The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-09-30
THE SKY-MAN
HENRY KITCHELL WEBSTER
Author (cith Samuel Mroin) Of Calumet "K''
Copyright 1910 by The Century Company.

I the necessary formula Oh PROCEDURE
She knew i'm just what order you
pressed in those innocent-looking lit
! tie ornamental tacks in the brass
binding; remembered the right mo-
ment to turn the box up on Its end
| to let the just released steel ball roll
down its channel TO the pocket. where
/ it must lie before the last pressure
upon the last spring would prove eff
| fective. She no more faitered over 1t
than she would have faltered over her
alphabet.
And at last, when her numbed fin
/ gers had completed their task, the
| counter weighted lid rose slowly by
| itself Just as it had used to, and
! revealed TO her. swimming eyes the
! contents of the interior.
| Up 10 that moment she had not
! realized what the finding OF the des-
patch box meant. 1t had not oc-
CURED to her that a full account of
! her fathers expedition. narrative
which would reach, perhaps. TO the
morning of the last day OF all. was
! lying here. right under her eyes.
/ But now when the cover opened and
she saw beneath 1t thick volume,
bound In red morocco, she realized
that here, under her hand. was the
very object, in search of which the
Aurora had set out upon her periious
voyage.
With the first realization of what
the contents Of that book must be,
tragedy. and the central figure of it
her own father. the man she had loved
/ best in all the world she found il
almost impossible to open the book
She took 1t out OF the despatch box
and for a little while sat, dry-eyed
hugging the precious, poignant thing
up tight against her breast.
But at last she put the despatch
box To one side. brought the candle
nearer. so that its light would serve TO
read by. and began turning the pages
of the book
The first sight OF her fathers clear.
erect, precise handwriting warmed
| her with sudden courage. He had
not set out upon his voyage of dis
covery without weighing and expect
ing the possibilities OF failure and
death. Well. he had died, but he had
not failed. He had added new coast
line to the map Of the world. And she
knew knew as clearly as Ii his own
I spirit had stood there beside her talk
ing to her in his old. dearly remem-
bered voice that next to coming home
alive. bringing the fruits. OF his dis
coyery with him. his last wish in the
world must have been that that
should happen which had happened
uow.---that she. his daughter, should
hold that very book in her hands and
read the story. ana know that he had
not died in vain.
But even this new inspiration of
courage did not make her strong
enough to turn back and read the
last entry in that tragic journal first.
She tried TO do Ii, but the viii failed
her. SO she began AT the beginning
Once she had plunged into the fas-
einating narrative. the whole of the
outside world faded away for her She
was oblivious to the fact that the
darkness outside was no longer the
mere darkness of the fog: oblivious 10
the rising wind that poured It's icy
stream through the leaky walls of
the hut and made the candle flicker:
ohlivious, even. to the very sound
which she had meant TO wait for
the sound of Toms voice calling out
In her from the yacht. and the sound
of other, more alarming. nearer
voices
They all fell on deaf ears as she
turned page after page of that pre-
cteus record of her fathers life. 1t
WAS written. in the main. In the scien-
titic. obseryant. uninl FASHIONED temper
which she knew so well. He chroni-
cied those days OF peril. when their
ship, crushed In the ice. and only
kept from sinking by that very Ice
. which had Just destroyed her. was
drifting along in the pack. to what
seemed certain destruction. as quietly
and as explicitly as he did the un-
eventfnl voyage through Behring
Strait The mans courage was so
deeply elemental in him that he could
not be seif-eonscious about it
He told of the land. the strange,
lacharted shore, whose discovery Of
fered them respite. at least, from
that destruction; told how he got his
remaining stores ashore and built the
hut where, in all human proba hility,
he and his companions were to spend
the rest of their lives.
Finally she reached the record OF
the day when he had consigned to
the sea the bottle containing the chart
of the coast and the account OF his
plight. together with the course which
the relief ship must take. should such
relief ship be sent out. to have any
hope at all of reaching them
81 suppose" his narrative for this
day concluded, there lis hardly one
chance in ten thousand that my mes
sage will ever be picked up. and GER
tainiy not one in million that Ii will
be found in time TO bring an effective
relief. However. II helps to keep the
others cheerful. and that lis the main
thing"
At the close OF the days entry was
a single line which contracted her
heart with a sharp spasm of pain.
This is Jeannes birthday" II said.
(To BE Continued