New Britain herald., 1923-09-19
BEGIN HERE TO-DAY


 NC. eernet, who Is engaged ta
 marry Lenare Hardenwarth. is shin.
 Nisekea With her and they take
 .siake on an island. With them is
 htss Gilbert, A seamstress The
 .siahd IS occupied by brute named
 boomsdoH and his Indian wife.
 ne master of the island takes Ned ana the girls prisoners and bids them nnfih cabin for themselves, He gives mem an old stove. Lenare Is allowed 10 remain with the sauaw and help wth The housework, but Bless and Ned are made to labor until. they both isli unconscious.
 When the cabin is completed boomsdorf announces that he means 10 have his slaves do his winter trapping for him. Bess and Ned are started on different routes. Ned has light with bear.
 . NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY
 Ned did not wait to catch the full force of that blow. His powerful thighs. made iron hard in these last bitter weeks. drove him out and up in an offensive assault. His long body seemed to meet that of the wolf full In the air. Then they rolled to- gether into the drifts.
 The wolf wiggled free. sending home one vicious bite into the flesh Just under the arm: and for a breath both contestants seemed to be play ing some weird, pinwhee game in the snow. The silence Of the everlasting wild was torn to shreds by the noise of battle--the frantic snarling of the wolf, the wild shouts of this mad man who had just found his strength. |
 Then for moment both contestants seemed to lie motionless In the snow The wolf lay like great hound be- fore the fireside--fore Yegs stretched | in front. body at full length. Ned lay at one side. the animals body be- tween his knees. one arm around his neck. the other thrusting back his great head. The whole issue of life or death, victory or defeat, vas sud- denly immensely simpliied. It de- pended solely on whether or not Ned had the physical might to push back the shaggy head and shatter the yer tebrae.
 Time stood still A thousand half crazed fancies flew through Ned's mind. His life blood seemed to be starting from his pores, and his heart was tearing itself to shreds in his breast. But the wolf was quivering now Its eyes were full of strange. unworld fire. And then Ned gave a last terrific wrench. :
 A bone broke with distinct crack in the utter silence. And as he fell { forward spent the great white form { sacked down and went limp in his arms.
 XXIII. { In a little while Ned stripped the ( pet from the warm body of the wolf . and continued down his line of traps i He was able to think more coherently ' now and consider methods and de- I tails. And by the same token of s clear thought, he was brought face to face with the fact of the almost in r superable obstacles in his path. C Plans for freedom first of all seem Lngly had to include Doomsdorf's Il death. That was the first essential, g and the last Could they succeed in f striking the life from their master, 0 hey could wait in the cabin until the a srader Intrepid should touch their h island in the spring. c The difficulty lay in finding an e opening of attack. Doomsdorf's rife a was never loaded except when it was n n dis arms and he wore his pistol in tl h.lFbelt, day and night. For all his tl Ned had noticed. half s' inadvertently, that he always took a precautions against night attack. f, The squAw slept on the outside of d heir cot and would be as difficult to e, ,ass without arousing as a sleeping log. The cabin itself was bolted, lot to be entered without waking both = and the three prisoners of purse. slept in the newer cabin.
 Ned was working that part of the inc from his Twelve-Mile cabin over he ridge toward the Forks cabin lis old rendezvous with Ress. He