Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1911-06-30


effect Of his deeply tanned skin with
his very light sun-bleached hair, A
sensitive face, finely chiseed. almost
beautiful-and young, but with an In
eXplicable stamp of premature age
upon it. 1t had not struck her at all
as a tragic face. And yet the mean
ing of those last words of his, uttered
as they were, had been tragic enough.
AT least you have a magnificent re-
venge,' was all she said. And then
there was another, silence. She her.
self was trying to think of something
TO say, for she realized that his con-
fession had been involuntary, and that
the silence must be distressing him.
But it was he himself who broke
the silence with natural, matter-of-
fact question. You say a searching
party has set out from the yacht!
Have they been long ashore?"
They set out only a little after sun
rise. We came into the bay with the
last of yesterdays twilight and the
sight Of those huts, at the edge of the
shore" her voice faltered a little,
nearly made us hope that the impos-
sible might prove true. We fired our
signal cannon two or three times and
then sent up some rockets, without
getting any answer. 1t was too late
to go ashore in the dark; so we had
to wait few hours for another sun
rise. The few of us who were left
on the yacht expected them back to-
day before dark fell. But / suppose
there's nothing to worry about in
their not coming. They went equipped
to pass a night ashore, If necessary.
You don't advise me to begin worry
ing about them, do you?"
He did not answer her question. He
was recalling something which his
amazing meeting with the girl out
here on the ice-floe had, for little
while, put quite out of his mind-the
weird, silent tragedy he had seen en-
acted a few hours before upon the
glacier behind the headland. The
victim, the man in the leather coat,
must have been one of the party from
the yacht; but 1t was impossible that
the little band of his murderers could
be. No one freshly landed from the
yacht would have been dressed as
they were, or would have been armed
with darts.
With no better look at them than
had been possible to him as he hung
above their heads, he had been con-
vinced that they were white; certain
ly, the leather-coated man had been
talking to them, freely enough, In
English. And yet, If white, they must
have been efugees-survivors, II not
of Captain Fielding's ill-fated expedi'
ton, then of some other, tragic. unre-
ported ship wreck.
But If they were white men-refu
gees, why had they fled from theiI
hut at sight of the yacht which came
bringing a rescue? Why had they
driven that one luckless member Of
the rescuing party who fell In witt
them, into that carefully prepared am
bush, and then murdered him, silent
ly? Even Eskimos would not have
done thing like that.
, His long silence had alarmed the
girl, and presently, perceiving tha
this was so, he drew himself up witt
an affected start. 81 beg your par
, DON | drifted off, thinking of some
thing else. Living in the sky doesn'
seem conducive to good manners. No
I don't believe there is anything t
/. worry about. Any way, as soon a
light comes back, which won't b.
y long now, can set at rest any fear
a you may have. I'll go and find you
party, and I'll search the land, too
for anything else that may be there
i, And then I'll bring you word
you are very good" she said witt
), a little hesitation, "but I can't lie
: you"
A He interrupted her with a laugh
I ITS nothing difficult that l am pre-
I posing to do for you, you know"
a That's true. l had forgotten you
;. wings. The rocks, the ice, the stee
places, that mean so tragically muc
II to them, are nothing at all to you. Blu
what are you doing now? Even yo
can't find them in the dark"
He had already begun unstrappin
o the bundle he had made of his wing
and seemed to be preparing for in
s mediate flight. That was what cause
o her question.
NO" he said; II shall wait for SUI
.e rise"
But why not here, on the yacht
ii We can give you comfortable be
there; better. certainly. than tn,
N sleeping bag of yours"
" Il am afraid" he said. that wh'
A
Il. cabin would be the surest instrumel
N that could be found for keeping n
r. awake all night. No, | shall find
n. sheltered hollow up at the top of tn
headland yont1er, where / shall slet
y, deeply enough. you may be sure"
ly She watched him. silently, while
lg slipped the steel-jointed rods in
place, drew the catgut bow strini
y, taut, until they sang-until the fabr
st of his planes shimmed in the starlig