The Arvada enterprise., 1917-12-20

her hcnVler garments, ana went out
aide.
BY this time 1t was broad day, and
she brcathed sigh Of relief when she
saw TINT the storm had passed. 1t was
bitterly cold. 1t 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, shiverlng,
as Joan came out. With her heavily
moccasined foot Joan scattered the
ashes and charred sticks where the fire
had been. There was not spark left.
In returning to the tent she stopped
for moment beside Kazan, and pat
ted his shaggy head.
"Poor Wolff" she said. II wish I
had given you one Of the bearskins r.
She threw back the tent-fap 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.
After that one ag0nixing cry joan
hung herself upon her fathers breast,
sobbing 30 softly that even Kazan's
sharp ears heard 20 sound. She re-
NAMED there In her grief until every
vital energy Of womanhood and moth
erhood In her girlIsh body was reused
to action by the wuilIng cry Of baby
Joan. Ther she sprnng to her feet
und 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. 1t
WAS not because Of fear for herself. 1t
was the baby. The waillng 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
alrhOles. the home forty miles away.
"You couldn't lose yourself. Joan." He
Ind guessed what might happen.
She bundled the baby deep In the
furs and returned to the fir bed. Her
one thought now was that they must
have FIRE. She made little pile OF
birch bark. covered 1t with half-burnch
hits Of wood. and went into the tent
for the matches. Pierre Radlsson cur.
ried them In . waterproof box In n
pocket Of his bearskln coat. She
sobbed ms she kneeled beside him
nGnin. and obtained the box. As the
fire flnrcd up she added other bits Of
wood. and then some Of the larger
pieces that Pierre had dragged into
camp The IRE gave her courage.
Forty miles-and the river led to their
hOmei She must make that. with the
baby and Wolf. For the first time
she turned to him. and spoke his name
rs she put her hand on his head. After
That she gave him a chunk Of meat
which she thawed out over the fire,
and melted snow for ton. She was
not hungry. but she recalled how her
father had made her ent four or five
times day. no she forced herself to
mike n breakfast Of a biscuit. q shred
of mcnt and ~ much hot tea Ms she
could drink.
The terrible hour she dreaded fol.
lowed that. She wrapped blankets
closely about her fathers body. and
tied them with bnbche cord. After
TINT she piled NIL the furs and blnn-
kcts that remained on the slcdsc close
to the fire. and snugglcd baby Jonn
deep down In them. Pulling down the
tent was tnsk. The ropes were stifr
ind frozen. and when she had finished
one OF her hands was bleeding. She
piled the tent on the sledgc. and then,
half covering her face. turned md
looked back.
Pierre Radisson lay on his balsam
bed. with nothing over him now but
the gray sky and the spruce-tops. IA
xan stood stiff.lcggcd md shifted the
mir. His spine bristicd when Joan
went back slowly and kncclcd beside
the blankc,.wrnppcd object. When she
returned to him her face WIS white
and tense. md now there wns strange
and terrible look In her eyes as she
stared out across the bnrren. She
put him In the traces. and fastened
about her slender whist the Strip TINT
Pierre Ind used. Thus they struck
out for the river. foundcring kncc.'iccll
In the freshly fallen ind drifted snow,
Halfway Joan stumbled In drift md
fell. her loose hnir flying In Skinner.
Ing veil over the snow. With mighty
pail kssan was at her side. and his
cold musxls touched W face - che