Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1925-05-29

he wouldn't stop at all till many, many
miles lay between him aud the hand
full of ashes that he would leave be
hind.
Charde was less than a hundred
yards from MacFarlane's cabin when
his plan matured. And then, as though
MacFarlane had heard his muttered
thoughts, a rifle bullet roared out from
the cabin window and screamed above
his head
Instinctively Charde ducked. He
stopped crawling and his right hand
fumbled at his belt. He cursed. The
rifle roared again.
Charde dug down into the snow, his
sharpened wits laborlng resentfully.
What was MacFarlane's idea? He had
never done anything to MacFarlane,
And If he wanted to shoot at him, why
didn't he come out into the open.
A moment later, Charde raised his
hand and poured five shots into the
cabin, aiming for the window, but the
whining lead still picked at him.
Allan MacFarlane was stark, staring
mad. His wife was dead, and to his
insane mind that crawling man out
there was thieving mob trying to rob
him Of his own, and his aim was as
wild as his wits.
An hour passed. Charde reloaded
HIS revolver and crawled out of the
hole in the snow. OF the thirty-two
screaming bullets not one had struck
within yard of him. Besides, 1t was
quicker to die by lead than by frost.
He crossed that hundred yards.
MacFarlane jerked open the door,
threw down the muzzle Of his rifle and
pulled the trigger He missed. Charde's
answer ended the shooting, and he
crawled into the cabin.
When the edge Of daylight deserted
the stars, Oharde pulled MacFarlane's
body away from the door and dragged
out the toboggan. 1t was ten miles to
Kelly's. Every time Charde's right
hand and left knee plunged down into
the snow, he lurched ahead twenty-one
inches. Every time his left hand and
right knee plunged down into the
snow, he lurched ahead twenty inches.
His right leg shrleked at him and he
lost an inch.
Dead feet trailing just ahead of the
toboggan, knees sinking deep with the
weight of his tremendous bulk. nit
tened paw over mlttened paw, Charde
logged through the glstenlng frost
dust. Hour after hour, that thing Of
brutal Drawn, that soulless mass Of
male animal, fought those ten white
murderous miles to Kelly's. And he
made 1t.
The first mile was easy. Fortified
in his alcohOled heart with the last
half-cupful Of MacFarlane's whisky,
Charde's pumping paws and plunging
knees never once hesltated. Unmlnd-
full Of the gruelling ache In his huge
calves, he plowed ahead. But with
the second half of the second mile
came the inevitable reaction. Burned
out, and consuming the keen edge Of
his energy in the burning, the dead al
cohol clogged his veins. He stopped
for a rest. Then as he went on, lap
ping over into the third mile, the I'M
naturalness Of the wasted years be-
hind him began to ride his muscles
An hour later, when the twilight faded
out, he was travelling on sheer nerve
At the end of the fifth mile, one thing
and one thing only, kept him going
Behind him on the tOboggan rode the
Prod.
Knees plunglng with automatic mo-
notony, paw over paw doggedly--feet
rods, miles, with grim persistency
he forged ahead His fingers were be-
numbed. The pain in his calves had
gnawed up to his knees and died. And
as the last tenth of that awful trail
dragged itself beneath him, his
punped-out heart began to miss its
beats, but he didn't rest. He dared
not stop. A few hundred yards more
and
The Prod won.
The door of Kelly's swung slowly in
ward and Charde, the bull, crawled
across the threshold, dragging the to
boggan on the snowless step. For q
moment, while the astonlshed crowd
gaped, the bull tugged In the traces.
Then he collapsed.
The crowd bestirred Itself Eager
hands dragged the toboggan inside and
lifted the bull to table near the
stove. Raw brandy was poured lib
orally into the gaping mouth; NIT.
tens, parka, footgear, were stripped
off. Then the bull opened his eyes
and tried to sit up.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. he gasped
"And-and SOS his-hls woman. And
there" he tried to turn his head to
ward the toboggan.
And then-then the end came.
Awed, the crowd looked at one an.
other then back to the tobOggan
Horny hands unstrapped the pile OF
bedded blankets; bundle Of rags was
laid on a chair. And then, as If In
answer to their wondering faces, came
l