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Show Hk 'JIltWOODEN a wXLsJmK "Vciorloasseau $A W ''ff7fSL Miulfaltonj by IrwirvMyoTi ji j" -A its&JBmg CtJ7f H ll. !' hjCtorf H Doom Co "Oh, that ain't hard." wild Lais "You see, thp Jobbers, who Miblenso the trticts, know how much their men hnvo cut. And It's neiilod In tho woods before they shoot It down stream. I guess thero ain't no illlll-culty illlll-culty then, Mr. Askew. And you see, Mr. Morris representing both concerns, he naturally does Ids best by both of em." Illlnry's suspicions, dormant oven nfter tho Interview with Lamartlne, wero now thoroughly aroused. "And Mr. ItrotHi'eau has iw concern with w, except for the lease of the mill and the rlghtof-wuy dowit the river," muied Hilary. "Who Is tills Mr. l'musM-nuT "Why, 1 guess he'n tho big mnii of the district." said Lnfe. "He's tho nearest thing to ti Iiiwm they've got up here; tells 'em how to vote and gets Vui out of trouble. ,lli uln't good to his father, though. That was old .Tucques Rrous.xenu In the store, the tuipper." i "I didn't see him." "IU was Mr. Itosny's slave, or whatever what-ever they called tlieui, In the old times, before these people became free." He tapped tho nslics out of bis pipe and pocketed It. "He's got old ltosny In his pocket," he said, leaning toward Hilary. "He's got liliu bound nnd mortgaged ufter leading him to throw your uncle's money away in crazy Investments. Ho dlil It deliberately, Mr. Askew. When he was n kid, growing up among the liouso servants up ut tho Chntenu, he wanted to be u big man, for which I don't blame him. lie got his way, but that wasn't enough. lie wanted the Seigneur's plnce, because be found that tho folks up hero thought more of old Mr. Rosny, with his broken-down broken-down bouse nod debts, than they did of 1) tut with till his money. So he set to work nnd got him cinched. "The old man hates and despises him, and he's been lighting against It for u long time', hut ho seen whnt'B coming to him nnd I guess he's made up his mind he'll havo to stomnch It. tltrousseau'K staked old Mr. Rosuy'H pride against his love, nnd I guess he's won his stake and won Mamzcllo Madeleine Into the bargain." , lie rose. "That'll be all for tonight, Mr. Askew?" he asked. Hilary roso too. "Thanks, Mr. Con-nell," Con-nell," be said. "In the morning I shall ask ,vou to show me around tho place." He didn't follow I.afo Council Inside In-side the hotel, but sat upon tho porch, muring. Lafe bad enlightened him on several points. Ho ilouliteil woollier I.amnrtlno bad 'spoken anything np-pinni-lilng trulb concerning the property, prop-erty, and he was sure that Morris nnd Ilrousseaii were the company In whoso behalf be had offered forty-live thousand thou-sand dollars. There would be need of a good many explanations from Morris. Mor-ris. Yet Hilary felt Instinctively that It was I!roiiKcnu, not Morris, with whom he would have to contend. On the face of tho soft night roso the face of Madeleine Rosny painted with surprising clearness. IIo saw the blue of her eyes, the curvo of her liPr 'T mKB ' He Saw the Blue of Her Eyes, tho Curve of Her Flushed Cheek, the Dlanlty and Gentleness and Pride That Blended In Her Looks. Hushed cheek, the dignity and gentleness gentle-ness and pride' that blended In her looks. If over lie had nny quarrel with Uroussouu, ho would show him Then he cursed himself for u fool, and, entcilng the hotel, took his Inmp und went np to his room. i CHAPTER 11. Lafe Conned Explains. After breakfast' the next morning Hilary hired Monsieur Tremblay's buggy and Blurted out with Lufe, with the Intention of covering n portion of the limits and seeing the operatlonsof tllo Jobbers; ho also meant to keep his eyes open n.s to tho nature of tho timber! The bu-: -arojiittntfi'l tf & "- another hill appeared In the ttlstnncs Here and there, scattered nlong the roadxlde, were solitary cabins, with little patches of cultivated ground about them. "And on the right of tho road Is tho SIo. Mario territory?" asked Hilary. "Yep, Mr. Askew. The two runs neck and neck back Into them mountains. moun-tains. We turn oil' presently. We haven't touched this district jet." Hilary noted the llrst-growth spruce nlong the banks. "Why don't wo cut this, tiny way, If the rest Is mainly llr?" lie asked. "There's enough lumber lum-ber her.o to fill our dam Instead .of the Ste. Mario emupany's logi." Lnfe answered volubly, but did not meet Hilary's eyes. "You see, Mr. Askew," he began to explain, "It's this way. There's n good deal of llr on our property, and whnt pine nnd spruce there Is? Is smallish. small-ish. There was a big llro over tlilw district fifteen years or so ago. Now Mr. Morris calculates that If we go slow for n while and give the .trees n chance to grow, they'll be worth twice as much In n few years. We're developing de-veloping the property slowly, Mr. Askew" Hilary's hand fell on I.nfo's shoulder. shoul-der. Council," bo snld, "I brought you up hero with me to learn the truth from you. You're going to sign on again on October first, nnd It's mo you're going to algn .with, not Mr. MnrrK Now tell mo the facts nbout nil this." Lafe stammered and hung his head llko n schoolboy caught In wrongdoing. wrong-doing. Put Illlnry's hand was gripping grip-ping Ids shoulder, nnd nt last Lafe raised his head nnd looked straight at Hilary. "If I thought you'd stick here," ho said, "I guess I'd back you to the Unlit. Unl-it. Rut you'll never stand for St. Itonlfaee, Mr. Askew. They're so Infernally In-fernally slow here, they ain't got human hu-man ways, sir. And they're crooked. I thought, when I heard you was coming, com-ing, you'd bo like Mr. Morris I mean, wise to tho game but you nlu't. I guess most business Is crooked everywhere, every-where, but hero It's crooked nil through. You'll be selling out to Mr. Rrnnsxrnu In u month's time, and rhnt'll he my finish." "You're dead wrong, Connell," an-Bwcred an-Bwcred Hilary. "I llko the looks of this country, nnd I'm hero to stay. Now suppose you forget nbout Mr. Ilrousseaii for u while 'and consider yourself to bo whnt you are, my paid enpIoytl'. And you can count on my standing by you." lie held his hand out. For n moment mo-ment Lnfe Council's keen gray eyes met bis searching Inquiry; then he took Hilary's hand and wrung It. "I believe you mean what you say, Mr. Askew," he returned. "And you can reckon on me so far as my duty goes." "I suppose, that tale about the Rosny Ros-ny seigniory being nothing but tlr Is .a lie, Connell?" asked Hilary presently, pres-ently, ns tho pony ambled through u valley overgrown with red pine. ".Mostly," said Lafe. "There Is n deal of llr, but there's enough spruce and pine to make the concession pay, if Mr. Morris wanted It to." "So Slivrls has been playing double?" Lafe nodded. "You see. Sir. Askew, It's IIiIh way," be sold. "When Morris came up here I believe he meant to run straight. Rut he'd been u lumber man In n small way up In Ontario, and he wasn't wise to tho game as It's played hero. Here It's graft, and It's never been nothing else. So when Morris found yoilr uncle didn't know nothing about the business, nnd left It In his hands, be naturally roll ror tho game Ilrousseaii was playing. "Rroussenu Is the big man up here, and he'd had his eye on tho Rosny seigniory for n long time. He wanted to buy, but Rosny was sore on him, nnd he closed the deal with your undo distend. Hut afterward Ilrousseaii got tho mortgage on the Chateau and tho little bit of land round It, to keep hold on Rosuy. "Well, the ItoMiy sejgnlory Is tho only piece of free-hold up this way. Re-yond Re-yond It's government land, and all round It's government land. Ilrousseaii Ilrous-seaii stnrted In to squeeze your undo out. And Morris went with him. Ho played double, ns you were paying, Mr. Askew. The point of tho whole gaino was to freeze out your uncle and get tho property for n song. That's how It Mantis. Hero wo turn ofT Into Mr. Leblar.e's lease." "Who's he?" "Your chief Jobber." said Lafe. Tho buggy turned off through tho forest nlong a new road. Hero was somo splendid timber, block and white spruce nnd tall white pine. The sound of nxes began to be audible, nnd presently pres-ently they reached n clearing, In which a number of frame shacks wero under construction. Superintending tho work-was work-was u tnll, rather fair man of nbout forty years, with a cast In ono eye; nntl with him was a short, Uilckset man of grunt muscular power. Tho two looketl up ns tho buggy approached, ap-proached, and the short man scowled. "TUln Is .Mr. Leblnnc" all UU. I 'MrT Lcliimic, this la Mr. Askew, tl. owner." Leblnne put out his hand limply, but flllnry, nettled by his manner, did not take It. "Mr. I.iWnne Is clearing n camp for his next jeiir' lease." continued Lafe. "Rut the lease Is :ot signed?" nsked Hilary. "It will bo signed in October," answered an-swered Leblnne. "I have nrrango with Monsieur Morris." "You'll miike your arrangements with me In future," said Hilary. "If tlie price Is satisfactory, you can havo this tract." Lvbluuc stared at him Insolently with his good eye, the ot.'ur tlxlng n tree on Hilary's light. "I work for Mr. Morris. I make nrrnngo with him," ho answered. "See here, Leblnne, you didn't catch who this gentleman Is," said Lafe. "This Is Mr. Askew, the nephew of the late Mr. Askew. He has come Into tho property. He's boss. You got me, don't you, Leblnne?" Leblnne shrugged bis shoulders. "Oh, ye. 1 understand," he answered, nnd, turning without another word, walked back toward the lumbermen, accompanied by tho short man, who was chuckling maliciously ut Hilary's dlscomtltuiv. Hilary tlushed, but Lafe laid his hand on his wrist, closing the lingers nbout It with n viselike grip. "Steady, Mr. Askew. Don't let those fellows get you riled," be mid. "If you're coining Into this game It means steady work. You've got to hold buck and bold back, until you've got things ready." They re-entered the buggy and, turning turn-ing tho horse, drovo back. Presently Hilary cooled down. "Who was the little man?" ho nsketl. "That's Pierre sometlilng-or-other. RVack Pierre, he's called. Ho's Urous-s Urous-s can's chief crook. He's a trouble-somo trouble-somo fnnii, Mr. Hilary. He'll bear watching." "We'll llro him first thing," said Hilary. Hil-ary. "Why, he ain't hired by us," nh-Bwered nh-Bwered Lafe. "Then whnt In thunder Is he doing on my concession, talking to my chief Jobber?" "Well, there nln't no Inw against It," said Lnfe, with n humorous look on tils face. "I guess them two are pretty thick together. "You see, Mr. Askew, It's this way," ho went on. "If you're going to clei up this mess, It uln't u bit of good going for the little fellows. They're the tnll that Itrousscau wngs. Onco yon get Ilrous.seau'H baud out of your pie, the others follow him. When Plerro sees there uln't no more pickings pick-ings out of the St. Ronlfaco land he'll go back to the smuggling business." "Ilrandy-smuggllng?" "Why, he's the bad man of Ste. Mn-rle. Mn-rle. Ho, runs cargoes of gin and brandy ashore from the south const, and there's never been, u revenue olllcer In this district within human memory, nor would ouo dare to fallow his face here. Say, I'll take you through Ste. Mario on the way hack to tho mill 1" They had reached. tho main road ngulu; they went on u little way und then turned woMwurd over a rough track through n burned-over district densely covered with llreweed and I white starved asters. Soon another rig appeared before them, topping the hill. Lafo pulled In as It approached. "Ronjour, Father Lucy," hu called to the elderly priest, who sat Inside. "This gentleman Is Mr. Askew, the new owner of the Rosny concession. He's old Mr. Askew's nephew." The cure looketl Hilary over, then ho leaned forward und extended Ids bund, which Hilary grasped. "I am plenso to -meet you, Mr. Askew," As-kew," he said. "I 'ope wo shall become be-come frieus, llko Mr. Lafe hero, an' not ilium el so much." "Ah. Father Lucy, you make mo tired sometimes," said Lafe. "What In thunder's thun-der's the use of praying for rain when the forest x are burning, Instead of getting busy und polling out the lire?" "Air. Lafe, there is iiiany thing you do uiil understand," said the cure, patting pat-ting the Yankee on the shoulder be-nevolently. be-nevolently. "Mr. Lafo Is lino fellow," ho milled to Hilary, "but ho want to go too quick nil the tlmo." It was evident to Hilary Hint tho two wero fast friends. Father Luclcn clucked to his pony, took off Ids lint with u nourish, und resumed his Jour-ney. Jour-ney. "Father Lucy's u good sort," muttered mut-tered Lnfe, "but bo makes mo tired sometimes. Slow us the devil, Mr. Askew. And yet, now I come to think Of It, he does get results In his own time. Mo ain't equal to cleaning up Ste. Marie, though." After a pause ho added: "Sometimes "Some-times I've thought that Father Lucy hail something up his sleeve about Ste. Mario after all." An hour's drive brought them within sight of the village. Ste. Marie wns almost n replica of St. Ronlfaco externally, ex-ternally, with tho same shacks, clustered clus-tered about the brick olllccs of the company. "Not much to seo now," said Lnfo. "Rut on pay night It's llerce, Mr. Askew. As-kew. I guess this place Is a real hell." "Rowdy, Connell, you mean?" "I didn't mean that, Mr. Askew. It's that, God knows; but whnt I meant by hell was u place where everybody's a law to himself with nothing to restrain re-strain bdn. A place where everybody does what he wants to do. That's my Idea of hell, sir," The road wound along the shore. Presently St. Ronlfaco cnino Into sight. "I think I'll go Into thu oflice, Connell," said Hilary. "I guess you'll havo to break It open, then,'; said Lafe. "Mr. Morris took the keys with him.", , "Whort's he coindig. baric?" . (- "Wc were expecting him on tho boa-this boa-this nfternoon." Hilary considered for n moment. "I'll wait till tomorrow then," ho said. "Hello, Monsieur Rnptbr.t" The llttlo sealer and timekeeper wns hurrying toward tho buggy. "Monsieur "Mon-sieur 1" he gasped. ".Monsieur Askew, yesterday T did not know who you were. Excuse 1" That's nil right, lliiptlste," nn-J swered Hilary. "Just remember that I'm running things here now, Hint's nil. And, by the way, that order about trespassers nntl visitors Is at nn end. There's going to bo nothing dono here that we'll be nfmld of people finding out. Got It?" .lean-Marie Raptlsto evidently had got It, for ho looketl almost terrified. He touched his lint nntl withdrew with n sort of shufillng bow. "You ceiinlnly do have the knnek of putting things ucross, Mr. Askew," said Lafe ndmlrliigly. "I guess you'ro ready to go back to tho hotel. Watt. Thcro's old Dupont, the captain of the lumber schooner. I guess you'll want to meet bliu?" "1 suppose so," Halt! -Hilary. Dupont canio townrd tho rig, no coinpiuiled by tho timekeeper. The captain wns u tnll old man of nbout sixty years, with n gray board, n weather-beaten face, and pale gray eyes that seemed to burn with Mime consuming lire. Ills look, as ho turned It on Hilary, was so searching, and so Inscrutable, nntl so momentarily hostile. hos-tile. Unit Hilary felt uncoin fori able. There was a history behind that penetrating pene-trating stare n history anil n hate. Rut nfter u moment's oMiinluatton of Hilary's faco a tltm seemed to como over tho old man's eyes. Whnt ever the reason for his strange gaze, Dupont Du-pont was sutl'dled, lie stood by Lnfe,. and .Tcnn-Rnptlstn translated. "The captain says the schooner's full," he said. "He want to stiirt for Quebec on tonight's tide." "Tell bdn to speak to Mr. Askew here," answered Lnfe. "Sny that Mr. Askew's In charge." Tho timekeeper translated back Into tho French. A smilo liicuereu upon Dupont's face. He shook his head und answered. "He says he's got to havo Mr. Morris' Mor-ris' orders," sold Raptlste. Lafo turned to Hilary, who took up tho conversation. "Ask htm If bo doesn't understand what I am hero for," ho suggested. Dupont was Impregnable In his position. po-sition. Ho bad lumber from both concessions, con-cessions, and Mr. Morris was In chnrgo of both. What orders hail been left with reference to tils freight? Lafo wus pleased und surprised ut flie way Hilary took It. Rut Hilary bail learned u good deal during that morning. 'iliac somius rcasoiiiiinc, nu num. "Give him Mr. Morris' orders, Connell, whatever they are." And, when tho matter had been settled, he added: "You wero dead right, Connell. Wo'vo got to settle with the big fellows first." He dropped Lafo at the mill and drovo fclowly homeward across tho HHHI bridge, thinking hurt). TUero would HB&lfl probably bo no trouble with Leblnne iBEHH after ho hud shown that he was mas- QHffl9 ter. And Lafe would ,be n pillar of BeBHH strength. Hilary had Instinctive' foltli HEhSB In tho slow-spetiklug Yankee. HHH "1 must get little Raptlste on our HH side, too." he snld nloiitl, as tho buggy IHHHl topped the bill beyond tho bridge; liml HHI (hen he beeiimo iiwuro of Madeleine HHiiH I Rosny upon her horse, nt tho end of KSHH the branch rand, waiting for lilm to HH Hilary felt uncertain Und awkward. HHH Ought he to raise bis hat to her? A H glanco tit her fuco showed hlui that IHH WA? A Glance at Her Face Showed Him H That She Was Perfectly Aware Who H sho was perfectly nwnro who ho was, H It showed him u Ann chin, rcsolutolj H sot, two angry blun oyes, und flashed HH cheeks whose redness did not come H riding. H He decided to bow. Hut before bJ H did so the buggy had passed, leaving! H n path; und Mademoiselle MadelelneJI H her face uverled, stnrted her borsa H down the hill. Hilary Jerked the relna H angrily, and the pony set off nt n gal- H lop for Monsieur Tremblay's stables, H Rut before the llnnl descent was H reached Hilary wns laughing. Somo l bow the girl's hostility seemed to udd H a to the game. B "1 don't know that I'll bo so very H diplomatic with Urousseau after all." H said Hilary, us ho drew rein at the H stable H (Continued Next woek) H |
