New Britain herald., 1922-01-05

' Her fance's uncle and cook, Vospor, completed the party, Bill and Virginia were engulIsd in fording Grizzly river. Bill saVed vlrginia's life. The others, left on the oppoaite shore, deserted Bl hopes to look also for the lost mine of his father. murdered by partner.
 Go ON WITH THE STORY
 Virginia found the days much hap pier than she had hoped. ...
 She liked the hours of sober talk in the evenings. Sometimes they would play through the records. and so well had Bill made his selections that she never tired of them.
 She had her lonesome hours, but not so many as she had expected, When time hung heavy on her hands she would take out one of the old magazines that Bill had brought up to read on the winter nights.
 She had abundant health. The ex- perience seemed to build her up, rather than injure her. Her muscles developed. she breathed deep of the cold mountain air, and she had more energy than she could easily spend.
 She fought away the tendency to grow careless in dress or appearance. She Kept her few clothes clean and mended she dressed her hair as care fully as in her city home.
 Their cabin life was redeemed by their frequent excursions into the wild. The study Of Nature was con stantly more absorbing to the girl.
 In these excursions Virginia learned to use her pistol with remarkable ac- curacy. Her strength increased; she could follow wherever Bill led
 They did not forget their graver business. Ever Virginia kept watch for a track that was hot an animal track, blaze on tree not made by the teeth of porcupine or grizzly, a charred cooking rack over the ashes of fire. But as yet they had found no sign of human wayfarers other than themselves.
 Bill never ceased to search for his mine. He looked for blazes, too; for a sign of an old camp or a pile of washings beside a stream. When he found an open stream he would wash the gravel, and it seemed to him he combed the entire region between the two little tributaries of Grizzly River indicated on his map. But with the deepening snow search was ever more difficult. Unlike Virginia, he was al- most ready to give up.
 Every day winter strengthened it's shackes
 But now the snowshoe frames were done wrought from tough spruce, and the moose hide cut into thongs and stretched across to make the webs. For a few days Bill and Vir- gina had been captives in the cabin, and they held high revels in celebra- ton of their completion. Now they could go forth into the drifts again.
 It did not mean, however, that the time was ripe for them to take their sled and mush into Bradleyburg. The snow was still too soft for long jaunts.
 Came a clear, icy night, and the Northern Lights were more vivid and beautiful than ever. Bill thought Virginia was watching their display: if he had known the real subject of her thoughts, he would not have come and stood in the doorway with her.
 ''We're not the only ones to see 1t, ;" Virginia told him softly Somewhere I think-I feel-that Harold is watch ing it, too. Somewhere over this snow" ..
 Wont you find him for me, Bill ?' she cried. You are so strong, so capable-you can do anything, any thing you try. Won't you find him ,,d b,.ipor b;r,, hoo to mo 2b
 The man looked down at her, and his face was ashen.
 VIII
 One clear, icy night gale sprang up in the east, and Virginia and Bill fell to sleep to the sound of its com plaint. And when Bill went forth for his mornings woodcutting he found that his snowshoes did not break through the crust.
 The wind had blown and crusted the drifts during the night
 This permitted him to make a dash over to a certain stream further down toward the Yuga river in search of any sign of the lost mine.
 When about two miles from the cabin he saw, through rift in the distant treees, human trail in the snow.
 He stood moment in the drifts, torn by an inner struggle.
 All his fondest hopes, his dreams, all the inner guardians of his own happiness told him to keep his search, to journey on his way and forget he had seen the tracks. Every desire of Self spoke in warning to him.
 But Bill Bronson-had a higher law than self. Long ago, in front of the ramshackle hotel in Bradleyburg, he had given a promise-to find Harold Lounsbury!
 He turned and went over to inves- tigate the tracks.
 He followed swiftly down the trail, anxious to know his fate at the first possible instant. He saw that the trail was fresh, made that morning; he had every reason to think that he could overtake the man who had made it within few hours.
 He did not catch up with the traveller in the snow. But shortly ait CT the noon hour his keen eyes saw a wisp of smoke drifting through the trees, and his heart leaped in his breast He pushed on, emerging all at once upon human habitation.
 It was a lean-to rather than cabin. A fire smouldered in front. And his heart leaped with indescribable rel1ef when he saw that neither of the two