Evening star., 1923-09-22

With sullen and murderous look
Eliot slowly got to his feet and
rolled his pack. A few minutes later
the two men were once more on the
move.
BY noon, the sun was nearly hid
den behind a dark gray veil that
seemed to form like another sky as
far as the eye could see. The gentle
breeze, as though encouraged by the
retreat of the sun, now came in
strong and yet stronger gusts over
tne bare spots in the unbroken snow
about them, stopping here and there
10 send little twists of swirling white
before 1t. Pete had seen storms in
the mountains before, but never had
he been abroad in one of them. On
the night he left the Dead Horse mine
there had been a storm; but only an
orderly snowfall, compared with the
storm that seemed to be gathering
about him now.
More than once he felt pangs of
regret at his harsh treatment of
Eliot, as the conviction grew that,
after all, the breed must have known
best. AS they forged silently ahead.
Pete observed the marked absence of
broken rock and powders. They were
passing through the last bit of
broken country, it seemed Out
through scrub cedars ahead Pete
could see wide white eXpanse of
snow that stretched away in smooth
and unbroken sheet like the waters
of placid lake. He glanced back
and up at where the sun should be
and gave sigh of relief at what
seemed like a break in the clouds.
Perhaps the storm would end in
snowfall alone, and then pass on.
He hesitated moment and was i'm
pressed with the mildness of the
temperature. Even the wind had
died down. AS they passed through
the last of the cedars Eliot stopped
him. There, from behind a clump of
trees, came a procession Of lean
gaunt wolves, looking neither to the
right nor left, and apparanetly un-
concerned at the presence of men,
for they passed within twelve feet
of where Pete and Eliot stood; six
of them, all hungry-lookingf beasts
as they trailed past with ears fiat
tened against their heads and tongues
hanging red and hot from half-open
mouths that exposed cleaning white
teeth.
Pete stood stock still as though be-
Wildered by the strange procession;
then Eliot turned to him.
"Eet ees the warning again. When
the wolf she walk like that-had
storm come to mountain eet ees bet
ter we queet."
Pete glanced hurriedly about the
scattered cedars. Nothing even ap-
preaching a camp site fit for securing
prisoner throughout storm, could
be seem He looked out across the
white eXpanse ahead and beyond to
the jagged outlines of the rugged
mountain that bordered the far side
of the omen expanse. He looked long
and carefully before he answered
Eliot. That mountain side, not five
hours away it seemed, could answer
the question that had never left him
for months. 1t would at least tell
him If he might again see Brud Haw-
kins and Tam alive.
No. he fairly shouted, 1--WE go on
and ont is only your supersti-
tions" Then he added as though to
apologize for his harshness. See, the
wind is down and the air seems
warm. Keep going, Eliot, straight
his words, he pointed with his gun to
the distant outlines ahead.
No mercenary ever faced the enemy
with greater reluctance than Eliot,
who. leaving the scant protection of
the cedars, plunged at Pete's fanati-
cal command out into the snow field
ahead.
The icy crust upon which they
walked scarcely held their weight.
as time after time they fioundered
before they could gain the frozen
surface. Here, too. in the wide open,
Pete soon learned that the wind, far
from having died down, had only
changed it's course. Before, 1t had
come in irregular gusts, only occa-
sionally becoming strong enough to
stir up the snow while now il came
with steady full force, uninterrupted
by trees or powders.
Within half an hour after leaving
the shelter, the mercury seemed to
drop like magic, and a new kind of
cold, one that permeated his very
lungs and fairly dried them up, came
down with the wind
Pet Pete followed the example of
cap well down over his face. He
was used to the rigors of win
ter, but not to this. With the wind
came snow. Not from the clouds
above, 1t was too cold for that, only
hard crystals from the broad ex-
panse about him, whirled with the
wind. Little by little the air filled
with it, and Pete found it necessary
to keep closer and closer to the back
of the breed, lest he lose him in the
dense furry. Eliot did his work we'll
and with head bent over, face almost
to the snow at his feet, he kept dog
gedly at IT. Pete knew by the con-
tinued stinging of wind on his right
although it was impossible, even be-
tween blasts of wind, to see more
than a dozen feet ahead
Gritting his teeth with determine
the breed, straining under the double
task of keeping directly behind him
and balancing himself from being
swept over from the force of the wind
against his double burden of packs
For hours, it seemed, they fought
thus until at length a sickening feel
ing in his heart and lungs warned
Pete OF the terrible strain he was
under. Phlegm, hot and stringy, came
from his throat and seemed to choke
MIN as desperately he tried to keep
up with Eliot But the mad struggle
weakened the breed quickly and even
as Pete struggled to keep up, he saw
Eliot, ike a fantastic white curve,
wayer IN mis- tracks and fall to the
snow. A moment there, and he once
more struggled to his feet, and stag
gered on.
Their faces no longer registered the
direction of the wind, and only the
law of nature that causes man in
his extremity to follow the course
OF least resistance, guided them now
Even In his humping brain Pete
knew that this meant wandering far
from their true course, for wind at
their backs would send them straight
along the frozen plain, and not across
II. Yet resistance was useless; even
ms iron determfnation could not force
his body against such terrible odds.
/. .uS AaSI "Sahenlns, ana time
after time he literally swooned
against the body of Pete. who came
directly back Of him. Slowly Pete
realized that further progress with
the two packs on his back would be
impossible. The thought of releasing
them seemed strangely pleasant and
he loosed them to the mercy of the
ravaging wind and snow. The relief
thus afforded strengthened him TO a
renewed effort, and for fully an hour
he kept on, huddled close to Eliot
At the end of an hour, however, his
heart. already swollen with much
violent bounding, until it seemed to
he the nnly hnrdan his maar,r Ioxs