The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1920-11-18

after the f~earlhunter secured his
spear, he turned the nose Of the skiff
down stream and shipped his oars long
enough TO light his pipe.
Mother hung back a little right AT
the last" the young man said, his
mind doubtless dwelling on the IN
usual experience, the first experience
In his life. Of actually living upon
land. "She was afraid somebody
might not like us TO move into the
cabin. But | told her they couldn't do
more than make us move out"
"Afear'd OF tn Wild Man. wus she?"
The younger man looked up.
''Say, tell me about that Wild Man.
She did mention him this afternoon"
The Boss took the pipe from his lips
and blew away the smoke in a slow
cloud, as II wishing to prolong the feel
of II upon his tongue.
"The Wild Man." he pondered. "a
harmless oil cuss, an pitiful to see.
Seven year he's been In these Flat
woods. Hit amt often a body gifts a
glimpse Nv i'm. l did once-a tall oil
ghost of a man-tall as you Almost
but a face on i'm the p~itifulest you
ever see. An like a ghost he comes
and like a ghost he goes-nobody
knows where to-. They say he's got a
daughter somewhere's up In the hills
thar. but | never seed her"
The Boss went back to his pipe. Tine.
other sat bordering what he had just
heard.
mo. II wasn't on account of the
Wild Man." ne resumed. ms IL In an.
swer 10 the hnss' first ques, ION. "She
was afraid somebody might make US
leave"
AN thatll be n long while p-Goin',"
the Boss answered. They amt no
body in this quarter o. tn worll has
got III right Z do that. That Ian b.
longs T. Colonel Warpritton. Ever hear
tell Of hImT"
~ never did"
"He owns hundreds and hundreds OF
acres-tive or six sections, I guess
layin' In a square right along the river
h'iNs w WIZ hNtlA anu hp"tI Nv III
Flatwoods. That's his east line hack
thar where the River road bends
north. Itll he many a long day h'fore
he orders anybody off. He's got so
much h'sldes | don't s'pose he hardly
knows he's got this. ] doubt If he ever
seer IT,"
The Boss let the oars drift while he
turned his head and sat a
sweeping his eyes UP and down the
dim. forest-bound shore line.
Them warbrittons is n remarkable
race" he resumed. Fire eater every
one. Soldiers an fighters sence til
Lord knows when. In times long ago
they wus a elan. They bad a flag with
a gray wolf or 1t. an they called their
selves the Gray Wolf clan. They say
every man in the clan wus brave, an
every woman virtuous. An that's
what they prided themselves on p e
cial particular. They wus all hig
e They wus Ave of 'em In the
Revolution two with Clark an' four
in the war Of -"
The ~Pearlhunter bent forward and
hung upon the words. Somehow fhey
strangely stirred him.
II al tn Injuns under this Colonel
Warbritton. TIL soldiers use T. talk
about I'm a lot around tn campfire.
That's how ! come t know s. much
about I'm. Hit wus me that saved his
scalp at Horseshoe Bend" A tang of
pride crept into the hard tones Of the
shot through tn brains an fell s.
quick he caught tn %cOlOnel's foot, an
stood over i'm with tn bayonet
whilst he got loose. We sent seven
screechin' heathens 4 hell that day
b'fore hep come. That's how l got Z
be a sergeant. Hit wus tn best he
could do fer a man that hadn't no
iearnln'. No. No. You needn't he
afear'd Of gittin' driv' out o. tn cabin.
II the colonel wus here. he wouldn't
He clutched the oars In earnest. A
few lusty strokes drove the boat down
to where the glare from the campfire
Of the Boss crew of "clammers" fiared
out across the water. There he turned
In to get the jack light.
A dirtier bunch of men than the Ave
lounging about that campfire couldn't
be found anywhere else In the world
except In another "clammer's" camp.
The practice Of the early pearl fishers
Was to put the clans In watts and al
low them to die there and rot. This
muck was afterward carefully "han-
died" for whatever pearls 1t might con
tain.
The ordinary Jack light Is simply an
oil burner-ln early days a candle. or
fire Of pine knots-arranged with a re-
fector-on the bow OF the boat In such
d way Us TO throw the full brilliancy
OF the light down upon the wafer.
leaving the fisherman himself In dark
ness. Such q light. II the night be
dark and the water quiet and clear.
renders objects beneath the surface
perfectly plain to- q considerable depth.
While the Boss was fastening the
Jack light TO the bow OF the h0at tne
pearlhunter stepped ashore 70 blsckesi
W.A .W NkIM