Show thu ts GL M ui k e by VICTOR ROUSSEAU cap 77 I 1 gt by STEWART K knud 1 DD COMPART THE WIDOW SYNOPSIS looking over VS ills musket seemingly impassable swamp in the path of the alissa uhl railroad joe jo bostock builder of 0 the he line and wilton carruthers Carru therB chief of 0 engineers aro are considering the difficulties A retla shot instant ly kills bostock anil and breaks car ruthers ruthe rii arni arm carruthers Carruth tra tries to carry the body to a pot post of 0 the hudsons Hud sons day cay company where bit donald Is I 1 the factor Mc Donalds daughter laught tr molly sees seen carruthers struggling in the muskeg and drags him from the with his burderi burden Un unaccountably account a bly her lather father object to tier her e ing C Carr uthera weakened by hla hi s wound woun d a and I 1 d exer tlona eions carruthers Carr uthera 1 la disturbed by the appearance of ef tom bowyer bostocky bostocks Boa Bo tocks stocks business rival and personal enemy bowyer insults MCI molly and carruthers Carrut lira strikes him carruthers declares de clarea his love tor for molly she promises to be his wife carruthers Carr uthera bits to reach the town of clayton to attend a meeting at which enemies plan to wrest control of 0 the Missa tibi from him molly goes goei with him they are delayed by a storm attacked by his dop dogs carruthers Carr uthera life Is 1 saved by molly mhd la Is forced to kill the animals the snow the I 1 they set act out on toot for or clayton a n reaching reach ln it w with ith car rethers F in an almost dy dyane ing condition lie ile Is in time to roll foll Do stocks enemies and keep control of the line for or mrs mra Bo bostock lie ile ands enemies at work at alff muskeg bowyer persecutes molly with attentions tent ions CHAPTER VII I 1 inside information wilton waltons Wil tons first act on reaching the shack aback was wag to write a letter to inspector quain informing him of the presence of hackett and at the camp and telling him of their liquor vending activities in the morning he sent for andersen who appeared disheveled humble and repentant 1 fvank I tank you send me back to the cache P the foreman began wilton struck ills his fist OR OH tits his desk xo no andersen im riot not going to send you back to the cache he answered hold your jou job and keep the lie men under control and see that theres no more whisky peddling around here by jink mr carruthers you yoost bet I 1 will V cried the swede 1 I done all I 1 could to io drive them two fallers fallera away from here last night I 1 took one drink thinking id get the men away quietly and tien thea tieni I 1 guess I 1 dont remember no more lie he ended apologetically getic ally PH it you see them around here again I 1 or hear bear of them let me know at once said wilton all andersen just try to live up to your job I 1 dont expect impossibilities ties and tell the men I 1 wont want to see them at ten at that hour ho hb went out to inspect the laborers who were lined up outside the cookhouse cook house they were a dirty disheveled lot till still showing the traces of the lust last nights dissipation wilton looked at them grimly well I 1 men weve met one another already he said im your new boss youve had a taste of me alq an d youve youre seen something of my ineth method I 1 expect my workers to wake make good and I 1 expect to make good myself and if any man brings liquor into camp or sets il V ill I 1 by jink mr carruthers Carrut hert you yoost bet I 1 Wili lill cried the tha swede tits his foot across the lie portage without my permission ill nicke him so that his mother recognize blin tho those s e of you who are dissatisfied can take your jiny and go lie he went lack back to his shack digby who had stood thoughtfully beside bebide him during tills colloquy came in after him there Ther emust roust b quite a considerable amount of this sort bort et t thing sir carrut r hers ers he e inquired what do you mean by this sort soil of telnet demanded wilton sharply making men so that their mothers wont know them answered the engineer it way may be all right for those who like it but it on my curriculum ri in england when it a ronn mail misbehaves we take out a summons against him you serve itt it that is a problem admitted digby ivo ive thought over that but this sort bort of thing what I 1 signed on for ell all there Is to it IL it told me what wits expected of we me I 1 might have signed with you or I 1 might not id have thought about it I 1 object to toy rights being invaded so I 1 wish to offer my resignation all right elgh said wilton shortly then feeling that the other had a sort of justice in ills his attitude it Is rather tough to expect you to db pollee police work he acknowledged but I 1 dont think there will be any more of it digby looked at him in frank astonishment ment why I 1 like itt he said 1 I had the time ot of my life last night its simply tile the principle of the thing but iro im afraid I 1 quite make mak my position clear not inot altogether answered wilton however im sending some special wall mall down this noon and you can go in with the sleigh digrys defection was a serious blow for it would be necessary to make arrangements for a man to take his place however witton wilton decided no co steps to that end immediately ue he inspected the camp saw caw that a good job was being made of the cleaning up and went to look at kittys kitrys house this was built substantially of logs and had already been half completed it consisted of four rooms and no an and stood at the edge of the new road near the ridge about ave hundred yards from the nearest hunk bunk house that afternoon he made his first examination of the muskeg lie he took soundings lit in several places but the peat seemed bottomless nero nowhere here could lie reach rock bottom except I 1 within a few feet of oe the shore the underlying bed of peat was everywhere lie ile went two or three miles up and down the stream without wit hout discovering any ny eky way of bridging the muskeg ile he was vaa too busy now to see molly more than an hour dally but he always went to the portage tor for a short visit after supper the factor who had learned to expect tits his coining at the sanne same hour each day withdrew upstairs before lie he arrived once or twice when they came face to face lie he turned his head away in sullen anger As a prospective father in law me ate donald seemed about as hopeless a proposition as could he be conceived b but ut the time to ti consider tits his own and mol 1101 lys future would not come until the 1 line ine was on its feet flig illg muskeg was the giant in the way often wilton staring down at its sullen depths from the top of the ridge would feet feel it as a personal enemy defying him to overcome it one evening wilton was sitting in his shack shach utterly disconsolate lie ile hat had sounded nearly every possible place without result and even eten molly had failed to cheer him ue ile saw no alternative before him film except to return to clayton and nd contest confess himself beaten andersen tapped at the door and said that a man wanted to see him wilton rose up and to ills his surprise admitted I 1 lee chambers the engineer was roughly dressed and wretched looking ile iio told wilton that lie he had bad tramped in from cold junction thirty miles southwestward the present terminal point of the new northern 1 11 I 1 thought maybe you would give me it a job he said vve left mr air bowyer for good we had some soine trouble lie ile wanted me to make a crooked report and I 1 would not do it im through with him and his dirty schemes 1 wilton gave him a chair nod looked him over coldly ile iio lid did oot not like chambers end and lie he suspected that lie was lying anif that bowyer had sent him to him for fit ahli own purposes digrys ance had bad left him lit in n liole hole but that hardly justified his 1113 taking on lee chambers though he was one ui of tile the ablest of his bis profession in manitoba well mr chambers he be said im carry carrying log on my work here on tile the lines established by mr air costack Do stock stack joe bostock had two maxims the first wan never lay off a 2 ninn man i isyou it you can help it the second was never take on a man chos tt ahna left you and to be quite 1 frnnk I 1 feel about abou t the same way you left the welch had find treated you well vell anti and we have reason to believe you save gave useful information to mr bowyer 1 I swear I 1 J shouted chambers springing to him feet prove that mr air carruthers 1 I cant prove it wilton admitted 1 I am giving yoa try my ix nonal feeling about yourself in confluence conn dence 11 well its a mighty po of confidence fi splattered splutter ed tile the m lu beer er see here mr carruther Carrut hent int int come here to beg you for a job I 1 want and I 1 can get gei one on any ower other line in manitoba but I 1 want to even things out oui a little with toni bowyer first iles hes played me a dirty trick and I 1 dont take things lying down I 1 know what your problem Is I 1 know you cant cross big alg Blu muskeg suppose I 1 show you eh eb bowd you feet feel about it then waltons Wil tons cool glance never wavered im willing to hear more on the subject mr air chambers lie said bald right I 1 before even started to clear tile the bush I 1 was up hero here sounding every yard of nig big muskeg clear along both shores knit and theres rock bottom within two miles of here does that interest you mr air carruthers Carr uthera it does said wilton frankly it if I 1 show you P 1 I need an assistant and you can have the position as long as you want it it lee chambers grinned good enough fot for me he said ill holu it right along there wont be any other in her hep widows widow black she looked prettier than ever road would have much use for me after toro tom bowyer finds out what ive done to him 11 wilton gave chambers a bed in his shack the next morning they started out to sound the inu muskeg A A little more than a mile north of the portage where the river dwindled to a mere trickle between two lakes in summer was an uninviting bed of pent peat covered with rotten slush it was one of the few spots where wilton had bad not sounded get bottom here said client hers bers lie ile swept ills his arm upward you see ive figured it out like this tho those 8 e ridges are limestone but the foundations granite youve noticed that of course the granite was there first the limestone was forced up later through the clefts by subterranean ae ac sidn it filled up the holes and hollows and spread up above the granite till these bluffs were formed kut but the granite shifted heres where the granite bed extends across tile the muskeg the mud filled up the cleft and spread across the foundation out but the foundations there try tier her ou t I 1 wilton got bottoni bottom after two or three attempts As ai chambers had said liere here was the foundation for the permanent way not the best beat conceivable and one that would require considerable ballasting but undeniably tile the only route possible the next day preparations were begun for cutting the ney new road from the camp the weeks passed swiftly with auld april come came the breaking up of the ice the ground hardened and the first team of horses struggled into camp drawing its freight the end of april saw lettys kittys house completed and the furniture installed nail the first day of may brought brou glit kitty she had telephoned wilton to expect tier her and she come came in a rig with a cartload of trunks and packages behind within nn an hour she was ensconced snugly in the new cottage with a camp cook detailed to look after tier her needs heeds in her widows black she looked pret tier than ever and absurdly young even to be jmilton wilton had supper with tier her and nil all the while they sat eat together at the ta life ills heart was almost too full for speech spee cli lie he was dreaming of the future with molly a future in which kitty share 1 lie ile pictured picture her happily roar mar ried for joe would have wished that and waltons Wil tons loyalty to the dead man had nothing mawkish or in it II 11 tty itty tapped him on the arm and he looked up to see her face in a charming 1 smile and mirth dancing in her blue eyes what are you thinking of will lie ie asked kitty lis he bald evading tier ques alon 1 I think you lire the pluckiest pluck iest lest woman inthe in the world orld why wilton to conie come up here end and put up with j these just because became of joe she blushed faintly and lowered her eyes it was you who let me come will she said fold but you ou wanted to come because joe would have liked it 11 kitty its ita like you ou to tilde hide your real feeling slie she laughed and made a little face at him but after supper sh she grew serious as lie he spoke of the work and tits his success about which he had written tier her wilton asked her it if she would walk over to the portage to see sea molly tonight she asked doubtfully not kot it if youre tired kitty 11 1 I 1 thought you might be content to sit here I 1 le r e and a n it chat cha V 1 11 I should bo be kitty dut but I 1 told her I 1 was coming and I 1 said I 1 had a surprise for tier cant you imagine how pleased shell be to see you why ot of course ill III come coma with you will site she answered and they strolled down donn side aide by side ilde and made their way to tile the trading store they went vent in and fit at the sound of their entrance molly came running downstairs stopped short at the bot tom and stared at kitty asif oa if she had open been a ghost she put her hand to her heart with a sudden gesture of tear fear molly this la Is the lie surprise I 1 promised you said wilton the mutter matter dearl dear did we startle your you molly shook tier her hend and came quickly forward swallowing is as it if something was choking tier her the wom en kissed each other then wilton was aware that both were watching him all through tile the livel lively y dint chat that followed lie was conscious of that lie ile put tile the idea oil out t of his mind with in an effort for chedid he did not like subtleties of feeling that lie he could not under understand sta nd yet there here was a chilliness under the girls chatter and laughter presently kitty she was tired and must iret back molly promised to come to see tier her ns as soon as possible wilton and kitty hardly spoke on the way home when lie left tier her at her door site she turned to him and asked abruptly will you ou aro are still as deeply to la love with molly as ever eer arent you of course I 1 am kitty 1 lie he an then I 1 aro am glad for your sake and hers bers answered kitty and went quickly into the house wilton walked back to ills ids shack a little littie puzzled lie ho had arranged to to show kitty the progress of tile the work on the following morning but when be called for tier her lie he found tier her in the midst of tier her unpacking and she sha put it off until the ilia afternoon wilton laughed chided tier her and went to tits hla work she kept hita him waiting till three when they aliey started lie ile felt the pride of the artist no as lie ho led kitty from one place to another locomotives were snorting and lines ot of ballast trucks oc coupled the narrow gage that had been laid down to tho the waters edge in the 1110 ballast pit from froin which tile the be screech reech of steam was hoard board from morn till night ta the great unwieldy steam shovel scraped its ita huge steel teeth into the face of the cut with the scrunch of an all ogres agres feast and turning dis gorged its plunder into the empty trucks alongside latty kitty shuddered end and pressed wll wil tons arm arni its like its ita like some eom living monster will she sha said lets go on ile he led her toward the muskeg but on the 1110 fayhe way ho stopped suddenly beside the summit of the ridge kitty lie he said in a |