Evening star., 1923-09-23
CONTINUED from Yesterdays Starr

Automatically he struggled to raise
Eliot. Violently as possible. he slap
ped him in the face. and kicked at MS
body. A minute longer, and he would
have been too late. But Eliot, too, II
seemed. was to struggle awhile long
er before giving up to the impeding
lure OF sleep. Slowly he staggered
to his knees, then to his feet. and
the two started again on their waver-
ing course along the path OF the biiz-
zard, each, II seemed. leaning on the
other. 1t was well that such was the
case, for when Pete would sag ana
bend toward the snow Eliot wou,d
support him, and when Eliot would
seem to surrender once again Pete
would be the supporting one.
Thus they continued their desperate
fight until Pete at length was no
longer conscious of his EFFORT. He
seemed to be obeying only the voice
within. 1t kept urging him on ana
on, it's loud shouting seeming to rise
even above yet another voice that
counseled rest; sweet peaceful slum-
full. The flrst.v voice seemed harsh and
commanding and hurt him with its
shoutings; the second one, mild and
soft, yet tender beyond words! Thus
the dual fight within ragged on, while
the men continued their dogged, grim
fight Eliot answered the lure of the
tempter- first and fell heavily to the
snow, going limp as he sank like a
man shot through the heart. He had
swooned many times before, but this
time, Pete knew even in his delirious
, brain that the end was near for the
| breed -
Perhaps the thought that he was
responsible. somewhat at least, in
spired a last frantic effort that spur
| red Pete on to grasp the arm of the
! fallen man, and make a final effort
| to drag him along. ..,
AS he did so the loud voice within
| seemed to leave him, and to take a
position just ahead; yes, even the
other voice had gone out, and both
seemed TO call him on through the
numbering cold of the icy blasts.
| In answer to them he tugged with
all his feeble strength; the body
moved, and he tugged again. The
| body came ever closer. as foot by
bring his burden to the dancing
voices that promised sleep and rest
| He was coming closer and closer
| And as he tugged 1t seemed his
the binding snow grew fainter, and
he feared in a dazed way that he
was asleep already! But. no! The
voices were still ahead, and he tug
pulls and something at his back held
him fast The wind seemed suddenly
far away! With great effort he
turned his head, and as he did so his
face brushed against sharp branches
| Then he let his burden drop and
raised his hands. A tree! He was
among trees! He could sleep! All
| sweet. sweet sleep! Then the sud
den absence of sense-deadening wind
| cleared his brain for fieeting mo-
ment He was cold-horribly cold
! and he must have a firei Mechan-
ically he stretched out his arms and
| felt his numbed hands come in con-
tact with branches that resisted
| gf fYrh 1lxr -
| them he felt them give and heard the
| rifiecrack that he had come to know
50 well-the sound of cold, dry
| branches breaking and splintering
beneath his weight: Like man in a
dream he gathered up the splinters
and broken branches from the frozen
snow and added others to the pile
4 mono ut more and he was fumbllng
feebly at the match box that hung
| from his belt. But time and again
last with desperate effort he placed
| IL between his teeth. The frozen
! steel box seemed to burn his lips and
tongue before at last it opened. All
f.! dropped as he shook the full box
into his gloved hand. Grasping the
] remaining stick as best as he could
\ in both hands. he struck il against
the side of a split branch and watch
cd as though in dream the tiny red
flame lick into the resinous splinters
of the piled wood before him
AS the flames leaped higher and
[ higher they spread into the un-
| broken branches of the clump OF
| fire sent its flames high into the
branches overhead and ate hungrily
into the snow beneath. For time
| ii seemed that Pete would still lose
the reward of his mighty efforts for
as the fire roared there before him
he swayed back and forth, now to-
| ward IL, now out from 1T, as though
! to give up the fight and seek the
peaceful slumber that had lured him
on. But as the warmth Increased to
tsevere heat his deadened senses
seemed to melt and he family
realized that the man lying beside
| him was slowly but surely sleeping
the sleep of death. Reused to action
breed near the fire, hoping the pain
/ of thawing flesh would waken him.
| The effort to revive the half-frozen
| Eliot increased his own circulation
fuls of brittle branches from trees
about him and add them to the roar
ing fire. which now had melted huge
hole nearly to the frozen ground be.
meath the snow. Into this sheltered
pocket Pete drew the breed. rubbins
his face and hands with snow and
rolling him as roughly as his weak
| ened state would permit about the
floor of the shelter. Outside, and
only dozen feet or more from him
fury. but he had no mind or thought
| for the course or direction of the
storm, nor for the providence of ma
ture that had SO miraculously
| among stunted trees that clustered
about a pile of jutting rocks and
| boulders.
| At length Eliot opened his eye.
creased in the narrow hole and sem
warm blood against frozen flesh
Pete, overcome by the superhumar
efforts of his fight against the wild
blizzard. staggered heavily over the
Islowly' reviving Eliot and slept.
| How long into the night he hao
slept he knew not when suddenly
the sting of flame against the fiesf
of his hand aroused him. The fire
had crept into the pile of branches
| ing heap and a moment more would
have seen not only his gloved hanc
but the fur of his coat as well mas:
of flames.
awoke, his troubled breathing indi
eating that he suffered intensely
even as he slept. and Pete did mo-
disturb him.
The storm without had apparently
died down and as Pete looked abou'
he tried to get an impression tha
would help him locate his refuge II
| the country he remembered. Hi.
| eyes were swollen and icicles still
| hung like crystals from his brows
At first he could see nothing in the
lsemi-darkness as he struggled pain
fully to his feet. brushed the obstruc.
tions from before his eyes and stared
fixedly out into the milky white
might.
Something far out before. hin
caused him to start and again -brusi
his eyes. light, it seemed, wa;
shining somewhere out in the grea
lexpanse before him. He watched 1
Ibreathlessly as he gradually recalled