The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1921-02-03

the flowers-the place showed very
sad lack of care.
The underbrush along the bluffs
trembled slightly, but enough to at
tract the woodsman's eyes. Noiseless-
" the swaying bushes parted-as
noiseless as the unfolding Of a flower
and in the narrow opening, framed
by its border of quaking leaves, there
grew a face-sad and vacant. with
pitiful eyes; Enthusiastically, though he
had never seen it before, the gaunt,
gray face of the Wild Man.
The Pearlhunter glanced quickly at
| the girl to find her eyes still fixed
on her basket, and when he looked
again at the bushes, the face was
gone.
AS his gaze searched the under
brush, glimpse of gray shadow
| fitted along under the cliff and dis.
appeared behind the cabin. He
couldn't leave her now-and yet, by
what excuse could he stay?
''You have a pretty place here" he
said, probably because he couldn't
think of anything else to say. "a
pretty place-all so natural; the
woods are hardly disturbed bit-but
aren't you-afraid?"
81 haven't been till-today." She
raised Ter eyes to his face. The store
keepers story came to her mind -
the grave at Fallen Rocks; the lonely
cabin to which he would have to re-
turn. And he had just rendered her
a service-the age-old service of man
to woman. won't you come up to
the house?"
| The Pearlhunter little knew how
that simple invitation honored him.
No other man had ever received it.
I'D like to-
| He said it so seriously that the girl
laughed.
| Carrying the light basket between
them they walked up what might be
| called, for want of better word to
name it, the front yard. There was
not the least necessity that two hands
should be laid to that one light basket.
| 1t just happened, as do so many other
pleasant things in this delightfully."- I'M
orderly world
AT the door she stopped and faced
him. A deep seriousness had filled
up the dimples
"Mr-Pearlhunter-
The slow eyes Of the man found
her face, and she paused.
''You told me to leave off the Miss.
I'm askin' you to leave off the Mr."
| The dimples came back, but only
| for, a moment.
strange to her. ''You will be the first
man, except my father and the doc
tor, that has crossed his doorstep
in seven years." Hei. voice fell very
low. ''YGu must not be surprised at
what you see."
From behind the closed door of the
cabin came groan--not of physical
pain, but one that seemed to mutter
up out of a wracked soul The girl
dropped her side Of the basket handle.
Daddy" she cried; and dashed the
/ door open.
1 Il \
/ to jar out Of his habituaI calm. but
the sight that met him as he followed
her across the doorstep struck him
rigid and staring.
| A huge from gray shell of a man
rose slowly in the shadow the late af-
| ternOOn cast over the room. The
light that fell in at the open door
brought out the pathetic, nervous
i culver of his face; the solemn vacancy
of his pitiful eyes. 1t was the Wild
Man.
The girl ran to him and put her
arms about his shoulders. He seemed
not 70 feel her touch. Slowly and
noiselessly he approached the Pearl
| hunter. A leaf couldn't have drifted
across the floor more silently, or
more involuntarily. Some extraneous
force seemed TO drive him.
The girl ciung to him and tried to
coax him, even drag him, back into
has chair He seemed to be utterly
unaware of her weight. There was a
knife in his hand. His hollow eyes
never left the Pearlhunter's face.
With all the girls assurance that
he was harmless, that there was no
danger, it took all the Pearlhunter's
resolution to abide the coming of that
gaunt appariticn. His breath came
fast. He set Inc basket down on the
floor, dropped his hat beside it, and
kept his eye on the knife.
/ A pale fire burned away back in
the Wild Mans vacant eyes, and his
beard writhed with the culver of his
features. He even raised his hands
and ran them over the Pearlhunter's
face, as a blind man might in search
ing for some recognizable feature
Apparently he did not find it. The
pale fires died out of his eyes; his
face quivered; his breast seemed to
| collapse; the tense silence shivered
with groan. The thrush of strength
that had seemed to dover his vast
frame with irresistible force fell
from him as a mantle. He tottered
as the girl led him, like tired child,
back to his chair.
Her father The daughter of the
/ Wild Man!
He stepped aside out of the open
door and let the sun in. 1t streaked
across the floor and caught her
where she stopped over the old mans
chair.
She seemed for the moment to have
| forgotten his presence. He glanced