Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-14
CHAPTER IV-Continued.

With that for an introduction, he plunged
into a humorous account of Jeanne's re-
port of her adventure of the night be-
fore, of the man who had dropped down
from the sky. in the middle OF the night.
and talked to her awhile. and then flown
away again. She was really out on the
ice foe he said. so much | concede.
but when I assure her that she dreamed
the rest she is skeptical about my eN-
PLANTATION.
But even you can't explain, she pro-
tested. how 1 could dream about an
Eskimo throwing stick. and then bring
it back to the Yacht with me when vas
wide awake. and show II to you at the
breakfast table this morning
IN have to admit said the old gem
tleman. that my explanation doesn't
adequately account for that
The expression Of the younger mans
face was perplexed rather than incredu-
1ous.
But. my boy" cried the elder man.
think of it, He comes down out OF the
sky and says he just dropped i'm from
Point Barrow and that's five hundred
miles away. That's just as impossible
as it would be to materialiZe an Eskimo
throwing-stick out of dream. every bit. -
mo. hardly that" said Tom. judicially.
What was his aeroplape like? What
was it made of? Did you notice it par
ticularly?'
Yes she said. Il helped him foid it
up. 1t was made Of bladders. and bam-
boo and catgut. he said.
And his motor" cried Tom. What
was his motor like?"
There was no motor at all, she said :;
Just wings
There you see. Tom" interrupted his
father; absolute moonshine."
But still the younger man shook a
things not impossible-not inconceivable,
at least. The big birds can fly that far,
and think nothing of it
The old man snorted. They're built
that way: Think of the immense
strength of their wing muscles
Not SO enormous" said the younger
man. Il dissected the wing of an alba
tross once to see. It's not by main
strength they keep af1oat in the air; it's
by catching the trick Of IT -
That's what he said the girl cried.
eagerly. He told me he could fly across
the north pole. from Dawson City to St.
Petersburg, and when / asked him II he
could keep flying, flying all the time like
that. he said the biggest birds didn't ny;
they sailed. and he said he sailed too.
and the force of gravity was his keel
Her story was making its impression
on the younger man. at least. even II his
father was as impervious TO it as he still
seemed.
well, if you dreamed that" said Tom.
lit was a mighty intelligent dream, I'll
say that for it.
But it wasn't a dream at ALL" she
cried. Didn't l help him take the thing
apart and fold it up into a bundle? And
didn't he say that he was a taxpayer
and thar his name was Philip Cayley?'
She was addressing the elder man as
she spoke. and as she mentioned the
name-it was the first time she had men
toned # to any one-she saw him shoot
a startled. inquiring glance at his son.
Following 1t, she met Tom Fanshaw'
eyes staring at her in utter amazement
"Cayley. he said. half under his
breath; Philip Cayley-
And yet I'd be willing to swear" he
said. i've never mentioned that name to
you in my life
No" she said why should you? 1
know you didn't. l knew I had never
heard it before when he told me 1t was
his She hesitated q moment: then.
Did you ever know man named Philip
Cayley. Tom?'
He let the question go by unheeded.
and for a long time gazed silently out
last. that a coincidence like this. any
coincidence. If only 1t be strange enough.
will bring a touch of superstitious fear
to anybody. l never had even a touch OF
it before in all my life. and 1 always had
q little feeling Of contempt for the men
who showed it. But now-well. well, L
wish poor old Hunter hadn't strayed
away last night l wasn't alarmed about
him before, and I've no rational ground
for alarm about him now. Only"
him with a question. And has the sky
man, Philip Cayley. anything to do with
the coincidence?'
Still it was a little while before he
spoke. Il suppose I'd better tell you
the story-a part OF it. at least; couldn't
tell it all to you." He turned to his
father. You. I think. already know it.
Then. with evident reluctance, he began
telling the story to Jeanne.
There was a man named Philip Cay
ley" he said. in Hunters class at the
Point, three classes ahead of me. that
was. He and Hunter were chums. the
David and Jonathan you know, of their
class. 1 remember what a stroke of luck
for them everybody thought IT was when
they were assigned to service In the
same regiment 1t seems to me. as
think back to our days at the Point-of
course my memory may be playing me
trick-but it seems to me that even then
Cayley was interested in the navigation
of all that the newspapers and magazines
reported on the subject. anyway; I re-
member seeing it. 1 think it was Cayley.
Il lost sight of him and Hunter when
justice to Hunter to say that I never
heard a word of the thing that happened
out there from him. He never seemed to
want to talk to me about 1t, and, of
course. I never forced him. Well, 1 can
make a short story of it. anyway, though
it has to be nasty one.
"A man came into the post one day,
the head man of one OF the neighboring
villages out there, a man with white
blood in him-Spanish blood. They car
ried him in, for he couldn't walk He
was in horrible condition. He had been
tortured-I won't go into the details Of
that-and fogged nearly to death. He
said that Cayley had done il. He had
demonstrated with Cayley, he said be-
cause he feared for his daughters safety
she was a pretty girl. whittier than her
father-and 1t seems that the mans fears
had some justification. 1t appears that
with a couple Of troopers. who deserted
that same night. and man-handled the
old man. The girl Joined in her fathers
accusation, at least she didn't deny any
thing.
"Cayley was away on scout duty at the
time when the man came in-the thing
had happened some days prior. just be-
thunderbolt out Of a clear sky, for every
body liked Cayley and thought him an
exceptionally decent, clean sort of chap,
though he and Hunter both were drink
ing a good deal just then. Poor Hunter
was all broken up about it. Everybody
believed that he really knew some in
eliminating facts against Cayley, but he
never would speak.
LAS for Cayley himself, he made no
and that was all. There wasn't any real
cOrrObora tive evidence against him SO