White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1924-08-15
CONTINUED from Last Week.

oerou low 0uut uau Slept WIFI only
one blanket over him and no fire. Cold
and sharp! And then suddenly the
sun came up over the ridge. Its
brightness rushed over the grass, and
Immediately the cold fled, speedily al
most as the flying night-shadow OF
the great hills above. By the time
he led back the horse the flies were
already out In that new days sun
glow, humming past: drone of bee
went by; a grasshopper clicked be-
fore him.
Wonderful, wonderful morning.
said Walter as he returned. TITS like
the first Chapter of Genesis up here.
It's only men that make mess of 1t.
Gods country! And by the force OF
circumstances we've got to go and
turn it into melodrama! Wouldn'!
that jar you? Wouldn't that get
your goat?"
John Fiske merely tried to look
sympathetic, wagged his head up AMI
down. An unusual man, he thought,
this Walter Dewar, this 'Wolfer from
the Plains" A queer fellow! An un-
usual man indeed!
Blunt was queer that morning, but
in a different way. When all was
ready for departure he suddenly
kicked his heels against his horse and
rode off on the continuation of the
trail up creek, the very picture Of
aloof misery, tactiturnity. Walt and
John drove the new pack-string that
Bunt had brought here before them
and, on their new mounts, followed.
John rode last.
Again they twined on a narrow
trail through the deep timber. Here
and there trees had fallen across it
low, to be stepped daintily over by
the sure-footed horses, or high, when
the riders sagged in their saddles and
stopped, passing under.
The pack-horses, seeing that the
two riders did not follow close, had
halted to eat saskatoons at patch
Of them, putting their heads to the
bottoms of the stems, throwing them
up in air with quick motion, and SO
clearing the berries off branch by
branch. AS the riders made up on
them they tossed their heads quick
ly, each tore a branch away, and
logged on.
Jack laughed at their comical ap-
pearance. There went the whole
string, each horse winding into its
mouth branch, with twig, leaf and
berry together. And as they rode
Walter and John picked berries from
the saddle and ate too. Blunt rode
on miserably, far ahead, and out Of
sight and sound. About noon they
came out of the timber into "
shaped wedge of bush and grass
where tributary creek Of MacIntyre
Creek came down from wall Of
mountain to right.
I'VE can eat lunch here" said Wal
ter. "a good place" And then:
whats this? he asked.
The "this" was stake driven into
the earth with a slit at it's top end
made by a cut Of knife, and in that
slit was a piece of paper. He took
the paper out, and read words
scrawled on it in pencil.
"Going right on. Don't want to eat
LUNCH" he read. well, that's being
sociable by correspondence anyhow.
He's not feeling too bad with hui
mainly, however bad with himself.
But I guess We want to eat"
II guess we do" said John.
The riding and the mountain air
had given them both an appetite. BY
that precipitous little creek-side with
its border of grass they camped, and
spent a leisurely hour and more. They
were just riding after the pack-horses,
started again, into the next long slope
of woods, when a hail brought their
heads round together. abruptly.
Behind them, coming out Of the
woods that they had ridden through,
they saw two riders, one bulking
large on the saddle, one short They
were riding hard but, as Walt and
Jack came to a halt, having heard
the shout, they slowed down, drop
ping from quick lope to slow lope.
from lope to walk. Dewar loosened
the flap of the holster Of his six
gun that hung at the saddle-horn, and
then gave grunt Of disgust.
what is 1T" asked Jack.
1--WE should have kept that rifle OF
yours on your saddle, instead of pack
ing 1t again on a pack-horse. Too
late now. The pack-horses are strung
right on into the next chunk OF
woods"
AS the riders who pursued them
drew nearer they knew shooting irons
would not be required; for the man
in the lead of these two riders was
a big man, bearded, wearing soft
SLOUGH hat. Another few feet Of ad.
vance and they saw that for certain
1t was Tom James. He refined In
and his horses TANKS went up and
down like bellows. Behind came t..
a halt also the other rider, the horse
heaving in short regular movements
) of quick breath-and both stared
astonished. For the rider Of tina
; horse was none other than Mis-!
James, boyish-looking In ridini
breaches. A heavy coat Of the kin,
called Mackinaw, as we'll as grey
blue blanket too, was punched at tn,