The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-09-15
CHAPTER Il.
1ffHF EFT ~.
THE GIRL ON TILE ICE EYOE.

THE GIRL ON THE ICE FLOE.
She stood there on the foe confront
ing him. not ten feet away, and at
sight of her Philip Cayleys eyes wild
ened. What in the world" he gasp
ed Then started at her speeches..
She was clad. down TO the knees In
sealskin, and below its edge he could
see the tops of her small fur trimmed
boots. Upon her head she wore lit
tie turban-like cap Of seal. The smart
~ tailored lines of the coat empha
sized her young slenderness. Her boot
maker must have had a reputation
upon some metropolitan boulevard, and
her head-gear came clearly under the
category of what is known as modes.
Her eyes were very blue and her hair
was golden, warmed. he thought. as
she stood there in the orange twilight,
with a gliat of red.
Cayley gasped again. as he took in
the details of this vision. Then he
collected himself. IL beg your par
dom he stammered. Il don't mean
TO be rudely inqusitive, but what in
the world, is a person like you doing
in this part of it.-that is. If you are
real at all? This is latitude rs. and
no photographer who ever lived has
put that coast-line yonder into his
maps. Yet here, in this nameles bay,
| find 81 yacht. and on this ice foe.
in the twilight. you."
She shook her head a little impa-
tlentIy and blinked her eyes. as il TO
clear them Of vision. "Of course,
she said. 81 know I've fallen asleep,
and this is "a dream of mine, but even
for dream. aren't you a little unrea-
sonable? Yachts are a natural mode
of conveyances across the ocean. You
find them in many bays,--sometimes in
nameiess ones--and they always have
people on them. But you--you come
wheeling down, out of night sky,
like some great nocturnal bird, and
alight here on the foe beside me.
And then you change yourself into a
man and look at mo jnsurprise. and
ask me, In English. what in the world
1 am doing here,-I and the yacht;
and ask me if I'm real"
There was a moment of silence af-
ter that. Unconsciously they drew a
little nearer together. Then Cayley
spoke. I'm real. at any rate" he said;
Eat least I'm a tax payer, and ! weigh
100 pounds, and l have name and
address It's Philip Cayley, II that
will make me seen more natural, and
my headquarters this summer pre- over
on Point Barrow"
"But that's five hundred miles
away" she protested.
rs it?" he said indifferently. 1--WE
been awning all day, and l haven't
come down for an observation once.
j don't know just where / am. I've
been feeling a little unreal for hours,
or, rather, the world has. And now,
al the end OF 1t. find IA person like
you here I'm the twilight" he fin
ished the broken sentence with a GEES
ture.
I'm not dreaming. them" she asked
obviously
No" he said "if either of us Is
dreaming, it's not YOU May ] furl up
my wings and talk to you for while? p
Her eyes were on the broad spread,
shimmering planes which lay on the
ice behind him. She seemed hardly
to have heard his question, though she
she answered IL with an almost voice
less yes Then she approached.
half fearfully, the thing he called his
wings"
1T is made of quite commonplace
materials" he said with sn1ile-"split
bamboo and carbon weri and catgut
and a fabric OF bladders, cemented
with fish glue And folding it up is
rather an ungainiy Job. The birds still
have the advantage of me there. In
a strong wind it's not very easy TO do
without damaging something. Would
YOU mind slipping that joint for me
that one right by your hand? It's
just like a fishing rod"
She did as he asked. and her smile
convinced him that she had at least
half guessed his purpose In asking the
service of her. The next moment her
words confirmed 1t.
You wanted me to make sure, 7 sup
pose. that II would not turn into a
great roc when / touched il and fly
away with me TO the Valley Of Dia-
monds." She patted the furled wing.
gently, with both hands. Il suppose"
she continued, zone could dream as
wildly as this. although / never have
unless. of course. this Is a dream.
ITO be continued.)