The state herald., 1920-12-24

s'uou. VI V"ufse thcv iihu no lueu on
earth why they We're doing II. cxccp,
that culver at the end Of their tails
told them to do so; but the result wns
entirely the same. They would have
shelter for the winter.
But the most noticeable change of
all, In these days OF summer. was
distinct tone OF sadness TINT sound.
ed throughout the forest. OF course
the wilderness note is always some
what sad: hut now. MS the lenves fell
and the grasses died. II seemed par.
ticularly pronounced. All the forest
voices added to 1.-THE wall of thr
geese. the sad tluttering OF fnIlen
leaves, and even the whisper of the
north wind. OF course MI the tones
and voices of the wilderness sound
clenrest at night--for that Is the time
that the forest really comes to ufe-
and Dan Failing. sitting In front of
Lennox's house, watching the late
September moon rise over Bald noun
tain, could hear them very plainly.
II was true that In the two months
he had spent In the mountains he had
learned to be very receptive to the
voices Of the wilderness. Lennox Ind
not been mistaken In thinking him
natural woodsmnn. He had imagina.
tion and insight and sympathy: but
most Of all he had heritage of wood.
lore from his frontlersmen ancestors.
Two months before he had been
resident Of cities. Now the wilder.
ness had claimed him. body and soul.
: These had been rare days. At first
he had to limit his expeditions to
few miles each day, and even then he
would come in at night staggering
from WEAKNESS. He climbed hills
that seemed to tear his diseased lungs
to shreds. Lennox wouldn't have been
afraid. In crisis, to trust his marks.
manship now. He had the natural
cold nerve Of n marksman, and one
twilight he brought the body OF lynx
tumbling through the branches of
pine at distance of two hundred
yards. He got so he could shatter
grouse out of the air In the hnlf of
second or so In which Its bronze wings
glinted in the shrubbery: and when
n man may do this n fur number of
times out Of ten he is on the straight
road toward greatness.
Then there came n day when Dan
caught his first steelhead In the North
Fork. There Is no more beautiful
thing In the wilderness world than n
- t,
seems TO dance on the surface of the
water. leaplng again and again. and
racing at an unheard-of speed down
the ripples. lie weighs only from
three to fifteen pounds. But now and
again amateur fishermen without souls
have tried to pull him In with main
strength, and are still somewhat
dazed by the result. 1t might be done
with steel cable. but an ordinary
line or leader breaks like cobweb.
When his majesty the steeIhead takes
the fly and decides to run. II can be
learned after n time that the one
thing that may be done is to let out NIL
the line and with prayer and humble
nRss try to keep up with him.
Dan no longer wore his glasses
Every day his eyes had strengthened
He could see more clearly now. WI
his unnided eyes. than he had ever
seen before with the help of the lens.
And the moonlight came down through
n rift In the trees and showed that his
face had changed. too. 1t was no
longer SO white. The eyes were more
intent. The lips We're straightrr.
ITS been two months" Silns Len
nox told him. half the four that you
gave yourself after you arrived here.
and you're twice ms good now as whom
you came"
Dan nodded. Twice. Ten times
as good ! was q wreck when came.
Today | climbed halfway up Baldy--
within Il half mile OF Snowblrd's cab.
in-without stopping to rest"
Lennox looked thoughtful More
than once. of late. Dan had climbed up
toward SnowhIrd's cabin. II WIS true
that his guest md his daughter had
become the best OF companions In the
two months: but on second thnlghi.
Lennox was not In the least afraid OF
complications. The love OF the noun.
tain women does not 90 out TO phys
icnl Interiors. "Whoever gets her."
he had said. "wlll have to tame her."
and his words stlll held good. The
mountnln women rarely m;stook ma
'crnnl tenderness for nn appealing
man for love. I, wasn't that Dan was
weak except from he ravnges Of his
disease; but he wns sin long wny
from Snowblrd's ideal Although Dan
Ind courage and that same rigid self.
control that was an old quality In his
breed, he WIS silll n long way from
physically strong man. 1t was still
an even break whether he would ever
wholly recover from his mniady.
But Dan WIS not thinking about
ghIa nnn nj. ,t.,..atI.... l,I