Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1910-08-20
CHAPTER XVI.
Footprints.

viii LIN hfts
Footprints.
KTATURE had nothing to do with
IN the formation OF II, so much was
clear enough. 1t had been cut
out by hand, and evidently with in
finite labor.
Flashing his bulps-eye over 1t did
not enable him to see the end of 1t.
but it did reveal a series Of notches
running straight up the two opposite
surfaces. The only purpose they could
serve would be to make possible the
ascent of the chimney.
Jeanne followed his gaze, and then
the two looked at each other, complete
ly puzzled.
Someone must have made it, she
said; land it must have been fright
fully hard to make-a tunnel right up
| through the ice like that. But what
| for?''
I've no idea" he confessed. 'but 1,
goes somewhere, and / mean to find
out where
Don't follow it too far she eau
toned ut would only need one foot
slip off one of those icy notches to
bring about dreadfully ugly fall
Zone couldn't fall far down q tube of
that diameter, unless he had complete
ly lost his nerve. for there's always a
chance to catch ones self. And you're
to remember that I'm used to falling.
No, I'll be as safe up there as I would
on turnpike-yes, really
With that and a nod of reinsurance,
he scrambled up into the mouth OF the
long chimney. He had taken his bull s.
eye with him, SO lie girl was left in
the dark She dropped down on the
heap of bear skins to wait for him.
She had no means of measuring the
time, and 1t seemed a perfectly inter-
minable while before she heard Cay
ley returning down the ice chimney.
Had she known how long it really was
she would have been justified in feel
ing seriously worried about him, but
not knowing. she attributed the seem
ing duration of his delay to the tedium
of sitting in the dark. with nothing to
do Even at that. she was conscious
of a feeling of relief when she heard
him call out to her once more, cheer
fully, albeit somewhat hollowly, from
the chirnney's mouth:
Jeanne, where are you9"
Here. just where you left me"
Here. All the whilei You must be
half frozen I've been gone the better
part of an hour"
IT didn't know how long it was. and
l kept thinking you'd be back any
minute. But where In the world
have you been?p
BY the time she asked that question
Al,
the store-room and thence into the
living-room Of the hut. and by now she
was looking at him in the full light of
day.
He dropped down, with rather ex-
plosive sigh, upon one of the hunks.
and polled tentatively at his thighs and
shoulders as If they were numb with
fatigue.
Il think by a reasonable estimate, =
he said. thai chimney is five miles
high, l kept going and going and
going till began to believe that there
wasn't any end to it, or that. by some
magic or other. I slipped down yard
as often as l went UP one. But [ did
get to the end at last; and III give
you a thousand guesses as to what I
/ found there
1.-THE observatory" she hazarded.
"Oh. but not really? l did not mean
that for an honest guess al all. 1t
was just the first thing that came into
my head. But how could they puil
The pilot-house of the Phoenix up
through that little hole in the ice9'
Well, to tell the truth. l don't be-
lieve they did," he answered. with
mocking seriousness. ITS more likely
that they took it to pieces and then
rigged a boom and tackle up at the
cliff head and hauled it up outside.
But when they got it up there they
put it together again right across the
assure, and then tunneled down or up
the whole depth of the cliff. 1t must
have taken them weeks TO do it, and
when it was done they had an inside
connection between it and the hut, SO
that they were quite independent of
the weather. And it must have been
great place to make observations
from"
Have beenir she echoed questioning
" isn't II now?''
NO. because it's all showed and
frozen in. It's buried. don't know
how many feet deep by this time, and