Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-07-21


up. until some sound from him should
attract their attention, for. among the
crevices, the chutes and treacherous
ice bridges of the glacier top, they had
small leisure to give heed to anything
but their footing.
All of the party, but one man, were
dressed exactly alike, in hooded bear
skin shirts and breaches. and boots of
what he guessed was walrus hide. They
moved along with the peculiar wary
shuttle Of men accustomed, by long
habit, to the footing and to the heavy
combining garb they wore. So far as he
could see they were unarmed.
The other man was strikingly differ
ent. He appeared to be clad much as
Cayley was himself, in leather. rather
than in untanned hide. He seemed
slighter, sprightlier, and in every way
to conve the impression Of having
come more recently from the civilized.
habitable portion of the world tina his
companions. He carried a rifle slung
by a strap over his shoulder, evidently
forseeing no immediate use for 1t, and
a flask.
Cayley was toe far aloft for their
conversation to be audible to him, put
he could heal that they were talk
ing. The leather-clad man appeared to
be doing the most of 1t. and. from the
infection of his voice. he seemed to be
speaking in English.
From momen to moment Cayley kept
meaning to hail them, but, from mo-
ment to moment, he kept deferring the
action. 1t amused him a little to think
how much, in one way or another. the
hail might NEAR to those pIodding fig
ures down below. Now, or five minutes
from now: it could not matter to them.
And meanwhile he could guard that
hard-won aloofness from human en-
deavor, human fears and suffering and
limitations, a little longer.
Presently he noticed that the leather
clad man had forged a little ahead of
his companions, or, rather-like a flash,
this idea occurred to Cayley-that the
others were ~purposely tagging a little
behind. And then, before that sinister
idea could formulate itself into a def
mite suspicion, his eyes widened with
amazement, and the cry he would
have uttered died in his throat;
for this man. who had so innocently
| allowed the others to fall behind him.
suddenly staggered. clutched at some
thing-it looked like a thin ivory dart
that had transhxed his throat.
tugged it out in a sudden flood of
crimson. reeled a little. and Their went
backwards over the CLASSY edge of a
assure In the ice. which lay just to
the left of the path where he had been
walking.
From the instant when Cayley had
noticed the others dropping behind to
the last glimpse he had of the body of
the murdered man could hardly have
been five seconds.
The instant the murdered man dis
appeared another, who had not prevl-
ously been with the party. it seemed. APP
peared from behind a hummock of ice.
There could be no doubt, either, thai
he was the assassin, or that he was
the commander of the little group of
skin-clad figures that remained. The
ambush appeared to have been Ter-
fectly deliberate. There had been no
cutlery, not even a gesture of surprise
or Of remonstrance.
lCayley looked at the assassin Curl
ously. He was dressed exactly like
the others. but seemed very much
bigger; seemed to walk with less of a