Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1917-12-18

| her heavier garments, and went out
side.
BY this time 1t was broad day, and
she breathed a sigh of relief when she
saw that the storm had passed. 1t was
bitterly cold. It seemed to her that
she had never known 1t to be so cold
In all her life. The fire was COM
pletely out. Kazan was huddled in a
round ball. his nose tucked under his
body. He raised his head. shivering,
as Joan came out. With her heavily
moccasined foot Joan scattered the
ashes and charred sticks where the fire
had been. There was not a spark left.
In returning to the tent she stopped
for moment beside Kazan, and pat
ted his shaggy head.
"Poor Wolfl' she said. 81 wish /
had given you one of the bearskins !"
She threw back the tent-fiap and
entered. For the first time she saw
her fathers face in the Highland out
side, Kazan heard the terrible moan
ing cry that broke from her lips. No
one could have looked at Pierre Raids
sons face once-and not have under
stood.
flung herself upon her fathers breast,
sobbing so softly that even Kazan's
sharp ears heard so sound. She re-
manned there in her grief until every
vital energy of womanhood and moth
erhood in her girlish body was reused
to action by the wailing cry of baby
Joan. Then she sprang to her feet
and ran out through the tent opening
Kazan tugged at the end of his chain
to meet her, but she saw nothing OF
him now. The terror of the wilderness
is greater than that of death, and in
an instant 1t had fallen upon Joan. II
was not because of fear for herself. II
was the baby. The wailing cries from
the tent pierced her like knife-thrusts
And then, all at once, there came to
her what old Pierre had said the night
! before-his words about the river, the
airholes, the home forty miles away
"You couldn't lose yourself, JOAN" He
had guessed what might happen.
She bundled the baby deep in the
furs and returned to the fir bed. Hei
one thought now was that they must
. have fire. She made a little pile OF
birch bark, covered 1t with half-burnec
bits of wood. and went into the tent
for the matches. Pierre Radisson car
ried them In a waterproof box in G
pocket of his bearskin coat. She
sobbed as she kneeled beside hin
again, and obtained the box. AS the
fire fiared up she added other bits OF
7 wood, and then some of the larger
pieces that Pierre had dragged int
. camp. The fire gave her courage
Forty miles-and the river led to theil
, homei She must make that, with the
: baby and Welt. For the drst tim'
she turned to him, and spoke his nam'
as she put her hand on his head. Afte
! that she gave him a chunk OF mea
l which she thawed out over the fire
and melted snow for tea. She wa
not hungry. but she recalled how he
father had made her eat four or fiv'
times a day, so she forced herself t
5 make breakfast Of a biscuit. shre'
!. OF meat and as much hot tea as sh
' could drink.
] The terrible hour she dreaded fol
r lowed that. She wrapped blanket
D closely about her fathers body, ant
e tied them with babiche cord. Afte
). that she piled all the furs and blan
kets that remained on the sledge clos
e to the fire. and snuggied baby Joai
8 deep down In them. Pulling down tn
( tent was task. The ropes were still
e and frozen, and when she had finishe
q one of her hands was bleeding. Sh
s piled the tent on the sledge. and ther
, half covering her face, turned an
e looked back.
Pierre Radisson lay on his balsar
bed. with nothing over him now bu
the gray sky and the sprucetops. Ks
zan stood stifr-legged and shifted tn
air. His spine bristled when Joa
went back slowly and kneeled besid
d the blanket-wrapped object. When sh
d returned to him her face was whit
r. and tense. and now there was a strang
lie and terrible look In her eyes as sh
'e stared out across the barren. Sh
n put him In the traces. and fastene
{. about her slender waist the strap tina
is Pierre had used. Thus they struc
lie out for the river. fioundering knee-dee
n In the freshly fallen and drifted snow
Or Halfway Joan stumbled in drift an
t, fell, her loose hair flying in a Skinner
n ing veil over the snow. With might
" pull Kazan was at her side, and hi
N cold muzzle touched her face an sh