Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-04
By JAMES OLIVER CURWOOD
The Author of "Kazan"

with him. BY that time Langdon was up
and starting fire.
Langdon frequently reminded himself
that such mornings as this had made him
disappoint the doctors and rob the grave.
Just eight years ago this June he had
come into the North for the first time. thin
chested and with a bad lung. You can
go If you insist, young man." one of the
doctors had told him. but you're going TO
your own funeral" And now he had
five-inch expansion and was as tough as n
knot The first rose tints of the sun we're
creeping over the mountain tops; the air
was filed with the sweetness of flowers and
dew and growing things and his lungs drew
in deep brGaths Of oxygen laden with the
tonic and perfume Of balsam.
He was more demonstratlve than his
companion in the joyousness of this wild
life. 1t made him want to shout and sing
and whistle. He restrained himself this
morning. The thrill Of the hunt was in
his blood.
While Otto saddled the horses Langdon
made the hammock. He had become an ex-
pert at what he called wild bread" baking
and his method possessed the double ef1-
cheney of saving both waste and time.
He opened one of the heavy canvas -four
sacks, made n hollow in the flour with his
two doubled fists partly filed this hollow
with n pint of water and half a cupful OF
caribou grease, added tablespoonful of
baking powder and a three-hnger pinch
Of salt and began TO mix.
Inside Of five minutes he had the hammock
loaves in the big tin reflector and half an
hour later the sheep steaks were fried, the
potatoes done and the hannock baked TO
golden brown.
The sun was Just showing its face in the
east when they trailed out Of camp. They
rode across the valley, but walked up the
SLOPE the horses following obedently in
their footsteps.
It was not difficult TO pick up Thor's trail.
Where he had paused TO snar back defiance
at his enemies there was a big red spatter
on the ground from this point 10 the sum-
NIT they followed crimson thread of blood
Three times in descending into the other
valley they found where Thor had stopped
and each time they saw where a pool of
blood had soaked into the earth or run over
the rock.
They passed through the timber and came
to the creek, and here in a strip Of firm
black sand, Thor's footprints brought them
to pause. Bruce stared. An exclamation
of amazement came from Langdon, and
without a word having passed between them
he drew out his pocket tape and knelt beside
one of the tracks
Fifteen and a quarter inches !" he
gasped
Measure another" said Bruce.
Fifteen and--a haG"
BRUCE looked up the gorge,
The biggest l ever see was fourteen an
a half" he said and there was a touch
OF awe in his voice. "IIe was shot up the
Athabasca an he's stood as the biggest
grizzly ever killed in British Columbia
Jimmy, this one beats i'm :"
They went on, and measured the tracks
again at the edge Of the first pool where
Thor had bathed his wounds. There was
almost no variation in the measurements.
only occasionally after this did they find
spots of blood. IL was 10 o'clock when
they came TO the clay wallow and saw
where Thor had made his bed in IT,
He was pretty sick" said Bruce in a
low voice. "He was here most all night q"
Moved by the same impulse and the
same thought. they looked ahead of them
Half a mile farther on the mountains closed
in until the gorge between them was dark
and sunless,
''He was pretty sick" repeated Bruce,
still looking ahead. ''Mebbe we'd better tie
the horses an 30 on alone. It's possible
he's in there"
They tied the horses TO scrub cedars and
relieved Disphan OF her pack.
Them with their rifles In readiness, and
eyes and ears alert, they went on cautiously
into the silence and gloom of the gorge
CHAPTER v