The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1912-01-18

very way 10 CONVEY tit ihp'NrSio"
II having come more recently from
he civilized. habitab.e portion of the
world than his companions. He car
ed a rife slung by strap over bis
boulder. evidently foreseeing no i'm
Mediate use for Il, ard a TASK.
Cayley was too far aloft for their
conversation to be audible To him. but
10 could hear that they were talking.
rhe leather-clad man appeared to be
loing the most OF II. and. from the
Injection Of his voice. he seemed TO
5e speaking in English.
Presently he noticed that the leath-
er-clad man had forged a little ahead
of his companions, or. rather--like q
lash, this idea occurred to Cayley-
that the others were purposely lag.
glng a little behind.
And then, before that sinister idea
could formulate itself into a definite
suspicion, hts eyes widened with
amazement. and the cry he would
have uttered died In his throat: for
this man, who had so innoc,ntly al
lowed the others to fall behind him.
suddenly staggered. clutched at some
thing-it looked like a thin ivory dart
that had transfixed his throat.
tugged II out In a sudden food OF
crimson, ree'ed a little and then went
assure in the ice. which lay Just 10
the left of the path where he had
been walking.
From the instant when Cayley had
noticed the others dropping behind. 10
the last glimpse he had OF the body
Of the murdered man could hardly
| have been i've seconds.
The instant the murdered man dis
appeared, another. who had not previ-
ously been with the party. 1t seemed.
appeared from be hind a hummock OF
ce. There could be no doubt either
| hat he was the assassin. or that he
was the commander of the little group
OF skin-clad figures that remained.
The ambush appeared to have been
perfectly deliberate. There had been
no outcry. not even a gesture of sur
prise or of remembrance.
Cayley looked at the assassin curl
! ously. He was dressed exactly like
| the others, but seemed very much
bigger; seemed to walk with less Of
SLOUGH. and had, even to Cayley's
| limited view OF him. an air Of authori-
ty. Cayley was surprised at his not
being armed with a bow. for he knew
of no other way in which a dart could
have levr propelled with power
| enough. even at close range. to have
| ,ransfixed a mans throat. The assas-
| sins only weapon. except for culver
full of extra darts. seemed to be a
short blunt stick, rudely whitfield.
perhaps ten inches long.
Obedie Mt, apparently. to the order
OF the new arrival. the party changed
its direction. leaving what was evt
IDENTIFY a well-known path TO them. for
a seemingly more direct but rougher
4 route. And they moved now with an
| appearance of haste. Presently they
scrambled over a PERCEPTIONS ledge OF
ice and. in a moment, were lost to
| Cayleys view.
The world was suddenly empty
again. as II no living foot had ever
trodden 1t: and Cayley. lowering
there. a little above the level OF the
ice, rubbed his eyes and wondered
whether the singular. silent tragedy
he had Just witnessed were real. or a
| trick the mysterious arctic light had
| played upon his tired eyes. But there
| remained upon that vacant scene two
| material reminders of the tragedy to
which 1t had afforded a setting. One
was smudgc of crimson on the snow:
the other. a little distance on. Just
this side OF the icy ridge over which
the last of the party had gone scram-
bling a moment before. aas the
strange looking blunt stick which he
had seen In the assassin's hand.
Cayley few little lower. his wings
almost skimming tho ice. Finally.
reaching the spot where the thing had
fallen. he alighted and picked 1t up.
Whether it's possessor had valued 1t.
or not, whether or not he might be
expected to return for II. Cayley did
not know. and did not much care.
He stood for some time turning the
thing over in his hands. puzzling over
IL, trying to make out how It could
have been used as the instrument Of
propulsion to that deadly ivory dart.
There was a groove on one side OF 1t.
with a small ivory plug at the end.
The other end was curiously shaped,
misshapen. rather, for. though II was
obviously the end one he'd, Cayley
could not make II fit his hand, what
ever position he held ii In.
Giving up the problem at fast, Re
tucked the stick into his belt, slipped
his arm through the strap In the
framework Of his aeroplane and pre-
pared for flight He had a little din
Guilty getting up. owing to the absence
OF a breeze at this point. Finally ne
was obliged To climb, with good deal
OF labor, the Icy ridge up which he
had watched the little party OF muir
derers scrambling.
At the crest he cast glance
around, looking for them. but saw no
signs OF them. Then. getting favor
able slant OF the wind. he mounted
again into the element he now called
his own.
Five years before Philip Cayley