Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1897-11-26

rooms The Chimneys of the two COM
partments Of the hut were built back to
back, and a cherry wood fire was burn
ing III the inner room. As he dropped
the hanging blanket and paused for Il
moment i'll the half gloom Harry could
barely distinguish his surroundings by
the aid of the smeary, yellow, Pickering
flames of the logs. At the farther end
stood rough, low couch covered with
buffalo skins, and upon its rich, deep
brown shone the white face OF a woman
who had been beautiful before the agony
of hunger had dragged the rounded
cheeks into lined and angular forms and
had sucked the blood from the cherry
red lips The big gray blue eyes looked
nearly black in the dim light, and they
stared vacantly. The fingers, white and
worn to the bone, lay upon the bearskin
which covered her, like wax models of
dead hands
The young man approached the bed
as repentant pilgrim of old might
have drawn nigh to the shrine of the
enskied saint whose intercession be
craved He looked at her, and his
brawny limbs trembled and shook as in
a palsy while he pictured to himself the
lovely, loving and iovable girl whom he
had hoped to call his own and whom
the hand of heaven had thus sorely
stricken. She moved not on her couch,
nor whispered word, nor drew a
breath. But for the slight movement of
the bosom and for the barely perceptible
tremor of the lips she might have been
dead already The big eyes stared, and
Harry thought they stared at him and
chided him softly, not harshly. The
gaze cut through his heartstrings like
a red hot dagger, and he rushed from
the room.
"She is dyinH' he cried in his agony
Amt thar nuthin at all to eat in the
place-nuthin-nor drink of whisky
nuthin, nuthin?'
His searching glance travelled around
the room unavailingly. The shelves
were bare.
Thar amt morsel nor drop,
and thar hasn't bin these two days, "
answered the old man, with a choking
voice.
IAN she'll die" Harry cried, "if
she'll get no food?'
Eyes, die" echoed the pioneer
"die, like Joe an Bill an Dick-an yew
an l will follow her. "
The young man flew at the cupboard
and flung the dishes and plates and
bottles and cups and jugs it contain
ed on the floor in gathering confu-
sion. He dived into every nook; he ran
sacked every corner; he swept the
boards for possible crumbs and turned
the bottles for any nourishing drops
they might contain. Not a mite, not
an atom Of food, not a drop of liquor,
was there.
Then he took down the rife which
hung ON peg on the wall, and, half
naked as he was, he opened the door
and walked out into the slush and the
snow. The wind, even in its weakened
forces, was icy and cut him like a thou
sand whips. He walked all round the
house, but no living thing, no bird or
game of any kind, was to be seen,
nothing anywhere but the great white
pail of snow and the dark brown of the
rocks and trees below aud the endless
gray sky above.
Shivering and trembling, he returned
to the hut and closed the door against
the glacial blast
at amt no use," he said bitterly.
81 knowed it warn't no use, but /
thought I'd try"
He sat down for a few minutes in a
silent tremor, with his elbows upon the
table and his head upon his hands.
On a sudden he jumped up like one
mad. His eyes glowed as with an in
spiration that might have been holy.
"By the livin Cod" he cried, "yew
shall not die, my Nell, my darlin
Nell! Yew shall not die of hunger while
Panther Harry is alive-no-no-no!
Thank God an his mercy that I've
thought of it afore it warn't too late. -
"What do yew mean? What are yew
goin to do?" Hays demanded, looking
at him with feverish eyes.
Don't ask" Harry replied. He
gasped for breath between each SEN
tence. "I'll save her, but don't ask,
Let me-and say nuthin."
"But I'm dyin, too" whined the old
man. "I'm goin blind, an-Im-help,
helpp
The voice became fainter, and the pi-
Il