The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1914-04-23

their precious store a,
As Willard removed bis footgear hs
groaned.
"W'at's the mattaire?'' n
II froze my foot two days ago
snowshoe strap too tight" He ex-
hibited heel. from which, In remov.
ing bis inner sock. the aesh and skin
had come away. I
THAT'S all right" grinned Pierre.
you got the beeg will lef' yet 1t
take the heducate man for stan the
col, you know"
Willard gritted bis teeth. #
i They awoke to the whine Of q gray
windstorm that swept the cutting snow
In swirling clouds and made travel .
madness. The next day was worse.
Two days Of hunger weigh heavy
when the cold weakens. and they grew
gaunt and fell away in their features.
I'm glad we've got another feed for
the dogs" remarked Willard I'VE
can't let them run hungry, even II We
d."
II t'ink she's be hall right tomor',"
ventured Pierre. "Thees amt snow
JUS win; bimeby all blow bout. Sacrei
III can eat NUT fore ole harmy."
For days both men had been cold,
and the sensation of complete warmth
had come to seem strange and unreal,
while their faces cracked where tho
spots had been.
Willard felt himself on the verge of
collapse. He recalled his words about
strong men, gazing the while at Pierre.
The Canadian evinced suffering. only
In the haggard droOp Of eye and
mouth; otherwise he looked strong and
logged.
Willard felt his own features had
shrNnk to mask Of loose iawed suf-
fering, and he set his mental sinews,
muttering to himself.
He was dizzy and faint as he stretch,
ed himself in the still morning air
upon waking and hobbled painfully.
but as his companion emerged from
the darkened shelter into the crystal
line brightness be forgot bis own mis-
cry at sight of him. The big man reel
ed as though struck when the dazzle
from the hills reached him, and he
moaned. shielding his sight Snow
blindness had found him In night.
Slowly they plodded out Of the val
ley, for hunger gnawed acutely. and
they left a trail of blood tracks from
the dogs. 1t took the combined ef-
forts of both men to lash them to foot
after each pause. Thus progress was
slow and fraught with agony.
As they rose near the pass miles Of
arctic wastes barred themselves. All
about lowered bald domes. while
Everywhere stretched the monotonous
white, the endless snow unbroken by
tree or shrub. pallid and menacing.
maddening to the eye.
THANK God. the worst's overt"
sighed Willard. flinging himself on to
the sled. We'll make it to the sum-
NIT next time; then she's downhili
all the way to the roadhouse."
Pierre said nothing
Away to the northward glimmered
the ASS Ears. and as the speaker
eyed them carelessly he noted gauzy
shreds and streamers yelling their
tops The phenomena interested him.
for be knew that here must be wind
wind. the terror of the bleak tundra.
the hopeless. merciless master Of the
barrens! However. the distant rangs
beneath the twin peaks showed clea1
cut and distinct against the sky, and
be did not mention the occurrence *
the guide, although he recalled thu
words of the Indians. Beware of thu
wind through the ASS Ears"
Again they labored up the steer
slope. waIlowing in the sliding snow
straining silently at the load: again
they threw themselves exhausted upoI
it. Now, as be eyed the panorams
below, 1t seemed to have suffered 8
subtle change. indefinable and odd
Although but a few minutes had
elapsed. the coast mountains no Longer
doomed clear against the horizon. and
bis visual range appeared foreshort
ened. as though the utter distances hat
heightened. bringing closer the edge Of
things. The twin peaks seemed end
lessly distant and hazy. while the ali
had thickened. az though congeste(
with possibilities lending a remote
ness to the landscape. ~
III 1t blows up on Us here. we'r,
gone," be thought. for it's miles t,
shelter. and we're right in the saddl
Of the hills"
Pierre. half blinded as he was. aros'
uneasily and cast the air like a vii.
beast, bis great head thrown back. hi
nostrils quivering.
Il smell the VIM" he cried. MOI
Dieu! She's goin' blow"
A volatile spennaDt foated out from
} nearby peak. hanging about its "res
like faint smoke. Then along the brow
of the pass writhed wisp Of drifting
twisting dakelets. idling- hither ant
J yon, ecstatic and aimless. settling In .
hollow. They sensed a thrill and rus
lie tc the air. though never a breatl
had touched them: then. as the!
mounted higher. draft famed them
icy as interste!lar space. The view
from the summit was grotesquely dis
torted. and. glancing upward. the!
; found the guardian peaks had gon'
, a-smoke with clouds of snow tina
whirled confusedly, while an increas
ing breath sucked over the summit
stronger each second. Dry snow bega1
to rustic slothfully about their feet
So swiftly were the changes wrought
that before the mind had grasped .theil
import the storm was on them. roar
ing down from every side, swoopinl
out of the boiling sky, a raging bias
from the voids of sunless space.
Pierre's shouts as he slashed at thu
sled lashings were snatched from hi;
lips in scattered scraps. He dragged
l firth tho whining tent and threw