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Show fp Fvcrftstill Wilis 'F 8 CHAPTER XIII Continued 22 Re was big and she little, yet she dragged his bed close to his side and pot her arms nbout him and lifted him enough to get him upon the blankets. blan-kets. She ran to her Are and piled and piled wood on It until the flames roared noisily and brightened everything every-thing about. She ran back to him and knelt again and slipped her hand Inside his shirt, seeking his heart. The deep chest was barely warmer than death, the heart stirred only faintly. But It did beat. She sought the wound Brail's bullet had made and found It In his side. There was blood on her hands but she did not notice It now. She found where the bullet had entered and where It had torn Its way out through his flesh. She did not know If any vital organ lay In that narrow span or if any major artery had been severed or If the rifle-ball had merely glanced along the ribs and been deflected by them ; she only knew that he had lost much blood, that It must have gushed freely while he strove with Swen Brodie, and that now It must be stopped utterly. And then It was that Gloria's hands achieved the first really Important work they had ever done In her life. She tore bits away from her own undergarments un-dergarments and made soft pads over each wound ; with their butcher knife she cut a long strip from a blanket This she wound about his limp body, making a long, tight bandage. She got the boots off and felt his feet; she stooped over them until for an instant she laid her cheek against a bare foot. It was like ice. She recalled re-called how he had ministered to her. She heated a blanket and wrapped It about his feet and ankles. She heated other blankets and put them about him. The canvas at the cave's mouth had been torn down; she got It back into place to make It warmer for him. She put fresh wood on the fire. She hastened the coffee boiling all that she could by placing bits of dry wood close all about the pot. She knelt at King's side ; she got an arm under his shoulders and managed man-aged to lift him a little; she rolled np a blanket and put If under his head. Then she brought the cup of black coffee. She spilled more than went Into his mouth but she was rewarded by seeing the throat muscles contract as Involuntarily he swallowed. Thus, patient and determined and very, very gentle with him, she got' several spoonfuls spoon-fuls of coffee down him. Thereafter she let him lie back again while she Bought to plan cool-thoughtedly Just how she must care for him, just what she could do for him. There were scraps of food left. She began taking careful stock ; she found a scrap of bread that had been knocked to the floor and kicked aside; she picked It up and, carrying a torch with her, began seeking any other fallen morsels. In this search she came once to the hole in the floor through which Brodie and the others had gone down into Gus Ingle's treasure-chamber. And at Its side she found something which at this moment mo-ment was a thousand times more precious pre-cious in her staring eyes than If It had been so much solid gold. It was a great hunk of fresh meat. Instantly Instant-ly she knew how it had come here. King had killed his bear! That was why he had returned tonight. He had brought it here; had missed her; had dropped It here. And then? She understood now, too, how he had come so unexpectedly into the lowest low-est cave. He had gone down through this hole and had known a passageway which led on aown. She caught up the bear meat, carrying it In both arms, and hurried back to her tire. ' For hersei', since her own strength must be kept up, she cooked a strip ( ot the meat on the coals. As the j Jilgnt wore on, since she was deter mined tliat King snould not be chilled, her nre consumed a great part of the woort. More wood must be brought ; ! tonlgnt or In the morning. She went i to the cave s entrance and looked out. The everlasting whisper of the pines, ' that ancient hushed voice which i through ttie countless centuries has i never been still save when briefly silenced by fne snow; which had borne I Its message to Gloria when on that j first day she wit with Mark King j Into the moun'ains, set chords vibrat- ! Ing softly In h-r oosom. Insistently It bore a message to ner. such a message j as from now on she would hear In the ! quiet voices of her little campfire. It ! was the eternal call of the mother ; earth that one like Gloria must hear j and harken to and understand before she could sot firm feet upon the ashes ! of a vanquished self to rise to the true ! things of womanhood. Kenny and the Italian were still ! alive and might be near? That did i not In any way affect the fact that there must be wood brought for King's fire. She turned back for the rifle and the rope. She saw that King had not stirred; that he seemed plunged In a deep, quiet sleep. She stood over him, looking down at him with her xve for him softening her eyes. He was going to get well if she did her e-art. And her part was so clearly indicated: in-dicated: to give him broth and to keep his fire going. She did not hesitate and she was not afraid as she went down the cliffs. She meant to be , Mark King's mate; she meant to be worth- of being his mate. He had j not hesitated, he had not been afraid, worn, nne man acalnst five he dropped By Jackson Gregory Copyright by Charles Scrtbner'a Son (WNU Service) 1 down Into the lowest cave. She, like him, was of pioneer stock. Three times that night she made the trip up and down the cliffs, bringing bring-ing wood. At the end, though near exhaustion, she sank down by the fire for but a few minutes. The bear meat was boiling and bubbling; she poured off a little of the broth, cooled it, and then, as she had given King the coffee, she forced some of the strong soup between his teeth. She touched his cheek and dared hope that if was not so icy cold; she chafed his feet and wrapped them again in a hot blanket And then, with all of her covers given to him, she drew a coat about her shoulders and sat down at his side, on the edge of his blankets. And here, throughout the night, she sat, dozing and waking, rising again and again to keep the fire burning. She started up to find it full day; she had been asleep, her head against his knee. The fire was dying down; she jumped up and replenished it, settting the broth back among the coals. King lay as he had lain last night; his continued coma was like a profound quiet sleep. All day long she ministered to him, going back and forth tirelessly, since love and hope Inspired every step she made. None of Brodie's men had come; she felt a strange confidence confi-dence that they would not come. They were afraid of King as jackals jack-als are afraid of a lion; further, they did not know that he was wounded. wound-ed. She thought little of them, having much else to think of. At a little before noon Gloria, stooping stoop-ing over the fire started erect and whirled about. King's eyes were open ! She ran to him, dropping on j her knees beside him, catching up his hand, whispering: "Mark! Oh, Mark thank God r He looked at her strangely. There was a puzzled, bewildered expression in his eyes. He strove to move and again looked at her with that strange bewilderment Sne saw his lips move he wanted to say something, t'o ask something and, deserted now by all of that magnificent strength on which he had always leaned, was as weak as a baby. She gave his hand a last squeeze and hurried back to the fire; his eyes, still shadow-filled, followed her curiously. curi-ously. She came back to him with cup and spoon. This he could understand under-stand ; he opened his lips for the spoon, he accepted what she gave him and when she had finished lay looking look-ing up at her wonderingly. "Mark," she whispered, "we are safe here because because you are so wonderful ! You were like a god the bravest, noblest, best man in all the world! You came In time; you saved me, Mark ; they had not put hand upon me. And I am well and strong now ; I am going to take care of you : you must just lie still and get well Oh, Mark" His eyes closed again ; he seemed very faint, very weary. Hushed, she sat tense, her eyes never moving from his face. After a long time he opened his eyes again ; he tried again to speak; when the words did not come he managed a strange, shadowy smile t with his bloodless lips and in another moment had sunk again into that heavy sleep that was so like death. When next, two hours later, she again brought his broth, he stirred at her touch and awoke. This time his eyes cleared swiftly; he remembered the otner awakening and her words. He looked at her long and searchingly and she understood what lay back of that look; he was wondering how she njanaged. how she endured to care for them both, how without his active aid she withstood hardship. And this time she smiled at him. "I have been dining sumptuously on bear steaks," she told him lightly. "And I have slept and kept warm. There has been no one near. And the days are fine again. It was clear last night; the sun has been shining all day. Now. when you've had your own lunch, I'll tell you anything you want to know. Only you must not try to talk yet, Mark ; not until tomorrow. I want you strong and well again, you know; It's lonesome without you." She gave him, for the first time, a whole cup of broth, glorying In the certainty that already he was stronger. But even yet his weakness was so great that, before she had spoken a dozen sentences, he was asleep again. Clearly, even to Gloria, if but a little more blood had ebbed out of the wounded side, he would never have awakened; clearly to Gloria, triumphant. trium-phant. It had been she who had held him back from death. She, Gloria King, alone, had fought the great grim battle; hers was the victory. , . King was awake. Awakening, he tried to move. His utter weakness, like a great weight bearing down upon him, held him powerless. But his mind, slowly freeing itself from the shadows of sleep, was suddenly very clear. He could turn his head a little. It was late afternoon; outside the sun was still shining, for a patch of light lay at the side of the canvas flap. At first he did not see Gloria ; but his eyes quested until at last they found her. She lay bv the fire, her head upon her arms, sleeping. The little huddled body looked weary beyond expression. For a long time his haggard eyes remained with her. She lay on the rocks, without a blanket. His hand moved weakly; there were blankets under him, blankets covering him; his feet were wrapped In a blanket He looked again at Gloria, at the fire; he saw wood piled near by. For many minutes he puzzled the matter; In the end It was obvious, even to a man as sick as King, that she must have gone for wood. Perhaps more than once. He closed his eyes and lay very still. He knew now that he had been desperately desper-ately hurt; that, wounded, his fight with Brodie had brought him very near a weakness from blood loss that was pale twin to death. And yet he was alive and warm; he had had broth and blankets and the fire had been kept blazing. He managed to slip a hand inside his shirt before his fingers found it he knew that the bandage was there. Gloria had done all this . . . Gloria, whom he had struck . . . Ever since that blow, the one act of his life which he would have given so much to have undone, he had been ashamed. He had rejoiced in his battle bat-tle with the men who had threatened Gloria with worse than death, rejoiced re-joiced that In some way- he migh make reparation. But now, beginning to understand all that Gloria had done for him, how great were the sacrifices she had made for him, lying unconscious uncon-scious of all she did, It seemed to him that the thing that he had done was a very small thing set In the scales against her own acts. He wanted to get np and go to her; to put his blankets about her; to play the man's part and protect and shelter. shel-ter. But he could not so much as raise his voice to call her to him. . . . Ever since that blow, upbraiding himself, him-self, he had said: "She was only a little, terrified girl and you were a brute to her." And now he thought wonderingly: "After that, she has worked for you, has nursed you, has saved the worthless life in you when she should have let you die." Again his eyes flew open ; now they clung to her with a strange look In them, born of many emotions. Gloria, as though she felt his eyes upon her, stirred, rose, pushed the hair back from her eyes and came quickly to him. And as she came, she smiled. She went down on her knees beside him and took his hand In her two and held It tight "Everything Is all right, Mark. And you are better every time you wake." His lips strove to frame words. She bent close to them and heard his wondering won-dering whisper: "Every thing all right?" "Yes, thank God," she whispered back to him. "Everything in all the wide, wide world !" No, he could not understand that She saw perplexity In his eyes now. But she did not mean to let him talk yet and It was time for broth again. But again he was whispering: "Blankets yours " "Yes, Mark. After you have had your nourishment. When I need them." But when he had taken his cup of hot broth he slipped off to sleep again and Gloria, smiling a tender smile, sat by her fire watching him as a mother watches a sick baby who, the doctor has just told her, will live. CHAPTER XIV That' night Gloria, listening now to King's breathing, now to the crackling of her fire, grew restless. In her heart was still that new-born gladness; glad-ness; In her bosom there was still something singing like the liquid voice of a bird. It had sung for the first time when first she had ministered to King, when she had understood what love's service was, when she had gone down the cliffs for firewood, when, because be-cause of her tireless nursing, she had been rewarded by his opening eyes; as the hours wore on it had grown into a chant triumphant. She, Gloria, had been unafraid and unswerving; she had saved a man's life. And that life was Mark King's! She had made amends; she had set her feet unfalteringly unfalter-ingly In a new trail ; throughout her being she was aglow with the consciousness con-sciousness of one who had gladly done love's labor. Now she waited only for the hour when again King must have his broth. She gave it to him, smiled at him, commanded him to go back to sleep, promising to talk with him in the morning. And then, when again he breathed with the quiet regularity of one sleeping, she went eagerly about her task. They must have more meat; tomorrow or the next day, at latest for the steaks which she had eaten and the strong broths to maintain and rebuild strength in King had cut deeply deep-ly Into their supply. And she knew Mark King well enough to be very certain that, the moment he could summon strength enough to command his tottering body to stand on two legs, he would go. It was for her to be before him. Fortunately It had not snowed since King made his kill; she could follow in the trail he had made and It would lead her unerringly to the spot where he had left the rest of the meat. She had everything ready, rifle, small packet of food, knife, even matches and strips torn from the sack for her fee". Pown In the gorge, clutching her rifle, she stood looking, listening. But there w:is no man In sight, and. In the Intense determination possessing her, she throttled down all fear thoughts. 'TO BE CONTINUED.) |