The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1936-12-03

only other chance is that one of the
boats may be coming out"
"BoatS?"
''The supply steamers of the Hud-
sons Bay company and other trad
ers, taking out the seasons cargoes
of furs."
The millionaire grunted his relief:
"Ugh-steamers! Almost good as a
plane"
eff one comes along, and if we see
it in time" Garth qualified. "You are
rather farsighted. You might watch
for smoke downriver."
"Tll do that. DIN your diddling
with any raft! Ten to one, you've al
ready let every steamer slip past.
All this time with your nose rub
bling those id logs!"
Garth went down to tell Lilith
that her father was by way of being
a well man. He sent her to move the
camp to small opening in the thic-
ket, close behind the grumbler. Fuel
for bonfire had already been heap
ed up on the beach.
But Garth did not count strongly
on sighting any steamer. The boats
might have fingered at the far-away
Arctic trading posts. Delay meant
danger of an early blizzard. He
rushed his work on the raft. When
dusk came, Li1ith went on watch,
in the place of her father. Garth re-
lieved her at midnight. But neither
of them saw any light out on the
vast expanse of ghostly cleaning
whitecapS.
BY another sunset Garth had the
raft completed to his satisfaction. He
had built superstructure that rails
ed the footing well above the water
line. Rails guarded against the risk
of sQuall waves washing the still
weak millionaire overheard. For
sweeps, Garth lashed the paddles to
poles made of spruce saplings. He
rugged other saplings for mast and
yardarm, ready to hoist the blanket
as sail in case of a favorable
change in the wind.
"Shift or calm, We'll put off at sun
RISE" he announced.
Though Mr.. Ramill grumbled, he
ate his fill of broiled whitefish, and
rolled up for the night to fall into
the healthy heavy sleep of a con-
valescent Lilith again took the first
watch.
In the midst of his first sleep,
Garth opened his eyes with the in
slant alert wakefulneSs of hunter.
The girls hand was on his forehead.
"Yes?" he asked.
"I-Im not sure" she murmured.
'"The wind has gone down. It
looks like a star. But it's so low on
the water, I thought I'd better call
you."
He rolled from the bed of spruce
tips and dry moss. A single glance
downriver was enough. He jumped
to light the prepared bundle of
brush at the smudge-fire and leap
with it down the bank.
AS the heap of fuel on the beach
burst into flame he heard the girls
gasping murmur, close behind his
shoulder: "It can't-be a-miStake?
You're certain-certain that it's real
ly-"
"a steamer" he replied.
"But what Tiff they don't-see
us? It's night"
Darker the better, if no fog. They
can't miss seeing this fire"
Assured of rescue, she sighed her
relief. With that, woman-ike, her
feminine vanity came suddenly to
life. ooh, but to go among the peo-
pie like this! such sight,"
Garth turned to eye her in the
glare of the upflaring fire. He look
ed at her worn moccasins and lynx
skin leggings, at the crude skirt of
moose-calf skin and the tattered up
per part of the sports dress. He look
ed at her dope-smeared face, and at
the tight pigtails of the semi-bobbed
hair that had once been so frozen in
that modish permanent wave. His
gray eyes twinklyed in the freight
"Well, I'd say you're less sight
than when I first met you"
Her eyes did not twinkle. They
flashed. you'll not have much long
er to insult mel"