The daily Alaskan., 1922-04-22

CIpaFllS out Oy Lle nIe-OlS db plNbS ring. We'll go out there-sife by side. And hands to hands we'll settle all these debts we have between us--witn DO rules Of fighting and no mercy iH the endr
 They measured each other with their eyes. once more Cranston's gaze stole to his rife, but luDgIng ouL Dan kicked il three teet farther into the shadows Of the iean-to. Dan saw the dark face drawn with passion, the hunds clenchlng, the shoulder muscles growing Into hard knots. And Cran- Ston looked and knew that mercileSS vCngeance-that age old sin and ChristIess creed by which he lived hud followed him down and was clutching him al last.
 He saw it ID the position of the stal- wart form before him, the clear level eyes that the moon light made bright as steel, the hard lines, the slim, pow erful hands. Be could read IL ID the tones of the vOice-tOnes that he him self could not initiate or pretend. The hour had come for the settling of old debts.
 He tried to curse hIs adversary as weakling and 8 degenerate, but the ob- scene words he sought for would not come to his lips. Here was his fate, and because the darkness always fades before the light, and the courage of wickednesS always breaks before the courage of righteousness, Cranston was afraid to look It in the face. The fear of defeat. of death, of heaven knows what remOrseleSsness with which this grave giant would administer justice was upon him, and his heart seemed to freeze In his breast Craveniy he leaped for his knife on the blankets below him.
 Dan was upon him before he ever reached It. He Sprang as a cougar spIngs. incredibly fast and with shat teriug power. Both went down, and for long time they writhed and strug- gled In each others arms. The pine boughs rustled strangely.
 The dark, gaunt hand reached in vain for the knife. Some resistless power seemed to be holding his wrist and was bending its bone as an Indian bends bow. Pain dashed through him. And then this dark hearted man. who hud never known the meaning of mer- cy opened his lips 10 scream that this terrible enemy be merclful to him.
 But the words wouldn't come. A ghastly weight had come at his throat, and his tortured lungs sobhed for breath. Then, for a long time, there was q curious pOunulng, flashing sound in the evergreen boughs, lt seemed mercileSS and endless.
 But Dan got up at last, In a strange, heavy silence, and swiftly went to work. He took the rife and filled lt with cartridges from Cranstons belt Then he put the remaining two boxes of shells Into his shirt pocket. The supplies of fOod-the sack Of nutri- tious jerked venIsOn like dried barE. the little package of cheese. the boxes of hard tack and one of the small sacks of prepared flOur-he tied with a single kettle. into hIs heavy blan- kets and flung them with the rife upon his back. Finally he took the pair of snow shoes from the floor. He worked coIdIy, swiftly. all the time munching ar piece of Ierked venIsOn. When he had finished he walked to the door of the lean-to.
 IL seemed to Dan that Cranston whis- perpd faintly. from his unconscious ness. as he passed; but the victor did not turn to look. The snow shoes crunched away into the darkness. On the hill behind a half dozen wolves stragglers from the pack-frisked and leaped about in a curious way. A strange smell had reached them on the wind, and when the loud, fearful steps were out of hearing, 1t might pay them to creep down, one by one, and inveSti- gate It's cause
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