Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1911-11-10

ing but a hallrcination. None the less,
he knew that 1t 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 csCe.
to the point, that is, of going up the
glacier to the cave, building a 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 a number OF
hours Then, arming himself with a
throwing-stick 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.
II was not the natural way to go.
but the fact that it was actually short
er gave him 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. a
sense Of his loss, a sense of what that
luckless trip ashore from the Aurora
in search of that rosewood box had
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
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 for,itude
broke down, and he raved and wcpt
and cursed like one demented. But at
last, spent, sobered. conscious once
more of a sharp hunger, he climbed a
little farther up the mountain to a
ledge, where, as his 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 ii
raw and warm.
By that time 1t was late in the aft
ernoon Bravado, combined with a
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 a man of his
inhuman strength and activity. though
an ordinary skilled mountaineer might
have hesitated before attempting it.
Nevertheless, two-thirds of the way
/ a h. lxr hui for l.anlr he
would have fallen, for he caught a
glimpse of lonely figure, quarter Of
mile away, perhaps, seated upon 9
ledge, bending forward, chin In hand
in an attitude which recalled. and
horribly echoed, that of the man hs
long ago had murdered.
When he had steadied himself lit
tie, he made his way cautiously dowr
to the level of the beach. His emotion!
were divided about equally between
fear and anger, the anger existing be
cause of the fear.
With infinite caution he approache,
that lonely. unsuspecting figure. slip
} ping from the shelter of one rock t.
that of one little nearer.
} Three times his left hand drew bacl
the throwing-stick, balanced ant
aimed along line that would send III
! thin ivory dart as swiftly and as sure
. ly to that beautiful throat as the ON,
that had found and transfxed PER-,
Hunters: and three times his mus
cles braced themselves for the effor
TO propel 1t But each time, with ;
breathless oath. he lowered ths
weapon again. and with the. back o.
his hairy hand wiped the sweat from
his forehead
The act had none of the quality O
mercy in 1t; 1t was simply the result
Of logical dilemma. II the thing h,
saw before him were a ghost, tn,
ghost Of the man he had already muir
dered. his dart would do no harm. /
il were not ghost; If II were what 1
looked more and more like as he drew
nearer, living, breathing woman-h,
} licked his lips and wrung them Will
his hand--if 1t were a woman, he di,
not want to kill her II he could b,
sure. could only be sure. he woul,
drop his weapon and make one rusl
and hold her helpless in those grea
hands of his.
And with every five PAGES tina
lessened the distance between them
that certainty grew upon him. No
she was no immateriai spirit of a mar