Part 26 (2/2)

CHAPTER XVIII

A NEW PERIL

Long hours in the cranny of the cliff Phi rapped in heavy sluarments, he did not feel the cold The bed was soft, his ”house” well sheltered from the wind

He awoke at last to start and stare The sun was painting the peaks of distant ice-piles with a touch of pink and gold He experienced a strange sensation For one brief moment he fancied himself on the mainland of Alaska This, he realized, was not entirely iht have circled about to carry hiain

So possessed was he with the idea that he grew i bird Once thehidden the bird net in the crevice, that he ht return to it in case of necessity, he hurried away With Rover at his heels, he crossed the uneven surface of the plateau, keeping well toward the edge of the rocky cliff that hedown to a village or a miner's cabin

In hisdown to a h flapjack in so shack, and, if this dream came true, how quickly he would shape his course toward the spot he had been directed to by the ciphered note in the blue envelope!

”I'd walk in on the

”You look the part of Rip's dog, old fellow,” he laughed; ”you surely do”

Yet, as he thought more soberly, he realized that there was really no reason for supposing that the ice-floe had returned hiht be a point of the mainland of Asia,” he reasoned ”The people who co may be Chukches”

Had his ht have taken note of soht of hiht on

Suddenly a small, dark object flew past his head Before he could turn to investigate, a second, better aiht off his balance, he went crashi+ng to the ground The next ave a yelp of pain He too had been struck by one of these flying missiles which proved to be rocks

Stunned, but not seriously injured, Phi rose upon hands and knees and made all haste to fortify hi defiance, the old dog crouched by his side

It was a moment of suspense What could this mean? Into the boy's mind there crowded many questions Had he been carried to the shore of some island of the far north where the white man had never set foot?

Was he about to be attacked by a murderous band of superstitious natives? He had seen no one How many were there and why did they use only stones for weapons? The bow and arrow are known to the e

To these questions he could form no answer He could only crouch there and wait

He did not have long to consider what his next lance in the direction frole native Instantly the h the air It came from exactly the saed by this thought, he proceeded to stalk his ene out at him from the other end

The ruse worked He found thehis neck to look around the side of the rock which the boy had just left

Presently the native took a few steps forward Phi thought he walked with a kind of stagger

”It's strange he'd have the courage to attack me alone, armed only with rocks,” heroused him to action The native's rock had found a mark His back was turned to the boy and with a sudden, swift rush Phi leaped out and landed full upon his back The two of thegled with alth, then suddenly he cruround