The Tupelo journal., 1912-05-31
ar trace OF reckoning.
cHS
~ cCpvR.oHf 1910 eY THg cENruRYc CO
copYRtcnT. 1910 ~ oUccEss 60
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All trace OF reckoning.
During the storm he had lived In
the cave, much as Philip and Jeanne
had lived In the pilot house on the
cliff; he had. that is to say, in some
purely automatic fashion. kept on ex-
listing. The mere momentum Of q ma
ture mans vitality makes 1t hard for
him to die. But when the storm
abated and milder weather came, he
bestirred himself, as Cayley did, and
set about digging a tunnel OF his own
through the great drift which had
blocked the entrance to his cav
The next time the moon came up,
after he had completed the tunnel
from the cave, he set out down the
beach toward the ruins OF the hut.
1t was not mere curiosity which
attracted him, nor any lurking fear,
but simply the hope of making some
salvage from the wreckage of the hut,
or possibly, from the bodies of his two
victims, in case he was lucky enough
to find them. He had no doubt at all
that they were dead.
His pleasure over the quantity and
condition Of the stores he found In
the ice cave compensated for his
disappointment over not finding the
bodies ofshis two latest victims.
Evidently they had not even at
tempted to use such shelter as the ice
chamber afforded, Tor 1t showed no
mark OF human habitation at all. They
had probably wandered outside and
died in one Of the nearby drifts. Per
haps he would md them some day.
Fur the present. however. the stores
occupied his whole attention.
Very methodically he set to work.
carrying them on to hts own cave,
working without fatigue and wfthelt
MISUNDERSTANDING so long az the
moonlight lasted.
He was just setting out with his last
load when, glancing skyward to see
how long the light would hold, he
caught a glimpse of Cayley on the
wing. The sight ocoasioned him no
return-not rel momentary-of the
old terror. He cursed a little because
he had not his rife with him; the sky
man soaring slowly and no very high,
presented a mark he could almost GER
tainly have hit.
1t was surprising, of course, to see
him alive, but Roscoe. in his present
state, never thought of looking to su-
nnrpoxr1 onorC ~ oonQyrnf f0r the
fact Indeed, he was hardly than
q moment in experimenting the r ex-
PLANTATION. There might well be, he
supposed. up somewhere In the face
Of the clih a cave, or shelter, OF which
he knew nothing, and easily Access
sible to anyone who happened to pos
sess q flying machine.
Skirting the cliff and keeping well
In its shadow, he made hts way with
his last load, back to his v Here
he spent a few minutes cleaning his
rife, making sure that the mechanism
Of the breech was working perfectly.
and filing its magazine full Of car
tridges.
The moon was just setting, but the
sky was still bright enough to give
him a good hope Of making out Cay
ley's winged figure against It.
Roscoe squatted down in the lee Of
the great hummock Of ice, surveyed
the heavens with keen, practised eyes,
munching on a strip Of dried walrus
meat which he had brought with him
and waited very contentedly.
He had not long to wait. Long be-
fore the moon twilight had gone out
Of the sky he saw In 1t siihouetted
against it, the sight from which
he had once fed with such mad
terror-the broad expanse of the sky
mans wings.
Instead Of firing, he scrambled up to
the top OF the nearest ice hummock
and frQm there watched caylsy' digit
to his landing place.
He laughed aloud when he saw that
It was not in the side Of the cliff, as he
had feared, but quite at the crest OF 1t
where 1t was as accessible to Q nah
who could cliIa. a bit as to n with
wings.
He did nc. move from his attitude
of strained attention. on the summit
OF q little ice lii, until he saw faint
glow of go. den light diefusing itself
from the mo. tn of the tunnel that led
to the pilot house. Then. with that
queer stunning gait OF his. which was
neither walk nor run, he began max
ing his way inshore, over the ice. 70
ward the foot Of the cli6.
Cayley's tunnel vas not ut right
angles to the crest, but bore OF dag.
onally westward. Roscoe had noted
this fact, and he figured 1t out from
the top Of the promontory, which
formed the western boundary Of their
strip OF beach, he should be able to
command . view straight into the tun'
mel. Also. there Wal 1t this point :
precipitous trail up the cli6. No one
but Roscoe would have called It I
trail, but that was the way 1t existed
In his mind.
His calculation Of the angle OF the