The Washington times., 1937-08-12

"A SCdIISIulS VI tOul 1919 W.
passing through the region on
their way to and from California
and the Old Man saw no reason
why he should not pick up few
honest dollars.
"There'll be a dozen or more
cars UP there every day. he told
Morrison. You and Frenchy
won't have much to do, and you
can get the place in shape for the
summer rush. Meanwhile, we can
pay expenses"
eve never seen dry winter
yet" said the Summit House man
ager sourly. when we didn't have
one hell of snow in April or
May"
what of it?" said the Old Man.
You can take it. You've been
snowbound before"
Better get a load Of coal up
here"
"I'l send it up next week.
You've got a ton left from last
year"
Morris and French drove up the
16-mile highway to the top Of the
peak. 5000 feet above timberllne
The Old Man sent up a truckload
of stuff-curios, canned goods,
coffee and material for the pies
and doughnuts for which Frenchy
was famed. That was on a FIJI
day More than a hundred auto
mobiles took advantage Of the
bright sunshine Of the weekend
and it kept Morrison and F'rerchy
pretty busy taking care of them
Drab Day
Monday was a drab day.
BY dusk a light snow was fall
ing.
"I don't like the looks of this,
Frenchy," said Morrison, as the
two men set around the hot blast
stove after supper, drawing on
their pipes. =,
well, we got plenty Of grub"
said the cook. Il amt worrying
none"
THE Old Man was haywire
when he said we had a ton OF
coal. There's less than half a ton
in the bin"
They didn't see the sunrise,
Two feet of snow had fallen dur
Ing the night, and it was still com
Ing down fast. Very little wind,
so there were few drifts. But no
chance of a truck getting to the
cop Of Finger Peak, unless pre-
coded by a snowplow.
The telephone rang. The Sum.
init House was connected with the
Pine Tree Lodge, also owned by
Colonel Meadows. Familiarity know
in the region as the Old Man.
Showed in?" inquired the Old
Man.
I'VE certainly are, boss" replied
Morrison. 1.-TWO feet already. and
coming down in sheets"
"I'll send UP the pillow when Il
stops. How about SupplieS?"
well, we need some coal.
guess we can get along on beans
and Frenchy's pies and doughnuts
for awhile. And send up some
tobacco. Pop forgot to bring me
up a pound I ordered Sunday"
We'll break through in couple
of days."
Morrison told Frenchy what the
Old Man had said,
"A couple of days" snorted
Frenchy. IT gotta date tomor-
row night, and if I stand Molly
up she'll be off me like a dirty
shirt"
shell understand, Frenchy,
when she hears we're snowbound. "
"You don't know Molly"
BY nightfall that day-TueS-
day-the snow was up to the
caves of the underslung stone
Summit House. BY wednesday
the whole building was covered;
only the smokestack showed above
the thick white blanket. And 1t
had turned bitter cold.
SNOW STOPPED
The snow had ceased during the
night, but the cold stayed. The
telephone line had gone dead an
hour or two after Morrison had
talked to the Old Man.
The Summit House manager
conserved his rapidly depleted coal
supply as best he could. He
used it sparingly, despite the sub
zero temperatures. Frenchy didn't
seem to mind that. All he was
worried about, seemingly, was his
broken date with an attractive red
head named Molly.
IF she's got any sense she'll
know why" said Morrison, land
if she hasn't any sense, it's good
radiance. Get smart girl for a
change"
Il don't want ne smart girl. You
married one once. didn't you?"
Morrison found something to
do, and didn't reply. Yes. he had
married a smart girl, plenty smart.
When he and Mary separated last
winter-with a divorce pending at
this very moment-he vowed that
he never would marry again.
On the eighth day the last
bucket of coal was poured into the
stove. The cold had subsidized
somewhat, but it rarely got above
twenty. After dumping the last
of Ignite into the stove, harrison
went into the storeroom and en-
erged with an ak.
OF the dozen or so beds in the
building-six rooms were reserved
during the season for tourists who
wished to remain overnight for
the sunrise-all were metal except