The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1924-12-25

He passed a number of men on their
way south, morose and sullen. but
ready enough to pour out their
grievance that a summers prospect
ing had failed to show ever a trace
Of color anywhere.
Lee had listened to their stories and
then gone on, leaving the impression
that he was a prospector on a be-
lated journey to the range.
And now at last the range lay in
front of him, uplifting its wild peaks
into the glory of the autumn sunset.
Lee felt his heart uplifted too. This
was life at its most zestful-the world
spaces, and the hunting of the king of
all created beings-Man.
So, leading his horse, Lee passed
down the long slope toward the set
Element of Little Falls. Soon he was
abreast of the first shacks, set in the
c%learings among the stumps. Then
came rows of uniformly ugly wooden
cottages, a small mission church with
a tin roof, a bank. and a small hotel
announcing itself by a dilapidated
shingIe.
Lee fastened his horse to the hitch
ing post in front and entered. On
the right of the interior passage was
the dining-room, on the left the parlor,
with the furniture piled up in cor
ners and the floor strewn with dufle.
bags and blankets.
A passage ran past a flight of
rickety stairs, and from a room at the
end of this came the clamor of voices.
Here Lee found the bar, packed
tight, and running wide open. Be
hind the mahogany stood a fat and
cynical-looking landlord.
How about a room and stabling
for the night?" asked Lee.
The landlord slid a schooner OF beer
from one end Of the bar to the middle,
and turned to Lee, his fat body
quivering, apparently with mirth,
though his face did not relax any
thing of its solemn, cynical aspect.
"Stabling? You said it. Room?
You en- have six foot by four of the
parlor floor, stranger" he answered.
"Pretty full. eh?"
"Fuller n HIS full of fre-Iogs."
Logging crews signing up?"
"Loggin', nothin'. Towns full of
these here fool guys that's been pros
pectin' Stony range all summer. Got
cold feet all to onct and all quit to
Feeling pretty sore over it,
guess. va amt aiming to start fer the.
,o " no rou~off 4hs- A;p,o oe 80 Oh I
~ guess there'H be time to wash a
pans of dirt" nswered Lee. ,
Then maybe I'll board my horse here
trap a bit this winter" :
He led his horse into the stable, !
ii some corn and racked out a
,ale of hay. and carried his blankets ]
,ack to the hotel parlor. where he
taxed out a sleeping claim upon the
DOR.
a small negro boy, carrying a large
ell. came out Of the kitchen ana be-
an to ring it. swaying to and fro with
cheerful grin, as if he were tied to
ne clapper.
AT the sound of the cracked tones
re men began to straggle out of the
ar into the dining-room. where they
,ok their seats on long benches
Their side of "A long table covered
18th a stained. tattered oilcloth, on
hich were placed cheap knives,
,rks, spoons and plates.
Next appeared a thick-set young
luaw who began to hand out por- r
ons of a greasy dinner, consisting of
lspicious meat, beans, and potatoes
lat had apparently been frozen to
cath in bed.
Lee, who had taken a seat oppo- =,
tie the door, surveyed the other -
tests with that quiet w%atchfulness
hich was a part of his nature as -,
ell as Of his training. For the most ~
lrt he summed them up as being of .,
e average p%rospector type.
Among them, however, appeared to go
a few of those hard-bitten charac- on
RS who are to be found in every gold mi
Most of them had been drink all
g hard, and all seemed embittered uC
their experiences of the summer.
ley were freely cursing their H. IL,
elk. an
attention was first drawn to D.,
e two men who were seated p .
him by the fact that they took on,
part In this chorus of denunciation. tbf
glance showed him that they were 70,
{ prospectors, and that the under on,
lnding between them was an init ~,
tie one. -,
One was a short, thick-set, muscular A.
1-haired man, with one of the hard =
and most repulslve faces that Lee 100
d ever seen. The other, apparently -
partner, was a huge half-breed Z
th a great muscular torso covered hoc
h black hair, and long g~orilla-like GIRL
MS. p
Eff | had that guy here what started sar,
It yarn about the gold In Stony ~
lge-" began a man on Lees an,
bit. 49,
All, for the love OF Mike, cut out -.