San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-17

About him was a ring Of trees chopped
down and, with Bess' aid, trimmed of
their limbs, notched and sawed into
lengths for the cabin. They had only
to be lifted. one upon another, to form
the cabin walls.
Bess had collapsed, too. as the twi-
light hour drew on; and Lenore alone
was able to walk unaided to the shack.
Again Ned lay insensible on the floor
beside the stove, but tonight, long past
thesupper hour, he was able to remove
his own wet clothes and to devour
some of the unsavory left-overs from
the meal.
The third day was given TO lifting
the great logs, one upon another, for
the walls of the cabin. 1t was. in
reality. as to shift each log into place
took every ounce of liftir., power the
man had. The girls could help him
but little here, for both Of them to-
gether did not seem to be able to han
die an end of the great logs. He
found he had to lift each end in turn.
Yet he was able to drag to the cabin
tonight, and torpid with fatigue. take
his place at the crude supper table.
He didn't remember getting up from
his chair, stripping off part of his wet
clothes and falling among the blankets
that Doomsdorf had left for his use on
the floor. Almost at once it was dawn
again.
A new. more vivid consciousness was
upon him when he Weakened. The stab
bling ache in his legs and arms was
,,,nef1xv aff huf fhnra n
sharp paint in the small of his back
that at first seemed absolutely unen-
durable. But it waned, too, as he
went to work to finishing the cabin,
laying the roof and hanging the crude
floor.
1t was with a certain vague quality
of pleasure that he regarded this cabin
he had built with his own hands, fin
ished now, except for the chinking of
the logs. 1t was the first creative
work he had ever done. and he looked
at it and saw that it was good.
The cabin itself was roomy and
snug: here he could find seclusion
from Doomsdorf and his imperturbable
squaw.
Doomsdorf gave him a rusted. dis
carded stove; and it was almost joy to
see it standing in its place, With
Doomsdorfs permission, he devoted a
full day TO procuring fuel for it.
Four days more the three of them
worked at the task of laying in fuel
Ned doing the lions share of the work.
of course; Bess toiling to the limit of
her fine young strength Lenore max
ing the merest pretense The result of
the latter's idleness was, of course,
that her two companions had to divide
her share of work between them. Every
day Doomsdorf allotted them certain
duties-so many trees to cut up into
stove wood. or some other. no less
arduous duty: and he seemed to have
an uncanny ability to drive them just
short of actual, complete exhaustion.
They consumed great quantities of
food-particullrly Bess and Ned.
What would have been full days ra-
tions in their own home, enough con-
centrated nutriment to put them in
bed with indigestion. did not suffice
,for single meal. Never before had
Ned really known tn Glove of food-red
meat, the fair. good bread, rice grains
white and fluffed--but it came upon
him quickly enough now.
He hadn't forgotten that the first
furs taken would be his, and he need
ed them sorely enough. Indeed, the
matter was beginning to be of para