Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1928-09-13

esteemed, OF all men, meaneSt In the
high country.
The holes In the canyons, the tum-
bledown shacks that sheltered these
denizens Of Calabasas were still as
death when the wagon, guided by Sell
wood, by lantern, by Scott's instinct,
and by main force, halted with as lit
tie noise as possible near what Sell
wood pronounced Tracy's cabin. Sell
wood got down from his horse and,
calling to Scott for the dog, slipped
Chloe's muzzle and held her on the
leash. The mastiff whinnied md
Jumped at him, licking his hands as
he caught her by the collar and led
her toward the cabin door.
Selwood hoped that, with Saturday
night and the constant probability
that any sQuatter occupant was more
Likely to be sleeping there in the day
time than at night, the shack might
be unoccupisd.
Crawling on the ground and feeling
his way to the door from the side,
where he was partly protected by the
sill log, Selwood got his hand on the
lower part Of the batten door. It
hung, he remembered. on leathern
strips, and 1t stood now in the night
partly ajar, seemingly supported only
by the upper thong. Chloe, his hand
on her collar, pushed her nose into
the opening between the door and
the jamb and strained at the LEASH,
but she did not growl. Selwood al
lowed her to crawl inside, which she
did with great gusto, held her mo-
ment at the leash's length, and then
released her. He could hear the dog
scurryipg about inside, but knew at
once the cabin was empty. Gun In
hand, he went to the wagon, Scott
passed out a lantern, and Selwood,
returning, carefully pulled open the
door and entered.
The lantern light revealed a rough
table, rickety chair, and a home
made stool. In the upper left-hand
corner stood the double-decked bunk
Tracy had built, and in which Selwood
had slept the first highland the only
night-he had ever slept in Calabasas.
There was coarse bedding in both
decks. A rough rock fireplace stood
at the lower end Of the cabin. Be-
side the fireplace stood an empty box
up-ended. Selwood knew well its use.
Like a candle snuffer for candle, It
was there to set over and conceal
instantly a fire on the hearth.
In a few moments the three men,
by the light Of the lantern, had
cleaned out the place. The bedding
was dumped outside, together with a
battered frying-pan and coffee-pot
and some canned goods. Kerosene
from an handy can was poured freely
over the bunk, rubbish was pushed on
the hearth and lighted. And with
Chloe blinking at the flames, Tracy,
still asleep on the cot, was lifted
from the wagon backed up to the
door into the shack and placed tn
the corner farthest from the bunk
and near the open fire. When Parda-
loe and Scott had brought in light
supplies for breakfast, Selwood d.
rected the two men to go to sleep In
the wagon.
Re-entering the cabin, he sat down
beside Tracy. Selwood had been long
too busy with life to think Of death,
but in Tracy's appearance it had
seemed more than once Of late to
stare at him; tonight the old face
looked more like death than ever.
The thought Of Christie kept far
ing, like the fltful flame on the hearth,
In his heart. She would have listened
to him, he felt, had he been anything
but what old Dave was, a common
gambler. And what had he to expect
but death such as this If he ended
q life like this2 Only, at best, a
quicker death, q violent death at the
hands Of some other outcast like
himself
He looked at his watch. To make
his rendezvous by midnight he must
be on the way home. Home! He had
spoken the word in his mind. What
right had q homeless man to such a
word. Without woman to make II,
there was In his lexicon no such word
as home-he had known one home.
He woke Scott-Pardaloe was snor-
ing unmercifully-asked the Indian
to water his horse, and gave him
such instructions as there were to
give In case he should not be back
BY daylight-namely, to run Tracy
up river until things had quiete4
down In Sleepy Cat' and If they heard
the gambling hall was burned to tell
Tracy, Selwood had gone West.
He swung into the saddle with a
light heart for action Is what the
soldier, the adventurer, the gambler
Graves.
Half way into town, emerging from
the breaks that skirt the valley Of