The Elk Mountain pilot., 1924-01-17


the attic. STOPPING, the young man
made his way to the bed-tick near tn,
little window. He did not sniff with
scorn at his humble surroundings. He
had Travelled long and far and he had
slept in worse places than this. He
was drawing off his boots when Strik
er again stuck his head and shoul
ders through the opening and laid
his roll of blankets on the floor
The trapdoor was slowly lowered
into place as the shaggy head and
broad shoulders of the settler dis
appeared. The young man heard the
scraping of the ladder as it was be
ing removed to place against the
wall
He pried open the tight little win
dow. letting draft of fresh air rush
into the sitting attic. Then he sar
on the edge of the tick for few
minutes. Illuminating. his gaze fixed
thoughtfully on the sputtering. imper
lied candle. He said his prayers
he never forgot to say the prayer
his mother had taught him-blew out
the candle, pulled the blankets up to
his chin. and was soon fast asleep.
He did not know what time 1t was
when he was aroused by the barking
Of Strikers dogs, loud. furious bark
ing and ugly growls. signifying the
presence in the immediate neighbor.
hood Of the house of some intruder
man or beast. Shaking off the sleep
that held him, he crept to the window
and looked out. The moon was gone
and the stars had almost faded from
the inky black dome.
Suddenly his gaze fell upon light
moving among the trees some distance
from the cabin. AS he watched he
below. Then the cabin door creaked
on its rusty hinges and almost i'm
mediately tumble of subdued hoarse
voices came up to him. He felt for
his pistols and rea{ized with some
thing Of a shock that he had left them
In the kitchen with Zachariah.
The dogs. admonished by sharp
word or two, ceased their barking
This reassured him. for they would
obey no one except Phineas Striker
| Whoever was at the cabin door. there
was no longer any question in his
mind as 10 the peaceful nature of the
visit. He crept over to the trapdoor
and cautiously attempted to lift 1t an
inch or so. the better to hear what
was going on, but try as he would
he could not bulge the covering The
murmur of voices went on for a few
minutes longer, and then he heard the
soft. light pad of feet on the floor be
low; sibilant. penetrating whispers !,
a suppressed feminine ejaculation fol
lowed by the low laugh of a man. a
laugh that might well have been de
scribed as a chuckle.
For long time he lay there listen
ing TO the confused sound of whis
pers, the stealthy shufiiing of feet.
the quiet opening and closing of a
door, and then there was silence.
| Several minutes passed. He stole
back to the window. The light in the
forest had vanished Just as he was
on the point of crawling into bed
again. another sound struck his ear:
the unmistakable rattle of wagon
wheels on their axles, the straining
Of harness. the rasp of tug chains
quite near at hand. Presently the
front door of the cabin squealed on
Its hinges, the latch snapped and the
bolt fell carefully into place.
he could not go to sleep again. His
brain was awake and active, filed
with unanswered questions. beset by
endless speculation. The first faint
sign of dawn, creeping through the
window. found him watching eagerly.
impatiently for its appearance.
The square little aperture was
clearly defined against the graying
sky before he distinguished signs of
activity In the room below. Striker
was up and moving about.
Kenneth. despite his longing for
this very hour to come, now per
versely wished to sleep. belated
but beatitic drowsiness seized him.
He was only half-conscious Of the
noise that attended the lifting Of the
trapdoor.
"Wake upl Time to git up" dis
tant voice was calling, and he sudden
ly opened his eyes very wide and
found himself staring at a shaggy,
unkempt head sticking up out of the
floor. g.
THAT you, Striker?" he mumbled
"Yep-it's me. Time to git up. Five
o'clock. Sleep wellT
"Passably. was awakened some
lime in the night by your visitors"
Striker was silent for a moment
Thought maybe you'd be disturbed
spite of all we could do to be as quiet
as possible. People from a farm
'tother side Of the plains"
The head disappeared. and In q very
few minutes Gwynne, carrying his
coat and waistcoat, descended the
ladder into the presence Of a roar
ing fire. Eliza was preparing break
fast. In the gray half-light he made
out Striker and Zachariah moving