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Show HH lather Luclen half turned him ovc. nnd, uttering nn exclnmntlon, pointed to the shoulder, from which fresh blood I was slowly gelling. Lnfe saw that mm?:- Hilary, Covered With Blood, Lying Stretched Out and Motionless, His Head In Her Lap. Hilary wns nllvc; he breathed very faintly, but his face was thu color of death, uioro bloodless tlmn tlmt of Miidelelne. T1r cure begun cutting iiwny the coat, then the lining, which would not come with It ; then the shirt. He looked up. "Bring some water," ho wild. " " I.nfe hurried out, the few curious lumbermen K-uttcrliig In panic and scurrying before hlm. As he stood among them, shouting, a window In a nearby house went up, and a woman handed out a pnll, three parts full. Lufe took It. At) he re-entered the Klinnty the crowd slowly gathered be hind him again. He hurried Into the stable. The cure took a strip of the I glrl'H petticoat dipped It In the pall mill begun totclounse thu wound, pursing purs-ing hi lips nnd shaking Ills head the while. Lufe could see that the wound, while not long, was terribly deep, and It wns still bleeding. It wns Impossible Impossi-ble to do more than clean It superficially, superfi-cially, owing to the need for haste. Ilnvlng done this, Father Luclen made u pud mid placed It In position, while Madeleine, working with steady lingers i which guve the He to her face, begun to wind the strips over It round the chest. All the while she worked her fuee was agitated, and yet composed, and only the tortured eyes betrayed what she was suffering; but when the wound wns hound she broke down. "It Is my fault." she cried In French, sobbing despairingly. "I warned him and he would not hear me, and I rode away. I knew It long beforu and I would not believe It. I have killed hlm." . Tha cure's hand fell on her fchoul-der. fchoul-der. Lufe noticed, too. and thought It significant ufterward that, wild though her words were, nnd untrue, he did not then deny them. Mudelelne looked up nnd, meeting his eyes, grow calm. Lafe stepped for-wunl, for-wunl, bent down and gently raised Hilary's Hil-ary's head from her knee. He placed his hands beneath the shoulders, supporting sup-porting them, while Father Luclen lifted lift-ed the lower part of the body, and thus they carried the stricken man through tho shanty toward the buggy. The cure made a motion to Lafe to enter. "You and Mademoiselle Hosny will drive to my house," he said. "As there Is no room for me, I walk. I glvo you tho key, because my housekeeper Is cone to bed and must not be fright- CD Oil" "No, to tho Chateau," said Mudelelno ltosny. "Do you think he shntl go anywhere any-where elso. monsieur, when ho Is like tills?' Her voice rang proudly, the tone nil-mltted nil-mltted of no opposition. The cure wns " Lafe drew Hilary Into the bottom of tho buggy nitd crouched there, sun-porting sun-porting the head and the upper imrt of his body. Hut Madeleine, watchful, mtered a low cry. A little blood was leaking through the bandage. S Mo hastened to the other Bide of therg and began adjusting It. while he cure turned toward tha crowd, which was looking on In .mnlcky ""'" only by low words and muttering. This Is a bad night's worn m ju huvo donel" he cried. """ for it. every man here, and the assas sins too. 1 kuow them oil. era who had BOttlctl along tho coaw nml iVunetuuted their names nnd I ottnmTo" their .; I if nothing elso of their race survive". "Wo nre net all guilty. ?"'" S sIcC ho said. "I knew rothlng of h -until the deed was ; done. o rl Jon d Imvo used "very effor to Pijcnt These people asked " to P Uiciu. They say that tnev nr 'nprcrrnTcP"lrw Hb denounced them. "You have forgotten for-gotten jour ancient loyalty In these days, MesleurM. You have no memory of your Ki'lgnleur and what you owo to him still your Seigneur, utthough you no longer grind and hew for him I You have forgotten I" There was another movement among the crowd. Her words seemed to stir them even more tlmn the priest's had done. "No, no, mademoiselle I" cried several voices. "Nol Wo have not forgotten 1" ".? AliicPiierson came forward again. "They thought," he said, "Mademol-scHc, "Mademol-scHc, that Monsieur Urousseau's enemies ene-mies were yours." Lafe saw the girl stagger us If sho had received a blow. She put her hand upon the buggy wheel and leaned thus for u moment, staring Into Mac Phcmon's face Then, without a word, she stepped In, took up the reins nnd begun to urge the how, very slowly, along tho road. The cure came to the side of the vehicle. "I shall- come-to the-Chotenu, then, Mademoiselle ltosny," ho said. Madeleltiu did not answer him. Presently Pres-ently Lafe. rroiichlng In tho bottom of the buggy, heard her sobbing again, low, heartbroken sohs that sho could not check for a long time. Sometimes she took her eyes from tho road to look for n moment Into Hilary's face, and once she stopped for a moment. "How Is he?" she asked. "He Is living. Mademoiselle," sold Lafe. And that was all he dared to say. There was no lantern, and Mndelclno needed all her watchfulness to avoid the stones and ruts in the road. Luckily Luck-ily the moon wns bright and tho horse steady. Once, as tho buggy swung round a bend, Lnfe, looking out, saw the cure trudging behind, slinking his heavy stick. He heard Mndelelno still sobbing. Ills own heart was heavy enough; ho blamed himself for Hilary's Hil-ary's misfortune. Ho should huvo stood by him. And he had meant to do so. Hut he had not calculated that Hilary would walk so fast or go to St. Honlface so soon. The trees fell nwoy, disclosing the Rosny chateau. The buggy stopped before be-fore the door In front of which tho Seigneur nnd the old retainer were standing, with anxious faces. Madeleine Made-leine bent swiftly over Hilary nnd raised his limp hand; then sho turned her eyes to Lufo's, mutely nsklng him that question which could not bo spoken, "Ho Is no worse," said Lnfe. The Seigneur nnd his man camo toward to-ward them. "MacPhcrson telephoned to the post oftlco and they brought mo tho nuws." ho said. "You did quite right, Madeleine. Gently, now, Monsieur," Mon-sieur," ho added, addressing Connell, nnd together Uiey raised Hilary from the buggy tloor. "Remember the steps. Now, I will go backward so." They were Insldo the Chuteau, carry-lug carry-lug their burden between tho rows of portraits Into n room which had been drawing room In bygone days, furnished fur-nished with spindle-legged furniture, Kilt mirrors and ormolu cabinets. A bed In n corner showed that Its use had heen converted, probably because tho upper part of the Chateau was no longer habitable. Madeleine Rosny camo In with her arms full of bed linen, diffusing the scent of wlntergreen. Lafe and her father got Hilary to bed. He was stirring stir-ring now, beginning to toss his arms and mutter in delirium. The puisc was stronger, but tho flush which had supplanted tho pnllor denoted fever. Presently the cure entered nnd went btralght to tho bedside. The three men looked nt Hilary nnd ut each other. "I huve seen men who wero wounded worse recover." said Edmond Rosny. Ho has bled much, but the heart Is BSSSSSSpff ' ET . IHBHfHHH H H rcivyV WT3M iH JfcwfsBFS B Was Already Established at H Hilary's H and unless lung Is Hrt . . . see H'he he Has nothing more Connell le would have stayed, K, lie await thu H Mudelelno already at Hilary's bedside. In come He morning, Mudemolsello Hsuht. to HfBcan my jJuesHrrne only one to blame. I ought to have stood by htm. and I went nwuy. j You did more than me, mademoiselle, and It wasn't up to you. I mean, It wasn't your business to snve him." "No?" whispered Mndelclno, raising her eyes to his. And Lafe felt like u blundering fool. "You'll snve him." ho said. "Wo can't lose hlm. Wo wnnt hlm we all want ljm. I guess I didn't renllr.o how whlto he was till till this happened." hap-pened." He wns half way to his boarding-house boarding-house before he stopped as a thought struck him. "I guess Father Lucy does got results re-sults In his own way," ho said. CHAPTER XI. 3'iT Dreams and Danger. I Thanks, to a constitution Inured by hard work nnd healthy Mvlng,. Hilary Imnroved rnnldly under Madeleine's nursing, aided by- her father's skilled treatment of the wound. On the second sec-ond day Hilary wns conscious, on tho fourth Rosny announced that tho crlslB wns past; upon the ninth tho patient was sitting up In bed nnd demanding de-manding solid food. Lnfe was tho happiest man In the world when, nt last admitted to tho bedside, ho asked and received absolution abso-lution for his desertion. "Now I've got some good news," he said, when Hilary persisted In nsklng about the work. "Wc'vo got that shipment off, nnd Dupont will have both vessels bnck In a few days for the next. The mill's working overtime over-time nnd the gang's back on thu Job." "You paid them two dollars?" "Not a cent more," said Lnfo triumphantly. tri-umphantly. "They nsked to go bnck to work, and you ought to sco them working! I guess they feel that they hnven't given you n Mpmre deal, nnd Mr. Itosiiy's been having a few words with them, I hear. Anyway, they know now It's Morris who tipped off ti.n rnv.nuo neonlc. In order to make trouble for you, und tho result Is this part of the country has grown too hot for him. So he's gone away. I hear he had a quarrel with nrousseau over the share 'of their plunder, nnd they almost camo. to blows over It. Well, that's the first of the gang out. And MacPhcrson hns turned out a trump, working overtime nnd making the hands work, and It begins to look to me ns If we'll win out after nil." This was good news. It wns now .September, and In little more than a month tho nnow should extend considerably con-siderably their cutting nrca. So they discussed their plans, until Madeleine, coming In, drove Connell awny. Hilary would not nsk him about his nssullants, nnd Lnfe waH glad to avoid tho subject. It was Father Luclen who took It up later, when nilary was convnlescent. He hummed nnd hnwed n good deal, and finally tho truth came out. It would be easy enough to get the police po-lice up from Quebec, hut the quartette quar-tette would have to ho laid by the heels before the advent of winter mode further action Impossible for month. Of thu four, Pierre had disappeared. dis-appeared. Leblnnc wns said to have cone Into the woods for the winter to trap, having apparently abandoned his pretense of a sub-lenso on the Ste. Marie limits. Simeon Duval was running run-ning his saloon wide open, and swearing swear-ing that. Hilary having assaulted hlm. he had struck with his knlfo In self- -..- i.i ntiittniwl ruin defense, while In a half-stunned condition. con-dition. Llttlo Louis, his brother, scared out of his wits, had been to see the cure with n view to making his peace. Hilary hod no deslro to punish Louis any further, though ho meant to deal with Pierre and Leblnnc when tho opportunity nrose. Ho meant to rld the community of them nnd Simeon; but ho hod a strong man's reluctanco to coll upon tho law to avengo a physical assault. In tho end tbe euro went nwny with tho under- ' standing that Louis' was forgiven, nnd ' ,ta no decision taken ns to further ! action. "Hut what strength I What power. mnnMrurl" he said admiringly, clench-Ing clench-Ing his hmid over the muscles of Hilary's arm. "Do yon know, monsieur," mon-sieur," he eont limed thoughtfully, "I have often thoutt.it that a priest In such n district as this needs the muscularity mus-cularity almost ns much as the goodness good-ness 1 Ah, Mmnleur Askew, It I were your age, and of your strength, what would I not dot" To Hilary his convalescence wns a foretaste of parndlse. Edmond Rosny came In only for formal visits now, twice or three times a dnyj hut It wns wonderful to see Madeleine, whom he knew that he loved with all his heart, about his bedside all day long, nnd then about his chair, waiting on him, anticipating his wishes, until he felt ashamed to be so' helpless, her pride gone, her scorn gone, her enmity as well. When Hilary lenrned of the part that she hnd played In his rescue, nnd thanked her gratefully, she could not meet his eyes. Then camo the first day on which he wns permitted lo leave his room. Leaning on Mndelclnc's arm. he had gone out to feel the wonder of tho sunshine nnd the crisp nutumn air. Tho garden hnd originally been lnld out, more than a century before, In Imitation of the formal gardens of France of the period, with terraces find statuary. Everything wns in ruin; nnd yet Hilary hud the sudden, Inexplicable sense of having come home. "Mademoiselle Rosny," ho said, "we nre going to be Rood friends In future, aren't we? Tho good-will goes with your kindness, even It It does not go with thu trees." She broke down. "What must you think of met" sho cried. "I think" began Hilary. I Sho sprnng to her feet, facing him. "That I knew ot the plan to cut your boom I Yes, I did know, but only n little while before It happened. And listen I I wns on my way to you, to warn you, when the horse bolted. And the shock of tho fall nindo mo forget for a few moments nftcrwnrd. Hut then It was too late I" Her words flung n grcnt burden from Illlury'.s mind. Ho hnd never been able to reconcile tho thought of her guilt In tho conspiracy with his knowledge of her, his conception which wns almost knowledge. "I wns sure you could not have known I tried, at least, to make myself my-self believe you did not know, In spite of your words." ho said. "Mademoi selle Rosny, I nsk only ono thing; It was not Baptlste?" "Jean Baptist? .,IJo, la, Incapable, ot such a crime I Monsieur Askew, t do not know who It vyus, sae that It wns somo man employed by liy hlm, probably from Ste, Marie. And be cause I hnd known that wns wny i told you thnt It wiih too lato for the tho good-will. Thnt wns why I was unhappy, nnd seemed In trouble, on tho day'when you met mo riding, afterward." aft-erward." Sho raised her head nnd met his eyes nt last. "And I went to you thnt night nnd nsked you to leave St. Honlface because I know that Edouard Hrousseau" she hesitated nt the name "meant to kill you. Ho had hinted ns much to me." T presumed once," began Hilary quietly, though his heart had suddenly sudden-ly begun to. hammer, "to nsk you n question about Monsieur Hrousseau which angered you. Whether ho meant so much to ypu. I dare" ho took her hand In his "to ask It again." "No," she said In n whisper, looking tlown. "Ho never meant so much I know It now nnd slnco thnt day when he let mo seo the evil In his heart he has meant less than nothing." Her breath came and went quickly as she spoke; she was afraid; she tried to withdraw her hand, but ho was standing beside her, holding It fast. Sho knew that If eho looked up she would bo unable to resist him; but nlrcady he hnd drawn her Into his arms. "I love you, Madeleine." Sho did not try to dlscngngo herself; her-self; she wns trembling, nnd he could not seo her face. "Madeleine I Tell me" no wns consclons of a stupendous fenr; all the future hung upon that Instnnt, and still she gave no sign. "Won't you look nt me, Madeleine? Won't you speak to me?" At thnt sho raised her head, and flung it bnck with a proud gesture, "I Love You, Hilary," She Answered. and looked luto his oyes. "I love you, Hilary," she answered, with prldo thnt forbade denial or cqquetry. And iiunry tt'iircu no longer. tiverytniBC MlalH was changed to Joy that seemed to SHI btar.o about him, lighting up the dy. iHHH For n long tlmo thnt morning they, flMfl forgot everything except their happt- hHbH ness. It wns not for an hour, per- aHoaLi haps, not until Hilary began to speak IHH of his hopes for the future thnt ah liHVH remembered what sho hnd to say, aHflH "I should have told you," she said. IHH "The waiting must bo so long. My cHhI father would never consent never, taaVai Hilary." iHiH "What hns your father against rae," jjHLVfl he asked, "except my cutting down hi JDLH trees? And, as for that, n man who LLH sells his property, or rights over It, IH mrely can never justify himself In flH bearing Ill-will to those who purchase HH from hlm." 'v IsiHk "It Is not thnt, Hilary. It Is be- fB cause well, first, becnuso you are an JHb American. He docs not love tho Eof- LD llsh, hut ho hates Americans. He H thinks thnt they betrayed Canada la I H 178.1. And because the people are at- HLH Isfled under English rule, and loytLl tH bo resents ft nnd broods over It." ''leHI "nut thnt Is all ancient history," IsHI said Hilary, laughing, at the absurdity, HaH of the Idea. As n key to conduct, toe Hl Selgneur'a nntlquarlnn motives ap- aifl peared Impossible. fLV She smiled. "Ho Is very good and 'eRH very Just," she snld tenderly, "hut he, HHI lias let his dreams take hold of hlm aW too much. And they nre bound p jH with his craze for the land. Ho wants; ! M tho seigniory to remain undivided for ever, he wants the feudnl tenure H back, with the serfs of his boyhood . H days; he Iocs his land far better than IHH ILaH he loves mc at least, I believe he iH looks on me as an accessory ot It." iaLI She hesitated. "Hilary," sho eon- lH tinned presently, "that Is how It was liLLi arranged thnt I was to marry him." laLI I Hilary noticed her unwillingness to' IH pronounce HrouRscau's name. "It was ILI I because he bus u old on the selgn- KbbH lory, and If my fnther lost It the IsaH shock would kill him. lel "When ho was n boy, working, 4i for my fnther here, ho hnd ambitious .JPH dreams, like so ninny young Cann- Kil dlnns. My fnther beenmo Interested 7H In him, gave him an education, nnd SaLH helped hlm. He repaid It by scbem- JLH Ing to get hold of the Rosny Inherit liLH ance. He set to work, won my fa- iaLH thcr's confidence, nnd got him to(put issH his money In worthless companies. iaLH Then ho became his creditor. I knew, SLI nothing of all this, because I was at UaLH school la Paris. BuJ; when I cam ILH home, nftcr my mother's death, my isaH father was In his power. H "He tried to free himself tiv selllne w akH your uncle the timber rights. He 'jH could only bring himself to do this be- jH cause ho knew that somo duy the trees H would bo cut down, and the mill would - H go, nnd we should have our ancient aaLH solitude again. But he needed. mora Jra money to help a relutlve In Quebec ''saLfl who had lost Ids fortuno through tak- lH Ing his advice to Invest In ono of the' jH companies. My father felt obligated HeH to hlm. So he got the mortgage, and l4 It expires In December, and that's all, ' Hilary, dear, except to say that, al- M though It wits expected I wus to marry JH hlm, I never In my heart expected to. aH And I wouldn't let him kiss inc. Only alH my check once or twice. It used to liH make hlm so angry. Ho hates you so lJ much, Hilary, and once ho was Jealous !i he seemed to divine nnd he accused tfliH me of caring for you. That wus what 'l made mo angry with you. I tried to liH hntu you more, and ull tho time I il used to think nbout you, dear I was iiiH ashamed I am still ashamed" Hl "I think wo murt both havo known tnslH that wo wero meant to love each other, H as soon as wo met," Hilary said. iial "I think I did know," sho answered MiH softly. iH "Does he know your decision?" H asked Hilary. H Sho nodded. "I told him when ha WM gave me to understand his wicked de sign against you that I could never be M anything to him. I bad not gavged Wat H before or, rather, I had been faypno- jl tlied by my sense ot duty toward my gH father. But. nilary, remember this" H her cheeks glowed and she looked very ljH earnestly ut him "If your love Is as IHI truo as mine, und as unswerving ns HgtH mine, you can remain happy In tho gH knowledge that wo love each other, tifl And ns long as your lovo Is unswerv- Hgtl lug you con know that I lovo you, ?1H Nothing can niter my lovo except the Sga! knowledge that yours is not true. And iigl although tho waiting may be long I dHl shall never become his w)fu to suvc SgLl my father's lands never, Hilary." SgH Sho was crying softly, her cheek PH against his shoulder. Hilary took het jgH In his arms. "Dear, I am going to tell ' IRH your father," ho said. f Sho started out ot his arms. "Hlb fjH nry I You must not. It would kill hlm H to know." H "nut ho must know, Madeleine. H Don't you sco, nothing is to bo gulncd H by delay. It is right that he should H know." "He will bo your enemy, nilary. He M will uglify ou to tho bitter end." !M "Hut I shull not be his. What harm JH can ho do mo?" S "Listen, first," sho said, no they bo- gan walking slowly back toward tin H Chateau. "Tho other day, as soon in M your recovery was assured, futhct went down to tho mill nnd tulkcd with ID jour hands. Ho gavo them a terrible f l scolding. Ho told them that they owed ID as much duty toward their employe! j M as toward him. It vue not because he j ffl loved you, Hilary, but becnuso of hi I BJ ueuso of duty, Ho thinks It Is my dutj I BJ I to sacrifice myself for tho seigniory. I BJ There will bo no more troublo wltb f flj your workmen, now that they know i HJ you are our friend. But, Hilary, 1 can't bear to havo tho old, bad feeling jHJ ack njjaln. Glvo me un. dear i" fl (Continued Next eek) ) H -! H |