Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1918-02-12

night. Then she made herself a nest
under q banskian shrub, and waited
until dawn.
Just how she knew when night blot
ted out the last glow Of the sun, 30
without seeing she knew when day
came. Not until she felt the warmth
Of the sun on her back did her anxiety
overcome her caution. Slowly she
moved toward the river, smiling the
air and whining. There was no longer
the smell of smoke in the air, and she
could not catch the scent Of man.
She followed her own trail back to
the sand-bar, and In the fringe Of
thick bush overhanging the white
shore of the stream she stopped and
listened. After a little she scrambled
down and went straight to the spot
where she and Kazan were drinking
when the shot came. And there her
nose struck the sand still wet and
thick with Kazan's blood.
She knew 1t was the blood Of her
mate, for the scent Of him was all
about her In the sand, mingled with
the man-smell of Sandy McTrigger.
She shifted the trail Of his body to
the edge of the stream, where Sandy
had dragged him to. the canoe. She
found the fallen tree to which he had
been tied. And then she came upon
one of the two clubs that Sandy had
used to beat wounded Kazan into sub
missiveness. 1t was covered with blood
and hair, and all at once Gray Wolf
lay back on her launches and turned
her blind face to the sky, and there
rose from her throat q cry for Kazan
that drifted for miles on the wings
of the south wind. Never had Gray
Wolf given quite that cry before. 1t
was not the "call" that comes with
the moonlit nights, and neither was
1t the hunt-cry, nor the she-wolf's
yearning for matehood. 1t carried
with 1t the lament of death. And after
that one cry Gray Wolf skunk back to
the fringe of bush over the river, and
lay with her face turned to the stream
A strange terror fell upon her. She
had grown accustomed to darkness
but never before had she been alone
in that darkness. Always there had
been the guardianship of Kazan's pres
ence. She heard the clucking sound
of spruce hen In the bush few
yards away, and now that sound came
to her as If from out Of another world
A ground-mouse rustled through the
grass close to her forepaws, and she
snapped at it, and closed her teetf
on rock. The muscles of her shoul
ders twitched TREMENDOUSLY and SHE
shivered as If stricken by intense cold
She was terrified by the darkness tina
shut out the world from her, and sh'
paved at her closed eyes, as If sh,
might open them to light.
Early in the afternoon she wandered
back on the plain. 1t was different
turned to the beach, and snugglet
down under the tree where Kazan ha,
lain. She was not so frightened here
The smell of Kazan was strong abou
her. For an hour she lay motionless
with her head resting on the club clot
ted with his hair and blood. Nigh
found her still there. And when thu
moon and the stars came out sh'
crawled back into the pit in the whit
sand that Kazans body had made I'm
der the tree.
With dawn she went down to tn
edge of the stream to drink. Sh
could not see that the day was almos
as dark as night, and that the gray
black sky was q chaos of slumberini
storm. But she could smell the pres
ence of 1t In the thick air. and coul'
feel the forked flashes of lightning
from the south and west. The distan
rumbllng of thunder grew louder. an
she huddled herself again under tn
tree. For hours the storm crashe,
over her, and the rain fell in deluge
When it had finished she skunk on
from her shelter like a thing beaten
Vainly she sought for one last seen
of Kazan. The club was washed clear
Again the sand was white wher
Kazan's blood had REDEEMED 1t. Eve
under the tree there was no sign o
him left.
Until now only the terror of bein
, alone In the pit of darkness that er
veloped her had oppressed Gray Vol
With afternoon came hunger. 1t wa
this hunger that drew her from tn
sand-bar, and she wandered back int
the plain. A dozen times she scente
game, and each time it evaded hel
, Even a ground-mouse that she col
nered under a root, and dug out wit
her paws. escaped her fangs.
Thirty-six hours before this Kaza
and Gray Wolf had left half Of thei
last kill a mile or two farther bac
ON the plain. The kill was one of tn
I big barren rabbits, and Gray VOL
turned in its direction. She did nc
require sight to find 1t. In her wa
t developed to its finest point that sixt
sense of the animal kingdom, the sens
, of orientation. and as straight as
! pigeon might have winged its fiigh