Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1915-10-21

lake, and here the wind struck hel
| in the face with such force that hel
weight was taken from the strap
| and Kazan dragged the sledge alone
A few inches of snow impeded her as
much as a foot had done before. Little
by little she dropped back Kazan
( forged to her side, every ounce Of his
magnificent strength in the traces
BY the time they were on the river
channel again. Joan was at the back
of the sledge, following in the trail
made by Kazan. She was powerless
! to help him. She felt more and
more the leaden weight of her legs
There was but one hope - and that
was the forest. If they did not reach
it soon, within half an hour, she
would be able to 60 no farther. Over
and over again she moaned a prayer
for her baby as she struggled on. She
fell in the snow-drifts. Kazan and the
sledge became only dark blotch to
her. And then, all at once, she saw
that they were leaving her. They
were not more than twenty feet
ahead of her-but the blotch seemed
to be a vast distance away. Every
bit of life and strength in her body
was now bent upon reaching the
sledge - and baby Joan.
It seemed an interminable time be-
fore she gained With the sledge
only six feet ahead of her she strug-
gled for what seemed to her to be
an hour before she could reach out
and touch it. With a moan she flung
herself forward, and fell upon 1t. She
no Yonger heard the waiting of the
storm. She mo- longer felt discom-
fort. With her face in the furs under
which baby Joan was buried, there
came to her with swiftness and Joy
a vision of warmth and home. Ana
then the vision faded away, and was
followed by deep night.
Kazan stopped In the trail he
came back then and sat down upon
his launches beside her, waiting Tor
her to move and speak. But she was
very still He thrust his nose into
her loose hair. A whine rose IN his
throat, and suddenly he n raised his
head and shifted in the face OF the
wind. Something came to him with
that wind. He muzzled Joan again,
but she did not stir. Then he went
forward, and stood in his traces,
ready for the pull, and looked back
at her. Still she did not move or
speak, and Kazan's whine gave place
to an excited bark.
TIE strange thing in the wind came
to him stronger for a moment He
began to pull. The sledge runners had
frozen to the snow, and it took every
ounce OF his strength to free them
Twice during the5next five minutes ne
stopped and shifted the air. The third
time that he halted, in drift OF snow
he returned to Joan's side again, and
whined to awaken her, Then he tug
ged again at the end Of his traces. and
foot by foot he dragged the sledge
through the drift, Beyond the drift
there was a stretch of clear ice, and
here Kazan rested. During the lull in
, the wind the scent came to him strong
; er than before.
At the end of the clear ice was a
narrow break in the shore, where
creek ran into the main stream. II
Joan had been conscious she would
have urged him straight ahead. But
Kazan turned into the break and fol
! ten minutes he struggled through the
snow without rest, whining more ant
more frequently, until at last the
whire broke into joyous bark Aheac
of him, close to the creek, was small
cabin Smoke was rising out of the
chimney. 1t was the scent of smoke
that had come to him in the wind.
hard level slope reached to the cabin
| door. and with the last strength tina,
! was in him Kazan dragged his burden
up that. Then he settled himself back
beside Joan, lifted his shaggy head tt
the dark sky and howled.
| A moment later the door opened. A
man came out. Kazan's Redeemed
snow shot eyes followed him watch
fully as he ran to the sledge. He heart
+ his startled exclamation as he ben
over Joan. In another lull of the wine
there came from out of the mass o
furs on the sledge the wailing, half
smothered voice OF baby Joan.
| A deep sigh Of relief heaved up from
! Kazan's chest, He was exhausted. Hi
strength was gone. His feet were tori
and bleeding. But the voice Of bah.
Joan filed him with strange happi
ness, and he lay down in his traces
while the man carried Joan and thu
baby into the life and warmth of tn
cabin.
A few minutes later the man reap
peared. He was not old, like Pierr'
Radisson. He came close to Kazan
and looked down at him.
"My God" he said. and you di'
that - alone!"
He bent down fearlessly, 'unfastene,