The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1922-01-20

Continued Prom Page g.
males travel around by themselves. q
i certainly wouldn't stay away, 81
the SRI replied. And her snterrs,
was roal; the study 90 the forest ifc
about her had been an ever tnerea..
Ing delight. she fcl, that she would
sreatly IKE 90 peer into one Of those
dark. mysterious dens where tina,
mysterious American animal. the
Ertsrly. lies In deep coma thru the
long winter months.
IL win only take a minute. w.
haven't cot to hack.track him more
Tran a hundred yards at most. Wen
be back IN a minute. Harold. And
70 you don't mindful take my own
qua
They exchanged rifles. and vfr.
Ttnia and Eiii started back towar,
the fallen grizzly. But tho explora.
ton OF the winter lair had not been
the only thing Biil had In view. lie
Also had certain words to say TO Nir.
Esnia-woris that he could scarcely
longer repress. and which he couidn',
have spoken with ease In Harold
presence. But now that they were
alone. the sentences wouldn't shape
on his lips.
He mushcd a while In silence. =. Il
suppose I haven't got 10 tell YOU.
Virginia" he said at Last. THAT yo,,
Your own courage-sayed my iife.'
She looked up TO him with lustrous
eyes, The man thrilled to tho iast
little nerve. In her comradeshlp for
him their luster was almost fik. that
of which he had dreamed 80 often.
Il know itc true" she answered
frankly. And I'm glad that--that
" was mine. and not somebody
sisc's" she too seemed TO be having
difficulty In shaping her thoughts.
1--WE never been happier about any
other thing. To rsy--Jast a little biz
OF debt But tn paying Il. I incurred
ano;her--so tho obligation Is Just as
btx as ever. You know-you saved
my life. too"
lie nodded. This war no time for
deception. for pretty lies.
Il saw you throw yourself IN front
81 mr." abe went on. II can never
forget H. III sec that picture. over
and over again. tili die--how you
plunged thru the snow and got In
front so sfncc we each did for the
cther--the only thing We could do
there's nothing more TO be said about
H. Isn't that so. Bur-
The man agreed. but his lips
trembied al they never did during
the charge OF the grixxly.
I've learned a lesson up herr
that words aren't much good and
don't seem TO Get anywhere" The
Esri spoke softly. only deeds count.
After they're done. there Is nothing
mrch-that one can say"
So they did not speak OF the mat.
ter again. They cam. 70 the bears
body and baek.traeked him thru the
srow. They pushed thru tn. young
spruce from whose limbs the grizzly
had knocked IN. STOW. Then they
cams out upon the cavern mouth.
Instantly Bill understood how the
fall Of the tree had knocked away
the snow from the nav. There's
been landslide here too. or "A snow
Slide he said. You se~--only the
top OF the cave mouth h. left open
He crAwied mp over the pile Of
rocks and dirt and. stooping. stepped
within the cavern. The giri was Inn
rsedlateiy behind him. Back five feet
from tho opening the interior was
dark as night: the cavern walls. gray
a. the mouth. slowly palcd and faded
and were obiiternted In the gloom.
But there was no stir OF life in the
darkness. no sign OF any other hab-
i,ant. But the walls themselves.
where the light from without re-
vealsd them. held Bill's fascinated
gaze-
wondering what was In his mind.
This cave-I've never seen n cave
Just like this. Virginia"
The man stepped forward and
scratched a match on the stone. ~
fiared: the shadows raced away. Then
Bnl's breath caught in haif-sob.
Instantly he smothered the match.
The darkness dropped around them
like a curtain. But in that instant
Of light BIZ beheld a scene that tore
a, his heart. Against tho cavern wall,
long lost in the irremediabls dark.
ness. he had seen a strange, white
shape-a ghostty thing that lay still
and caught the match's gIeam-a
grim relic Of dead years.
He turned 10 the girl. and his voice
was almost steady when he spoke.
You'd better go out. yirginia--into
the light" he advised.
"why2 Is it--danger7-
Not danger" His voice In the
silence thrilled her and moved her.
only wickedness. But IL isn't any.
thing you'd like 20 see.
Tho single rnatch-flare rad re.
veaIed him the truth. For one little
fraction Of an instant he had thought
silent against the stone. revealed
some forest tragedy OF years ago--a
human prey dragged TO a wild beast
lair. But the shape OF the cavern.
the character OF its walls. and a
thousand other clews told the story
plainly. The thing he had seen was
a naked skeleton, flesh and garments
having dropped away In the years;
and the grizzly had simply made his
lair in the old shaft OF his fathers
mine. Bill had found his fathers
sepulcher at issti
For a moment he stood dreaming
in the gloom. He Understood, now.
why his previous search had never
revealed the mine. He had supposed
that his father had operated along
some stream. washing the gold from
It's gravel. II had never occurred TO
him that he had dug a shaft. In all
probability, considering the richness
OF their output, they had burrowed
into the hill and had found an old
bed Of the stream. had carried the
gravel 10 the waters edge in buck
cts. and washed IL out. lie had never
looked for tunnels and shafts: II he
IIlrhif ll IL D.