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Black drops of blood on the stones and an irregular trail of footprints proved to Jean that the gunman was hard hit Here he had fallen, or knelt, or sat down, evidently to bind his wounds Jean found strips of scarf, red and discarded And the blood drops failed to show on more rocks In a deep forest of spruce, under silver-tipped spreading branches, Queen had rested, perhaps slept Then laboring with dragging steps, not ione on, up out of the dark-green ravine to the open, dry, pine-tipped ridge Here he had rested, perhaps waited to see if he were pursued Froe for Jean's keen eye The gunman kneas pursued He had seen his eneetting within revolver range of a all his woodcraft to trail this man and yet save himself Queen traveled slowly, either because he ounded or else because he tried to ambush his pursuer, and Jean accommodated his pace to that of Queen From noon of that day they were never far apart, never out of hearing of a rifle shot

The contrast of the beauty and peace and loneliness of the surroundings to the nature of Queen's flight often obtruded its strange truth into the somber turbulence of Jean'sthoughts hovered and gathered like shadows

Early frost had touched the heights with its ht worship nature and life rather than steal through the dells and under the arched aisles like a beast of prey The green-and-gold leaves of aspens quivered in the glades; maples in the ravines fluttered their red-and-purple leaves The needle- lanes of silvery grass, alike enticing to the eye of ht, flecked with dust and flying insects, slanted down froe Roar of wind in the distant forest alternated with soft breeze close at hand Sray squirrels ran all over the woodland, very curious about Jean and his dog, rustling the twigs, scratching the bark of trees, chattering and barking, frisky, saucy, and bright-eyed A plaintive twitter of wild canaries caion above the treetops--first voices of birds in their pilgrie toward the south Pine cones dropped with soft thuds The blue jays followed these intruders in the forest, screeching their displeasure Like rain pattered the dropping seeds frorance, daled with a cool, dry, sweet s pines