The Bossier banner., 1921-06-23
CHAPTER "

CHAPTER w
..ouhird felt very glad OF her lnti-
-. accurate knowledge OF tie
..hols u region Of the Divide. In her III
tsnev the winding trails had peeh ne.
,arground ls"r. and long ago she had ac-
r ..;.ed the mountaineer's sixth sense
traversing them at nigbt.~@She nao
need = Of that knowledge now. she
ss,nped~t INTO her free, swinging s'r'oe'
sd ssit tle last beams from the windows
$ .ha house we're soon lost in the
y,os babind her. 1t was one OF those
g,ont breathless nights with which
= mountaineer is entirely unacquaint-
q and for a long time the only sound
no could hear was her own soft
ramp in the pine neetlles. The trees
Imamselyes were lOtiOnless. That
t,eculiar sound, not greatly different
l,rom that of runningswater which the
.,nd often makes a the pine tops,
ras entirely lacking. Not that she
rould be deceived BY it-as stories
IAN that certain tenalerfeet, dying of
tbirst in the barren hills, have been.
Iput she always liked the sound; and
sAe missed it especially tonight
SHE felt that if she would stop to
pSten there would be many faint
lsunds In the hickets-those little
lnshed noises that the wild things
rake to remind snight-wanderers Of
fheIf presence. But she did not in
iAe least care To hear these sounds.
they do not tend toward peace OF
mind on long walk over the ridges.
The wilderness began at once.
Vhateyer influence toward civiliza-
{t)ou her fathers house had brought to
THE wilds chopped off as beneath a
blade in the first fringe of pines. This
Ii altogether characteristic of the Ore
4 ron forests. They are much too big
and TOO old to be tanned in any large
degree BY the presence Of one house.
No one knew this fact better than
Lennox himself who, in hard win
ter of four years before, had looked
IL IL his window to find the wolf
6irk ranged In hungry circle about
is huuse. Within two hundred yards
sffer she had passed through her ia
lhers door, she was perfectly aware
nat the wild was stirring and thrOb-
ybing with life about her. At first she
Ibied very hard to think of other
things. But the attempt wasn't en-
tkely success And before she had
sgefed the first of the twelve miles
sounds that from the first hat
M knocking at the door Of her con
sdness began to make an entrance
Hxperson Hes still long enough. HI
0alsually hear his heart beating
g. fhe flow of his blood in hi
efieks. Any sound, no matter hov
klsE will make itself heard at last
4as this way with very peculia
min that crept up through the silence
hum the trail behind her. Sh'
xelltln't give it any heed ut first. Blu
ka very little while indeed, it grew
nhsistent that she could no longe
oRgard 1t.
pme living creature was trottin
tl1g on the trail behind, keeping az
xkimately the same distance be
ssen them.
Foregoing any attempt to ignore I
- set her cool young mind to think
n what manner of beast 1t might bt
VI step was not greatly different frol
nat of large dog-except possibly
hg would have made slightly MOI
Mise. Yet she couldn't even be sur
ID this basic premise, because tn
animal, whatever it might be. had ,
frst seemingly moved with utmo
taution, but now took less care wit
It's step than is customary with Il
wild denizens of the woods. A vol
Tor instance, can simply drift when
wishes, and the silence of cougar
name. Yet unless her pursuer wei
dog, which seemed entirely unlikel
s. 1t was certainly one Of these two. 81
would have liked very much to belie'
the step was that of Old Wolf II
bear. suddenly curious as to what til
II dim light of hers might be; but 81
couldn't bring herself to accept Il
lie. Woof. except when wounded
ccrnered. is the most amiable ere
ture in the Oregon woods, and
would give her almost sense of $
curity to have him waddiing alOl
behind her. The wolves and conga
remembering the arms of Woof, wou
not be nearly so curious. But unfG
tunately, the black bear had new
done such a thing in the memory
man, and if he had, he would ha
made six times as much noise. I
can so fairly softly when he is stal
Ing, but when he is obliged to trOt
as be would be obliged to do to Ike,
up with swift-walking human figu
--he cracks twigs like rolling IL
She had the impression that the a