The Arvada enterprise., 1911-06-29

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 the 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 a
throwing-stick and a NUMBER OF darts,
he stepped outside the cave. intent
upon his expedition to the other side
| OF the peninsula where there was q
possibility of finding the yacht.
The cave was situated some little
| distance up the glacier. and the
shortest. though by far the more dif-
fcult, 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 20,
but the fact that 1t was actually short
or gave him a 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 80
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,
sense OF his loss. a 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 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 while. his fortitude
broke down. and he raved and wept
and cursed like one demented. But at
last, spent, sobered. conscious once
more OF sharp hunger, he climbed a
little farther up the mountain to a
ledge, where, as his minute knowledge
OF the country led him to expect, he
found 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 1t 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 n nightmare, led him to decide to
than along the difficult interior trail
| up which he mad come.
The descent from the clif-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
would have fallen. for he caught a
glimpse of n lonely figure, quarter OF
a mile away perhaps, seated upon q
ledge. bending forward. chin in hand
In an attitude which recalled, ant
horribly echoed. that OF the man he
long ago had murdered.
When he had steadied himself lit
tie. he made his way cautiously dowr
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 {,
that OF one a little nearer.
Three times his left hand drew bacl
the throwing stick, balanced an,
Hlntu hlOng line lHhl WOulu SEND III
thin ivory dart as swiftly and as sure
ly TO that beautiful throat as the on,
that had found and trHnsfiSed PER-,
Hunters and three times his mus
cles braced themselves for the effor
to propel e. But each time. with
hreathless oath. he lowered tn
weapon again. and with the back o
his hairy hand wiped the sweat from
his forehead
The act had none OF the quality o
mercy in It: II was simply the resul
OF Il logical dilemma II the thing h.
saw before him were ghost. tn
ghost Of tho man he had already mur
dered. his dart would do no harm. |
IT were not a ghost: II II were what 1
looked more and more like as he drew
nearer. a living. breathing woman-h
licked his lips and wrung them witt
his hand-if II were woman, he al,
not want to kill her II he could b.
sure. could only be sure. he woul,
drop his weapon and make one rusl