Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1921-02-25
BY EDISON MARSHALL
Copyright. 1920. by Little. Brown & &c

| that Hildreth would have chosen. and
| it had been all the evidence that was
needed. at the meeting of the ring the
night before, to adjudge Hildreth
merciless and immediate end. Hill
| dreth would have preferred to wait IN
the hills and possibly to write another
letter, but chill that kept growing
at his finger tips forbade it. And all
these things combined to stretch his
nerves almost to the breaking point
as he stole along the moonlit trail I'M
der the pines.
A moment before the rush and whir
of the grouse flock had dried the roof
| of his mouth with terror. The tall
| trees appalled, him, the shadows fell
upon his spirit. And when he heard
| this final sound, when he saw the
CLINT that might so easily have been
gun-barrel, his nerves and muscles re-
acted at once. Not even a fraction of
| q second INTERVIEWED. His gun flashed
up and little, angry cylinder of
| from the muzzle.
Hildreth didn't take aim. There
wasn't time. The report rOared in the
darkness; the bullet sang harmlessly
and thudded into the earth; and both
! of them We're the last things in the
world that Cranston had expect
| ed. And they were not moment too
| soon. Even at that instant, his finger
was closing down upon the trigger,
| Hildreth standing clear and revealed
| through the sights. The nervous re-
| Spouse that few men in the world
would be self-disciplined enough to
| prevent occurred at the, same instant
| that he pressed the trigger. His own
| fire answered so near to the other
| that both of them sounded as one re-
| port.
Most hunters can usually tell. even
| if they cannot see their game fall,
| whether they have hit or missed. This
| was one of the few times in his life
| that Cranston could not have told He
| knew that as his finger pressed he had
| held as accurate "bead" as at any
| time in his life. He did not know still
| another circumstance-that in the
moonlight he had overestimated the
distance to the clearing. and instead
| of one hundred yards it was scarcely
! fifty. He had held rather high. 4&ld
! he looked up, unknowing whether he
| had succeeded or whether he was face
| to face with the prospect of duel
| to the death in the darkness.
| And all he saw was Hildreth, rock
! ing back and forth in the moonlight
a strange picture that he was never
| entirely to forget. 1t was a motion
| that No man could pretend. And he
knew he had not missed.
| He waited till he saw the form of
| his enemy rock down, face half-buried
! in the pine needles. 1t never even oc-
Cured to him to approach to see if he
! had made a clean KILL He had held
on the breast and he had a world of
! confidence in his great. shocking, big
/ game rifle Besides, the rifle fire might
attract some hunter in the hills: and
| there would be time in the morning
to return to the body and make GER
/ tain little Investigations that he had
in mind And running back down the
trail, he missed the sight of Hidreth
dragging, his wounded body like an
injured hare, into the shelter of the
| thckets
| Whisperfoot, that great coward,
came out of his brush-covert when the
| moon rose. 1t was not his usual rising
time, Ordinarily he found his best
hunting in the eerie light of the twi-
| light hour: but ,for certain reasons.
| his knowledge of which would be ex-
tremely difficult to explain, he let this
| time 60 by in sumber. Whisperfoot
had slept almost since dawn. 1t is
significant quality in the felines thst
| they simply cannot keep in condition
without hours and hours of sleep. In
this matter of sleeping, they are In
| direct contrast to the wolves, who
seemingly never sleep at all. unless it
is with one eye open, and in still
| greater contrast to the king of all
/ beasts, the elephant, who is said to
slumber less per night than that great
/ electrical wizard whom all men know
/ and praise.
The great cat came out yawning, as
| graceful a thing as treads upon the
| earth. He was almost nine feet long
from the tip of his nose to the end OF
| his tail. and he weighed as much as
| many a full-grown man. He stood and
| yawned insolently, for all the forest
world to see He rather hoped that
| the chipmunk, staring with beady eyes
from his doorway, did see him. He
| would just as soon that Woof's little
son. the bear cub, should see him too.
/ But he wasn't so particular about
/ Wool himself, or the wolf pack whose
| song had just Weakened him. And
| above all things, he wanted to keep
| out of the sight Of men.