Show The Valley o Voices I CHAPTER XIII 20 20 In tho morning Little Jacques was sent back to the post with wIlh n letter from Steele Informing St SL St Onge Ongo of the reappearance In the Portage lake countr country r of the lie night wailer waller lie expressed ex- ex ex expressed pressed the hope of being able with the help of the hound to obtain n a ashot shot at nt the r rIt k S it near the lake D Denise jig te me did not j mention SN J With David and 1 breaking troll trail through the foot of nv now n v snow sno which had hind fallen over oYer nl night ht party arty started on the Ice for the mo 1 in of Still river n a small tributary o he take lale on which there was n It trapp p camp which Michel 1 hud had not yet nt vis visited 1 Ned Hed Arriving at the of tile the was wa's ways they found them loading their sled preparatory to making a n h hasty st depart Jre departure the dark faces of two men and a bo boy marked marled with fear whIle from the Interior of the lodge rose the thelow thelow thelow low pitiful 1 walling wailing of women wo nen What are arc you doing Wh Why do yott OU leave good otter and mink water and the ridges which have given you man many pelts of the silver shiver and the black fox There here Is much flour lour and sugar and ten tea there are Many nany trade goods nt at atthe atthe the post which watt walt for you ou to come ome with your r pelts nt It New Years Year's Where are you going he lie asked In OJibway Opening his arms in a n dramatic ge gesture gesture ture the older of the men replied How can we stay The indigo o l-o howls at night from the ridges and robs our trip trap lIe He walle walled and wept la last t night when the snow snow snow cov cov- covered covered ered the moon Our women will not pass another sleep here we fear he wIll viii find and kill us Where was he heOn On the ridge there No good Michel turned to Steele De Dc sn snow w cover corer bees hees track Then he asked Yon Ton say he lie robbed your traps Did you ou see e rte trail 1 Oh Oil yes es his Ills trail trall was everywhere One sleep before the new snow fell he followed m my fox and find marten traps and ate two the foxes foxes snow sno was red with blood They were the large large tracks of the man eater nr very large Jarge and we ve ran when we saw them Will you sta stay tonight in your tips It if we camp here This Tills is a great sha sha- shaman shaman man llan from the south Michel pointed to Steele teele lie has lias n n dog that hunts the he Windigo-he he has lias n a magic howl bowl DU and the Windigo fears him He lie has bewitched man many in his Ills own country with his great grent voice Tomor Tomor- Tomorrow Tomorrow row we ve will go with you Oll to 10 your trap trap- trap lines lines No harm can come to you ou be- be because be he because cause use of this me medicine man and his shaman flog dog The grazed gazed In awe and wonder at nt the great hound strange to time the north with the pendulous ears and the the furrowed forehead then argued rapidly among themselves finally calling their women from the tent The Windigo will not come tonight for he lie knows the shaman dog dOh cnn can follow his traIl even n through water and in his voice olce there I Is death said Michel rn g gravely l to the Impressed Inv In Indians y yf f you Ou will unload your sleds and cm can camp jp p here near us us we will bring the skin of the Indigo Windigo to hang liang from your our lole poles before the moon l After considerable discussion with his people eople tile the older oMer Indian replied We do not wish to leave time the hunting ground round of our fathers As you OU say 1 there Is game arne on the ridges and In Inthe Inthe Inthe the creek bottoms If you ou will wm camp here time Hie white medicine man and the shaman dog with the voice olce of the thunder we will stay We W will camp here and IC keep the as a aIl away Il fly answered Michel lichel trusting that the beast prove plo mint n a false prophet In n the morning lea morning leaving David ld at atthe atthe atthe the camp to case ease the fear of the lie wom wom- women women women en Steele and Michel slipped Into their ir snow shoes and amid taking time the hound Found drove their sled with the traps to the first lines of marten and fox foxs foxE s E tt h tr on nn time the neighboring ridges the line which the VI Windigo o hail d Relies set flet the six double spring wolf traps tinder under the new snow near the marten cabanes chain chaining In t them hem to spruce lo logs s which he lie burled Il on at nt two tiro of the fox sets and Steele brought from tick steed tl f the two bear henr traps These also ahm were ere burled buried In time the snow where an nn ani mal ani-mal rani n the baited trap moud PI pp ep on nn the pan releasing the sn n e C n aws s I 1 Ol hi take 51 six days for Little J 10 o make tile the round trip to the Pt pc t ma uno tint night over oer th the fire 1 i hi he the a s 's cowered In their U UlIe lIe t h IC men talked of nf what n II c tIC lie might bring They won- won I r d 0 n v hat way L sic li II for hem l for th-for for strike he lie woul would n beti bet bet- i t I tI tr I I tong long lon snows mows faded If It he II f I H- H rl a to send men to t the port It ned unlikely for lie dill did not i now ow that the head man was ab- ab abs ab s sut rr dIP imp P Iroquois from v s the length of theN the N HII and the t he great Alban Albany for the of or his h e eye e over the time and the po- po o of a n stone hard stone nerve ner Ko o would not send men to tilt pest on so desperate ft n yen ven venture ture It Ii p uneventful days passed sed Con Con- ConI Con I ft en of t file tIC lie supernatural powers or of nil Tul ila hlll strange do dog whom they nov nl II licu-il licu In full voice In the forest In the trull trail of Michel lIchel the In- In inns again begun began to travel tra their lines of ot traps However It was WIlS clear hat a Il few morn more of the t Indigo It at it Portage e lake would menD mean n a gen geri gen gen- rai exodus On tim th dm afternoon of at the chI day By GEORGE MARSHA MARSH A Author of 01 Toiler Toller of n ThA Th of the VoIr Copyright by ty the Penn Publishing Co V W IW N U Service Ice of Little h Jacques absence a team dog lImped dog slowly up time the Still river rl trail I There he Is I cried Steele Now well we'll hr hear nr how things have hll been go- go go 0 ling ing going down below And lie hurried to the ice to meet the half breed jo Bo Jacques 1 I What's been drI you ou so hard liard Your dogs dos are nil n In Dore Dere es ces bad news down hals happened quick What Is IsIt IsIt IsIt It Steles Steeles heart skipped a heat then started to pound as ns lie he flinched from from the answer to Ills his question when wIlen l Da David and Michel lIchel with him faces face joined him De Dl night we I c Walling to hunt de Windigo lie he holler on de derIde ridge rId De are ver 1 scare Steele glanced nt at his friends to find them nodding In quiet Inet satisfaction then clapping the astonished half half breed breed on the he back lust l out ith Jacques that's not had bad news that's good gooel news lies lie's mo ln moving around and well we'll hear him yet et Wheres Where's the letter Time The runner log handEll St Steele ele a aI aletter aletter I letter wrapped in hi skin oil which ran ranas ranas ns as follows Monsieur Steele Jacques brought your note I 1 am glad to learn that you ou have hn hope hore of the hound On the night you left time the walled wafted again on the ridge opposite us I am nm In it fear that something has happened to Tete Tete lie left for forthe forthe the caribou barrens n a week before you ou readied reached us and Is long overdue o Jacques tells me you OU did not find my I 4 m i Laflamme Stepped Inside and as She Retreated Closed the Door Follow Follow- Ing lag Ing Her Into the Living Room message at nt the rendezvous I sent but lie he may lJ e feared the and lied to me My 1 daugh dough daughter ter tr and I 1 are well and send our felicitations St t Onge Well ell what hat have you got to say suy Michel demanded I say wen do de do dog res Jacques go godown godown o down an up grub De indigo ees on dis lal yak lak now We hear henr heem teem soon David nodded In n acquiescence S a a e a e e eThe The he day that Little Jacques left the post on Ills his return to Portage lake with the letter to Steele from St Onge the factor sat in his trade trade-rann trade starIng with unseeing e eyes es at tIe the wall walk Time ope I inspired 1 time the re- re return return rc-is rc turn of Steel despaired de m is dead dead shim his plans n fm l ng hg do doof don n n mpg of the brute maces s Inthe Inthe In the valley of the Wi d l mig and in time the lake lale districts of Its water shed valer-shed hed were fast working time the doom of nf time w po 1104 wa was at low ebb Try fry Ir as they might he felt that liat the lie problem which faced tails Ills three loyal lends friends woul would prove proc beyond their power of solution In time to save sa time tile post There would he be little Christmas trade and sum sum- sumIller summer mer Iller would find md Wallin Walling laver de- de deserted de deserted As he sat brooding with his pipe the Jingle of dog do log bells hells bought ht him to his feet Could Coull it be he Jacques return return- returning lag ing In for something he lie had gotten fm-gotten St Onge threw on his ills capote and went out to cr meet cheet t a panting paining tt team nm of huskies s the he f steam team of or I their heir hot breaths rising In clouds in the biting all air Tete Boule Boale We thought some some- something thins some thing hail had h happened 1 l I see sec lIchel at fit de fork fork- of or de lie He Jee geeve me dis for you ou fete Boule produced from his lits sled a aroll aroll aroll roll of birch hark on were traced with n a charred stick slick syllabic characters In III Ojibway Ojibway- St Ongo Onge translated Come to fork Stooping river quick when you OU get fete Tete Michel tIlls hits from fromn You met Michel driver er u os DI cl the surprised factor Y Yes ses es he lie cum clan dere a were I camp hoes Bees dog can call travel tr no more lie He gee geeve dis to me so you OU get ct Jere dere before sun suo go down and he res pees hees dog He lIe go back Portage lak ink dis dill sleep Did he lie say flay what hind hall happened lie gave n you ou no letter from from Steele leele Steele SIcele ces ees o on da Current w wid W Daveed d nut Limit why wily docs does he want to see ill lie Ile foun fouls on de lIe Portage Ink lak lie not tell me Of course thought St t Onge Michel would not In time the medicine manlie man manlie lie he hinted hated But Hut what could they have found If lie he were to make time the fork fori before dark there was no time to waste Ordering his Ills own team liar hare harnessed I nail provisions and amid blankets put on the be sled St Onge hurried to tollie the house houe Denise m my dears dear I Tete Boule Boule Is back with a n message from Michel whom he lie met nt at tile the lie fork I mus start at once You Tou mt may expect mime me bade tomorrow afternoon Monsieur sent you OU no mes meso mes- mes message message sage 1 No Xo They are lire all well Ive I've got gotto gotto ot otto to travel el to make time the fork before dark so au nu re m my dear girl Irl He lie kissed ell her nail and left From the window she Rhe watched his dogs take lake the river trail trall at a wild gallop The fhe hooded driver turned and waved wn back at the girl Irl nt at tile the lie window and short short- shortly shortly shortly ly the sled reach readied reached ell the bend and was as gone It lie he lonely here tonight butI hut but I have dear old Charlotte I 1 shall play her to sleep In her lier chair chall Denise took time the lie violin from Us its case and laid her check ch elc caressingly on the strings s What would I do here with with- without without I out you oui she whispered Father I and you OU I Once I thought he hind i Joined us was Us-was was one of us But nut after his admission and anti this She took from a drawer In a desk a letter and read it slowly And nd In her face was she anguish Then she replaced It In the tle drawer The Time letter had h been en given n to her lier In n person b by the lie Indian who stopped on his way from flom to Alban Albany In Oc- Oc Oc October tober the tober Indian who had told Mi- Mi Mitchel MI II- II rhel of time the drowning of Steele and David In the rapids of time lie And the signature at the end of the lie letter addressed to Denise S1 St One Onge I was that of TIMe of Rose Laflamme I Later Denise and Charlotte were I finishing the luncheon dishes when their attention was attracted b by dog dog bolls bells In the clearing Could father have turned back she remarked I The women went to a n window an and looked out to see sec a group of men anti ant I I two teams of dogs In front of time the house trade house Who can it t tc te e I cannot see sec their faces The large man elan has hns never been here before 1 l cried Denise swept b by a wild a fear fear a premonition of personal peril One of them Is coming here I Charlotte hastily left the window and shuffling to a table tallIe took from a drawer a looking sinister meat knife Hunning a hard thumb over oel Its edge ele she calmly said I wee weds I stay b by do de door loor There was a n loud knock on the thedoor thedoor door of the factors factor's quarters Ill Then en the blood of French soldiers and gen Jen- gentlemen In the veins of Denise St St Onge flamed in her face proved face proved it- it itself itself It Itself self With a firm step she went t tithe the door dool anti and opening It looked proud proud- proudly proudly I ly Into time the eyes of Louis Laflamme Time The trader free-trader h hal ad made his Ills threat good gool Mademoiselle St Onge I 1 have come cometo cometo cometo to talk with you ou It Is evident e monsieur Laflamme stepped Inside and as she retreated closed time tho door follow follow- followIng following ing her lier Into the time room living You will pardon me mo if I throw oft my coat cont he said I do not desire trouble here hero in my fathers father's absence she plOtt protested sted with witha a confidence site she did not feel but Ishall I II Ishall Ishall I shall st send nd Charlotte to call our men and force you ou to leave lea tills this po post l menI I laughed as lie he paced time the I floor nervously I Your men You Yuu mIght better hetter call on your women to aid you rOUt Two 1 of your brave retainers are under guard now In b time tile trade trade- trade house We couldn't find the others If Soil ou have them It was w-as clear to the girl who gal gal- gal gallantly al- al fought with her fear of La- La La purpose In coining to time the post when she he was wag helpless alone alone helpless that he controlled the situation and would lie be heard What hat have you OU com come here for mon monsieur she slie began The t told old face of the traIler trader flushed ns as he gazed ed nt at the lie girl whose who memory hail taken Ills his pence peace of mind Time rile H of the month softened softened oft ned in inthe inthe inthe the dark darl e eyes es wn wa was 1 tile the lie look of or a 11 boy boyas boyas as he answered have heard be hC h before It is astory a story you OU fore te Tint nut I T am h here re to tell It at a n time tiac wh when n you ou will wilt lie he If vise to listen This Is la a ruined fur fUI post Your father will he forced to leave In Inthe Inthe th the spring What hat does that mean menn tp to you OU ITO TO BE nE CONTINUED |