Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1921-03-12

was delicate and must be sheltered.
Never in all the history of his family,
so far as Dan knew, had there been
death from the maIady that afflicted
him. Yet his sentence was signed and
sealed.
But he harbored no resentment
against his mother. 1t was all in the
game. She had done what she thought
was best. And he began 10 wonder
in what way he could get the greatest
pleasure from his last six months Of
life.
Good Lord :" he suddenly breathed.
Il may not be here TO see the SHOWS
comet" Dan had always been partial
TO the winter season. When the snow
lay all over the farm lands and bowed
down the limbs of the trees. it had
always wakened a curious flood Of
feelings in the wasted man It seemed
TO him that he could remember other
winters, wherein the snow lay for end
less miles over an endless Wilderness
and here and there were strange,
many-tOed tracks that could be fol-
lowed in the icy dawns But of course
it was just a fancy. He wasn't in the
least miSled about 1t. He knew that
he had never in his lifetime, seen
the wilderness. OF course his grand
father had been a frontierSman of the
first order. and all his ancestors be-
fore him-a rangy. hardy breed whose
wings would crumple In civilization
but he himself had always lived in
cities. Yet the falling SHOWS, soft and
gentle but with kind of remorseless-
ness he could sense but could not I'M
derStand, had always stirred him.
He'd often imagined that he would
like 10 see the forests in winter
In him you could see a reflection Of
the boy that played beside the pond
of snow water, twenty years before
His dark gray eyes were still rather
large and perhaps the wasted flesh
around them made them seem larger
than they were. But it was a little
hard to see them, as he wore large
glasses. His mother had been sure,
years before, that he needed glasses;
and she had easily found an oculist
that agreed with her
Now that he was alone on the path,
the utter absence Of color in his
cheeks was startling. That meant the
absence of red-that warm glow Of
the blood eager and alive in his
veins. Perhaps an observer would
have noticed lean hands, with big
knuckled fingers, a rather firm mouth,
ard closely cropped dark hair. He
was Twenty-Five years of age, but he
looked somewhat older. He know now
that he was never going to be any
older. A doctor as sure of himself as
the one he had just consulted couldn't
possibly he mistaken.
He sat down on park bench, Just
beneath the spreading limb of great
tree. He would sit here. he thought
until he finally decided what he would
do with his remaining six months.
He hadn't been able to 90 to war
The recruiting officer had been very
kind but most determined. The boys
had brought him great tales of France.
Ii might be nice to 20 to France and
live in some country inn until ne died.
But he didn't have very long to think
upon this vein. For mt that instant
the squirrel came down Ia see if he had
a nut.
1t was the squirrel of Destiny. But
Dan didn't know ii then
Bushy-tail was not particularly
afraid of the human beings that
passed up and down the park. because
he had learned by experience that they
..sually attempted no harm to him.
But. nevertheless. he had his instincts.
He didn't entirely trust them After
several generations. probably the
squirrels of this park would climb all
over its visitors and sniff in their ears
and investigate the back Of their
neckS. But this wasn't the way Of
Bushy-tail. He had come too recent
ly from the wild places. And he Won
dered. most intensely, whether this
tall forked creature had a pocket full
of nuts. lie swung down on the
grass to see.
"Why, you little devil" Dan said
in whisper. His eyes suddenly
sparkled with delight. And he forgot
all about the doctors words and his
own prospects in his bitter regrets
that he had not brought a pocketful
of nuts
And then Dan did a curious thing.
Even later, he didn't know why he did
it. or what gave him the idea that he
could decoy the squirrel up to him by
doing it. That was his only purpose
Just to see how close the squirrel
would come to him. He thought he
would like TO look into the bright eyes
at close range. All he did was sud
denly TO freeze into one position-in
an instant rendered as mOtiouless as
the rather MISUNDERSTANDING stone
stork that was perched on the foUn-
tain.
Where Dan Failing decides
II ~ ~papd hi. last civ months II