Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1925-09-09

This, however, was but tempo
rary cheek. Mashkaugan carefully
followed the edges of the great flat
rock. In another moment he had
found the tracks again and called
Ameou, who had sunk YEARLY on the
ground while he searched
But she rose again eagerly, for
the inaction only was killing. AS
long as she could move there was no
fatigue, no distress of the body, only
the huge longing to go forward.
See again how drunken this man
must have BEEN" said Mashkaugan.
"Here we come to blazed trail near
this short Of the lake. An old marten
set lies there. See the stump where
are piled the coughs of deep SNOW
from the trap. Inc path is as Gear
as day, and yet thIs man walks Just
one step to the side of it, tearing
through alQers because he is TOO
arunk 70 hnoW a clear trail. Drunken
ne surely must have been-or crazed
a. are men who become lost in the
woods
They noted other deta of the
staggering walk as they went on, but
su14~nly AIashKaugan stopped am,
pe~red ahead, like hu. ter who sees
I-sant game and steps to consider
ne 1eSt way to approach, studying
direction of the wind and the na
,r Of the ground for possible con
.>-.r.-e:.t from his prey.
"Wait thou here for a moment"
he told Ameou, who sank again to
the ground exhausted.
The hunchbo ok hurried on. He
knew that he was near the fishing
camp of Indians who used it for
taking whitfsh, but what he saw he
could not explain.
1t was an uncanny form Of man
sitting on a log. His head sank
upon his chest. He seemed to be in
hopeless misery, like some very aged
and feeble individual, abandoned to
die, as tradition has it that in pc
RODS of famine Indians were forced
to do with the old and useless they
could no longer feed.
Closer and closer the hunch5ack
approached the bent figure. He
stepped with wonderful timidity, as
If he were in the presence of some
strange, unhallowed being.
Then Mashkaugan saw a tent; but
no one was near it and it seemed
abandoned.
Nervously he put out his hand and
touched the man, who seemed to be a
being of mystery that woke all the
hunchback's superstitious fears.
Slowly the form moved, the head
turned toward him-and Mashkau-
gan beheld a face that was wild
caricature of the one he had last
seen uptuned in the flood of the
great White Rapids.
With a gasping shrek Mashkau-
gan turned and fled, crashing
through shrubs and underbrush like
a defeated moose fleeing from ri
val's antlers.
He reached Ameou, who had
arisen when she heard his cry, and
seized her by the arm.
Gomez he beloved hoarsely.
"This is a place where curses fall on
r1en-where maledictions overtake
themw
He was wild with terror. His
panic affected Ameou's already over
wrought nerves, and both fled in
CONSERVATION toward the canoe.
When they reached it they threw
themselves in it and showed off as if
the evil spirits of the whole world
had been pursuing them.
With chattering teeth the hunch-
back piled his paddle desperately
Ameou also bent every effort to III
him. She was the first to recover,
not understanding the reason OF all
this fear.
been. there" she sobbed. "Let us re-
turn and | will go alone, if thou art
afraid. What are spirits and devils
to me? l would fight with them for
my baby"
waiting to take the living by the
throat and strangle themp' cried the
man. "There is nothing but death
and the ghosts of the dead and de-
serted tent whence people have sure
" fled or been slain! If thy child
was there he IS also deadw
Needless of her protests, he con-
tinued to paddle the veins standing
like swollen cords upon his sweating
brow the madness of deadly fear
CLEAN Il n his eyes.
II was hen that Ameou, whose
long usrturN had been too great for
her over had been tried be-
vond er Fnura ce-slowly sank in the
bottom of the canoe, unconscious,
While the boat went on, impelled by
those furious strokes chat were tax
inc her farther and farther from the
two beings or earth for which her
poor soul hungered.
At TIL confluence of the two rivers
they met Curran, who was padding
alone. and looked in wonderment at
the crazeG half-breed, who kept on
without .2c,,ing to notice him.
Lying at the bottom of the canoe
was Ameou. 9urran grinned:
They had found the child, and
he would bring it back in triumph.