The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1918-02-02

OF Tue inst tllI4ti- II t!dIiS AS q 'l'''S
bringing hts shoes in dangerous pro
pnuuity and measures not his length
III the treach"rous footing, viii give
m exhausted ii the end If hundred
Yards lie who ran keep ont q the
way Of the dogs for a whole day may
well crawl into his sleeping bag with
I clear conscience and a pride Which
rnSScth ali understanding. and he VINO
travels twenty sleeps on the long trail
Il a man HON the gods may envy.
The afternoon wore on, and with the
awe horn Of the white silence the
yoiceIess travellers bent TO their work.
Nature has many tricks where"ith
She conriuces man Of his tinity-the
ecaseless dow Of the tides, the fury OF
the storm. the shock Of the earth
quake. the long roll or heavens arui- .
lerv-but the most tremendous, the \
most stuprfying of all. is the PASSIVE
phase Of the white silence. All move /
ment ceases: tie sky clears; the heaV-
| ems arc as brass. The slightest WINS !
per seems Sacrilcge. and man becomes
| timid. affrighted at the sound OF ms
| own VOICE. SUIT SltNh VI iIit JShAAAN'
! ing across the ghostly wastes OF dead
world. he tremblGS at his audaclty,
realizes that his is a maggots Ire,
nothing more. Strange thoughts arise
unSummOned, and the mystery Of all
things strives for utterance. And the
fear Of death, Of God, Of the universe,
comes over him-the hope Of the res
i ~, e1 Z i,D Woo sIaIT ~
Immortality the vain striving OF the
imprisoned essence. 1t is then, if ever
man walks alone with God.
So wore the day away. The river
took a great bend, and Mason headed
mis- team for the cutoff across the
narrow neck Of land. But the dogs
baked at the high bank. Again and
again. though Ruth and MaIcmutc Kid
were showing on the sled. they sllIped
Lack. Then came the concerted effort.
The miserable creatures, weak from
hunger. cxeIted their last strength
u. up the sled poised on the top Of
the bank. bat the leader swung the
string Of dogs behind him to the right.
f0uing Ma<0n's snowshoes. The re-
i
ned off his feet One OF the dogs fell
in The traces. and the Sled toppled
| back. dragging everything TO the bot
: tom again.
Slash, The whip fell among the
! dogs savagely. espey tally upon the one
which had fallen.
, Don't. Mason" entreated Malemute
| - lnE-il'S Ia IT
legs. Wait and We'll put my team on. :
Mason deliberately withheld the whip
: fill the last word had fallen, then out
t flashed the long lash. completely curl
[ ing about the offending creature body
: Carmen-for it was Carmen-coWered
/ in the snow, cried piteously, then roll
ed over on her side.
1t vas q tragic moment, pltlful IN
cident Of the trail--a dying dog, two
comrades in anger. Ruth glanced SO
licitously from man to man, but Male
rclte Kid restrained himself. though
there was world of reproach in his
ewes. and, bending over the dog, cut
the traces. No word was spoken. The
teams ware double spanned and the
| difficulty overcome; the sleds were IN
der way again, the dying dog dragging
herself along in the rear. As long az
an animal can travel it is not shot
and this last chance is accorded II
the crawling into camp, If it can, II
the hone of q moose being killed.
Already penitent for his angry &C
ton but too stubborn to make amends
"a ~ Af
cayalcade. little dreaming that DANCE
lowered in the air. The timber cluS
tered thick in the sheltered bottom
, and through this they threaded thel
way Fifty feet or more from the tral
lowered a lofty pine. For generation
If had stood there. and for generation
destiny had had this one end III We"
I Perhaps the same had been decreed Q
I Mason.
He stooped to faSten the looscne
J thong Of his moccasin. The sleds cam
I 10 a halt, and the dogs lay down III I'll
snow without a whimper The stu
ness was weird Not breath rustic
II the frost encrusted forest The col
and silence of outer space had emile
a | the heart ana smote Tue 'AeLiol ~
lips Of nature. A sigh pulsed throue
1 the air. They did not seem to actualI
I hear it, but, rather, felt it, ike II
I nremonition of movement in motlol
4 less void. Then the great tree Du
, deped with its weight of years al
snow, played its last part in the ira
A edy of life. Mason heard the Warhf
4 crash and attempted to spring up Du
I almost erect, caught the blow square
4 on the shoulder.
i The sudden danger. the quick deal
4 how often had Malemute hid race
1 it, The pine needles were still qul
i erinr as he gave his commands al
sprang into action. Nor did the India
n girl faint or raise her voice in id
4 waiIing. as might many of her VIII
sisters. At his order she threw h
weight on the end of a quickly extel
l norized handspike, easing the preSSu
and listening to her husbands groaf
1 while Nalemute Kid attacked the tt
with his ak. The steel rang merrl
% as it bit into the frozen trunk. ca
- I,;,r orcor71Dapied nv n force