Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-13

Of the moon and stars. They wsre thin,
and gaunt and starved, and KaRan sud
denly turned and trotted ahead OF them
to the side of the dead bull. Then he
fell back and sat proudly on his launches
beside Gray Wolf, listening to the snap
ping of Jaws and the rendlnR of nesh as
the starved pack feasted.
Gray Wolf skunk closer to Razan She
muzzled his neck and Kazan gave her a
swift doglke caress Of his tongue, assur-
Ing her that all was we'll. She fiattened
herself In the snow when the dogs had
finished and came up In their dog way to
snin at her. and make closer acduaint-
ance with Kazan. Kazan lowered over
her, guarding her. One huge red-eyed
dog who still dragged the bit of babiche
trace muzzled Gray VOLTS soft neck for
fraction OF second too long. and Ra-
zan uttered savage snarl of warning
The dog drew back, and for a moment
their fangs cleaned over Gray VOLTS
blind face. 1t was the Challenge OF the
Breed.
The big husky was the leader Of the
pack, and IL one Of the other dogs had
snarled at him as Kasan snarled he
would have leaped at his throat. But in
Kazan, standing fierce and half wild over
Gray Wolf, he recognized mono OF the
serfdom of tho sledge-dogs. 1t was mas
ter facing master; in Kazan II was more
than that for he was Gray VOLTS mate
In an instant more he would have leaped
over her body to have fought for her,
more than for the right of leadership
But the big husky turned away sullenly
growing, still snarling, and vented his
rage by nipping fercely at the flank Of
one OF his sledge-mates.
Gray Wolf understood what had hap
pened, though she could not sec She
shrank closer to Kazan. She knew that
tha nj he Aad a
on that thing that always meant DEATH
the challenge to the right OF mate With
her Turing ooyness, whining and softly
muzzling his shoulder and neck, she tried
to draw Kazan away from the pad-beaten
circle in which the bull lay. Kasan's
answer was an omiuous rolling Of smoth-
cred thunder deep down in his throat.
He lay down beside her, licked her
blind face swiftly. and faced the stranger
dogs.
The moon sank lower and lower and at
last dropped behind the western forests.
The stars grew paler. Ono by one they
faded from the sky and after a time
there followed the cold gray dawn OF the
North. In that dawn the big husky
leader rose from the hole he ha2 made
in the snow and returned to tho bull.
Kazan, alert, was on his feet in an instant
and stood also close to the bull. The two
circled omnously, their heads lowered,
their crests bristling. The husky drew
away and Kazan crouched at the bull's 8
neck and began tearing at the frozen
flesh. He was not hungry. But in this
way he showed his right to the flesh. his
defiance of the right of the big husky.
For q few seconds he forgot Gray Wolf.
The husky had slipped back like a shadow
and now he stood again over Gray Wolf,
shifting her neck and body. Then he
whined. In that whine were the passion.
the invitations, the demand of the wild.
SO quickly that the eye could scarcely
follow her movements faithful Gray Wolf
sank her cleaning fangs in the husky's
shoulder
A gray streak-nothing more tangible
than streak OF gray, silent and terrible,
shot through the dawn-gloom. 1t was
Kazan. He came without a snarl, with
out cry, and in a moment he and the