| Show x l i The T e Story o of f a Dog That Turned W Wolf j I II I B By JAMES OLIVER CUR CURWOOD WOOD i CO Copyright Dobbs Merril Co m KAZAN EXPERIENCES THE JOY OF MATING AND HUNTING HUNTING HUNT HUNT- If ING G GAME WITH THE WOLF PACK i b Kazan Is a a. vicious Alaskan sledge dog quarter one-quarter gray wolf He Ho saves his masters master's life and Is taken along when the master goes goes' to civilization to meet his bride and return with her to the frozen country Even the master Is afraid to touch the dog but Isobel Kazan's new II I mistress wins his devotion Instantly On the way northward McCready McCready Mc- Mc Cready a team dog-team drI driver er joins the part party Inflamed by drink on the thee following night McCready b bents beats ts the master insensible and attacks attacks attacks' the bride Ka Kazan m flies files at the assailants assailant's throat thront kills him takes to the woods and ond joins a 0 wolf pack pock He fights the pack pock leader leod i CHAPTER V Continued V-Continued I 5 I For the first time In his life K Kazan hazan zan I felt frit lt the terror and the pain of thede the de grip death grip th-grip and with a mighty effort he Ii flung his head a 3 little forward and antI ands s blindly His powerful jaws closed on the wolfs wolf's foreleg close to The the body There was was a cracking of bone bone ne and a 3 crunching of flesh and the circle of waiting wolves grew tense and alert lert One or the other of the fighters p was was as' as assure sure to go down do before the holds were were broken and they but awaited a that fatal fall as ns a signal to leap in inTo into To the death j I Only the thickness of hair and hide joa on the back of Kazan's neck and the toughness of his muscles sa saved ed him from irom that terrible fate of the van van- van The wolfs wolf's teeth sank deep but not deep enough to reach the vital spot spot and suddenly Kazan put every ounce of strength In his limbs to to the effort effort f ort and flung himself up bodily from finder his antagonist The Tile grip on his neck relaxed related and with another rearing leap he tore himself free H S As swift as a whip-lash whip he whirled on tire broken the legged broken legged leader of the pack and and nd with the full rush and weight of his his liis shoulders struck him fairly in in inthe the fide More deadly than the throat-grip throat had Kazan sometimes found the lunge hen ichen delivered at the right moment It was ns deadly now The big gray wolf lost his feet rolled upon his back for foran an jm n instant t and the pack rushed in eager r to rend the la last t of life from the leader ader whose power had ceased to exist From rom out of that gra gray snarling blood lipped bloody mass Kazan drew back panting and bleeding He Was as weak There lere was a curious sickness In his head He wanted to lie down In the now now Bus D the old and anel infallible in- in f fv warned him not to betray that weakness v al ness From out of the pack a slim lithe uthe gray groy wolf she-wolf came up to him and gird lay down in fn the snow before him and then rose swiftly and sniffed at his wounds jia i She was young and strong and beautiful beau beau- but I Kaz Kazan azan 1 did not Tool look at her Where the fight had been he was wa's looking looking look look- ing lag at what little remained of the old j leader nd I The pack had llad returned to the feast f ast He lIe heard again the cracking of bones and the rending of flesh and something told him bilu that thereafter all the Q wilderness would hear and recognize recognize nize his voice oIce and that when he sat back hack o on his haunches and called to the moon and the stars those swift footed swift footed hunters of the big hig plain would respond to It He lie circled twice about the cari earl caribou pou bou and the pack and then trotted oft Ito to the edge of the black spruce f forest rest When Whon he reached readied the shadows he looked ed back Gray Wolf was following ll She was only a few yards behind bel be- be l hind And now noes' she came up to him a little timidly and site he she too 1001 looked ed back Ito to the dark blotch of life out on on the lake And as she stood there close beIde heIde be- be F Ide him hilt Kazan Kaza sniffed at something fin in the al air that was ns not the scent of blood blood nor nOlO the p perfume of the balsam Sand nd spruce It was a thing thing that that seemed Ito o come to him from the clear stars the cloudless moon the strange and andl l beautiful quiet of the night itself Ant And frt it H pr presence sence seemed to be a part o of f Gray Wolf He lIe looked at her and he found Gra Gray eyes alert and questioning Sh She e was as young so young so young that she se seemed med d scarcely to ha have e passed out of puppy puppy- b hood Od Her body was strong and ond slim beautifully shaped In the moonlight moonlIght moonlight moon moon- light the hair under her throat an and d along her back bacS shone sleek and soft r. r She hc whined at the be red staring light 1 In n Kazan's e eyes es t tad Jid It was not a puppy puppy's s s whimper Kazan moved toward herand her herand f and m stood with his head over oyer her back facing the pack He felt her trembling g against his chest He looked at th the thet e t moon oon and the stars again the mystery y E tot of Gray Wolf and of ot the night throbBing throbbing throb throb- bing la is his blood Not mucK much of ot his life had hod been spen spent t nt ot the posts Most of at It had lead b ben en o on n the trail trail trail-in In in the ne traces traces and and the tilt e spirit of or the mating season had out y red him from afar But it was y ve verj r now Gray Wolf Walt lifted her head Ur r soft muzzle touched the wound o on n lis iS neck and In the gentleness of that f ouch uch In the low sound in her throat I felt anti fea- fea heard jam again that won won- ul something that hud had come with i he caress caross of ot the womans woman's hand an and 1 the e sound of her h r voice olce in lIe turned whining hl hi his b back ck brt bris s tung his Ills li hoad ad high and defiant of ot th the e rn ss which he faced Gray VoiE Wolf Voi f f E r I trotted rotted cl close se at his side as ns they entered en- en ered into Info the gloom of the forest forest- t CHAPTER VI The Fight In the tho Snow They found shelter that night under thick hick balsam balsa i a and d when they lay ay down on n the soft carpet of needles which the snow had hud not covered Gray Wolf Volf snuggled her warm warin body close to Kazan Kazan Kazan Ka Ka- zan and licked his wounds The day b broke roke with a velvety fall of snow so white and thick that they could not see a dozen leaps ahead of them in fn the open It If was quite warm warm- warm and so still stUl that hat the whole world seemed filled with only the flutter and whisper of the snowflakes Through this day Kazan and Gray Wolf traveled side by side Time and again agnin he lie turned his head ba back back- k to the ridge o over er which he had come coins come and Gray Wolf Volf c could uld not under under- u der- der stand tand the strange note that trembled inis in h his is throat In n the afternoon they returned to what what was left of the caribou u doe on the lake ake In the edge of the ills for forest st Gra Gray Gras Wolf Volf hung back She did not yet not yet know the he meaning of poison-baits poison and traps but the the Instinct of numberless numberless number- number less ess generations was in fn her veins and andt It t told her there was danger In visiting a second time a thing that had grown cold in death Kazan had seen masters work about carcasses carcasses that the wolves had lead left He had lad seen them conceal traps cle cleverly and roll little capsules of strychnine in inthe the he fat of or the entrails and once he lie h had lad ind put a foreleg In a trap and had experIenced its sting sUng and pain and deadly grip But he did not have Gray Wolfs Wolf's fear He urged her to accompany accompany accompany pany him to the white hummocks on the ice and at last she went with him I md and sank back restlessly on her haunches while he dug out the bones and pieces of flesh that the snow had kept pt from freezing But Dut she would not no t eat and at last Kazan went and sat silt on his ils haunches at her side and with her looked at what he had dug dub out from under the snow He sniffed the air Lie Ile could not smell danger but Gra Gray Wolf to told d him that it might be there She told him many ninny other things inthe in inthe inthe the days and nights that followed The Th e third night Kazan himself gathered th the e pack hunt and led in the chase Three Thre e times that month before the moon moon oon left the skies he led the chase and each tune there was a kill But as the snows snow s began to grow softer under his feet h he e found a greater and greater companionship companionship compan compan- in Gray Wolf Volt and they hunted hunte d alone living on on the big white e rabbits In all the world he lie had loved but tic two o things the girl with the shining hair and the hands that had caressed him and Gray Graj Wolf He did not leave the big plain an and d often he lie took tool his mate to the top of th the e ridge und and he lie would would try to tell her what wha et t he had left back there With the dark l nights the call of the woman became becam so strong trong upon him that he was filled fille d with with a longing to go back and take ake tak e Gray Wolf with him Something happened er very soon after r that They were ere crossing the op open ope n plain one da day when hen up on the face o othe of f the ridge Kazan saw something that tha t made his his heart stand still A man with a doh dog sledge e and team ge was coining com coin coming COlU- COlU ing down Into their world The wind d had not warned them and suddenly Kazan saw something glisten in th the theman's theman's e mans man's hand He lIe knew what It was I Iwas It t was the thing that spat fire lre and thunder thunder thun thun- thunder der and und killed He gave his warning to Gray Wolf Volt and they were off like me the- the wind sitf sl side sideby le leby by side And then came the sound sound- and Kazan's hatred of men burst fortIn forth fort h In a snarl as he leaped There was a queer humming over their heads Th The rhe ae e sound from behind came again ant an ond d this time Gray Wolf gave a yelp elp o of f pain and rolled over in the snow Sh Shwas She e was on her feet again in an nn Instant and Kazan dropped behind her ant and antran l ran there until they retched reached the shelter steel shel- ter of the timber Gray Cray Wolf Volt lay down and began licking the wound In he her r shoulder er Kazan faced the ridge Thi The Theman Theman e man was was was' tal taking up their trail H He e stopped where Gray Wolf had fallen I and the t-the snow Then he came on Kazan urged Gray Wolf Volt to her feet teet and they made for the thick swamp close to the lake All that day the they l kept ept in fn the fa face c of the wind hind and when Gray Wolf Volt la lay down Kazan Earan stole back backover k koer over o their trail watching and sniffing the air For days after that Gra Gray Cray Wolf ran lame and when once they came upon the remains of an old camp Kazan's teeth were bared In snarling hatred of the scent man-scent that had been left be be- hind Growing In him there was a desire desire desire de de- sire for vengeance vengeance vengeance-vengeance vengeance for his own hurts and for Gray Wolfs He lIe tried to nose out the man trail man trail under the he cover coer of fresh snow and Gray Wolf YoU circled around him anxiously At last lastic he ic followed her sullenly There was wag a savage redness In III his eyes Three days later the new moon moon came came And on the fifth night Kazan struck a trail rail It was fresh fresh so so fresh that he stopped as suddenly as though struck by a bullet when he ran upon it and it-and and stood with e every ery muscle In his body quivering and his hair on on e end d. d It was wasn was was' n a man There were the marks of the sledge the dogs dog's feet and und the snowshoe snowshoe snow snow- snow snowshoe shoe prints of his enemy Then he threw up his head to the stars and from his throat there rolled out over the wide plains the hunt-cry hunt the the wild and savage call caU for the pack lack Ne' Ne Never er had he lie put the savagery In n It that was there tonight Again and again he sent forth that call and then there came an tin answer and another another another an an- other and still another until Gray Wolf herself sat sat back on her haunches and added her voice t to Kazan's and far outon out outon outon on the plain a n white whit an and haggard faced man halted his exhausted dogs to listen listen listen lis lis- ten while a voice said faintly from the sledge The liThe wolves father Are they corn com coming ing lag after after us 1 The man was silent He was was was' not young The moon moon shone I In l his long white beard and added grotesquely ly to the height of his tall taU gaunt figure A girl had raised her head from a 3 bearskin bear bear- skin kin pillow on the sleigh Her IIer dark darl eyes were filled beautifully with the starlight She was pale Her hair hair fell fell fellin in a thick shining braid over vel her shoulder der del anc and she was hugging something tightly to her breast The re on the trail of something something- probably a deer said the man looking at the bre breech eh of his rifle Dont l r l w fib art Swift H He Whirled as a Whiplash i Jo Well We'll stop at nt the next nest bit of scrub and see if we cant can't find enough dry stuff for fire Wee h 1 a boys Koosh Koosh Koosh-koosh- koosh and he s snapped snipped his whip o over er the backs of his team the From From the bundle at the girls girl's breast there came a small wailing cry And far back in the plain there answered it the scattered voice of the pac pack At last Kazan was on the trail of I vengeance He ra ran ran slowly at first with Gray Wolf Vol close beside him pausing every three or four hundred yards to send forth the cry A gra gray leaping form joined them from behind Another followed Two came in from the side and Kazan's solitary howl gave place to the wild tongue of the pack Num Nunn Numbers bers hers grew and with increasing number the pace became swifter Four sIx Four six seven ten seven ten fourteen by the time the themore themore more snore open and wind swept swept part of the plain Blain was reached I It was wasa 3 a strong ng pack filled fill fill-ed with old and fearless hunters Wolf Gray was the youngest and she l kept ept close lose to Kazan's Kazan's Ka Ka- I zan's zali's shoulders She could coull see nothing o of his shot red-shot e eyes es and dripping jaws j I and would not have understood If tr she h had d seen But she could feel and she j was thrilled by the spirit of that strange and mysterious y savagery that had made Kazan forget all things but but- hurt and death The pack made no sound There Ther was only the panting of breath and the soft fall of many any feet They ran swiftly swiftly swift swift- ly and close And always Kazan was a leap ahead with Gray Wolf nosing his hIs shoulder When at last he saw a moving mot mot- ing blotch far o out t on the plain ahead of him the cr cry that came out of his throat was on one that Gray Wolf Volt did not I understand The strange influence of a i I kind woman more works wonders on the V S savage disposition disposition tion ilea of the wolf wolf dog as dog dog-as as described described de de- scribed l In the next Installment I. I TO BE CONTINUED 1 |
