Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1911-03-31
CHAPTER ~.
The Throwlng-Stick.

ooh, suppose" said Jeanne,
there's no use worrying"
Across the table from where she sat
at breakfast in the snug, warm. lux
urious little dining room on the yacht,
old Mr.. Fanshaw methodically laid his
coffee spoon in the saucer beside his
cup, and looked up at her with his
slow, deliberate smile.
MY dear he said, remember that
Tom is in the party Unless they find
everything that, by the utmost stretch
of hope, they could find, he would in
sist on keeping up the search as long
as the light lasted, and when the light
failed, there would be no more light to
come home by. Don't think of wor-
rying; l don't Well hear nothing of
them for hours"
1T won't be as long as that" she
predicted confidently. NY sky-man
will probably bring me news before
then"
Old Mr.. Fanshaw halted his coffee
cup half way to his lips, "Your-
what?' he questioned. "Oh, l under
stand" And then he laughed. But
his face grew suddenly serious, and
he looked intently, curiously, into
hers. my child" he cried; ut can't
be that you are taking that dream Of
yours seriously. If thought that, I
would have to believe that this queer
arctic climate was doing strange
things with those nimble wits of
yours man alighting on the ice
foe, out Of mid air. and telling you
that he had just dropped in from Point
Barrow it's like the fight from the
moon of Cyrano de Bergerac
She pressed her finger tips thought
fully against her eyelids. 81 know,
she said Its perfectly incredible. I'm
Gle Jerry. but it's perfectly true for
all that"
Nonsense! Nonsense." ne said
e1plosively. Don't carry a joke too
far, my dear"
Its anything but joke" she said
slowly, and if 1t was a. dream-if
the sky-man, was nothing but a vision,
ne certainly left me a material souve-
MIR of hts visit" Then, with nod to-
ward the buffet, she spoke TO Mr..
Fanshaw's big negro valet VINO was
serving their breakfast: Hand Mr.
Fanshaw that queer looking stick,
sam, the one on the buffet Why
Why' what's the matter?" For she had
Iited her eyes to the mans face as
sne finished speaking 1t was wooden
Win FRIGHT ,,rH; oh oil
around the pupils of his eyes.
No, Miss Jeanne" he said, "Scuse
me. ! wouldn't touch dat stick, not
lof all de goP and jewels In de world;
not even to oblige him"
What's that?" Fanshaw exclaimed,
Whlrling upon him. what do you
mean? What the devil are you talk
Ing about?"
seen him. Mr.. Fanshaw; l seen
MN myself, coming down out of de
sub"
Fanshaw looked quickly from the
ueRro S face to the girls as If he sus-
tected hoax, but the terror in one
lace and the mystification in the other
were obviously genuine.
!han he rose and went over to the
DU-.J returning to the table with the
o or 'y-shaped, rudely-whittled stick.
40 You mean to say" he demanded
,suo@'ng up at the girl with a puzzled
t,o"n-"do you mean to say that he,
ue m~n you dreamed about, made
'ou a present Of this stick?"
aae laughed. If that seems a rea-
,5o'aole way Of putting it. yes; at
t es'i it slipped ont of his belt and I
Ipoond it where he had been sitting.
s Ivy can you imagine what he used 1t
o. I know what it is, but that
T N.Y. makes the puzzle all the deeper
an Eskimo throwing-stick. They
@s II 10 shoot darts with. 1t lies