The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1922-12-21

No n could look twice at that mas
slve 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
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 wollld
notice the mouth. II would be noticed
even before the dark, deep-sunken
eyes. Ii was a bloodhound mouth,
the mouth of a man of great and ter
ribIe passions, and there was an IN
miStakable measure of cruelty and
savagcry about 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.
II was ever handsome in the hard,
mountain way. One would notice
straight. black hair-the mans age
was about thirty-ninc-long over rather
dark ears. and n great, gnarled throat.
The words when he spoke seemed to
come from deep within It.
"C,u., IN. Dave he said.
In THIS little remark lay s,mething
og fine mans power The visitor had
a,,no uuaunonnced. 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
q%uickening Of the senses that is 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 II
was, he had heard the sound of APP
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
Dawes step.
The mar came in. and at once an
observer would have detected IN air
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 holi 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 vas no muscular response in
the larger Dave was plainly
disappointed. He wanted his news
to cause a stir. 1t was true, however,
that his host slowly raised his eyes.
Dave glanced away.
What do you mean?" the man de-
handed.
"Mean-I mean just what l said. We
should have watched closer. Bill
Young Bill, | mean-Saw a city chap
just in the act of going in TO see
her. He had come onto the plateaus
with his guide-Wegan was the mans
name-and Bill said he stayed Il lot
longer than he would have if he hadn't
taken a message from ner."
"How long ago was this?'
"Week ago Tuesday"
"And why have you been so long
in telling me?'
When Dawes chief asked questions
in this tone, answers always came
~ ttt,lylx- FIInx. ,,Il- .n T,nt f,A., tIa
mouth that they blurred and ran to-
gether. "Why. Simon-yOu amt been
where l could see you. Anyway, there
was nothin' we could have done"
"There wasn't, eh? | don't suppose
you ever thought that there's yet two
months before we can clinch this
thing for good, and young Folger
might say might-have kicking
about somewhere in his belongings
the very document we've all of us
been worrying about for twenty
years" Simon cursed-a single, fiery
oath. But we are yelling before
we're hurt. 1t isn't worth a crossword.
Like as not, this Wegan will never
take the trouble to hunt him up. And
if he does-well, its nothing to worry
about, either. There is one back door
that has been opened many times to
let his people go through, and it may
easily be opened again"
Dawes eyes filed with admiration.
Then he turned and gazed out through
the window. Against the eastern sky,
already van and pale from the en-
croaching dawn. the long ridge OF a
mountain stood In vivid and startling
silhouette. The edge Of 1t was curl
ously jagged with many little upright
points.
There was only M person who
would have been greatly amazed by
that outline of the ridge; and the
years and distance had obscured her
long ago. This was a teacher at an Or
phanage in a distant city, who once
had taken a crude drawing from the
hands Of q child. Here was the original
at last. 1t was the same ridge,
covered with pines, that little Bruce
had drawn
Ifn he opufinuodl