Show 6 tg z A R-M-EGBERT R W W N N U Mark tark Darrell young American lumberman lumberman lumber lImber man Is boss of or a lumber camp near St. St Victor Canada Nat Page Pace Is his bas assistant Madame Madeleine Kinross a young youn widow who owns the timberland Is tt tryIng trying try try- In Ing to persuade Mark to cancel his lease Her lIer lawyer Horace roussac makes Mark several cash offers to get tet out the thelast thelast thelast last a sum of ot roussac tells Mark that he Intends to marry Madame Kinross Mark who has fallen in love with her himself to stay Later Lawr he goes oes to Madeleine and finds lands her arguing with who has asked her to marry him Mark lark Interrupts the Ule stormy conversation and leaves hurling threats at Mark Madeleine Madeleine Made- Made leine and Mark talk blk of love i CHAPTER VI VII I These three say that my husband husband husband hus hus- band was lost in the fog when he was on the ice ice floe killing the seals They sa say he drifted away But they whisper and mutter together There is something that they have not told me I know that he is alive being cared for somewhere and that some day he will return And meanwhile meanwhile meanwhile mean mean- while it is my duty to take care of the And asked Mark He is a distant relative of m my husbands I trusted him Now he demands that I shall marry him I II I do not love him and anyway how could I marry him when m my husband is alive She came closer to Mark he put his hands upon her shoulders and she swayed toward himI himI himI him I never loved the seigneur I married him hour half-an-hour before the fleet Ceet sailed for the scaling grounds to protect the little property that my father had left He was the lighthouse-keeper lighthouse then I never loved the seigneur but he was un tin homme galant There was not a girl within fifty miles of St St. Victor but was in in love with him He was the sort of man a wom woman m loves Monsieur Darrell because he was wasso wasso wasso so rash heedless careless as if the things of the world were all his toy He had begged me to marry him since I was thirteen years old I Idid Idid Idid did not love him but I was fascinated ed by him And if I married him my fathers father's little property would remain remain remain re re- re- re main secure Father La Lacombe combe married us half- half hour an-hour before the sealing fleet sailed for Newfoundland and I have not seen him since They say he died If he had died I should feel it here She struck her breast again My l cousin Horace managed the estate He lost a great deal of money money money-l I do not know how howand howand howand how how- and he be was forced to make you a alease alease alease lease of the mill and those three thousand Later he made some money for me in the market And so I want you to go because I must protect the of my husband Will you go Madame you have signed a alease alease alease lease with me Your request is not fair fall to me or my my backers But Horace wants to marry me She was speaking like a frightened child He told me that I must marry him and that the must be intact How can I marry him when my husband is still alive I was a child when I married married married mar mar- ried h him m to save my fathers father's prop prop- erty I am afraid of him I am afraid of his return I am afraid of being h his s wife wile But he Is my husband and he is still alive I Madeleine Admits Her Love for or Mark They know it those old men That is why they mutter That is why old Andre hates you so They know something that they have not told me Andre me-Andre Andre and Alphonse Vi- Vi tard taId and Hector M Mackintosh who vho sailed on the same boat with him Yes and Monsieur Lacombe the cure knows it too They know that my husband is not dead And Horace Horace Horace Ho Ho- race demands that I marry marry marry mar mar- ry him Mark drew Madeleine into his arms arms but only as he might have caressed a frightened child I love you he said simply He saw her herbig herbig herbig big gray eyes looking at him in terror terror terror ter ter- ter- ter and fascination He knew this woman was his for the taking Darling your husband is not alive he said You have lived ina In Ina ina a dream about him And that marriage marriage marriage mar mar- was never a marriage You were a child then That marriage has cursed your life and it was no marriage Oh yes it was a marriage she answered I am the wife of the seigneur of St. St Victor A little proudly You dont don't know what a aman aman aman man he is He clan can bend any woman to his will There is not a man In St. St Victor who would dare to cross him He can tear a pack of cards in hi two with his fingers And he be is just a child chUd who has never grown grownup up tip Do you not see that it ismy is ismy my duty to protect his for him Because he is not dead and he is coming back She swayed in Marks Mark's arms anns and then suddenly she gave her lips to his his Yes I love you OU she saidI saidI said I loved you from the first You knew that didn't you And I Iam Iam Iam am a married woman and I must tell ten Father Lacombe that I have sinned in loving you And he tells telis me that the seigneur is dead when I know he is not dead Madeleine said Mark Madeleine Madeleine Made leine darling your husband died o othe on n the Ice-floe Ice five years ago If h he e had hari 10 lived he would return He will return cried the girl irl desperately Monsieur will you OU protect me against Horace Brous Drous- sac Will you save me from rom him I will said MarkI Mark I cannot I am not free tree freeto to marry neither Horace nor you ou But we are arc no longer enemies And I care no longer what Horace docs does with my lands lands lands-be- be because cause whatever may happen I love you The last of lumber had passed through the mill along the flume and into the hold of the second of the waiting schooners These had departed for Quebec Soon there would be an additional ten thousand dollars to Marks Mark's credit not credit not much but aut enough to enable him to face the long period before the lumber would come whirling down the St. St Victor again and to make a few Improvements Improvements improvements Im im- en on his lease Leaving Nat to take charge of the e mill and the bookkeeping he started to repair the corduroys over the swampy districts and the drags along which the felled trees were drawn to the skids at the edge of the gorge corge All day long the sounds of axe and hammer rang through the trees Mark had picked out one particular lar ar tract that he meant to log the r tt yr y l III III r r i 1 c 1 I j jId Id like to join you in the woods coming winter It lay on high ground well back from the river near the natural bridge that connected connected connected con con- the mainland with the lighthouse lighthouse light- light house louse peninsula Wide swaths would have lave to be cut in the underbrush to bring ring the fallen trees to the sawyers sawyer's camp beside the gorge but the proceeds proceeds proceeds pro pro- promised to be profitable efforts in hi the past had hadeen been een decidedly un He had lad been cutting timber here and there promiscuously with the idea of a quick profit A Conference e With Tf a aThe The Parish Priest Mark decided to take up his headquarters headquarters headquarters head head- quarters here He had a shack built in n the thick of a heavily timbered belt elt where the land rose to join the natural bridge There after his men had departed for their homes he ic would spend the evening think- think always ing-always ng always thinking of Madeleine I cannot marry I am not freeto free freeo freeto to o marry neither Horace nor you she had said to him Was there anything any any- thIng to that idea of hers that the seigneur had somehow survived five years after he was reported drowned at sea He couldn't believe it and it-and and yet it was a fixed and dominating idea inthe inthe in hi the he girls girl's mind She had kissed him lim told him she loved him but that hat idea of hers stood between them and probably would always stand I She had told him that the reason why the three men hated him him him- Andre Mackintosh and was was because they knew the seigneur was alive They resented his presence there So did all St. St Victor as if it foresaw the love affair affair affair af af- fair that was destined to spring from it In the night brooding Mark would see the two one-two two one-two of the lighthouse flash flashes s and when the fogs choked the Gulf he would hear the steady throbbing note of the foghorn Years seemed to have gone by since that night when Nat and he had been cast ashore In hi the storm And Mark hadn't s seen n Madeleine again He knew that shedid she shedid shedid did not want to see him Then what of What of at his schemes to marry her Madeleine had asked Mark to protect protect protect pro pro- her against and he had promised to do so How was it to be done Thinking the matter over Mark came to the conclusion that the key to the situation lay In Father La La- combe A parish priest knows everything everything ev ev- if the seigneur was really really really real real- ly alive Father Lacombe would know And he be would know exactly what had happened when the Ice ice- floe carrying Kinross was vas was detAched detached de de- de- de from the main and carried him away Into the fog With this Idea in mind Mark fol lowed his men down to the flat fiat terrain terrain ter ter- ter rain in the Ule evening and had supper with Nat Page at the mill mm now again empty and silent Madame Gingras the wife of the mill superintendent served them making quite a little fuss over Mark Plump little Madame GIngras Gingras Gin Gln- gras was a n motherly soul and liked to put forth her best efforts to please the young bachelor who had taken over the mill Mark didn't dream that his romance with Madeleine was already the chief subject of conversation in the settlement Mark was a man to be filled up with beef bee stew and strawberry pic pie But he wasn't one of St. St Victor He was an American who would presently presently presently pres pres- be gone leaving St. St Victor to itself and its own secrets and it was too bad about the seigneurs seigneur's wife Nevertheless Madame Gingras Gingras Gin Gin- gras mothered the two men beaming beaming beam beam- ing in approval when Mark praised her pastry Not much for me to do here Mark said Nat Page as they smoked their pipes together Id like to join you up in the woods Im going to ask you to take charge of the corduroy gangs said Mark apt to be a abit abit abit bit slip-shod slip unless they've got an American working over them Just as you say Weve We've certainly certainly cere made a fine start I think were we're going to put it over Mark I know we are arc I dont don't trust that though Hes He's up to some more mis mis- chief I can sense it from the way people look at me every time I Igo Igo Igo go into St St. Victor Ive wondered what his game Is said Mark Of course he couldn't tell Nat about Madeleine I thought he had another lessee in the field but now I think he simply wants to get us out of St St. Victor Hell have his work cut out grinned Nat The men are eating out of our hands They talked a little longer Mark had a look at the books and then departed into town to see Father Lacombe The cure lived with an old housekeeper housekeeper housekeeper house house- keeper in the house next to the big bigstone bigstone bigstone stone church He was sitting in his study beside the stove reading reading reading read read- ing his closely buttoned about him And what can I do for you Monsieur he asked Ive come to have a talk with you Father Father Lacombe Speaks Mysteriously The cure put his book away and scrutinized Mark thoughtfully Mark Markwas Markwas Markwas was fully ully conscious of the slight feeling of antagonism between them the result of their last meet- meet Ing mg Im not a member of your church but I thought I-thought perhaps you would have a private and confidential confidential confidential con con- talk with me I think it is desirable My son said the cure kindly everybody Is a member of my church even though he may not be aware of it What is It that you wished to speak to me about I love the wife of the late seigneur I think she loves me or might come to love me said Mark frankly He could s see that this was no news to Father Lacombe who leaned forward his finely chiseled face scrutinizing his visitors She thinks you thinks you are aware of it of course she course she thinks that her husband the late seigneur did not die on that ice floe said Mark I want to know the truth At least I want to know what you know Father Lacombe looked dis dis- Monsieur Darrell You do not belong to St St. Victor I have advised you to return your lease to Monsieur You have no right right right-I I say you have no right to question me about our own affairs So the seigneur didn't die asked Mark Where Is he then Is it fair to make a mystery out of ot nothing I have not said that the seigneur Is alive I do not propose to discuss discuss discuss dis dis- dis- dis cuss the matter Mr Darrell But ButI I will say this much much Madame Madame Kinross Kinross Kinross Kin Kin- ross is not for you Put her out of ot your mind Forget this business busi busi- ness Pardon me if I am abrupt Monsieur Monsieur Monsieur Mon Mon- the cure continued rising and beginning to pace up and down the room If It you understood what it means to be a parish priest to have so many souls human souls dep dependent upon me to try to reconcile reconcile reconcile recon recon- cile them with their consciences consciences- I think I can understand that said Mark But the question I asked you is a simple one I have gathered that something happened to the seigneur That he was perhaps perhaps per per- haps rescued from the floe Coe That hens he is being cared for somewhere somewhere- Monsieur Darrell I have told you that Madame Kinross is not for you I have advised you to accept Monsieur terms and go We are are the habitants We belong belong belong be be- long here We try to live good lives to make our peace with God I will not answer your questions I Isay Isay Isay say simply that Madame Kinross is not for you Now Monsieur draw your own conclusions The old priests priest's face was aflame with anger Mark bowed and left his cottage TO BE CONTINUED l v F C |