The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-07-17
Copyrighted 1910 by the Century Company
Copyrighted by the Success Company

| InGTe Wlpu DGlHHb Ulto VI Soioit -,pN''p
poppy. he Judged IL to be, and saxi'
frage Hugging the base of the noun
tain on the opposite slde of the valley
then notching the cliff and grinding
down to sea at the other side of 1T was
a great white glacier, all the winter
contrast with the brown mountain side
and the green-clad valley.
Up above the glacier, on the farther
side, were great broad yellow patches,
which he would have thought We're
poppy fields, but for the impossibility
of their growing in such n place. No
vegetable growth was possible, he
would have Thought, against that clean;
cut. almost vertical, rocky face. And
yet what else could have given it that
blazing yellow color9 Some day he
was to learn the answer to that ques-
ton.
But the thing that caught his eye
now, that made him start and draw
in little involuntary. gasp Of wonder,
was the sight Of a little clump OF black
dots moving slowly, almost impercept-
IDLY from this distance. across the face
of the glacier. He blinked his eyes,
as if he suspected them of playing him
false, these tiny dots were men.
Instinctively, he shifted his balance
little TO the left. lowering his left
wing and elevating his right, and be
gan reaching along thwartwise to the
wind, in their direction,
Presently he checked himself in mid
flight, wheeled and hung, soaring, while
I he restrained that rebellious instinct
of his an instinct which would have
led him to sail down into the midst
of them and hold out his hand for q
welcome, What were mankind to hlmY
Why should the sight Of them make his
heart beat little quicker?
They must be white. He felt sure
of that. for this land could hardly have
any permanent inhabitants And. of
course, he meant to 60 for nearer
| look Probably he would descend
among them; find out who they were,
where their ship was. and If they We're
in distress, he would then set sail
through the air to carry news of their
plight to those who might effect res, res,
cue. But not upon that first instinct
of his for companionshlp with his fel.
low men; not until his heart was beat
ing with It's normal rhythm again.
He wheeled once more, anS then
sailed slowly in their direction Their
laborious progress down the glacier led
them away from him, so that he came
ling their attention. The Arctic sun
was too low to cast his shadow across
them. and he hung. at last, unremark-
ed, directly ovor their heads. There
was small likelihood that they would
look mp, 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 skirts and breechcs, 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
confining garb they wore. So far as
he could see they were unarmed.
The other man was strikingly differ
ent. He appeared to be clad as Cayley
was himself, in lenther, rather than in
untanned hide He seemed sightcr,
vey the impression of having come
more recently from the civilized, habit
able portion of the world than his com
panions. He carried rifle slung by
strap over his shoulder, evidently
foreseeing no immediate use for it. and
flask.
Cayley was too far aloft for their
conversation to be audible TO him. but
he could hear that they were talking.
The leatherclad man appeared to be
doing the most of it, and, from the
infection Of his voice, be seemed TO
be speaking in English.
From moment TO moment Cayley kept
meaning TO hail them, but, from mo-
mcnt to moment, he kept deferring the
how much. In one wny or another, that
hail MIGHT mean to those plodding 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
endcavor, human fears and suffering
and limitations. little longer.
Presently he noticed that the leather
clad man had forged 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 definite
suspicion. his eyes widened with amaze
ment, and the cry he would have ut.
tered died in. his throat; for this man,
who had so innocently allowed the
others TO fall behind him, suddenly
staggered, clutched at something-it
looked like a thin ivory dart-that had
transfixed his throat. tugged it out in
sudden flood of crimson, reeled
| little and then went backwards over
the CLASSY edge of fissure in the ice,
which lay just to the left Of the path
whore 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 bad not previ-
| ously been with tho party, it seemed
appeared from behind a hummock Of
ice There could be no doubt either
that he was the assassin. or that he
was. the mander of the little group
of skin-clad figures that remained. Tho
ambush appeared to have been perfectly
deliberate, There had been no outcry
not even a gesture Of surprise OF of
| remonstrance,
Caylev 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 slouch
and had. even to Cayley's limited view
Of him. IN air Of authority. Caylev
was surprised at his not being armed
with bow, for he knew Of no other
way in which dart could have been
propelled with power enough. even at
close range, to have transfixed man s
throat The assassin's only weapon,
| Gov T,,1 of oxfra Jorfg