The Irish standard., 1911-08-26

of all, and afterward Uncle Jerry and
l searched them through again. There
is nothing there at all, but some heaps
of rubbish"
Il think I'll take a look myself"
said he. Rubbish is a relative term.
! What seemed no better than that yes
terday afternoon while the yacht was
In the harbor may take on different
meaning this morning"
He disappeared through the door.
way. and two minutes later she saw
him coming back with big battered
looking biscuit tin.
Unless this leaks too fast" he said,
1T will serve our purpose admirably"
He observed, without rejecting
what the observation meant, that
bountiful supply of fuel WAS lying in
great drifts along the lower slope Of
the talus. Jeanne accompanied him
upon his quest of it, and with small
loss Of time and no trouble at all they
collected an armful. They laid their
fire upon great nat stone in front of
the hut, for the outdoor day was too
fine to abandon for the dark and damp
In the interior, and soon they had the
fire blazing cheerfully.
For while they sat, side by side,
upon his great sheepskin, warming
their fingers and watching the drip
Of the melting Ice in the biscuit tin.
But presently Cayley got to his feet.
"Breakfast!" he said.
is there to be anything besides a
good big drink of water apiece? II
there isn't, Id rather not think about
It until the yacht comes back"
Unless I'm mistaken. there's an
excellent breakfast waiting for us not
far from where we got the tire-wood
But I'll 90 and make sure before l
raise your expectations any higher"
He walked away half dozen PAGES
without waiting for any reply; then,
thinking suddenly of something else
he came swiftly back again.
DO you know anything about fire
nrms?" he asked. IF you're accus-
toned to shooting. I'll leave my re
volver with you.-No." he went on,
answering the question which she had
not spoken-"no, l don't foresee any
danger to you. It's just on general
principles"
I'm a pretty good shot But II
you're going on a hunting expedition
for our breakfast and there isn't any
roreseeable danger to me In being left
alone, it seems reasonable that you
should take the gun
He took the revolver from his belt,
however, and held 1t out to her. "Our
breakfast doesn't have to be shot And
us concession to my feelings--no
It's nothing more than that-Td rather
you took it,
She did as he asked without further
demur, and he went away. When she
was left alone. the girl added fresh
sticks to the fire, and then, in default
OF any more active occupation. took
up the redbound book which lay be-
side her and began once more to pc
rllse its pages. She had by no means
exhausted them. In her reading of
the night before, she had skipped the
pages of scientific description for
most purely personal. Even now the
whole pages of carefully tabulated
data concerning the winds. currents.
temperature. and magnetic variations
got scant attention. IN her present
mood the homeliest little adventure,
the idlest diversion Of winters day
meant more to her than all her fa-
theirs discoveries put together. When
she saw Cayley coming back toward
her across the ice, she put the book
down half reluctantly.
Evidently hiB quest for breakfast
had not been In vain; he had a big
black and white bird in his hand. "Do
you suppose It's fit to eat? she
called out to him. GLOW in the world
did you manage to kill it without rne
revolver?"
Git to eat! It's duck. What's
more. it's an elder, which means that
her coat is worth saving"
"I'ut how did you contrive to kill
herr"
II didn't She killed herself She
was flying too low last night, sup
pose-going down the gale, and In the
fog she went smack into the side of
the cliff and broke her neck. That was
a very destructive storm for the birds
There must be so of them, of one kind
and another lying dead there along
the top Of the talus, at the foot Of the
cliff"
"And that's whit might have hap
pened, oh, so easily, to you. Yes. it
might. I've been realizing that And
] sha'nt forget" Her eyes had bright
ened and she pressed her hands to
them for just one moment; then she
Strengthened up briskly. Anyway, I'll
not make scene about 1t now" she
said. "I'll show a little practical
sense and help you with the break
fast"
mo, we're camping out today, and
on such occasions the men always do
the cooking. Go back to your book
while skin this fowl and dress it,"
Then as she still hesitated, he went