Charlevoix county herald., 1920-12-03
,andle in the big. cold bedroom.

long sweep of moOnlit ridge that
stretched beneath the window. Then,
all at once, seemingly without warn
Ing II simply blinked out. Not until
the next morning did he really know
why. Insomnia was an old acquaint-
ance of Dams, and he had expected to
have some trouble in getting TO sleep.
His only real trouble was waking up
again when LennOx called him to
breakfast. He couldn't believe that
the light at his window shade was
really that of morning.
GOOD Heavens" his host exploded.
You sleep the sleep of the just"
Dan was about to tell him that on
the contrary he was very nervous
sleeper, but he thought better of It.
Something had surely happened to his
insomnia. The next instant he even
forgot to wonder about it in the reali-
zation that his tired body had been
wonderfully refreshed. He had no
dread now of the long tramp up the
ridge that his host had planned.
But first came target practice. In
Dams baggage he had a certain very
plain but serviceable sporting rifle Of
about thirty-forty caliber-a gun that
the Information department of the
large sporting-goods srore in Gitche-
apolis had recommended for his pur-
pose Except for the few moments in
the store, Dan had never held a rifle
| in his hands. The first shot he hit the
trunk of a five-foot pine at thirty
PAGES.
"But / couldn't very well have
missed it !" he replied to Lennox's
cheer. "You see, aimed at the mid
debut | just graZed the edge"
The second shot was not so good,
| missing the tree altogether. And ii
was singular thing that he aimed
longer and tried harder on this shot
than on the first. The third time he
| tried still harder, and made by far
the worst shot of all.
whats the matter?" he demanded.
I'm getting worse air the time"
Lennox didn't know for sure. But
he made long guess. at might be
beginners luck" he said, "but I'm in
clined to think you're trying too hard.
Take 1t easier-depend more on your
instincts"
Dams reply was to lift the rifle
lightly to his shoulder glance quickly
along the trigger and fire. The bullet
struck within one inch of the center
| of the pine.
For a long second Lennox gaZed at
him in open-mouthed establishment.
"My stars, boy!" he cried at last.
"Was I mistaken in thinking you were
a born Standardization all? Can II
be that a little Of your old GRANDPA
theirs skill has been passed down to
you? But you can't do it again."
But Dan did do II again. If any
thing, the bullet was little nearer
the center. And then he aimed at a
more distant tree.
But the hammer snapped down in
effectively on the breech. He turned
with a look of question.
"Your gun only holds five shots, "
Lennox explained. Reloading, Dan
Il
almost one hundred yards distant OF
course Ii would have been only child's
play to an experienced hunter: but
| to n tenderfoOt it was difficult
mark indeed. Twice out Of four shots
Dan hit the tree trunk. and one of his
two hits was practically bulrs-eye.
| His two misses were the result of the
same mistake he had made before
| attempting to hold his aim too long.
| -
Dan and Lennox started together
| up the long slope of the ridge. Dan
| alone armed; LennoX went with him
| solely as guide. The deer season had
| just opened, and 1t might be that Dan
would want TO procure one Of these
creatures.
But I'm not sure I want I'd hunt
| deer" Dan told him. "YOu speak of
| them as being so beautiful"
"They are beautiful and your
| grandfather would never hunt them,
either, except for meat But maybe
you'll change your mind when you see
| q buck. Besides, we might run into a
| lynx or panther. But not very like
| ly. without dogs"
| They trudged up, over the carpet of
| pine needles. They fought their way
| through a thicket of buckbrush. Once
they saw the gray squirrels In the tree
tops. And before Lennox had as much
as supposed they were near the haunts
of big game, yearling doe sprang up
from its bed in the thickets.
For an instant she stood motionless
presenting perfect target.' 1t was
evident that she had heard the sound
of the approaching hunters, but had
not as yet located or identified them
with her near-sighted eyes. Lennon
whirled to find Dan standing very
still, peering along the barrel of his
rifle. But he didn't shoot The deer
seeing Lennox move, leaped into her
terror-pace-that astounding run that
is one of the fastest gaits In the whole
animal world. In the wink of an eye
she was out Of sight.
"why didn't you shootT Lennox de-
| mandpd