Show sir oo ed 4 George i Marsh r r 1 w. w NU COPYRIGHT PENH PUBLISHING CO 00 SERVICE CHAPTER X 15 15 The New r Years Year's festivities and the trade were over at The dunce dance In to the for which Etienne seated high oa on a B sugar barrel burrel provided provided pro pro- vided the music from an ancient and und scarred violin 1 lIn had passed orT oft without compelling the Interference of ot the tho factor as peacemaker The customary cus cut Iowan tomary y present of sugar and Hour flour tea teu and pork had been given gl to ouch family fam faun ily lly of hunters and ond the Crees rel hUll had feasted and ond gos gossiped to their hearts hearts' content oblivious of bitter unions moons to come on fur far trap lines when If game were hard to find fad their children ouM would whimper with hunger The lust last of the dog tennis had bad Jingled up U the 1111 river trail or down the delta delli bound for Thanks to Souci It tin hll lial t J bern been an nn unheard of trade witch h had come conic to the little post Not r only had be he brought across the Ice lee the Ones Crees but some from flom I and as us well A good nod Joke on Graham and Boucher Bouder For Kor a week Garth and Etienne I were bu busy r sorting and pressing the fur which was to go by sled Immediately to Albany thou thousand lInd dollars doUar T Twenty eight said mid the factor as ns he finished checking his list 11 Our Utile little trips trip Inland utter after Soud Souci and ander Over cyer er to the Isla Island nIl were rather r worth woith while III my friend Etienne grinned No o beetle Icelle post t lak Ink l' l mak dat dot trade on bay tay Dey peeve Jc you jou OU bigger pi dace ilace ne You Ink Etienne n cold ld you jou ou Take Toke you ou with me you old villain a In How Ilow could I get along without I hoot you rOil 7 Youre You're r responsible for this catch of ot fur and yon jou ou know It Savanne gravely ra shook his bend bead let Iet was you ou who tab lak de chance on Oil onOe de Oe riviere to fin tin Souci Won n we goto goto go po poto to I 1 toll tell 1111 dat de denew denew new Dew man at ees acs hell on Oil cutch catch de fur Guthrie stopped l to nl math h nt at the so- so c. c half half hult Of the IO loyalty of his Ills head man who vho had 1181 taught him practically all ull he knew about pelts he had hall had hud ample proof Dunn Down Do II the coart over o Ih the sea Ice traveled the sled led loaded 10 with the Christmas trade At I where the eurl dusk overtook O early January them Ihl they turned up Ul the delta to 10 the post to 10 pass the night with the surprised whale e Indians at kl 1 had left him hint to trade with McDonald Starting the llie following ln morning ander under un tin der the stars before time tile lI light ht died the sled Ild from frum nn sighted the buildings of Fort Albany Albans A As Garth and entered the trade room Cameron II lOIl curious of IheI the I result of ot their mission called Well well ell what's the theo news new's from the 1 Island Did you ou get tet across the ice 1117 Yes we pot got ot across S a week before Christmas but hut had a ft tough time lime Guthrie dissembled 1 gro groe gravely e nudging I tee see ee how you jou O l could do any IllY good going over o there Your nim uran failed tilled to hold any lUY of the people peo peu lIe then surmised ld the disappointed Cameron Sauce Same WilY way with 1 Iut and amid 1 flog they lost nw must t tot of ot their people went people went to the schooner lr l It sure grinds me to In think of ot that Me- Me II Donald conning coming In here and staking Baking all III that furl fur Well l I. I he outbids IJ us for It II It and Its It's only human In III the IIII Indians to 10 let IN him bini bate tn e It How much Is the whole hole Wand worth In an nn ii average n year un uy suddenly o-I o asked hed II Garth Lets lS see SIC sold said Cameron scratch In lag Ins his grizzled head Viii 1111 n I should m sl n. that It runs run about two 1 hundred fox fux skins nil all kinds Well Mr Cameron drawled the flu fur nf 1111 f P n Q P h II It t f 1 I. I r 0 gilt ll U out nut on In the sled th then n. n What Cameron stupidly Into the twinkling t e eyes ejes es of the man awn before him him Thought you ou 1111 said lei you didn't half of It 7 What duh norm of ot it Half of ot otI what I haU sputtered the HIP puzzled trader Why hy half of the trade We lle e got get a S hundred skins You got Jot a II hundred hundred- Why manJU man nian JU u Ili said aid oU didn't hold you jou em your Pm n- n nour your our 11 1110 Are you jou nU crazy cruzy Guthrie rd n h the excited Cameron to 10 contain his mirth fx at al the fur tar end of ot the trade 1 liter lIlIer as Garth replied You took It II for grunted granted that we e fa failed II d I t u H. H die ll e toll fell down dawn chaffed I or r heavens heaven sake man stop your our dog am tell mu me the tie truth Do you jou OU in to say that youve you've 01 0 got Jot a u hun bun 1 d cI d fox fux from flum on that sled bled It It n the Ihl e demanded Cameron I I do di III 1 b be bey skinned alive e And dazed trader stood fists on hips ping tit at t the grinning Garth and 1 t. tInne m Ilow In did you do h In i You tou got gol em after otter all nil with Souci Souci and here scared scored 11 mean tm to dental death when heu the fur far pacts packs bad been brought ht III In and the dogs fed Guthrie told the story Do you realize major that this Is the largest Christmas Unus trade er e monde made by a II subsidiary post of Albany Your scheme and your jour our ner e In seeing It through make the rest relt up the coast const look like pretty I 11 It dead dud people le My heartiest congratulations 1 The fu fac factor tor of ot Albany grasped hand hund The men lIIn who turned this trick are Etienne ell II e mind old Souci protested Garth narth I 1 dont don't want you to lor forget et them I 1 did lid lilt little Ie Cameron ii neron slapped Ibe proud halfbreed half breed on the buck back No o fear of ot my my forgetting 1 Hn lies lie's worked with me to too many years jears lurs Now o I 1 Jh joud you'd listen to what they write from Moose loMe The Tile Albany factor went nt to his desk cord and returning with lIh a 0 letter read reull to GuthrIe The Montreal Ome ha has got jot the Idea that this trader free McDonald may any be the man mUll wanted In to Nova r Scotia for a murder committed about three years jears urs ego ago A returned soldier struck and killed n II roan man supposed to he be his Ills wiles wife's lover He lie was traced to Newfoundland According to lute Me- Mann n a Kland the lion tion of the soldier tallies with the ap of this Laughing McDonald I 1 have ha written Montreal that the schooner schoon r Is wintering on this coast cout 1 I expect the provincial pro police will show up tip here soon to Investigate III Now what d' d goat ou think of that thaU demanded Cameron of the man whose thoughts were lre centered on the homecoming lame home corning coming of a soldier with disfigured face fur face fura facea a n face fUel repulsive re unbearable to the w woman whose weakness had hud caused the murder There must be he ten ln thousand men In Canada with scarred faces furls Canto Came ron non Beall Because e Laughing McDonald happens to have hn one doesn't make him the murderer Cameron sensed that the reply had hud hada huda a personal tinge tinge- lIs was vas In III the nature of ot a U defense defence of the maimed legions nod and sub said quietly No No o of course not but this McDonald sailed salted out of St St. Johns Queer If he should b be he the time bird they're after how many urany police polle will they send on this case cuse Oh not more than two Tin Im sorry for them therm then They'd never ne come lome hack buck Do you ou think that tha tw two men can call go to that schooner It lu luSeal Seal cove e and get gt McDonald If ti hes he's the guilty than man He lie wouldn't be betaken betaken taken und and alive and I e a ft notion that tha life l isn't IIII nt worth much to McDonald McDonah lea I tin lIu Hal I Wh Why you jou ou seem eem to sort of ot with this pirate who's stealing our trade objected the other The gray ruy e eyes es of the factor of tt Elk mk with wan held those of Cameron Camron ID to a 3 penetrating pene pene- look as he said said l I doThe do The brooding face ture of the man ratan with the IIII scarred cheek chel sought the window The Time tragedy of the time man at nt Seal cove e If he be proved pru to he hI the 1 0 Nova U soldier wanted by the police was he ht realized u simply the time story of firth Curth In an nn exaggerated form forum The he wife he had hud come came home iolue to like Ethel had hUll turned from roan the time mutilated face Cure Cure- lucked the womanhood l to shield him hlin w with Ith her tier heart fr from the mockery o oun of un ua unfeeling i id Id How many o othe of the time maimed he lie tl tI II H P broken the crippled hind had walked In lu C t III 11 w with Oart h brie and Laughing McDonald How runny hud bud seen I veiled 1 I In the eves ejes o ot of those they loved lo Well Nell I with any man whose wife Ife tots goes Oi wrung wrong the voice twice lit of i Cameron C went on eat 11 after a pause Mm hut but that dont don't Justify murder Tin Flat nut to so II sure sure surl teas the quiet response when a man maD comes come home with a comic mn mask k for a face that he be Isn't justified ed In Lining killing I both his wife Ife and the theman man she turns to tut yourself In his hI's place Cameron I Iven II he the children on the streets must have n mocked him us as he tie passed Think of the he hell he lit Ih rd ed through through then then she Ihl his ils refuge and his anchor fails anchor falls fulls him blot Again Cameron felt that the man llIan championing the unknown McDonald was making the case his own That Guthrie was sensitive of his Ida scarred cheek hrek he already was aware and It Irritated the older man Into blurting outright dont don't take offence at nt w what hat Im I'm going to sU any but It seems to me tine that you ou mn must t bo tie vain aln as liS a girl to have ha that scar Icar always nh on your our mind Wh man joure youre handsome enough nou to carry a 8 dozen sears scars Xi Nt N- N body hody ever er thinks of It except to em envy your jour war record Guthries Guthrie's mouth curled slightly In answer Man Im Ive I've forgotten all nil about that scar but I cant can't forget themen the themen men who Whim were not so 0 lucky Hut But as ns Camerons Cameron's hand left the shoulder of the factor of If 1 he was sure that tint the furrow furlow across the chock check of the younger man tumid had played Its purl part In a personal tragedy e As left Ift the trade house to seek sk his room romp at lit Cameron's Camerons hospitable quarters and make himself elf presentable present present- Hole able for the supper sup on tin which Mrs Cameron would spare no effort ho hl turned for a n short stroll troll across s th the hearing clearing He lie wits was approaching the time mission lon when the fur hooded fur hooded figure of a n woman passed him at lit a ft short hort distance on a parallel path puth The face fuce faceIn In the hood was turned from flom coin him but the tho swinging s stride of the feet fel aroused his bis curiosity The white women residents of the post could be bl beIt ber r tr r 4 p III f.- f. 1 h ha a 1 d dIt 1 It Sure Grinds Me Mo to Think of That McDonald Coming In Here counted on the fingers of ot n a hand It was a stranger stranger-a a new missionary teacher at nt the tile orphan Indian school s doubtless At the mission the time paths patios met met line and Guthrie turned turnell with a it good god evening as ns the In the fur capote came come abreast to gasp with a furiously pounding heart as nR he looked Into the laughing e eyes es of Joan JOlin r. r tier You I 1 Here he lie exclaimed gazing at ot the hood houd as If it at nt a II ghost Welcome to Albany Mr Mr I she cried extending a B hand band Ive I Ju Just t left Mrs l and und knew of ot your our arrival ol with that lint fabulous taint- taint lous bus amount of ot fur Congratulations Congratulation on your our defeat of Laughing McDon aid all You You wintering wintering at Albany liu III continued and amid you jou ou never ue told toil noel met I The color rose ruse to time the dark hair oather on oil her forehead I 1 found a Job jub You IU see 10 they tIey needed a B nurse terribly at al atthe the Gee school tier Her e eyes ell avoided lI his searching look now My Iy brot brother her returns re rl turns In I the he spring 8 so I decided derided to 10 wait for him tabu here lIUI when I left you wore were leaving ln In a or I two wo for fur Motive p he lie relent relent- Ils Il's lessly ly persisted And Auel you jou ou wrote III my Christmas Christians letter leller and und under never er told lold me time you jou ou were only ninety nicely miles u aw Wi j he bo added reproachfully fu II I I I couldn't Interfere with the the the- your light tight for the fox fux trade she the replied replied re ro re- re plied weakly Well ell ell time th tact fact Is Is Miss lIss Join Joan he be said bald with a Ii laugh Unit that youre you're here ct tit AI Albany and Im I'm at Al At Albany bang bany and 1 I hereby announce that FIT rn going to sto stay a day or two or threw three and talk tolk to you ou j Tin 1111 sure url she said suld with a low bow I that lint 1111 t you jou 1111 are most fluttering flattering Hut you jou O l forget that my lr Mr Swan Swami does docs not nut approve l' l of you jou sir All the worse worms for Swan S then for forIm forIm Im I'm going to see I you 1 0 tomorrow morn mornIng morning ing afternoon and evening e Swan or orno orno ornu no nu Swan III 1 I am nm a masterful man and w will have my WilY What tonight do 1 I knock on un I the he door of the Swan With all his eyes ejea Garth Garthw w was as caressing the face which had hail come coma to him b by the tire the In the snow followed over r the tundra of Akl Akl- companioned his dreams The hll miracle l' of or leer her icing being here here to to talk to to- to at lit when he be bad thought her south across the forests I And why had hud h slit she stayed on III In the dreary north I think you ou could come collie up tonight Joan's Joans teeth tin Hashed shed In III an sum alluring II smile e. e Ill tr try to reconcile Mr Ir Swan to the bitter n I dose t of your our presence lie He needs lIel me are here jou yott ou know know my lily experience valuable Removing III his mitten with a quick movement mo Garth slipped leel orT off the amit- amit test teu of ot the thc surprised girl and took tonk her hand hondo I 1 need you here here he said as nil aswell aswell well wll as liS Swan Eight m o'clock I And Anti walked s swiftly mad hope In his hula bruin brain his tilt emotions out of ot hand hunet Wh Why had she stayed cJ h Why hUll hind she Ihl stayed Itu U he kept a asking himself elt as all he hurried to tu Camerons Cameron's house At supper at lit the Camerons' Camerons Guthrie said I met nn an old lid friend on Oil the till clearing tonight The kindly eyes Ies of the factors factor's wife If grew quizzical as they met the glance of lit her guest gUlIt She was here when 1 Etienne came to the kitchen and told I Ius us of your jour our success What did you ou do doto doto doto to that girl In last t September She Sho and andI 1 I have hn talked a lot about you this winter heart beurt warmed to the Infer ence nce He lIe felt the blood In Ills his face fuce and strove e to cover er his embarrassment with the question How flow did she come Ollie to stay and help that elegy of ot ofa ofa oto a o III man II n Swan S Mrs Cameron smiled They were ere dreadfully In need of ot some sOllie one who hud hind trai training Ing ll halt lf the children had sonic some and Swan Swall and ond his hula wife were at their wits wits' Its Its' end I 1 suppose Joan Tonn couldn't resist the call as her |