The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1921-05-25

III WIS u large PACK. lucy Couiuh I
make out individual voices-neither
the more shrill cry of the females, the
yapping OF the cubs, or the low, clear
G-below-middle-C note Of the males.
IF they should cross our tracks"
Lennox suggested.
mo use worrying about that now
not Until we come to it," Dan told
him.
The morning broke, the sun rose
bright In a clear sky. But still they
trudged on. In spite of the fact that
the sled was heavy and broke through
the snow crust as they tugged at II.
they had made good time since their
departure. But now every step was
Il pronounced effort. 1t was the dread
full beginning of fatigue that only
food and warmth and rest could
rectify.
We'll rest now" Dan told them az
ten o'clock. "The sun is warm enough
so that we won't need much OF fire.
And Wen try to get five hours Sleep"
"Too long. If we're going to make II
out" Lennox objected.
"That leaves workday of nineteen
hours" Dan persisted. ''Not any too
little. Five hours 1t will be-"
He found where the snow had drift.
ed against a great. dead log. leaving
the white covering only a foot In
depth on the lee side. He began TO
Spropa tho cpoNv owav than no oh oh az
the log with his AK until he had pro-
cured piece of comparatively dry
wood from its center They all stood
breathless while he lighted the little
pile Of kindling and heaped II with
green wood--the only wood procur-
able. But 1t didn't burn freely. It
smoked fitfully, threatening to die out.
and emitting very little heat.
But they didn't particularly care.
The sun was warm above, as always
in the mountain winters of southern
Oregon. Snowbird and Dan cleared
spaces beside the fire and slept. Len
noX. who had rested on the journey,
lay on his sled and with his uniniured
arm tried To hack enough wood from
the saplings that Dan had cut to keep
the fire burning
At three they got DIP. still tired and
aching in their bones from exposure.
Twenty-fOur hours had passed since
they had tasted food. and their unre-
plenished systems complained. There
Is no better engine i'm the wide world
hn T4
more neglect and abuse than the finest
steel motors ever made by the hands
of craftsmen. A man may fast many
days If he lies quietly in one place
and keeps warm. But fasting is
deadly proposition while pulling
sledges over the snow.
Dan was less hopeful now. His face
told what his words did not. The
lines cleft deeper about his lips and
eyes; and Snowbird's heart ached
when he tried to encourage her with
a smile. II was wan strange smile
that couldn't quite hide the first sick
ness Of despair.
The shadows quickly heightened
simply leaping over the snow from the
fast-falling sun. The twilight deep
ened, the snow turned gray, and then,
in vague way, the journey began to
partake of quality of unreality. II
was not that the cold and the snow
and their hunger were not entirely
real. or that the wilderness was no
longer naked TO their eyes. II was just
that their whole effort seemed like
some dreadful. unburdened journey In
n dream-a stumbling advance under
difficulties too many and real TO be
true
The first sign was the far-off cry
of the wolf pack. II was very faint
simply a stir In the eardrums. yet II
was entirely clear That clear. cold
mountain air was a perfect telephone
system, conveying a message distinct
ly. no matter how family. There
were no tall buildings or cities to dis
turb the ether waves. And all three
Of them knew at the same instant Il
was not exactly the cry they had
heard before.
They couldn't have told Just why,
even II they had wished to talk about
II. In some dim way. II had lost the
strange quality of despair II had held
before. 1t was as II the pack were
running with renewed life. that each
wolf was calling TO another with a
dreadful sort of exultation. II was an
excited cry, too-not the long, sad
song they had learned to listen for. II
sounded Immediately behind them.
They couldn't help but listen. No
human ears could have shut out the
sound. But none OF them pretended
that they had heard. And this was the
worst sign Of all. Each one of the
three was hoping against hope in his
very heart: and at the same time, hop
ing that the others did not understand.
For long time, as the darkness
deepened about them, the forests were
still. Perhaps. Dan thought, he had
been mistaken after ALL His shoulders