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Show I t Mem ' Marooned By QEORGE MARSH V. Nt' S.'rvl.M. I'oi'.vi iKlit l.v Tim Pi nn P ul .! I 1, 1 1 1 k C. , .1 -i J we'll have Just about light enough to CI'ONS ill, Ml I'll SIIM'l." As tui dogs hurried over Ihe wlnd-hnislit'il wlnd-hnislit'il shell nl' the slnill, broken by drifts niul hummocks, split liy tide (racks, Irregular with crushed lee musses lifted Into pressure ridges, the c.os nf the men on the light sled were focused fiir oil t ell what, the week liel'me, had heeu liuiassiilile hlaek wnler. Eight miles inn, half way across, lis drift lee, thrall I.) lido and wind, had threatened with swift ruin the e;::;shol of a canoe, which challenged chal-lenged its harrier I'.ul now, over the shoals, Ihe channel had been sealed As the do;; team reached Ihe newly fro.cn lstleiuie and (llllhrie went ahead to test the Ice Willi axes. In do. liance of ho tide, the llerce frost had set tl. roe-Inch Ice. Anxiously Ihe men swept the width of Ihe cIiiiiiiim with glasses. .There were no breaks. So, led by the scainpcriiii; aireilale and C ; ut In u, w iih Ktienne dnvlni; Ihe huskies from the tail of the sled, they took the crossing on the run. A half-mile out when fear of thill Ice luiif left him ami lie swum; nloiu; with Shot in front, (larlh suddenly felt the lee vibrate beneath his nine- I i 1 1 -1 1 1 he crew of saving iiitich of Ihe fox Irade. I'cw of the IliUlo Crecs would res 1st I ho hlandh-hmciits of I he free I rader's agents. 'Ihen wilh a Kt u it he rcallzcil that he was l;;nor-In- t he scheme I he old chief hail outlined out-lined to Kliomie, and wondered If Ihe limbic was wink hi;; if Ihe mad medicine medi-cine of the sorcerer had conjured a nihil against the schooner. In the valley val-ley of the I'lariiilejin ihe.v would find a camp and Iciini. As the huskies trotted siiiarlly up the coast of Ihe Island while Shot, free lance, ranged widely aloiii; shore In search of adventure, (liilhrle's Ihoiuhis leaipoiarily deserlcil his mission on A k i mlsh I In dwell- now that he had seemingly burned Ids bridges mi his slatus al home. I'or II would no) be foreign to his brother's broth-er's cl'oIImii ami reverence for the conventions to read ilai'lh out of the family, since lie had written refusing to return. '1 lie e,u.-sip, f.illiiwln his failure to Join I he stall' of I he ( .ill 1 1 l ie Steel company and bad lllhil falconer fal-coner In all her blond loveliness to Ihe n liar, would be call to Ihe palate of the recently knlejited head of (ho (ililhllcs. The neglect of his express command to the exile to shako the mud of Junes bay from his seal-kin limits and assume Ihe responsibilities of a family man and a man of family would. In all likelihood, mean that on his return to Montreal 1 1 or would be no position in tin- works no brother's house open lo !n- rebel. 1 1 is personal means, inherited from his father, were modest. Charles' fortune was the result re-sult of Ids own efforts and a fortuitous fortu-itous war. That was why Charles demanded de-manded whole-eine re-poet amr absolute abso-lute obeilienie from his youtr.'er brother. At the tlmUL'l.t the younger brother smiled in his fur hood, ringed with rime from his frozen breath, l-'roni the man w ho had led Ids platoon at the Snmme and his battalion In front of Amiens, Ihe diunity and swifily made fortune of Chailes commanded com-manded no defi rem e and little respect. re-spect. On his return his return? lie-had lie-had committed himself to making pmd at Klkwan for his employers for his own self respect. What k" had started he would sic I li ruiR-li. There mi-lit be no return unless n certain letter in ihe Christ mas mail should . T In li his I lion "i .t. until the il":s sivinij off the sea-ice and Into the broken C"il'. at the mouth of the I'tarmi-'ati, were of three swift days at Klkwan 1:1: In In the still air of the valley, a wisp of bluish Kiiioke liuii acalnnl the background of black spruce, "(i'ooiI! ,'ow we'll p't some news of Solid." Spurred by Ihe ipilclieiied pace of the trail breaker I Ihe call of Carlh. Ihe live huskies threw their hhoijideiM Into the collars. Then, further on, a slreteh of wind packed snow case them foolliiK and tin- yelplni; team, led by Sliol, meed to the lips of Hie humors' eaiiip. "Kequay !" called Kilenne, approach-In;; approach-In;; Ihe llpls hall bulled In the snow for proleeilon Iri 1 1 1 1 Ihe wind anil circled cir-cled by lite usual debris and paraphernalia parapher-nalia of a winter on 1 1 1 1 1. Turiilii;; to larlh he said : "I e men a re on do trap line wld il- does." A ;;:i i 1 1 he called, and, alter a space, II shawled head was thrilsl through the door Map of a lent. "Where's your man?" asked Sa-vamie Sa-vamie In ( 'roe. "I n I lie lines. Who a re you V" "We are from Klkwan." And, as t ho woman emerged from the llpl followed by another and two children, Kilenne saw Ilia! he was talking with Indians from lie lower rl ers si re liters, "Have, ou s, en Saul Solid, the Klkwan Klk-wan Treal.v Chief.' Where Is the camp of his sons what river';" The swart faces of the Cree women delied the sharp scrutiny of the half-breed. half-breed. Surprise, doubt, appeared to i ni b a do- Ire to I;iul li al I lie ipii M ion of Ihe stranja r. They met each other'a blai k eyes III a ipii.zical look ; I hen I lie elder of lie I wo said : "Solid, Ihe .shaman, we have not seen. His sons are said lo camp north of here on the Kiibbit river." The aeiile brain of Klioiine strove lo solve Ihe riddle of the sipiaw's secret aniuseiiieiil. At last he decided Unit Joe Mokoman had won over their men lo Ihe free trader, but why Solid had not appeared on the I'larnbcaii was u mystery. "Iio you know the strait has dosed? Vou can cross to Klkwan for the New Year's feast," he hazarded. The women smiled. "We c" I" the trader al Seal cove with our fox pelts." said tlie old sipiaw. "There we get honest prices for fur from the trader w ho alw ays laughs." It was evident that here Joe Mokoman Moko-man had done Ids work well. Then Ktiinne cautiously began his couuler-lulning. couuler-lulning. His dark face set in a look of surprise and horror. "fid you not hear?" he cried. "No :" "Why this trader brought that fHee from the laud of demons across the I'.ig Water? He angered them. He Is a sorcerer and bewitches those who bring him their pelts." Ktienne hastily Interpreted the conversation to Outline Outli-ne as he watched the effect of his bombshell on the startled faces of the sipiaws. "He makes bad medicine?" gasped the women. Saviinne gravely nodded his hooded head, then added: "He has bewitched Joe Mokoman to betray the Cree hunters hunt-ers and bring them to his boat. Those w ho go will never love their wives and families again," lie remarked with finality. At the last the faces of the squaws visibly grayed. They chattered together to-gether excitedly. Ktienne's explanation of the cause of the mutilation of Mc-Iuiuald Mc-Iuiuald had struck deep into the marrow mar-row of their superstitions. lie hastily drove his advantage home. "Saul Solid will tell you that the trailer McDonald Ha! ITa ! Is a friend of (lemons." "Saul Souei?" cried a squaw in protest. pro-test. "He is a shaman and friend of ihe trader who laughs." It was the turn of Savanne to have his mental balance jarred. SoucI the friend of McDonald? What could they mean? l!ut he was equal to the emergency. emer-gency. "SoucI, the friend of McDonald Ha! Ha ! Mokoman tells that tale to the hunters because he fears SoucI the shaman." Disturbed though she was, the Cree woman laughed in Etienne's face. "Mokoman was here this morning there are his sled tracks. One sleep ago he says Souci was at the schooner of the trader and they shook hands SoucI Is the friend of McDonald Hai Ha!" (TO BE CONTINUED.) ?" A (M HI Graham Looked Up in Surprise. STORY FROM THE START Oa r t h 1 i u t h r i o. Ci mi d la n w a r vctt'ian, tiMViiiK t livo In tlu 11 on lU'tMiiu t vt w ra U fnt'd Utiles, Is fat'tor of a Hmlsim's I'.ay iH-st nt Illkwun. Mo ninif bark troin the loiillU't with n IHTnia uvw 1 ly sv-ai't i-d I'avo, wh ho roalti-s cost him ho ov m his tl.uu-ce, Kdlt h Kn U-otuT. Sir (.'harli's i;ithrh, his hrotlu-r, is n in i 1 1 ion a 1 ro war pro! 1 1 riT. With Ktlcniu' Savanno, ha 1 I'ItimmI, hl i!rm trloiul, ilarth nu-cts Ptu'tm OiiitrritM', ('ul.'i-. ist , tun! his sis ttM' J oa n Qua rrior coin pla in s ho has hoon roM'od hy a man known as 'l.aiii-.hin Mvl'onaUl " At 1 ' 1 k a n an hul la n rl, N 1 in i, t u horvu losis v irl 1 m, whom I la it li has bofiiondod, is dytni;, .l.vin, tiainod war nurso, caros for Ntiula, hut the nirl dios. Tlirt-o of Mi'lonaKVs party visit KIU-va KIU-va n so ok 1 n k to buy 11 n s ho I Is from thorn ilarth loams of ovil talk a tnon 1; t ho Indians 00 11 or r n -i ni; htm it nd N i 11 da. W i t h 1 ' t i on -no's hot p (.lart h wins t li o t'rioiul ship of Saul Souei, "mcdieine man" of the Or 00 s, and o t s his promise to persuade the Oroos, to take their furs to Klkwan instead in-stead of to MolVnald. Carth is a m b u h 0 d b y Joe Mo k o m a n , Ninda's ronutod fattier. "Shot," ihirth's nlredale companion, saves him, and t ho Indian is taken, n prisoner, to Klkwan Uarth sends Mokoman to MoPonald with a message of defiance, and the war is on. CHAPTER VII Continued 10 South of the I'.ig I'oiut slioak. tlio prt'iit Att;iv:iiisUat, carryini; the drainage of a vast hinterland, debouched de-bouched through two mouths, a wide delta, at:d, eight miles to the smith, a single channel, the Lowaski. Snug in his tight little post above the delta of the upper mouth of the river, Graham, Gra-ham, the factor. Independent of the fox s'.;ins of Akimiski. waited for the rich trade from the interior to come to him. r.ut some of the hunters trading trad-ing at the post always wintered on the islamr and before lie crossed in search of Saul, Guthrie wished to get the latest news from Albany and arrange for the dispatch of a dug-team, informing in-forming his chief of his crossing to the island. How far the crew of the schooner were prepared to go in the struggle for the trade, he had no means of knowing, but of their energy and daring there was no dnuht. If Souci were successful and the freetraders free-traders attempted to interfere with the hunters crossing to Klkwan, there might be nn ugly row. So the fast dog-team doubled back down the coast ice anif before noon drew in to the high shore at Attawnpiskat. Graham looked up in surprise to see the tall figure of his neighbor to the north walk into the trade-room. Graham Gra-ham was old and waiting only for his service pension. His days with the dogs on the shore ice or inland over the white harriers were over. If McDonald Mc-Donald were wintering on the island A there would be little Akimiski fox traded at a Hudson's Hay post that year. t)f that he was sure. He couldn't see how crossing to the island after the strait closer would help the matter. mat-ter. The schooner would get the Christinas trade anrr pick up the fur through the winter as it was trapped. It was hard on Elkwan, but he had his upriver trade. McDonald couldn't touch that. Thus Graham, who lacked but two years of retirenent, and loved the comfort of his snug quarters. quar-ters. "Well, what brings you here in thir-ty-below weather?" he replied to Guthrie's salutation. "I've been hugging hug-ging a fire for a week, trying to thaw out." Guthrie laughed. "I'm on my way to the island, Graham. I want you to relay this letter to Cameron " "The island!" Graham gasped In surprise. "How you mean the strait's closed set over the shoals?" "Yes!" And Guthrie hastily outlined the situation on Akimiski and his plans. 1 "Vou think SoucI will control the Klkwan hunters? Why should they cross the ice to you when McDonald will pay more for their pelts?" Guthrie's face reflected his irritation. irrita-tion. "Graham, I'm employed to get fur not smoke by the stove and wait for it to come in. As Cameron expects this letter and Christmas is only ten days away. I'll thank you to start a team with it at once." The victim of Guthrie's sarcasm reddened red-dened under the ruthless characterization character-ization of his sedentary tendencies, but his pension was near, and the risk of a dash over the young ice was Guthrie's, not ids, so he magnanimously magnanimous-ly overlooked the thrust. "I'll send a team. yes. if that's Cameron's orders. I'll say you're a fool, though, to cross. A good wind '-'. ill break tip that new ice amr cut you 11 IT. It's never in my memory closed hefo'-e January. Still, it's your job no mine. Go ahead and get yourself droivned. if you want to." "Some of your people winter there?" "Oh, yes! Six or eight families. I'.ai I can't help that." "No, you can't," agreed Guthrie latching Ktienne's furtive look. "Well. and two on the eoa-t of eyes, abstracted, ab-stracted, pc rp!i xi d. at times wivtfal, and a dark bead silvered with moon, li.ht. on the high shore above the Albany. As the (li'g ti atn b ft the eoa-t and followed the rough r:cr trail into the bills, Its toil began, and Ktienne's wisdom in bringing a tohoggan in-teair of a sea sled equipped with runners was vindicatid. f or once under the lee of hills, they found snow drep on the shell of the river and in places, where wind eddies had dipped into the valley, new drift, through which they broke trail on snow.-hoos for the sled, while the dogs, who hair galloper ovi r the brushed sea-ice, wallowed to their traces. I'rom the river fringe of willows wil-lows and alders the black spruce scrub reached back up the slopes to fade and disappear under the shoulders shoul-ders of the barrens. There low junipers juni-pers and hardy Labrador tea alone survived the hammering of the winds on the undulating miles of blueberry heath and caribou moss, swept, over exposetf areas, of all snow. Suddenly, as they rounded a bend which had shut oft all view upstream, Ktienne, who was ahead breaking trail, shouted and stopped, pointing In the direction of some thick scrub In the distance. "Camp up dere !" ensins. The sled with the dogs would go through, unless they came with a rush. Turning as be ran, be waved to Ktienne their agreed-upon signal for speed. "Marche! mes enfants!" The long caribou thong cracker! on the lead dog's ears. With a surprised yelp Castor, Cas-tor, spreading his feet, came with the team at a wild gallop. On they rushed, straining, slipping huskies, nails scratching the ice for footing, ami swinging toboggan, urged on by Ktienne. for a break through meant swift drowning for the dogs from the drag of the sled, and freezing In the stinging wind for the driver, if he reached firm ice. A hundred yards of mad scramble and the second dog slipped, slid sideways, side-ways, jerking the leader off his feet. The sled swung in a wide skid. I'ass-ing I'ass-ing his thrashing huskies on the run, Ktienne called them to follow. I'.efore the sled stopped Its swing, the dogs were up and hard on their master's heels. A hundred yards and they reached the heavier ice minutes of suspense, and the lead was crossed. The two friends gripped hands beside be-side the panting dogs. "Did you feel it?" cried Guthrie. "Thought I was going through! Felt like running on stretched canvas!" "I saw it geeve undair you, and crack de wheep before you turn. We go t'ro' een uat channel, and pouf ! we nevaire care eef McDonald Ha! Ha! get de fur or not, eh?" Somewhere north of Big point in a valley sheltered by the tundra from the winds off the ice fields, the sons of old Souci had a base camp, nut the Indian had given Garth no rendezvous in case he managed to cross the strait before Christmas, for Souei carried a roving commission, anil his work lay where he found the Klkwan hunters. To Garth the Island was unknown country, but Ktienne had trapped there and they slnrteir up the shore ice. bound for the mouth of the Ptarmigan, Ptar-migan, a river which headed deep in the interior, confident of learning Souei' whereabouts from ihe first Indian In-dian they met. For news of the coming com-ing of the old chief to the island would be passed swiftly from hunter to hunter, valley to valley. And now (he closing of the strait had greatly enhanced the value and importance of Souei's embassy to the Creex Those loyal to the old company could cross for the New Year's feast at the post, bringing their pells: those wavering in the direction of the trade goods of McDonald could not now meet Saul's appeals wilh the objection thai a bar-rier bar-rier of open water, running with line, would crush their canoes. Hut the longer he dwelt on the a I trad ions of l lie schooner at the cove, the less con |