The Glenwood post., 1921-01-01

They stood straining for long mo
ment without speech.
"That was the dumdest thingr
Lennon went on. "Of course 1t might
have been bear-you never know
what they're going to do. 1t might
have got sight of us and turned on.
But can't believe that 1t was just
deer"
But then his words chopped square
ly Off in his throat. The plodding ad-
vance commenced again. And the
next instant gray form revealed It
self at the edge Of the thicket
1t was Graycoat the coyote, half
blind with his madness, and des-
perate In his agony.
There was no more deadly thing In
all the hills than he. Even the bite
of rattlesnake would have been well
coined beside his. He stood long
instant, and all his Instincts and re-
fexes that would have ordinarily
made him flee in abject terror were
thwarted and twisted by the fever of
his madness. He stared moment at
the two figures, and his red eyes could
not interpret them. They were simply
foes, for 1t was true that when this
racking agony was upon him, even
lifeless trees seemed foes sometimes.
He seemed eerie and unreal as he
gazed at them out of his burning eyes;
and the white foam gathered at his
fangs. And then, wholly without
warming he charged down at them.
He came with unbelievable speed.
The elder Lennox cried once in warn
ing and cursed himself for ventur-
ing forth on the ridge without gun.
He was fully twenty feet distant from
Dan; yet he saw In an instant his
only course. This was no time to
trust their lives to the craftsmanship
of an amateur. He sprang toward
Dan, intending to wrench the weapon
from his hand
But he didn't achieve his purpose.
At the first step his foot caught in a
projecting root, and he was shot to
his face on the trail. But long life
in the wilderness had developed Len
nox's retlexes to an abnormal degree;
many crises had taught him muscle
and nerve control and only for a
fraction of an instant, period of
time that few instruments are fine
enough to measure, did he lie supinely
upon the ground. He rolled on. into
a position of defense. But he knew
now he could not reach the younger
man before the mad coyote would be
upon them. The matter was out of
his hands. Everything depended on
the aim and self-control of the tender
foot.
He looked up, and the whole weird
picture was thrown upon the retina Of
his eyes. The coyote was still racing
straight toward Dan, gray demon
that In his madness was more terrible
than any charging bear or elk. Foy
there is an element Of horror about
the insane, whether beasts or men,
that cannot be denied. Both men felt
1t, with a chill that seemed to pene-
trate clear to their hearts. The eyes
famed, the white fangs of Graycoat
caught the sunlight. And Dan stood
erect in his path, his rifle half raised
to his shoulder; and even in that first
frenzied instant In which Lennox
looked at him. he saw there was q
strange impassiveness, singular i'm
perturbability on his face.
"Shoot, manW Lennox shouted.
"What are you waiting for2"
But Dan didn't shoot His hand
whipped to his face, and he snatched
off his thick-lensed glasses. The eyes
that were revealed were narrow and
deeply intent. And by now, the fren-
zied coyote was not fifty feet distant
All that had occurred since the ami
NAL charged had possibly taken five
seconds. Sometimes five seconds is
Just BREATH but as I.ennox waited
for Dan to shoot, It seemed like
period wholly without limit. He won
dered If the younger man had fallen
into that strange paralysis that
great terror sometimes imbues.
"ShootV" he screamed again.
But 1t is doubtful If Dan even heard
his shout. At that instant his gun
slid into place, his head lowered, his
eyes seemed to burn along the glitter
ing barrel. His finger pressed back