The Tupelo journal., 1912-03-22


the talus. When we get a fire 60
ing" he stopped himself short. 81
was going to say that we could melt
some ice for drinking water, but until
| we have some sort Of cooking utensil
| to melt it in, 1t won't do much good.
There must be something of the sort
IL the hut here"
completely abandoned" she told him
Our shore party searched them first
of all, and afterward Uncle Jerry and
| searched them through again. There
is nothing there at all, but some heaps
of rubbish"
Il think I'll take a look myself
said he Rubbish is a relative term
What seemed no better than that yes
terday afternoon while the yacht was
in the harbor may take on different
meaning this morning"
He disappeared through the door
way, and two minutes later she saw
him coming back with big battered
looking biscuit tin.
Unless this leaks too fast" he said,
lit will serve our purpose admirably
He observed, without rejecting
what the observation meant, that
bountiful supply of fuel was lying in
great drifts along the lower slope OF
the talus. Jeanne accompanied him
upon his quest of it, and with small
loss of time and no trouble at all they
collected an armful. They laid their
fire upon a great fat stone in front of
the hut, for the outdoor day was too
fine to abandon. for the dark and damp
in the interior, and soon they had the
fire blazing cheerfully.
For a while they sat, side by side,
upon his great sheepskin, warming
their fingers and watching the drip
of the melting ice in the biscuit tin.
But presently Cayley got to his feet.
breakfast" he said
rs there to be anything besides
good big drink of water apiece? If
there isn't, I'd rather not think about
i! Until .hs yacht T.. eg@s .s,l back
- unless Pm mistaken, there's an
excellent breakfast waiting for us not
far from where we got the fire-wood.
But I'll go and make sure before
raise your expectations any higher"
He walked away half-dozen PAGES
without waiting for any reply; then,
thinking suddenly of something else,
he came swiftly back again.
do you know anything about fire
arms?" he asked. IF you're accus-
toned to shooting, I'll leave my re-
volver with you.-No," he went on,
answering the question which she had
not spoken-"no, l don't foresee any
danger to you. It's just on general
principles"
I'm a pretty good shot. But II
you're going on a hunting expedition
for our breakfast and there isn't any
foreseeable danger to me In being left
alone, it seems reasonable that you
should take the gun"
He took the revolver from his belt,
however, and held it out to her. Our
breakfast doesn't have to be shot And
as a concession to my feelings-no,
it's nothing more than that-Td rather
you took it."
She did as he asked without further
demur, and he went away. When she
was left alone, the girl added fresh
sticks to the fire, and then, In default
of any more active occupation, took
up the red-hound book which lay be
side her and began once more to Pc
hp h1y
exhausted them Ip her reading Of
the night before, she had skipped the
pages of scientific description for
those parts 81 the Journal which were
most purely personal. Even now the
whole pages of carefully tabulated
data concerning the winds, currents,
temperature, and magnetic variations
got scant attention. In her present
mood the homeliest little adventure,
the idlest diversion of a winters day
meant more to her than all her IA
theirs discoveries put together. When
she saw Cayley coming back toward
her across the ice, she put the book
down half reluctantly.
Evidently his quest for breakfast
had not been in vain; he had big
black and white bird in his hand. DO
you suppose it's fit to eat? she
called out to him. How in the world
did you manage to kill it without the
revolver"
Eft to eat! It's a duck. What's
more it's an elder, which means that
her coat is worth saving"
But how did you contrive to kill
herr"
IT didn't. She killed herself She
was flying too low last night. I sup
pose-going down the gale, and In the
fog she went smack into the side OF
the cliff and broke her neck. That was
a very destructive storm for the birds.
There must be So of them, of one kind
and another, lying dead there along
the top Of the talus, at the foot Of the
cliff"
And that's what might have hap
pened, oh, so easily, to you. Yes, 1t
might. I've been realizing that. And