Gilpin observer., 1911-06-22
ZfH89NS cHAS NN.ROSSER
: +. SoPys.oM .e.o ey Tns CENTURY CO

night during the storm had been moth
Ing but hallucination. None the less,
he knew that It would be easier to
walk past that empty hut in full broad
day, than in this tricky, misty, uncer.
tain light Of dawn.
He carried out this plan at once.
to the point, that is. Of going up the
glacier to the cave. building a FIRE
there and satisfying his sharp hunger
with an enormous meal But he had
not slept at all the night before, and
| now the warmth and tho satisfaction
Of his appetite made his nerveless
hand release the bone he was gnaw-
ing, and caused him to roll over be-
side the fire and to fall asleep.
He slept deeply for number Of
hours. Then. arming himself with q
throwing-stick and number of darts,
he stepped outside the cave. intent
upon his expedition to the other side
OF the peninsula where there was a
possibility Of finding the yacht.
The cave was situated some little
distance up the glacier. and the
/ shortest, though by far the moro DIFF
ficult, way Of reaching his destination
lay, not along the beach but up
through the interior valley and across
the precipitous coast range Of hills.
1t was not the natural way to 90,
but the fact that 1t was actually short
er gave him sort Of excuse for avoid
Ing another visit, Just now. to the
scene of his discontinue of the night
before. He swore at himself, not so
much for taking this course as for the
reasons which his common sense al
legged against him.
His present route took him close
to the gold ledge, and the sight Of the
inexhaustible. precious, useless metal
that remained here brought upon him
for the first time. in full force, a
sense OF his loss. sense Of what that
luckless trip ashore from the Aurora
In search of that rosewood box had
| cost him.
At an Increased pace he descended
from the glacier. crossed the valley
and scaled the landward side of one
| OF the mountains Of the coast range.
! to a notch where he could command
view Of the sea to the westward.
He saw there what, in the bottom Of
his mind. he had all along been sure
he would see-nothing but another
barren. bleak horizon.
At that, for a while, his fortitude
broke down, and he raved and wept
and cursed like one demented. But at
last, spent, sobered, conscious once
more Of a sharp hunger, he climbed a
70 - xh2- Hha 20 to In q
ledge. where. as his minute knowledge
OF the country led him to expect, he
found a number Of looms sitting. He
killed one OF these birds with a dart,
and then. like the brute he was, ate 1t
| raw and warm.
By that time II was late in the aft
ernoon. Bravado. combined with a
more real belief than he had yet sue
ceeded In retaining. to the effect that
all his terror Of the night before had
resulted from nothing more serious
than a nightmare, led him to decide to
go home by way Of the beach. rather
than along the difficult interior trail
up which he had come.
Then descent from the cliff-head to
the beach was nothing to a man of his
inhuman strength and activity. though
an ordinary skilled mountaineer might
have hesitated before attempting IT..
Nevertheless, twothirds of the way
down he nearly fell-but for luck he
would have fallen, for he caught a
glimpse Of a lonely figure. a quarter Of
a mile away. perhaps, seated upon a
ledge, bending forward. chin in hand.
in an attitude which recalled. and
horribly echoed. that OF the man he
long ago had murdered.
| When he had steadied himself a lit
tie, he made his way cautiously down
to the level OF the beach His emotions
were divided about equally between
fear and anger. the anger existing be-
cause Of the fear.
With infinite caution he approached
that lonely. unsuspecting figure. slip
ping from the shelter Of one rock TO
that Of one a little nearer.
Three times his left hand drew back
the throwing-stick. balanced and
aimed along line that would send its
thin ivory dart as swiftly and az sure
ly to that beautiful throat as the one
that had found and transnxed Perry
sHunter's:, and three times his mus.
cles braced themselves for the effort
to propel II. But each time. with a
breathless oath. he lowered the
weapon again. and with the back of
his hairy hand wiped the sweat from
his forehead.
The act had none Of the quality Of
mercy in It; II was simply the result
Of logical dilemma. II the thing he
saw before him were a ghost, the
ghost Of the man he had already muir
dered. his dart would do no harm. II
It we're not ghost; II It were what II
looked more and more like as he drew,
nearer. living. breathing woman-he
licked his lips and wrung them with
his hand-if It were a woman, he did
not want to kill her II he could be
sure. could only be sure. he would