Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-06

side of the hut, crOuching down not
more than twenty PAGES away and waited.
Already the fire was burning finely and
the silhouetted outline Of the nut was
plain against the glow of it.
His plan was good one. The people
inside the hut would have no choice and,
probably. no thought, but OF escape.
When they rushed out as they almost
and plainly visible to him against the
glow OF the fire behind them, it would
be easy, from the safe shelter of the
darkness. to shoot-the man.
Roscoe's hands Were trembling little,
but not with fear. He must not fire too
soon. That was all. He must wait until
the mans body presented clean mark
against the bright illumination of the
fire. 1t would be too easy shot to
miss: and the woman would be left de-
fenselesS. without even the inadequate
and temporary shelter of roof and four
walls.
1t was only, indeed. by the merest hairs
breadth that Roscoe's plan failed to work:
The instinct of escape by the nearest
way from a burning building is almost
Irresistible, and it led Philip and Jeanne
to the very edge Of the destruction which
Roscoe had planned for them.
Cayley had his hand upon the bolt of
the great door. whittier he had sprung
when Jeanne's cry had awakened him.
before the saving second thought stayed
him and held him frozen where he was.
For perhaps five seconds he stood there.
while the memory of the unexplained pull
let hole he had found in the BODY OF the
great bear, and the belated observation
that the fire. which was destroying the
hut, must have been started OUTSIDE or
it. articulated themselves into perfectly.
clear perception of Roscoe's plan.
'"rhe other way! The o,her way. ne
the storeroom. Into the cave He is
waiting for us outside. That's why he
fired the hut. Quick! We must save all
we can
And so it happened that Roscoe waited
in vain. He saw the blaze he had kim
died reach it's fiery climax. and then. in
spite of the icy gale which was tanning
it, die down into an angry, sutien, smol-
dering glow. But no man appeared to
furnish a mark for his waiting rine, ana
no woman was delivered defenselesS,
she1terless into his british hands.
The failure of his plan brought back
moment or two of the old superstitious
horror. but his mind was braced against
it now and did not reaoiiy give way.
Somehow the failure must De account
able-humanly accountable.
At last he solved this mystery too. part
ly. solved it, at least. for he remembered
the ice cave back of the hut. His first
impulse. when he thought of it, was to
attack them there and now. to charge in
over the red-hot Goals of the hut and set
tie matters once and for ALL
He was sane enough to see that the ad-
vantage would be all against him. In
q riea! ard he remembered the deadly re-
volver shooting he had seen upon the
hodv OF the bear. Also, he would have
to 90 into the dark. with the freight be-
hind him. No; 1t wouldn't do. He must
much better than they could.
Reluctantly he rose, turned his broad
hacl, To the gale and began making his
laborious way back to the cave.
n was high time. His face was frozen
already The intensity of the cold had
already rendered his rifle useless. for the
whole mechanism Of the breech was
frozen fast. His stratagem had failed in
it's ultimate intention, ror nature had laid
for the present declared the game draw.
lTo he continued tOmOrrow.(