The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-07-22
CHAPTER X-COntinued

ASCP w SAiC AASiiS.
mond started along the trail anew,
only once more to halt. There was
the cry again, of someone in terrific
pain; Hammond instinctively turned
in its direction.
A short period of search followed;
at last he began to follow the filmy
outlines of a game trail, winding in
rambling fashion through the bush.
He shouted; a groan answered him
from only a short distance ahead.
Hammond obeyed the call, and
rounding tangle of sapling spruce,
stood staring.
Lew shade lay there, writing in
agony on the ground. He shrank at
the sight of Hammond.
"You got out?" he gasped.
Eyes, got out!" Temptation told
him to 60 on; to leave this man
where he LAYOUT it was only temp
tation. Come on-get out of here!"
he commanded jerkily. THAT fires
coming fast!"
The mans tongue protruded. His
eyes were set with pain.
Get this thing off my legs!" he
begged. Before I bleed to death.
Hammond moved swiftly forward.
In the red light of the forest fire,
the blood-smeared underbrush where
shade had threshed about seemed
painted, as with purple ink. shade
was holding himself off the ground
by his hands; both legs were use
less, queerly, loosely twisted; his
ankles were caught, one behind the
other, in the heavy jaws of an inn
mense, double-spring bear trap. A
chain clinked under Hammond's
feet, leading to a heavy log, which
some prospector-trapper had fast
ened to the trap as deadfall. Even
in spite of its weight, Jack saw
that shade, in his desperation, had
dragged it few feet.
Get me out of il" the wounded
man pleaded. my legs have gone
dead on me-I'm bleeding my life
out"
For a moment, Hammond forgot
enmity. shade was only weak,
trapped animal, without enough
courage to snarl.
How'd you get off the trail?"
He had seized the trap and was
Strengthening it, steeling himself
against the mans outcries, that he
might gain sufficient leverage to ex-
ert his muscles on the heavy, dou-
BILE springs. shade gasped the an
Swer:
''Kenning led me over here. He
said we could get down to the
lake this way and circle the town.
Then people wouldn't know we'd
been at my cabin"
He knew better than that"
An agonized cry came from the
trapped man as Jack attempted
to press open the trap. The pros
pector desisted. At last shade went
on:
"Sure he knew better. He knew
this trap was here. He must have
he the same as said so, after he'd
walked me into it."
HAS he gone crazy-complete-
ly?"
HE talked like a wild man
about how everything he'd worked
for was gone. He kept cursing
himself for doing a dumb thing like
lighting that fre-kept asking me
why let him do it."
81 guessed you fellows pulled
that" Hammond now was straining
at the deadfall to move it forward
and thus relieve the strain on the
trapped man. Didn't the idiot know
he'd set the bush afire as well as
that cabin?"
That's what set him so crazy.
He was awfully groggy there in the
cabin, almost knocked out. He kept
telling me it was my fault he did
fool thing like that. After he'd
walked me into this thing, he tried
to find the CUTS to knock me out
butt guess he's pretty well shot.
All he could do was just stand there
and stare and yell at me that some
body had to take the fall-you know,
they'd find me here and blame me
for having set that cabin afire and
firing the brush" The man shud-
dered with pain as Hammond again
bent over the trap. Suddenly, Hell
have his wish, all right"
easy now," the prospector in
sisted through swollen lips. "pl
get you out of this. You'll have to
stand this. When 1 give the word,
pull as hard as you can-try to
walk away on your hands-wait
second-now goi"
Screaming, the man escaped,
dragging his useless legs grotesque-
ly behind him. Then limp, sweat
ing, he sank to the ground. Ham,
mond leaped swiftly beside him,
ripping off his shirt and tearing it
into wide strips. He twisted these.
Then with quick, sure movements,
he tied tourniquet around each
leg.
The heat of the fire momentarily
grew more intense. A deer jack
knitted along the trail, halted as if
in mid-air, stared at them, then
went bounding onward. A spark
angled downward, falling on
mound of leaves, where it lay smol-
dering. The roar of flames was
becoming more thunderous, like the
rumble of rushing water. Jack Ham,
mond bent and slowly lifted the half
conscious man. Then, with swing
ing motion, he slipped the limp form
across his heavy shoulders.
With short, running steps, stag
gering at times, he reached the
main trail, and tsrting his down.
ward course, moved out of the for
est toward Sapphire.