The L'Anse sentinel., 1923-02-09

his eXnausteu morse, ne nhu ifiNeu
him with IMPLYING strength through
coyerts, over great rocks, down Into
rocky canyons In search Of Bruce and
Linda. and now, as the dawn broke,
he thought that he had found them.
He had suddenly come upon the tracks
of Bruce's horse In the snow.
II he had encountered them farther
back, when the animal had been rum
ming wildly, he might have guessed
the truth and rejoiced. No man would
attempt to ride a horse at gallop
through that trailless stretch. But at
the point he found the tracks most Of
the horses terror had been spent, and
II was walking lelsurely, sometimes
lowering It's head to crop Off the shrub
berry. The trail was comparatively
fresh. too; or else the fast-falling
snow would have already obscured II.
He thought that his hour of triumph
was near.
But II had come none too soon. And
SImon-out of passion-filled eyes
looked and saw that 1t would likely
bring death with 1t.
He realized his position fully. The
storm was steadily developing into
one Of those terrible mountain bliz-
yards In which, without shelter, no
human being might live. He was far
from his home, he had no blankets,
and he could not find his way. Yet
he would not have turned back II he
could. The securing of the document
by which Bruce could take the great
estates from him was only d trife now.
He believed wholly within his own
soul that the wilderness-without his
aid-would do his work Of hatred for
him; and that by no conceivable cir
cumstances could Bruce and Linda
find shelter from the blizzard and live
through the day. He could find their
bodies In the spring II he by any
chance escaped himself, and take the
Ross-Folger agreement from them.
But 1t was not enough. He wanted
also to do the work of destruction.
Even his own death--if 1t were only
delayed until his vengeance was
wreaked-could not matter now. In
all the ancient strife and fury and
CtdStltSb WuI VI tlC WIN thIoubh
which he had come, there was no pas
sion to equal this. The Killer was con-
tent to let the wolf kill the fawn fd
him. The cougar will turn from Its
warm. newly slain prey, in which its
white fangs have already dipped, at
the sight of some great danger in the
thickets. But Simon could not turn.
TNaKtb lee
well as upon his enemy, yet the fire in
his heart and the fury In his brain
shut out all thought of II.
He sprang Off his horse better to
examine the tracks, and then stood,
half bent over. In the snow.
Bruce Folger headed swiftly up the
trail that his runaway horse had
made. 1t was, he thought, his last
effort, and he gave his full strength
to 1t. Weakened as he was by the
cold and the wound, he could not have
made headway at all except for the
fact that the wind was behind him.
The snow ever fell faster, in larger
flakes, and the track dimmed before
his eyes. 1t was losing game. Ter
rlfied not only by the beast that had
stirred In the thicket but by the ever
Increasing wind as well, the animal
would not linger to be overtaken.
Bruce had not ridden 1t enough to
have tanned II, and his plan was to
attempt to shoot the creature on sight,
rather than try to. catch It. They
could not go forward, anyway, as long
as the blizzard lasted. Which way was
east and which was west he could no
longer guess. And with the blankets
they might make some sort Of shelter
and keep life in their bodies until the
snow ceased and they could fnd. their
way.
The cold was deepening. the storm
was increasing In fury. Bruce's bones
ached, his wounded arm felt numb and
strange, the frost was getting into his
lungs. There was no hope of the
storm decreasing, rather 1t was stead
lily growing worse. The tracks
grew more dim, and he began
to be afraid that the FALLING
flakes would obscure his owh foot
prints SO that he could not fnd
his way back to Linda, And helknew.
beyond all other knowledge. that he
wanted her with him when the shad-
ows dropped down for good and all
He wanted her arms about him; the
| fight would be easier then.
"Oh. what's the user he suddenly
said to the wind. "why not give up
and go backT
He halted In the trail and started
to turn. But at that instant a BAN
ner of wind swept down into his face,
and the eddy Of snow In front Of him
was brushed from his gaze. Just for
the space of breath the canyon for
a hundred feet distant was partially
cleared of the binding streamers Of
snow. And he uttered long gasp
when he saw, thirty yards distant and
at the farthest reaches Of his sight,
the figure of q saddled horse.
His gun leaped to his shoulder. yet
his eagerness did not cost him his self.
control. He gazed quietly along the