The Washburn leader. [volume], August 04, 1922, Image 6

About The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986

Image provided by: State Historical Society of North Dakota

                
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STEWART KIDD COMPANY
a
The Bi
MOLLY SAVES WILTON,
SYNOPSIS.- Looking over Big
Muskeg, a seemingly impassable
swamp in the path of the Missa
tlbi railroad, Joe Bostock, builder
of the line, and Wilton Carruthers,
chief of engineers, are considering
the difficulties. A rifle shot instant
ly kills Bostock and breaks Car
ruthers' arm. Handicapped as he
is, Carruthers determines to carry'
the body to a station of the Hud
son's Bay company, where one Mc
Donald is the factor.
CHAPTER I—Continued.
—2—
The portage was firm Ice, although
It offered no foundation for a railroad
bed. It ran between two openings In
the low bluffs, and the store was vis
ible from the farther shore.
The Icy blasts pierced through Wil
ton's fur hood and mackinaw as If
they had been cotton. His feet seemetP
like foreign bodies attached to his
legs, up which he could feel the numb
ness creeping by Inches toward his
body. And when at last he reached
the portage he looked out with In
credulity toward the opposite shore,
seeing only a ^flickering line of
shadows through the slit between his
frozen eyelids.
Resolutely clasping the frozen form
with his right arm, he stepped out
upon the surface. The wind, which
blew through the gap with hurricane
violence at almost all times, had
Bwept the Ice as a broom might sweep
a rink, In enormous circles, glassy and
Arm, with whirling snow-piles round
them. Wilton could progress only by
Inches, fighting the full blast of the
gale, and seeing the line of his route
only In fractions of seconds.
He saw the bluffs in front of him,
and the opposite shore nearlng. And
he fought furiously against the creep
ing numbness, knowing that each sec
ond counted for victory. It was per
haps a hundred feet farther. He
opened his eyes an Instant. Eighty now
—seventy, perhaps one last effort
to cross the portage.
i Fifty feet! With all of will and
•consciousness that remained Wilton
.•set his face resolutely toward his
pending place, and strode on into the
3bank of snow piled up by the wind be
meath the shelter of the bluffs. His
ieet sank through the crackling sur
face, he struggled shoulder-deep to
Svin the last lap of the way. And of
a sudden the ice broke under him and,
twenty-five feet from the shore, the
snare of Big Muskeg held him.
Instinctively he sought to gather
purchase from the sides of the sink
hole Into which he had fallen. The
tourniquet-stick dragged through the
yielding snow, the elbow of the arm
that ifeld Joe's body rested upon the
Ice. One instant he buoyed himself
by this means over the peaty slush
that sucked at him beneath. Then,
with a last cry that sounded above the
roaring of the gale, he yielded. And,
clutching Joe's body to his own, Wil
ton went down.
CHAPTER II
The Imprint in the Snow.
McDonald, the factor, lay on his bed
In an upstairs room of the house
•whose lower story was the trading
store, and looked out through the win
dow over the swamp beneath. It was
two weeks since Molly had found him
lying with closed eyes on the floor,
Nvlth the flushed face and heavy breath
ing of apoplexy.
For two and twenty years McDon
ald had lived there, serving the com
pany. Little had changed during that
time. The chief change had been in
himself and, since this was to be meas
ured rather by isolated happenings
than the steady progress of time, Mc
Donald could have counted on the fin
gers of one hand the scale-marks of his
life.
The little finger was his arrival at
Toronto'from Aberdeen, drawn to the
New World by stories of life In the
service of the famous company. The
third finger was Mary.
He had met her In Toronto, soon
after his arrive,' In Canada, and she
liad been born In his own town, though
he had not kntrtvn her there. Molly
knew vaguely that he had championed
her in trouble that had come upon
her, for which she was not to blame.
There had been a blackmailer, a brawl,
a knife-thrust, a blow struck wildly
with some implement a dead man, a
white-faced girl clinging to him, and
then the silence of the starlit streets.
Donald McDonald stlil bore the scar
of a ripping wound along his right
forearm.
That had been their courtship. The
next day McDonald had married her,
and brought her to the trading post.
Six months later he was in charge of
It. They had! been happy during the
year that passed before he laid her
under the tamaracks, and after that
Donald McDonald had lost all wish to
return to Aberdeen or to pursue ad
venture farther.
Mary had been the third finger on
the hand of McDonald's .destiny, and
Jier death was the. middle one. The
first- w»s Molly, and it was about her
that his thoughts clustered eternally.
Two seasons at the mission school
v ..W Lake, a winter in Winnipeg
V-
VICTOR ROUSSEAU
—these comprised the girl's experience
of the outside world. She helped her
father in the store, and was a capable
judge of mink and muskrat. She
could bring down a moose at a thou
sand yards, and guide a canoe down
Horseshoe rapids.
She had gone to the Indian camp,
five miles away, with medicine for a
sick papoose, at daybreak, leaving
her father In the care of Jules Half
head, the Muskegon, a deaf mute who
worked for the factor during intervals
of wandering in the bush, trapping.
She did not like to leave him, for he
had become more morose since his ill
ness, and his mind seemed affected.
When at last she entered the factor's
room above the store, radiating youth
and health, she saw with consterna
tion that he was lying weakly on the
pillow, and breathing as heavily as on
the day of his stroke.
"You're feeling no worse, father?"
she asked, sitting down beside him
and taking his hand in hers.
"I'm no worse," said the factor,
thickly. "Yon took the letter?"
"It will leave tonight. But I wish
you had let me write that you are ill.
The company would bring you to Win
nipeg. They can do wonders at the
hospital there, and you'd soon recover
the use of your limbs."
Ever since his stroke the factor had
dragged his right leg, and his right
arm hung by his side. He hrfrdly ever
left his bed, and then only to sit,
wrapped In his caribou robe, staring
out through the window at the port
age.
"I'll no go to Winnipeg," said Mc
Donald. "I'll just stay here until I'm
better. I'm thinking the Dog Tooths
will be bringing In their peltries next
week. I'm thinking I'll no buy De
cember skins this winter."
"I was thinking the same. The fall
was too late they won't be purchas
able till the middle of next month.
But the Dog Tooths will want debt."
"They'll get no debt," said McDon
ald. "See to it, Molly! But I suppose
the squaws will get on the soft side of
ye, and it takes a man to handle them.
I'll have to get well," he continued,
speaking with feverish energy.
His mind, which had turned from
one idea to another, running from Its
fears, now leaped upon them. "What'll
ye do, Molly?" he demanded roughly.
"There, my lass, I didna mean to put
it to you like that. But where'll ye
go if I dinna?"
"Don't let us think of that, father."
"Aye, but ye canna stay here. I
should have spoken before." In his
distress he fell into his native speech.
"Mony a nicht I've laid awake think
ing on It, before I had the stroke, In
the windy wacht here. I thocht I'd
brocht ye up unspotted frae the warld.
And noo—"
She laid her other hand on his. "If
the worst should happen, I can take
care of myself. Don't fear for me, fa
ther," she said.
"If ye could have the store. That'd
be best. But the company wouldna
have a woman factor. The company's
eonsalrvative. And the old store'll
last out my days and yours, in spite
xs
The First Was Molly.
of Joe Bostock's folly. That's what
Mr. Bowyer called It when he was
here for the moose In October. Joe
Bostock'll never cross Big MuSkeg.
And If. he could, where'd he get his
freight and passengers?
"If ever this country's opened up,
Tom Bowyer will put his own line
through. He was telling me so.
But there's naething here but the
moose and caribou and the Indians.
It's,always been that way It always
will {be so."
He caught her by the sleeve. "Ye'll
no ^see Will Carruthers again!" he
shouted.
"I'm not likely to. unless hie comes
this way," she answered In a con
strained voice, dreading the outbreak
of violence which she knew would fol
low.
"Aye, but he'll be here. I ken the
uion and bis kind. The sight of a
pretty face is meat and drink to him.
He'll be here, and me lying helpless
abed. I tell yq^ I ken the mon. Mr.
Bowyer was telling me about him. His
name's a by-word among decent folks."
"Well, Mr. Bowyer's own reputation
isn't the best," she retorted, nettled
that she was forced to champion Wil
ton. "You know Mr. Carruthers has
an Interest in Joe Bostock's line. Of
course, Tom Bowyer would try to set
you against them I"
The factor's face grew purple with
rage he choked for utterance.
"I ken the whole scheme weel!" he
shouted. "When you went to Winni
peg you got in thick with Kitty Bos
tock, and never a mall comes In but
there's a letter from her. She and'
Joe are going to get you there, to leave
me here alone. Aye, I read that letter
the woman wrote you, telling you that
your life was wasted here. I ken what
the warld Is I learned It one night
In Toronto, years ago. And, mark me,
I'd rather see ye lying dead at my
feet than the plaything of a man like
Will Carruthers!"
Tha$ had been the burden of his re
proaches ever since Tom Bowyer's
visit the autumn before.
Bowyer had poisoned his mind
against Wilton—Molly was sure of
that. She suspected that Bowyer had
some hold over her father. She knew
that, years before, he had secured him
his position with the company. As it
happened, the company needed men
for training^—Scots for the service
had become a tradition in North
Britain since the days of McKenzie.
And the company does not pick its
employees out of the highways and
byways.
Molly had known Tom Bowyer since
childhood, although his visits to
the trading post had occurred not
oftener than ohce in two or three
years. She had heard much to his dis
credit in Winnipeg, and had verified it
when he spent a day or two at the
portage in October. Bowyer saw big
ger game In prospect than the moose,
and. as a beginning, resolved to rid
himself of a possible rival—Wilton.
Molly had spoken well of him, and
Bowyer was a kqen reader of mind.
When the storm of her father's rage
had passed, the girl went down and
stood miserably In the doorway. His
insane outbursts were driving her. to
the very course he feared. Only his
Illness kept her from going away. She
looked out, her mind In a turmoil of
doubt.
Big Muskeg was at its loneliest. The
gale was driving the snow before it in
clouds like spray, and the wind howled
through the gap in the bluffs. As the
girl stood there she fancied that she
heard a cry come across the frozen
swamp.
She slipped on the hooded coat
which she had left in the store, and
went slowly toward the portage, lis
tening intently. The driving wind had
swept a portion of the trodden road
clear of the fallen snow. In this, near
the edge of the muskeg, she saw the
Imprint of a man's snowshoe coming
from the swamp. Her eyes, trained to
observation, detected instantly that
there had been a loose string under
the ball of the foot, which had trailed,
leaving an oblique blur across the
Impression.
There was the one Imprint, and no
paore. And, as she looked at it, a gust
of wind drove a cloud of snow over it,
obliterating it. Molly stood up. The
discovery, which seemed of no impor
tance, passed from her mind. Again
she listened.
Then, with the uncomfortable feel
ing that she was being watched, she
started and peered into the under
brush. A pair of beady eyes watched
her. They were those of Jules, the
half-witted deaf-mute. For the mo
ment Molly was startled. Then she
stepped forward, and the Muskegon
vanished soundlessly among the under
brush.
As the girl stood there she thought
she heard the cry once more. At once
she was running down to the edge of
the swamp and, standing her ground
with difficulty in the fierce gale, she
peered out, sheltering her eyes with
her hand.
Then, dimly out of the whirling
snow, she saw a figure stumbling to
ward her, bearing on its shoulder
something that looked'like a railroad
sleeper.
Sometimes It vanished from her
sight in the circular whirl of sleet,
at others reappeared, stumbling into
the drifts, but ever nearing her. It
was within twenty-five feet, of her
when it/ slipped, and there followed
the crash of the, rotten ice beneath its
feet. The figure broke through the
slushy layer into the muskeg below.
Thus Wilton Carruthers came to the
portage for the fourth time. And on
this occasion he was saved by the dead
man, for whose lifeless body he bad
risked, bis own life. For, as he fell,
still clutching at what he bore, the
stiffened form slid out over the un
broken surface and held him head and
throat above the bog. .'V
In a moment Molly was running to:
ward Wilton. Oiice his head went un
der, and she cried out in despair, but
he reappeared, and: seemed to telln^
automatically to his support, for his
eyes were closed and be was uncon
scloua. Bis fece was frozen white
1
WMmmmmim
It was only the contraction or if
frozen sinews of his fingers that y.i
him his hold on Joe's body.
It was then that, In her liorrir
Molly recognized Wilton: Shei crei
toward the brgak, and lay down on tlir
Ice, groping toward him with he
hands. She shouted to him to hold fas
and, finding that he was already ui
conscious, crept cautiously nearer oye
the cracking surface.
Then she saw what it was that Wil
ton had been carrying, and she recon
nized Joe. Stunned momentarily li.\
the shock, she nerved herself to the
task of rescuing the living. She still
crept forward until the upper part of
her body extended across the break
She pluced her hands beneath Wilton's
shoulders and tried to lift him.
It was a task beyond her powers
As she ,strained to it, suddenly' the ice
broke all about her, and In a moment
she was floundering beside Wilton ID
the water.
At this place the underbed of the
portage was of peajt mixed with sanu,
covered with water rather than slime.
Molly's feet touched bottom. The wa
ter was only shoulder-deep. With
quick resource she managed to draw
her feet up from the swamp and to
drag Wilton forward a pace or two
thus freeing, him from the clutch of
the muskeg. And now she felt firm
sand under her. She continued to
drag him toward the shore and, as
they moved, Joe's body, still clutched
In the set of Wilton's stiffened fingers,
slid grotesquely over the surface of
the Ice beyond. i
And somehow, breaking the rotten
ice in front of her body as she moved.
And Somehow, Breaking the Rotten
Ice In Front of Her Body as She
Moved, the Girl Succeeded Jn Get
ting Wilton to the Shore,
the girl succeeded in getting Wilton to
the shore. From that point, half
dragging and half carrying him over I
the snow, she reached the store at
last.
She pried the stiff hand from Joe's
body. That was the hardest of her
efforts. Molly left Joe's body upon the
threshold and got Wilton into her lit
tle room behind the store. She raised
him on the bed and laid him down, his
head upon her pillow.
Her teeth were chattering from the
deadly cold that gripped her, and her
own hands were numb, but she man
aged to strip xjff Wilton's socks, his
hood, mackinaw and sweater.. His
face was not badly frozen, but his
hands and feet were marble white.
Suddenly the girl saw the blood that
discolored the sleeve of Wilton's
shirt. She ripped the sleeve from the
shoulder. She saw that the arm was
broken and that a bullet, entering be-
hind, had passed obliquely out, leav
log a small but not dangerous wound.
The blood had long since ceased to
flow and clotted the wound in a con
gealed, frozen mass.
The danger from the frostbite was
'the more Immediate. Molly took snow
from the threshold and began to rub
his face, his feet and his fingers. For
nearly an hour the girl persisted, never
ceasing her efforts, in spite of her
weariness, and the thawing, dripping
clothes about her. And at last the
white skin began to be suffused with
an angry red.
Then ((he washed away the clotted
blood from the arm and nerved her
self to the task that "must he per
formed. At the Moose Lake mission
she had nursed an Indian with a frac
tured leg, set by the superintendent,
and this experience was all she had to
go ,by. But the break was a simple
one. She brought the edges of the
bone together, made splints from
pieces of packing-case and wound the
whole tightly with cloth smeared with
bear's fat. Then she heated some
broth and poured It, drop by drop,
down Wilton's throat.
When she could do no more she took
her clothes out of the room and cbaniged
in' another, kept for travelers, separat
ed by a thin partition of pine planks.
She had Just finished when, she
heard her father Bhuffllng' down the
stairs. It was the first time he bad
left his bed. The girl ran to the door
In fear. .-
"Bowyer got jio further, for
Wilton's fist shot out and landed
jairly. ^. .h|« .w6uih^. .:i
TO BE CONTINUBIX)
WotB«coming,Perf»aps.
to prefer
halo to a hat—London Opinion.
1
VARIOMETER SET ON
A VERTICAL PANEL
Method of Building This Receiver
and Setting It Up Ex
plained in Detail.
The radio receiver described here
Is one using a variometer for the tun
ing circuit And mounted on a vertical
panel, 6 inches by 8 inches, in
stead of a horizontal base board.
To support the panel In a vertical
position a small base, boalrd -four
Inches wide by six Inches long and
1-2 tp 5-8 of an Inch thick is screwed
to the panel.
The material required for the vari
ometer follows:
One piece of bakelite or stiff card
board tubing, three Inches long and
8' 1-4 Inches outside diameter. Cost
about five cents.
One peice of bakelite or stiff card
board tubing 1 1-4 Inches long and 2
3-4 inches outside diameter. Cost
about five cents.
100 feet of No. 26 DOC wire. Cost
about 25 cents.
Six inches of 1-4 inch outside dia
meter brass tubing costing about 25
cents.
Four small blocks of wood as shown
In Fig 18.
One panel 6 by 8 by Inch.
Eight small round-head 1-4 Inch
long brass wood screws.
One base board 4 by 7 by 1-2 Inch.
One standard four-Inch diameter dial
/tAd knob to take 1-4 Inch shaft, cost
ing about $1.50.
Seven binding posts.
Fig. 18 shows how the details of
the varloiheter are assembled.
The rotor Is wound with 40 turns
of the No. 26 DCC wire, dlveded In
to two groups of 20 turns, each sym
metrical with respect to the center
•jWirtfhrtf
line of the rotor. Start 1-16 of an
inch in from the edge of the rotor and
wiild on 20 turns, then, crossing over
on the other side of the center line,
wind ou 20 more turns, so that the end
of the second grpup of 20 turns will
terminate 1-16 of an inch in from the
end of the tube. Bring out the end of
the rotor winding on the inside of the
tube.
Cut two blocks of wood, A and in
Fig. 18, from pieces of 3-inch soft
wood and fasten tfiem as shown dia
metrically opposite each other on the
Inside of the rotor tube with some
small wood screws. Drill two shaft
holes, one through each side of the
tube over the thick portion of the
wooden block. The diameter of this
CRYSTAL SEt IS ALL RIGHT
In Its Own Way It Is Quite as
Efficient as the Vacuum
Tube Outfit
The small crystal receiving set
which may be likened to "the poor
man's set," contrary to reports heard
in some quarters, Is
quite
MKfH
&
as efficient
In Its way as the much higher-priced
and elaborate vacuum tube outfit.
While these set* are usually not guar
anteed to receive more than fifteen
or twenty-flve miles, some amateurs
have succeeded in hearing music over
a fifty-mile range.
But the most amazing of all Is the
report which comes from a retailer In
New York, who says that he has suc
ceeded In connecting up an amplifier
with his pet. Despite the handicap of
being entirely surrounded by steel sky»
scrapers, this set Is In dally opera
tion.
Radio Warns of Thunderstorms.
Detection of approaching thunder
storms in time to make necesskry ad
justments in .'operation Of electric
service is a valuable practical use of
the radio, according to the report of
the electrical apparatus committee of
the National Electric Light associa
tion presented at the conveatloii -lb
Atlantic City.' The radlo also sprves
to detect defects In' electrical .appa
ratus aui efiidRment rnQre, efficiently
han aay' cither agency/ the report
Fig. 20 is a plan view of the set
showing the location of the tube
socket, grid condenser with grid leak
and phone condenser.
A receiver of this type is very simple
in operation, since the wave length
Is entirely controlled by one knob and
the detector by the other knob.
ft.
.fs:
hole should be such .that tt be a forced
fit for the 1-4 inch diameter shaft
The winding on the stator is similar
to that on the rotor. There are 40
total turns divided Into 'the sections
of 20 turns each. The beginning and
the. ending of' the-stitor findings are
15-16 of an lAch from the ends of the,
tube. When the rotor Is assembled
inside this Stator, the winding on the
stator should fall Just above that on
the rotor/''' ....
After the rotor and stator are
wound, give'them tt thin coat of shel
lac and allow It to dry thoroughly be
fore attaching the wooden blocks. As
semble the blocks- on the rotor and
stator and then give the assembled
part a second thin coat of shellac.
Put the variometer parts in a hot dry
place and allow them to dry Until all
the volatile matter has been driven
a
off. This will give the windings a
hard finish that will not. absorb mois
ture, yet protect them from mechanical
Injury and hold them In place.
The vertical panel upon which the
set is mounted Is six Inches high and
eight Inches. long by. three-eighths of
an inch thick. It should be of a clear,
close-grained wood' that has been well
dried to prevent warping. The panel
is fastened to the base board, which iq
four inches by seven inches, by one
half Inch thick, by means of the
screws.
Before mounting any of the parts,
the panel base board should be
finished. Staining the panel .dull
rifXm
black and shellacking the base board
will make a pleasing combination.
Fig. 19 shows how the varlotaeter
is assembled on the paneU The center
of the variometer Is three and one
quarter Inches up from the bottom of
the panel and two and three-quarter
Inches from end. The assembling
drawings are all to scale and by re
ferring to them, all the details will be
made clear.
SPARKS
The man who uses bedsprings
In place of an aerial might at
times be accused of "lying down
on the Job."
The University of South Caro
lina,. Columbia S. O, is planning
to erect and operate a broad
casting station by popular sub
scription. It is hoped that S12,-'
000 will be raised.
The difference between party
line telephone service In the
country and radio- service is that
all the neighbors are expected
to listen in in both cases, but1
no one objects In the case of
the radio. i
A magnifying violin, for radio
purposes, has been Invented by:
a musical genius. Its use by
beginners should he prohibited
by law. What the violin begin
ner needs Is a soft pedal of pro
nounced ability.
To tell of their issues of new
honds and Quote prices on r^gto
lar Issues a firm lh San Fran
sco has adopted the radio
phone. Besides famishing the
bond news to local investors, the
fljm in time intends to have a
broadcasting station to
£eep in touch by wireless tele
bhone with Its branch houses, In
addition to/ having the -regular
-telegraph wlrifc1
,v
I'lWWIll
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