Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1911-06-02
Aren't they dangerous, these polar

!
about it, 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. If you see chance
| to slip inside the hut, do it. And
don't assume that he's dead until
tell you so. These polar bears have
them. They don't stop until you have
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, too. Keep behind
me, but not so far that you're in any
danger of getting cut off in case
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
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.
Cayley advanced slowly to meet
| him, but not in a direct line. Instead,
he bore off 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 quartered round in this way.
| the bear swerving in well toward
Philip, until all three were 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
81 OF oil
bear, reared up on his hind legs, had
just lunged forward.
He sprang back clear Of the flashing,
scythelke 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.
It takes a fast runner to outrun a
bear, but Cayley did it. 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 d 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 No 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 III have to confess that | 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. 1t
was too late to skin him and cut him
up tonight, and | was afraid If a storm
were to come up before morning, a
really big storm, we might lose him.
1t was a lot easier to get him up the
! beach before | fired those last two
shots than It 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 colo-s.
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 mo
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