The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1922-12-21
Continued From Page 81


panson TO HIS once sucoesSfui rival
pen's father. Hen did not wonder.
now. AT his own perplexity when For
est haa spoken o. Wolf Darby.
That was hts own name known
turnout hundreds Of square miles OF
forest and In dozens OF little river
haulets IN an Eastern province.
Partly the name was IN token 81 hts
SKIN as n woodsman and frontiers
man. partly In recognition OF certain
traits that his fellow woodsmcn had
seen and wondered az In him. II was
net an empty nickname. In his ca~e.
II was simply that the name suited
him.
The boys had reason a-rienty for
caiiin' YOU that" Exram told him.
up here. a. you know. men don't
get no complimentary epithets un-
<lrss they deserve 'em Some men.
Ben. are IKE wcascls You've seen
IN. You've seen human rats. too.
As n tho souls they carried around
with 'em was the souls OF rats OF
course you remember Grizzly silver
daief Did you ever seen any one
who IN disposition and looks and
walk and everything reminded you
80 much OF grizzly hearf I've
known men like sheep. and men with
the faithful souls Of dogs. You re-
member when YOU got IN the big
nrht IN the lie Pcrray barr
Il don't think III ever forget Il
again
That's the night the name came
on you. 70 stay. You remember how
you'd drive into one OF them. leap
away. then tear into another. Like
wolf for ali the world You was
always hard TO gct into q fight. but
you know as well as do. and l amt
saivtn' you when l say u. that you're
the most terrible. fcrocious fighter.
forxcttin' everything but blood. that
ever padded q canoe on the Atha-
baxka- Some men. Ben. seem 20
have tho spirit OF the wolf right IN
der their skins. a sort of Wild In
ssinct that might have come straight
down from the stone are. for all
know. You happen 20 be one Of 'em.
the worst I ever saw. Maybe you
don't remember. but you took your
bun moose before you was ~ years
Old
-. hen sat dreaming. The Athabasia
Rapids was not an empty name 20
him now. He remembered the day
he had won the canoe race ~ Lodge
Pole. Other exploits occurred 20 him
--of brutal. savage brawis In river
taverns. Of adventures on the trail.
OF struggling with Wild rivers when
his canoe capsixcd. OF running the
great logs thru white waters. II was
his world. these far-strctching wilder
nsssss. And he blessed. with all the
fsrvency OF his heart. tho man who
had brought him home.
He went 20 his bod. but sleep aid
not 1t once come TO him He lay
with hushed breathing. listening TO
the little. secret noises. known so
well. Of the wilderness night He
heard the Wild creatures start forth
on their midnight journsya Once
. lynx mswed at the edge Of the
forest; and he laughed aloud when
some largo crcsfure-probabiy q
ttAtN-U 0At<A 8kta EEtAE3EA WENT
IN the nearby beaver meadow.
Thus ended the first OF brilliant
succession OF joyous days. descending
the stream In the daylight hours and
camping on the hank at night. Every
day they plunged deeper into the
heart OF the wilderness. and every
hour Ben felt more at home.
II was only play for him--to meet
and shoot successfully the rapids OF
the river. In the long ssiIinssses he
padded hour upon hour. not only 70
make time but to find an outlet for
his gurxfng energy. His old-sims
woodsman's pleasures were recalled
again; shooting waterfowl FOR their
mess IN the sin dawns. racing the
swimming moose when they ran on
him In the water. One day. fish
hungry. he rugged up the elementary
fishing tackle that they had brought
from saitsvills and tried for sal
mon.
To . long. tough rod cut on the
river hank he attached 30 feet OF
cheap. white cord. and 70 the cord
he fastened n bright spoon hook
the spinner that salmon fishers know.
He had no leader. no reel. no deli
cateiy balanced salmon roland En-
ram was full OF scorn for the whole
preceding. And It was certainly true
that. by all the rules Of angling. ben
had no chance whatever to get bite.
The cord was visible In the clear
water. and the spoon itself was
scarcely more than 20 feet from thu
rear Of the boat But this northern