The daily Alaskan., 1920-10-14
COPTRIGHT BY :

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 The men who hunted the river mus sel along the Wabash before the days of the button Industry hunted 1t for the pearl sometimes found imbedded between Its flesh and shell. Struggling up and down the streams, often singly, sometimes In crews, they were shift less, fiery, reckless breed-of q feather with the buccaneers of other days, and led on by the same lure; a chance fling at fortune A pearl of great value WAS sometimes fOund-even run ming well up into the thousands. But the chance of finding such a pearl was small Still there was the chance, and 1t Is surprising what a certain type of men will endure for such a chance, when the same ends might be at tained, certain and sure, by patient in- dustry.
 A grlZZled old river man sat with the nose of his skin jammed up on the gravel by the bow of the houseboat when the Pcurlhmter came down the slope. The Boss they called him. the river men. because in his long years in the industry he had managed to scrape together an outfit" and work a crew ot "clammers" too poor to hunt alone. His hands were still upon the oars. The PGOrlhunter pushed the boat off and sprang in, directing the Boss to row around by the stern of the hOuSeboat after the fish spear he had been filing that afternoon.
 See y'u've moved" the Boss ob- served as the Skin slipped out into the stream.
 Mothers cough" was the answer. "She thought it would help her to get up there under the trees"
 That cough-itIl git away with 'er, If she hain't kecrful. She oughta have medicine"
 q told her so, but she won't have it."
 The Boss did not pursue the point. A wOman'S will was something he never took the trouble to question. Having rowed out into the current, after the Pearlhunter secured his spear, he turned the nose of the skin down stream and shipped his ours long enough 10 light his pipe.
 Mother hung back q little right al the last" the young man said, his mind doubtless dwelling on the un- 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 I told her they couldn't do more than make uS move out"
 "Afcar'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 if wishing to prolong the feel of ft upon his tongue.
 "The Wild Man" he pondcrcd. a harmless OF cuSS, an pitiful to see, Seven year he's been in these Flat woods. Hit ain't often a body gits a glimpse uy i'm. I did oucc-a tall or ghost of a mau-talI as you almost but face on i'm the pitifulcSt you ever see. An like a ghost he comes; and like a ghost he gOeS-nubody knows where to. They say hes got a daughter somcwh"rc'S up in the hills thar. uuI never seed her"
 The Boss went back to his pipe. The other sat pondering what he had just heard.
 Ne. it wasn't on account of the Wild Man." he resumed, as if in an swer to the Boss first question. She was afraid somebody might make us leave"
 "An' thar'u be a long while a-Goin'," the Boss answered. "They ain't mo- body in this quarter O tn world has got tn risht t do that That lau' b.. longs t Colonel Warbritton. Ever hear tell of him."
 'l never did.'
 "He owns hundreds and hundreds of aCreS-tiye or six sections, l guess layin' in a square right along the river here, tn very heart and flower uv tn FlatwOOds. That's his east line back thar where the River road bends north. It'll be many a long day b'fore he orders anybody off. Hes got so much b'sidcS I Ion't s'pose he hardly knows he's got this. doubt if he ever seen it."
 The Ross let the oars drift while he turned his head and sat moment sweeping his eyes up and down the dim, fOrest-bound shore line.
 Them WOrbrittons is a remarkable race" he resumed. Fire eaters every one. Soldiers an fighters sence tn Lord knows when. In times long ago they wus a clan. They had a flag with q gray wolf on it, 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 theirSelves on spe, cIal partic1ar. They wus all big men. They wus five of lem in the Revolution; two with Clark an four