Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1911-05-26


He sprang back clear OF the flashing.
| scythelike cut of those terrible claws.
A little to the girls surprise and con-
siderably to her alarm, he turned and
went sprinting up the beach toward
the talus, at full speed, the bear
wounded but not in the least disabled,
numbering after him.
1t takes a fast runner to outrun
bear, but Cayley did It, When he
reached the foot of the talus, the bear
was 20 PAGES behind him. She saw
him stop short, whirl round again and
face his pursuer with shout
The bear also checked his speed
and reared up once more, towering,
upon his hind legs. Then Cayley
fred twice, the shots coming SO close
Iy together as to be hardly distinguish
able. One or both OF them took In.
Simultaneous effect. The great yellow
ish-white mass tottered forward, and
collapsed in heap only pace or two
from where Philip was standing.
He waved his hand at the girl, and
walked back for his wings. When
she met him. half way up the beach,
he was carefully taking the spent
shells out OF his revolver, one at a
time, and depositing them in his peck.
ct. NO telling how they may prove
useful" he commented; then, with a
quick look into her face, 81 hope you
weren't frightened when you saw me
run"
81 suppose / shouldn't have been,
but I'll have to confess that | was.
You weren't trying to get away from
him. or you wouldn't have run in that
direction. But it looked rather dread
full, just the same. Why did you
do IT."
I'VE were too far down the beach,
too near the waters edge before. 1t
was too late to skin him and cut him
up tonight, and | was afraid if storm
were to come up before morning, a
really big storm, we might lose him.
1t was a lot easier to get him up the
beach before / fired those last two
shots than 1t would have been after.
! thought at first of running toward
the hut 1t occurred to me- only just
In time, that there was no use in ma
king an abattoir of our front yard"
They had reached the hut and as he
finished speaking, they entered it.
Even Philip caught his breath rather
suddenly with that first glance about
Its transformed interior. The drift
wood fire, which glowed upon the
hearth, filled the whole room with
light, and bathed the walls and ralters
with warm colors.
Here was their fortress-against the
cold and the dark; a fortress, too,
against despair. That rude hearth
which he had built today was to be
their altar of hope
The girl stood looking at 1t a mo-
ment in silence, her lips pressed tight
together, one outstretched hand CROP
ing for the door-iamb behind her, as
If she wanted the support of some
thing. Even in this warm freight
she looked little pale. BY an evil
dent effort Of will she was breathing
very deep and steadily. She did not
try to speak
Cayley understood well enough what
1t meant. This place that they had
come back to for the night was home
now, probably the last home she would
ever have in the world, if one were to
balance the chances fairly It's warmth
and light and comparative comfort
did more to enforce a realization of
bair t,oo j iol
fore had done. The thing she was
fighting with was sudden wave of
plain terror.
Cayley went out into the little ves-
tibule and closed and bolted the outer
door. He contrived to waste minute
or two over the trifling task, in order
to give her that moment by herself
When he came back, closing the in
ner door behind him as he did so, he
found that she had taken of her cap
and the heavy cur coat which had en-
numbered her shoulders all day, and
hung them upon convenient wooden
peg in the wall She was standing
near the fireplace now, warming her
cold fingers at the blaze.
Cayley started a little at sight of
her, for now she was transformed,
| too. Standing there, silhouetted
against the blaze. In her gray cardi-
gan jacket and moleskins, she looked
like a young boy. He had discovered
before this that there was not a grain
| of false modesty about her; neverthe-
less, 1t pleased him when, with a GER
tain charming frank simplicity, she
called his attention to her costume
IT'S lucky thing" she observed,
that I dressed for a scramble over
! the ice before coming ashore with
| Uncle Jerry and Mr.. Scales. And
lucky, too, that l didn't change back
when we returned to the Aurora. |
left it the second time with no other
idea than of pulling about for awhile
in the dinghy, I'd have done that Just
the same if | had dressed for dinner
| thot niUbt as 7 usuaI1y did