San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-21
Begin Here Today.

L
! marry Lenore Hardenworth, is ship
wrecked with her and they take refuge
on an island. With them is Bess Gil
bert, seamstress. The island is oc
cupied by a brute named Doomsdor1
and his Indian wife.
The master of the island takes Ned
and the girls prisoners and bids them
build a cabin for themselves. He gives
them an old stove. Lenore is allowed
TO remain with the squaw and help
with the homework, but Bess and Nei
are made TO labor until they both fail
unconscious.
When the cabin is completed
Doomsdorf announces that he means
to have his slaves do his winter trap
ping for him. Bess and Ned are start
ed on different routes. Ned has a
fight with a 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 together
into the drifts.
The wolf wriggled free, sending
home one vicious bite into the flesh
Just under the arm; and for, breath
both contestants seemed TO be playing
some weird, pinwheG 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 mailman
who had Just found his strength.
Then for a moment both contest
ants seemed to lie motionless in the
snow. The wolf lay like a great hound
before the firesids-fore legs 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 the
great head. The whole issue of lie
or death, victory or defeat, was sud
denly immensely simplified. 1t de.
pended solely on whether or not Ned
had the physical might to push back
the shaggy had and shatter the
vertebrate.
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,
fire. And then Ned gave q
last, terrific wrench.
A bone broke with a distinct crack
in the utter silence. And as he fell
forward, spent, the great white form
Stacked down and went limp in his
arms.
XXIII.
In a little while Ned stripped the
pelt from the warm body of the WOLF
and continued down his line of traps.
He was able to think, more coherently
now and consider methods and details.
And by the same token ,eof clear
thought, be was brought face to face
with the fact Of the almost insuper-
able obstacles in his path.
Plans for freedom first of all Scent
inglys had to include Doomsdorf's
death, That was the. first, essential,
striking the life from their master,
they could wait in the cabin until the
trader Intrepid should touch their
lolduu III int sPilhSs
The difficulty lay in finding An
opening of attack. Doomsdorf''s rifle
was never loaded except when it was
in his arms, and he wore his pistol
in his belt, day and night, For all
his hopelessness, Ned had noticed, half
inadvertently, that he always took
precautions against a night attack.
The squaw slept on the outside of their
cot and would be as difficult to pass
arousing as sleeping dog.
The cabin itself was bolted, not to
be entered without waking both oc.
and the three prisoners of
course slept in the newer cabin.
Ned was working that part of the
line from his Twelve-Mile cabin over
the ridge toward the Forks cabin
his old rendezvous with Bess. He
was somewhat late in crossing the
range today. The blazed trail took him
around the shoulder of the ridge, clear
to the edge of little, deeply scanned
glacier such as crowns so many Of
the larger hills in the far North.
Few were the wild creatures that