The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-21
The Sky Man

ing 10 have IL put decorously before me |
on plate. / suppose. though. she add
ed. IL shall be entirely reconciled TO forks |
before j get chance to eat with another. |
Shall you make me one out of a walrus
tusk. or an old tin can. or something?-l
Why. what arc YOU thinking about?'
There's something queer about that |
hut" ne replied. something that gets |
9ueerer the more ! think about Il Why
they did abandon it?''
II don't see exactly what you mean,
or course II is bandoned-uttery. We
He shook mis- head I'm not sure Blu,
put the question the other way. Why
did they? What possible reason could
there have been for such a move?"
''They. might have found 1t unhealthfui
or unsafe
The girl answered absently. for half OF
her mind was exploring the drift of Cay
ley's. and did not find IT,.
Your father lived here for years.
he went on, and the walrus people must
while-afterwards. For certainly the
place hasn't been abandoned very long.
given up hope OF a rescue. and so didn't
care to stay on the beach. They might
have found some more convenient place
in the interior"
the theory won't worls-tor just this rea-
son. They couldn't have built. another
There are no trees on this land to furnish
timber, and there certainly isn't any
hardware store where they could have
bought nails. bolts and hinges. But those
| doors swung on hinges last night and the
bolt worked. and. more or less, the walls
| and roof kept out the gale. For this
! style OF architecture it's In pretty good
| repair"
The girl was only half convinced,
| That great heap OF stones In there
| hal
NO, 1t doesn't" he rejoined. ITS
been made to look as little that way as
possible. It wouldnt have got In into that
Come. let's have look. It's something
10 hope for. at any rate
She followed h J him n LITTLE perpeXedi
He had already entered the hut, and
did not at once volunteer any further
explanation, but from the shine OF ex-
element she could see in his eyes II was
evident that he contemplated something
better than merely holding death at
| arms length for a little while.
To the girls eyes there was little about
| the interior OF the hut to account for
such a hope. even though she saw that
all of the things he had said about II
| were true. The f1msy inner doors were
still hinged 10 their frames, and were
provided with a miscellaneous assortment
OF 1t. evidently from her fathers snip.
the Phoenix. The hunks and shelves
| which lined the walls looked perfectly
l solid and well built But the general
appearance OF the room presented look
of disrepair. 1t was absolutely unfur-
nished. The great heap OF smoke black
ened stones. of various sizes and shapes.
and the hole In the roof above them, at
tested that they had once been fire
place.
the girl gladly turned her eyes away. and
stood looking al Cayley instead. He had
been sweeping the walls, roof and floor
Went over to the heap of stones picked
up one OF them rubbed his thumb over
IL and scrutinlzed. with an air OF consid-
cradle interest. the black smear 1t left
THAT would account for the DRIFT
wood" he said, absently.
AT that he might have seen In the
girls face look OF half-amused impa-
tience, but his abstraction was too deep
| for him to notice II
He walked over to one Of the side
walls, pulled open what proved TO be a
big solid shutter, revealing a glazed win
dow, and, for a long while, stood there
unconscious OF the look the girl had
turned upon him, unconscious OF his pres
ent surroundings.
"Yes. something to hope for certain,
iy" He turned away from the window
as he said 1t. and smiled at her, "A
when the relief comes back next sum-
mer they'll find you here alive"
III you say so, IN believe IT," SAID me me
u should have thought of II sooner.
should have noticed IL last night; MY
, an abandoned hut Don't you see its
In almost perfect repair? The hinges on
this shutter work. although II you look
closely YOU can see that someone gave
! a tug at them not long ago In. an at
tempt to pull them out. And that patch
, On the wall was put on within month
The men who wrecked this place worked e,
, hastily and showed no great degree oi
imagination. They hadn't much time
you see. because they couldn't have be-
gun until they caught their first gb!impssf bd ISs
before they could send party ashore
But why in the world should they dc
such thing" s the cir! protested TSSsUf work cd
: that out yet. not fully at any rate, AT
) ter all. It's not the question that con-
Germs us" =, yyso.
! die YOU mean about the drift wood2"
I "Why. the SCOT on these stones showec
me that. They haven't peen Durillhs
drift wood in this fireplace. They've beer
burning coal-or oil, perhaps. | hadn, !,
? thought OF that That's why the drift
: wood collected again out Ihero on tn'
' of having used II all' There have beer
dozen men living here ever since. anC
:. they didn't need IL. So they must nave
had some other sort OF fuel
You mean they've got a supply some
= | where-hiddenE
b " He He nodded. Not only a supply of fuel
/. but OF IOOQs TOO. tpu leih'ilpcL 80
I, father also speaks OF having his larde
r completely stocked for the winter az tni li
D time. Well. these fellows weren't eX
e pecting any relief. They must have
n stocked their larder, too, OF course, h
y went on a moment later Il realize
e vaguely all along that there must u
y stores somewhere here on the land be
5 cause mon were living here. but on IN
9 theory that they had abandoned IN IN
= beach and were living in so!3A nndis
covered par, of the mainland. our chane
: ~ fndine those stores was almost noth
3 Ing at all. Finding them would be Llk
e trying TO find Point Barrow IN iog
u But You see IL they kept them here II
, these huts. and then hid them when the,
!; caught sight OF the yacht, while they ma;
iiss he we'll hidden. they can't be tar aN1y
8 There wouldn't have been time TO NOV
3 them far: certainly not over the glacle
r and Into the interior there. II must ~
be hidden somewhere, here on the coas,
n =. Ia tbot hiding pl0ce, we Shal