The Tupelo journal., 1912-05-31

He strobe abruptly back to the cave
mouth. AS he did 30, however, his
eye alighted on something that made
him pause-something SO strangely
u of keeping. with its surroundings
that 1t caused him-or he thought that
was the reason-a sense of recogni-
lion, almost Of familiarity.
The thing which so evidently did
not belong to Roscoe that 1t seemed
almost to belong to Philip himself.
was a gold locket. 1t lay on a fat bit
of rock, which seemed to serve Ros-
Goes purpose as a table. The objects
which surrounded tan irregular
piece of raw walrus hide, an YER
turned bottle of whale OIL, with a
smudgy wick in IL. a s~ailmaker's
needle and some rawlings of canvas.
together with some scraps OF food-aIl
spoke so loud of Roscoe and made such
a contrast with this bit Of jewelry that
Cayley's action in STOPPING to pick 1t
up was automatic.
He held 1t in his hand q moment as
~ he did not know quite what to DC
with it, then put It in his pocket and
went out of the cave. Only during
the moment when it had first caught
this eye had It really commanded his
attention at all. BY the time he got
ioutside of the cave he had forgotten
1T.
Two or three breaths Of the clear
tair outside Of the ave were all he
needed to revive him, physically. But
TO his surprise they did not sunice to
hid him of the feeling which he re-
garded as superstitious, namely. the
Impulse to fly back to Jeanne ~ fast
- wing could carry him.
He had every ~ to believe that
sshe was safe, he told himself. She
was armed with q heavy revolver, was
q good shot and had plenty Of nerve,
She was In a place, the only avenue
tof access to which would give her q
tremendous advantage over any in
rvader. So that, ever %supposing the
worst-supposing that Roscoe's alb
sence were taken to mean that he had
gone to make an attack on the pilot
house, there could hardly be a doubt
that Jeanne would kill him.
His reasoning was all based on the
assumption that the pilot house wal
inaccessible to any wtngless creature
except by way of the ice chimney
Even now, when his fear for the girl
was amounting To a superstition Of al.
most irresistible intensity, it did not
occur to him to question that.
He steadied himself as best he could
and crouched down in the shelter OF
sthe big rock to await Roscoe's return.
He had hardly settled himself here
when he saw something that made
him shake his head impatiently, and
swear a little. It was the wtnking
glow Of an aurora borsalis, OF to the
north.
Cayley gazed at the spectacle unwill.
dngly, but still he gazed. And. some
how, though he fought the feeling des.
perately, 1t began to assume a per
sonal significance to nina signth.
canoe Of mockery. The whole sky was
,quiveriag with vast, sitput laughter
WAS II because he, with his fAAcled
F-cleverness and daring In fading. Ros-
GOES lair and waiting for his return t.
1T, was really doing precisely the thing
that Roscoe would have had him do?
lWere those sky.witches laughing over
what was happening up at the pilot
house while he sat here and waited?
No intelligence, no sane power OF
consecutive reasoning can resist this
sort OF thing definitely, and at last
lCayley,s power OF resistance came to
an end. ssyySassssaas..r
He sprang to his feet. at, last, drip
ping with sweat, in spite Of the cold,
Taught up his bundled wings. %unfurled
them and took the air with g rush;
,Once he had jerked himself aloft to a
height a little above the crest Of the
cliff, 1t was hardly more than a mat.
tier of seconds before he came oppo.
site the dome-like mound of snow
(which covered the pilot house.
There was no light shining out OF
sthe tunnel entrance. But that was
las he had expected it to be. He made
1T out easily enough; and In another
moment had alighted there.
"Jeanne!" he called.
It was not the exertion of flight, but
q sudden intolerable apprehension thai
made him breathless. The word had
halted a little In his throat. Exact
~ rs he uttered 1t he saw down the
tunnel, and in the pilot house itself
10 tiny spark Of fire, and heard the
click of steel against nint.
What the spark illuminated were
the fingers Of q gigantic. hairy hand
"Jeanne!" he called again. and now
his voice came clear enough. wait
minute and I'll make . light for you
CHAPTER xxi.