Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1921-11-10
CHAPTER II-cOntInued.

see the gaunt wolf that backed off
INTO the shadows as he approached
he refused to notice that the pack
seemed to be steadily growing holder.
Human hunters usually had guns that
could blast and destroy from a dis
lance; but even an animal intelli-
gence could perceive that these three
seemed to be without this means of
infiicting death.
A wolf is ever so much more intelli-
gent than a crow-yet a crow shows
little fear Of an unarmed man and is
wholly unapproachable by a boy with
gun. The ugly truth was simply that
In their increasing madness and ex-
cltement and hunger, they were becom-
ing less and less fearful Of these three
strange humans with the sled.
IL was not good place for a camp.
Ihey worked long time before they
cleared little patch of ground of it's
snow mantle Dan cut a number of
saplings-laboriously with his ax-and
Quilt a fire with the comparatively
cry core of a dead tree. True, it was
Feeble and Pickering, but as good as
could be hoped for, considering the
difficulties under which he worked.
The dead logs under the snow were
soaked with water from the rains and
thaws. The green wood that he cut
smoked without blazing.
mo more time to be lost" Dan told
Snowbird. ut lies in your hands to
keep the fire burning. And don't leave
the circle of the fire light without
that pistol in your hand"
you don't mean," she asked, unbe.
lleVing, "that you are going to 20 out
there to fight Cranston-unarmedP"
"Of course, SnOwbird. You must
keep the pistol"
But it means death; that's all It
means. What chance would YOU have
against a man with a rlfle2 And as
soon as you get away from this fire,
the wolves will tear you to pieces"
And what would you and your IA
Their do, If took it? You can't get
him into a tree. You can't build a
big enough fire to brighten them.
Please don't even talk about this mat
ter, Snowbird. My minds made up. / |
think the pack will stay here. They
usually-GOd knows how-know who |
is helpless and who isn't. Maybe with |
the gun, you will be able to save your
lives"
Whats the chance Of that?"
you might-with one cartridge
kill one of the devils; and the others
but you know how they devour their
own dead, That might break their
famine enough so that they'd hold Off
until can get back. That's the prize
I'm playing for"
"And what If you don't get back?"
He took her hand in one of his, and
with the other he caressed, for a sin
gle moment, the lovely flesh of her
throat. The love he had for her spoke
from his eyes-such speech as no hui
man vision could possibly mistake.
Both Of them were tingling and breath
less with great, sweet wonder.
"Never let those fangs tear that
sOftness, while you live" he told here
gently. "Never let that brave old man
on the sled go to his death with the
pack tearing at him. Cheat 'em,
Snowblrd Beat 'em the last minute,
If no other way remains Show 'em
who's boss, after all--Of all this for
est"
"You mean-?" Her eyes widened.
II mean that you must only spend
one Of those three shells in fighting
of the wolves. Save that till the mo-
ment you need 1t most The other
two mast be saved-for something
else"
She nodded, shuddering an instant
at a menacing shadow that moved
within 60 feet of the fire.
"Then goOdby, Dan /" she told him.
And she stretched up her arms. ''The
thing said-that day on the hillside
doesn't hold any more" :
His own arms encircled her, but he {
made no effort to claim her lips. Len
nox watched them quietly: in this I
of crisis not even pretending I
10 look away. Dan shook his head to |
her entreating eyes. "It isn't just a \
kiss darling" he told her sOberly. ut I
goes deeper than that. It's a symbol. G
It was your word, too, and mine; and /
words can't be broken, things being as a
hey are. Can't l make you under b
ItandT U
She nodded. His eyes burned. Per
laps she didn't understand, as far as e
actual fuRctioning of, the brain was s
But she reached up to n
lin, as women-knowing life in the s
concrete rather than the abstract d
lave always reached up to men; and r
he dimly caught the CLEAN Of some n
ternal principle and tight behind his 4
words, This strong man of the noun t
aims had given his word, had been r
witness to her own promise to him
nd to herself, and law that goes t.
own to the roots of life prevented fl
i'm from claiming the kiss. Il