, 1917-02-01

the militia has not yet been ordered
into active service-'
Il will do what I can with General
Harrison" assured the judge hastily.
God be with you"
The woodsmen who crowded about
them at the news warned them against
the quest. : To all objections thew re-
turned the same disregard; their duty
lay plain before them. Those who
bade them goodby looked on them as
inen going to certain death.
1t was an hour before sunrise. but
h sky was pafing with the light pre-
ceding dawn. They drew deep breaths
and set off at n trot. They went on at
a steady shuttle, their eyes alert for
any signs, their ears strained for any
sound. At noon they stopped long
enough to eat a little of the smoked
venison in their packs, then went on
at the same pace. By night they had
covered more than thirty miles; the
Indians whom they pursued had prob
ably made forty miles with no more
difficulty than they had put behind
them twenty.
The two knew that 1t was a losing
game, If one factor was not taken
into consideration the probability
that sooner or later Toinette's captors
would consider themselves beyond the
possibility of pursuit, would make
camp in the woods for two or three
days while they hunted game; it was
on this off-chance that the two young
men hung doggedly to the chase.
They dared not travel by night. At
dark they made camp in a rayine
where their campfire would be I'M
seen. One of the two kept guard con-
stantly. At dawn they were up again,
made their breakfast of cold Johnny
cakes" frightened their belts and set
OFF, silent, grim as hounds.
So passed two days of the forlorn
chase. In the afternoon the clouds
heaped up before a northerly wind,
growing blacker and blacker, hour
upon hour. At nightfall the gale
broke. The rain wrapped them in
gray garments of water, drenching
them to the skin instantly, binding
them with its resistless rush. They
plunged wretchedly along through the
binding downpour, forcing their way
through the hollows. Their deerskin
clothing had long ceased to be any
more than a sort of mere cohesive
fluid. Everything, except the powder
in their horns, was water. The world
was water. And growing colder.
1t rained all night long. The two
hulf-drowned men. chilled to the bone.
finally gave up all effort to find pro-
lection from the deluge and lay prone
in the grass with the flood rustling all
around them. Their heads alone, pill
lowed on their arms, were above the
sluicing streams. Once or twice, SO
utter was their exhaustion, they slept.
1t rained in showers in the morn
ing. There was no sun, no opportu-
nifty to dry their clothing. They ate
a morsel of rain-soaked venison, plod-
ded or and on through the dripping
wilderness in logged silence, too weary
to speak. David turned once to look
at Ike and was startled at the sight
of Blackford's drawn blue lips and the
suffering lines of his face. When he
caught David's Eyes on him, Ike forced
a smile that shone through the pour
ing rain.
shouldn't be surprised If 1t rains
before the day is over" he grinned.
"Pm getting tired of this drought"
But the mortal WEAKNESS came back
to his face as David turned forward
again. All through the day he forced
himself forward, summoning every re-
serve of strength to compel his limbs
to persist in the relentless struggle on
ward. A sudden pain shot through
his side, almost making him cry out.
His head began to feel strangely light
and his pulses throbbed In his ears.
He wanted to cry out to David to stop.
The rain ceased and the breeze which
drove some early-yellowing leaves
downward was chilly but he burned
with a heat that made him dizzy.
Finally he began to stagger from
side to side as he walked; and then.
with a pltiful, lnarticulate moan, which
David barely heard, he pitched for
ward and tainted.
When David reached his side his
eyes were closed. Frantically he
scooped up handful after handful of
water from the nearest pool, dashed
it in his face, then fell to rubbing his
wrists and temples. And at last Ike
moved feebly, lifted himself on his ell
bow and looked about with unseeing
eyes. He tried to rise farther, and
toppled over again, moaning.
David's heart sank at the situation.
He found a sheltered spot in which to
build a fire, and labored with flint and
steel till he succeeded in coaxing a
blaze to live in the dry chips and tin
der he found in a hollow tree. He
ILaL-a IL. In hIc aruna aYnrtinn all