Charlevoix county herald., 1920-12-03
&C on ( in u e d.

lighted sound that came somewhat
curiously from the bearded lips Of the
stern. dark man. Dan, I'll swear she's
afraid Of nothing that walks the face
of the earth-and ii isn't because she
hasn't had experience either. She's
dead shot with a pistol. for one thing.
She's physically strong. and every
muscle is hard as nails. She used to
have Shag. tOo-the best dog in all
these mountains. She's mountain
girl, tell you; whoever wins her has
got to he able TO tame her!" The
mOuntaineer laughed again.
The call to supper came then. and
Dan got his first sight Of mountain
food. There were potatoes. newly
dug. mountain vegetables that were
crisp and cold. steak of peculiar
shape. and great howl Of purple ber-
, ries TO lie eaten with sugar and cream.
Dams appetite was not as rule par
ticularly good. But evidently the long
ride had affected him. He simply
didn't have the moral courage TO re-
fuse when the elder Lennox heaped
his plate.
Good heavens. can't eat all that"
he said. as 1t was passed TO him. But
the others laughed and told him to
take heart.
He took heart 1t was a singular
thing. hut at that first bite his sudden
confidence in his gustatory ability al
most overwhelmed him. So he cut
himself a bite Of the tender steak
fully half as generous as the bites that
Bill was consuming across the table.
And its first flavor simply filed him
with delight.
"What Is this meat?" he asked.
"I've certainly tasted It before"
"I'll bet few dollars that you
haven't. If you've lived all your life
in the Middle West" Lennox an
swered maybe you've got what the
scientists call an inherited memory of
II. It's the kind Of meat your grand
father used to live On--venison."
Soon after dinner Lennox led him
out of the house for his first glimpse
Of the hills in the darkness.
They walked together out to the
lures where. at certain seasons, Len
nox kept his cattle; and at last they
came out upon the tree-covered ridge.
The moon was just rising. They could
see IL casting a curious CLINT over the
very tips Of the pines. But II couldn't
get down between them. They stood
too close. too tall and thick for that.
And for moment. Dams only sensa-
ton was one of silence.
you have to stand still a moment.
70 really know anything" Lennox told
him.
They both stood still. Dan was as
motiOnless as that day in the park,
long weeks before, when the squirrel
had climbed on his shoulder The first
effect was sensation that the silence
was deepening around them. II wasn't
really true. II was simply that he
had become aware OF the little con-
tinuous sounds Of which usually he
was unconscious. and they tended to
accentuate the hush Of the night. He
knew, just as all mountaineers know,
that the wilderness about him was
stirring and pulsing with life. Some
of the sounds were quite clear--an
occasional stir Of a pebble or the crack
Of twig, and some, like the faintest
twitching of leaves in the brush not
ten feet distant. could only be guessed
at
"What is making the sounds?" he
asked
He didn't know It. at the time but
Lennox turned quickly toward him. II
wasn't that the question had surprised
the mountaineer. Rather II was the
tone In which Dan had spoken. II was
perfectly cool. perfectly self-con-
tanned.
1.-The one right close Is q chlpmunk.
don't know what the others are; no
one ever does know. Perhaps ground
squirrels, or rabbits. or birds, and
maybe one Of those harmless old black
bears who is curious about the house.
And tell me-can you smell any
thing"
Good Lord, Lennox I can smell all
kinds Of things"
"Pm glad. Some men can't. No one
can enjoy the woods n he can't smell.
Part OF the smells are Of flowers. and
part of balsam, and God only knows
Z. what the others are. They are just
the Wilderness"
Dan could not only perceive the
smells and sounds, but he felt that
they were leaving an imprint on the
very fiber of his soul. He knew one
thing He knew he could never for
get this first Introduction to the noun
tain night. The whole scene moved
him In strange, deep ways In which
he had never been stirred before; II
left him exultant and. In deep wells OF
his. nature far below the usual cur
rents of excitement, little excited
too.
Then both of them were startled
out OF their reflections by the clear
unmIstakable sound of footsteps or
the ridge, Both Of them turned, and
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