| Show I UThE FHE ISLE OF ot RETRIBUTION I Cd I Ned deeply appalled and unspeakably unspeakably un un- revolted looked to Lei Lenore Lenore Le Le- i nore for directions Her glorious head was on her arms and she shook It In utter misery misery- I X cant can't go out there now she said Ill Just die if It I do Im I'm Im I'm so cold still so weakened I 1 wish I 1 had died out thero there In the storm Ned turned once more to Dooms Dooms- dorf telling the truth truth truth-l I think she simply cant can't stand to togo togo go he be urged gravely But though she's absolutely in your our power there are some things even a beast cant can't do You Just the same as gave me your word word word- There are things a beast can cant can't t do but Im I'm not a a. be beast st st. Theres There's nothing I 1 cant can't do that I f want ant to todo do I 1 make no promises promises Just Just the same for this time I 1 dont don't think you need eed be afraid I 1 dont don't take everything that comes along in the way of a woman I 1 want a woman of There were a number of axes in inthe inthe inthe the little workroom that comprised one end of the long cabin and flung three of them over his shoulder Right flight up through here he urged pointing to the littie little lit lit- tie tle hillside behind the cabin halted them before one of the the half grown spruce I Heres a a. good one he com corn Just beyond Is another You cap can each take one one cut cut them down with your axes and then hack them Into two-foot two lengths for tor the stove Better split spIlt each length Into three pieces the pieces the larger ones anyway If you ou have time you youcan youcan youcan can carry It down to the cabin He took the handle of the largest largest largest larg larg- est ax In his right hand with his left he extended the other two implements implements im im- im- im blades up to Ned and Bess I suppose you OU know weve we've had no experience experience- Ned began It doesn't matter Just be careful careful careful care care- ful the trees dont don't fall on you ou They sometimes do you know on amaI amateur amateur ama ama- woodsmen The rest Is plain I brute strength and awkwardness He handed them each from his pocket a piece of dried substance that looked like bark Heres a apiece apiece apiece piece of oC jerked caribou each each it it ought to keep life In your our bodies And the sooner you get your our wood woodcut woodcut cut and split the sooner sooner- you see an any more Then he turned and left them to their toll Thus began a bitter hour for Ned He found the mere work of biting through the thick trunk with his ax cost him breath and strained his patience to the limit It wasn't as easy as it looked He did not strike true the blade made Irregular Irregular Irregular ular white gashes in the bark his blows seemed to lack power The great ragged wound deepened slowly Finally It Was half halt through the trunk and yet et the tree stood seemIngly seemingly seem seem- as sturdy as ever Reckless from fatigue he chopped on more fiercely than ever And suddenly sudden sudden- I ly r with the grinding noise of breaking wood the tree started to fall And at that instant Ned was wag face to face with the exigency of leaping leaping leaping leap leap- ing for his life liCe The tree did not fall rall In the direction planned An instant before weary and aching and out of breath Ned Ked would have believed himself incapable of swift and powerful motion As that spruce shattered down toward towai d him like the club of a giant aimed to strike out his life a supernatural power seemed to snatch him to one side Without realization of the effort the n needed eded mu muscles cles contracted contract contract- ed with startling force and he sprang sprang like a distance Jumper to safet safety But he didn't Jump too soon or or too far The branches of the tile tree lashed at him hint as it descended hurl hurlIng Ing him In Inte t e he snow And thereafter there were three things to cause him thought One of them was the attitude of Bess Be the Bess-the s the girl to 10 whom in weeks past he had shown hardly decent courtesy courtes the same girl whom in I childish fury he h hid had d cursed the bitter bitter bitter bit bit- ter eventful night just gone Above the roar of the falling tree he heard her quick strangled half-strangled gasp gasp of horror I The sound seemed to ha have e the qualities that made toward a perfect perfect per per- feet image after-image because in the si silence silence si- si I lence that followed follow d as he la lay In Inthe Inthe inthe the soft snow and the crash of the fallen tree echoed into nothingness i it still lingered ever every tone perfect and clear In hi his minds mind's ear There was no denying ing its tone of Ineffable Ineffable ineffable fable disma dismay Evidently Bess was of a forgiving disposition In spite of his offense of the past night she I had evidently no desire to see him crushed Into jelly under that giants giant's I blow ow I Bess was as staring wide eyed into his face and he smiled quietly in I reassurance Not hurt at all he told her Quickly he climbed to his feet See that you dont don't do dothe dothe dothe I the same sam thing that I did dill He walked with her to her fallen I ax then inspected the deep cut she I had already made in her tree Youre doing the same thing I 1 IdId Idid did sure enough he observed The I tree will vill fall your our way and crush you Let me A moment later he lie took his ax I and put In a few more strokes in inthe inthe inthe the same place It was the danger point he thought a deeper cut might fell the tree prematurely Presently he crossed to the opposite opposite opposite site side signaled Bess out of or danger danger dan dan- dan I ger and began to tp hack the tree ag again ln making a cut above that started on the other othet side of the trunk He chopped sturdily and In a moment the tree started to fall fail safely and In an opposite opposite opposite op op- op- op direction He uttered some SonIc small sound of triumph but It was a a- areal real tragedy to have the tree fall against a nearby nearby near near- by tree and amI l lodge dge Again he had failed to exercise proper foresight There ThereAs WAS As nothing to tb do but climb into the tle adjoining tree with his ax- ax and aX and laboriously cut th lodged tree away In the meantime Bess went to work on the first tree tell felled d trimming It of or its limbs limbs' so soto to cut It into lengths Ned joined her at the work bt long before the first tree was cut ut into fuel both were at the edge edS' of t utter exhaustion JB D had seemed credible to Ned at first It was as 1 If he couldn't possibly be true a figment of nightmare that would vanish as eoon soon as he wakened But Buthe Buthe Buthe he was real enough now Noth NothIng Nothing J ing was left to him but the know knoW knoW- edge how real he was 4 He must not rest he pause till the work was done Th The fact that Bess had fallen fainting g In the snow did not affect must st swing awing his ax and hew th the thew w wood od Day was dying Grayn Grayness was creeping In from the sea Jit was was like the essence of the self all gray gray like his dreams dream gray like the ashes of ot his hop hopes He must finish the two trees before be bOe before fore the darkness came down and kept him from s seeing where to sink the blade m The ax swung automatically Jin In hi his arms even sens sense of ot effort was wag gone from him The only reality that lived Jived in him now in that misty mity twilight was the knowledge that he must get through It was too too- dark to s see e noW now how I how much of the work remained The Thi night was cheating him after all u. u He struck once more at the to tough Sh length that lay at his feet feet feet-a a piece at which he had already struck ruck uH counted blows He gave all his hI waning strength to the effort I The length split open but slipped out of ot his hla bleeding hands falling somewhere In the shadows s beyond He must crawl after Tt ft he didn't know how many m more re lengths there were to split It w was S strange that he couldn't keep hi his feet And how deep and still sUIl wa wan the night that dropped over him hii How long fong he groped for the i handle in the snow he never never knew kne w. w B But t he lay still at last Twilight deepened about him and the wi wind d I wept like a ghost arisen from tf sea The very flame of his life was burning down to embers t I Thus it came about that Dooms Dooms- dorf dort missed the sound of hIs hisa against the wood Swinging a Jan lan lantern tern a titanic figure snow laden trees he tramped down downto downto to Investigate Bess semiconscious again wakened when the lantern lanter light danced Into her eyes But Butt it too took him some little time to see Neds Ned's dark form in the snow fl The n reason ason was It was lying b bea hind a a. mighty pile of split spILt fuel The Te light showed that only gre green green branches too small to be bs of value remained of the two spruce And grunted a wondering g oath deep in his throat jH They ha haft been faithful slav slaves Putting his mighty arm arou around d them each in turn he half hat carried half dragged them into the he warmth of the cabin I Ned was spared the misery and despair that o cabin the first night of his His master dropped him himon himon on the floor b by the stove stoe and lh there r he la lay seemingly without life liCe the whole night through h the p I Tet Yet he was not alwa always s 's deeply Insensible Sometimes he wo would ld waken with a knowledge of wrack wracking I ing pain In his muscles and som some sometimes times cold would creep over oer him han Once he came to himself with th the realization that someone someone was ad administering adt d ministering to him Soft Se gentle gentl hands were removing his wet oute garments rolling him gently oret in order to get at them slipping on off tf his wet shoes and stockings great tenderness swept over oyer him l and h he smiled w wanly In the lant lantern light J P Lenore the man whispered feebly H II But there was no spoken ans answer I out of the shadow shadon at the edg of tS e lantern light Perhaps there here wa was wat the faint sound like a a. gasp aj most as if a terrible truth that wa was for an instant forgotten had been to I recalled I Continued in our next issue bel I |
