Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1911-06-23
CHAPTER Xxx.
A Moonlit QaY.

The midday moon had changed the
scIlber purple of the snow to silver.
This snow lay everywhere. save upon
the vertical face of the cliff itself, an
unreat, immaculate mantle over all
this arctic world. The valley. the
hills. the beach and the frozen sea
all las at peace beneath it, as il asleep
or dead
To Cayley. where he lay, suspended
in micsky. the moonlight cleaning
upon tie sensitive fabric Of his
planes. IS it CLEANS upon the faint
ripples 6l a mill pond in the dead of
some Jun0 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 desr ended upon the beach be-
side Jeanne to warn her of the APP
proach of TIE bear.
How long ago that was, by the
measure of tOurs and days and weeks
he did not lu ow. He had no data for
an estimate at would be better than
n guess. He remembered how des-
perately they 1ad worked that night.
saving what tl"Hy could from the burn
ing hut and carrying it back into the
cave; Remembered with what labor he
and Jeanne ha6 climbed the ice chin
ney to the only shelter that now re-
manned to them. the little pilot house
observatory upcl the cliff-head; re-
membered the dnremitting labor OF
uncounted hours while they adjusted
their way Of life to the conditions im-
rosed by the calamitOus loss of the
hut.
But after that there were lapscs OF
tine 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-
ton. 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 benumbcd 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
rover 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 ana
strength, at the task OF opening up
once more, the tunnel through the
drift which the great storm had
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
he scene which lay beneath his eyes
lie FASTENED back into the little pilot
house.
Jeanne was doing upon a heap or
bear-skins He reused her with some
difficulty; really waking up had been
a hard matter lately, almost as nara
as really getting off to sleep. She
was still drowsy when he led her
along me tunnel to the cliff-head.
Breathe deep" he told her. we
we're half poisoned in there. This air
will bring you back to life again. 1t
and the moonlight.
He had been supporting her Win
his arm about her waist, but now, as
she held herself little straighter and
he could feel her lungs expanding
with the pure air she breathed, ne
withdrew the arm and let her stand
alone. Even the white moonlight re-
yealed the color that was coming
back into her cheeks.
For a while she did not speak at
all; then, as if replying to a com
ment Of his, she said:
Yes. It's beautiful. But
Philip. it's dead Dead
Not this air that has ozone spar
yling all through it.. It is alive enough
10 make your blood dance. It's doing
that now"
He tried to persuade her to take a
little exercise along the length of the
tunnel but she demurred to that. In
stead, she asked him W DiiH6 NS
some bear-skins and let her sit there
at the cliff-head looking out.
And" she supplemented, IF you
want 10 know what ! should like most
Of all. it would be to have you bring
your wings so that | can see you fly
ing again, and feld-glass that can
watch you through"
He felt some hesitation, partly out
of a fear of leaving her and partly
from a doubt concerning his own
strength; but neither OF these reasons
was one he cared to avow. So he un-
furled the bundle that had lain dis
used so long, spread and frightened
and tested 1t, and at last, with nod
of farewell to the girl, dived off the
cliff-head.
Any doubt he may have had con-
corning his strength disappeared at
once. The mere touch of those great
wings Of his seemed to bring 1t all
back, and hope and Joy and condolences
along with 1t.
CTo BE coNTyNUED)