The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1921-04-08

afternoon Dan ana Woulu
go out on their skis or on snowshoes,
unarmed except for the pistol that
SnOwbird carried in the deep pocket
Of her mackinaw. But why notg" Dan
replied to Lennox's objection. "She
could kill five wolves with five shots,
or pretty near it. and you know well
enough that that would hold EN- till
we got home. They'd stop to eat the
five. ] have hard enough time keep
ing up with her as II is. without carry
ing 3 rifle" And Lennox was content.
Dan had told the truth when he said
repel the attack Of any wolf pack he
had ever seen. There was just n
troubling thought. He had heard. long
| ago. and he had forgotten who had
told him. that in the most severe win
tcrs the wolves gather in particularly
large packs /; and a quality in the song
that they had heard at night seemed
to bear it out. The chorus had been
exceptionally loud and strong, and he
had been unable to pick out individual
voices
The snow was perfect for skiing.
Previously their sport had been nan
times interrupted either by the fall Of
fresh now or a thew that had soft
ened the now crust but now every
afternoon was too perfect to remain
indoors. They shouted and rOmped in
the silences. and they did not dream
but that they had the wilderness all to
themselves. The fact that one night
LennOx's keen eyes had seen what
looked like the glow Of a camp fire
in the distance didn't affect this belief
of theirs at all. 1t was evidently just
the phosphorus glowing in a rotten log
from which the winds had blown the
snow.
Once or twice they caught glimpses
of wild life: once a grouse that had
buried in the snow flushed from their
path and blew the snOw-dust from it's
wings: and once or twice they saw
snowshoe rabbits bounding away or
flat feet over the drifts. But Just one
were on s~nowsh0es on a particularly
brilliant afternoon late In January.
He was a lone male. evidently a
~straggler from the pack, and he leaped
from the ton of q tall thicket that had
t~fehfNaHSd Nk0ye the SNOW. sThe~man
actions. Dams first impression was
| amazement at the animals condition.
It seemed to he in the last stages Of
starvation: unbeievably gnunt. with
| rib bones showing plenty ven through
the furry hide. Ordinarily the heavily
furrcd animals do not show signs Of
famine; but eve an inexperienced eye
could not make q mistake in this case.
The eyes were red. and they carried
Dan back to his first adventure In the
Oregon forest-thp day he had shot
the mad coyote. Snowbird thought of
the beast only as an enemy. The wolves
killed her fathers stock they were
brigands Of the worst order and she
shared the hatred, Of them that Is q
common trait of all primitive peoples
Her hand whipped back, seized her pts.
toll. and she fred twice at the fleeing
f1gureA
The second shot was q hit both OF
them saw the wolf 60 to It's side, then
spring up and race on. Shouting, both
Of them sped after him.
In a few moments he was out OF
sight among the distant trees. but they
found the blood-trail and mushed over
the ridge. They expected at any mo
ment to find him lying dead: hut the
track led them on clear down the next
canyon. And now they cared not a,
all whether they found him II was
simply q tramp In the Out-of-doors
and both OF them were young with red
blood In their veins.
But all at once Dan stopped In his
tracks. The girl sped on for six PAGES
before she missed the sound OF hif
snowshoes then she turned to finG
him standing, wholly m0tiOnless. with
eyes fxed upon heg.
1t startled her, and she didn't know
why. A companion abruptly freezing
In his path. his muscles inert, and hIs
eyes filling with speculation. n always
startling. When this occurs 1t means
simply that q thought so compelling
and engrossing that even the half
unconscious physical functions. such
as walking, cannot continue, has come
into his mind. And II Is part Of thu
old creed OF self-preseryation to dislike
greatly to be left out G. any such
thought al this. II danger Is present
the sooner It Il identified the better.
what II I'll" she demanded.
He turned to her curiously intent
.How. many shells have ycu In thai
pistolr'
She took nj breath and answered
him. 1T holds hve.s and ! shot twice
haven't any Others"
~And ! don't suppose It ~ oc
curred to you to carry extra ones II
your pocket"
sFather ID always telling me to-and
several tlmes have. But I'd shoot
them away. at target practice and tor
| yef 70 take any more. There was never
NA&M SA& 80 u -