Evening star., 1909-06-28
|| THE FIGHTER
Il By ALBERT PAYSON TERIUNE.
sN Copyright 1902 by Albert Payson Tehune.
Ess q = q ss Sss .

feet in the stern Caleb bent 10 his oars
with a swing that sent the frail guide
| boat over the mile OF intervening lake
In time to enter the inlet bare length
| behind the Hawardens. Under the low
wooden bride they passed Then began
| an erratic progress
| The sluggish stream wriggles through
| part of the old government tract once
ceded to 0Ssawotamie John Brown OF
| anti-savery memory. Formerly. green
| tamaracks lined the lowlands on either
| side OF the inlet's banks. The rising of
| the dams which, years ago. signed the
murder, warrant for so many thousand
| splendid trees. have left the tamaracks
| here. as elsewhere along the watercourse.
a waste of feathery gray skeletons.
! A bite of autumn was in the air. From
| bush and from waterside grasses the dy-
| ing summer flashed its scarlet-and-g gold
warning of winters dread approach
| The inlet wound southwark in a be-
| widering series of turns and twists: per-
| haps a hundred such abrupt turnings to
| the mile. There was hardly scope for
three successive oar strokes between the
twists. Fast rowing was out of the
| question. A long stroke two for mo-
| mentum. then the quick backing of an
oar and plunge of the stern paddle:
| and. unless the bow caught In the jut-
| ting huckleberry bushes OF the bank, one
| turn was safely passed and another was
at hand.
| The gray stone mountains. with their
/
and yellow of maple or birch. rose
| against the sky on one side OF the marsh.
On the other the deep forest ran down
| to the fringe OF tamarack ghosts.
rare white birch standing out here and
| there, like a sheeted giant. amid the
dusk of the hemlocks. Above blazed the
white sun. The long grasses hummed
| with insect life. A mink darted to cover
| from beneath the bow of the guide boat.
| In the black Ioam of the bank burrowed
q uya raf
| northeast a solitary. everlasting land
mark for all the region. crouched old
| Blue mountain. like some benevolent.
| haZe-shrouded maStodOn.
| II can't remember" observed Desiree.
| when we weren't squeezing past one
| turn and running into another. And
can't imagine any time when we won't
still be doing it. It's like one Of those
you go through a door only to find your
self staring at three others. The man
who went for walk and met himself
coming back would have found himself
| facing whole family groups of selves IL
he'd come up this inlet. There's where
the Eighth lake carry begins-over there
to the left, where that tumble-down
wooden dock is. We aren't anywhere
near Browns Tract pond yet, Just hear
Jack yodel. He's as excited over this
picnic as a schooboy. He's rowing like
| mad and
Guess somebody must a been feedin'
him meat, suggested CaieD, unklndly
glancing back over his shoulders at the
| leading boat whose oarsmans enthusiasm
had driven its bow into the mudbank at
one sharp turn. Say. he's awful much
| in love with you, Dey. Are you goin' to
end up by marryin' him..
NO" said Desiree, shortly.
Ten minutes later the boats had been
| dragged over the last impasse and the
pond was reached-a circular blot Of
water amid the surrounding hills; high
island rising in its center.
A halloo from Jack brought an answer
/ ing call from the distant guide. Slip
ping along the shore where the yellow
sand ran out for yards under its shall
| low covering of blue water. the two
boats came to rest OF the site chosen
for the camp. The two tents were al
ready pitched and a fire cracked merrily.
The guide was busy frying eggs and
strips Of bacon in huge black pans. Po-
tatoes bubbled In one pot above the fire,
while from another came the aroma OF
coffee.
| (To be continued tomorrow.)