Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-12-28
CHAPTER XIII.
FieIdIna,. oespsl

tAo0, Dof0op0, Q week 70 I've WIN
egooptional fortune, that week might
stretch itself into . month. The great
blue SPIRIT Of the arctic would darken
% purple, and to black. The icy hand
e - SAVAGE polar winter would get
n clutches upon them. They had
noGAing TO resist It with. No stores Of
asgnunition or Of food. No clothing.
e1oopt what they wore No fuel. save
Whist they could contrivo to gather
along the talus before the winter gales
would make further search impossible.
Neither Jeanne nor Cayley was Of .
soet to face the prospect OF that death
viii Fesignation. They were young.
lntsossly alive. and with Jeanne, at
least, the best and biggest part Of life
lay, or had lain until yesterday. in .
beoad opsn road before her. But q
prospect like tho one that lay before
4hem brings III own anaesthetic with
e Il VA 20 utterly hopeless that It
became unreal. The face Of the future.
lnto which she had cast just n hor-
fiaed glance, was % hideous that to
the girl, a4 least. It was like some
monster mask Of carnival-too gro
tssauely horrible to be taken seri-
ously.
That is partly the reason why she
succeeded in surprising Cayley by sit
ting down to breakfast with him in
u same mood and spirit which she
had shown before when she did not
know.
"Pm about half famished." she said
- they began their meal. "at least
that duck smells perfectly ire
eistible. It's done to a turn, I think.
n way. it's rather q joke that we
should begin our arctic %privations
with . roast duck"
There's something queer about that
hut" he said. something that gets
0ueerer the more I think about it.
why do you suppose the walrus PEG
pie abandoned it? Or, rather. do you
suppose they did abandon it? They
couldn't have built another house
without dismantling this me There
are no trees on this land to furnish
timber. and there certainly isn't any
hardware store where they could have
thooe doors swung on hinges. But
those doors swung On hanges last
ni4ht and the bolt worked. and. more
o. less, the walls and roof kept out
the gale. For this style Of architecture
rs In pretty good repair"
The girl was only half convinced.
''That great heap Of stones in there"
sAs5beGan. doesn't look like good 70
pair or recent habitation."
mo 1t doesn't" he rejoined. TITS
been made to look ~ little hat way
a. possible. It wouldn't have got into
that condition otherwise In 100 years.
Come, let's have a look. It's something
TO hope for, at any rate"
She followed him a little perplexed.
ITO hope for?" she repeated ques-
~tioningly.
he had already entered the hut, and
did not 1t once volunteer any further
explanation, but from the shine Of e1-
element she could see in his eyes, II
va evident that he contemplated
something better than merely hold
ing death ut arms length for a|
little while.
70 the girls eyes there was but 1T
tie about the interior of the hut to &C
couat for such . hope, wen though
eho nav that all Of the things he had
said about It were true. The dimsy
inner doors were still hinged to their
frames, and were provided with 81
miscellaneous assortment Of catches.
Il vas marine hardware. all Of It. evi-
dently from her fathers ship, the
Phoenix The hunks and shelves which
,linoA the walls looked perfectly solid
ga ven built. But the general ap-
'poerance Of the room presented . look
% lisrepair. Il was absolutely un-
fugnishsd. The great heap Of smoke
olasleensd stones. Of various sizes and
.sAaDss, and the heae in the roof above
tAem. attestsd that they had once
;boeo . fireplace.
From the forlorn aspect Of the room
fthe giri gladly turned her eyes away
sAaA stood looking ct Cayley instead.
He had been sweeping the walls. roof
80 1oof IN . general survey. Nov,
iAoe1ptly. he went ' e to the heap Of
i14ooes. picked up one Of them, rubbed
III thumb over It and scrutinised.
;W3tA an air Of considerable interest, !
!the black smear it left.
That would account for the drift
lWoo1." he said absently.
~ that he might have seen in the
girls face . look Of half-amused i'm
patience. but his abstraction was toe
ldeoD for him to notice 1t.
H walked over t one Of the side
,Wal1s. pulled open what proved to
~ . big solid shutter, revealing 81
$500 window. and. for q long while,
seooa there. unconscious of the leok
IL girl had turned upon him. uncon-
oe30ss Of his present surroundings.
Yes. something to hope for, certain
r. He turned away from the win.
~ % he said 1t, and smiled 1T her.
~ good hope-a good fighting hope
t1iaA when the relief comes back next
:o,i1ansner they'll ind you here alive"
lf,you say 90. TIL believe it." said
H. girl, because you told me the
tgNeA before. Bur do you mind telling
S1eyNAy?"
should have thought Of It soon.
go should have noticed II last
sla6aA Ny guess was right, that's all.
H. = not an abandoned hut. Don't
so0e, its IN almost perfect repair9
SH1aaEes n this shutter work, IL
4eH6GGAzt4 ynn look closely o can see !
S6&sGlDo one gave . tug 1T them not
Ak<16E 90 49, i