The Jasper news., 1921-06-23


die. no matter II you beg on your
kneesl It's the test--nnd Pm going
to bring you through"
He meant what he snid. II mortnl
strength and sinew could survive such
a test, he would succeed. There was
nothing In these words to suggest the
physical weakling that both of them
had known few months before. The
eyes were earnest, the dark face In
tent, the determined voice did not
waver of all
Dan Failing speaksl" Lennon re-
piled with glowing eyes He was re-
calling another Dan Failing Of the
dead years, boyhood hero. and his
remembered voice had never been
more determined more masterful than
this he had lust heard.
"And Cranston didn't get his pur-
pose. after ALL" To prove his words,
Dan thrust his hand into his inner
coat pocket. He drew forth little,
fiat package, huff as thick as pack,
Of cards. he held 1t up for them to
see. THE thing Bert Cranston burned
the house down TO destroy" he ex-
planned. I'm learning to know this
mountain breed, Lennox. kept 1t In
my pocket where ! could fight for It,
at any minute"
Cranston had been mistaken, after
all, in thinking that in fear of himself
Dan would be afraid to keep the
packet on his person, and would crav-
emily conceal It In the house. He would
have been even more surprised to
know that Dan had lived In constant
hope of meeting Cranston on the
ridges. showing him what 1t contained,
and fighting him for It. hands to
hands. And even yet, perhaps the day
would come when Cranston would
know Mt last that Snowbird's words,
after the fight Of long ago. were true.
The twilight was falling over the
snow, so Snowblrd and Dan turned to
the toll of building a sled.
The snow was steel-gray in the
moonlight when the little party made
their start down the long trail. Their
preparations, simple and crude rs they
were, had taken hours of ceaseless
labor on the part Of he three. The
ak, Its edge dulled by the flame and
its handle burned away, had been
cooled In the snow. and with one
sound arm. Lennox lad driven the hot
nails that Snowbird gathered from
the ashes of one of the outbulIdlngs.
The embers of the house itself still
glowed red In the darkness.
Dan had cut the green limbs OF the
trees and planed them with his AK.
attached for pushing It, and piece of
fence wire fastened with nails MS
rope to pull It, The warm mackinaws
of both of them as well as the 'one
blanket that Lennox had saved from
the fire were wrapped about the old
frOntiersman's wasted body-Dan and
Snowbird hoping to keep warm by the
exercise of propeIling the sled. FL
cept for the dull AK and the half
empty pistol, their only equipment
was a single charred pot for melting
snow that Dan had recovered from
the ashes of the kitchen.
The three had worked almost In
silence. Words didn't help now. They
wasted no sorely needed breath. But
they did have one minute to talk when
they got to the top of the little ridge
that had overlooked the house.
well travel mostly at night" Dan
told them. I'VE can see In the snow,
and by taking our rest In the daytime.
when the sun is bright and warm, we
can save our strength. We won't have
to keep such big fires then-and Mt
night our exertioD will keep us as
warm as we can hope for. Getting up
| all night 30 cut green wood with this
dull ok In the snow would break us to
pieces very soon. for remember that
we haven't any food. know how TO
build a fire even in the snow-es-
pecially II | can find the dead, dry
heart of rotten log-but II isn't any
fun to keep 1t going with green wood.
we don't want TO have to spend any
more of our strength stripping OFT wet
Dark and hacking at saplings than we
can help; and that means we'd better
do our resting In the heat of the day.
After all, it's fight against starva-
ton more than anything else"
Just think" the girl told them, re-
preaching herself. IF had shot
straight at that wolf today. we could
have gone back and got his body. II
might have carried us through"
Neither of the others as much as
looked surprised at these amazing re-
grets over the lost. unsavory flesh OF
a wolf. They were up against reaII-
ties. md they didn't mince words.