The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-07-15

aware of gathering boots on the
rough floor, he tried to turn. Now
he saw Lew shade at the pile Of
firewood beside the stove. shade
had a stick in his hand; he ran
forward, both hands clenching the
weapon
The pain of the blow lasted only an
instant, shattering, horrible feel
ing, as though Hammond's head
had been separated from his body.
His eyes seemed to split with the
flash of binding lights, only as
quickly to be smothered in dark
ness.
Kenning rolled clear and was
staggering to his feet. He stum-
bled forward, looking dazedly down
at the motionless form of Jack
Hammond. Then, with hand fun
bling weakly at his swollen mouth,
he glanced slowly about him.
See if there's still a fire in that
stove"
Lew shade crossed the room.
"Yeh. There's some Goals left"
Lets dump them out on the
floor"
What for?"
"If the place burns down, no.
body'l know who was in it-whose
skeleton it is" came thickly.
Lew shade looked up.
They'll know it isn't me-if I'm
around"
''Then you'll have to hide out"
He gestured impatiently. "Well, hur-
ry! Scrape those Goals out on the
floor. And put some kindling and
wood on Them"
He stood Keeling while Lew shade
obeyed; clarity of brain was gone:
Bruce Kenning was foggy, mentally
inert. At last they turned for the
door. Kenning looked back at the
smoking bed of Goals from which
small flames were beginning to char
the clean wood which had been piled
atop them. Then he glanced to-
mond.
Ellis chests movingl' Lew shade
said. "He amt dead"
Kenning Strengthened groggily.
Again he rubbed his hands over
swollen eyes.
He will be-" came thickly, as he
pushed Lew shade through the door,
Finally, blush lick of fire be-
gan to make it's way along the floor,
infiammable from the spattered
grease of cooking. A quarter of an
hour passed. A window had cracked
from the heat of crawling flame,
following upward along the edges
of protruding logs. The air had
become suffocating.
Perhaps it was this which at last
caused Jack Hammond to stir. That
was all, for moment, merely a
loose, disjointed movement of the
legs, a clutching of the hands, which
soon died away. Then the move
ment came again, the arms rose,
moving toward his head, only to
aimlessly fall. The man groaned.
The fire licked closer; it now was
beginning to writhe along the cross
beams.
Jack Hammond opened his eyes,
staring upward. Something leaped
and darted, like the tongue Of a
monster. YEARLY he lowered his
lids against the sight. But slowly,
deeper and deeper into his grudg-
ingly awakening consciousness the
knowledge that the air contained a
peculiar, horror-laden bite, a queer,
unpleasant, soaring quality which
invaded his every nasal passage
and which at last forced itself to
his dulled brain. This acrid odor
was like the odor of death; sud-
denly woodsmen instincts were
awakened, sharply and with terror.
The smell of fire!
Realization full upon him, he
strove to rise, only to drop to his
knees and weave uncertainty there.
At last he began to crawl. From
behind him, outside the cabin, had
come a peculiar, shifting crackle,
ending in putting roar. as flame,
now eating through the cracked
window into the tangled bush, swept
up the dry bark of dead spruce,
leaped to the resinous top of a
| full-needled tree and exploded.
1t gave Hammond the strength
of terror, calling into play all the
highly developed forces of recupera-
tive ability bred in him by years of
| tremendous activity.
He gained his feet and reeled to
the door. 1t yielded to the plung-
ing weight of his body; he hs If
stumbled, half-fen outside, into a
world of red.
But, as yet, there was more not,e
and smoke and color than danger.
He shook his head, as if to clear
it from painful cobwebs. DaZedly
he looked about him, arms loose,
shoulders sagging His bloody jaws
contorted. Then he weaved into the
trail.
Soon he had gained the strength
| to increase his speed to dogtrot.
The wind was spreading the fire
swiftly behind him; now no longer
| were there long intervals between
the creeping advance of the flame
and the putting outburst as it
reached a tree top. The sound was
almost continuous; the forest was
| lighted as if by flares. Hammond
moved more swiftly. Both his brain
and his fatigue were clearing. But
at last he slowed his pace, his head
cooked inquiringly.
RIO BE CONTINUED