The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1922-12-29
BY
EDISON MARSHALL
Author of
"The Voice of the Pack"
Copyright by Little, Brown, and Co.

moment It was upon them. The forest
was no longer silent. The peal Of the
thunder was almost continuous.
The breaking Of the storm seemed
to rock the Folger house on Its founda-
ton. Both Linda and Bruce leaped to
their feet; but they felt little tingle
Of awe when they saw that old Elmira
still sat sewing. 1t was as II the calm
that dwelt In the Sentinel Pine out
side had come down to abide In her.
No force that the world possessed
could ever take 1t from her.
They heard the rumble and creak
Of the trees as the wind srnote them,
and the flame Of the lamp danced wild.
ly, filing the room with Pickering
shadows. Bruce Strengthened, the
lines of his face setting deep. He
glanced once more at the rifle in his
hands.
Linda" he said, "put out that fire.
If there's going to be an attack, we'd
have better chance II the room was
In darkness. We can shoot through
the door then"
She obeyed at once, knocking the
burning sticks apart and drenchfng
them with water. She took off the
glass shade of the lamp, and the little
gusts Of wind that crept in the cracks
of the windows Immediately extin-
guished the flame. The darkness
dropped down. Then Bruce opened the
door.
The whole wilderness world strug-
gled In the grasp of the storm. The
scene was such that no mortal men,
DRY could possibly forget. They saw
it In great, vivid glfmpses In the inter
mittent flashes of the lightning, and
the world seemed no longer that which
they had come to know. Chaos was
upon it. The tall tops Of the trees
wagged back and forth in frenzied sig
mails; their branches smote and rubbed
together. And just without their door
the Sentinel Pine stood with top lifted
to the fury of the storm.
A strange awe swept over Bruce.
A moment later he was to behold
sight that for the moment would make
him completely forget the existence of
the great tree; but for an instant he
poised at the brink of profound and
far-reaching discovery. There was
great lesson for him In that dark, tow
ering figure that the lightning revealed.
Its great limbs moved and spoke; its
top swayed back and forth, yet still it
held its high place as Sentinel Of the
Forest, passionless, patient, talking
through the murk of clouds to the
stars that burned beyond.
"See," Linda said. "The Turner'S
are coming"
It was true. Bruce dropped his eyes.
Even now the clan had spread out In
q great wing and was bearing down
upon the house. The lightning showed
them In strange, vivid flashes. Bruce
nodded slowly.
81 see" he answered. "Tm ready"
"Then shoot them. quick-when the
lightning shows them," she whispered
in his ear. They're In range now"
Her hand seized his arm. "What are
you waiting for?"
He turned to her sternly. "Have you
forgotten we only have FIVE shells?"
he asked. go back to EImira"
Her eyes met his, and she tried to
smile into them.
Forgive me, Bruce-it's hard-to be
calm"
But at once she understood why he
was waiting. The flashes Of lightning
offered no opportunity for an accurate
shot. Bruce meant to conserve his
little supply Of shells until the moment
Of utmost need. The clan drew nearer.
They were riding slowly, with ready
rifles. And ever the storm increased
In fury. The thunder was so close
that 1t no longer gave the impression
of being merely sound. It was a veri.
table explosion just above their heads.
The first drops Of rain fell one by one
on the roof.
Bruce's eyes sought for Sirnon's fig
ure. To Simon he owed the greatest
debt, and to lay Simon low might mean