The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1930-01-10
A STRANGE STORY BY THE
CAMP FIRE

uOLu6 hOunllO. 4 hdf0 iONd
the men came into the force from
all stations Of society and from
all stages of culture and ability.
None other than a o of a new
elist, Charles Dickens, was at one
time an inspector in the R. N. w.
NJ. P. 1t was around the camp
fire on some lonely patrol, far
from human ~habitation, that men
learned to know their comrades.
In camp during a long night in
the Yukon, a sergeant told me
a story. 1t was so vivid that af-
ter he finished l insisted he write
the incident as he had told it to
me.
Just before going overseas as a
member of the Canadian Expedit-
ionary Force, he handed me a
manuscript. 1t was the story |
had heard from his own lips years
before in the solitude of an Arc
tic night. The author explained
the anne were fictitious, but
that the facts were true. l pass
1t on now as evidence that many
a novelist has hid his light I'M
der a bushel. Were it not for the
fact that my companion of the
far north gave his life in Fland-
ers, I would attempt to determine
his connections with the events
described and also to free myself
of the promise never to divulge
the identity of the writer of the
following:
Constable Boyden was encamp
ed for a few hours in a thick
timber on the west side of the Cy-
press Foothills. A few feet away
from where he lay stretched up
on a bed of balsam needles his
horse strained his tether to reach
a wild fern, which, after numer-
Gus nibbles, finally came uprooted
from the earth. The animal shook
it's head vigorously, but the cling
ing soil held to the roots of the
morsel. Failing to shake loose the
dirt, the mount. offspring of vet
eran police horses and h%iEase!fl
born and trained in the service.
held the stems firmly between
his teeth as he rubbed the vege
tation vigorously against the
rough bark of a convenient fir
tree. His efforts were rewarded,
and he nosed around for more of
the same forage. His dappled
sides, glistening from the bath
given the saddle marks by the
rider, reflected the mellow rays
of the setting sun. Constable Boy
denis experience had taught him
the value of caring well for his
horse, and his affection for the
animal assured the mount his
comfort would be attended to be-
fore the trooper supplied his own
wants.
The constable watched the steed
while he puffed contentedly at
his pipe. AS soon as Brandy had
cooled off sufficiently from his
hard ride of the afternoon, he
would take him to the stream, a
stones throw away, and there let
him drink his fill. Later he would
remove the tether, for he knew
from long association that the
horse would not wander far, at
least not beyond the range of a
whistle that had always brought !
him ~cantering to his masters side.
Fifteen minutes of this relaxa-
ton, and Boyden arose and hung
his Stetson and tunic on a sap
ling. His service revolver he plac-
ed within easy reach of the blank
ct he had spread SO that the piled
up balsam boughs formed a pillow
beneath. Opening his saddle bags,
he took from one of them the
lunch that had been prepared for
him upon his departure from Cat
ineau. AS soon as he had attend
ed to the needs of Brandy, he
would eat, later to take a few
hours rest before resuming his
Journey. Twelve miles farther
north was the settlement of Gar
con Ferry, where he hoped to
find the man for whose arrest
he held a warrant. 1t "a just as
we'll, the trooper reasoned, to
coooh tho town ahout daylight.
serve the paper, and begin immed-
lately the return trip. Thus would
the likelihood of friends of the
accused mar attempting reprisal
be minimized. Jules Vernde was
one of the respected citizens of
the settlement and the country
round about-respected for years
because he had for years beer
able to disguise his activity a
mong the Indians as one of ben
evidence. 1t would be hard for his
n~eighbors to believe he had as
sumed an atmosphere of piety as
a cloak for operations as a boot
logger. 1t did not matter so much
TO the constable what the friends
of the man thought, but he did
not care to give the cohorts OF
the offender an opportunity OF
forcing him to employ strenuous
Vernde would be arrest
ed, and Boyden would serve the
n-arront h1,t without any more