
from tho glacier. crossed the valley
and scaled the landward side OF one
OF the mountains of the coast range,
to a notch where he could command a
view of the sea to the westward.
He saw there what, In the bottom
of his mind, he had all along been sure
he would see-nothing but another
barren, bleak horizon
At that, for q while. his fortfsude
broke down. and he raved and wept
and cursed like one dementsd- But at
last, spent, sobered. conscious once
more OF a sharp hunger, he climbed a
little farther up the mountain to the
ledge, where, as his minute knowledge
of the country led hfrn to expect, he
found number Of looms sitting. He
killed one of these birds with a dart.
and then, like the brute he was, ate 1t
raw and warm.
By that time It YVES fHt5-en the after
noon. Bravado, combined with more
real belief than he had yet succeeded
In retaining. to the effect that all his
terror of the night before had resulted
from nothing more serious than a
nightmare, led him to decide to go
home by way Of the beach. rather than
along the difffcu1t interior trail up
which ne had come.
The descent from the cliffhead 10 the
beach was nothing to man OF his IN
human strength and activity, though
an ordinarily skilled noun taineer might
have hesitated before attempting II.
Nevertheless, two-thirds of the way
down he nearly felk-but for luck he
would have fallen, for he caught
glimpse OF a lonely figure, q quarter OF
a mile away, perhaps, seated upon
ledge, bending forward, chin In hand,
In an attitude which recalled, and hor-
ribly echoed. that OF the man he long
ago had murdered.
When he had steadied himself a little
he made his way cautiously down to
the level of the beach. His emotions
were divided about equally between
fear and anger. the anger existing be-
cause of the fear
With infinite caution he approached
that lonely. unsuspecting figure, slip
ping from the shelter of one rock to
that of one little nearer
Three times his left hand drew back
the throwing-stick, balanced and aimed
along q line that would send its thin
ivory dart as swiftly and as surely
to that beautiful throat as the one that
had found and transfixed Perry Hun
ter's; and three times his muscles
braced themselves for the effort to
propel 1t. But each time, with a breath
less oath, he lowered the weapon again,
and with the back of his hairy hand
wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The act had none of the quality OF
mercy, in 1t; It was simply the result
OF logical dilemma. If the thing he
saw before him were q ghost, the ghost
OF the man he had already murdered.
HIS dart would do no harm. II 1t were
not ghost; II It were what It looked
more and more like as he drew nearer.
q living, breasazips xEernanr-he licked
31isa Lips srd wruPA tnsna With his HAND