New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1921-01-14
BOOK TWO
The Debt.
CHAPTER l..

September was at its last days on
the Umpqua diylde-that far wilder
ness of endless. trce-clad ridges where
Dan Failing had gone for his last
days, Everywhere the forest people
were preparing for the winter mat
would fall - quickly when these gold
On September days We're done. The
Under Plane Of the forest-thosc
smaller peoples that live IN the dust
and have beautiful, tropical forests In
the fcrus-found themselves digging
holes ana filling them with stores of
food. OF course they had no idea on
earth why they were doing II, except
that a quiyer at the end Of their tails
told them to do So; but the result was
entirely the same. They would have
n shelter for the winter.
But the most noticeable change of
all, In these days of summer was =
distinct tone of sadness that sound
ed throughout the forest. OF course
the Wilderness note Is always some
what sad bat now, as the leaves fell
and the grasses died, II seemed par
ticularly pronounced. All the forest
voices added To 1.-THE wall of the
geese. the sad iluttcrlng of fallen
leaves, and even the whisper Of the
north wind. or course all the tones
and voices of the wilderness sound
clenrest NJ night-fOr that is the time
that the forest really ONE TO life
aud IlaU Failing stttIpn In frnnf nf
Lemons house, watching the late
September moon rise over Bald noun
tain, could hear them very plainly.
II was true that In the two months
he had spent IN the mountains he had
learned To Ice very receptive TO the
voices OF the wilderness. Lennon had
not been mistaken in thinking him n
natural woodsman. He had lmngina-
ton and insight and sympathy but
most of all he had n heritage of wood
lore from his fronticrsmen ancestors.
Two months before he had been u
resident of cities. Now the wilder
ness had claimed him, body and soul.
These had been rare days. At first
he had e. limit his expeditions To- n
fen miles each day. and even then he
from WEAKNESS. He climbed hills
that seemed To tear his diseased lungs
to shrrdS. LcnnON wouldn't have been
afraid, ia a crisis, Ia trust his marks
manShlp now. lie had the natural
cold nerve Of n markSman, and n
tN Hight he brought the body of n lynx
tumbling through the branches of n
pine at q distance of two hundred
Yards. lie got 80 he could shatter a
grouse out of the air in the half Of a
second or - IN which It's bronze wings
gllntrd IN the s%hrnbbery: and when
q man may do this a fair number of
times out Of ten he Is on the straight
rond toward greatness.
Then there came a day when Dan
caught his first steelhead In the North
Fork. There is ne more beautiful
thing in the wilderness world than Il
sterlh,ad trout in action. lie simply
~ecms To- dance on the surface of the
water. leapinE again aud again. and
racing M an unhcard-of speed down
the -ipples. lie weighs only from
three 20 fifteen pounds. But now and
again amateur fishermen without souls
have tried To pull him ia with main
strength. and are still somewhat
dazed by the result. II might be done
with a steel cable. but an ordinary
line or leader breaks like a cobweb.
When his majesty the steelhead takes
the fy and decides TO run. IL can be
learned after a time that the one
thing that may be- done j. to let ont all
the lire and with prayer and humble
EeSs try to keep up with him.
Dan no longer wore his glasses
Every day hi~ eyes had strengthened.
He could see more clearly now. with
his unaided Eyes. than he had ever
seen before with the help Of the lens.
And the moonlight came down through
y rift in the trees and showed that his
face had changed. too. II was no
longer 80 white. The eyes were more
Intent. The lips were straighter.
Its been two months" Silas Len
nox told him. half the four that you
gave yourself after you arrived tere.
And you're twice as good now as when
you came"
Dan nodded. Twice, Ten times
a. goOdi was a wreck when ! came.
Today I climbed halfway up Baldy-
within a half mile of Sn0wbird's cab
in-withOut stopping to rest"
LennOx looked thoughtful. More
than once. Of late. Dan had climbed up
toward SnowbIrd's cabin. Ii was true