Clearwater Republican. [volume] (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922, 1918-01-25
CHAPTER VI.
The Fight In the Snow.

CHAPTER vi.
The Fight In the Snow.
They found shelter that night under
thick balsam, and when they lay down
on the soft carpet Of needles which the
snow had not covered, Gray Wolf
snuggled her warm body close to Ka-
Fan and licked his wounds. The day
broke with . velvety fall Of snow, 50
white and thick that they could not
see a dozen leaps ahead Of them in the
open. 1t was quite warm, and so still
that the whole world seemed filed with
only the dutter and whisper Of the
snowfakes Through this day Kazan
and Gray Wolf travelled side BY side.
Time and again he turned his head
back to the ridge over which he had
come, and Gray Wolf could not under
stand the strange note that trembled In
his throat.
In the afternoon they returned to
what was left Of the caribou doe on the
lake. In the edge Of the forest Gray
Wolf hung back. She did not yet know
the meaning Of p0isOn-baits, deadfalls
and traps, but the instinct Of number
less generations was in her veins, and
It told her there was danger In visiting
a second time . thing that had grown
cold in death.
Kazan had seen masters work about
carcasses that the wolves had left. He
had seen them conceal traps clevarly,
and roll little capsules Of strychnine In
the fat Of the entrails, and once he
had put foreleg in a trap, and had
experienced its sting and pain and
deadly grip. But he did not have Gray
VOLTS fear. He urged her to accom-
pany him to the white hummocks on
the ice, and at last she went with him
and sank back restlessly on her
launches, while he dug out the bones
and pieces of flesh that the snow had
kept from freezing. But she would not
eat and at last Kazan went and sat ON
his launches at her side, and with her
looked at what he had dug out from
under the snow. He smiled the air.
He could not smell danger, but Gray
Wolf told him that 1t might be there.
She told him many other things in
the days and nights that followed. The
third night Kaxan himself gathered the
hunt-pack and led in the chase. Three
times that month, before the moon left
the skies, he led the chase, and each
time there was q kill. But as the SHOWS
began to grow softer under his feet he
found q greater and greater compan-
tonship In Gray Wolf. and they hunted
alone, living ON the big white rabbits.
In all the world he had loved but two
things, the girl with the shining hair
and the hands that had caressed him
and Gray Wolf.
He did not leave the big plain, and
often he took his mate to the top of the
ridge and he would try to tell her what
he had left back there. With the dark
nights the call Of the woman became
20 strong upon him that he was filed
with . longing to 60 back, and take
Gray Wolf with him. !
Something happened very soon after
that. They were crossing the open
plain one day when up on the face Of
the ridge Kaxan saw something that
made his heart stand still. A man,
with a dog-sledge and team, was com
ing down into their world. The wind
had not warned them, and suddenly
Kaxan saw something giisten In the
mans hand. He knew what 1t was. 1t
was the thing that spat IRE and thun-
der, and killed.
He gave his warning to Gray Wolf.
and they were on like the wind. side
by hide. And then came the sound
and Kasan's hatred Of men burst forth
In snarl AZ he leaped. There was .
queer humming over their heads. The
sound from behind came again, and
this dime Gray Wolf gave . yelp Of
pain, and rolled over In the snow. She
was ON her feet again In an instant,
and Kazan dropped behind her, and
ran there until they reached the shell.
ter Of the timber. Gray Wolf lay down,
and began licking the wound In her
shoulder. Kaxan faced the ridge. The
man was taking up their trail. He
stopped where Gray Wolf had fallen,
and examined the snow. Then he came
| on.
Kaxan urged Gray Wolf to her feet,
and they made for the thick swamp
close to the lake. All that day they
kept In the face Of the wind, and when
Gray Wolf lay down Kazan stole back
over their trail, watching and shining
| the air.
For days after that Gray Wolf ran
lame. and when once they came upon
the remains Of an old camp, Kazan's
teeth were barred In snarling hatred Of
the man-scent that had been left be-
hind. Growing In him there was q de-
sire for OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES for his
own hurts, and for Gray VOLTS. He
tried to nose out the man-trail under
the cover Of fresh snow, and Gray Wolf
circled around him anxiously. At last
I hn I'll