A red image
stood upon
the sleigh,
an image
twice as tall
as Oona-giak's.
THE SUNDAY FICTION MAGAZINE, MARCH 4, 1917
lli
thins wrapped In the pelt of the great
musk ox.
Straight past the shouting villagers
staggered the team and its driver. Down
lb the rock and snow igloo of Aganyik's
father theyiwent. There the little cav
alcade of onlookers halted behind the
sleigh. "
"I bring the red Frost Devil," said
Teeshwinah loudly. "I bring that beside
which the ivory image is as a child's
toyr" And he unwrapped the bundle. A -red
image stood upon the sleigh, an
image twice as tall as Oonagiak's, and
with great green eyes that caught the
light of the burning blubber oil from the
door of the igloo and seemed to dance in
the night. The new god was red, red as
the sunset of early October, and so heavy
that two men had to lift it.
THE red devil was not snaggle toothed
like Oonagiak's, and around its neck
was a necklace of red stones that flashed
greater fire than the green eyes. And
the legs were lenger. the arms shorter,
and the whole. body more symmetrical
than Oonagiak's " ivory Koonagoyiak.
Upon its head was a strange crest, and
on its chest was a row of strange carv
ings. Aganyik stared long at them and
then looked at Teeshw!nah.
"What knife carved this so smooth
ly 7" she asked, "and where doca the scar
faced one learn to make the . strange
marks on the breast ? This is not your
work. It is magic, and bad medicine. I
will ""not be bought with bad medicine,
for it metwus death in my father's house.
TeU us who made it, that wo may know
who carves better than you do in the
strange ret! -metal, and from whom you
stole it!" ,; . .
"I made it myself," said Teeshwinah.
But he stared at (' the snow, and when
men would have looked him in the eye,
averted his gaze. But Aganyik's father
was satisfied. ':-
The girl ia yours," ha said, "and also
Jhe ivory handled whip, for she does not
look pleasantly ou your scarred face, ami
It is bad for a woman to say in open
council, that she thinks her husband is a
liar and a thief."
The next day, Teeshwinah having
feasted and slumbered, he dragged Agan
yik to his own house, and Oanagiak,
mourning in his 'igloo, held his hands to
his ears to shut out the echo of her
screams as the whip which is nieant for
the backs of women rose and fell. For
Aganyik had said publicly that her hus
band was ugly and that he spoke with
the tongue of a liar.
When Junius Craig had exhausted all
other devices for amusing himself, he hit
upon the idea of an arctic trip. Kn
thusiasm sustained .him for the fifteen
months his boat was building. The pub-
liclty his millions and eccentricities
earned for the venture prevented his
changing his mind after the arctic vet-,
erans had unfolded statistics in imposing
array. The Caliban sailed, to the accom
paniment of cheers, band music, and the
clicking of the moving picture cameras.
Three peop'e were enthusiastic over
the venture. One was Alex Ciaylord, the
young naturalist, whom Craig as
pleased to make official scientist. An
other war Chester McFarlane, erstwhile
newspaper correspondent. He wanted
color for northern stories, and the fat
emolument tlat went with writing
Craig's signed account of the expedition.
The third was Craig's wife, who
stayed ashore and hoped he would never
get back. , . '
t" She had heard of the ferocity of the
' bears of Kadiak Island, and hoped for
the worst. She told Jeanne Jordan that
if anything happened to Mr. Craig "she
wanted the intelligence rushed. - Jeanne
listened witlfaympathy in her mild gray
eyes. She surmised; that she knew how
'" the poor wife of the erratic man of wealth
would worry. And she made a memo
random of the instruction In her little
red notebook."
"If Mr. Craig is eaten by a bear or a
Seal or anything, wire or wireless Mrs.
Craig."
Miss Jordan didn't know which of the
two species was the more fwocious. Shft
had never seen a bear, nid.the seal in
the local zoo, he thought, was a young
one. She hoped that they didn't go in
for attacking steamships, however. She
. vowed that tOie'd never set foot off the
Caliban until safely back in Puget Sound.
IT WAS a ridiculous venture for hr.
. She had been Craig's private secretary
lor almost three months before the sail- "
leg. Her folks said people would talk.
She said herself that she "hated the cold,
"and wouldn't like musk ox and the like
nosing around the ship at night. But
Craig said that he would double her sal
ary. She went. Craig was trying to
write a book, and dictated interminable
reams of stuff about African hunts and
South Sea exploits In which he had fig
ured. In the afternoon there was noth
ing to do "but permit McFarlane and
Gaylord to make violent love to her.
Maybe it was merely propinquity.
Save for the chaperon, a crusty old In
valid ot , who essayed the trip for net
health, despite descriptions of the food to
be allotted north of M. she was the only
woman aboard. There shouldn't hav
been any. y, ' "
X t.N -l a t:t,-wi I- ' - ---
fetching laughs and childish Vays. Gay
lord favored tall, languid blondes, on
emotional., their i pallid beauty frosted
with hauteur. Miss Jordan was neither.
jiitt iiui a 1'iuiriy, rixj trjreu girl, wun,
fiery red hair, ami an honest camaraderie
that was neither Qaylord's idea nor Me
Fartane'a The fermer thought that her
features were toot regular, and the latter
that she was too self-reliant. And before
the Caliban had S passed the Charlotte
group each had decided that he couldn't
live without her. j , -
By the time the dreary, rainy Etfo
medes httl thrusf their dripping granite
cliffs out of the j hissing green of the
Bering Sea both sad made declaration, of
love. Mtas Jordan laughed at them, with
the chin breeze whipping a "gorgeous red
into her cheeks Her sable hat and
Jacket relieved the fine, fresh tints of-her
skin and eyes, and Craig, gray haired
and gruff, hovered near and grinned irt