The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-12-01

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sleep upon him. he vas the subject
Of discussion In far-d!stant noun
tain home; and sleep would not have
fallen so easily and sweetly II hs
had heard 1t.
II might have been different world.
Only a glimpse of It, illumlned 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 q thousand electric lights. such
as Bruce could SEQ 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 50
many Of them that the mind was un-
able to comprehend their number.
There was also q moon that cast o.
little square. of light like a fairy
tapestry, on the floor. 1t was not such
q moon as leers down red and strange
through the smoke Of cities. II was
vivid and quite white-the wilderness
moon that times the hunting hours
of the forest creatures. But the patch
that II 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 kerosene lamp.
The light prevented any further
scrutiny of the moon and stars. And
what remained to look at was not
.iearly SO pleasing to the spirit. 1t
was great, white-walled room that
would have been beautiful had II not
been for certain unfortunate attempts
to beautify 1t. There was stone
fireplace. and certain massive, dust
covered chairs grouped about 1t. But
the eyes never would have got to
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 yell
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
thought flashed to some great monster
of the forest that could uproot q tree
with blow.
The face was huge. big and gaunt
Of bone; and particularly one would
notice the mouth. 1t would be noticed
even before the dark, deep-sunken
eyes. It was bloodhound mouth,
the mouth of man of great and ter
rible passions, and there was an un-
mistakable measure Of cruelty and
savagery cbout 1t. But there was
strength. too. No eye could doubt
that. But It was not an ugly face.
for all the brutality Of the features.
1t was even handsome In the hard.
mountain way. One would notice
straight, black hair-the mans age
was about thirty-nine-longo over rather
dark ears, and great. gnarled throat.
The words when ne spoke seemed to
come from deep within It.
SOIHo III. buNC, hC buius
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 IL
was that had come.
The reason went back to a certnin
quickening Of the senses that II the
peculiar right and property Of most
men who are really residents Of the
wilderness. This man was the son
Of the wild as much as the wolves that
ran in the packs. Soft though Il
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 a.
Dawes step.
The man came In, and at once an
observer would have detected an air
Of Difference In his attitude. Very
plainly he had come to see his chief.
He was year or two older than his
host, less powerful Of physique, and
his eyes did not hold quitb so straight.
There was less savagery but moro
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
the larger man. Dave was plainly
disappointed, He wanted his news
to cause a stir. II was true. however.
that his host slowly raised his eyes.
Dave glanced away.
"what do you meanf' the man Dc,
manded.
"Mean--I mean Just what said. We
should have watched closer. Bill
Young Bill. I mean--saw q city chap
just In the act Of going In to see
her. He had como onto the plateaus
with his giide--Wegan was the mans
name--and Bill said he stayed lot
longer than he would have II he hadn't
taken q message from ner."
.How long ago was thisr'
.Week ago Tuesday" & -