Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930, 1911-08-17
and make out clearly enough two fig

| Once more he was tempted to fire
and might have yielded to the temp
tation had not the light been put ou'
before he had fairly got his eye ad
justed to the distance.
1t is to ne remembered, always. thai
he knew nothing whatever of the Ice
chimney, and suspected no connection
between the hut and the pilot house
except by the air. For anything he
knew to the contrary, Jeanne might
be able to fly, as well as Philip, OIL
he to carry her with him upon his
flights. Consequently, he did not sus
pect, when he saw Cayley take tc
flight again, that this action had any
reference to himself; o that the
woman who was left alone would be
on her guard against him.
The moment he glimpsed the
shadow of Cayley's wings against the
stars he began making his way, eau
tiously. over the crusted snow, toward
the pilot house. The door was closed
but there was a light shining out
through a crack beneath it. 1t was a
glass door, but something had been
hung over the glass so that he could
not see into the interior.
Both Jeanne and Philip had made
the mistake of assuming that the only
way of access to the pilot house, ex.
cept to Philip with his wings, was the
ice chimney. 1t was a natural mis-,
take enough-one that almost any but
a %practised mountaineer would have
made.
Furthermore they had no reason
either of them-for anticipating an at
tack upon the pilot house while Philip
was gone. They had been living here,
now for weeks, in unbroken security.
So, though the girl obeyed Philips in
junction literally and scrupulously,
she did it without the slightest sense
OF personal danger, and indeed she
would hardly have had room for such
an emotion even if there had been a
much reasonable ground for it.
She was sitting beside the oil stove,
in one of the farther corners of the
room. The chimney hole was in the
corresponding corner. The revolver
lay on the table in the middle of the
room, a few PAGES behind her. The
pilot house door vas directly in line
with it, and almost exactly behind her
back. The door was hinged to swing
inward.
When it burst open she attributed
the fact to no other agency than the
wind. She laid down the red-bound
book upon the bench beside her and
rose, rather deliberately, before she
turned round.
AS she did so Roscoe sprang for
ward to the table and seized the re-
volver. Her failure to turn imme-
diately had given him the second he
needed to take in the strategic posi-
bilities of the room.
His rifle was a clumsy weapon in
close quarters. So, as he sprang for
ward, he dropped it and made for the
instead. 1t only needed a
glance at the girl to convince him
that she was unarmed. Quite deliber-
ately he broke open the breech of the
and satisfied himself that it
was loaded. Then he looked up again,
blinking at the girl.
1t was no wonder that Carlson and
had mistaken her for the ghost
OF the mar their leader murdered. She
looked like her father as a woman
may resemble a man, and her white
ness, her fineness, her delicacy all in
rather than diminished the
credibility of the idea that she was in
fact his spirit.
The hand which held the revolver
dropped nervously at his side. He
swallowed hard, and wrung his cruel
lips with his other great hand. 1t was
hen that the girl looked up into his
face. 1t was then she uttered her
first cry.
For she saw that he cid not mean
to kill her.
Suddenly Jeanne's eyes detached
themselves from his face. A look of
alarm came into them, and
she raised her hand to her throat, as
she were choking. She was
past Roscoe, and straight
DOWN the NOW tunnel.
Phillip" she cried, take care: he's
The snow tunnel was empty, and
,or aught she knew. her lovers body
night be lying mangled in the mon
cave She had thought of that
before she tried the trick. But, even if
hat were so, that cry of hers might
cad the monster to steal one uneasy
at the door behind him; and
even that would give her time enough.
f he had not killed Philip, but sim
oly eluded him, he would turn in
That was what he did. He sprang
'ound with a suddenness which be-
poke a perfectly genuine, common
alarm. And then he found him
elf in darkness.
He understood at M that he had
'een tricked. Without wasting the time
turn back and look at Jeanne, he
iprang toward the pilot house door.
lie thought she meant to attempt to
ush by him, gain the snow-tunnel and
brow herself over the crest of the
lift. He had not misread the sud