The Wreck of the South Pole and Other Strange Tales — page 69: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

62 The Wreck of the South Pole. “Because he was not the direct cause, which makes your danger all the greater.” “Tf he was not the direct cause, then who was?’ I con- fess my obtuseness allows me to be puzzled by your ex- planation.” “Either Winnie or I was reading his thoughts the whole day. Only once was there anything suspicious in it, and that was a moment before the rock fell. Then he sent a message to some one, I know not whom, which merely said : “Now is the time.’ “What those words meant we would have been unable to guess if it had not been that the rock came crashing down the instant after.” “My dear sir,” I interrupted, “are you not too sus- picious ?”’ Costa’s face clouded. “Really, you irritate me. Perhaps it would be as well to leave you alone to your destruction.” His manner was so pained that I at once was sorry to have offended so good a friend, and pleaded with him to bear with my stupidity and I would try not to offend him again. “What we fear,” he continued, “is that he is in collu- sion with a band of men which the police has had an inkling of for some time, a sort of revolutionary club which has sprung up during the last ten years. I have pretty good evidence that he is a leader in it, and we fear that he has enlisted itsor some of its members to assist Gomichbook (E(@)