Show the plains of abraham by Y james oliver curwood 6 0 by doubleday doran co inc V service THE STORY with hll his english wife cather Gather ins ine a nd d son ion jeems henry jilt bu litin lain french settler loftier in canada in 1719 cultivates a farm adjacent to th the As the story 0 hopeni ens the bullins are re n ir from rom a v vlast isit to I 1 the h a T ton on tours teun catherines catherine wandering brother meets them with pro ants for or the th family 1 CHAPTER 11 II continued 3 catherine took oft off her cape and hood and patted her hair more properly into place before a mirror hanging on the wall henri knew how fast her heart was tripping as he took her hands and held them for a moment and saw a nilst mist of tears behind her lashes it had been two years since the she had seen two years of yearning and praying and hoping for this irresponsible brother the last of her close blood ties who came anti and went with the inconstancy of the winds and yet had never succeeded in spoiling her dream of having him some day as a permanent member of her little family each time he came to them was full of promise swearing upon his soul that he had made up op his mind to remain with them forever us is catherine pleaded with him to do rind then some gome day or night lie he would disappear with all ills his belongings and no one would see or hear him go and it might be six months or a year or BS as in this instance even longer before he be returned ready to promie pr omle e and swear upon ills his soul all over again but sure to steal away in the end as before each time that he came lie he bore n huge pack on Us his shoulders shoulder as if partly in penance and the opening of this pack and the distributing of its ita contents had come to be the biggest event in jeems life and also in his rn others in a slightly less degree dut but jeems had no trespassing tres passing thought of the never falling bundle as ai lie went back for his gun in the company of his beloved uncle hep at tile the most of moments ills his liero hero of nil heroes was at ills his side and securing this mighty personages pledge of secrecy he lost no time in telling him about the boy he listed hated marking the grip of jeems hand and catching the telltale tremble in ills voice tat eat down upon the bag of ground corn end and did not leave it until by shrewd questioning and sympathetic interest lie he had drawn from jeems heart a largo large part of what it had withheld from his big parents at a second loud blowing of henris dinner horn they rose to their feet and as hepsibah shouldered the corn his round red face was like a full moon of promise and lad cheer it doerin take size she to win a fight he said speaking in a confidential way barring this dutchman at albany ive ie never neer been rib toasted roasted by a big roan man yet and im only tolerable sized you ou observe iye always had bad a reasonable preference for the big ones come as come can for they are slower to move moi e and fall harder and nine out of ten of them carry fat this paul tache now I 1 know by your telling of him that you can cob and corn comb b film until lie he begs for mercy its a all 11 what youve got your our mind made up to nothing moro more and nothing less and youve got your mind made up to warin him so go and do it I 1 say catherine came around it hie e corner of the cabin to meet the plotters ers and hepsibah discreetly held back further words ns as he winked inked broadly at jeems it was the great night of two long years in the bblain cabin and catherines three betty bamps and her phoebe lamp and a dozen candles as well were 11 gaited in honor of it so that when darkness fell thick and start starless e sa ab about 0 ut tile the wilderness with masses of rala rain clouds gathering over oer head the homo home at the edge of forbidden valley was bright with glow and cheer the roast was cut open and with attendant dishes of tah tali hasti hash Johnny johnnycake eake potatoes and carrots car roti and hasty pudding with maple I 1 grup gave opportunity for such feasting that an hour w was as n well oil gone before hepsibah adams thrust back its ills end of tile the long table bench and brought forth itla ills fat pack from under tinder the stairs which led up to jeems sleeping loft just a few little trinkets lie began using the identical words he lad had employed one year after another A few whim chams whams and iffie baubles for the boy a bit of trumpery for sister and a farthing worth of nothing in particular for you ou henri ali ah liere here we hav lave the first package with writing on it in the hand of the scholar who sold me the goods a cap a ruffle a tucker and a bolt of lace at five shillings a yard I 1 now who in this room can such sillies lilies be for unless and at catherines delighted exclamation lie he tossed the bundle to her but scarce had site she opened it with her eyes ees intent upon her business then unfurled it a red silk petticoat in ili the candle glow and this time catherine sprang to her feet with an amazed intake of breath for so BO well had bad fir arranged ranged ills his on surprise that one after another he had a white love hood a black love nood hood and three more petticoats on the table one of scarlet with black lace one of colored with pointed lace and a third of black silk with ashtray ash tray gray lining and BS as catherine gazing upon these treasures lit fit for a appu he h railed to them two pairs of stays for or an eighteen inch waist and then showered over them such an array army of lace droblas dro wlas gor gets and other othe r necker chiefs that gathering catherine closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them wide as if there might be a chance 0 of f some clever trickery in it dear mother in heaven I 1 she cried are nil all of these ravishing things for or me they must have cost a fort fortune unel 1 ki pausing ausing to look at her smiling brother and at the same time holding up the scarlet petticoat with black lace this one for or instance two pounds fifteen shillings said opening his pack wider and working ills hands quickly and to go with these dresses I 1 have here ruffles N As long as you live you must never part with this pistol 11 and tuckers and threads and buttons and ribbons and four pairs of the nicest shoes that ever came up the hudson and placing those these last named articles on the table with a flourish of arms save gave a gloating chuckle and paused to fill ills his pipe jeems heart was near bi bleating caking with suspense and it seemed to give an audible crack when ft hen its his uncle fleps gnarled hanas went into the tha pac pack k again lie ile drew a bulky package from his store and passed it to teems father fat lier three of the finest pipes I 1 ever ee laid my eyes eves on he announced one made in holland one in ili london and one in america Ame ilca and lave five pounds pound of virginia tobacco to go with them henri along with a hat a coat and a pair 0 boots that may take you with honor to any rree or gentry merry merri making this side of the sea now hows that and he stepped back as if Ms his pack were entirely empty and held nothing at all for or jeems for an eternity it seemed emed to jaems jee in s I 1 his uncle remained in tills terrifying posture then with deliberate and aggravating slow slowness ness adams returned to his pack no one of the three who were watching him would ever have guessed that act was one weighted heavily with the force of destiny nor that with dramatic inevitableness Inet it was to change the course of human lives bringing the high down to earth and the earthly to great heights loos too ing passions and and iol oes v e 8 breeding tragedies and joi joys and end ing at last in what it Is tile the purpose of this humble chronicle of human events cents to narrate A swift coming thought thO lIght a deft re turn into the paik pack of it a small bundle which lie he lad had intended Intend pd for catherine and and lad changed a world on such trivial 10 lo the most powerful of the fates sometimes rest out of the farthest corner of the collapsing pack lie he bi ought brought this bundle to light once more ali and unwrapped it as ho to turned toward alg eyed anxious face Je jeems emsy lie he said it if ive ie put the notches in my memory ruit right you were born on the coldest january day I 1 ever eer saw and that makes you iou just twelve years and four months old tills this eve ee ning which means mean that only t three years ears and eight months lie ile betwixt twixt you iou and the tha day when you can be counted a man according to law you sou are a kings subject of maturity from that day and can talim take life and all its belongings into your own hands so long as you are honest about it and can stand up in equality equal icv before the stiffest peri wigged judge in the colonies or new france in other words Jec onsy I 1 mean that in less I 1 than four short years you will be a full fledged man cinn I 1 having I 1 I 1 iving delivered himself of 0 this introductory peroration fin unwrapping the pac pack kare aee and neer had catherine behold beheld such a handsome piece niece of 0 velvet as that which her brother brollier displayed in tho the call olle glow it was par excellence tile the finest of the treasures lie had bad brought a cloth of matchless beauty a crimson glory so llred filled with changing humors and colors that it seemed to be alive in his hands surely this was an other present for or his mother jeems thought but to ills his amazement and catherines surprise thrust the cloth into jeems hands for mademoiselle marie antoinette Ironte ur from her devoted admirer daniel james militia lie he announced Je emBy emsy dont blush twelve and ten are not far from sixteen and fourteen when you will be man and woman an and d if ever a daughter finds herself lucky it will be on the day she marries a son of the tribe of adams the writing on it tells cheret came from and how much it cost and along with fill it I 1 have brought you yon some nankeen for britches and clothes four shirts rind and a three cornered hat with a block black ribbon six handkerchiefs and a jackknife two pairs 0 serge britches as many of new shoe s anil and tills and from the now co completely in emptied pack he drew fortl forth a beautiful long pistol ills his eyes aglow with a fighting mans pride as he fondled it in tile the light of the candles candies and pointed out its merits to jeems As long as you live you must never part with this pistol lie he sit said id it new you see but its record is one of glory is as long as my arm and ill tell you about it some day its a killer lad a killer deadly and sure good for a hundred paces with less than an all inch of drop and he pave gave the weapon into jeems hands an instant of disapproval gathered in catherines eyes it was kind of you to bring biang the cloth for antoinette but I 1 do not care for the pistol she said A pistol makes me think of men fighting men and here we are at peace having haunt need only of the rifle and of Jeems ys bow and arrows to bring its mant I 1 feel it Is not best I 1 As she spoke thus confidently of lie peace c c a c loud cloud came over face but in a moment lie he had laughed it away and was telling her ter that within a week she would be as proud of her boys bois marksmanship as she now seemed fearful of the pistols influence upon ills his future the next day was the day of the auction sale at cussans Lus sans place lussan wn was s a wealthy farmer at the edge of tile next ten miles away ile he was returning to ills old home near the isle of orleans a country lie he liked better then the richelieu and was selling belling most of ills his goods among these were a plow with an iron point a laforty forty gallon soap kettle and a loom which jeems father wanted so ho he had planned to start with the OX of early in the morning jeems had bad heard board say he intended to buy lus sans three slaves a mother and father and daughter and that the young wench was for tobnette Tol nette tobnette Tol nette would be wl with h her father ile he would take his treasure package with him to cussans Lus sans and find an opportunity to give it to lier her should paul tache be there and dare to overlord him again or I 1 laugh a ugh in his meanly suggestive sugg esthe wily way or speak sneeringly or so much as say a word against ills his gift for tobnette Tol nette A rumble of fresh growing gi owing thunder was advancing out of the west and preceding it came a ro conr nr of win find and a deluge of rain lightning cut once more in vivid flash ings across the narrow panes of the bedroom window ond and the root roof seemed to bell bend and groan under tinder a sudden torrential bombardment bar dment jeems fought in unison with the elements ills spirit mounted saag cly with the turmoil ile he had his enemy down don and was thrusting his licad lead into wet and slimy mud lie iio was beating his face and eyes and spoiling polling ills his splendid raiment and pulling out his hair and marle antoinette tol nette was looking on with wit alie le gorgeous red velvet in her hinds hands and her ter eyes big nil and starry she was watching him as lie he choked and kicked and pom belled the life out of paul tachel tache the outburst of thunder and wind and deluge a whim of playful spring passed as swiftly as it had come and in passing it left jeems breathing quickly and fiercely in its his bed lie ile had risen in these moments to reckless heights and tits his mind hot with its desire for action had settled with grim assurance upon what would happen the next day first ho he would present ills his gift to tobnette Tol nette then he would do what ills his uncle alep had told him to do ile he would whip ft hip paul tache TO BG CONTINUED |