Williams news., 1921-09-02
the toll of building a sled.

a.
 moonlight when the little party made
 their start down the long trail Their | prepara tions, simple and crude as they l were, had taken hours of ceaseleSS ! labor on the part of the three. The
 aX it's edge dulIed by the flame and | it's handle burned away, had been
 cooled in the snow, and with one
 sound arm, LennoX had driven the hot nails that Snowbird gathered from | the ashes of one of the outbuildings. l The embers of the house itself still l glowed red in the darkness.
 Dan had cut the green limbs of the
 trees and planed them with his ax.
 The sled had been completed. handles | attached for pushing it, and a piece of | fence wire fastened with nails as a
 rope to pull it. The warm mackfnaws | 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 -propelling the sled. Ex-
 cept for the dull ax 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.
 ''We'n travel mostly at night Dan told them. ''We 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 fo cI1oI hi fhnr, night our exertion will keep us as warm as we can hope for. Getting up all night to cut green wood with this dull ax in the snow would break us to pieces very soon. for remember that we haven't any food. I know how to build fire even in the Snow-eS- pecially if I can find the dead, dry heart of a rotten lOg-but it isn't any fun to keep it going with green wood We don't want to have to spend any more of our strength stripping off wet bark and hacking at saplings than we can help; and that means we'd better do our resting in the heat of the day.. After aII it's a fight against starva- tion more than anything else.''
 "Just think" the girl told them, re- preaching herself, 'if had shot straight at that wolf today. we could ndNe gone OdCk dHu got HIS DOUN. might have carried us through" Il
 Neither of the others as much as looked surprised at these amazing re- grets over the lost. unsavory flesh of wolf. They were up against reaIi- ties. and they didn't mince words. Dan smiled at net gently, and his great shoulder leaned against the traces.
 Ia The ever-preSent manifestations of wild life that had been such a delight to Dan in the summer and fall were quite lacking now. The snow was trackless. Once they thought they saw a snowshoe rabbit. strange shadow on the snow but he was too 1 far away for Snowbird to risk pis- tol shot. The pound or two of flesh would be sorely needed before the | Journey was over. but the pistol car tridges might be needed still more. | she didn't let her mind rest on certain | possibilities wherein they might be | needed. Such thoughts stole the cour- | age from the spirit, and courage was | essential beyond all things else to | bring them through.
 As the dawn came out, they all | stood still and listened to the wolf Ddck. singing on the rluSc SOHleWHeIc behind them.
 It was large pack They couldn't make out individual voices-neither the more shrilI cry of the females, the yapping of the cubs, or the low. clear note of the males.
 If they should cross our tracks" LennOX suggested.
 ''No 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 they rugged at it. they had made good time since their departure. But now every step was B pronounced effort It was the dread ful beginning of fatigue that only food and warmth and rest could rectify. ten o'clock ''The sun is warm enough so that we won't need much of a fire. And we'll try to get five hours sleep"
 ''ToO long. if we're going to make it out.' LennoX objected.
 ''That leaves a workday of nineteen hours,' Dan persisted. Not any too little. Five hours it will be-"
 He found where the snow had drift