, 1911-05-25
Observation-Disclosures

And the thing that helped them to
maintain It was the abundance of nee.
essary routine occupation. They di
tded their day into watches. Cayley
slept from four o'clock in the after
noon until midnight and then kept
watch alone. as the girl had done. un.
Ill eight. During that period they re.
NAMED inside the hut. The day, from
eight until four. they spent out OF
doors, when the condition of the
weather made this possible, either at
work or merely tramping up and down
for exercise.
At first there was a good deal Of
work to do. Tearing down the sheds
which clustered about the hut. and
reducing their frames and planking
To hre-wood was an arduous task. but
be worked at 1t until 1t was done
jeanne standing sentinel all the time.
When 1t was done, they were prac.
tioally secure against surprise, for
from their windows. with the aid of a
neld-glass which Cayley had found
In the observatory. they were able to
weep the whole beach absolutely
clean. In both directions.
And almost every day while the
light lasted. with Jeanne, armed with
the revolver, keeping watch before the
hut. Cayley took to his wings and
patrolled the beach. from the glacier
TO the promontory. high up above the
level Of the crest of the cliff. His
fight was always along tie same
track. He never winged his way In.
Land nor out to sea.
There were two reasons for this.
He dared not &c SO far away from
Jeanne that q fash and a swoop would
not bring him to her side. The other
reason was, that II superstitious fear
Of this great man-bird were really
what deferred their enemy from at.
lacking them. It was well to let him
believe that immunity from this por-
tent could be secured by keeping
AWAY from this particular stretch OF
beach.
As the shortening days sped by and
began to get themselves reckoned into
weeks. the conviction grew upon
Philip and Jeanne hat their securest
protection lay in his wings, in the
terrorizing effect upon their invisible,
silent enemy Of the majestic winged
apparition which was SO often seen
soaring in midsky above the hut and
the little stretch of beach surrounding
It. Something was protecting them
evidently. Almost every week brought
some evidence. not only of the exis-
tence but the nearness of their enemy.
They never actually caught sight or
sound of him, but some times when
the wind blew from the right quarter
they could make out, with their field
glass. a wrack of brownish smoke.
such a. would be given of by burning
whale oil, drifting down from mn
whore along the glacier. and made
by the dazzling wilderness Of
that background.
And sometimes they saw track in
The newly fallen snow. never coming
very near the hut, but tr~espassing a
little way. either down from the
or up from the headland. upon
the stretch Of beach they we're de
They eve found the tracks
Of more than q single man. and these
were always the same. So that they
came to believe. although they could
not know. that they had only n man
to deal with.
They sometimes speculated on the
question whether he was Roscoe or
some other member Of the Walrus
crew; really. in fact. they found 1t
I'm pzn.th1a 90 hNnA that ~ waR any
other than he.
They got proof Of his identity. or
what amounted to 1t, along toward the
end Of October. Cayley's keen eyes
caught, one day. from up aloft where
he was soaring, the CLINT of something
OIL the beach ear the foot OF the
hesdland. He circled down In a o
swoop. caught It up without alightng
and mounted into the air, a trick OF
seronautics which made Jeanne. &C
customed as she was by now to see
ing him in flight, catch her breath a
little.
When he descended and alighted
beside her q few moments later. ne
showed her a sheath knife. the haft OF
which was a rudely carved wairus
tusk. The hand of the last user OF II
had had blood upon 1t. and Its Imprint
upon the surface of the ivory was
plainly to be seen. The lines In the
palm were traceable and. length~ise
along the side Of the handle. the
print of an immense thumb.
You see," said Cayley quietly, nj
was using this knife left-handed.
The girl paled a little as she handed
the weapon back to him. but she spoke
quietly enough:
IT'S good to know she said. al
most Q relief"
CHAPTER XVIII.