Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1911-05-04
CHAPTER VI.
Toms Confession,

Toms Confession.
At intervals during the day those
enigmatical words of Mr.. Fanshaw's
required to the girl with the reflection
that they wanted serious thinking
over, at the first convenient oppor-
tunity. But the day wore away and
the opportunity did not appear.
The captain Of the yacht-his name
was Warner-was on shore in COM
mand Of the searching party, but the
first officer. MI. Scales. remained on
board. He was in possession of all
the data, though they had not told him
the story Of Philip Cayley's old rela-
ton with the murdered man.
1T stands to reason" he said, that
the only party Of white men that could
be here would be the survivors of the
Fielding expedition. We know from
the news that young Mr.. Fanshaw
brought aboard that there is one such
survivor here. If there were any
considerable number of them left,
able-bodied enough to walk across the
glacier, we could be sure they'd be
here on the shore waiting for US. We
could be certain they would have
made some attempt to signal us as
soon as they sighted us.
IF they weren't white men but In
Observation-Disclosures have been
quite as glad as white men to get a
chance to go back with us as far as
st. Michaels. And in the third place,
If they were not Chucotes, but some
strange, unknown, murderous band Of
aboriglnes, there wouldn't have been
even one survivor of the Fielding ex-
petition.
"Of course that's not an absolute
water-tight line Of reasoning, but it
seems to me there is a tremendous
probability that it's right, and that
this flying man has lost his wits"
By four o'clock they had decided
that, whether or not the sky-man's
story might be true, It was high time
to send a relief party ashore to find
the lost ones
At five o'clock accordingly, the re-
lief expedition went ashore, and Tom
Fanshaw and the girl were left alone
on the yacht.
Two hours later, perhaps, after they
had eaten the supper which Jeanne
had %concocted in the galley, they sat
side by side, in their comfortable deck
chairs, gazing out across the ice-floe
The evening was unusually mild, the
thermometer showing only a degree OF
two below freezing, and here in the
lee Of the deckhouse they hardly
needed their furs.
They had sat there in silence a Ions
while. Toms promise that they would
keep a brisk lookout against a pos
| sible attack on the yacht, had passed
utterly from both their minds. 4
was SC still-so dead still; the work
about them was so utterly empty a!
to make any thought Of such an at
tack seem preposterous.
Finally the girl seemed to rouse hes
self from the train Of thought tina
had ~preoccupied her mind, straighteI.
ed up a little and turned for a looi
into her companions face. But THU
little movement of her body failed t
rouse him. His eyes did not turn II
meet hers, but remained fixed on tn,
far horizon.
A moment later she stretched out
hand and explored for his beneath thu
great white bear skin that covered
him, found it and interlocked her fin
gers with his. At that, he pulled hin.
self up, with a start, and abrupt.
withdrew his own from the contact.
She colored a little, and her brow.
knitted in perplexity. What an oil,
bear you are, Tom," she said. What
the matter today? It's not a bit lik
you to sulk just because we disagree
about something. We disagree all tn
time, but you've never been like thi
to me before"
81 always told you I was a sulle
brute when things went wrong wit
me, although you never would beliov
it." he said. I'm sorry"
81 don't want you to be sorry" sh
told him; Il just want you to be a fey
shades more cheerful"
He seemed not to be able to Civ
her what she wished, however, for h
lapsed again into his moody abstrat
ton. But after a few minutes NOR
of silence, he turned upon her with
question that astonlshed her. "Wha
did you do that for, just now?"
At first she was in doubt as to wha
act o. hers, he referred to. DO yo
mean my hand?" she asked, after lool
ing at him in puzzled curiosity for
moment.
He nodded.
"Why--because l vas feeling a II
tie lonesome. l uppos and sort