Okolona messenger., 1911-06-29
CHAPTER Xxx.
A MoonlIt Day.

somber purple Of the snow to silver.
The snow lay everywhere, save upon
the vertical face of the Cliff itself, an
unrent immaculate mantle over al
this arctic world The valley, the
hills, the beach and the frozen sea
all lay at peace beneath It, as II asleep
or dead.
To Cayley, where he lay, suspended
in midsky. the moonlight cleaning
upon the sensitive fabric Of his
planes, as 1t CLEANS upon the faint
ripples on a mill pond IN the dead OF
some June night-to Cayley this white,
sleeping, frozen world looked very
far away. He was awning for the
first time since that eternity ago when
he had descended upon the beach be-
side Jeanne to warn her Of the ap-
proach of the bear.
How long ago that was, by the
measure of hours and days and weeks,
he did not know, He had no data for
an estimate that would be better than
guess. He remembered how des-
perately they had worked that night,
saving what they could from the burn
ing hut and carrying 1t back into the
cave; remembered with what labor be
and Jeanne had climbed the ice chin
ney to the only shelter that now re-
mained to them, the little pilot house
observatory upon the cliff-head; re-
membered the unremitting labor Of
uncounted hours while they adjusted
their way Of life to the conditions i'm
posed by the calamitous loss of the
hut.
But after that there were lapses Of
time which memory did not cover.
During that time he knew the ut
most fury of the arctic winter had
been raging over them, without cessa-
tion. They had been sheltered from
it down in the heart of the great drift
of snow which the storm had heaped
about them. But, even in this security
the shock of those successive parox-
ysms of natures titanic rage reached
down and benumbed them, body and
soul.
But at last the rage Of the storm
had spent itself and had become still.
The bitterness Of the cold relaxed and
became milder. Cayley had felt the
blood stirring in his veins again, the
power of consecutive thought and the
ambition to live, coming once more
into his possession. He had gone to
work. feebly and drowsily at first, but
with constantly increasing energy and
strength, at the task Of opening up,
once more, the tunnel through the
drift which the great storm had
A choked.
| When he had broken through the
| outer crust of the drift, and the white
| radiance of the midday moon shone
| into the black tunnel where he had
been working, he stood for moment
drawing deep breaths and gazing over
the scene which lay beneath his eyes
! He hastened back into the little pilot
house.
Jeanne was doing upon heap ol
bear-skins. He reused her with some
difficulty; really waking up had beer
a hard matter lately, almost as hard
as really getting of to sleep. She
was still drowsy when he led hei
along the tunnel to the cliff-head.
Breathe deep" he told her I'VE
were half poisoned In there, This all
will bring you back to life again, 1
and the moonlight"
He had been supporting her Will
his arm about her waist, but now, al
she held herself little straighter ant
he could feel her lungs expandinI
with the pure air she breathed, n
withdrew the arm and let her stan'
alone. Even the white moonlight re
vealed the color that was oominl
back into her cheeks.
For a while she did not speak a
all; then, as If replying to CON
c' ment of his, she said:
Eyes, It's beautiful. Bu
= Philip It's dead. Dead"
OK mot this air that has ozone spal
ne king all through it, 1t is alive enoug
le to make your blood dance. It's doin
llClb hO"'
He tried to persuade her to take
zoe little exercise along the length of th
ne tunnel but she demurred to that. L
AK stead. she asked him 10 bring OF
ch some bear-skins and let her sit thei
an at the cliff-head looking out.
'ut And" she supplemented, If yo
lrk want to know what should like mo-
ian of all, It would be to have you brir
ss' your wings so that can see you Il
ing again, and field-glass that l ca
snt watch you through"
up He felt some hesitation, partly o.
vas of a fear of leaving her and part
not from q doubt concerning his ov
all strength; but neither of these reasol
ac- was one he cared to avow. So he u
furled the bundle that had lain d
90, used so long, spread and tighten'
re- and tested 1t, and at last, with n,
the Of farewell to the girl, dived on 7
ne cliff-head
lem ANY doubt he may have had &C
the cerning his strength disappeared
tile once. The mere touch Of those gre
wings Of his seemed to bring i
the back, and hope and Joy and connder
lin along with II
do ,To an coNruVURDa