Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1910-07-25
THE SMY-MAN va ssyz sy .;y kitchen ss .s-ss. s..
BY Henry Kitchen .ves.ter

their own devices. ind came awa5
with his two companions. And until
the light Of that short day had begun
to fail they-the Walrus people-stayesl.
gloating over this strangely useless
treasure.
For three days after that the man
Roscoe never spoke a word On the
fourth day. when the little party as
sembled for their midday meal. the
eleven men of the WalIus were The only
ones TO, answer the summons Captain
Fielding and his two companions had
disappeared.
Captain Planck could not recall that
meal now without shuddering. for there
at the foot of the table, opposite 70
Eim. had sat the man Roscoe. with
murder written plain in every line of
his face He had looked a beast, rather
Than man, that day. The sated blood
lust in his eyes made them positively
terrifying. SO that he others shrank
away from him. He had seemed not
to notice 1t, at least not to take Of
fense at it. He --as in hilarious spirits
fer the first time since they had known
him: seemed really to try to be a good
companion.
Captain Planck abdicated his leader
ship that day. He was perfectly con-
scious of the fact He had known that
to retain the leadership he must take
that murderer out and execute him.
He knew that IL he did not do this
the murderer. not he, would hereafter
command the party, and that unless
he himself yielded the promptest
obedience of any. he would follow the
luckless trio whom they were never to
see again
From that day to this there had been
no more murders. Roscoe had ruled
them with decision and a trucuIence
which put anything like insubordina-
ton out OF the question. He had been
cbeyed better than Captain Planck ever
had been. He had worked them fierce
ly all those four years. cutting ever
lastingly. at that wonderful. exhaust
less golden ledge, beating the fr:able
ore out of 1t with heavy mauls. then,
lsboriously, conveying the great rude
slabs of pure metal on rough sledges.
over the perpetual ice of the glacier.
to cave near the shore, where they
had deposited it. There were literally
tons of 1t hidden there when the smoke
from the yachts funnel was first seen
OF. the horizon.
The moment the news of the an
preaching steamer was reported to Ros-
coe he had entered upon what seemed
TO his followers a thoroughly IRA
tional and inexplicable line of action.
He had ordered them. first. to remove
all signs of recent habitation from
the hut to the cave where their gold
was concealed; then, to cover the cave
mouth with heap of boulders. to Sc
cure 1t against discovery.
Long before the strongest glass on
the ship could have made out their
moving figures he took the whole party
back to the hills in hiding. He had
kept them from answering the halls
and the gun-fire from the yacht by the
sheer weight Of his authority, without
vouchsafing word OF explanation
The next day they had seen the
searching party come ashore, and with
their knowledge of the lay Of the land
found 1t perfectly easy to evade obser-
walton. though nothing but the strong
est habit of obedience kept them from
courting it,
Then. along in the afternoon, had
happened what seemed to them the
strangest thing of all. They had seen
a solitary straggler from the searching
party coming alone across the ice. He
could not see them. It would have
been perfectly easy to evade him. but
Roscoe now ordered them to go down
to him and tell him who they were
and to offer to escort him along the
trail down the glacier. And at a GER
tain point they were to lag behind and
let him so on alone That was all any
Of them knew Of their leaders plans
till the saw the flying dart and the
smudge OF crimson on the snow.
Now. at last. came Planek to the
leader. asking the reason why. But
his mission. as it appeared. had not
prospered.
srs BE conslnued Temerrew.)