Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1921-10-13


afternoon Dan and Snowbird would
go out on their skis or on snowshoes,
unarmed except for the pistol that
Snowbird carried in the deep pocket
OF her mackinaw. "But why notP Dan
replied to Lennox's objection. "She
could kill five wolves with five shots,
or pretty near it, and you know well
enough that that would hold 'em till
we got home. They'd stop to eat the
five. have hard enough time keep
ing up with her as it is, without carry
Ing a rifle" And LennOx was content.
Dan had told the truth when he said
that five deaths or even fewer, would
repel the attack Of any wolf pack he
had ever seen. There was just one
troubling thought. He had heard, long
ago, and he had forgotten who had
told him, that in the most severe win
tiers the wolves gather in particularly
large packs; and a quality in the song
that they had heard at night seemed
= to bear it out. The chorus had been
exceptionally loud and strong, and he
had been unable to pick out individual
voices.
The snow was perfect for skiing.
Previously their sport had been many
times interrupted either by the fall of
fresh snow or thaw that had soft
ened the snow crust; but now every
afternoon was too perfect to remain
indoors. They shouted and romped in
the silences, and they did not dream
but that they had the wilderness all to
themselves. The fact that one night
Lennox's keen eyes had seen what
looked like the glow Of a camp fire
in the distance didn't affect this belief
of theirs at all. It was evidently Just
the phosphorus glowing in a rotten log
from which the winds had blown the
snow.
Once or twice they caught glimpses
Of wild life: once a grouse that had
buried in the snow flushed from their
path and blew the snow-dust from its
wings; and once or twice they saw
snowshoe rabbits bounding away on
fiat feet over the drifts. But just one
day they caught sight of a wolf. They
were ION snOwshoes on a particularly
brilliant afternoon late in January.
He was a lone male, evidently
straggler from the pack, and he leaped
from the top of a tall thicket that had
remained above the snow. The man
and the girl had entirely different re-
actions. Dams first impression was
amazement at the animals condition.
1t seemed to be in the last stages of
starvation: unbelievably gaunt, with
rib bones showing plainly even through
the furry hide. Ordinarily the heavily
furred animals do not show signs of
famine; but even an inexperienced eve
could not make a mistake in this case
The eyes were red, and they carried
Dan back to his first adventure in the
Oregon forest-the day he had shot
the mad coyote. Snowbird thought of
the beast only as an enemy. The wolves
killed her fathers stock; they were
brigands of the worst order; and she
shared the hatred of them that is a
common trait Of all primitive peoples.
Her hand whipped back, seized her pis-
tOl, and she fired twice at the fleeing
figure.
The second shot was a hit: both of
them saw the wolf go to its side, then
spring up and race on. Shouting, both
Of them sped after him.
In a few moments he was out of
sight among the distant trees. but they
found the bloOd-trail and mushed over
the ridge. They expected at any mo-
ment to find him lying dead; but the
track led them on clear down the next
canyon. And now they cared not at
all whether they found him: 1t was
simply a tramp In the out-of-doors;
and both Of them were young with red
blood in their veins.
But all at once Dan stopped in his
tracks. The girl sped on for six PAGES
before she missed the sound of his
snowshOes; then she turned to find
him standing, wholly mOtionless, with
eyes fixed upon her.
1t startled her, and she didn't know
why. A companion abruptly freezing
in his path, his muscles inert, and his
eyes filling with speculation, is always
SIdAl lAuBs w men LulS OCCURS II means
simply that thought so compelling
and engrOssing that even the half
unconscious physical functions, such
as walking, cannot continue, has come
into his mind. And it is part of the
old creed Of self-preservatlOn to dislike
greatly to be left out on any such
thought as this. If danger is present,
the sooner 1t is identified the better.
"What is it?" she demanded.
He turned to her curiously intent.
"How many shells have you IN that
pistolT'
She took one breath and answered
him. "It holds five, and / shot twice.
l haven't any others"
"And don't suppose It ever oc-
CURED to you to carry extra ones in
your pocketT"
''Father is always telling me to-and
several times have. But I'd shoot
them away at target practice and for
20. ko1v