Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-03

| ashamed not to have human company
around you at all. Livin' up there
with that whelp! That's no way for
| a gentleman to live, Thomas Wallerp'
| Thomas Waller hitched his stained
overalls and moved toward the door.
He amt no hound, Mis- Purdom," he
said, instructively. Hes a Airedale.
An We know I tooken an traded 10
valuable panther hides fer him.
| 'More's the pityv she muttered,
| shutting her letters.
| X !:
OUTSIDE, Wally walked with giant
strides among the bantering fern
| jumpers and up the trail through the
salmon berries. At the store a fern
| jumper observed: That's a smart dog
Wally's got"
| Dagget squinted doubtfully. Smart
as Wally, anyway" he replied. 1.-THE
only difference between 'em, in fact,
is that the dog can't vote"
A laugh went up. But Wally, on
| the trail. did not hear it. He thought
| almost wistfully of the Widow Pur-
dom. She really must have meant
that she would marry him. In his
face he felt the hot blood burning.
| But he couldn't support her. and he
| wouldn't live out of her store, with
the tobacco chewing fern jumpers
| perched out front every day. Rivers
| and forests We're better friends. He
could afford them.
For a mile Wally's trail climbed
| among cascaras and vine-maples and
alders. Then it pitched upward
among rocks. Wally came out on
| verge high above the river.
From far ahead Major returned at a
| lope and sat, painting and looking
down. Wally watched the river.
Here he always paused to watch 1t.
Below him, through two walls OF dark
| forest, It fretted over black and white
rocks. 1t was a nervous river. In
spots 1t ran smoothly for 20 feet over
white rock, the water like bottle-green
glass, to sweep and lash upon a pro-
truding black boulder. Stealthily 1t
swept into dark corners to rip and
| fling itself against rocks. Patches OF
| iather, evidences Of fury. tossed on It..
Wally regarded it. It was part OF
| his domain. Up that wild path be-
| tween the walls of the forest the sal
! mon came, those that had swum out
of it four years before and ranged the
free seas in swift-gleaming freedom.
To it they returned, great and gleam-
| ing and up it's rapids they fought, TO
| spawn, which was GROWING glory,
and high on it's upper reaches to die,
which was the wages of their freedom.
| All this to old Wally was big, like the
phenomenon of the stars, of a forest
wind, or of a budding woman.
Major left the man, trotttng back
down the trail. He returned with
news. This he impaired by purring
his paws on the mans breast and
| holding his eyes for moment. Then
| he dropped, turned and looked back
down the trail, ears pointed.
But Wally went on. He climbed for
a quarter of a mile. Close by, all the
| way, was a heavy roar. where the
| Lamontai plunged over the mountain
and raved down precipitate series OF
rapids and chutes, among massive
| boulders.
At these falls the trail came to the
river again. Here at the head of the
steep rapids the river leaped over the
broken shoulder of the mountain in a
40-foot fall. 1t was thin, this flow OF
green water, and it splattered on a
| hard boulder below that had been
| worn down until it's surface was a bed
| of needles, the softer stone carried
| away.
At other points beside the fall were
minor ladder-like rapids. Up these
| the greater and stronger salmon
| flashed. Wally watched. He saw a
back cut the water, a fash in smoth-
er of white foam. He never under
| stood how the salmon fought up
| through such water. up and up, be-
yond boulder and boulder, until the
break of the mountain and the swift
deep pool beyond were reached.
| Wally had felled a tree across this
pool. 1t served for foot-log by which
| he reached his cabin on the mountain
beyond. He talked to Major and
walked on the log. Deep below him
| the wrinkled ribbon of the river. dap
piled green and white. reached away
| to the sea- The sun was dipping to-
| ward the Pacific. From out there the
| salmon came.
How'd you like salmon steak for
supper, Major?" he asked. Cor baked?
| I'll get some clay from the cliN an
We'll bake it. Say, man. I'd like to
bring down my brass spoon an slap 1t
on them rifles. But it's your turn.
Mind We don't chase 'em down to the
pool Ye only go over them falls onGt.
Stay in the rifles. Get a big chinook
that could bite your leg off,"
| y
EAGERLY barking. Major loped up
~ the river. Above the pool were
mild, shallow and wide rifles. where
shale clogeed the stream. After rest
ing in the pool. the salmon worked
through the shadows and on, deep into
| the dark ranges.
Major leaped in. Wally sat on the
log and watched Wading and swim
ming, the dog made the center of the
river. He worked always upstream.
as did the salmon. His tawny head,
| the water swirling about his nose,
turned from side to side, watching.
Then sidewise he lunged.
He missed A spectator came out
on the bank beside him. 1t was Dag