Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1911-07-13

justed to the distance.
1t is to be remembered, always, that
he knew nothing whatever Of the ice
chimney, and suspected no connection
between the hut and the pilot house,
except by the air. For anything he
knew to the contrary, Jeanne might
be able to fly, as well as Philip, Oh
he to carry her with him upon his
flights. Consequently, he did not sus-
pect, when he say Cayley take to
flight again, that this action had any
reference to himself; nor that the
woman who was left alone would be
on her guard against him.
The moment he glimpsed the
shadow of Cayley's wings against the
stars he began making his way, eau
~tionsly, over the crusted snow, toward
the pilot house. The door was closed,
but there was a light shining out
through a crack beneath it. 1t was a
glass door, but something had been
hung over the glass so that he could
not see into the interior.
Both Jeanne and Philip had made
the mistake Of assuming that the only
way of access to the pilot house, ex-
cept to Philip with his wings, was the
lee chimney. II was a natural mis-
take enough--one that almost any but
a practised mounta1neer would have
made. F
Furthermore they had no reason
either of them-for anticipating an at
tack upon the pilot house while Philip
was gone. They had been living here,
now for weeks, in unbroken security
So, though the girl obeyed Philips In
junction literally and scrupulously
she did it without the slightest sense
of personal danger, and indeed she
would hardly have had room for such
an emotion even If there had been 8
much more reasonable ground for 1t.
She was sitting beside the oil stove
in one Of the farther corners Of the
room. The chimney hole was in the
corresponding corner. The revolver
lay on the table in the middle Of the
: room, a few PAGES behind her, The
I pilot house door was directly In line
! with 1t, and almost exactly behind hel
, back, The door was hinged to swing
! inward.
When it burst open she attributed
the fact to no other agency than thu
o wind. She laid down the red-bount
book upon the bench beside her AM
t rose, rather deliberately, before sh,
turned round.
{ AS she did so Roscoe sprang fol
o ward to the table and seized the re
volver. Her failure to turn imme
n diately had given him the second h
b needed to take in the strategic poss
bilities of the room.
e His rifle was a clumsy weapon i
close quarters. So, as he sprang fol
it ward, he dropped it and made for tn
revolver instead. 1t only needed
d glance at the girl to convince hir
It that she was unarmed. Quite delibel
8 ately he broke open the breech of tn
4 revolver and satisfied himself that
o. was loaded. Then he looked up agail
blinking at the girl.
1t was no wonder that Carlson an
E Rose had mistaken her for the ghos
ID of the mar their leader murdered, Sh
n looked like her father as a woma
n may resemble a man, and her whit
ness, her t~ineness, her delicacy all II
10 creased rather than diminished th
n credibility of the idea that she was
a fact his spirit.
The hand which held the revolvt
a dropped n~ervously at his side. +
"a swallowed hard, and wrung his cru
lips with his other great hand. 1t wi
le then that the girl looked up into h
III face. 1t was then she uttered h
10 first cry.
For she saw that he did not mes
. to kill her.
Suddenly Jeanne's eyes detacht
themselves from his face. A look
sudden alarm came into them, al
she raised her hand to her throat,
though she were choking. She W
looking past Roscoe, and straig
down the snow tunnel.
Phillip" she cried, take care; he
here"
The snow tunnel was empty, a.
for aught she knew, her lovers boz
might be lying mangled in the me
ster's cave. She had thought of tn
. before she tried the trick. But, even
u that were so, that cry Of hers mig
81 lead the monster to steal one unea
n glance at the door behind him; a
VI even that would give her time enouG
IA If he had not killed Philip, but 81
II ply eluded him, he would turn
stantly.
That was what he did. He spra
round with a %suddenness which
spoke a perfectly genuine, CONNIE
sense alarm. And then he found hi
self in darkness.
He understood at M that he h
been tricked. Without wasting the til
to turn back and look at Jeanne,
sprang toward the pilot house do
He thought she meant to attempt
rush by him, gain the snow-tunnel a
throw herself over the crest of
cliff. He had not misread the S
den loathing he had seen in her e.
when they met his face.
In the open doorway he vince
round, triumphantly. She had
got ahead of him that time. He lau