The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-07-24
CHAPTER IV.
THE THROWING STICK.


ooh, I suppose" said Jeanne,
there s no use worrying
Across the table from where she sat
at breakfast in the snug. warm, lux
urious little diniug-room on the yacht,
old Mr.. Fanshaw methodically laid his
coffee spoon in the saucer beside his
cup, and looked up at her with his
slow. deliberate smile.
MY DEAR he said, "remember
that Tom is, in the, party. Unless they
find everything that, by the utmost
stretch of hope. they could find. he
would insist on keeping up the search
as long, as the light lasted, and when
the light failed, there would be no
more light TO come home by Don t
think of worrying; | don't We II
hear nothing of them for hours
~ wont be as long, as that. she
predicted confidently. "My sky-man
WaIl yTan probably bring me news before
Old Mr.. Fanshaw halted his coffee
cup half way to his lips. ''Your-
what?' he questioned. !sOh. / under
stand. And then he laughed. But
his face grew suddenly serious, and he
locked intently, curiously, into hers
F." My child!' he cried; "it cant be
that you. are taking that dream of
y P'NiS 1'i lpuSlNa II lUOnRUU lnaT,
would have to believe that this queer
Arctic climate was doing strange things
with those nimble wits Of yours. A
man alighting on the ice-floe, out of
mid air, and telling you that he had
lust dropped in from Point Barrow
Us like the flight from the moon Of
Cyrano de Bergerac."
She pressed her finger tips thought.
fully against her eyclids NI know, y
Snp enid FGtf' norFnc,1,, /.
Uncle jerry, but it's perfectly true for
Nonsense! Nonsensel'' he said ex.
plosively., Don t carry joke too
far. my dear
I" S ANYTHING but joke she said
slowly, land if il was a dream-if he.
the sky-man, was nothing but vision,
mir Of his visit" Then. with nod
toward the buffet, she spoke to Mr..
Fanshaw''s big. negro valet who was
serving their breakfast: Gland Mr..
Fanshaw that queer looking stick, Sam,
the one on the buffet. Why-why,
what IS the matter7' For she had lifted
her eyes to the man IS face as she fin,
ished speaking, 1t was wooden with
fright, and the whites showed all
around The pupils of his eyes.
mo, Miss jeanne he said, "Scuse
me. wouldn't touch dat stick. not
for all De gol' and Jewels in de world !;
not even to oblige him. !"
whats that7'' Fanshaw exclaimed,
whirlng upon him. "What do YOU
meant me MY What the devil. are y9u talk
7'I seen him. Mr.. Fanshaw: seen
him myself. comm down out of dc
sky llas' night. was out on deck,
Fanshaw looked quickly from the ne.
gro s face to the girl s, as if he sus.
pected a hoax, but the terror in one
face and the ,mystifieaton in the other
were obviously genuine
Then he rose and went over to the
buffet, returning to the table with the
oddly.shaped. rudely- whitfield stick.
" Do you mean to say" he demanded
looking up at the girl with a puzzled
frown-" do you mean TO say that he.
the man YOU dreamed about. made you
present of this stick7''
She, laughed, off that seems rea.
1T slipped ont of his belt and 7 found
1t where he had been sitting. But you
you imagine what he used il for7p
.'Oh. | know what il is. but that
only makes the puzzle all the deeper.
1T S an, Eskimo throwine-stick They
use it to shoot darts with. 1t hes in
the palm of the hand, so, and the darr
- P'L III iueib SlDtEt- iUDu1n tllp DlIIf
OF this one seems curiously misshapen
| can t make it fit my hand. But !
can 7 figure out how the thing got
aboard the yacht: IT WASH t here yes
terdav. -
"Of course not she said. "my
sky man brought it
He ran his fingers through his bushy
grey hair pcrplexedly. Then laid the
thing down and seated himself at the
table. cat any rate" he said, 1--WE
needn't let even mystery spoil our
breakfast. Come, my dear. YOU 'ye
eaten almost nothing, That omelet de-
serves better treatment
almost Immediately laid il down again.
and he saw her eyes brighten with
tears, "Of conrse. II there'd been any
news, if there d been anything TO find.
we d have heard"
Silently he reached across the table