The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-04-11

back his head, and walled out cry into the gloom of the night, a long, drawn, Wailing cry, so full of tierceness, so weird and far-sounding, that it might have voiced the despair of a lost soul. Not loud, but note of such un- dulating force that it suited the air to a nicety, and travelled clear, but low toned, into the farthest corners of the valley. Then Mingo turned around, and walled to the other valley.
 Hootza at the head of the wolf pack, heard the call, and stopped in his tracks. His hair rose along his spine, and his big tail grew round and soft like fox's brush. His nostrils spread and his strong jaw quivered his ears famed forward to catch the sound and his eyes grew green. Hootza was re- sentful and he showed 1t. Again the wailing note came down the air, and again. There Hootza threw back his head, and walled in turn, as though he sent the echo back to the hiltops. Min go's face relapsed into the ghost of a smile. and he called again.
 HootZa whined a few commands to the pack at his heels, and sped away ! .oN e'l tiS llle pass like d WnlSp or gray fog in the moonlight, while the rest of the pack waited, sinking down in the gray sage brush, and becoming part of | the silent valley Again Mingo walled out his call, and Hootza stopped short to answer f1ercely-then flew on again Mingo's quick ear noted the change in distance, and he melted down against the lava rock beside the trail, so close that he could have put his hand in the dust of it. Once more he called, this time fiercer, but of lower tone, and Hootza's answer came almost before the sound had gone forth.
 Then the big wolf broke up over the edge of the hill and came up on the trail Whimpering and whining with fighting madness, and Mingo grasped his knife, and waited like a coiled spring ready to be released by a touch for his eye noted that the big wolf was alone. Ten seconds later Mingo's knife flashed before Hootza's eyes like the strike of rattlesnake, but quick as the stroke came, and unexpected, Hootza was quicker, as he rose in the air and passed by Mingo like flash, only to bound back again, this time straight at
 
 half way, the knife played like light ming strokes, and his muscles coiled and uncoiled like snakes as he struck.
 Hootza's teeth were cruelty white in the moonlight, and his fanged iowls were red as blood, with two glittering balls of green fire just above. There was no noise save the soft swish of moving bodies, and the weight of Hoot- za's great feet striking the ground when he jumped Sometimes there was the rasping swish of Mingo's mocassn against the bunch-grass, and the clat- ter of a loosened pebble as it rolled against it's fellows, and then. there was the sound of quick breathing. A red mist was before the eyes of both, and soon tiny black stream started from place on Mingo's arm, and ran in a band down to his hand and on down to his finger ends-then there was another on his bare breast.
 Hootza leaped and snapped his great teeth but, in spite of this there came great patches of black against his gray coat, and he hesitated just a moment Mingo rushed him and then he started once and rose again in the air, launch ed full and fair at the moving Indian only to meet a quick stroke that was backed by Mingo's full weight, and it broke down the guard of Hootza's great paws, passed under his jaw and carried the blood-reddened knife full and deep into his great throat and on until the point came out and shone like ray of light just between his should CTS, and then both went down in etr crplif1p, bpon pto Inc proIn6 Enl1 | two minutes passed, and the Indian stood up, and Hootza lay prone and still | while a black patch spread against the | ground by his head, and black drops | spattered down from the point of the | knife in Mingo's hand.
 Tt was a good fight said Mingo, as his breath came slower.
 He carried the limp body of Hootza far up on the hillside where his scent | should not reach the air in the pass, and wiped his blood from his arm and | breast with the corner of his blanket. l Then he moistened a bit of tobacco talk en from his belt pouch, and bound it on his wounds with strips torn from the same cloth.
 Next he went back to the rocks by
  against the ground, and here he walled out that weird call again, though this time it lacked the fierceness of a chal- lenge for he only called to the pack that all was well, and that they were to come; then he crouched by the rock, and smiled in his grim Indian way as he raised the hammer of his rifle and waited. Once more he called and the pack trotted up over the rim of the valley and straight on up the trail.
 The leader was scarce ten feet away when the rifle crashed out into the night l and spit a red jet of fire against his { gray side. The pack stopped and into the air. then broke in a -ush of fear back over the path they : had just made, and the rifle split ire against them, cracked and echoed there n the pass until it was hot and empty md each time it spoke one of the pack vent down, so that nine dead or sorely wounded wolves were stretched between he leader and the rim of the hill.
 The next day the body of Hootza, 'lashed to ribbons almost, lay in front if Gardiner's doorstep, and ten of his pack contributed their heads and hides or company.
 Gardiner looked at the array of grim ' owled scourges, looked at the long slits { md the deep thrust in the throat of T-z ,t1x Tx,