, 1922-09-20

he froze again into a lifeIess gray
patch In the thickets. There were
light steps on the trail. Again they
were the steps of deer-but not of the
great, wary elk this time. Instead it
was just a fawn, or a yearling doe at
least, such a creature as had not yet
learned to suspect every turn In the
trail. The forest gods had beer good
to him, after all.
He peered through the thickets, and
in a momen more he had a glimpse of
the spotted skin. 1t was almost too
easy. But even as the Killer watched,
the prize was simply taken out of his
mouth. A gray VOLTA savage old
male that also had just finished an
unsuccessful hunt-had been stealing
through the thickets in search of a
lair, and he came out on the trail not
fifty feet distant, halfway between the
hear and the fawn. The one was al
most as surprised as the other. The
fawn turned with a frightened bleat
and darted away; the wolf swung into
pursuit.
The bear lunged forward with a
howl of rage. He leaped into the trail
mouth, then ran as fast as he could
iii pursuit of the running wolf. He
was too enraged to stop to think that
u grizzly bear has yet been able
to overtake n wolf. once the trim legs
got well into action. At first he
couldn't think about anything; he had
peer CLEARED too many times. His
first impulse was one of tremendous
and ovarnoxrarinp xuroth-o f,,r, that
mean death to the first living crea-
ture that he met.
But in a single second he realized
that this wild chase was fairly good
tactics, after all. The chances for a
meal were still rather good. The
fawn End the wolf were in the open
now, and it was wholly evident that
the gray hunter would overtake the
quarry in another moment. II was
r that the Killer would miss the
pleasure of staying his own game
the ecstatic blow to the shoulder and
the bite to the throat that followed it.
In this case, the wolf would do that
part of the work for him. 1t was just
a simple matter of driving the crea-
ture away from his dead.
But at that instant fate tool a hand
in the merry little chase. To the
fawn, it was nothing but a sharp clang
of metal behind him and an answering
shrek of pain-sounds that In Its
terror it heard but dimly.. But 1t was
an unloOked-for and tragic reality to
the wolf. His leap was suddenly ar
rested in mid-air, and he was hurled
to the ground with stunning force.
Cruel metal teeth had seized his leg,
and a strong chain held him when he
tried to escape. He fought it with
desperate savagery. The fawn leaped
on to safety.
But there was no need of the grizzly
continuing its pursuit. Everything had
turned out quite well for him, after
all. A wolf is ever so much more fill
ing than any kind of seasonal fawn
and the old gray pack leader was i'm
prisoned and helpless in one of Hud-
sons traps.
In the first gray of morning, Dave
Turner started back toward his home.
III go with you to the forks In the
trail" Hudson told him. II want to
take a look at some of my traps, any
how"
At the same bour-as soon as II was
light enough to see-Bruce was finish
ing his breakfast in preparation for
the last Ian of his Journey. He had
passed the night by a spring on a Ions
ridge almost in eve range of Hudson's
camp. Now he was preparInp to din
down into the Killers glen
Turner and Hudson ollowed nm tbe
little creek.
The first of Hudson,s cots nrovod
empty. The second was about q turn