Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-28

that they could see the Pickering red OF
the freight shining out through the win
DOW that the girl turned TO him and said.
WIN shaky laugh: Isn't II absurd
that really cheerful sight like that. a
mouse with an open fire blazing upon the
hearth, should make one. suddenly. home
SICK? Even through the twilight he
could see that her eyes were misty with
unshed tears. Try not to mind she
added; IN brace up i'm minute But
somehow. the first sight of it-caught
me-
Jeanne was rather tall for woman
adoring. fond young men back home had
sometimes described her as stately-but
TO Philip, as she stood before him now,
she looked small and strangely childlike.
He had an impulse-an impulse that
frightened him a little when he became
aware OF ito take her in his arms and
pull up close and comfort her. \ tardily
checked gesture with both arms and a
pair of suddenly opened hands betrayed
the impulse to himself. well to the
girl. and he got the impression that she
had started to respond to it; that within
those strong arms of his was just where.
at that moment, she wanted to be.
But the next instant he laid a hand
upon her arm and, with the other. pointed
lmperatively down the beach toward the
nut. Whether you saw him before, or
not he said. with short grim laugh,
you can see him now
Looking where he pointed. she saw
big, yellowish-white, ungainy thing
come numbering round the corner of the
hut. upon all tours.
A bear he said. 'and good big one
You're not to be afraid. This is really
unmerited good luck
Aren't they dangerous, these polar
bears?" she asked.
In his answering laugh she heard the
ring of rising excitement. Il won't
deny" he said. that if l had my way
about it, I'd have you safely shut up in
side the hut there before l tried conclu-
sions with him. Give me the revolver.
and take care to Keep out OF the line OF
the hut. do it. And don't assume that
he's dead until l tell you so. These polar
bears have no nerves at all. You can't
shock them. They don't stop until you
have put their locomotor facilities COM
pletely out of business"
She was smiling when She handed him
the revolver. Here's luck" she said.
Don't be afraid for me-
Cayley smiled too. Keep behind me.
but not SO far that you're in danger OF
getting cut off in case 1 have to dance
around him little. There, he's winded
us already
Even at that distance and in the fading
light the girl saw the monster bristle ana
throw up his lolling head with suddenly
arrested attention. To her intense aston
ishment, instead of the snarl she expect
ed, she heard venomous, voiceless hiss
There was something dreadful about the
the weird. insufficient light and the shape
of the beast, which doomed ghostly
through it. gave her a sensation OF
dread wholly unrelated to the actual
physical danger in which they stood.
Cayley turned for a last look at her.
He had slipped his bundled wings from
his back and laid them on the ice. He
was still smiling, but somewhat ironically.
I'm half afraid he'll run away" he said.
land half afraid he won't"
The next instant all doubt on that head
was set at rest. The monster Kissed
again, and came numbering toward them.
pretty rapidly, across the ice.
Cayley advanced slowly to meet him,
but not in a direct line. Instead, he bore
off in a curve to the left. The girl I'M
derstood the maneuver instantly. and.
herself, set out landward at a brisk pace,
moving in the arc of a circle. parallel to
his hut larger. in such way as to keep
the bear, Philip and herself. as all three
moved in different directions. In a
straight line.
They quartered round i'm this way, the
bear swerving i'm we'll toward Philip. un-
til all three were in line, about eQuidis-
tant from the hut. Philip and the bear
were, perhaps. a dozen PAGES apart.
without turning, he called over his
shoulder to her. Nov run for it-for the
hut I'll keep him amused out here"
(To be continued tomorrow