Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1911-10-27

bears? she asked.
In his answering laugh she heard
the ring Of rising excitement. Il won't
deny" he said, that II had my way
about 1t, I'd have you safely shut up
inside the hut there before tried
conclusions with him. Give me the
revolver, and take care to keep out of
the line of fire. II you see a chance
to slip inside the hut, do 1t. And
don't assume that he's dead until
tell you so. These polar bears have
no nerves at all You can't shock
them. They don't stop until you have
7 put their locomotor facilities complete
ly out of business"
She was smiling when she handed
him the revolver. Here's luck" she
said. Don't be afraid for me-"
Cayley smiled, teo. Keep behind
me. but not so far that you're in any
danger of getting cut on in case I
have to dance around him a little.
There he's winded us already"
Cayley turned for last look at her.
He had slipped his bundled wings
from his back and laid them on the
ice. He was still smiling, but some.
what ironically. I'm half afraid he'll
run away he said. "and half afraid
he won't"
/ The next instant all doubt on that
head was set at rest. The monster
Kissed and came numbering toward
/ them. pretty rapidly. across the ice.
| oxylo ell 1xr 20
him, but not in direct line. Instead,
he bore OF in curve to the left The
girl understood the maneuver instant
ly, and, herself. set out landward at a
brisk pace, moving in the arc of cir
Gle, parallel to his but larger, in
such way as to keep the bear, Philip
and herself, as all three moved in DIFF
ferent directions. in a straight line.
They CHARTERED round in this way,
the bear swerving in well toward
Philip, until all three we're in line,
about equidistant from the hut. Philip
and the bear, were. perhaps. dozen
PAGES apart. Without turning. he call
ed over his shoulder to her. Now run
for it-for the hut I'll keep him
amused out here"
At the sound of his voice the bear
rushed him. The girl had never in
her life found anything so hard to do
as to obey orders now. But she did
obey and was running at top speed
toward the open door of the hut when
she heard Cayley fire for the first
time. Just as she reached it, she
heard his second shot. When she
turned about, painting, to observe the
result of it. the two seemed to her
to be at horribly close quarters. The
bear, reared up on his hind legs, had
Just lunged forward.
He sprang back clear of the flashing,
scythelike cut of those terrible claws.
A little to the girls surprise and con-
siderably to her alarm, he turned and
went sprinting up the beach toward
the talus. at full speed, the bear
wounded, but not in the least disabled, |
numbering after him
1t takes a fast runner to outrun a
bear. but Cayley did 1t. When he
reached the foot Of the talus, the bear
was 20 PAGES behind him. She saw
him stop short. whirl round again and
face his pursuer with shout.
The bear also checked his speed |
and reared up once more, towering,
upon his hind legs Then Cayley |
fired twice, the shots coming so close
ly together as to be hardly distinguish
able. One or both of them took in |
Simultaneous effect The great yellow |
ish-white mass tottered forward, and |
collapsed in heap only pace or two
from where Philip was standing.
He waved his hand at the girl, and |
walked back for his wings. When |
she met him, half way up the beach,
he was carefully taking the spent |
shells out Of his revolver, one at a |
time, and depositing them in his peck |
ct mo telling how they may prove |
useful" he commented; then, with a |
quick look into her face, Il hope you |
weren't frightened when you saw me |
run"
Il suppose | shouldn't have been,
but I'll have to confess that l was. |
You weren't trying to get away from |
him. or you wouldn't have run in that |
direction. But it looked rather dread |
full, just the same. Why did you
do it?''
I'VE were too far down the beach, |
too near the waters edge before. It |
was too late to skin him and cut him |
up tonight, and was afraid IL storm |
we're to come up before morning, a
really big storm, we might lose him. |
1t was lot easier to get him up the
beach before l fired those last two |
shots than 1t would have been after.
/ thought at first of running toward
the hut 1t occurred to me. only just
in time, that there was no use in ma
king an abattoir of our front yard"
They had reached the hut, and as he |
finished speaking, they entered it.
Even Philip caught his breath rather /
suddenly with that first glance about |
its transformed interior. The drift |
wood fire. which glowed upon the
hearth, filled the whole room with |
light, and bathed the walls and rafters
with warm colors.
Here was their fortress-against the |
cold and the dark; a fortress, too,
against despair. That rude hearth |
which he had built today was to be
their altar of hope.
The girl stood looking at it a mo-
ment in silence. her lips pressed tight
together, one outstretched hand CROP |