Evening star., 1928-02-26

hill and the road had been broken b;
a passing team or two. He made il
without nlishap. but little further on
to prevent the sleigh from sliding into
a ditch. he braced both arms against
1t and in SO doing reopened his wound
He stopped for five minutes at Noe
Clute's farm to readjust his bandage:
and thereafter went more carefully.
Once. toward noon. he met another
sleigh upon the road, and they passed
each other, after some maneuverine
and an interchange Of greetings. But
by that time. the storm had increased
I'm intensity. none was abroad. except
upon necessity Dave and his charge
moved along through world Of swirl.
ing snow and burning cold. Yet they
made. upon the whole. good time. The
horse was strong: Dave let the reins
hang. knotting them about the nickel
| rail at the front of the sleigh.
! Whenever the snow was deep he
walked beside the vehicle or pushed
/ behind. Now and then. where the
wind had secured an easier passage,
| he stepped upon the runners and thus,
without getting into the sleigh, rode
, for little way. Penny, muffied and
| bound upon the seat. was for the most
! part silent and motionless. but some
| times his voice emerged from the folds
/ that hid his face. In cries and pro.ane
! CALCULATIONS. At such times Dave was
! apt TO part the robe and look Al his
man with a solicitude almost maternal.
! Toward dusk he began TO give Penny,
every little while. sip from the bottle
| of rum
THIS long journey vas marked by
no particular incident: Dave en-
countered no sensational obstacles II
was simply an ordeal. The road led
him forever onward. now smooth. now
buried under a drift or feet deep.
through which or over which he must
fight his way.
Sometimes the horse could get no
| footing. and Dave had to 60 ahead
and force the loose stuff down. or to
one side. before the beast could be
persuaded TO advance Sometimes,
after a particularly violent struggle.
when Dave permitted the creature TO
halt. the horse stood trembling ana
shuddcring with its own fatigue. and
steam rose from Its fianks and from lis
frost-incrusted nostrils. Snow matted
on Its heavy Winter coat at last; the
| animal no longer steamed.
Late IN the afternoon Dawes feet
~ SAL w ~ WIN sStLuulk ~ iIS NAS.
wcariness had driven past his outer
defenscs and was fighting into the very
citadel OF the man. His feet became
colder and colder: on an occasional
patch OF wind-swept bare ground he
tried TO stamp warmth into them. His
left arm he tapped across his hreas;
almost constantly. The other. useless
pcrforce. was cold: the fingers aci,ed
bitterly.
A little after dark he stopped, be-
cause he must. His horse feli and.
when he got IL 10 its feet again. the
Beast refused the task ahead Of 1t. BY
sheer compulSion Of will. he drove 1t
| on to farm huddled by the river; and
he unhitched the creature there and
borrowed the farmers horse. The man
would have protested. but Dave over
rode his objections with a word. state
oiicer, on business" he said curtlv.
The farmer then was anxious to
help: invited him to come In and warm
himself. III! take cup OF coffee. a"
Dave replied. and stayed for nothing
more: Miles Of road. deep In snow.
SUI! lay ahead Of him. The wind had
risen. and 1t was colder, but SNOW no
! longer fell.
Some warmth got into his feet and
his hands while he stopped a, this
house when he went out into the cold
once more, he was sorry for this BE-
Tore they had been numbed with cold :,
now they throhbcd with poignant pain
almost unendurable ie held the rum
bottle again 10 Penny'S lips then
stumbled on into the night The fresh