The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1903-01-02
tailed n thelr proper station"

stalled IN their proper station"
But time was limited and the discus
sion was cut short by the trapper bid
ding them q warm farewell and going
to his quarters for short sleep. His
glance, however. wandered to the
face OF Bertha as he drew the curtain
behind him and he saw flush on her
cheek that brought one to his own
that was soon hidden in the. dim light
of his own cell-like apartments.
As was his custom the trappeF
wakened on time, and dressed him.
self noiselessly to prevent disturbing
the other sleepers. He came forth
quietly and was about to take up the
equipments of his journey when he
was astonished by finding Bertha
awaiting him.
"You, up tool" he exclaimed in a
low tone.
Eyes, wished to speak with you
before you left" she replied. Il had
a dream-it is a foolish thing I
know-but | laid down only for few
moments, and | had such a vivid
dream, and 1t seemed so real, that |
could not resist telling 1t to you. OF
course there is nothing In dreams, but
it may put you on your guard-there
may be danger you know"
Does coyote ever attack lion
a mountain lion?" inquired Bertha.
No" replied the trapper,-"not
single handed; pack might attack
one under proper conditions-if they
were cornered, or hungry and they
thought they might benefit by 1t with
out too much risk"
''It was a foolish dream, know"
she said, "but | will be brief: l saw
mountain lion, such as you caught
in your trap, on long journey. 1t
climbed among the rimreeks, then
passed along through canyons, and
then crossed stretches of the plains. 1t
seemed to be very tired, but 1t was
intent on its trip, and plodded on.
Behind 1t came a coyote just like
the coyotes you capture except its
hair was dark; 1t was almost black
It would trail along the rocks behind
the lion and then cut across near
way and lie in wait for the lion;
then 1t would skulk away or the ap-
proach of the lion, and follow again.
It kept this up all through the day.
But at night 1t grew more bold and 1t
again hid behind the rocks on the
trail. AS the lion approached, tired
and leg-weary, the coyote attacked 1t
from the rear and the lion turned and
a great fight ensued, and in the midst
of the flght-I know 1t is foolish, but
1t was so exciting-my heart leaped
into my throat and l wakened--the
mountain lion changed into your own
person and the desert coyote assumed
the form of Dan Follett, and you and
he were in desperate combat among
the rocks and cliffs of the far away
desert"
Never fear little-Ber--Miss Lyle,
Dan Follett is surrounded in the
Stone House by Indians and will be
on my guard against all enemies to
mankind that roam the desert" and
buckling his revolvers about his
waist, and throwing the other equip
ments of his journey across his shoul-
der, he took her hand and giving it
an assuring clasp. stepped out into
the darkness, taking a course to the
southwark.
Bertha looked forward with alarm
and dread. She imagined that some
thing terrible would happen. But
under the theory Of modern intelli-
gence she would try to disabuse her
mind of evil omens and imagine that
all would come out right.
The trapper looked upon the mat
ter differently. He thought more
about the dreamer than the dream.
AS he picked his way over the plains
and among the rocks, her form be-
came more beautiful to him and her
words of friendship echoed and re-
echoed In his ears. And while he
did not believe that there was any
in dreams, yet he did not
forget the warning Of the fair friend,
and kept a more guarded lookout for
his safety than ever before.
His trip so far had been an une-
ventful one. Night and day he
pushed on, only sleeping few hours
at time and stopping few minutes
to lunch. The distance now did not
divide him far from the fort It was
the last evening of his journey when
he discovered fresh tracks of horse
which had preceded him on the trail.
The tracks led toward the fort and
he concluded that 1t was made by
someone going to the fort. There