Page 36 (1/1)

He retraced his way to the spring, where he carefully rinsed and filled the Cosmos bottle for Beatrice Then back to the Metropolitan he came, donned his bear--skin, which he fastened with a wire nail, and started the long clie he carefully hid on the second floor, in an office at the left of the stairway

"Don't think much of this hammer, after all," said he "What I need is an ax Perhaps this afternoon I can have another go at that hardware place and find one

"If the handle's gone, I can heft it with green wood With a good ax and these two revolvers--till I find soh, spearheads or not!"

About hilanced at the ever-present molder and decay This office, he could easily see, had been both spacious and luxurious, but now it offered a sorry spectacle In the dust over by aso there and, when the fraerly into it

A cry of amazement burst from him

"Do I look like that?" he shouted "Well, I won't, for long!"

He propped the glass up on the steel bea Ten minutes later, the face of Allan Stern bore soh, his hair reed, especially in the back, his broere somewhat uneven, and the point to which his beard was triery had given place to a certain aspect of civilization that e

Stern, however, ell pleased He smiled in satisfaction

"What will she think, and say?" he wondered, as he oncecli profusely, badly "blown,"--for he had not taken ineer at last reached his offices in the tower

Before entering, he called the girl's name

"Beatrice! Oh, Beatrice! Are you awake, and visible?"

"All right, come in!" she answered cheerfully, and came to meet him in the doorway Out to hiave hih at her astonished appearance; but all the ti her beauty

For now, freshly-awakened, full of new life and vigor after a sound night's sleep, the girl was nificent