, 1911-04-13

! ey NahC Ou u inherent
meaning this morning"
he disappeared through the door.
way and two minutes later she saw
MIN coming back with a big battered
looking biscuit tin.
mess this leaks too fast" he said.
IL VIII serve our purpose admirably"
lie observed. without rejecting
what he observation meant, that a
bountiful supply of fuel was lying in
great drifts along the lower slope OF
the talus. Jeanne accompanied him
upon his quest of 1t. and with small
loss OF time and no trouble at all they
! collected an armful. They laid their
nre upon a great fiat stone in front of
the hut. for the outdoor day was too
n to abandon for the dark and damp
in the interior, n soon they had the
fire blazing cheerfully.
For a while they sat. side by side.
upon his great sheepskin. warming
their fingers and watching the drip
OF the melting Ice in the biscuit tin.
But presently Cayley got to his feet
breakfast" he said.
is there to be anything besides q
good big drink of water apiece? II
there isn't. I'd rather not think about
1t until the yacht comes back"
Unless I'm mistaken, there's an
excellent breakfast waiting for us not
far from where we got the fre-wood.
But I'll go and make sure before I
raise your expectations any higher"
He walked away a h~alf-dozen PAGES
without waiting for any reply; then,
thinking suddenly of something else,
he came swiftly back again.
DO you know anything about FIRE
arms?" he asked. IF you're accus-
toned to shooting. I'll leave my re-
volver with you.-No." he went on,
answering the question which she had
not spoken-"no. l don't foresee any
danger to you. It's Just on general
principles"
I'm q pretty good shot. But If
you're going on a hunting expedition
for our breakfast and there Isn't any
~foreseeable danger to me in being left
alone. it seems reasonable that you
should take the gun"
He took the revolver from his belt,
however. and held 1t out to her. Our
breakfast doesn't have to be shot. And
as a concession to my feelings-no,
It's nothing more than that-Id rather
you tool it."
She did a. he asked without further
demur, and he went away. When she
was left alone. the girl added fresh
sticks to the fire, and then, In default
Of any more active occupation, took
up the red-bound book which lay be-
side her and began once more to Pc
ruse its pages. She had by no means
exhausted them. In her reading of
the night before. she had skipped the
pages Of scientific description for
those parts OF the journal which were
most purely personal. Even now the
whole pages of carefully tabulated
data concerning the winds, currents.
temperature, and magnetic variations
got scant attention. In her present
mood the homeliest little adventure,
the idlest diversion of a winters day
meant more to her than all her ia
TIERS discoveries put together. When
she saw Cayley coming back toward
her across the ice, she put he book
down half reluctantly.
Evidently his quest for breakfast
had MOI been in vain; he had a big
black and white bird in his hand. do
you suppose It's At to eat? she
called out to him. How in the world
did o manage to kill 1t without the
revolver"
Fit to eati It's a duck. What's
more. it's an elder, which e a that
her coat Is worth saving"
But how did you contrive to kill
herr"
81 didn't. She killed herself. She
q flying too low last night. l sup
pose-going down the gale, and In the
fog she went smack into the side Of
the cliff and broke her neck. That was
a very destructive storm for the birds.
There must be so OF them, of n kind
and another, lying dead there along
the top of the talus. at the foot OF the
cliff"
And that's what might have hap
pened, oh. SO easily, to you. Yes. It
might. I've been realizing that. And
| sha'n't forget" Her eyes had bright
ened and she pressed her hands to
them for Just n moment; then she
Strengthened up briskly. Anyway. I'll
not make a scene about 1t now" she
said. I'll show a little practical
sense and help you with the break
fast"
mo, we're camping out today. and
on such occasions the men always do
the cooking. Go back to you book
while l skin this fowl and dress it
Then s she still hesitated. he went
on: The most beautiful garment ]
ever saw, anywhere. was on a Chu'
cote Indian girl. 1t was made OF 9th
ing but the breasts OF these elders
But the process isn't pretty, I'd much
rather you went back to your book"
Seeing that he meant II, she did
as he asked. A single half page OF
.A -aa writtan uDOn those closely