The Jasper news. [volume] (Jasper, Missouri) 1898-1924, 1921-07-14

as steel, the hard lines, the slim, pow
erful hands. He could read It In the
tones of the volce--tones that he him
self could not initiate or pretend. The
hour had come for the settling Of old
debts.
He tried to curse his adversary as
weakllng and q degenerate, but the OBJ
scene words he sought for would not
come to his lips. Here was his fate,
and because the darkness always fades
before the light, and the courage of
wickedness always breaks before the
courage of righteousness, Cranston was
afraid to look it in the face. The fear
of defeat, of death, Of heaven knows
what remorselessness with which this
grave giant would administer justice
was upon him, and his heart seemed
to freeze In his breast. Cravenly he
leaped for his knife on the blankets
below him.
Dan was upon him before he ever
reached it. He sprang as a cougar
spings incredibly fast and with shat
tering power. Both went down, and
for long time they writhed and strug-
gled In each others arms. The pine
boughs rustled strangely.
The dark, gaunt hand reached in
vain for the knife. Some resistless
power seemed to be holding his wrist
and was bending its bone as an Indian
bends bow. Pain lashed through him.
And then this dark-hearted man. who
had never known the meaning of mer-
cy. opened his lips to scream that this
terrible enemy be merciful TO him.
But the words wouldn't come. A
CHASTITY weight had come at his throat,
and his tortured lungs sobbed for
breath. Then, for a long time, there
was curious pounding, lashing sound
in the evergreen boughs. 1t seemed
merciless and endless.
But Dan got up at last, in a strange,
heavy silence, and swiftly went to
work. He took the rife and filed 1t
with cartridges from Cranstons belt
Then he put the remaining two boxes
of shells into his shirt pocket. The
supplies of food-the sack of nutri-
tious Jerked venison like dried bark,
the little package of cheese, the boxes
OF hard tack and one of the small
sacks of prepared flour-he tied, with
a single kettle. Into his heavy blan-
kets and flung them with the rifle upon
his buck. Finally he took the pair Of
snow shoes from the floor. He worked
coldly, swiftly, all the time munchIng
at a piece of jerked venIson. When he
had finished he walked to the door OF
the lean-tO.
1t seemed to Dan that Cranston whIs.
pered family, from his unconscious
ness, as he passed; but the victor did
not turn to look. The snow shoes
crunched away into the cLrkness. Or
the hill behind half dozen wolves
stragglers from the pack-frisked anC
leaped about In a curious way. A
strange smell had reached them on the
wind, and when the loud, fearful stepi
were out of hearing, 1t might pay then
to creep down, one by one, and investi
gnte Its cause.
The gray circle about the fire wal
growing impatient. SnOwbird waited I,
the last instant before she admitted
this fact. But 1t is possible only s,
long to deny the truth of a thing tha
all the senses verify, and that momen
for her was past.
She noticed that when she went t
her hands and knees, laboriously I,
cut piece of the drier wood from tn
rain-soaked. rotted snag that was he
principal supply OF fuel. every vol
would leap forward, only to draw bacl
when she stood straight again. Sh
worked desperately to keep the fir
burning bright. She dared not neglec
1t for moment. Except for the singl
pistol ball that she could AFFORD to e1
pend on the wolves-of the three sh
had-the fire was her last defense.
But 1t was losing fight. The rair
soaked wood smoked without hamG
the comparatively dry core with whic
Dan had started the fire had burne
e down. and the green wood, hacked wit
e such heart-breaking difficulty from tn
e saplings that Dan had cut, needed III
S most tireless attention to burn at all.
: Her nervous vitality was nowIn
> from her in a frlghtful stream. To
j long she had toiled without food /
the constant presence of danger, an
$ she was very near indeed TO utter e,
haustion. But at the same time sh
: knew she must not faint. That wa
i one thing she could not do-tO fall III
I conscious before the last Of her thrs