Show of r if t Th TheY Yukon Alaskan laska An an r Love Story k f By B By WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINE RAINS Copyright William Macleod Maine Halne Ine C G ti I GENEVI GENEVIEVE VE MALLORY SEEING M MACDONALD SLIPPING 1 i FROM HER GRASP TAKES A HAND IN THE GAME GAMEL l As Synopsis Synopsis As a n representative of the government Gordon idiot Elliot ison Is la laon on his way to Alaska to Investigate coal claims On the die boat he meets r and arid becomes Interested In Iff a fellow passenger whom he l learns arns Is Sheba K f ONeill O'Neill also going in Colby Macdonald active head of the land land- grabbing syndicate under Investigation gatlon comes aboard Elliot and Mac Macdonald donald become In n a friendly Landing at Kusiak Elliot finds that old friends friend of his Mr and Mrs Paget arc are the p people whom Sheba has hag come to visit Mrs Paget is Sheba's cousin At dinner Elliot r t t r reVeals ve ls to Macdonald the object of his coming to Alaska The t two o men R nat naturally antagonistic now also become rivals for the hand of Sheba Macdonald forel foreseeing failure of his financial plans if Elliot learns the j facts sends Selfridge lIge his right hand man man to to arrange matters mati matters mat mat- cf i bo so that Elliot will he be deceived as to the true situation Elliot also 1 leaves for and wandering from the trail believes that he be t-A t o faces death Selfridge on his arrival at has bas his agents abduct abduct ab ab- ab- ab 2 duct Gideon Holt Bolt olt old time old time miner who knows too much about Macdonald's Macdonald's Mac Mac- i donalds donald's activities Elliot wanders Into the camp where Holt bit Is held a n prisoner r. r The two men men overpowering the kidnapers return to Kamat L lah where Elliot learns the truth about the coal land deals On the thA r way back to Kusiak Kuslak Elliot m meets a squaw l with her ber child who Elliot learns is Macdonald's son Soon after his return Elliot learns that Macdonald and lind Sheba hav have e become engaged CHAPTER XI Co XI Continued I I 7 7 77 7 h Presently he Sk spoke thickly I suppose suppose sup sup- sup pose you have bave heard beard that he be was n a squaw man man r f ridiculous Dont Don't be absurd Gordon Its the truth rye Ive seen the woman f She was pointed out to me By old Gideon Holt likely she flashed One could get evidence and show itE It itI E to to Miss ONeill O'Neill Jie M said aloud to himself him him- r Self elf rather than to her Diane put her point of view before I him Im with beat heated d candor You couldn't f. f Nobody but a n cad would rake rale up old SO s scandals about th the man who has bas beat beaten en n hl him fairly for a womans woman's love You Yon beg the question Has he be won I fa fairly Of co course he bas has Be a good sport Gordon don Dont Don't kick on the ilie umpires umpire's decision Play the game 1 all nil very well But what a about out her Am I to sit quiet while she Is sacrificed to a code of honor bonor that seems to me rooted In dishonor She Is not being sacrificed rm Im 0 her cousin Im I'm very fond of her And Id I'd tr trust st her ber with Colby Macdonald Play Piny fair Diane Dlane Tell her ber the truth about this Indian woman and let your you a. a cousin decide for herself You cant can't cants s do less can you k Mrs Paget was distinctly annoyed t. t You ought to be ashamed of yourself Gordon Elliot You take all the gossip gossip gossip gos gos- sip of a crack brained pad old Idiot for gospel truth Just because you want to believe belleve the worst about Mr Macdonald Mac Mac- r donald Colby Macdonald l Is too big bigand bigand and too aggressive not to have made J hundreds of enemies His life has bas been ci threatened dozens of times But he pays pay no attention to it goes It-goes goes right on f building up this country Yet you'd think he had bad a cloven hoof to hear bear i some people talk Ive I've no patience t e with them The womans woman's name Is r Gordon ordon said In an even voice Just as asIf asIf ast t- t If he were answering n a question She Is young and good looking good looking for an an I In In- In 1 dian Her e boy Is four or or five fire e years old they hey call him and he be looks Just like M Macdonald 4 People are always tracing Theres There's nothing to that But Butt t suppose his his' life w was s Irregular years Irregular years ago This isn't Boston It used to be bethe bethe pa s- s the fringe of civilization Men did as they pleased In n the early days S 2 s sJ This wasn't In the early days It J was when Mcdonald Macdonald t ti 0 was five years ago was examining the coal fiel field Im I'm told he sends a check down the V river once a month for the woman r All AlI the more credit to him if f he i does Diane rose-and rose looked stormIly stormIly stormy storm- storm y c Ily fly down at her ber friend Youre about x as broad as a clam Gordon GonIon Cant Can't you 5 S see that even If f Its It's true all aU that hat Is done with It Is a part of his past past past- and mid d Its It's finished trodden finished trodden underfoot It hasn't a n thing to do with Sheba F I dont don't agree with you A man cant can't cut loose entirely from his past It Is a part of of him hint and Im-and and Macdonald s 's past Isn't good enough for Sheba ONeill Diane tapped her little foot Impatiently Impatiently impatiently on the floor Do you know many men whose pasts ar are good goodenough goodenough goodenough s enough for their wives wives- Colby Macdonald Macdonald Macdonald Mac Mac- donald Is good enough for any woman alive If It he loves her ber enough him r You dont don't know y I 1 know him far better than you do 4 TI Ho IIO ls Is the biggest man I know and now that he Is In love with a good woman hell he'll rise to his chance chance i She ought to be told the truth i 1 1 about and her boy he insisted Insisted In In- doggedly r Mrs Paget lost her ber temper complete- complete I i ly Jy Does the government pay you I to mind other peoples people's business Gordon Gordon Gordon Gor Gor- don she Ebe s sapped lapped I wouldn't be bc working for the government government gov goy then the a but for Sheba ONeill And for Gordon Elliot You'd be doing underhand work for him too Dont Don't forget that You cant can't do It Youre You're not that kind of a man It Isn't In you to go In the theof fr ast of the tLe man Sheba Sheba's Is going Qing to It marry iI j Elliot rose an and looked across at at the blue ribbed blue ribbed mountains His square jaw was set when he turned it ba back k toward Diane She Isn't going to marry him If I Ican Ican Ican can help it he be said quietly He walked out of the gate and down the walk toward his hotel botel A message was waiting for him there from his chief in Seattle It called him bim down the river on business CHAPTER XII Genevieve Mallory Takes a Hand Inside of an hour bour the news of the engagement of Macdonald was all over Kusiak It was through a telephone receiver that the gossip was buzzed to Mrs Mallory by a friend who owed her a little stab The voice of Genevieve Genevieve Genevieve Gene- Gene vieve Mallory registered faint amusement amusement amusement amuse amuse- ment but as soon as she had bad hung up her face fell Into haggard lines She had staked a year of her waning youth on winning the big mining man of Kusiak Kuslak together with all the money that she had bad been able to scrape up for the campaign outfit Moreover she liked him Mrs Mallory sat down In th the hall beside the telephone her her fingers fingers laced about one crossed knee She knew that If Sheba ONeill O'Neill had bad not come on the scene Macdonald would have bave asked her ber to marry him H He had bad been moving slowly toward her for months They understood each other and were at ease together Between them was them was a n strong physical affinity Then Diane Paget had brought In this slim young cousin of hers bers and Colby Macdonald had been fascinated by the mystery of her ber innocent youth Mrs Mallory was like steel beneath the soft and Indolent surface Swiftly she mapped her plan of f attack The Alaskan Alaskan Alaskan Alas Alas- kan could not be moved but It might be possible to startle the girl Into breaking the engagement But before she made any any move Mrs Mallory 1 intended to be sure sur of her facts It was like her ber to go goto to headquarters head bead quarters for Information She got Macdonald on the wire Ive just heard something nice about you Do Dp tell me Its It's true she said her voice warm with sympathy Macdonald laughed with almost boyish boy boyish ish embarrassment Its true I reckon Im so glad She's a lovely girl The sweetest thing thins that ever lived Im I'm sure you'll be happy I always did think you would make a perfect hus hus- band Of course Im I'm simply green with envy of her TIer Her little Her little ripple of laughter was gay and care The man at the other end of the line never had liked her ber bet bet- ter She was was a game little sport he told himself approvingly It appealed to him Immensely that she could take such a facer and come up smiling There were no signs of worry wrinkles wrin kies kles on her face when the maid admitted admitted ad ad- a caller half balf an hour later Oliver Dustin was the name on on the card He TIe was a remittance man a tame little parlor pet whose vocation was to fetch and carr carry for pretty women women women wom wom- en and by some odd trick of fate he bad had sifted into the Northland Northland- Mrs Mallory had bad tolerated him rather scornfully but today she smiled upon him Dustin helped himself to ta a cigarette and made himself comfortable She set herself to win him He was Immensely flattered at her interest When she called him blin by his first name he wagged all over like a pleased puppy It came to him after a time that she I was considering him for a confidential mission He lie assured her eagerly that there was was no trouble too great for him to take if he could be of any service to her Their beads heads were close In whispered talk for a few minutes at atthe atthe atthe the end of ot which Dustin left the room th r th his chin chin chinIn In the air He ne was a knight errant in the employ of the most attractive woman north of fifty- fifty three When Elliot took the river down boat he be found Oliver Dustin was a fell fellow fellow fel fel- fel- fel l low w passenger The little man smoked I I an occasional cigar with Ith the land agent a and d aired his views on politics and affairs affairs af af- nf- nf fairs social He left the boat at the big bend Not till a week later did Elliot return return re re- re turn up the river He was asleep at atthe atthe atthe the time the tho Sarah passed the big bigbend bigbend bigbend bend but next m moping he discovered t that at Selfridge and Dustin had bad come aboard during the night In IQ the afternoon afternoon after niter noon he hc came upon a real surprise w when hen he found and her little littleboy littleboy littleboy boy seated upon a n box on the lower lover lover deck where freight for local points was stored His guess was that they were local passengers but wharf after wharf slipped behind them and the two still remained on board Th They y appeared to know nobody else on the Sarah though once Gordon met Dustin just as ashe ashe ashe he was hurrying away from the Indian woman transferred with the other Kusiak passengers at the river junction junc junc- tion The field agent was not the only one on board who wondered where she was going Selfridge was consumed consumed consumed con con- with curiosity and when she and the boy got off at Kusiak Kuslak he be could restrain himself no longer Gordon saw Wally talking w with Ith her showed him an envelope elope which evidently evidently evidently evi evi- dently had bad an address written upon it for the little littleman man pointed out to berthe her ber herthe herthe the direction in which she must go Since leaving lea Kusiak nearly two weeks before no word had reached Gordon of Sheba As soon as he had bad finished dinner at the hotel botel he walked out to the Paget house and sent in his card Sheba came into the hall haU to meet him bim from from the living room room where she had bad been sitting with the man she expected expected ex ex- expected to marry next week She gave a little murmur of pleasure at sight of him and held out both hands I was afraid you weren't going to get back In time Im I'm so glad she told him warmly He managed to achieve a smile When Is the great day Next Thursday Of course course course were we're as busy as can as-can can be but Diane says saysA saysA says says- A ring at the door Interrupted her Sheba stepped forward and let in an Indian woman with a little boy clinging cling cling- clinging ing to her hand You Miss ONeill O'Neill she asked Yes From the folds of her shawl she drew drewa a letter The girl glanced at the address then opened and read what was written She looked up puzzled first at the co comely ely flat footed flat footed Indian woman and afterward at the handsome little brown faced brown faced papoose She turned turIed to Gordon This letter says I am um to ask this woman who Is the father of her ber boy What does It mean Gordon knew instantly what It meant though he be could n not t guess who had dealt the blow The Impulse to P I I T Tr r tE i 7 e er I r Y What Does It Mean spare her pain was stronger in him Mm than the desire that she should know the truth Send her away away he be urged Dont I ask any questions She has has' been sent to hurt burt y you you u. u A fear flashed Into the startled startled star star- tIed eyes To hurt me I am afraid so But why But why I I. I have bave done nobody any harm She s se seemed emed em d to hold even her breathing in suspense Perhaps some of Macdonald's enemies enemies ene ene- mies he suggested And at lit that there came a n star-flash star Into th the soft oft eyes and a lifted tilt of the chin cut fine as a cameo She turned proudly to the Indian woman What Is it that you have bave to tell me about this boys boy's father f f began to speak At the of Macdonald's name Sheba's eyes dilated Her TIer smile her sweet glad clad lad pleasure at Gordons Gordon's arri arri- val Yal were already gone like the flame of a blown candle Clearly her ber heart was a flutter a-flutter In fear of she knew not what When the Indian woman told how she had first crossed the path of Macdonald the color flamed Into the the- cheeks of off the Irish girl but as the story progressed the blood ebbed even from her lips Ups With a swift movement of her ber fingers fingers fin fin- fingers gers she flashed on the hall light Her gaze searched the brown shiny face of the little chap She read there an affidavit affidavit affidavit af af- af- af of the truth of his mothers mother's tale talc It was Impossible to see him bim and not recognize Colby Macdonald reincarnated re re- incarnated ted What is your name asked Sheba suddenly The youngster hung bung back shyly among the folds of the Indian womans woman's skirt said sald at last he be softly Come I Sheba flung open the door of the living room and ushered them In Macdonald pacing restlessly up and do down n the room room during her absence pulled up In his bis stride He stood frownIng frownIng frowning frown- frown Ing at the native woman then his eves eyes passed to Elliot and fastened upon him The face of the Scotsman was glim grim as that of a hanging banging judge Gordon started to explain then stopped with a shrug What was the use The man would never believe him In the world Ill remember r this the Alaskan promised his rival There was a cold glitter In his bis eyes a sudden fh flare rc of f the the devil devil that was was blood blood chilling Its true then broke In IQ Sheba Youre a squaw a-squaw squaw man You belong to this woman Nothing of the kind That's been ended for years forward for for- Ended Sheba drew w ward ard by the wrist Do you deny that this Is your boy Th The big Ala Alaskan |