Charlevoix county herald., 1920-12-10


picious Of that gang. believe they've
got a regular arson ring, maybe with
INSCRIPTIONS st0ckmen behind them,
and perhaps just penny-winning deal
of their own. i suppose you know
about Landy Hildreth--how he's prom
Used to turn states evidence that will
send about dozen Of these vipers to
the penitentiaryf"
"Snowbird told me something about
It."
Hes got a cabin over toward the
marshes, and II has come to me that
he's going to start tomorrow. or maybe
has already started today. down into
the valley to give his evidence. or
course, that is deeply confidential be-
tween you and me. If the gang knew
about 1t, he'd never get through the
thickets alive"
But Dan was hardly listening His
attention was caught by the hushed.
intermittent sounds that are always to
be heard. II enc listens keenly enough.
In the wilderness at night. 81 wish
81 suppose 1t was hunting"
"Of course. And there is no living
thing in these woods that can stand
against wolf pack In Its full
strength"
Except man, OF course"
"A strong man, with an accurate
rifle, of course. and except possibly
In the starving times in winter he'd'
never have to fight them, All the
beasts of prey are out tonight You
see, Dan, when the moon shines, the
deer feed at night instead of in the
twilights and the dawn. And OF
course the wolves and the cougars
hunt the deer. 1t may be that they
are running cattle, or even sheep"
But Dams Imagination was afire
He wasn't content yet. "Thev couldn't
be-hunting MANI" he asked.
"No If 1t was midwinter and the
pack was starving, we'd have to lis
ten better. II always looked to me as
II the wild creatures had law
against killing men, just as humans
have. They've learned 1t doesn't pay
something the wolves and bears OF
Europe and Asia haven't found out.
The naturalists say that the reason Is
rather simple-that the European
peasant, his soul scared out of him by
the government he lived under. has
always fled from wild beasts. They
were tillers of the soil. and they car
ried hoes instead Of guns. They never
put the fear Of God into the animals
and as a result there are quite num-
Der of true stories about tigers and
wolves that aren't pleasant 10 listen
to. But our own frOntiersmen were
not men to stand any nonsense from
wolves or cougars. They had guns.
and they knew how to use them. And
they were preceded by as brave and
as warlike a race as ever lived on the
earth-armed with bows and arrows.
ANY animal that hunted men was i'm
mediately killed, and the rest found
out II didn't pay.
"Just as human beings have found
out the same thing-that II doesn't
pay to hunt their fellow men. The
laws of life as well as the laws of ma
lions are against It,"
But the words sounded weak and
dim under the weight Of the throbbing
darkness; and Dan couldn't get away
from the idea that the codes of life by
which most men lived were forgotten
quickly In the shadows of the pines.
Even as he spoke, man was hunting
man on the distant ridge where Whis-
perfoot the cougar had howled.
Bert Cranston, head of the arson
ring that operated on the Umpqua di-
vide, was not only beyond the pale In
regard to the laws Of the valleys. but
he could have learned valuable lessons
from the beasts in regard TO keeping
the laws of the hills. The moon looked
down to find him waiting on certain
trail that wound down to the settle
ments. his rifle loaded and ready for
another kind Of game than deer or
wolf. He was waiting for Landy Hill
dreth; and the greeting he had for
him was to destroy all chances Of the
prosecuting attorney in the valley be-
low learning certain names that he
particularly wanted to know.
There was no breath Of wind. The
great pines, tall and dark past belief,
stood absolutely motionless, like
strange pillars of ebony. Bert Gran
ston knelt in brush covert. his rife
loaded and ready In his lean, dark
hands.
No wolf that ran the ridges, no
cougar that waited on the deer trails
knew wilder passion, a more terrible
blood-lust than he. II showed In his
eyes, narrow and never resting from
their watch of the trail II was In his
posture; and II revealed Itself unmls
takably in the curl Of his lips. Some
thing like hot steam was In his brair
blurring his sight and heating hi
blood.
The pine needles hung wholly mo
tionless above his head; but yet the
dead leaves on which he knelt crinkled
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