Evening star., 1936-10-18

Nesazins Section

he turned his head for a last look in the direc-
ton of the vanishing little female. the dark
spot on the snow made by the chicken at
tracted his attention, and he swerved toward II
for final sniff The scent of the little coyote
held him there longer than he had meant 10
stay, and the old bachelor was but dozen feet
away, when Kip tore himself from it and leaped
toward him.
Michael Campton stopped perfectly still and
looked with dumb interest at the dark spot on
the snow. Then he began slowly moving toward
it.
$50 that's what you're up to. soon's leave
y'u alone!" he said, suddenly lowering himself
and seizing Kip by the scruff of the neck. I'm
goin' t cure you O. chicken stealing - cure y'u
or kill y'u!''
Supported in this distasteful necessity by the
bitterness which he had brought home with him
from the Slater widow, Michael Campton pro-
ceeded with his cure. Forcing Kip's muzzle
down to the feathers in the snow, to give him an
idea of what the punishment was for. he held
him with one hand and slapped him with the
other, shouting angrily: 'Y'u got t let chickens
alonev'
When with final slap on the rump Campton
released his hold, Kip sprang several feet into
the air and fed for the protection of the barn.
Whirling around the first corner. he glided
along the wall, and hitting the trail left by the
female coyote, tore away over the prairie like
puff of gray smoke.
On the first hilltop, he sat down and looked
back. A feeble yellowish light in the distant
shanty told him that Campton had gone inside.
He was resentful and hopelessly puzzled. Then
the yellow gleam went out, and though until
then Kip had had every intention of going
back, with the resultant bleakness, strange
Transformation took place within him. He
turned, shifted at the trail in the snow, and fell
into the gliding, sinking lope of his race.
But for the vapor rising from his muzzle,
there was not thing moving on all the white
expanse about him. He came to where the
prairie floor broke down the steep incline to the
bed of frozen creek, and stopped at the lip of
the ravine, transfixed with wonder and an over
whelming sense of exultation. Down on the
fiat, icy bottom of the ooulee sat the fluffy little
female on her haunches, and a few feet away,
big male coyote was disporting himself around
her.
Kip was very much afraid of the big coyote,
but the little female held him fascinated. Sud-
denly the big coyote lifted his muzzle heaven
ward and set the moonlit air of the ravine vi
brating with the thrilling yat-yat- -yurrr-yeo-
yeo-yeoW of coyotedom. A great awe and glad
ness welled up in Kip. He started forward with
the impulse to 60 down there, but stopping
abruptly, one leg lifted as if the blood had
frozen in it, he raised his own muzzle and
yapped in crude and weird imitation.
The big coyote whirled and started up the
slope Kip waited for him nervously till he was
within few yards, then sensing hostility in his
manner, whirled about and raced away. When
he dared to look back, the big coyote was
hundred yards away, shifting the snow indif-
ferently in circles.
There seemed to be nothing belligerent about
him, and so Kip started hesitantly back again.
The big fellow seemed to have lost all interest
in him, moving his muzzle along the snow and
turning over the lip of the ravine Back at the
edge of the ooulee, Kip saw him trotting off
along the creek, while the little female re-
NAMED sitting on her launches. Down the in
cline went Kip, so fast that he slid several
yards but hardly had he reached the bottom
when he realized that he had made serious
mistake.
The attractive little female, now almost with