Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-11-05
The Silver Horde Rex Beach .=$=s

lief. Soon they began to cave blood
stains behind them.
All four men were old in the ways of
the North, and, knowing their present
extremity, they steeled themselves to
suffering. but their tortures were in
tense, not the least of which was
thirst. Exhaustion comes quickly I'M
DER such conditions.
Much has been written concerning
the red mans physical powers of en-
durance, but as a rule no indian is the
equal of his white brother. due as
much perhaps to lack of mental force
as to generations of insufficient cloth
ing n inanition. so it was not sur
prising that as the long afternoon
dragged to a close the Aleut guide be-
gan to weaken. He paused with more
frequency. and it required more effort
to start him; he fell oftener and rose
with more difficulty. but the others
! were dependent upon his knowledge of
the trail and could not TAKE the lead.
Darkness found them staggering on,
supporting him wherever possible. At
length he became unable to guide them
farther, and Bait. who had once made
the trip, took his place, while the
others dragged the poor creature along
at the cost of their precious strength.
AT one time he begged them to leave
him. and both Bait and "Fingerless'
Fraser agreed, but Emerson would have
none of it.
He'll die, anyhow argued the fish
erman.
Hes as good as dead now" supple
mented Fraser, land We may be ten
miles from timber
II made him come, n I'll take him
through" said Emerson, stubbornly,
and so they crawled their weary way,
sore beset with their dragging burden.
Slow at best, their advance now became
snail-like. for darkness had fallen, and
threatened to blot them out. 1t be-
trayed them down deelivities. up and
out of which they had to dig their
way. In such descents they were
forced to let go the helpless man, whose
body rolled ahead of them like a bone
less sack, but these very mishaps helped
to keep the spark of life in him, for at
every disheartening pause the others
rubbed and pounded him. though they
knew that their efforts were hopeless,
and would have been better spent upon
themselves.
Fraser, never a strong man, gave out
in time, and it looked as if he might
overtax the powers of the other two.
but Bats strength was hat of a bull,
while Emerson subsisted on his nerve,
fairly consuming his soul.
They grew faint and sick, and knew
themselves to be badly frozen, put
their leader spurred them on. draining
himself in the effort. For the first time
Emerson realized hat the adventurer
had been a drag on him ever since
their meeting.
They had long since lost all track OF
time and place. trusting blindly to a
downward course. The hurricane still
harried them with ~unabated fury, when
all at once they came to another bluff
where the ground fell away abruptly.
Without waiting to investigate whether
the slope terminated in a drift or a
precipice, they flung themselves over
Down they floundered, the two half
insensible men tangled together as if in
a race for total oblivion. only to plunge
through a,thicket of willow tops that
whipped and stung them. On they went. !
now vastly heartened. over another
ridge. down another d~eclivity. and then
into a grove of spruce timber, whereJ
the air suddenly stilled, and only the
tree-tops told of the rushing wind
above.
1t was well-nigh an hour before Bait
and Emerson succeeded in starting a
fire, for it was desperate work cropping
for dry branches. and they themselves
were on the verge of collapse before the
timid blaze finally showed the two
more unfortunate ones huddled to-
gether.
Cherry had given Emerson a flask OF
liquor before starting, and this ne now
divided between Fraser n the guide,
having wisely refused it to them until
shelter Was secured, Then he melted !