Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1916-04-26

upon the cook-shack and the deser+.
ed cabins. empty ever since their for
| mer occupants had turned their coars
Tor Hampden's tuo-year contracts.
suddenly Coosnah, lying on the
step, got up and shifted the air. ST.
ietA looked at him. her fingers ar
rested. Then he sat down on his
haunches, threw up his muzzle. and
began to bay. melancholy. lonesome
sound.
Hush" said siletz, hush, Coos
mani" And she, too. lifted her head
after the fashion of wild things.
smelling the sultry atmosphere.
/ Mother!' she crsed swiftly, "it's
| fre."
The general creaked up and hur-
ried to the steps, bat already Siletz
was on and running up the valley
toward the cutting. When she reached
the donkey Sandry was standing be-
side it, but the girl PASSED him with
OUT glance, running to where the
foreman set a choker.
joint" she cried: "John-there's
nre on the west ridge!'
Every man within hearing dropped
MS work instantly and stood up.
Call in tn men," said Daily as he
passed the donkey-engineer, AN send
SIN along. We'd better all go. Mr..
Sandry. 'Tain't likely it's much, but
we got 20 stomp 1t out, whatever It's.
| ben lookin' fer EN-"
they all trailed down the valley on
dogtrot. 1t took them the better
part OF an hour, but when they went
down there was not a spark left
alight.
What do you suppose started it,
John?" asked Sandry.
oh. some darned little college
snipe from Corvallis, likely, with a
gun an cigarette. Or mebbe it was
some camper stayin overnight on
the ridge-some greenhorn. An it's
mighty dry-mighty dry"
They went back to the cutting.
though every jack of them lifted up
his eyes from time to time to the
ridges around. At supper the loggers
discussed the forest fires of other
years. the topic opened by the incl
dent. 1t was close night with
dark sky, though the heat had given
way to the sweet GOODNESS of the
coast under the mysterious ocean
wind, and Sandry from his old seat
at table looked out at the western
ridge.
"John!" he cried, rising suddenly.
its broken out again!"
Sure enough. Against the upper
darkness little red tongues licked fit
fully up and the men, white and In
dian, tumbled out OF the cook-shack.
1t was twelve o'clock when they
turned in, and Sandry was puzzled.
The next day nothing happened.
Then at dawn of the day following
the camp awoke to see a fine, fairy
white haze all through the valley and
the crest of the west ridge, for half
a mile. sending up fanciful pearl
plumes in the soft morning. This
time it had gained start and the
camp turned out in earnest
JOuu. that
is no college boy with his cigarette.
Could it be Hampden?"
The foreman turned upon the
owner
"You haint a real westerner. yet.
Mr.. Sandry," he said with smile.
You think Hampden'd resk his yella
pine-as fine timber as there Is in tn
whole state? He'd bury tn Ratchet
an come fight with us like brother
first"
Then what's setting those fires p
for it looks as II they are being set
My God! Look there! There's an
other!"
A merry, red eye winked and leaped
and died, to leap again across the
early twilight at the valleys head.
That's damned close to our cut
tint" cried Daily starting down the
mountain on sliding run.
And that last fire, burning strongly
where no brand could have dropped
even with wind, marked the begin