The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1921-04-08
The Voice of the Pack
i BY EDISON MARSHALL
BY EDISON MARSHALL
i-continued.

SNOW, he learned to walk on snow
SHOES. At first there were panied
ankles and endless f%loundering in the
drifts. But between the fall of fresh
snow and the thaws that softened the
crust, he slowly mastered the art.
SnOwbird-and Dan never realized the
full Significance of her name until ne
saw her flying with Incredible grace
over the snow-laughed at him at first
and ran him races that would usually
end In his falling headfirst into a ten
foot snOwbank. She taught him how
to ski and more than once she would
stop In the middle Of an earnest bit
Of pedagogy to find that he wasn't lis
tening at all. He would seem to be
fairly devOuring her with his eyes. de-
lighting in the play of soft pinks n
reds In her cheeks. and drinking, as a
man drinks wine. the amazing change
Of light and shadow in her eyes.
She seemed to blossom under his
rare. Not one OF those short winter
DAYS went by without the discovery
OF some new trait or little vanity to
astOnish or delight him-sometimes
an uniOOked-fOr tenderness toward the
weak, often a sweet. untained philos-
Ophy of life. or perhaps just a lower
Ing or her eyeiids in which her eve
would show iustrous through the
laahes. or some sweeping. exuberant
gesture startlingly graceful.
Iennox wakened one morning with
the realization that this was one OF
TIE hardest winters Of his experience.
He began to be very glad of the album
dan, stoves Of ri visions that over
crowded his pantry-savory hams and
hAccns. dried venis0n, sacks of pota-
toes and e%vap0ratei vegetables. and,
1T course. canned goods past count
lng. With the high fire roaring In the
crate. the season held no Ills for them.
Hut sometimes. when the bitter cold
came down at twilight. and the moon
looked like a thing Of Ice itself over the
Wild creatures who wintered ION the
Divide were faring. OF course most
o. them were gone. WOOf. long since.
md Rrunted and mumbled his way
Into I winter lair. But the wolves re-
Mained. strange gray shadows on the
snow. and possibly a few Of the
xcreaturess
M0re tIi3u 0d e1ntfI6se iorg wfns
Ter nights their talk was chopped Off
short nv the song Of the pack IN some
d1etAnt ridge. Sometime. when the
world u old. possibly q man will be
b IA that can continue to talk and
ak0ep hts r,'nd on his words while the
Wolf pack sings. But he is certainly
N unknown quantity today. The cry
aefs IN vibration curious memory
chords, and Tor q moment the listener
BoeeA ID his minds eye his ancient
home III an ancient wOrld-Darkness
and Fear and Eyes shining about the
cave. It carries him back, and he
kIDovvs the wilderness as II really Is
|and to have such knowledge dries up
m tnclinatlon to talk, AZ a sponge
E1p5ea water. OF course the picture
tmp4 qaftrely. plain. It Is nor q thing
agneseed 1t. photograph In some dark
paft eOf IA undef-c0nsclOusness that
haa constantly grown more dim as the
centuries have passed. Possibly some
40 II will fade out altogether and
Gb1n ! man may continue { o discuss
weather while the Song from the
Gt1&e 'ShsIdders II n the windows. But
s1ADe. World win be quite cold by then,
SMAA%&A AfVv fNtn~anukfvm