E-text prepared by Chris Curnow, Michael, Mary Meehan, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustration. See 35378-h.htm or 35378-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/35378/pg35378-images.html) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/35378/35378-h.zip) THE STRENGTH OF THE PINES by EDISON MARSHALL With Frontispiece by W. Herbert Dunton Boston Little, Brown, and Company 1921 Copyright, 1921, By Little, Brown, and Company. All rights reserved Published February, 1921 The Colonial Press C. H. Simonds Co., Boston, U. S. A. TO LILLE BARTOO MARSHALL DEAR COMRADE AND GUIDE WHO GAVE ME LIFE [Illustration: He marked the little space of gray squarely between the two reddening eyes.] CONTENTS BOOK ONE THE CALL OF THE BLOOD BOOK TWO THE BLOOD ATONEMENT BOOK THREE THE COMING OF THE STRENGTH THE STRENGTH OF THE PINES BOOK ONE THE CALL OF THE BLOOD I Bruce was wakened by the sharp ring of his telephone bell. He heard its first note; and its jingle seemed to continue endlessly. There was no period of drowsiness between sleep and wakefulness; instantly he was fully aroused, in complete control of all his faculties. And this is not especially common to men bred in the security of civilization. Rather it is a trait of the wild creatures; a little matter that is quite necessary if they care at all about living. A deer, for instance, that cannot leap out of a mid-afternoon nap, soar a fair ten feet in the air, and come down with legs in the right position for running comes to a sad end, rather soon, in a puma's claws. Frontiersmen learn the trait too; but as Bruce was a dweller of cities it seemed somewhat strange in him. The trim, hard muscles were all cocked and primed for anything they should be told to do. Then he grunted rebelliously and glanced at his watch beneath the pillow. He had gone to bed early; it was just before midnight now. "I wish they'd leave me alone at night, anyway," he muttered, as he slipped on his dressing gown.