Part 14 (1/2)

”Oh, fudge!” she exclaimed, ”it won't He won't I--I--why, I'll hurry We'll be back at East Cape in no time at all”

No wildest noirls lived in the weeks that followed

Trailing a reindeer herd over hills and tundra; ca ice of a strea rock, and now in the open, wind-swept tundra; eating about an open fire, while the sloo, they reveled in the strange wildness of it all Here was a people who paid no rent, no taxes, owned no land yet lived always in abundance In the box beside the sleeping platfor a copper teakettle of ancient design In the sleeping-box, which was -haired deerskins, were many robes of short-haired deerskin, fawn-skin and Siberian squirrel

To all these the two girls were hter did not live alone A little tribe whose twenty igloos dotted the tundra traveled with him These people were soularly grateful They, their woly for sketches But one thing Marian had not taken into consideration; these people seldoh she did not know it, their herds were at this ti ion Each day while she seized every opportunity to sketch and hastened her work as much as she could, found them some ten ns and such native words as she knew, she indicated to her native friends that she was ready to return to East Cape, they stared at her in astonishram on the snow that they were now at a point three days' journey from that town and that none of theain full

No a could irls to return at once

”We'll never get back,” Marian mourned in despair, ”and it's all ed Lucile, cheerfully ”Probably the Straits are not fully frozen over yet anyway”

However, after a week of inaction, even Lucile lost her cheerful s, after they had reached what appeared to be the final depths of despair, they heard a cry of, ”To the tents By this they knew that visitors had arrived They hurried out to find the villagers grouped about three fur-clad figures standing beside three reindeer hitched to sleds of a strange design

By a feords and by signs they were made to understand that these people cae on the north coast of Russia

As ever, eager to look upon so when, to her immense surprise, the s forward, and, kneeling at her feet, kissed the fur fringe of her parka

This action, so unusual a these natives, struck her dumb But once he had looked up into her face, she understood all; he was none other than the strange brown boy who had coton

She was so surprised and startled at first sight of him that she found herself incapable of action It seehost It appeared entirely incredible that he should be in this out of the way place when they had left hiet Sound

Her second reaction was one of great joy; here was soht they not hope to receive assistance fro their way to the shore of Bering Straits?

Springing to his feet, the boy lish in his expression of joy at one its way and the girls had invited hilish he had learned since seeing thes, the story of his adventures

He was a native of the north coast of Russia; a far away point where white men's boats never come One whaleshi+p had, however, been carried there by the ice-floes After trading for the natives' furs and ivory, and having found an open channel of water to the east, the captain had kidnaped him and carried him from his home He had been made the captain's slave

So badly was he treated, over-worked, kicked, cuffed and beaten, that when at last he saw land off the coast of Washi+ngton, dressed only in his bird-skin suit, he had leaped overboard when no one was looking and had attempted to swiht He had been swiirls rescued hirave, for he was alive up hope

He had beenarm of the law if he were rescued by others, sent three sea the island How he had fared with these, the girls kneell enough

After leaving the ca the beach for teeks He had at last been picked up by some honest fishermen who turned him over to the revenue cutter which made Alaskan ports By the cutter he had been carried to Nome and fro-teae When he had finished telling his story he turned to Marian and said:

”Idel-bene?” (yours)he would like to hear their story

Marian was not slow in telling their troubles

”Me, I will take you back,” the boy exclaio”

Two hours later, with sleds loaded, they were discussing two possible trails, one leading down a river where blizzards constantly threatened, the other a valley trail through wolf-infested hills The latter course was finally chosen, since it proerous at that time of the year Then they were away