Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1933-04-12

meticulously clean or the ImpOssibly
filthy. To the FIRST belonged Wolf
Richards.
The door of pine had been much
scrubbed. The one bed In the cor
ner. with blankets gone now. was
covered with a t%arpaulin. neatly
tucked about the tick. The wood
box was filled. supplies ranked In
a cupboard above II. A broom hung
from Its nail. a sharp ak stood be-
hind the door.
Ellen put a kettle on and IN
hooked the plank door at the end of
the room, entered VOLTS fur loft, a
windowless chamber. filled with AMI
NAL scents, and dragged from ii a
cot. Her own blankets were on a
shelf before which hung a curtain
of brilliant red calico, and while wa
ter heated she made up her bed. as
she had made 1t many another time
when coming here TO spend a night
with the old recluse.
The night was very still. She
tried to tell herself tina; she must
get hold OF her emotions and be
guided by reason. Out here, twenty
miles from the nearest habitatlon,
there could he 40 cause for this
feeling of apprehension which was
rising rising. she was MOI
of the breed of women that fears
Isolation and loneliness.
But even rs she argued so, tears
welled into her eyes as she fought
against the weight which tugged at
her heart
Sleepless nights were In her i'm
mediate past; harried days mad
taken their toll This afternoon she
had walked q dozen miles through
soft going and her body was wear.
led. She dropped her cheek to
the blankets for just a moment; If
Wolf did not come soon she would
undress, bolt the door. fill the stove
with wood, and prepare to spend
the night alone Just a mo-
ment
And sleep came as Gorbel. two
hours away from that lonely cabin.
cursed at the thinning of the snow
at the family blurred stars which
began to appear In what had been a
void above him.
Ellen woke with q start. The DON
was cold; her body stiff, but II was
not the chill nor the aching of her
muscles which startled her from
deep sleep.
Not these. Rather the care
full. slow creaking of a door hinge.
Volt r%eturningf That was the
first possibility which presented 1t
self to her clearing consciousness,
but Immediately she reasoned that
a man does not enter his W home
with stealth and caution.
"Who Is it?" she cried sharply.
sitting up and swinging her feet to
the floor. "What do you want?"
The door moved and Paul Gorbel
half reeled into the room.
Its |. Ellen. And what do |
want?"-with something of a sneer.
something of bravado. what
do | ?'-weakening quickly,
/ oddly. 81 l.. | came for you
for you'll That's what"
Over an hour ago he had come
to a halt at the crest of the burned
ridge which swept downward 10
the swamp where Wolf mad built
his cabin, the first objective In his
flight. He mad stopped with a gasp.
Twin rectangles of light showed
down there, windows in a building,
a structure which he had counted
on being unoccupied.
He was without food, without
more than a pocket knife as a de
vice for procuring food and warmth
A man cannot endure the wilder.
ness In winter without food or the
means of procuring food de must
have an ak and blankets; he should
have utensils to make the food he
could take palatable.
His knees shook and his breath
came and went In light means.
Wolf Richards there back
home a mar who was lmpos-
slble of approach, even had a trav-
eler been free to approach any hui
man belngl
But probably the occupant OF
that cabin was not Wolf Richards
at all. Some one else had stopped
there tonight, as his cruiser had
been there last night Relief. with
that thought, and on the heels of
relief, dismay again. Anyone there.
anyone who knew him. anyone OBJ
serving enough to remember and to
describe him would present q fatal
hazard.
He started cautiously forward,
wondering If the dogs might not be
there after all, ready to begin their
devilish barking. He stood a long
interval at the edge of the timber.
less than a hundred feet from the
cabin, watching, listening No dogs
were there; Wolf could not be
home. This was some other person.
The soft snow COVERED all sounds