Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-02-05
CHAPTER VII


that fight up through the darkness,
and the knowledge that he must re-
tain intact the thread of consciousness
if he was to save the girl from the
alternative between death in the for
est and recapture.
At earliest dawn he must retrieve
the pack, in case Railways men
should decide to beat about the shore
and so, perhaps, might find it. Be-
yond that point he would not let his
anticipations carry him.
1t was some time before the dawn
when Lee heard the girl cry out sud-
denly, moan of pain and of surprise
as the body, heavy with its coma,
struggled to convey the sense of dis
tress to the dazed mind.
That cry drove the phantoms Of deli
rum from Lees mind, pulling him
back to consciousness, and in an in
slant Lee was at the girls side. per-
fectly master Of himself, and, as she
stirred and murmured, he raised her
put his arms about her, and took her
head upon his shoulder, as tenderly as
if she were some boy comrade,
wounded upon patrol.
But as he listened to her broken ut.
terances Lee realized that it was more
than physical pain chat was torment
ing her.
Il cannot go on. it was too heavy
a price. must go back. If you won't
kill him, save me and take me away.
1t is not that / didn't trust you, only
you didn't understand
mo, I'm not sure that / trust him.
He looks honest. but who knows that
he is? He isn't prospector, he hasn't
pick or a pan. What should he be
doing in the range? Yes, I'll go
through with it. I'll go with you
when he's asleep, only don't harm him.
You must promise me not to harm
him.
Yes, he means well and wants to
help me. He doesn't know who you
are. You must swear that no harm
shall come to him
She was living over again the events
of the past. Her utterances became
more broken, she moaned--suddenly
she lay quiet, relapslng into the sleep
Of profound exhaustion
| And Lee staggered to his teet and
| lay down once more.
But this time it was neither to sleep
nor to fall back into the neither depths
of delirium. He saw that a titanic
conflict had been going on within the
i'll 10
she had been going up to Railway.
| Something in the conversation be-
tween Railway and Estelle-V hat
had it been?
He pondered over it all in dis
connected way as be lay there, still
aware that another part Of him was
living over those days Of long ago.
Then at last the fist light Of dawn
| came creeping through the trees, and
slowly this pain-racked, thirst-tor-
mented being settled down into him
self again
AS soon as it was half-light he was
on his feet. After looking at the girl,
and convincing himself that she was
not likely to awake Cor several hours,
he set off, aching in every limb, toward
the shore of the lake. in order to re-
trieve the pack.
| In less than half an hour he
emerged out Of the forest, and, after
careful survey Of the lake had con-
vinced him that neither the Free
Traders nor their boats were In evil
dence he struggled down to the river,
and bathed in the ice-cold waters, lap
ping them up and feeling new life flow
into his veins.
He adjusted and tightened the band
ages. The broken rib was snugly held,
and Lee felt that he had gone through
the worst of 1t.
He found the pack. IT contained a
blanket and waterproof sheet, tea,
sugar, bacon, -four, cream Of tartar,
salt, corn meal, some dried apricots,
matches, and nails; there were pot,
pannikin, plate, knife, fork, and
spoon, an axe and a small saw.
His wound made it impossible to
carry this on his bGck, but with the
axe in one hand Lee sliced off num-
Der of pine. branches, out Of which he
constructed a rough framework on
which to haul the pack. An hours
work and an hours struggle through
the woods brought him back to the
girl.
She was sleeping naturally, and
there was a faint tinge of color in her
cheeks. After a short rest Lee set
about the task of making camp. He
gathered brushwood and built a fire,
he put on to boil the pot which he had
brought back full of water. And, hav-
ing on the return journey discovered a
small, clear stream near By, he decided
that that would be safe camping
place until they colld proceed, and
accordingly bent down some saplings
and proceeded to thatch them with
branches. to make a shelter for them.
He had just begun when he heard
low call behind him. The girl was