Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1912-01-31

T COUNTY HERALD. LANCA
sudden spIash1ng below her caused
her to look down the stream.
She was so agitated that she could
make out little except that there was
man crossing below her and making
directly toward the body of the bear.
He was tall black bearded man, she
saw he carried a rifle, he looked Meth
er to the right nor to the left, he did
not bestOW a glance upon her. She
could have cried aloud in thanksgiving
for his apparent obliviousness to her
as she crouched now neck deep in the
benumbing cold. The man stepped on
the bank, shook himself like a great
dog might have done and marched
over to the bear. He uprooted a small
nearby pine, with the ease of a Her
cules-and she had time to mark and
marvel at it in spite of everything
and then with that as a lever he I'M
concernedly and easily heaved the
body of the monster from off her
clothing. She was to learn later what
feat of strength it was to move that
inert carcass weighing much more
than half ton
Thereafter be dropped the pine tree
by the side of the dead grizzly and
without a backward look tramped
swiftly and steadily up the canon
through the trees, turning at the point
of it and was instantly lost to sight.
His gentle and generous purpose were
obvious even to the frightened, agi-
tated, excited girl
The woman watched him until he
disappeared, few seconds longer,
and then she hurled herself through
the water and stepped out upon the
shore. Her sweater which the bear
had dragged forward in it's advance,
lay on top Of the rest of her clothes,
covered with blood. She threw it aside
and with nervous, frantic energy, wet,
cold, though she was, she jerked on
in some fashion enough clothes to
cover her nakedpess and then with
more leisurely order and with neces-
sary care she got the rest of her ap-
parel in it's accustomed place upon her
body, and then when it was all over
she sank down prone and PROSTATE
upon the grass by the carcass of the
now harmless monster which had SO
nearly caused her undoing, and shiv-
cred, cried and sobbed as if her heart
would break.
She was chilled to the bone by her
motiAnless sojourn, albeit it had been
for scarcely more than a minute in
that Icy water, and yet the blood
rushed to her brow and face, to every
hidden part of her in waves as she
thought Of it. tt was q, good thing
that she cried; she was not weep
ing woman, her tears came slowly as
q rule and then came hard. She rath-
er prided herself upon her stoicism,
but in this instance the great depths
Of her nature had been undermined
and the fountains thereof were fain
to break forth.
How long she lay there, warmth
coming gradually to her under the di-
rect rays of the sun, she did not know,
and it was a strange thing that
caused her to arise. It grew suddenly
dark over her head. She looked up
and a rim of frightful black, dense
clouds had suddenly blotted out the
sun. The clouds were lined with gold
and silver and the long rays shot
from behind the somber blind over
the yet uncovered portions Of the
heaven, but the clouds moved with
the irresistible swiftness and steadi-
ness of a great deluge. The wall of
them lowered above her head while
they extended steadily and rapidly
across the sky toward the other side
of the canon and the mountain wall.
A storm was brewing such as she
had never seen, such as she had no
experience to enable her to realize it's
malign possibilities. Nay, it was now
at hand. She had no clew, however,
Of what was toward, how terrible a
danger overshadowed her. Frightened
but unconscious of all the menace Of
the hour, her thoughts flew down the
canon to the camp. She must hasten
there. She looked for her watch
which she had lifted from the grass
and which she had not yet put on.
The grizzly had stepped upon it, it
was irretrievably ruined. She judged
from her last glimpse of the sun that
it must now be early afternoon. She
rose to her feet and staggered with
weakness; she had eaten nothing
since morning, and the nervous shock
and strain through which she had
gone had reduced her to pitiable
condition.
Her luncheon had fortunately es-
capped unframed. In a big pocket of
her short skirt there was a small
flask of whisl1ey, which her Uncle
Robert had required her to take with
her. She felt sick and faint, but she
knew that she must eat if she was to
make the journey, difficult as it might
prove, back to the camp. She forced
herself to take the first mouthful of
bread and meat she had brought with
her, but when she mad tasted she
needed no further incentive, she ate
to the last crumb; she thought this