New Britain herald., 1922-01-07
THE SNOWSHOE TRAIL
 EDISON MARSHALL (ltte N E, A seryice)
EDISON MARSHALL
U.ittle Brown S Co, and N. F, A. seryicc)

target-one that it seemed impossible | to miss
 "Ill take him." Harold shouted. Let me take him" In flash Harold realized that here was his opportunity in one stroke one easy shot, he could focus Vir- ginias admiration upon himself,
 But It was not the way of sports men, wandering in file in mountain trails. to elamor for the first shot at game. Whatever Is said Is usually in solicitation to companion to shoot; and Virginia felt oddly embarrassed Harold's gun leaped to his shoul- der. The target looked too big to miss but his bullet flung up the snow behind the animal
 The caribou's powerful limbs pushed out in mighty leap. t'ren- zied, Harold shot again; but his nerve was broken and his sclf-oontrol blown to the four winds. The animal had gained the shelter Of the thickets by now.
 | My sights are off," Harold shout ed ''rhey didn't shoot within three feet of where I aimed. Damn such n | gun"
 T think we'd better look for some thing else" said Bill dryly. Then l want you to carry my gun awhile, and let me take yours, It's all ready. and here's handful of extra shells. You ought to be willing to do that, at least" Harold had forgotten that this man 1 It la to his every wish. He held out gun and shells; and, smiling, Bill received them, giving his own weapon in ex1 change. But Harod's miss had not been his greatest sin. The omission that fol- lowed was by all the codes of the hunting trails unpardonable. He sup. posed that he had reflled his rife magazine with shells before he put 1t in Bills hands. In his confusion and anger, he had forgotten to do so, and the only load that the gun con tained was that in the barrel, thrown in automatically when the last empty shell was ejected.
 Several seasons before there had been fatality on the hillside above Creek Despair. An ancient spruce tree had languished, withered and died from sheer old age. 1.
 On the day that the three hunters emerged on their snowshoes in search Of meat for their depleted larder, the wind pressed gently against it. Be- cause it's trunk was routed away it swayed and fell heavily.
 The falling tree had made a fright ful crash just over the head of a great grizzly, hibernating for the winter, and even the deep coma in which he lay was abruptly dissolved.
 He sprang up, ready to fight.
 His little, fierce eyes burned and smoldered with wrath, he grunted deep in his throat, and he pushed out savagely through the cavern maw. It was only a step farther through the spruce thicket into the sunlight. | Three figures, two abreast and one behind, came mushing through the little pass where the creek flowed. The grizzly recognized them in an instant as his hereditary foes. His ears laid back, and he uttered q deep grOWl.
 As he stepped. his forefeet swung out, giving to his carriage an arro- gance and a swagger that would have been amusing if it hadn't been ter ribe His wicked teeth gleamed white in foam, and the hair stood stiff at his shoulders.
 Bills keen eyes saw the bear first.
 It was the last sight in the world that Bill had expected.
 There was no waiting this time to offer the sporting opportunity to liar old.
 Virginia was not aware of lapse of time between the instant that Bill caught sight of the bear and that in which his gun came lcaping to his shoulder.
 He had full confidence in the hard hitting vicious bullet in Harold's thirty-five, and most of all he relied on the four reserve shots that he sup posed lay in the rife magazine.
 The grizzly dies hard; he felt that all four of them would be needed to arrest the charge that would likely follow his first shot.
 He aimed for the great shoulder, the region of the lungs and heart.
 /Cnctiuuol1 in Our Next ISSuP).