University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1915-08-25


thousand where the old shack stood
And the little girl in that shack. Hen
ri-she's young lady now, and her
people are-well, rich. don't care
about that The chief thing is that
she is going to marry me in the
spring. Because of her | stopped
killing things when she was only six
teen. The last thing | killed was a
prairie wolf. and it had young. Eileen
kept the little puppy. She's got II
nOw-tamed. That's why above all
other wild things | love the wolves
And hope these two leave your trap
line safe"
Henri was staring at him. Weymar.
gave him the picture. 1t was of a
sweet-faced girl. with deep pure eyes
and there came twitch at the cor
ners of Henri's mouth as he looked at
ii.
"My Iowaka died tree years ago.
thing. But them wolf-damn. They
drive me out if / can not kill them,"
He put fresh fuel into the stove, and
prepared for bed.
One day the big idea came to Henri.
Weyman was with him when they
struck fresh signs of lynx. There
was a great windfall ten or fifteen
feet high, and in one place the logs
had formed a sort of cavern, with al
most solid walls on three sides. The
snow was beaten down by tracks, and
the fur of rabbit was scattered about.
Henri was jubilant
I'VE got heem-sure." he said.
He built the bait-house, set trap
and looked about him shrewdly. Then
he explained his scheme to Weyman.
If the lynx was caught, and the two
wolves came to destroy it. the fight
would take place in that shelter under
the windfall, and the marauders would
have to pass through the opening. So
Henri set five smaller traps, conceal
ing them skilfully under leaves and
moss and snow. and all were far
enough away from the bait-house so
that the trapped lynx could not spring
them in his struggles.
when they fight, wolf jump this
way an that-an' sure get in," said
Henri "He miss one, two, t'ree-but
he sure get in trap somewhere
That same morning a light snow
fell. making the work more complete.
for it covered up all footprints and
buried the telltale scent of man. That
night Kazan and Gray Wolf passed
within a hundred feet of the wind
fall, and Gray VOLTS keen scent de-
tected something strange and disquiet-
ing in the air. She informed Kazan
by pressing her shoulder against his.
and they swung off at right angles,
keeping to windward of the trap-linel
For two days and three cold star
lit nights nothing happened at the
windfall. Henri understood. and ex-
planned to Weyman. The lynx was
hunter, like himself, and also had its
hunt-line, which it covered about
once a week. On the fifth night the
lynx returned, went to the windfall.
was lured straight to the bait. and the
sharp-toothed steel trap closed relent-
lessly over its right hindfoot Kazan
and Gray Wolf were travelling a quar-
ter of a mile deeper in the forest when
they heard the clanking of the steel
chain as the lynx fought to free itself.
Ten minutes later they stood in the
door of the windfall cavern.
1t was a white clear night, so filled
with brilliant stars that Henri HIM
self could have hunted by the light OF
them. The lynx had exhausted itself,
and lay crouching on its belly as ka-
zan and Gray Wolf appeared. AS
usual, Gray Wolf held back while ka-
zan began the battle. In the first or
second of these fights on the trap
line, Kazan would probably have been
or had his jugular vein
cut open, had the fierce cats been
free. They were more than his match
in open fight, though the biggest OF
them fell ten pounds under his weight.
Chance had saved him on the Sun
Rock. Gray Wolf and the porcupine
had both added to the defeat of the
lynx on the sand-bar. And along
Henri's hunting line it was the trap
that was his ally. Even with his
enemy thus shackled he took big
chances. And he took bigger chances
than ever with the lynx under the
windfall.
The cat was an old warrior, six or
seven years old. His claws were an
inch and a quarter long. and curved
,,,, c;rn;torc HE forefna. and his left /