The Irish standard., 1911-09-30

Cayley spoke the second time.
At that, wanting no weapon, conf
dent that he needed none, his great
arms aching for the feel of the sky
mans flesh beneath their grasp, he
moved step nearer the door and
waited.
He saw Philip cross the threshold,
unseeing - suspecting, apparently,
nothing; saw him. at last, within hands
reach.
Just as he touched him he uttered
sobbing oath, and his great hand fall
tered, for Philips knife had struck
through, clean to the hilt, and Just
below the heart.
The effect of the shock was only
momentary. With yell of rage, he
sprang upon Cayley, crowded him
back against the wall, tore at him
blindly, like wild beast, and finally
getting Philips right forearm fairly
In the grip Of both hands, he snapped
It. ike pipestena,
In moment Cayley got round be-
hind him and with the crook of his
good arm round Roscoe's neck, he sue
ceeded in forcing him to release his
grip and in throwing him heavily.
AS he lay, his body projected
through the doorway, out into the
tunnel.
Philip left him huddled there, and
went back to the table. He found
INT he
hand; but it was full minute before
he could summon his courage to strike
q light, for the differences from Ros-
GOES presence hero In the pilot house
began to crowd upon him now, grim
and horrible. But he struck spark
at last, lighted a candle and looked
around.
The reaction of relief turned him,
for moment, giddy, as the glance
about the room convinced him that
what he feared worst had lot happen
ed. But another thought occurred to
him, almost at once, when he saw
the cover had been removed from the
top Of the ice chimney.
In his mind, of course, that repre-
sented the way Roscoe had come
What, If Jeanne, unable for some rea-
son to defend herself, had, chosen, as
the lesser evil, to fng herself over the
cliff from the tunnel mouth?
The moment he thought of that he
went out into the tunnel, stepping over
Roscoe's body to do so. He went ia
the edge and looked over, but it was
too dark to see. The light of the au.
rora which still blazed in the sky, daz.
zled his eyes, without lighting the
surface of the world below.
He must go down there, in order to
be sure. He had not stopped to furl
his planes when he alighted, and they
had wedged themselves sideways into
the tunnel, still extended and so ready
for flight in an emergency.
He righted them and slipped his
arms through the loops that awaited
them. He stood for moment, test.
ing the right wing tentatively. There
was play about it that he did not un.
derstand. So far as he could see moth.
ing was broken. The fact that it was
his own arm did not occur to him.
He was just turning to dive off the
cliff-head when, suddenly, he saw the
great form Of the man he had sup
posed to be dead, rise and rush upon
him.
Philips knife had, indeed, inflicted q
mortal wound, but man Of Roscoe's
physique lets go of life slowly. He
was bleeding to death, internally, but
the process was, probably, retarded by
his huddled position as he lay there
in the tunnel
So he had lain still and awaited his
chance. Cayley was standing quite
at the edge of the cliff, and the mans
momentum carried him over. His
clutching hands grasped Cayley's
shoulders, and they went down to-
gether. over 600 feet of empty space.
For Cayley the space was all too little.
AS they went over he thought that he
and his gigantic enemy were going
down to death together. Instructive
~, and much quicker than a man can
think, he swept his great-fantail for
ward and flung himself back in an at
tempt to correct the balance destroyed
by the great weight that was clinging
to his shoulders.
They were, of course, bound to go
down. Neither his strength nor the
area of his planes was sufficient to
support them both In the air But in
the position into which he had flung
himself they would go down little
more slowly. He would gain, perhaps.
q precious second more.
But he did not waste even an in
initesimal moment in any struggle
against the force Of gravity.
Twice, with all his might, he sent
his left fist crashing against the face,
the staring, horrible face, that con-
fronted his own. But still that con-
vulsive, dying grasp held fast.
They were now more than bare
200 feet above the ice. With a su-
preme effort, an effort whose sudden
ness availed 1t better than It's strength,