Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1911-04-13

applicable stamp of premature age
upon 1t. 1t had not struck her at all
as a tragic face. And yet the mean
ing Of those last words Of his, uttered
as they were, had been tragic enough.
AT least you have a magnificent re-
venge," vas all she said. And then
there was another silence. She her
self was trying to think Of something
to say, for she realized that his con
fession had been involuntary, and that
the silence must be distressing him.
But 1t was he himself who broke
the silence with a natural, matter-of-
fact question. you say a searching
party has set out from the yacht7
Have they been long ashore?"
They set out only a little after sun
rise. We came into the bay with the
last Of yesterdays twilight, and the
sight Of those huts, at the edge Of the
shore" her voice faltered a little,
nearly made us hope that the impos-
sible might prove true. We fired u
signal cannon two or three times and
then sent up some rockets, without
getting any answer. 1t was too late
to go ashore In the dark; so we had
to walt a few hours for another sun
rise. The few of us who we're left
on the yacht expected them back to-
day before dark fell. But I suppose
there's nothing to worry about in
their not coming. They went equipped
to pass a night ashore, If necessary.
You don't advise me to begin worry
ing about them, do your"
He did not answer her question. He
was recalling something which his
amazing meeting with the girl out
here on the ice-loe had, for a little
while, put quite out of his mind-the
weird, silent tragedy he had seen en-
acted a few hours before upon the
glacier behind the headland. The
victim, the man in the leather coat,
must have been one of the party from
the yacht; but it was impossible that
the little band Of his murderers could
be. No one freshly landed from the
yacht would have been dressed as
they we're, or would have been armed
with darts.
With no better look at them than
had been possible to him as he hung
above their heads, he had been con
WINGED that they were white; certain.
ly, the leather-coated mar had been
talking to them, freely enough, In
English. And yet, If white, they must
have been refugees-survivors, If moi
of Captain Ffelding's Inflated expedi
ton, then of some other, tragic, unre
ported ship wreck.
But If they were white men-refu
gees, why had they fed from theil
hut at sight Of the yacht which CANT
bringing a rescue? Why had they
driven that one luckless member o
the rescuing party who fell In will
them, into that carefully prepared am
bush, and then murdered him, silent
ly? Even Eskimos would not have
done a thing like ina
His long silence had alarmed thu
girl, and presently, perceiving tina
this was so, he drew himself up will
an affected start. 81 beg your par
don. l drifted off, thinking of some
thing else. Living in the sky doesn'
seem conducive to good No
l don't believe there is anything t.
=. worry about. Any way, as Dol a
light comes back, which won't b.
, long now, l can set at rest any fear
, you may have. I'll go and find you
party, and I'll search the land, too
for anything else that may be there
, And then I'll bring you word"
You are very good" she said witt
L, a little hesitation, but l can't lie
. you"
! He interrupted her with a laugh
; ITS nothing difficult that | am pre-
: posing to do for you, you know"
l That's true. l had forgotten you
wings. The rocks, the ice, the stee
places, that mean 80 tragically muc
!, to them, are nothing at all to you. Blu
what are you doing now? Even 20
can't find them in the dark"
He had already begun u~nstrappin
@ the bundle he had made of his wing
and seemed to be preparing for in
q mediate flight. That was what cause
her question.
NO" he said; 81 shall wait for sui
e rise"
"But why not here, on the yacht
h We can give you a comfortable be
there; better, certainly, than tbs
n sleeping bag Of yours"
II II am afraid" he said, that wht
you call a comfortable bed In a yacht
I. cabin would be the surest instrumeI
n that could be found for keeping n
r. awake all night. No, l shall find
sheltered hollow up at the top of thu
headland yonder, where l shall slee
deeply enough, you may be sure"
She watched him, silently, while
70 slipped the steel -jointed rods I'M
place, drew the catgut bow string
taut, until they sang-until the fabr
of his planes Skinned in the starligI
-~quivered, as If they were instin
IS with a life of their own.
A sense Of the unreality Of 1t G
came yelling up strongly within he
le and a touch Of an almost forgottt
ID fear of him.
lg Good night" she said, holding o
her hand-"goodby."