Evening star., 1925-11-15
Alaskan
to Athens Partisan Rome

going to be able to pick him out II
Phelps lands in Copper Entra nee and
finds they're after him he'll simply
take one of the returning teams and
drop over the border"
Svensrud went to the window. I'm
not sending men out at this sea son Of
the year" he said dogsedly. 1T will
start thawins at any time. II Nome
thought ! was the kind of sheriff
that'd deputize men wholesale to go
chasing off and get buried under ava.
lanches. or step into spring holes. and
die alone on the trail of frozen feet
1t guessed wrong, that's all. I don't
hate any man bad enough for that"
I'm not asking you to send men
I'm asking you to send me-"
You"
Then I'll go without being sent, and
settle my score outside the law"
He started at her. Then suddenly
his jaw sagged. "All right he said
SVensrud was beaten.
He swore Ann in as deputy that
morning and gave her warra mt .
When the team was hitched he said
goodbye and stood back. listening as
she called to her leader and swung
her whip. He saw the sledge Jerk
from the rut into which 1t had settled,
er beside it-saw her fade into the
fog.
A T the road-house which Anna
I : reached that night, the p"oprie-
tor S wife was voluble concerning a
pair WHO had gone on twenty-four
hours before
ME and him" sha iorE cd on oIn
quent thumb towards the partner Of
her hadn't figured on no
rush to the new strike starting before
the river opened" She took a pitcher
from many wrappings behind the
stove and poured white. sour batter
In spots upon a griddle. Guess YOU re
headed there. though. eh? Yesterday
two more went by. I'll bet il there's
money at Copper Entrance or any
where else, that woman Is headed for
1t. You can tell women like that by
one look. The man was quiet, though
OF course you amt said you was going
to Copper Entrance"
'1'll make an early start tomorrow, :"
said Anna, disregarding the invitation
to confide. 'I'll get my own break
fast IL you'll leave things ready"
Light snow fell in the night. and
the wind sweeping over II oblitera ted
any tracks which might have been left
on the trail. Travelling by map and
compass over the old mail route Anna
reached Jensen's store at the junction
of the Yukon and the koyokuk. Ole
was away on his round of traps, but
the door was unlocked and spruce was
piled behind his stove. Anna ate
opening tins of Jensen's salmon for
her dogs; slept. rolled in the wolverine
rug on the floor: and departed three
hours after midnight, leaving money,
to cover damage done, in the TILL
Another gold piece was already there.
Aside from that there were no signs
of previous visitors.
Out from the flats of Nome and
through the light timber back of the
sea coast. travelling had been swift and
easy. Now the forest thickened. and
the barrier of the river threatened
her. To cross the river she unloaded
the sled and drove 1t empty over the
wilderness of jammed and tumbled
ice. Then, returning, she recrossed
again with her goods upon her back
ReloadinG again. she faced the noun
tains. The untracked trail lifted it
self in angles, shattered itself into
abySses.
As the days passed and the wind left
It's work undone, she saw the cut of
sledge runners, the mingled prints
of dogs. the outline of boot-soles. Fear
that Phelps had eluded her on the
road gave way to fear that she should
overtake him before she reached the
assistance necessary to enforce her
will and the laws upon him. 1t be
came necessary to hold her dogs back
Her nerves began to shrek. Food
nauseated her. Her hand shook so
that she upset the melted snow for
tea upon the fire she had built. and
after that she took to nibbling the
dry leaves of the herb, and to eating
the frozen moisture around her as
did the dogs. BY map and chronom-
eter she computed the time she had
yet to spend upon the road. The
journey was almost done. Sitting
upon her sledge in the darkness she
pulled at the neck band of her parka
to ease the pressure outward that
throbbed in her throat. A wind was
rising, but her mind, intent upon her
pain. failed to notice 1t. Then a spruce
swayed-and she saw a light ahead.
1t was camp fire, not more than two
miles distant. She had all but come
upon her quarry.
A chinook wind was blowing. The
thawer, the looser of avalanches. the
breaker of ice and destroyer of trails
Ie1u CoiilC. by udWH, lTdNtlcTS WOuR
sink to their knees in slush, dogs
would strain against immovable
weights. Reused by presence of dis
aster, Anna gathered twigs for a flare
and studied the map. The trail she
followed had fallen into a narrow
canyon for the final step to Copper
Entrance in the mountains. On the
margin of the paper Svensrud had
drawn an elongated arrow, and at the
head of the arrow he had written,
Dangerous. Snow Slides. Keep
Away"
SMUDG1NG the black letters that
she might not read them, Anna
called the dogs. Taking the last few
fish from the end of the sledge, she
threw them out. The team leaped and
ate and stood. She got the harness
on and started.
Either the pain of Annals body was
gone, or 1t had mounted beyond the
register of her nerves. like heat which
a thermometer can no longer record.
Her mind began to perform tricks.
Wandell seemed to walk with her
cheeks was brighter than the red of
the scarf she wore. There was vast,
sharp moaning in the air.
Loosing one hand from it's mitten.
she thrust it into her pocket for tea
leaves, and ate them greedily out of
her palm. The acrid taste was good.
Brushing the herb dust from her hand.
she looked at the long, strong fingers.
Some one had iii that xyopoa =, wit n