Williams news., 1922-10-20

and become intertwined much more than Bruce knew. Even as he lay In his berth, the first sweet drifting or sleep upon him, he was the subjece of a discussion in a far-distant noun tain home; and sleep would not have fallen so easily and sweetly If he had heard it.
 It might have been different world. Only a glimpse of it, illumined by the moon, could be seen through the soiled and besmirched window pane; but that was enough to tell the story. There were no tall buildings, lighted by a thousand electric lights, such as Bruce could see through the win dows of his bedroom at night. The lights that could be discerned in this strange, dark sky were largely un> familiar to Bruce, because of the smoke-clouds that had always hung above the city where he lived. There were just stars, but there were SC many of them that the mind was un- able to comprehend their number.
 There was also a moon that cast little square of light, like a fairy tapestry, on the fioor- It was not such a moon as leers down red and strange through the smoke of cities. It was vivid and quite white-the wilderness moon that times the hunting hours of the forest creatures. But the patch that it cast on the floor was obscured in a moment because the man who had been musing in the big chair be- side the empty fireplace had risen and lighted a kerosene lamp.
 The light prevented any further scrutiny of rhe moon and stars. Ana what remained to look at was not nearly so pleasing to the spirit lr was a great, white-walled room thar would have been beautiful had 1t not | been for certain unfortunate attempts | to beautify it. There was stone | fireplace, and certain massive, dusr l covered chairs grouped about it. But | the eyes never would have got to I these. They would have been held and fascinated by the face and the form of the man who had just lighted the, | lamp.
 No one could look twice at that mas sive physique and question its might. He seemed almost gigantic in the vel | low lamplight. In reality he stood six feet and almost three inches, and | his frame was perfectly in proportion. He moved slowly, lazily, and the 1 thought flashed to some great monster | of the forest that could uproot a tree | with a blow.
 | The face was huge, big and gaunt | of bone; and particularly one would 1 notice the mouth. It would be noticed | even before the dark. deep-sunken | eyes It was a bloodhound mouth, | the mouth of a man of great and ter | rible passions. and there was an un- | mistakable measure of cruelty ana | sayagery about 1t. But there was | that. But it was not an ugly face. for all the brutality of the features. | It was even handsome in the hard, | mountain way. One would notice l straight, black hair-the mans age was about thirty-nine-long over rather dark ears, and a great, gnarled throat The ords when he spoke seemed to come from deep within it.
 "Come in, Dave" he said.
 In this little remark lay something of the mans power. The visitor had come unannounced. His visit had been
 unexpected His host had not yet seen his face. Yet the man knew, before the door was opened, who 1t | was that had come.
 The reason went back to a certain quickening of the senses that Is the peculiar right and property of mosu men who are really residents or tna
 wilderness. This man was the son
 of the wild as much as the wolves that
 ran in the packs. Soft though lt
 was, he had heard the sound of ap-
 preaching feet in the pine needles.
 As surely as he would have recognized
 the dark face of the man in the door
 way, he recognized the sound as
 Dave's step.
 The man came in, and at once an
 observer would have detected an air
 of deference in his attitude. Very
 plainly he had come to see his chief.
 He was a year or two older than his
 host, less powerful of physique, and his eyes did not hold quite so straight
 There was less savagery but more
 cunning in his sharp features
 He blurted out his news at once.
 "Old Elmira has got word down to
 the settlements at last," he said.
 There was no muscular response In l the larger man. Dave was plainly
 disappointed. He wanted his new
 to cause a stir. It was true, however,
 that his host slowly raised his eyes.
 Dave glanced away.
 .What do>you mean?" the man de
 manded.
 Mean mean just what said. We
 should have watched closer. Bill Young Bill, mean-saw a city chap
 just in the act of going in to sed her. He had come onto the plateaua
 with his guide-Wegan was the mans , name-and Bill said he stayed 1ot ho hadn't