Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1910-08-13
A TIenryKh hchen Webst


not this season, at least; no possible
chance"
''And-how much ammunition have
you. Mr. Cayley?"
"Thirty-one cartridges. besides the
ones in the revolver"
He would have said something more,
but with little gesture she prevented
him. You've been thinking it ouf,r'
she said. You know what it means
now, and II feel that I don't. can't
quite realize it yet. You must give
me little time TO think, too"
He had to assent to that, though
ne knew. in advance, the direction her
thoughts must take. and foresaw the
dreadful conclusion of them. And the
answer he had to make to that con-
ciusion2 Well, he had IT ready.
How long that silence lasted, neither
Of them knew. He sat there beside her,
and yet even his eyes allowed her per-
feet solitude. He mended the fire and
attended to his cooking as quietly as
before, when the girl was reading.
finally little move of hers, pre-
paratory to speech, gave him leave
TO look at her. In those silent min
utes, however, long they were, her face
had changed. 1t was grave now, in
teRsely thoughtfuR but the color had
come back into it. 1t was alive again
when l asked you a while ago if
there were any chance, you asked me
II l meant chance for the return
of the Aurora, and said there was
none. That was what I meant then,
but it's not what I mean now Is
there any chance at all? 1 haven't
been able to see any myself. and I've
been over il all pretty carefully Do
you see any? You-you must tell me
the truth. please"
i haven't been trying to assess the
chances l spent my hour thinking
about something else. and / can't
answer your question really with
yes or a no."
Not with a yes. but can't you
answer it with a no? Aren't you per-
fectiy sure, in your heart, that there's
no chance at all?
Not yet he answered. There may
be A chance. and If there is, We can
meet il half way" Then he stretched
out his hand That red-bound book
there is our bible now. Do you remem-
Der what your father said7 We can
live like Christians. and we can always
hope He thought, when he put that
bottle. which contained his message,
into the sea, that there was hardly one
chance in a million of its resulting in
an effectual relief. Yet he went on
living as a brave man lives, a day at
a time. And when he died, he died
without fear. Doing that, he not only
helped himself, but he helps US in a
way that he couldn't possibly have
foreseen.'
Her eyes filled suddenly with tears.
and smile Of a divine sad tenderness.
touched for an instant her mouth
But that isn't our case. you know.
Ours isn't as simple as that
What makes the difference ," But
he knew the answer.
Your wings she said il hardly
above a whisper. and as she said il she
turned a little paler and her brave lips
trembied. But in an instant her win
had been taken IN command again. 7
am sure you see. It's quite plain she
went on steadily. IF you viii spread
them, those great wings of yours. and
take to the air with them. and fly
away, as you are free to do. and leave
me here alone, as l really am alone,
the only person marooned here-f
you'll do that, then III follow my
fathers gospel. But you won't go
away You can't,-not a man like YOU,
and I know that. l know ! mustn't
even suggest il.
Her voice sank again and grew un-
steady. While l am starving. you will
be starving too And while am freez-
ing. you VIII freeze" She stopped there
with shudder and a deep, gasping
sob. then, Won't you ge2" she cried
out You said once that one Of US
might be dreaming. but that one was
not l. Can't you believe its So Can't
you wake up from the dream that is
turning into nightmare. and fly awayg
No. you can't, You can't,-There is
only one way out of it,''
There was the conclusion he had fore
seen. had foreseen long before he could
formulate 1.-THE ineFitable conclusion
that had led him to pray for an hour
And now he thanked God that the
answer was ready.
CTs BE Cenfinued On sse1anS.l