The Seattle star., January 27, 1922, Page 13, Image 13

About The Seattle star. (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947

Image provided by: Washington State Library; Olympia, WA

                
FRTPAY. .TANTART 27. ttf!?
l^SnowshoeTrail
SdisorrMarshall I
•mi >y UlU* town kesad KUk Service 1
(Continued From rage *)
what tittle food they had. they start
a! otto* The time had not yet
come to unfold thla knowledge.
He nodded. Th* day passed tike
thoee preceding elm |'l* meal*, a
few hours of talk around th* fire,
aoch fuel rutting as was necessary
to keep the cabin snug and to pro
vide a supply for th* night. This
was their last day in Clearwater—
and Virginia could hardly accept
the truth-
How untru* had been her gayety'
In all th* whit* Ilea of her past,
all lbs little pretense* that are as
much a part of tlf* In civilisation
•f buildings and streets, sh* had
never been as fats* to herself as
now. Bh* had never had to act a
part more crual—that sh* could feel
Joy at th* prospect of her depart
Ore.
Bh* eould deceive herself no
lenger. Th* events of th* previous
dny had opened her eyes—ln a
•matt measure at least—and her
thoughts groped in vain for a single
anticipation, a aingt* prospect that
eould tighten th* overpowering
wnght of her sadness. And th* one
hop* that cam* to her was that
Strang* sister of despair—that back
In her old life. In her own city, full
Corgetfulneas might come to her.
Wasn't It tru* that sh* would say
(ood by to the bitter cold and lb*
■now wastas? Was there no Joy In
this? Tet thoaa sam* solltydea had
brought her happiness that, tho bow
to be blasted, had been a revelation
and a wonder that no words could
nam* or no triumphs of the future
eould equal. The end of her ad
venture—and sh* fett It might as
well be th* end of her Ufa. Three
Utile days of bitter hardship. Bill
tran ping at her sld*~and then a
long, dark road leading nowhere ex
cept to barren old ag* and death
Nervr again would ahe know the
winter forest. tba alienee and the
Mystery, and the wolf pack chant
ing with Infinite aadnesa from the
hill. The North Wind, a reality
Bow. would be a forgotten myth,
■he would forget that ahe had seen
the woodland caribou, quivering
with Irrepressible vigor against the
gmowfleld*. The tbrtiU the exhilar
ation of battle, the beat of red blood
la her veins would be strangera
■son: the whole adventure would
•eem tike some happy, impossible
dream. Newer to bear a friendly
wotc* wishing her good morning,
never a returning step on the
threshold, the touch of a strong
kuid in a moment of fear! She
Wan aghast and crushed at the real
halloa that this man was going out
ef her life forever. She would leave
him to hla forest*—their shadows
hiding him forever from her gsse.
She found U bud to believe that
tfot could Ct Into b»r old niche.
Home way. this northern adventure
had changed the very fiber of her
■out. She coold find no Joy at th«
thought of the old gayetlea she bad
•nee lorrd, tb« beauty and the
Warm'h- Waa tt not true that liar*
•M would go out beside her, the
lever of ber girlhood? Hla ancle
Would start him In baslnem: her
Course wttb him would be smooth.
Bat ber hands were cold and her
heart sick at the thought.
Aa the boors passed, the realiza
tion of ber Impending departure
•remed to grow, like a horror. In
fcer thought*. She still nude ber
pathetic effort to be gay. It would
not do for these men to know the
truth, ao she laughed often and her
words were Joyous. She fought
lark the tears that burned In her
•yellda. Sbe could only play the
gajne; there waa no way oat
She could conceive of no dremn
■tances whereby her fate would be
felter*!. She knew now. as wen a*
•he knew the fact of ber own life,
that sbe bad been trapped and
gnared and cheated by a sardonic
destiny. For the moment she
Wished she had never fought her
way back to the cabin with BUI
after yesterday's adventure, but that
•ide by side In the drift*. tbey had
yielded to the Shadow and the cold-
Thru the dragging hoars of after-
Boon Harold seemed rest]aw* and un
easy. lie smoked Impatiently and
Was nervous ar.d abstracted In the
hours of talk. Bat the afternoon
died at last. On re more the shad
•as lengthened over the snow, the
tfosk grewr, the first, bright stars
thrust thru the gray canopy above
them. Virginia went to the work
«f eooldng supper—the last supper
tn this little, unforgettable cabin In
the snow.
Both BfTl and VTnrtnla started
With amazement at the sound of
tapping knuckles en the door, ilar
-oU'a eyes were gleaming.
XXIX
Harold saw fit to answer fhe door
|ltm*e(f. H« threw It wide open;
Virginia's startled glance could Just
fnake out two swarthy faces, slngu
larly dark and nnprepossejwlng, In
the candlelight. Hhe experienced a
irwift flood of fear that she couldnt
understand: then forced it away as
an absurdity.
-We —we mostitn* orer to Tuga—
been over Bald Peak way." Joe mild
•tumbllngly. "Didn't know no one
was here. Want a bunk here to
night."
"You've got your own blankets?"
-y.-a. We got blankets."
•On your way home, eh? Wen,
I'll have to ask this lady."
Harold seemed strangely nervous
An he turned to Virginia. He won
dered If this courteous reference to
her was a mistake; could It be, that
•he would object to their staying?
It would make, at beat, an awkward
situation. However, he knew this
girl arid he felt aafo. Ho half-
Closed the door,
"A oouple of Indians, going home
toward the settlement on the Vuga,"
lie explained quickly. "They've
■fcome from over toward Bald Peak
Bud were counting on putting up
here tonight. That's the wood* cus
tom. you know—to stay at any
body's cabin. They didn't know we
wr» here and want to stay, any
way. I>o yoa think we can put
W up?"
"flood Heavens, we can't send
them on. on a night like thla. It
hi awkward, tiio—about food "
rTiry"v* likely got their own
food -
"Of course they can »»av. Bill
nan sleep on th* floor In her*- you
can take the two of them with you
Into th* lit! I* cabin. It will be
pretty tight work, but wo oant do
an; thing else. Hrlng th*m In."
Harold turned again to the door,
and In a moment the Indiana sttod*.
blinking. Into th* candlelight. The
brighter light did not reveal them
at greater advantage Virginia nbot
them a *wlft glance and waa In
stlnctlrsly repelled' but at once «t>e
ascribed the evil aavagei y of their
faces to racial traita. Khe went
back to her work.
tlill. sitting against caMn wan.
tried to make sans* out of a eon
fused Jumbl* of thoughts and tm
pressions and memories that flooded
In on* wave to his mtnd. His few
hours of bllndneas had seemingly
sharpened his other actum: and
there was a quality In th* half
breed's vole* that was distinctly
fiunlUar. He had assumed at one*
that th* two breed* wer* Jo* and
Pet* whom he had encountered
when when h« first found Harold.
Why, then, had th* tatter road* no
*lgn of recognition? Why should
he repeat a manifest tie —that they
had been over toward Hald I'rak
and * ere traveling toward th*
Yuga, and that they thought th*
cabin nu unoccupied? ll* remem
bered that h* had given these par
ticular Indians definite orders to
stay away from th* district. Out
wardly h* was cool and at «as*. his
face Impassive and grave; In hia
Inner self he was deeply perturbed
and suspicious.
Of course, there waa a possibility
that h* was mistaken In th* vole*.
He resotvod to know th* truth.
"It* Joa and !>«*, Isnl ItT* ha
asked abruptly In the alienor
There was no reply at find. YXr
gtnia did not glance around In time
to see the lightning signal of warn
ing from Harold to the Indian* yet
she had an inner scum of drama
and suspense.
She bad never heard «utt* this
tone in Bill's voire befora. It was
hard, uncompromising, aume way
menacing. "I say." he repealed
slowly, "are you Beta and Joe. or
aren t you""
"I'ete—Joe*" Joa answered at last.
In a bewildered tone. lLarokl him
self oould not have given a better
simulation of amaxement. "TXont
know 'em. I'm Wolfpaw Black
be* Jimmy—Jimmy Dußola."
The names were convincing—typ
leal breed namea, the latter with a
touch of French. But Harold's sd
miration for the reeourcefuln<ms of
his confederate really was not Jus
tified. Jo* hadn't originated the
two namea He had spoken the
first two that bad com* to his mind
—tbe name* of a pair of worthy
breeds from a distant encampment
Kxcept for a little lingering un
easiness, Bill was satisfied. It
would be easy to mlntake the voice.
He had heard It only a few times
In his Ufa. Virginia went on with
her supper preparations, and at laet
the three of them drew chairs
around their crude little table. The
two breeds took their lunch from
their packs and munched It, sluing
beside the Move.
The night had fa Han now. tmpen
etrably dark. And the Northern
Ugbta were flashing tike aerial
searchlights tn the sky. The five
of them were singularly quiet, deep
In tbetr own thoughts. Bill heard
bis watch ti'king loudly In bis
pocket.
AD at ones Joe granted tn the
stlllnesn, an(J all except Bin whirled
to look at him. tie went to his
pock and fumbled among the
blanket*. Then, a greedy light In
hi* eye*, be put two dark bottles
upon the t*hle.
bin. unseeing, did not understand.
Ills finer sense*. however, told him
that tha air was suddenly electric,
charged with suspenaa. Virginia
was frankly alarmed.
In her past life sba had had trrtl
mate acquaintance with strong
drink. While It wan true that she
had never partaken of It beyond an
occasional cocktail before dinner. It
was common enough In the circle In
which «he had moved. Hhe was
used to seeing the men of her sc
qualnUnce drink whiaky-and soda*,
and many of her Intimate girl
friends drank enough to harden
their eyes and Injure their complex
ions She herself had always re
garded It tolerantly, thinking that
much of the hue and cry that had
been raised about It was shear sen
timentality and absurdity. Hhe
didn't know that evil genii dwelt tn
the dark waters that coald change
men Into brutea: such mild exhilar
ation as she had received from an
unusually potent cocktail had only
seemed harmless and amusing.
But she *u not tolerant now.
She was suddenly deeply afraid
She looked at Bin, forgetting for
the moment that In his bllndn*** he
could not see what win occurring
and that In his helplessness »he
could not depend upon him In a
crisis. She turned to Harold, hop
In* that he would refuse this offer-
In* at a word. And her fear In
creased when she saw the craving
on hi* face.
Harold had gone a Jong time
without strong drink. The sight of
the dark bottle* woke his old pas
sion for It In a flash. Ills blood
leaped, a strange and dreadful
eagerness transcended him. Vir
ginia. was horrified at the sudd<n,
insane light In hl» eyes, the drawing
of his features.
"Have a drink"* Joe tnvite^.
T'.IH started then, but h* made no
response. Harold moved toward
the table.
"You're a life saver, Wolfpaw." he
replied genially. "It's a cold night,
and I don't care If I do. Virginia,
pans down the eupw."
Of course there were not enough
cups to go around. There were
three of tin, however, counting one
that Bill had made from an emr>ty
can. "You'll drink?" Joe asked Bill.
The woodrman'a face was grave.
"Wolfpaw. It'a against the law of
this province to give or receive
liquor from Indians," he replied
(ravcly. "I won't drink tonight."
OUR ROAR DING HOUSE
P'l« turned with a scowl. Ills {
thought had already flashed to the
whit* blade At hla bell. "You're
damn particular * he began.
But Joe shook hi* head. reitrsJn
tng him. Tbs hour to strike had
not yet oome. They must an Joy
their liquor firm and engender fteah
courage from Ita fire, lie saw fit,
however, to glance about the room
and locate the weapon of which
Harold had spoken the dead'y mln
•r'e pick that leaned agair.st Lb*
wall bark of the stova.
Curiously. Virginia's thought had
flung to weapons, bn. She had
taken off her pistol when she had
been nursing Bill and badnt put It
on alnc*. QoleUy, so as not to at
tract attention, ahe glanced about
to locate It It was hanging on a
nail at the opposite end of the table
—and Jo* stood Just beside It- She
had no deair* to waken hla lus
piciooa of her fear. She knew she
must put up a bold front, at least.
Nevertheless her fingers longed for
the comforting feel of lis butt. She >
resolved to watch for a chance to
procure It.
"Have a drtnkT" Joe asked Vir
ginia.
tlbe dtdnl TTk* the time of his
volca. He was speaking with en
tire familiarity, and again she ex
pet-ted Interference from Harold.
Her fiance, however, was fingering
the botUe. She saw Bill straighten,
ever so little, and beheld the flrnt
signs of rising anger in the set of
his lip*. But sbe didn't know the
full flereenewi of hi* Inward strug
gle—an almost resist len* desire to
spring at once and smite those Im
pertinent tone* from the breed*
Up*. But he knew that he must
take ear*—for Virginia's sake—and
avoid a fight as long as It was hu
manly possible to do so
"No," the girl responded coldly.
"Then there's enough cups after
all," Harold observed. "1 wn* to
tng to take the pitcher. If either
Vlrrtnla or this conscientious tee
totaler eared for a shot." He
chuckled unpleasantly "I thought
I coold get more that way."
Tbey poured tbern*elve« mighty
diinks staggering portions that
more than halfemptled the first of
the quart*. Then they threw back
their heads and drained the cups.
The liquor wna cheap and new.
such as ranches the Indian encamp
ments after passing thru many
hnnda. It burned like fire In tholr
throats, and almost at once tt be
gan tn distill Its poison Into their
vein*.
.Harold and Pet* Immediately re
sumed their chair*; Joe still etood at
the tahli end. He, Uo, had seen
the little pistol of blue »!eel hang
Ing on the nail. At first tha three
m»n were sullen and silent, enjoy
ing the first warmth of the llqaor.
Then the barriers of self restraint
began to break down.
Harold began tn grow talkative,
launching forth on an amusing anec
dote. But th»r« was no laughter at
the end of It. The Indians were
never given to mirth In their de-
Adventures
Ot* THE TWINS
V C4ivw Robmrts Barton
TIIE BABY COMFORT"
Pr»lty norm fhe travelers rnmf to
the big front door of the factory that
Mr. Crane hsd been tilling them
almut. Just Insldß gtood a l!wn
storks anrnlng noisily. That was the
wiitnrl Nancy and Nick and Buskin*
had heard an they rami down the
road of this queer country. They
were lit 111 In the sky. you know. In
the lj»n<\ of Runaway Feather*.
And Oil* was what the storks were
artniliiK abont. There wns only on*
pinky-blue nllVc comfort to lie had,
and each iitork demanded It, snylng
he w:ia on hi* way to Bahyland to
take a brand new bnby to a mortal
family, and how could he with noth
ing to carry It In!
Mr. t'rnmplcg «'r*ne sighed. **Ho.
he. hum," he mild In a resigned
tone. "It wilt hav* to tie a riddle
again, I guess. It's the. only way
out
"Riddle!** mild Nlrk. looking very
much puzzled. "How can a riddle do
any rood?"
"fine comfort U stork*." answer-
Confessions of a Movie Star
CHAPTER LXXIV-AA CUTBACK TO THE PAST
"I'd like to speak with your
Motherdear, May?"
"Ilush the button next tha door for
DOINGS OF THE DUFFS
FRECKLES AND HJS FRIEXDS
bftuchfir. both Ijill Mid Virginia
were far Indeed from a raceptlve
humor.
"What"* tha matt ar with Oila
crowd—cant you eee a Joke?"* Har
old demanded. "Say, Hilt over
ther*—you who wouldn't taka a
gentleman'* drink—what yon alt
tin* there like an old marmot for
on a rock pile? < Why don't you
Join In the foatlvttjea?"
For all the rti<lenw»» of Harold"*
itpeech, Hill answered quietly. "Not
feelln* very feetlve tonight. Atid
If I were you—l'd ro ea.«y on too
much of that. You're out of prac
tice. you know."
"Tea—thank* to ycm_ At least,
before I came here I lived where I
could (tet a drink when I wanted It,
not In a Bi»nday-«chool."
Virginia middeniy leaned forward.
"Where did yoq live before you
came here, Harold''" *h« a»ke<t
There wo* sudden, unmistakable
contempt In her volca.
(Continued Tnnxniuw>
Ed Mr. ('nine. wnjrKtn* Ms head,
"and each stork with a stubborn dl*
position. When It happens this way,
an It sometimes does when we run
out of silk, or eiderdown, or both, I
Just think up a fiddle. The first
stork giving the wirrci't answer frets
the comfort. Out the trouble Is, I've
run out of riddle*. They know all
of mine. Ijo you know any new
on»s?"
"No," Nancy remnrked thought
fully, "but I can make one up."
"Ho much the belter!"
Hut lliiHklns hud something to say.
"T know a common sense riddle."
™ld be. Ask them. "What's the dlf
ferencc ts-tween a JumplngJark and
tt baby?" and see If they know."
Mr ('nine nodded approvingly. "It
sounds Important," lie remarked, so
turning to the storks he repeated the
question.
The storks wnirrled their heads
"That's * hard one," they Bald.
"We'll have to think."
(To Ite Conli|iue<f)
{Copyright, 1922, by Seattle Start
(Copyright, 1921. f»«*t»U BUr)
the nurse. I think Motherdear Is not
at home. Otherwise, she would haw
welcomed youT
TTTE SEATTLE FTAR
drrod ton*. "How could you hare
a memory of roxca on * slilp In
Uiom day*?"
Mr*. Marth* laughed ***Jn.
"Now, don't ask too many quo*
tlon*," she Mid. "I don't know
aUiut those n*es. I only know
thin —that we cam* •steera**.'
that my little brother *nd 1 l*y
In our bunk together almost too
nick to fwl alive, and that It com
forted me to see those beautiful
rosea.
"The mat* told us they were
being Shipped from California to
Victoria, B. C„ and they were
planted In pot* and supported In
frames, and had burst Into bloom
on the way.
"The other thing was the kind
ness of the mate. We we re a
long time on the way—th* weath
er was ao rough and every mora
Bhe had Just returned, she was
with us In a moment. She addressed
our visitor as "Jimmy." then rcmcin
bered and called him "l*lck."
"Make It 'Jimmy' hereafter, Mrs.
Scott," said he. "It's to explain to
you why I became 'Pick' and re
mained 'Pliik' that I asked you to see
me."
"1/et's sit In a circle," said Mother
de.ir, taking her place on the couch
at my side and motioning Jimmy to
push his chair In front of ua.
"I'll have to go back to those great
days In Hnrnesvllle. Mrs. Scott. You
remember, May, the night we BtalkeU
I that wretch HtnllodonT"
HY All EUN
Ry HAbel ClclftndU
"Two th!nm»"* Mr*. Martha re
peated, "but they were enough to
turn my memory of that hard
trip from Portland to Brattle Into
a very happy memory Iruitcad of
a doleful one."
•Didnt yon >r Vo »»*"*"
r*iidmoth»r uricd In a b'wll-
I THE OLD //OA//-; 'rou'y
Miss Sweet Missed a Trent
Word* of Praise
584
ORANGK
Pace
nnit rwsi
tn* he came to the bunk with
aome cheery word for us.
"Then, one mornln* when he
came, he had aomcthlnff In hie
hand.
" Tv» hrrnirTit ytm itomfthlnit.
Martha.' h* mud. and livid up hla
Klft for raf to «««.
"I looked at It. "What I* ItT I
anked. 1 had wvtr awn anything
Uk« It lt wua round like
an appln, and wh»n I touched It,
It f»lt cool. It wan hravy to lift,
and I thought It wan a moat brao
ttful rolor.
" 'You funny little girl? the
mate said. That's an onuipf
"Then he sat down by us and
told us about orange*—how they
grew an'i how to eat them. (You
see, 1 should most likely have
tried to bit® It like an apple.)
"When we reached Port Town
send, I ate It. And I thought It
th* most wonderfully delicious
tiling I ever tiusted.
"Well, at Port Townsend we
got on a sloop und c.uue on down
to ftauttta.
"It was an all day trip and we
didn't reach the Seattle wharf till
nearly dark."
(To lie CofiUnaed)
"Yoti think T could forget?"
What I forgot was my Mother
dear's pretence. She reminded me
by a pressure of ray fingers.
"I was com I iik to f.eo you next
day. 1 WIIH coming to ask jou to
marry me. 1 "
"Hut the scandal kept you away!
We heard what happened. Please
do not rvpent the story If It hurls
you, Jimmy!" Ho my sympathetic
Motherdcar uhortuncd the poor boy's
hard recital.
We heard that Jimmy's sister, a
married woman, had nin off with a
teller In her father's bank and * part
of Ihe bank's reserve.
"lielen was false—to ber husband
EVERETT TRUE
I to her father. Could you trust a
man of her blood? Then the quar
rles shut tluwn—my father was
ruined—"
"All that we knovr. Jlmmri Pon't
tjilk about It! The only mystery—to
l»e cleared up —"
"Concerns my father's death and
my disappearance?"
Motliertlear nodded:
"\V«< ought to learn that, Jimmy!"
"Father sent me away, Mrs.
Scott"
"Oh! Oh! Ohr Mot.herdnar eeenred
to comprehend tho situation, but I
did not. I listened eagerly to the
rest of Jimmy's recital:
"The—last morning—of his life,
father came to me with a telegram
In his hand. It contained the number
of a stateroom on the Olympic, aall-
PACE 13
BY STANLEY
BY ALLMAN
BY BLOSSER
BY CONDO
In* the next morning. The reserva
tion was for me.
"I was to go to London, consult
his brother, and bring back funds.
There wasn't a train on our little
branch which would get nue to New
York on time for tlio boat, but by
motoring over the mountain, I could
catch a train at the state capital ;md
roach the steamer 30 minutes before
alio sailed.
'There wasn't n minute to siutr*.
My father himself drove me to the
town where 1 caught the limited. Ho
was quite unnerved when w»
parted.
"1 was surprised, for to tell ttie
truth. I had been thinking about
May moet of our long ride. Would
It be best for me to write ta fcifP
(To Be Continued)