The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1912-03-14

succeeded IN surprising Cayley by sit
ting down TO breakfast with him in
the same mood and spirit which she
had shown before when she did not
know
Tn about half famished." she said
as they began their meal. at least
that duck smells perfectly IRE.
sistible. It's done to a turn. ,S'nk.
In a way. It's rather a Joke that We
should begin our arctic privations
with roast duck
There's something queer about that
hut" he said. something that gets
| queerer the more think about H.
Why do you suppose the walrus PEG
pie abandoned Il? Or. rather. do you
suppose they did abandon IT. They
couldn't have built another house
without dlsmantling this one. There
are no trees on this land To furnish
timber. and there certainly isn't any
| hardware store where they could have
those doors swung on hinges. But
those doors swung on hanges last
I night and the bolt worked. and more
or less, the walls and roof kept out
the gale For this style OF architecture
IT'S In pretty good repair"
! The girl was only half convinced.
That great heap Of stones in there"
she began. doesn't look like good re.
pair or recent habitatlon."
mo II doesn't" he rejoined. IT'S
been mede To look as little that way
as possible. II wouldn't have got into
that condition otherwise in 100 years
Come. let's have look It's something
TO hope for. at any rate"
ITO hope for?" she repeated CUES.
tioningly.
He had already entered the hut and
did not at once volunteer any further
explanation. but from the shine of ex.
element she could see In HIS eyes II
was evident that he contemplated
something better than merely hold.
ing death at arms length for
little while.
To the girls eyes there was but lit.
tie about the interior OF the hut 20 nc.
count for such hope. even though
she saw that all Of the things he had
said about II were true. The fimsy
inner doors were still hinged TO their
frames. and were provided with a
miscellaneous assortment Of catches.
II was marine hardware. all OF Il. evi.
IDENTIFY from her fathers ship. the
Phoenix. The hunks and shelves which
lined the walls looked perfectly solid
and well built But the general np-
pearance OF the room presented look
Of disrepair. II was absolutely I'M
furnished The great heap OF smoke
blackened stones. of various sizes and
shapes. and the hole In the roof above
them. attested that they had once
been a fireplace.
From the forlorn aspect OF the room
the girl gladly turned her eyes away
He had been sweeping the walls, roof
and floor In a general survey. Now.
abruptly, he went over to the heap OF
stones. picked up one OF them, rubbed
his thumb over II and scrutinized.
with an air OF considerable interest.
the black smear Il left.
That would account for the drift
wood" he said absently.
AZ that he might have seen In the
girls face a look OF half-amused i'm
patience, but his abstraction was too
deep for him TO notice II.
He walked over to one OF the side
walls, pulled open what proved TO
be a big solid shutter. revealing
glazed window, and. for long while.
stood there. unconscious OF the look
the girl had turned upon him. uncon-
scious OF his present surroundings
Yes. something to hope for, certain
ly." He turned away from the win
dow as he said II. and smiled at her.
"A good hope-a good fighting hope
that when the relief comes back next
summer they'll find you here alive"
IF you say so. I'll believe H." said
the girl, because you told me the
truth before. But do you mind telling
me Why"
Il should have thought OF II soon
er. I should have noticed II last
night. My guess was right, that's all
This is not an abandoned hut Don't
you see. it's In almost perfect repair?
The hinges on this shutter work al
though II you look closely you can see
that some one gave tug at them not
long ago in an attempt to pull them
out And that patch on the wall was
put on within month. The men
who wrecked this placed worked hasti- !
ly and showed no great degree Of mag |
ination. They hadn't much time. you |
see, because they couldn't have begun |
until they caught their first glimpse |
OF the yacht. They had finished the |
job before they could send a party !
ashore"
but why In the world should they |
do such thing" the girl protested.
He shook his head II haven't |
worked that out yet, not fully. at any |
rate. After all. It's not the question
that concerns us"
I'm sim in maze about H. What !
did you mean about the drift wood?"
why. the SCOT on these stones /
showed me that. They haven't been /
burning drift wood in this fireplace. |
They've been burning coal-or oil. per
haps. | hadn't thought OF that. That's /
why the drift wood collected again out I
there on the talus. You remember