The Belding banner-news., 1921-06-22

length of wood she cut had to he
scraped of bark, and half the time the
fire was only a sickly column of white
smoke. 1t became increasingly diff
cult to swing the AK. The trail was
almost at its end.
The after-midnight hours drew one
by one across the face Of the wilder
ness. and she thought that the deep
ening cold presaged dawn. Her fin
gers were numb.
Once more she went 10 one of the
saplngs. but she stumbled and almost
went 10 her face at the first blow. Ii
was the instant that her gray watch
ers had been waiting for. The wolf
that stood nearest leaped-a gray
streak out of the shadow-and every
wolf in the pack shot forward with a
yell Ii was a short, eXpectant cry;
but it chopped off short. For with a
half-sob, and seemingly without men
tai process she aimed her pistol and
fired
A fast-leaping wolf is one of the
most difficult pistol targets that can be
imagined. II bordered on the miracu-
louS that she did not miss him alto
gether. Her nerves were torn. their
control over her muscles largely gone.
Yet the bullet coursed down through
the lungs, inflicting mortal wound.
The wolf had leaped for her throat;
but he fell short She staggered from
a hlow, and she heard curious sound
in the region of her hip. But she
didn't know that the fangs had gone
home i'm her soft flesh. The wolf
rolled on the ground; and If her pistol
had possessed the shocking power of
Il rifle. he would have never got up
again. As 1t was. he shrieked once,
then sped off in the darkness to die.
Five or six of the nearest wolves,
catching the smell OF his blood, bayed
and sped after him.
But the remainder of the great pack
fully II of the gray, gaunt creatures
---came stealing across the snow to-
ward her White fangs had gone
home: and a new madness was i'm the
air.
Straining into the sience perfect
ly straight line between Cranston's
camp and Snowbird'ss Dan Failing
came mushing across the snow. His
sense of direction had never been
obliged To stand such test as this
before. Snowbird's fire was a single
dot on vast plateau; yet he had gone
straight toward it.
lie was risking everything for the
sake Of speed. He gave no heed 10 the
fallen timber that might have torn the
web of his snow shoes to shreds. Be
cause he shut out all thought Of it, he
had no feeling Of fatigue. The fight
with Cranston had been frightful
strain OH muscle and nerve; but he
scarcely remembered IL now. His
whole purpose was TO return 10 Snow
bird before the wolves lost the last of
their cowardice.
The jerked veni-on that he had
munched had brought him back much
Of his strength. He was wholly uncon-
scious Of his heavy pack. Never did
he gifde so swiftly, so softly, with
such unerring step; and it was moth
ing more or less than perfect expires
sion of the iron-cad control that his
steel nerves had over his muscles.
Then. through the silence, he heard
the shout of the pack as the wolf had
leaped at Snowbird He knew what II
meant. The wolves were attacking
then, and great flood of black, hating
bitterness poured over him at the
thought he had been too late. 1t had
all been in vain, and before the thought
could fully go home. he heard the dim,
far-off crack Of pistol.
Was that the first OF the three shots,
the one she might expend on the
wolves, or had the first two already
been spent and was she taking the last
gateway of escape7 Perhaps even now
Lennox was lying still on the sled, and
she was standing before the ruin of
her fire, praying that her soul might
have wings. He shouted with all the
power of his lungs across the snow.
But Snowbird only heard the soft
glide of the wolves In the snow. The
wind was blowing toward Dan; and
while he had heard the loud chorus Of
the pack, one Of the most far-carrying
cries, and the penetrating crack of a
pistol, she couldn't hear his answering
shout. In fact, the wilderness seemed
still. All was breath
less, heavy with suspense, and she
stood. just as Dan had thought, be-
tween. the ruin of her fire and the sled,
and she looked with straight eyes to
the oncoming wolves.
Hurry, Snowbird." Lennox was
whispering. "Give me the pistol-for
that last work. We have only mo-
ment more"
He looked very calm and brave, half
raised as he was on the sled, and per-
hans half OaroI HE "a ri