The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-10-07

, breathe their air again, Ana 3et
As he recalled tho situation now,
his eyes on the relaxed. sleeping body
OF the girl VINO lay here. safe. asleep
j within reach of his hand, he trembiea
To think how evenly balanced that de-
Cision of his had been, that had re-
suited ia his flashing down on the Ice
beside them and taking hand II.
their affair He mad accomplished
nothing With tile resGuine party. HIS
urgent request that they go back tn
the yacht his offer ia ind the hrst
party and bring it back, his solemn
warning Of the danger. all felt alike on
inereauleus suspicious ears, At the
end II II ell they had trudgcd away.
{ uneasils. perhaps. Tor his earnestness
could not have beer. utterly without
effect, but stiii intent on their original
design.
eayiey watched them as they truds-
! ed away. Then with q sudden deter
mination. again took wing and flew,
rs fast as tong slant down the Wind.
would carry him. back TO Fog Lake.
! Across its grey. ana now darkeniHg,
surface he skinned. this way and
that finally catching the thing he
hoped for-the sound OF human
voices coming up through the fog.
danger OF the thing he contemplated,
dive into water OF uncertain depth
and bottom was safe in comparison,
because water would check the down
ward rush Of the entering body: its
huoSancS would offer n means OF re-
turning to the air again. The fog
( had had no more supporting power
than the air itself. 1t was a mask
across the face of danger, and that
there, men he had set ont to save. so.
with long. steadying breath OF two
he allowed himself to go drifting
I down.
The secret of Fog Lake which had
batfied Captain Fielding and the
t Walrus people alike was simple
enough once one knew it-An I'm
mense geyser, spouting steam and hot
water from somewhere. too far down
7 In the bowels Of the earth FOR near
i ness 10 poles or equator to make any
+ difference filled the-deep little VAL
ley with warm moist air, which the
colder air above constantly condensed
and constantly precIpitated. The sit
uatton was similar to that occasionallr
/ found in small lakes. where the
warmer and lighter water is at the
| bottom. held there, and balanced az
! 1t We're, by, the heavier and colder
water upon the surface. The sides OF
the valley were granite, polished To
am almost CLASSY surface by the con-
slant drip Of the film OF water which
trickied down its sides. OF anything
! like vegetation in this dismal place,
there was no sign whatever The bot
| tom of 1t, an area OF two square miles,
perhaps. WAS scored with deep canals
and interiaeing ridges.
4 Egfprp t'AyIey coliid make mt tha
| figures of the men below him, he
| heard sudden cry Of terror. and
checked his descent. The voice had
cried out in foreign tongue. sounding
| like Spanish. enough like Spanish, at
least. for him 70 understand
The Angel of Death" II cried. II
/ wiil confess-confess everything"
I And then az swiftly. in that same
sibilant. explosive tongue. the con-
| fession poured forth.-a confession
now go amply justified by what had
j happened since
All the while IL went on Caylev
hung there. now rising little, now
4 flying. but always with the porten-
tous shadow of those great dark wings
of his spread out above the terrified
! Portuguese and his only less fright
I ened companions.
/ They told CayleT afterwad that
! when he had finished speaking-hc
had made the confession on his
knees~-he rose, with face like a
/ blind man or a somnambulist and
/ before he could be prevented. walk
ed straight of the edge OF the narrow
ridge where they We're standing. He
went down without cry without a
sound. Whatever his reward was to
/ be. he had gone to r.
He went back to the foot Of the
/ bunk and picked UP the big morocco
! hound book which he had laid down
THAT narrative has humbled me some
1 way. he said. You were quite
/ right 1t has made me retract the
thing I said. in my ignorance about
the men who risk and lose their lives
! trying to reach the Pole. Whatever
his measure of success or failure was.
the man who lived that story--set-
| ting It down on these pages as ne
! lived it-was worth.r-was worth n
whole paradise OF angels.---You were
right, too, though ! didn't know YOU
! were until you said it. in telling me
that I had contempt for the world.
l did have. i betrayed 1t this morn
ing. there on the deck Of the Yacht.
with the ignorance and vehemence of
a school hoy. But this journal OF
| your fathers. and your---your beauti.
full faith in me have shown me what
base metal II waF made Of
He pulled himself up sharply there
and looked at his watch. at Will ba
daylight In two hours now, he said
When il comes We'll signal to the
yacht. and they'll send for you and
take YOU awaS--you and this precious
find you've made In the meantime.
you must go to sleep. You hardly
slept nj ali while ! was reading"
fTo be continued.)