Evening star., 1923-04-29
Tense Outdoor Ta1e Of Truce
Made by the Outlao and His
Enemy. Pounce, IN the Forest
ANDY GIBBS lived in the deep
forest. the last place on earth
he should have lived. 1t takes


- big men to see over the pine
tops to the wonder of the wilderness
stars; but Landy was very little.
This smallness was in his nature.
which even in these raw wilds is a
much mure tragic thing than SMALL
ness of stature-a petulancc, a de-
light in petty cruelty, a giving
way to frenized rage that had before
now led him into serious crime, all in
y land where all things brook in sor-
row, but are never petulant; where
cruelty, though omnipresent, Is never
petty but rather an unimpassioned
instrument Of the vast. slow-moving
aims of nature. Because this small
ness was in his thoughts. and in a
place behind his thoughts was his
soul, he was largely blind, and he
missed the deathless beauty that big
ger men not only see but smell and
hear and feel
The twilight dimmed him one sum-
mer day. as he waited in a small
covert of brush on a hillside above
tiny, thin pearl necklace of a noun
tain stream.
I.andy had rugged wrestler's
build deep, thick chest. heavy
thighs; his arms were long and to
keep them in proportion his thick,
strong, queerly speckled hands were
short and blunt. A hard trigger-pull
was no bother to that stubby, power
full index finger, with its broken, dull
red nail. He had a round bullet
head, rather wide-awake blue eyes,
undstinguished features and a blond
skin that had the same speckled ap-
pearance as his hands. The short.
brstly hair on his head was the
nameless hue of wet straw.
He was standing very watchful.
attentive. His eyes were upon what
seemed to be a patch of mud that was
half hidden in law ferns thirty yards
down the stream. This was the days
work to Landy. The patch of mud
was a deer-lick-a place where the
wild things came for certain natural
salts in the rocks. Landy, after
years of varied kinds of lawlessness.
had taken to the pleasant occupation
~ Soaching deer for their hides. He
ws4 q hide hunter only, and his usual
Kill was around three deer a day.
He had heard the soft twitch and
track of a deers step in the brush ;
and ii was only a matter Of time un
I'll the animal would come in to the
lick to be viewed along Landy's
sights. He had posted himself so that
his smell was blown away. The eyes
OF the wild creatures cannot ordin-
arily interpret motionless forms; and
1Iandy stood like d block of wood
The hushed, furtive step drew
nearer brown shadow 6icl-ered
rading again in the farther shadows.
and soon Landy caught a glimpse of
graceful lifted head. Wholly un-
suspecting. the doe was advancing
straight into his ambush.
X y x x
lust as the deer stepped into the
- lick. just as Landy was drawing
his rifle to his shoulder, there
occurred the most astonishing inter
ruption. Landy had not watched the
lick alone. A competitor OF his in
deer-slaying. as relentless a hunter
as he himself, had made an ambush
OF the brush cover just beside the
lick. Partly because his breed was
one that steals like afternoon
shadows, partly because the mans
saZe had been elsewhere, he had made
the stalk to the lick unseen.
Landy had defeated his own ends
when he had concealed himself SO
carefully. Otherwise, being one
tenth frenzied courage and nine
tenths coward, the second hunter
would have discerned his presence
and put several miles Of mountain
fastness between them. AS it was,
he waited breathess till the prey was
just beside him; and then he pounced.
There was no withstanding that
terrific leap. Cruel claws stretched:
ivory fangs made a white streak as
they caught the pale light, and the
deer went swiftly to the earth. And
Landy saw, with a yell of rage, that
the failing hind paws were ripping
the deers precious pelt to ribbons
One glance at the round head, the
tawny coat. the graceful feline form
determined this rivals breed. The
indescribable snarl of savagery and
blood lust that the creature uttered
as he struck would have identified
him just as surely in the darkness.
was noted through a thousand square
miles of unbroken forest. And it
served not only as q relief-valve for
the wild brute passions in the killers
heart but also. for a fraction of
second, destroyed the fine edge Of
l.andy's nerve.
He shot; but he did not take quite
long enough to make out his target
through the sights. The ball sped
like hot iron along his rivals scalp,
taking off narrow strip of fur and
skin. and the creatures snarl changed
10 yell of pain and fear. Before
Landy could fire again. he had gone.
He left his prey to Landy, but the
man did not want it now. The pelt
was not worth skinning. And he al
SO left the knowledge that here was
the beginning Of a long rivalry, one
that could never end as long as they
hunted the same district-a bitter
war between these two remorseless
deer-slayers, Landy the hide-hunter
and tawIy Pounce, the largest,
strongest, most glorious of all the
rougars that ranged the lake coun-
try
X X X X
rTHE wound on Pounce's scalp had
i no more serious effect than to
give him, at times, a racking head
ache, to increase his natural caution
and to I'LL him with a deathless
hatred for all mankind. He had no
other real natural enemies. One
glance at his 1.-THE form, the muscles