Middletown transcript., 1921-05-07

power seemed to be holding his wrist
and was bending it's 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
ghastly weight had come at his throat,
and his tortured lungs sObbed for
breath. Then, for long time, there
was curious pounding, lashing sound
in the evergreen bOughs. 1t seemed
merciless and endless.
But Dan got up at last, in strange.
heavy silence, and swiftly went to
work. He took the rifle and filled 1t
with cartridges from Cranston's 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
single kettle, into his heavy blan-
kets and flung them with the rifle upon
his back. Finally he took the pair Of
snow shoes from the floor. He worked
coldly, swiftly. all the time munching
Mt 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. On
the hill behind q half dozen wolves
stragglers from the pack-frisked and
leaped about in curious way. A
strange smell had reached them on the
wind, and when the loud, fearful steps
were out Of hearing, it might pay them
to creep down, one by one, and investi-
gate it's cause.
=
The gray circle about the fire was
growing impatient. Snowbird waited to
the last instant before she admitted
this fact. But it is possible only so
long to deny the truth of a thing that
all the senses verify, and that moment
for her was past.
She noticed that when she went to
her hands and knees, laboriOusly to
cut piece Of the drier wood from the
rain-soaked, rotted snag that was her
principal supply Of fuel, every wolf
would leap forward, only to draw back
when she stood straight again. She
worked desperately to keep the fire
burning bright. She dared not neglect
it for moment. Except for the single
pistol ball that she could afford to ex-
pend on the wolves-of the three she
had-the fire was her last defense.
But it was a losing fight The rain
soaked wood smoked without flame,
the comparatively dry core with which
Dan had started the fire had burned
down, and the green wood. hacked with
such heart-breaking difficulty from the
Saplings that Dan had cut, needed the
most tireless attention to burn at all.
Her nervous vitality was flowing
from her in n frightful stream. Too
long she had toiled without food in
the constant presence of danger, and
she was very near indeed to utter ex-
haustion. But at the same time she
knew she must not faint. That was
one thing she could not do-tO fall un-
conscious before the last Of her three
cartridges was expended in the right
way.
Again she went forth to the sapling,
and this time it seemed to her that If
she simply tossed the ak through the
air, she could fell one of the gray
crowd. But when she stopped to pick
it up-she didn't finish the thought.
She turned to coax the fire. And then
she leaned sobbing over the sled.
whats the use?" she cried. "He
won't come back What's the use of
fighting any more?"
'There's always use of fighting" her
father told her. He seemed to speak
with difficulty, and his face looked
strange and white. The cold and the
exposure were having their effect on
his weakened system, and unconscious
ness was a near shadow indeed. "Bct,
dearest-if l could only make you do
what I want you to"
"What"
you're able to climb tree, and if
you'd take these coats. you wouldn't
freeze by morning. If you'd only have
the strength"
"And see you torn to pieces!"
I'm old, dear-and very tired-and
I'd crawl away into the shadows, where
you couldn't see. There's no use mine
ing words, Snowbird. You're brave
have been since a little
thing, as God is my Judge-and you
know we must face the truth. Better
one of us die than both. And l prom
never feel their fangs. And l
won't take your pistol with me either"
Her thought flashed to the clasp
hunting knife that he carried in his
pocket But her eyes lighted, and she
bent and kissed him. And he wolves
leaped forward even at this.
well stay 1t out" she told him.
well fight it to the last-just as Dan
would want us to do. Besides-it
would only mean the same fate for
me. in little while. l couldn't cling
up there fOrever-and Dan won't come
back"
: =
She was wholly unable to gain on
the fire. Only by dint Of the most |
toll was she able to Sc
cure any dry fuel for it at ALL Every |
length Of wood she cut had to be |
of bark, and half the time the
fire was only sckly column of white
smoke. 1t became increasingly diff
cult to swing the AK. The trail was |