Evening star., 1923-09-09

blued lips, said he felt fine and not
bit hungry. When Dauncey dropped
and could not get up, they camped;
not before.
WHILE Dauncey slept Fraser
w climbed a hill behind the camp,
looking for familiar landmarks.
There were none. The hills, bumped
like frozen cattle against the dying
| flare of the southwest, were strange
to him. Somehow, somewhere, in
that trackless expanse, he had missed
the way.
He had, when he picked up Daun-
cey, just enough grub to get one
man into Fort Dismay, with a tight
belt at that. Now there were two
of them. And he did not know ex-
actly where Fort Dismay was.
He said nothing about this to
Dauncey.
Next day he was half carrying
Dauncey again, struggling on in the
direction where he thought the fort
was likely to be. They had nothing
to eat but few beans and some
| coffee.
The writers of those books whose
heroes shoot buck and grouse and
things every day have never been
! in Kwanesum, the Land of Always,
| just after the first snow.
They camped early. Fraser could
not sleep that night. He was too
hungry and Dauncey was moaning
with cramp, in his sleep. In the
morning the snow commenced. Daun-
| cey looked as If he were dying. He
moved, doubled up like an old, Siwash.
Fraser, who now loved Dauncey very
much, and had no idea where the fort
was or should be, wondered IL he
| ought to pray that Dauncey would
die in his sleep.
The next day Dauncey was very far
gone, and it still. showed. Fraser
| tied a rope to his blanket and bound
Dauncey in the blanket and dragged
him that way. The snow was soft;
it pushed in ridges under Dauncey's
weight After an hour or two Fraser
was surprised 10 find himself lying
| on the ground with his mouth half
| fun of snow. He wondered how long
he had been lying there. He crawled
it was too much trouble to stand up
he crawled back TO the figure in the
blanket and said, "Hellow, Hal; how
do you feel?" But there was no an
swer. Dauncey had quit feeling just
| then. Fraser thought, 81 guess this
! ends it," Then he looked up and
saw the cabin.
! Just a square, built cabin, such
| as you find anywhere in the north.
The gates of the New Jerusalem
couldn't have startled Fraser more.
He crawled to it and peeped through
a slit in the logs. He saw very
small stove. glowing red, and three
men sitting round it, quite motion
! less. They were enormous men, gi-
gantic in their furs. They sat as still
/ as stone, their hands on their knees
! exactly as the stone kings OF the
F, Nile sit and stare into the centuries.
Fraser made some sound at the win
/ dow and all three turned their heads
and stared at him together, without
otherwise moving. And the three
| faces revealed in the dusky red glow
were quite black
He went In. They just sat and
! stared at him. They showed no
| curiosity, no sympathy. 1t was as IL
they did not even know he also was
! a man. They were like terrible great
images. Under the circumstances
their immobility was monstrous
Their black faces revolted him. He
! said angrily, There's man out in
| the snow, sick. You-help me fetch
! him in"
! They did not move.
flash of bright white rage, like
a flash of steel, thrilled Fraser from
| head to foot He went up to the
/ nerest of those huge immobile Shapes
/ and struck it-hin1--in the face.
! 1t was a blow that would not have
shaken a child. Fraser was weak,
weak; and at best he was a little
fellow, weighing some hundred and
thirty pounds. and twenty-five years
old. He struck the huge black across
ithe face; and instantly, with low
whining sound the ponderous figure
collapsed upon itself, rolled over and
| fell on the floor at his feet. The
others did not move.
T%HEN Fraser understood. All the
4 giant mechanism of their phys
ical strength was there, but they, too,
were starving. In their huge primi-
tive flesh suffering had quenched the
immortal spark. They were no longer
men. They were dead, though they
ihad a kind of being.
| But Il his own spirit was strong
enough he might lay his will upon
them He might breathe into them
the breath of life and perhaps save
Dauncey.
He went to the nearer of the two
seated negroes and 'gripped him--it-
by the shoulder and shouted loudly,
Come on. You must! You've got to-!
Come with me"' He shouted till he
was trembling. dripping with sweat,
gasping for breath. But he felt the
tremendous triumph of veritable act
of creation when the negro rose
itottering from his place and very
slowly followed him out into the
snow.
Fraser led him to where Dauncey
lay. He said, with his teeth clenched
to hide his hysterical trembling,
I'Lift him up. Take him in your arms"
He said it over and over, thrusting
his face into the black face. SO wild
ly strange among the furs. At last
Ithe negro slowly obeyed Groaning,
he lifted Dauncey and staggered to
the cabin with him and laid him
down by the stove. Fraser shouted at
F. them, Food! Do you hear? Someth-
ling to eat"
Slowly and feeb1y, the negro. who
Ehad not Yet moved, lifted from the
doo~ q tin nan and held 1T ont ,fo