The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1911-09-01
CHAPTER vi.
Toms Confession.

CHAPTER vi.
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. Mr.. 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
dians-Chucotes-they'd have been
quite as glad as white men to get a
chance to 60 back with US as far as
st. Michaels And I'm the third place,
II they were not Chucotes, but some
strange, unknown, murderous band OF
aborigines, 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 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,> 1t 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-f'oe.
The evening was unusually mild, the
thermometer showing only degree or
two below freezing, and here in the
lee Of the deckhouse they hardly
needed their furs.
They had sat there in silence a long
while. Toms promise that they would
keep brisk lookout against a pos
sible attack on the yacht, had passed
utterly from both their minds. 1t
was SC still-so dead still; the world
about them was so utterly empty as
to make any thought of such an at
tack seem preposterous.
Finally the girl seemed to rouse her
self from the train of thought that
had preoccupied her mind, straighten.
ed up little and turned for look
into her companions face. But this
little movement of her body failed to
rouse him. His eyes did not turn to
meet hers, but remained fixed on the
far horizon
A moment later she stretched out q
hand and explored for his beneath the
great white bear skin that covered
him, found it and interlocked her fin.
gers with his. At that, he pulled him
self up, with start, and abruptly
| withdrew his own from the contact.
She colored a little, and her brows
knitted In perplexity. What an old
bear yon are, Tom," she said. Whats
the matter today? It's not bit like
| you to sulk just because we disagree
about something. We disagree all the
time. but you've never been like this
to me before"
Il always told you ! was sullen
brute when things went wrong with
me, although you never would believe
it," he said. I'm sorry"
| II don't want you to be sorry" she
told him: Il just want you to be few
shades more cheerful"
| He seemed not to be able to give
her what she wished, however, for be
lapsed again into his moody abstrac
ton. But after a few minutes more
of silence, he turned upon her with {
question that astonished her. "Wha
did you do that for, just now?"
| At first she was in doubt as to wha
act Of hers, he referred to. DO 20,
mean my hand?" she asked, after look
ing at him in puzzled curiosity for ,
moment
! He nodded.
| "Why-because was feeling lit
tie lonesome, suppose. and sort Q