, 1911-06-08
CHAPTER XXI.
A sords.

souoeh instinct tnat something must
have gone wrong reached her, with al
most the force of a spoken word.
What is It? What's happened,
Philip7' he asked. a. she turned.
He did not answer at once. He was
bending over the hole formed by the
top Of the ice chimney and rather de
hberateg replacing the wooden cover
upon It, When he did straighten up
At last, and she saw his face, she
knew her instinct had ne He'd to her.
It's rather a queer thing for US to
" forgotten" he said, after all
these weeks when we lived in terror
of him, and after the last thing he did
10 us. But we had forgotten him
roscoe you know-and now he has
stolen a march on US"
She looked at him in a sort of O
der.
1t Is true h said, I'VE had for
gotten. Those days when we lived
In the hut seemed almost as far away
from us up here as the rest of the
world seemed then. /" She made
a little pause there, then reused her
self. What is It that he has done.
Philip"
H has found our stores down be-
low here. He has taken everything
made a perfectly clean sweep"
There was a little silence after that.
Before she spoke again she came over
to him and kissed him. There was a
grave sort of smile on her face when
she said:
We'll, is there anything we must
dor"
oh, yes" he said. THAT move Of
lis doesn't end the game. 1t only be-
gins a new one. Really, I think. the
dds are more in our favor this time
han they were before, only this time
we shall have to move quickly. |
would have followed him up at once,
without coming back here,- only I
didn't have" He stopped rather
short.
"of course" she said. you hadn't
the revolver"
That wasn't what / wanted: I
wanted my wings. Now I've got back
to them must start at once"
She uttered a little cry of protest at
that.
Cant you-can't you wait a little
A few hours? Life has only Just be-
gun for me-for us-with what you
told me just now"
He let a moment go by in thought
ful silence, before he answered.
No. he said. at last, ITS got to
be settled now, before another moon
rise. The light Is all in his favor, the
darkness in mine. II / can ind him
now, l think l can kill him. Now I
think 1t over. It seems t me likely
he doesn't suspect we are alive at
all. The Walrus people never dis
covered the ice chimney nor the pilot
house. That's perfectly clear. II they
had they would have riied II long
ago.
When finish, I'll como back to
you. l don't think I shall be gone
very long. You aren't to be afraid for
me. and you can trust me to be care
full. l know | have your life in my
hands as well as my own. Your part
is harder than mine: I quite under
stand that. You must be keeping
watch every second. II he eludes me
and comes here. you must shoot him.
without word or warning. Shoot to
kill"
But I sha'n't have the revolver!"
There was ar electric moment OF
into his face. Mortified at the meaning
she read there.
You didn't mean that! Philip,
Philip-you can't mean that. And
leave you to face that monster
armed"
81 shall have the only weapon that
will be OF any service to me, my knife.
It's got to be done. at close quarters
| couldn't possibly shoot him from the
air. But If I can allght near him and
come up within striking distance he
will have no chance with me. not with
all his strength"
NO" she said, %resolutely. Il won't
lot you 90. Not that way"
Listen, Jeanne. II I can flnd him.
| can kill him. Do you know what the
movements of ordinary men, oven un-
usually quick men, look like to me-
Like the motions OF m~arionettes. The
only chance Roscoe has against me Is
of picking me OF at long range with
his rife. He could do that whether
| had a revolver or not. And II he did.
IL he killed me and I had the revolver,
then-well, then he would come here
and and you-defenseless. Don't you
see? I couldn't take the revolver. I
should be unnerved with terror from
the moment l left you"
With a sob she clasped her arms
about his neck n held him tight.
Then. In tragic submission, they
dropped away.
Without saying anything more, Cay
ley blew GU the candle. opened the
door into the tunnel and tock up his
furled wings. With trembling hands
she helped him spread them and draw
them taut.