Middletown transcript., 1922-06-24

pain was intense, and 1t was impOs
sible to take of the mackinaw an(
hope to replace his arms in it: bu
he twisted with all his force until tn,
diminishing flow showed that he hat
compressed the artery. Thrusting tn,
longer end Of the stick beneath hi.
armpit, he passed the other througl
the buttonhole Of the garment, and
STOPPING, managed to get Joe's body
upon his shoulder and to hold 1t with
his right arm.
His impulse was to carry Joe's body
back to the camp, but he knew that Il
would be impossible to make the dis
tance. Yet to leave 1t would meal
the certainty Of mutllatlon by bear.
or timber-w0lyes unless he coult
build cairn Of stones. And of thai
ne was equally incapable. He sci
Joe's body down. and, in the first full
realization Of his loss and his predicn
ment, he shouted curses to the sky
That murder had been intended he
did not believe; no doubt the shot hat
been a bullet fred at some nearer
mark, perhaps hare. and by one OF
the haif-breeds. He suspected tina,
the transit-bearer, following them up
had fired the shot, and, seeing the fa
tality, had fled.
But the thought that this might be
the explanation was only a fleetinc
one. Joe was dead, and his body mus,
be cared for. just as If he were alive
taken back to the camp and thence
out of the woods. There was no DOS.
sibility Of leaving Joe's body there
Yet 1t seemed to him that he could
not hope to seach the camp. And
now another idea came to him
1t was seven miles back to the camp
but only five to the portage over the
frozen swamp. Upon the other side
Of the portage was trail that came
out of the prairie southwark and
wound into the unknown north
Along this Indians brought their win.
ter catches to the trading-s store of
Mcdonald, the factor of the Hudson's
Bay company.
Truveling was hard along the shore
of the great Muskeg,' but it would
mean two miles less, and it was inst
possible to make the store. McDon.
AID was n queer. taciturn, sometimes
venomous old man, and had evinced a
strong dislike of Wilton on the occn.
sion of their last meeting. Yet Nc
Donald would shelter him and receive
Joe's body. And then there was Molly.
his daughter.
Wilton, having made his choice. act-
ed on 1t at once. With great effort
he raised Joe's stiffening form upon
his shoulder; and doggedly he began
his awful journey, his right arm grasp.
ing the dead man, his helpless left
hugging the tourniquet-stick against
his side.
He stumbled over the rough ground
until he reached the cleared road
through the trees. Here the going was
easier, but the burden numbed his
right hand and shoulder, the throbbiny
pain in his left seemed to beat time to
his footsteps, and the ache of the
cramping muscles increased the agony
Of his wound and began to spread
down his body.
wind sprang up, driving gusts of
whirling snow into his eyes. A deadly
letbargy was creeping over him, and
presently, turning his head to shield
his eyes from the beating blasts. he
saw a trickle of crimson on the road
behind him.
The tourniquet had loosened. He
was bleeding his life away. The blood
was gushing down his fingers. Will
ton set Joe's body down and succeeded
In tightening the compress. And it
was only after an almost superhuman
struggle that he could get Joe over
his shoulder. He knew that If he was
forced to set the body down again he
could never lift 1t.
With knees bent, tripping over the
roots Of the trees, and reeling
through a swimming world, he stag
gered on and on and on. And neither
his anger nor the thought of Kitty
could have kept his resolution through
that nightmare of pain. 1t was all Joe
now, the memory Of Joe, his love for
him, and his resolve that his friends
remains should not be torn by the tim
ber-wolves.
Joe had befriended him years be-
fore, when he had drifted, penniless.
into Winnipeg. JOe's faith had been
his own, and the secret of the Missati-
bi theirs.
So the miles reeled off behind him,
while the wind increased and the snow
fell thicker along the way. AT last the
trees opened, and the bleak shore of
Big Muskeg lay before him, desert
Of Ice and snow, with the bluffs oppo-
site, and beyond them the trees once
more.
At once the fierce swirl Of the gale
caught him, whistling like sirens, bor-
ing into his face like white-hot
probes. The ice that fringed his
lashes blinded him and pulled them
from the lids when he tried to open
his eyes. He reeled on, clutching Joe's
body, and heard his own voice go
from him in shouts of despair They
rolled across the snow, and the echoes
came In faint, mimicking answer from
the distant cliffs.
Wilton retained sufficient conscious
ness of his surroundings to make his
way along the shore toward the port
age. He might have shortened his
route to McDonald's store a little by
risking direct crossing; but the sur
face of muskeg is always dangerous
even In midwinter. when the appar-