The Tupelo journal., 1912-05-03

tically secure against surprise, 1Or
from their windows, with the aid Of a
ield-glass which Cayley had found
In the observatory, they were able to
sweep the whole beach absolutely
clean. In both directions.
And almost every day while the
light lasted, with Jeanne, armed with
the revolver, keeping watch before the
hut, Cayley took to his wings and
patrolled the beach, from the glacier
to the p~romontory, high up above the
level Of the crest Of the cliff. His
flight was always along the same
track. He never winged his way In
land nor out to sea.
There were two eason for this.
Jeanne that a flash and a swoop would
not bring him to her side. The other
reason was, that II a superstitious fear
of this great man-bird were really
what deferred their enemy from at
lacking them, it was well to let him
believe that immunity from this por-
tent could be secured by keeping
away from this particular stretch Of
beach.
AS the shortening days sped by and
began to get themselves reckoned into
weeks, the conviction grew upon
Philip and Jeanne that their securest
protection lay in his wings, in the
terrorizing effect upon their invisible,
silent enemy Of the majestic winged
apparition which was so often seen
soaring in midsky above the hut and
the little stretch of beach surrounding
1t. Something was protecting them
evidently. Almost every week brought
some evidence, not only of the exis-
tence but the nearness of their enemy.
They never actually caught sight or
sound of him, but some times when
the wind blew from the right quarter
they could make out, with their field
glass, a wrack Of brownish smoke,
such as would be given off by burning
whale oil, drifting down from some
where along the glacier. and made
visible by the dazzling wilderness Of
that background.
And sometimes they saw track in
the newly fallen snow. coming
very near the hut, but t%respassing q
little way, either down from the
glacier or up from the headland, upon
the stretch of beach they were de-
Tending. They never found the tracks
of more than a single man, and these
were always the same. So that they
came to believe. although they could
not know, that they had only & man
to deal with.
They sometimes ~speculated on the
question whether he was Roscoe or
some other member of the Walrus
crew; really, in feet. they found 1t
impossible to hope that it was any
other than he.
They got proof of his identity, or
what amounted to it, along toward the
end of October. Cayley's keen eyes
caught, one day, from up aloft where
he was soaring, the CLINT Of something
OF the beach lear the foot OF the
headland. He circled down in a long
swoop, caught 1t up without alighting
and mounted into the air, q trick OF
aeronautics which made Jeanne, &C
customed as she was by now to 60
ing him In flight catch her breath .
little.
When he descended and alighted
beside her . few moments later, he
showed her Q sheath knife, the haft OF
which was q rudely carved walrus
tusk. The hand Of the last user Of II
had had blood upon it, and It's imprint
upon the surface Of the ivory vas
plainly to be seen. The lines in the
palm we're traceable and, l~engthwise,
along the side of the handle, the
print OF an immense thumb.
you see," said Cayley quietly, h
was using this knife left-handed."
The girl paled a little as she handed
the weapon back to him, but she spoke
quietly enough:
Its good to know" she said. al
most Q relief"
CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.