FAQH
THE IUCND BULLETIN, DAILY EDITION,
UKND OIUMXW, SATVKDAY, JANVARY It'J, 1DUI.
OJFTZE
COPyK-fT OflX LTTTLE.
CHAPTER III
Dnn Fnlllng was ronlly nnl hadlv
hurt. The quick, Insttlng blows hml
not done more thnn severely bruise
tho flesh of tils fnee; mid the mists of
unconsciousness that had been fulling
over hltn were more nearly the result
of his own tremendous physical ex
ertion. Now these mists were rising.
'Vo go away." the girl was com
manding. "I think you've killed him."
Pan opened his eyes to And her
kneeling close heslde him. hut still
covering Cranston with her pistol. Her
hand was resting on his bruised cheek.
He couldn't have believed that a hu
man face could be as white, while life
still remained, as hers was then. All
lite lovely tints that hu1 been such a
delight to him. the play of soft reds
and browns, had faded as an after
glow fades on the snow.
Dan'a glance moved with hers to
Cranston. He was standing easily at
a distance of a dozen feet ; and except
for the faintest tremble all over lils
body, a muscular reaction from the
violence of his passion, be had entire
ly regained his self-composure. This
was quite characteristic of the moun
tain men. They share with the heasta
a passion of living that Is wholly un
known on the plains; hut yet they have
a certain quality of Imperturbability
known nowhere else. Nor Is It limited
to the native-born mountaineers. No
man who Intimately knows a member
of that curious, keen-eyed little army
of naturalists and big-game hunters
who go to the north woods every fall,
as regularly and seemingly as Inex
orably as the waterfowl go In spring,
can doubt this fact. They seem to
have acquired from the silence and
the snows an Impregnation of that
eternal calm and imperturbability that
Is the wilderness Itself. Cranston
wasn't In the least afraid. Fear Is
usually a matter of uncertainty, aud
be knew exactly where be stood.
It 1r ertrenielv riniihtful tf ft nlnlnn-
man would have possessed this knowl
edge. But a plainsman has not the
knowledge of life Itself that the mono
talneer has, simply because he does
uot see It In the raw. And he has not
half the Intimate knowledge of death,
an absolute requisite of self-com
posure. The mountnlneer knows life
In Its simple phases with little tradl
tion or convention to blur the vision.
Death Is a very Intimate acquaintance
that may be met In any snowdrift, on
any rocky trail ; and these conditions
Bre very deadly to any delusions that
he has in regard to himself. He ac
quires an ability to see Just where he
stands, and of course that means self
possession. Tbls quality bad something
to do with the remarkable record that
the mountuln men, such as tbut mag
nificent warrior from Tennessee, made
in the late war.
Cranston knew exactly what Snow
Dlrd would do. Although of a higher
order, ehe was a mountain creature,
even as himself. She meant exactly
what sbe said. If be hadn't climbed
from Dan's prone body, she would
have shot quickly and very straight If
he tried to attack either of them now,
her finger would press back before he
could blink an eye, and she wouldn't
weep any hysterical tears over his
dead body. If he kept bis distance,
she wouldn't shoot at all. He meant
to keep bis distance. But he did know
that be could Insult her without dan
ger to himself. And by now his Hps
bad acquired their old curl of scorn.
L. "in go, Bnowblrd," be saw. "l n
leave you with your sissy. But I guess
ill
mm
&XCW! AJV73 CO'?12
you saw what 1 did to liliu In two
minutes."
"1 saw. But you must remember
he's sick. Now go."
"If he's sick, let him stay In bed
aud have a wet uursu. Maybe you enn
be that."
The lids drooped halfway over her
gray eyes, and the slim linger curled
more tightly about the trigger. "Oh.
I wish I could shoot you. Bert!" she
said. Sbe didn't whisper It, or hiss It,
or hurl It, or do any of the things most
people are supposed to do In moments
of violent emotion. She simply said
It, and her meaning was all tlu
clearer,
"But you can't. And I'll pound that
milk-sop of yours to a Jelly every time
I see him I'd thlntr, Siiowl.tr.) thH(
you'd want a man."
He started up the trail; and then
she did a strange thing. "He's more ol
a man than you are. right now, Bert,"
she told him. "He'll prove It some
day." Then her nrm went about Dan's
neck and lifted his head upon her
breast ; and In Cranston's plain sight,
she bent and kissed him, softly, on
the lips.
Cranston's answer was an oath. It
dripped from bis Hps, more poisonous,
more malicious than the venom of a
snake. His features seemed to tight
en, the dark lips drew away from his
teeth. No words could have made
him uch an effective answer as this
little action of hers. And ns he turned
up the trail, he called down to her
a name that most dreadful epithet
that foul tongues have always used
to women held In greatest scorn.
Dan struggled In her arms. The
kiss on his Hps, the Instant before,
had not called him out of his half
consciousness. It bud scarcely seemed
real, rather Just an Incident In a bliss
ful dream. But the word called down
the trail shot out clear and vivid from
the silence. Just as a physician's face
will often leap from the darkness af
ter the anesthesia. Something Infinite
ly warm and tender was holding him.
pressing him back against a holy place
that throbbed and gave him life and
strength; but be knew that this word
bad to be answered. And only actions,
not other words, could be Its payment.
All the voices of his body called to
him to lie still, but the voices of the
spirit, those higher, nobler promptings
from which no man, to the glory of
the breed from which he sprung, enn
ever quite escape, were stronger yet.
He tugged upward, straining. But he
didn't even have the strength to break
the hold that the soft arm had about
bis neck.
"Oh. If I could only pull the trig
ger!" she was crying. "If 1 could
only kill him"
"Let me," he pleaded. "Give me
the pistol. I'll kill him"
And he would. There was no nincn
Ing In the gray eyes that looked up
to her. She leaned forward, as If to
put the weapon In his hands, but at
once drew It back. And then a single
sob caught at her thront. An Instant
Inter they heard Cranston's laughter
ns he vanished around the turn or the
trail.
For long minutes the two of them
were still. The girl still held the man's
head upon her breast. The pistol had
fallen In the pine needles, and her
nervous hand plucked strangely at the
leaves of a mountain flower. To Dan's
eyes, there was something trancelike,
a hint of paralysis and Insensibility
about her posture. He had never seen
her eyes like this. The light that he
had always beheld In them had van
ished. Their otter darkness startled
him.
ffe sat up straight, and her arm that
had been about his neck felt at her
side. He took her hand firmly In his.
and their eyes met
' "We must go home. Snowbird," he
told her simply. "I'm not so badly
hurt hut that I can make It."
Sbe nodded; but otherwise scarcely
seemed lo hear, ner eyes still flowed
with darkness. And then, before his
own eyes, their dnrk pupils began to
contract. The hnnd he held filled and
throbbed with life, and the fingers
closed around his. She leaned toward
him.
"Listen, Dnn." she said quickly.
"You heard didn't you the Inst thing
that be said?"
"I couldn't help but hear, Snow
bird." ner other hnnd Bought for his.
"Then If you heard payment must be
made. Vou see what I mean, Dan.
Maybe you can't see, knowing the girls
that live on the plains. You were the
cause of his saying It, and you must
answer "
It Boemer to Dan. that some stern
code of the hills, unwritten except In
the hearts of their children. Inexorable
as night, was- speaking through ber
lips. This was no personal thing. In
some dim, hn If understood way, It
went back to the basic rode of lire.
"People must Jlghtjthelr own lights.
up here," she told htm. "The Inwi
of tho courts that llio 'plains people
can appeal to are all too far away.
There's no one that can do It, except
you. Not my father. My father can't
fight your buttles hero, If your honor
Is going to stand. It's up to you, Dnn.
You Can't pretend that you didn't hear
him. Such as you are, weak and slclt
to be beaten to a pulp In two minutes,
you alone will havo to mako him an
swer for It. I enmo to your nld aud
now you must come to mine." '
Her fingers no longer clasped his.
Strength had come back to him, and
bis fingers closed down until the blond
went out of hcra, but she was wholly
unconscious of tho pain. In reality,
she was conscious of nothing except
I lie growing flame In his face. It held
her eyes In passionate fascination. Ills
pupils were contracting to Httlo bright
dots In tho gray Irises. Tho Jaw wita
setting, ns she had never seen It bo
fore, "Do you think, Snowbird, that you'd
even have to ask me 7" he demanded.
"Dou't you think I understand? And
It won't he In your ilefenso ouly my
own duty."
"But ho Is so strong and you are
so weak"
"I won't be so weak forever. I nev
er really cared much about living bo
fore. I'll try now, and you'll see
oh. Snowbird, wait and trust mo: I
understand everything. It's my own
tight when you kissed me. nnd he
cried down that word In nnger and
Jealousy, It put the whole thing on me.
No one else can mnko hltn answer; no
one else hns the right. It's my honor,
no one else's, thnt stnnds or falls."
He lifted her hand to hla Hps and
kissed II again and again.
And for the first time he saw the
tears gathering In her dnrk eyes. "But
you fought, here, didn't you, Dan?"
sbe asked with painful slowness. "You
dldn'l put up your arms or try to
run away? I didn't come till he bnd
yon done, so I didn't see." Sho looked
at him ns If her wholo Joy of life hung
on his answer.
"Fought I I would have fought till
I dledl But thnt Isn't enough. Snow
bird. It Isn't enough Just to light. In
a case like this. A man's got to win I
I would have died If you hadn't come.
And that's another debt thnt I have
to pay only thnt debt I owe to you."
She nodded slowly, Tho lives of
the mountain men are not saved by
their women without Incurring obliga
tion. She attempted no barren de
nials. Sbe made no effort to pretend
he had not Incurred a tremendous debt
when she bnd come with ber pistol. It
was an unavoidable fact. A life for
a life Is the rode of the mountains.
"Two things I must do heforo I enn
ever dure to die," bo told ber soberly.
"One of them Is to pay you ; tho other
Is to pay Cranston for the thing he
said. Maybe the chance will never
come for the first of tho two; only I'll
pray that It will. Maybe It would be
kinder to you to pray thnt It wouldn't;
yet I pray that It will! Maybe I can
pay that debt only by being always
ready, always watching for a chance
to save you from any danger, always
trying to protect you. You didn't
come In time to see the fight I made.
Besides I lost, nnd little else mat
ters. And that debt to you can't be
paid until sometime I fight again for
you and win." He gasped from bis
weakness, but went on bravely. "I'll
never be nbie to feel at pence. Snow
bird, until I'm tested In the lire before
your eyes! I want lo show you the
things Cranston said of me nrc not
true that my courage will stand the
test.
"It wouldn't be tho same, perhaps,
with an Eastern girl. Other things
matter In the valleys. But I see how
It Is here; that there Is only one
standard for men nnd by thnt stand
ard they rise or fall. Things In the
mountains are down to the essen
tials." He paused nnd struggled for
strength to continue. "And I know
what you snld to him," ho went on.
"Ilnlf-unconsclous as I was. I remem
ber every word. Ench word Just seems
to burn Into me. Snowbird, nnd I'll
make every one of them good. You
snld I am a better man thnn he. and
sometime It would be proved nnd It's
the truth I Maybe In a month, maybe
In a year. I'm not going to die from
this malady of mine now. Snowbird.
I've got too much to live for too
many debts to pay. In the end, I'll
prove your words to him."
Ills eyes grew earnest, nnd the hard
fire went out of them. "It's almost as
If you were a queen, a real queen of
some great kingdom," he told her,
tremulous with a great awe that was
stealing over blm, as a mist steals over
water. "And because I hnd kissed
your fingers, for ever and ever I was
your subject, living only to fight your
fights maybe with a dream In the
end to kiss your Angers ngnln. When
you hent nnd kissed me on that hill
side for blm to see It wus the same:
that I was sworn to you. and nothing
mattered In my life except the service
nnd love I could give you. And It's
more than you ever dream. Snowbird.
It's nil yours, for your battles and
your happiness."
The great pines were silent above
Ihotn. shadowed nnd dnrk. Perhaps
they were listening to an nge-old
story, those vows of service nnd self
gulned worth by which the race has
struggled upward from the darkness.
"But I kissed you once before."
she reminded blm. The voice was
Just a whisper, hardly louder than the
stir of the leaves In the wind.
"But thnt kiss didn't count." he told
her. "It wtisn't nt all the same. I
loved you then. I think, but It didn't
mean what It did today." '
"And what " Bhe leaned toward
him. her eyes full on "doea It
mean now?"
"All that's worth while In life, ell
Hull ma Hera when tyeritlilng Ij snjd.
thnt can bo iutd, nnd nil I ilono Hint
enn bo done. And It moans, plenso
Hod. when tho debts nro paid, that I
may havo such n klsa ngnln."
"Not until then," sho told him.
whispering.
"Until then, I mnkn oath that I
won't even nk It, nr receive II If you
should glvo It, It goes too deep, dear
est and II moans Ion much."
This was their pad. Not until the
debts were paid anil ber word' made
good would those Hps bo bin ngnln.
There wns no need for further words.
Both of them knew.
In the sklea. tho gray cloud wero
gathering swiftly, ns alwi'V In I hi'
mountains. Tho raindrops were fall
ing one and ono. over the forest. Tim
summer wns dono, and fall had coiuo
In earnest.
Tho rains fell unceasingly for seven
days: not a downpour but a constant
ilrlr.r.le thnt made tho distant rlilgea
smoke. The parched rnrlb seemed to
smack Its Hps.' nod little rivulets be
gan to fall and tiimhto over the beds
of tho dry streams. All danger of for
est tiro wns nt onco removed, nnd
Snowbird wns no longer needed as a
lookout on old Bald mountuln. She
went to ber own borne, her companion
hack to the valley: and now that hla
sister had taken his place aa house
keeper, Bill hail gone down to tho
lower foothills with a great part of
the live stock. Dan spent these rainy
days In lull on tho hillsides, building
himself physically so Hint ho might
pnjr his debts.
(To bo Continued)
The Circus.
Tho clowns disport themselves as of
yore. Tho band plays Its tuneful
music. Acrobats swing high on shining
trapexes. The clephr-nm go through
their ponderous moves. The seals flap
their way to children' hearts. All Is
tho sumo as twenty years ago tho
circus does not change.
But with the passing of the years,
the effect has ehanired. The trappings
seem less bright. Their tawdry tinsel
no longer seems pure gold. The quaint
ness of exotic cloaks no longer trans
ports the mind lo faraway lands. Tho
acrobats seem much the same as thoso
the dally atago brings us. Tho ele
phants, for nil their heavy training,
seem but commonplace. Kven tho
clowns seem less funny than In days
gone by. Time hns passed. Indeed.
Tho circus tinea not change. Itut we.
feeling tho heavy band of passing
time, have changed. No longer do wo
feel as children. Through the glamor,
wo see the sadness. Forsooth, since
our childhood flays, wo havo progress
ed. Milwaukee Journal.
Orris Found In Only Two Zones.
Orris root, ihth Is uaod ns a basis
of many per'-noee. Is obtained only
tirtund Florenca and In tho neighbor
hood of Verona,
The Phllco
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as it looks to
the add
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A two-year battery is
certain way to get it.
n
J WitK the PHILCO Slotted Retainer
' THE "CORD TIRE" BATTERY '
We are now offering a snappy reduction in the price
of new batteries.
Bend Battery Station
iuauiiiiaiiaiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiainiiiuBiiaaiiiuiiniiiniiMiij
Jit the ffiurci
biiiaatiiiiaiamniiiimi aiiiiiiiaaiiiuaiiiiiiimiaiaiMiI
Molliodlst Episcopal J. IMgar
I'unly, pastor. Tho musical Sunday
ovoiilng, lumorrow at 7: SO o'clock,
will prove it musical Ireat of unus
ual Intercut. Tho choir, under tho
loudcrshlh tit Professor II. II. Hess,
will present Haul's "Tho Holy City"
In lis entirely. This Biinred oratorio
Is ono of tho most beautiriil compo
sitions over undertaken In Bund.
Tim choir has boon preparing for "Vl"'
two months for Its presentation.
From tlino to time special selections
from II havo been sung. Professor
Boss announces that Ihla will un
doubtedly ho by far I bo host of the
musical Sunday evenings presented
so far. Come anil hear It.
"Was Man, too, Kvolvotl!" will bo
tho thomu of thu puHtor's morning
sermon ul II o'clock. Thorn will bo
(ho usual splendid muslo and tho
spirit of cordial welcome.
Try to romo to Sunday school to
morrow. Tho "I, lllhi Brown Church"
performs a real service to I ho com
munity, as do till tho churches of
Bond, In maintaining efficient schools
for tho religious training of youth.
Our school is organised lo meet thu
needs of yourself anil your family.
Tho Knworlb loamm. u lolly group
of wldo-awuko young people, will bo
glad lo see you thero nt 0:30 p. m.
Baptist Corner Oregon nnd Haw
thorne, ono block eust of First Na
tional Bank. Sunday school, 0:45;
regular morning worship, II; llup
tlst Young People's union, 0:30 p.
m.; regular evening worship, 7:30
p. m.
Tho Baptist Women's Missionary
union, an auxiliary of tho church,
moots tho first nnd third Thursday of
ouch mouth, Tho first meeting Is
given over to tho regular business of
tho union. Tho second meeting Is
devoted to missionary work. Tho
announcement of tho plnro of meet
ing Is always given out nt tho Sunday
sorvlcos preceding tho ditto of mcot
ln. On Sunday morning. January 23,
tho Womon's union will havo charge
of tho morning services. A mission
ary program will bo given, to which
al friends of tho church and tho pub
lie aro invited.
B. Y. 1. U. topic for Sunday evo
nlng, "Baptist Young Peoplo's t'nlon:
sell your car, buy a
starting,
remaining
car.
the most
MSB!
L. M. KING, Prop.
Accomplishments mill Possibilities;"
script tiro lesson la found In Phil. 3:7
I I, leader, Miss Mlhitl (llngrlcli, A
warm welcome will bo given nil
young people who deslio In moot
wlih thu Young Pooplii'a union, '
Tho Idtui scams to ho prevalent
among u part of lh public thai, be
cause of the flro which destroyed Hut
main structure, llio church no lunger
holds services, Fortunately lliu nno
whig which formerly boused tho Hand
Public library was saved. This has
been remodeled and repapercd and
will bo used for worship until sue It
Hum that n suitable edifice rail hn
emitted. Tho church will always
havo a welcome for till who desire to
como and worship with us,
First Lutheran H. A. Htitnseth,
pastor. Sunday school, with lllbln
class, 10 a. tn.: services In Kngllsh,
II u. m., and In Norwegian, 7: SO p.
in. Seek tint Lord while Hn tuny bit
found. Como lo the church of Uod.
ChiMlan lllblii arhoitl. 10 a. m.
Como early and Join In tho happy in
minutes of hnud-shnkliiR before tho
school opens. Communion and so
cial meeting, 11 a. in. Will In our
numbers aro Increasing, our hoys and 4
girls nro becoming more powerful In
'tho servlrn of (lotl. The reason He
In tbnlr utter unselfishness. Tho
world Is quick to detect our motives.
Kven oloquoiiro Is empty and f tit Ho
without unselfish devotion In our
hearts. Tho point In nil Cblrstliin
work and testimony Is to throw one's
self Into tho work, not for self's sake,
but for tho work's sake; not lo seek
prnisn, hut lo ndd lo tho glory of thn
Muster's cause. Fathers and moth
ers, wn have a fine lllbln class, ('onto f
and Join hands with the boys and
girls. Bend's Hvo-wlro Illblo class.
KpUcopnl Sunday school will be
held In Satbnr's hall at 10:30 o'clock -Sunday
itiornlnu, Dr. George II. Van
Waters, nrrh deacon of tho ICplsropnl
church In Knstern Oregon, will bo In
Bond lo lerturo and hold services at
8 o'clock Sunday evening In Mother's
hall.
Put II In Thn Bulletin.
M ali It It grow. Having Is
mario easy with one of our little
homo safe. For your rttllflrrn'a
sake, start litem saving; money
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A two-year battery will keep you away,
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Do you want to increase the resale price,
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