The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1921-03-04
CHAPTER ul-csntinued.
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The rains fell increasingly for seven
days: not 4 downpour but . constant
driZzle that ma he distant ridges
smoke. The parched earth seemed to
umack It's iirs, and little rivulets he
gan 10 fall and tumble over the hc,ls
Of the dry streams. an danger 1T for
est fire was ut once removed. and
Snuwbird was no longer needed as a
lockout on old Bald mountain. She
went to her own home. her companion
back To the valley: and now that mis-
sister had taken his place as house.
keeper. Bill had gone down to the
lower foothills with a great part of
the live stock. Dan spent these ra'nv
Gays In toll on the hillsides. building
himself physically so that he might
rny his debts.
Il was no great pleasure. these
rainy DAYS. He would have greatly
liked 70 have fingered In the square
mountain house. listening to the quiet
murmur Of the rain on the roof and
watching Snowhird at her household
tasks. She could. a. her father had
said. make a biscuit. She could also
roll up sleeves over trim. brown arms
and with entire good humor do a
weeks laundry for three hard-wnrk-
ing men. He would have liked to sit
with her. through the long afternoons.
as she knitted beside the fireplace
to watch the play Of her graceful, fin
gers and perhaps. now and then. to
touch her hands when he held the
skeins. But one Of these things trnn-
rpIred. He drove himself from day
Fight till dark. developing his body for
the tests that were sure to come.
The first few days nearly killed him.
He over-exercised In the chill rain.
and one anxious night he developed
NIL the symptoms Of pneumonia. Such
4 sickness would have been the one
tn 'ng needed to make the doctors
prophecy come true. But with Snow
rird's aid. and hot drinks.
he fought 1t of.
She had made him go to bed. and
no hnlnan memory could be 40 duh az
to forget the little. whispered message
TINT she gave him With his last spOcE-
fnl " medicine. She said she'd pray
FOR him and she meant II tOO--li.eral.
entreating prayer that could not 20 un-
heard. She was q mountain girl. and
her beliefs were those Of her
tors-s,mple and true and wholly
without affectati0n. Bnt he hadn't
relaxed thereafter. File knew the time
had come to make the test. Night
after night he would go to bed half
sick from fatigue. but the mornings
would find him fresh. And after two
weeks. he knew he had passed the
crisis and was on the direct road to
complete recovery.
Sometimes he cut wCnd In the for
e.t: first the Telling Of some tall pine.
then the trimming and hewing into
two-foo4 lengths. The hlisters came
IN his hands. broke and bled. but
finally hardened into callosities. He
learned the o effective stroke to
hurl q shower OF chips from beneath
the bL de. His back and limbs hard
ened from the handling Of heavy wood
end the cough was practically gone.
HIS frame filled out. His face became
swxrtny from constant exposure. He
gained IN weight.
One cloudy afternoon In early No
vesnher found Silas Lennox cutting
wc0d on the ridge behind his house. It
was still an open question with him
whether he and his daughter would
attempt to winter on the Divide. Dan
Of course wanted to remain. yet there
were certain reasons. some very def
nite and others extremely vague. why
the p~r0epect OF the winter in the snow
Aeids did not appeal to the noun
taineer. In the nrst place. all signs
pointed to 4 hard Isl Although
the fall had come late. the SHOWS were
exceptionally early. The duck flight
~ss completed two weeks before Its
ssual time. and the rodents had dug
heir burrows unusually deep. Be
ddes, too many months Of snow weigh
aeavily upon the spirit. The wolf
JACKS sing endlessly on the ridges.
lud many unpleasant things may hap
pm. On previous years. some Of the
.nhins on the ridges below had human
Dccupants: this winter the whole re-
zion. for nearly seventy miles across
he mountains to the foothills. would
- wholly deserted by human beings.
wen the RINGER station. twelve miles
scross ! steep ridge. would soon he
onpty. OF course I few ranchers had
3omes 4 FEW miles hevond the river.
ut tho Wild c~ataracts did mot freexe
= the coldest o. aeasona and there
eure 10 brideea BesideA m0st Of the
more prosperous farmers wintered In
- Valleys Only 4 few o days
aould me mad b& passable for his
-: ana U time must b lost n max.
- ~ dociajOn.
once The SHOWS came d reality.
800 - soothing 70 do hut stay. Sew
s1ty mlleGSacrceo the uncharted ridges
MowshoeD = % undertaking for
AleA evea m~cuntaineer has no