Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-22
CHAPTER XIN

THAT night Langdon and Bruce made
l. their new plans while Metoosin sat
aloof smoking I'm stOlid silence and gazing
now and then at LangdOn, as If he could
not yet bring himself 10 the point of believ-
ing what had happened that afternoon
Thereafter through many moons Metoosin
would never forget to relate to his children
and his grandchildren and his friends Of the
tepee tribes how he had once hunted with
a white man who had shot his own dogs
to save the life of a grizzly bear. Langdon
was no longer the same old Langdon to
him and after this hunt Metoosn knew
that he would never hunt with him again
For Langdon was keskwao now. Something
had gone wrong in his head The Great
Spirit had taken away his heart and had
given it to a grizzly bear, and over his
pine Metoosin watched him cautiously, This
suspicion was confirmed when he saw Bruce
and Iangdon making a cage out Of a cow
hide pannier and realized that the cub was
TO accompany them on their long journey.
There was no doubt in his mind now. Lang
don was queer" and to an Indian that
sort of oueerness boded no good to man.
The next morning at sunrise the outfit
was ready for its long trail into the north
land Bruce and Langdon led the way up
the slope and over the divide into the val
lev where they had first encountered Thor,
The train filing picturesquely behind them,
with Metoosin bringing up the rear IN MS
cowhide pannier rode Muskwa.
Tangdon was satisfied and happy
ut was the best hunt Of my life" he said
TO Bruce I'll never be sorry we let him
live" -.,---
irreverently IF had my way about it his
hide would be back there on Dishpan Al
most any tourist down on the line OF ran
would lump for il at $780,
"TIe's worth several thousand to me
alive" replied Langdon, with which enig-
matte retort he dropped behind to see how
MuslSwa was riding ~ ,..
,r his pannier like a raw amateur in
haoilob on an elephants back, and after
DISCRIMINATING him for a few moments
Iangdon caught up with Bruce again
Half a dozen times during the next two
or three hours he visited Muskwa and each
tir,a mat he returned TO Bruce he was
ouieter, as II debating something with him
self.
was undoubtedly the end Of Thor's valley.
A mountain rose up squarely in the face Of
A. and the stream they were following
,,,,rg sharply to the westward into a
narrow canyon. on the east rose a green
and undulating slope up which the horses
could easily travel, and which would take
the outfit into new valley in the direction
of the Driftwood This course Bruce de-
cided TO pursue.
Half way up the slope they stopped to
give the horses a breathing spell. In his
covbide prison Muskwa whimpered plead
inglv. Langdon heard, but he seemed to
nav no attention. He was looking steadily
hack into the valley II was glorious in the
morning sun. He could see the peaks under
which lay the cool, dark lake in which Thor
had hshed for miles the slopes were like
green velvet and there came TO him as he
looked the last droning music OF Thor's
world 1t struck him in curious way as a
sort of anthem, a hymnal rejoicing that
he was going, and that he was leaving
things as they were before he came And
yet was he leaving things as they had
been2 Did his ears not catch In that music
OF the mountains something OF sadness OF
grief Of plaintive prayer?
And again. close 70 him. Muskwa
EhImpered soflly