The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1922-01-14

"stu WIN tcoh OF surprise,
I'm planning a longer dash than
had In mind at FIRST" he told her.
ITS Important" he hesitated. and
lie came TO his lips. BUT II was
not such a falsehood as would be
marked. In ineffaccahie letters.
against him on tho hook OF Juds.
meat. lie spoke to save the girl any
false hopes. Its about my mine. ="
he said. and III not likely be hack
before tomorrow night IL might
take even longer than that. Would
you be afraid 10 stay aioner"
There's nothing to BE- afraid Of
here the giri replied. but II will
be awfuily lonesome without YOU. But
u YOU think you've got n real clcw.
wouldn't ask you Co stay"
tits real clew." The man spoke
softly. rather painfully. She won.
dered why he did not show more
iuhilatlon or excitement. You've
got your pistol and you can bolt the
door. I've got plenty OF wood cut
There's ktndiinK too--and you can
light fire IN the morning II you
put big log on tonight you1i have
glowing Goals In the morning n
viii be cold getting ur. and wish
I could he here 10 build your fire
But I don't think I can"
she gave him smile and was
startled sober IN the middle OF u
All at once shc saw that tho man
was pale. lie had. then. found a
eiew Of real importance. Go ahead
Of course" shc told him. Wen six
some lunch Tor you right away"
He took picc. OF dried moose
meat, a can OF beans and another of
marmaladc. and these. with a mum
her 81 dried biscuits. would comprise
his lunch. -Re careful ~ yourself. -
he told her at parting "ff I don't
rrt hack tomorrow. don't worry. And
pray for me-
She told him she would. bot ,he
did not guess the context OF the
prayer hts own heart asked. His
prayer was for failure. rather than
success.
Following hts own tracks. ne went
directly hack 10 the mysterious snow.
shoe trail. He followed swiftly down
~. anxious to know hls fate nj the
first possible instant. lie saw that
the tran was fresh. riad> that morn.
Ing: he had every reason TO think
that he could overtake the man who
had made Il within a few hours.
he was not canr~si On IN. YurA-
whoever had come rnushlnr thru the
siiences that morning From the
river 70 the point where he had found
the tracks was much too great a
distance for any nuaher 20 eover In
few hours since dawn. There wa.
nothing 70 believe but that the
strangers camp iay within a few
miles % hls own. He decided. from
his frequent s,ops. that the man had
been hunting; there was nothing 20
indicate that he was following a trar
line. The frequent tracks IN the
snow. however. indicated an unusual
" good tracking country. lie won.
dered N ntranwcr@--rndian-. most
likeiy--hat come in 10 poaeh on his
domain.
lie did not catch NJ with the trav.
eier In the snow. The man had
rnushed swiftly But shortly after
the noon hour hts keen eyes saw a
wisp Of smoke drifting thru the trees
and his heart lea ped I'm his breast.
He pushed on. emerging all ut once
upon a human habltation.
II was n iean-too. rather than a
cabin. som. logs had been ured In
It's construction. but mostly its walls
were merely frames. matched heavily
with spruce boughR. A fire snoidercd
IN front. And his heart ieaped with
indescribahir relief when ne saw that
snuatted in the lean.to mouth was
the stranger that had passed his
camp six years before
BIN had old acquaintance with the
/ type OF man that confronted him
now. One Of them was Joe Robin
~on--sn Indian VINO had wintered In
Bradleyburg a few years before. BIN
recognized him at once: he came OF
a breed that ouiwardly. at least.
changes little before the march Of
time. There was nothing about him
70 indicate his age. lie might BE-
thirty--perhap ten years older. Bal
felt fairly certain. however. that he
was not greatly older. In spite Of
legend 70 the contrary. n forty-yenr
old Indian lie among the patriarchs.
and pneumonia or some other evil
child OF the northern winter. claims
him quickly.
Joc's blood. he remembered. was
about three fourths pure. HIS mother
had been full.biooded squaw. HIS
father a breed from the lake region
20 the east lie was slovenly as were
most Of his kind: uncican: and the
most distinguished trnits about him
were not TO his credit--a certain
quality Of craft and treachery In his
lupine face. His yellow eyes were
too close together; his mouth was
brutal. His companion. a half-breed
with n dangerous mixture OF French.
was a man unknown TO Blll--but the
latter did not desire closer nc
auaintance. He was a boon com.
panion and mate for Joe.
Yet both Of them possessed some
thing OF that strange aloofncss and
dignity that IL n quality Of all their
people. They showed no surprise at
Bill's appearance. In these mighty
forests human beings were ms rare
a sikDt AZ NOuid DC an aOfpidn~ 20
African savages. yet they glanced az
him seemingly with little interest. II
was true. however. that these men
knew OF his residence In this imme-
date section Of Clearwater. The loss
Of his fathers mine was a legend
known all over that particular part
Of the province; they knew that he
sought ~ yearly. clear up 10 the trap.
ping season. When the SHOWS were
deep. they were we'll aware that he
ran trap lines down the Grizzly
| River. Human habltants OF the
North are not 40 many but they keep
good track Of one another's business.
But they had "a better reason still
for knowing that he was near. The
prevailing winds blew down toward
them from Bits camp, and some.