The Snowflake herald., 1923-02-02
The Strength All
OF The Pines AA
BY @W&N
Edison Marshall
Author Of The Voice Of the Puck k@sp
Illustrations By s4YTNE
Irwin Myers 9WE&s
w. ksA>I
Copyright bv Lille. Drown. ond Co

he would not have turned back IL he
could. The securing of the document
by which Bruce could take the great
estates from him was only trifle now.
He believed wholly within his own
soul that the wilderness-without his
aid-wOuld do his work Of hatred for
him; and that by no conceivable cir
cumstances could Bruce and Linda
find shelter from the blizzard and live
through the day. He could find their
bodies in the spring If he by any
chance escaped himself, and take the
ROss-FOlger agreement from them.
But 1t was not enough. He wanted
also to do the work of destruction.
Even his own death--if 1t were only
delayed until his vengeance was
wreaked-could not matter now In
all the ancient strife and fury and
ceaseless war of the wild through
which he had come, there was no pas
sion to equal this The Killer was con-
tent to let the wolf kill the fawn for
him. The cougar will turn from it's
warm, newly slain prey. in which It's
white fangs have already dipped, at
the sight of some great danger in the
thickets But Simon could not turn.
Death lowered its wings upon him as
well as upon his enemy. yet the fire in
shut out all thought of ii.
He sprang off his horse better to
examine the tracks. and then stood,
half bent over. in the snow.
Bruce Folger headed swiftly up the
trail that his runaway horse had
made. 1t was. he thought, his last
effort, and he gave his full strength
to it, Weakened as he was by the
cold and the wound he could not have
made headway at all except for the
fact that the wind was behind him.
The snow ever fell faster, in larger
flakes, and the track dimmed before
his eyes 1t was losing game. Ter
rineu nor Only ny tTIe Urtsst tuaU nau
stirred in the thicket but by the ever
increasing wind as well, the animal
would not linger to be overtaken,
Bruce had not ridden it enough to
have tanned it. and his plan was to
attempt to shoot the creature on sight.
rather than try To catch it, They
could not go forward anyway. as long
rs the blizzard lasted. Which way was
east and which was west he could no
longer guess. And with the blankets
they might make some sort Of shelter
and keep life in their bodies until the
snow ceased and they could find their
way.
The cold was deepening, the storm
was increasing in fury. Bruce's bones
ached, his wounded arm felt numb and
strange, the frost was getting into his
lungs. There was no hope of the
storm decreasing, rather 1t was stead
lily growing worse. The tracks
to be afraid that the falling
flakes would obscure his own foot
prints so that he could not find
his way back to Linda. And he knew,
beyond all other knowledge, that he
wanted her with him when the shad-
Ows dropped down for good and all.
He wanted her arms about him; the
fight would be easier then.
"Oh, what's the user" he suddenly
said to the wind. "Why not give up
and go backY
He halted In the trail and started
to turn. But at that instant ban
ner of wind swept down into his face,
and the eddy of snow In front of him
was brushed from his gaze. Just for
the space Of a breath the canyon for
hundred feet distant was partially
cleared Of the binding streamers of
snow. And he uttered a long gasp
when he saw, thirty yards distant and
at the farthest reaches of his sight,
the figure of saddled horse
His gun leaped to his shoulder, yet
his eagerness did not cost him his self
control. He gazed quietly along the
sights until he saw the animals shoul-
der between them. His finger pressed
back against the trigger
The horse rocked down, seemingly
instantly killed, and the snow swept
In between. Bruce cried out In tri-
umph. Then he broke INTO run and
sped through the flurries toward his
dead.
But 1t came about that there was
other business for Bruce than the re-
covery Of his blankets that he had
supposed would be tied to the saddle
The snow was thick between, and he
was within twenty feet of the animals
body before he glimpsed 1t clearly
again. And he felt the first wave of
wonder, the first promptings of the
thought that the horse he had shot
down was not his, but one that he had
never seen before.
But there was no time for the
thought to go fully home Some one
cried out-a strange, half-snarl of hat.
red and triumph that was almost lack
ing In all human quality-and mans
body leaped toward him from the