Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-09-11

III tne door minute, Jnen go Dack
to the beach accompanied by
Charlie.
In a minute or so he came row.
ing across in skiff, threw his deer
aboard and pulled away north along
the shore.
She watched him lift and fall
among the waves until he turned a
point, rowing with strong. even
strokes. Then she walked home.
Benton was poring over some fig
ures. but he pushed aside his pencil
and paper when she entered.
you had a visitor, I see," she
remarked.
"Yes, Jack F'yfe. He picked up
a deer on the ridge behind here and
borrowed boat to get home"
II saw him come out of the
woods" she said. His camp can't
be far from here, is it? He only
left the springs as you came in.
Does he hunt deer for sport?"
Hardly. oh, we'll. suppose it's
sport for Jack, in a way. He's al
ways piking around in the woods
with a gun or a fishing rod. Ben
ton returned. But we kill 'em to
eat mostly. It's good meat and
cheap. 1 get one myself now and
then. However, you want to keep
that under your hat-about us fell
lows hunting-or we'll have game
wardens nosing around here"
Are you not allowed to hunt
them?" she asked.
Not in closed season. Hunting
seasons from September to Decem-
ber."
"If it's unlawful, why break the
law?' she ventured hesitatingly.
Isn't that rather-er"-
"Oh. bosh!" Charlie derided. "A
man in the woods is entitled to
venison, If he's hunter enough to get
it. The woods are full of deer, and
few more or less don't matter. We
can't run forty miles to town and
back and pay famine prices for beef
every two or three days when we
can get it at home in the woods"
Stella digested this in silence, but
1t occurred to her that this mild
sample of lawlessness was quite in
keeping with the men and the en-
vironment. There was no policeman
on the corner, no mechanism of law
and order visible anywhere. The
characteristic attitude of these
woodsmen was of intolerance for re-
straint of complete self sufficiency.
1T had colored her brothers point of
view. She perceived that whereas
all her instinct was to know the
rNes of the game and abide by them
he, taking his cue from his environ
ment. inclined to break rules that
proved inconvenient, even to for
mulate new ones to apply.
"And suppose" said she. "that a
game warden should catch you or
Mr.. Jack Fyfe killing deer out of
season."
Wed he hauled up and fined a
hundred dollars or So" he told her.
But they don't catch us"
He shrugged his shoulders and.
smiling tolerantly up her, proceeded
to smoke.
Dusk was falling now, the long
twilight of the northern season
gradually deepening, as they sat in
silence. Along the creek bank arose
llt fNtiihS tliOI VI the lTOSs. Inc
air. now hushed and STILL was riven
every few minutes by the whirr OF
wings as ducks in evening flight
swept by above. All the boisterous
laughter and talk in the bunkhouse
had died. The woods ranged gloomy
and impenetrable, save only in the
northwest, where q patch of sky
lighted by diffused pink and gray
revealed one mountain higher than
its fellows standing bald against the
horizon.
"Well. guess it's time to turn in, !"
Benton muffled yawn. pheasant
dreams, sis. Oh here's your purse.
I used part of the bankroll. You
won't have much use for money up
here, anyway"
He flipped the purse across to her
and sauntered into his bedroom.
Stella sat gazing thoughtfuhy at the
vast bulk of Mount Douglas a few
minutes longer. Then she, too, went
into the boxlike room. the bare dis
comfort of which chilled her merely
to behold
(To be continued.)
II