Evening star., 1924-08-23

longer growing, he continued to
| nudge and snuggle.
| Two men looked at each other.
Scotts eyes were shining.
Gosh" said Matt in an awe-strick-
| en- voice
A moment later. when he had re
covered himself, he said, L always
! insisted that wolf was Il dog. Look
at m"
With the return of the love-master,
| White Fang's recovery was rapid.
| Two nights and a day he spent in
| the cabin. Then he sailed forth.
| The sled-dogs had forgotten his
| proweSS. They remembered only the
! latest, which was his weakness and
| sickness. At the sight of him as he
| came out of the cabin, they sprang
upon him.
Talk about your rough houses"
Matt murmured gleefully, standing
in the doorway and looking on.
Give m hell, you wolf. Give m
| hell.-and then some"'
! White Fang did not need the en-
couragement. The return of the
| love-master was enough. Life was
flowing through him again. splendid
| and indomitable. He fought from
sheer joy, finding in it an express
sion of much that he felt and that
| otherwise was without speech. There
| could be but one ending. The team
| dispersed in ignominious defeat, and
J 1t was not until after dark that the
| dogs came sneaking back. one by one,
by meekness and humility signifying
| their fealty to White Fang.
| Having learned to snugg1e, White
Fang was guilty of it often. 1t was
the final word. He could not go be-
yond it. The one thing of which he
had always been particularly jealous
was his head. He had always dis
| liked to have it touched. 1t was the
Wild in him, the fear of hurt and of
| the trap, that had given rise to the
! panicky impulses to avoid contacts.
| 1t was the mandate of his instinct
that that head must be free. And,
now. with the love-master, his snug
| CLING was the deliberate act of put
ting himself into position of hope
| less helplessness. 1t was an express
sion of perfect confidence, of abso-
lutte self-surrender. as though he
said: Il put myself into thy hands.
Work thou thy will with me-"
One night, not long after the re-
turn, Scott and Matt sat at a game
of cribbage preliminary to going to
| bed. "Fifteen-two, fifteen-four an
a pair makes SIX" Matt was pegging
| up, when there was an outcry and
sound of snarling without. They
| looked at each other as they started
to rise to their feet.
The VOLTS nailed somebody" Matt
said.
| A wild scream of fear and anguish
| hastened them.
Bring light" Scott shouted, as
| he Sprang outside.
| Matt followed with the lamp. and
by it's light they saw a man lying on
| his back in the snow. His arms were
| folded, one above the other, across
his face and throat. Thus he was
trying to SHE'D himself from White
Fang's teeth. And there was need
for it. White Fang was in a rage
wickedly making his attack on the
| most vulnerable spot. From shoulder
| to wrist of the crossed arms, the
coat-sleeve, blue flannel shirt and
undershirt were ripped in rags, while
the arms themselves were terribly
| slashed and streaming blood.
All this the two men saw in the
first instant. The next instant Weed
on Scott had White Fang by the
throat and was dragging him clear.
White Fang struggled and snarled,
but made no attempt to bite, while
he quickly quieted down at a sharp
| word from the master.
| Matt helped the man to his feet.
AS he arose he lowered his crossed
arms, exposing the bestial face of
Beauty Smith. The dog -musher let
go of him precipitately, with action
similar to that of a man who picked
up live fire. Beauty Smith blinked
in the lamplight and looked about
him. He caught sight of White Fang
| and terror rushed into his face.
| At the same moment Matt noticed
two objects lying in the snow. He
held the lamp close to them, indi-
eating them with his toe for his en-
ployers benefit-a steel dog chain
| and a stout club.
| Weldon Scott saw and nodded.
Not a word was spoken. The dog
musher laid his hand on Beauty
| Smiths shoulder and faced him to
| the right-about. No word needed to
i hxa - Ia -4nx ri, Il