University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1915-08-12

when he should have been out howl
ing at the stars. He was not lonely,
because one night he prowled about
until he found a certain door, and
when the girl opened that door in the
morning she found him curled up
tight against it. She had reached down
and hugged him, the thick smother OF
her long hair falling all over him in
a delightful perfume; thereafter she
placed a rug before the door for him
to sleep on. All through the long
nights he knew that she was just be-
yond the door, and he was content.
Each day he thought less and less of
the wild places. and more of her.
Then there came the beginning of
the change. There was strange hur-
ry and excitement around him. and
the girl paid less attention to him.
He grew uneasy He shifted the
change in the air, and he began to
study his masters face. Then there
came the morning, very early, when
the babiche collar and the iron chain
were fastened to him again. Not un-
til he had followed his master out
through the door and into the street
did he begin to understand. They
were sending him away. He sat sud-
denly back on his launches and re-
fused to bulge.
"Come Kazan," coaxed the man.
Come on, boy"
He hung back and showed his white
fangs. He expected the lash of a
whip or the blow of club, but neith-
er came. His master laughed and took
him back to the house. When they
left it again. the girl was with them
and walked with her hand touching
his head. 1t was she who persuaded
him to leap up through a big dark
hole into the still darker interior of
car, and it was she who lured him
to the darkest corner of all, where his
master fastened his chain Then they
went out, laughing like two children.
For hours after that, Kazan lay still
and tense, listening to the queer rum
BILE of wheels under him. Several
times those wheels stopped, and he
heard voices outside At last he was
sure that he heard a familiar voice,
and he strained at his chain and
whined. The closed door slid back
man with a lantern climbed in, fol-
lowed by his master. He paid no at
tention to them, but glared out through
the opening into the gloom of night.
He almost broke loose when he leaped
down upon the white snow. but when
he saw no one there, he stood rigid,
shifting the air Over him were the
stars he had howled at all his life,
and about him were the forests, black
and silent, shutting them in like a
wall. Vainly he sought for that one
scent that was missing. and Thorpe
heard the low note of grief in his
shaggy throat. He took the lantern
and held it above his head, at the
same time loosening his hold on the
leash. At that signal there came a
voice from out of the night. 1t came
from behind them, and Kazan whirled
SO suddenly that the loosely held chain
slipped from the mans hand. He saw
the glow of other lanterns. And then,
once more, the voice
''Kaa-aa-Zanw
He was off like a bolt. Thorpe
laughed to himself as he followed.
"The old pirate!" he chuckled.
When he came to the lantern-lighted
space back of the caboose, Thorpe
found Kazan crouching down at a wo-
mans feet. 1t was Thorpe's wife. She
smiled triumphantly at him as he
came up out of the gloom.
you've wOn!" he laughed. not un-
happily. I'D have wagered my last
dollar he wouldn't do that for any