Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 5, 1921 — page 69: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE KNIGHT OF LONELY LAND, ‘“And the men. Sometimes the men are lost and frozen, too.” She went to the window to watch the approaching storm. Already, as a painter blurs his canvas, every vestige of summer had been swept away, and the cold deso- lation that is the preface of winter covered the world. The heavy clouds, sunk with their weight of storm lay close to the earth. A snowflake, fleeing before a mil- lion of its kind, fluttered zig-zag past the - pane. She shuddered again. “I wish they would come back,’ she said, half to herself. Out of doors Jarrow was preparing for the storm by transporting the wood pile in a fair division between the bunk house and the lean-to. In the corral the horses huddled, tail to the wind, their heads across each other’s neck. The wind came straight from the east, and its early warmth was fast turning to piercing cold. ’ The first snowflake had a thousand fol- lowers now, and the air was thick with whirling particles. As the day wore on the storm increased, ‘though as yet the ground showed bare ex- cept in the low places, for the wind carried the snow before it with such velocity that from ‘the first it promised to be a “ drift” storm. The three at the ranch knew nothing about btizzards. The word was merely a name to them, but if they knew little of the suffering and danger that lay in the wake of this dread scourge of the North, they soon enough felt the bite of its teeth. The wind howling around the corners of the house found its way through chinks and crevices, bringing with it a thread of snow that quickly built itself a fairy mound until discovered and banished. With every hour the world outside changed until it became a place of white mystery. The buildings blotted out by the thick mantle that clung to them with wet fingers, were blotches of raw black and white; unfamiliar things that rose specter- like from chaos. ‘The haystacks and cor- ral were lost in a veil that swirled about like the garments of a mad _ dancer. Somewhere out in that blind world there was life; men and horses and cattle, but 355 here in the house it was silent, a place of suspense. The hours passed endlessly for Geral- dine. A sense of waiting events bore upon her spirit, and she could find no relief in ordinary occupations. Jarrow kept the fires roaring, but outside the radius of the stove it was bitterly cold. The two old people kept close to the fire, forbearing to complain, but it was easy to see the fear and dread and loneliness that was in their hearts. In spite of the cold Geraldine spent most of the time near the window. She wrapped herself in a fur coat and ignored the desperate chill that crept beneath even its warmth. What must it be like out there? She wondered; her eyes searching restlessly that wind swept world. {t was early in the afternoon when she saw the vague outlines of two mounted figures approaching the house, traveling single file with the wind at their backs. For a moment her ‘heart leaped, then paused in uncertainty. It was impossible to identify them even at the short distance which separated them from the house, for in the whirlwind horses and riders were only a blurred outline. As they came nearer the tumult of her heart ceased. Neither of the horses be- longed to Billie; she remembered that the Widow was gray; these were dark, show- ing black against the drifts. She saw now that they were strangers, and wondered with a little thrill of concern who they were and what they. wanted at the ranch. Perhaps they had been sent by Billie or Jack! She called to Jarrow and he joined her at the window, but he could make nothing more from what he saw than she. When they were in speaking distance he went out to meet them, closing the door after him, and Geraldine waited in keen impatience. She knew that whoever rode abroad that day must hhave a mission of Importance, and she clung to the fear and expectation that they brought news of Billie. But all her surmise fell far short of the truth that was revealed when Jarrow, re-entering, was followed by LJittle Britches and a heavy feature CONNGls man, at OOKS oC) nn