Evening star., 1911-01-22

Outrun that greedy licking thing, even II
freed of his cumbersome companion.
Every moment the flames gained. The
fuel was more combustible, the thlcket
denser. Like mounted flanking column,
the massed confagration bore down upon
them, roaring past to the open plateau
omen of doom, but flare for succor too.
Like draft of potent wine the thought
came Corporal Dalton knew that Darch
had returned to the cabin with the child.
If only they could play their part of endur-
ance, Doane's scarlet coated sentinels of the
plains, fighting back the onrush of devas-
tation it heralded, would win through to
them and back to safety as was their way.
And, reckless now to ferocity, painting,
sweating, with Darch and the dog at his
heels, Lame Jim clung closer to his precious
burden, and butted and tore on toward the
water.
Then, steady minor tones in the fugue of
flame, the ripple of the river current, the
plash of the falls, at last!
MYTH hearts pumping and heaving
" breasts they lurched down the bank
@Get into the water!" Jim gasped. Lying
fiat, the men and the child and the dog drank
and painted and drank.
The Indian was soon on his feet; but
Darch did not move. The flare of normal
strength had been evanescent the alcohol
had completely resumed its relaxed hold
over his body, and he lay helplessly inert,
but with conscious, imploring eyes.
Put to the test, Lame Jim could not aban-
don this man. The fire was racing the river
course, sweeping the banks clean; the river
itself here beyond the pool under the falls
was little more than shallow stream, with
a smooth. hard bed. But some few hundred
yards farther on it widened and deepened.
and in the middle was an islet of sands and
the flames, where they could wait in COM
parative safety till the rescuers came. He
never for an instant doubted their coming.
The Loucheux looked about him. The
blackened sod bristled with smoking stumps
and charred branches. One of these he
dragged kissing into the water, flung Darch's
big body across it. securely lashing him with
strips torn from the blanket Other strips
he knotted to the dogs collar and round his
own waist; then, with the little maid in his
arms and the Luck helping, he started the
crude raft down stream.
They splashed rapidly along between tan
ged masses of underground and skyward
looming trees. The banks grew higher;
water trickled down their gravelly slopes
where tiny brooks joined the main stream
the deepening water clung heavily to the
Indians legs impeding his progress The
Luck too slackened in a way that troubled
Jim.
But as they rounded the bend that hid the
islet the dogs courage lashed out again,-his
1.-THE body was dynamo, and he swan be-
side the Indian, who was struggling in water
up to his armpits to hold the child above its
level.
Jim heaved a sigh of relief as they dragged
up on the sandy refuge. Then his heart
sank. Beneath their weight the gravel
crunched and sloughed off at the edges;
where Darch's feet had been clear Of the
current the moment before now it was lap
ping at his heels.
Not pausing for breathing space, even.
he explored the tiny sand patch, then slid
back into the water, dragging the Luck
after him. 1t was much smaller than he had
estimated, a mere shallow crust, capable per-
haps of bearing Darch but under their COM
bined weight it would crumble in less than
an hour. And Lame Jim dared not count
upon the time that must elapse before help
came.
ats our only chance; yours as well as
Meg's," he said aloud, as he slit the blanket
lashings and jerked Darch to the very center
Of the islet. If only it would last him till the
Indian could direct those scarlet tunicked
fire fighters out on the plateau