Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-12-19
CHAPTER Ntv
4 fresh start

| nicndous task ahead And hrst ~ W..
stern and the girl made camping 49,.
| I'M the cdge - the forest close ~ wv
| spring under the big rock
| We've got to have base ~ supplies.
| or something of that sort the man ue-
| cInrrd we can't start trckkinE away
| into the wilderness ~ once. wtnout Su- Sou-
| alteration and at least some definite place
! where we can store few neccssaties ana
! 10 which we can retreat, IN case % need.
| 4 camp and,-if posshle--a rre. these ar"
our nrst requisites
Their camp they built trcEardlcsa ~ the
| protests ~ birds and squirrels and many
| little woodland foih roughly. yet WronEN
| enough TO offer protection from the rain.
| under a thick.leaVed oak. which in uselt
| gave shelter This Cak, ~ sprcirs nn.
| known To- stern grew NO along the over
hanging face OF Spring Rock. as they chris
tened lt
Nv filling In the space between tho rock
| and tho holc " the oak with moss and
| stonra Rud then Nv building heavy lean
| 10 roof ~ leafy branches ihatched WIN
dashed bundles of marsh grass. they com
| strurtrd M two DAYS p ft'rly comfortable
| shack hard hy an abundant. ueyer-fatliuR
| supply ~ the hucst water ever human
| set iip TO
| Here stern piled frasran, grasses In
| great quantity for the girls bed. Hc hlm-
| SELF volunteered to sleep at tho doorway
| on guard with his only weapon, iagEcd
! boulder dashed with leather thongs 10
| four.flot shaft even In tho very fashion
| or the ncolithtc ancestors VI man
| Their food supply reverted to such berries
| and fruits as they could gather IN tho
| triuErs ~ the forest Tor aa yet thrv dared
| not penetrate far from the shore To these
| they added a plentiful supply " clans.
| which they dug with SHARP Htck1, ~ low
| tide fsr out acroRs the saudnals -toilinE
| FOR an the world like two of tho Identical
anVnrrg who in the long ngo, y thousand
| or I've thousand years before tile white
man came To America, had lott shcll.hcap
| mtdicns along the north Atlantic coast
The shcll-nsh gathering brought the ac-
| tlou of tho tides to their careful attention.
| The tide they found behaved IN an crratic
| manner Instead ~ two regular nows
day there was but one And at tho Cbb
more than two miles NJ beach and sea- hot
tom lay exposed below the spot where they
had landed 40 the flood Stern pnalyEed the
probable cause ~ this phenomenon.
There mus, hc two regular tldcs" hc
said "oniy they're lost IN the fnr larger
Influx caused by the vortex We escaped
from Any marine ge%ser likr that, able
to suck down water enough from the sea
To lay bare two miles ~ beach every day
and capable or throwing column " mist
and spray like that across the sky, ig worth
invegtiEattuE Some DAY YOU and | ure
going to know more about it--a lot more 90
And that was truth hut little the en-
gtneer suspected how soon or under what
surpussiugly strange circumstances the girl
and ne were destined To behold once more
the workings " that terrible and mighty
force,
ON the third day stern sct himself to
work on the problem of making nrc. He
had not even lint-und-stcel now. nor any
nrearm Had he possessed n pistol he could
have collected a little hrch-bnrk sought
out n rotten pine stump and discharged his
weapon into tho punk" then blown tho
Gan nj sa4rtHg gs4ftF
got blaze,
But he lacked everything. and 80 was
forced back to primitive mans one simplest
rcsource-frictOn
As an assistant Instructor in anthropol-
ogy ht Harvard University he had now
and then produced hre for his class of
eNpeCtant students BY uHing the Peruvian
nre-drill; hut even this simple eNpedicut
required a head strap and Jade bearing
"a well-formed spindle and n bow Stern
had none OF these things neither could he
fashion them without tools. He had there
fore to resort to the still more primitive
method of "hre-Eawing.' such as long, long
ago the Australian bushmen had been wont
to practice.
lie was strong man. determined and
persistent but two days moro had passed,
and many blisters covered his palms ere
after lnnumeFahle experiments with differ
ent kinds Of woods and varying strokes
the first tiny glow fell into the carefully
scraped sawdust And II was with fast
beating heart and tremulous breath that
he blew his spark to "A larger one, then laid
on his shredded strips OF bark and blew
again, and so at last, with great up
yelling triumph in his soul. beheld the |
flicker OF flame once more.
Exhausted. he carefully fed that precious |
fire, while the girl clapped her hands with |
Joy In few moments more the evening |
air In the dim forest aises was gaddened |
by the ruddy blaze Of a campfire at the |
door Of the lean-to, and for the hrst time |
smoke went waiting up among the branches |
OF the prlmeval wood
Now for some real meat :" cried Stern |
with exultation Tomorrow l go hunt |
ing :"
That evening they sat for hours feeding |
their fre with deadfals, listening to the |
triclSle OF the little spring and To the night
sounds Of the forest, watching the bats |
flicker among the dusky spaces, and gag
ing Rt the slow and solemn march Of the
stars beyond the leafy fretwork overhead.
Stern slept but little that night, In his
anxiety to keep the fire fed and morning |
found him eager To be at his work with
throwing sticks among the yistas oT the
wilderness.
Together they hunted that day She car
ried what his skilful aim brought down
from the tangled gTeenery above. Birds,
squirrels chlpmunks, all we're welcome |
Noon found them in possession OF more than
thirty pieces Of small game including two
hedgehogz And for the nrst time IN al
most a week they tasted flesh again, roasted
on a sharp stick over the glowing Goals
Stern hunted all that day and the next
He dressed the game with an extraordinary
large and sharp clamshell, which he whet-
ted from time to time on a rock beside the
spring And soon the fire was overhung
with much meat. being smoked with
pine cone smudge In preparation Tor the
journey into the unknown,
Inside OF week. at this rate" he
Judged wen be able to start again. You
must set to work plating a couple Of
sacks. The grass along the brook Is tough
and long We can carry nifty or seventy
hve pounds OF meat. for emergencies. Fruits
We can gather on the way"
And freg Can We carry thatf'
we can take a supply OF properly dried
put wood with punk. I've already had pTac-
lice enough. so / ought 10 be able TO get |
are az ans Time INSIDE Of half an hour"
Weapons
"Ill make you a battle-Ax like my own.
1nly lighter. That's the best We can do
,oF the present til We strike some ruin
,r other where a city used 20 be-"
And you're still bent on reaching Bos-
on2"
1