Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1911-11-17

He was fully persuaded by that time
that what he had seen at the hut last
aight during the STORM had been moth
ing but a hallucination. None the less,
he knew that It would be easier to
walk past that empty hut in full broad
day, than in this tricky. misty, uncer-
tain light of dawn.
He carried out this plan At once,
to the point, that is, Of going up the
glacier to the cave. building fire
there and satisfying his sharp hunger
with an enormous meal But he had
not slept at all the night before. and
now the warmth and the satisfaction
Of his appetite made his nerveless
hand release the bone he was gnaw-
ing, and caused him to roll over be-
side the fire and to fall asleep.
He slept deeply for number Of
hours Then. armipg himself with =
tnrowing-st and a NUMBER of darts.
he stepped outside the cave. intent
upon his expedition to the other side
of the peninsula where there was a
possibility of finding the yacht
The cave was situated some little
distance up the glacier, and the
shortest, though by far the more diff
ficult, way of reaching his destination
lay, not along the beach but up
through the interior valley and across
the precipitous coast range OF hills.
1t was not the natural way to go,
but the fact that it was actually short
er gave him a sort of excuse for avoid
ing another visit, just now, to the
scene of his discontinue Of the night
before. He swore at himself, not SO
much for taking this course as for the
reasons which his common sense al
legged against him.
His present route took him close
to the gold ledge, and the sight OF the
inexhaustible, precious, useless metal
that remained here brought upon him
for the first time, in full force.
sense of his loss, a sense OF what that
luckless trip ashore from the Aurora
in search Of that rosewood box lad
cost him
At an increased pace he descended
from the glacier. crossed the valley
and scaled the landward side of one
of the mountains Of the coast range,
to a notch where he could command
a view of the sea to the westward
He saw there what, In the bottom Of
his mind. he had all along been sure
he would see-nothing but another
barren. bleak horizon
At that, for a while, his fortitude
broke down, and he raved and wept
and cursed like one demented- But at
last, spent, sobered, conscious once
more Of sharp hunger, he climbed
little farther up the mountain to
ledge, where. as bis minute knowledge
Of the country led him to expect, he
found a number of looms sitting He
killed one of these birds with dart,
and then, like the brute he was, ate it
raw and warm
BY that time 1t was late in the aft
ernoon Bravado, combined with
more real belief than ne had yet sue
ceeded IN retaining, to the effect that
all his terror of the night before had
resulted from nothing more serious
than a nightmare, led him to decide to
go home by way Of the beach. rather
than along the difficult interior trail
up which he had come
The descent from the cliff-head to
the beach was nothing to man of his
nhuman strength and activity, though
an ordinary skilled mountaineer might
have hesitated before attempting it.
two-thirds OF the way
Town he nearly fell-but for luck he
would have fallen. for he caught a
glimpse OF lonely figure. quarter of
3 mile away, perhaps, seated upon
edge. bending forward. chin In hand.
In an attitude which recalled. and
horribly echoed. that of the man he
ong ago had murdered.
When he had steadied himself lit
lie, he made his way cautiously down
20 the level OF the beach. His emotions
we're divided about equally between
ear and anger, the anger existing be-
cause of the fear
With infinite caution be approached
hat lonely, unsuspecting figure, slip
Jug llOIl Lie cnCtlCl VI OAC 4O%h ~
hat OF one little nearer.
Three times his left hand drew back !
he throwing-stick. balanced and |
.imed along line that would send It's !
hin ivory dart as swiftly and as sure |
Y to that beautiful throat as the one
hat had found and transfxed Perry |
hunters; and three times his mus
les braced themselves for the effort |
o propel it. But each time. with
'reathless oath, he lowered the /
reapon again. and with the back of
is hairy hand wiped the sweat from
is forehead
The act had none OF the quality OF
mercy in it: II was simply the result
I logical dilemma. II the thing he
aw before him were a ghost. the
host of the man he had already muir
cred. his dart would do no harm. II
were not ghost: II II were what it
)oked more and more Ike as he drew
carer. living. breathing woman-he
>ba5 hfo tsna ord wr-,nC thar, With !