Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1918-12-26
his anu ~wh1spered'::~
"What is 1t. Billv-hov9"

WnaL is IL, Bllly-DOyV
I'm afraid we can't get over here
with the horses" he answered slowiv.
"And If we can't find a pass of some
kind-well, come on! 1t isn't more
than a quarter of a mile to the top
Just short of the top Bill halted, and
wiped the sweat cut of his eyes. And
as he stood his gaze suddenly became
fixed, a concentrated stare at a point
northward. He raised his glasses.
"By thunder!" he exclaimed. 1T be-
lieve-lt's me for the top"
He went up the few remaining yards
with a haste that left Hazel painting
behind. Above her he stood balanced
on a bowldef, cut sharp against the
Sky, and she reached him just as he
lowered the field glasses with a sigh
Of relief. His eyes shone with eyul-
tation.
Come on up on the perch" he in
vited, and reached forth q long, mus
cular arm, drawing her up close be-
side him on the rock.
"3as"ld the Promised Land" he
breatiled, 'and the gateway thereof,
lying q couple of miles to the north"
They We're, it seemed to Hazel, roost-
ing precariously on the very summit
OF the world. On both sides the noun
tain pitched away sharply in rugged
folds. Behind them, between them and
the far Pacific, rolled a sea of noun
tains, snow-capped, glacier-torn, gi-
gantic.
"Down there" Roaring Bill waved
his hand, there's a little meadow, and
turf to walk On. Lord, I'll be glad to
get out Of these rocks! You'll never
catch me coming in this way again.
It's sure tough going. And I've been
scared to death for a week, thinking
we couldn't get through"
"But we camp
Eyes, easy" he assured. stake the
glasses and look. That fiat we left our
outfit in runs pretty well to the top,
about two miles along. Then there's
a notch in the ridge that you can't get
with the naked eye, and a wider can
yon running down into the basin. It's
the only decent break in the divide for
fifty miles so far as I can see. We're
lucky to hit this pass"
Suppose we couldn't get wei here?"
Hazel asked. "What if there hadn't
been a pass?"
"That was beginning to keep me
awake nights" he confessed. DO you
realize that it's getting late in the
year? Winter may come-bing lin
side of ten days. And MT caught in
a rock pile, with no cabin to shelter
my best girl, and no hay up to feed my
horses! You bet it bothered me-"
She Rugged him sympathetically, and
Bill smiled down at her.
"But it's plain sailing now" he con
tinued. II know that basin and all the
country beyond it. It's a pretty decent
camping place, and there's q fairly
easy way out"
He bestowed a reassuring kiss upon
her. They sat on the boulder for a
few minutes, then scrambled downhill
to the jacl1-pine flat, and built their
evening fire. And for the first time
in many days Roaring Bill whistled
and lightly burst into snatches of sons
in the deep, believing voice that had
given him his name back in the Carl
boo country. His humor was infec-
tious. Hazel felt the gods of high
adventure smiling broadly upon them
once more.
At noon, two days later, they stepped
out of a heavy stand of spruce into
a sun-warmed meadow, where ripe yell
low grasses waved to their horses
knees. Hazel came afoot. q fresh
killed deer dashed across Silks back.
Bill hesitated, as if taking his bear
ings, then led to where a rocky spur
Of a hill jutted into the meadows edge.
A spring dubbed out of a pebbly ba-
sin, and he poked about in the grass
beside it with his foot, presently stoop-
ing to pick up something which proved
to be a short bit Of charred stick.
"The remains of my last campfire"
he smiled reminiscently. "Packs off,
old pal. We're through with the trail
for q WHILE"