Show M E N MAROONED STORY FROM THE START garth guthrie Gu thrle canadian war veteran having to live in the open on account ot of weakened lungs lung la is fact actor or of 0 a hudson bay post at Ill cwan lie ile came back fr from om the conflict wll iha permanently scarred face which ho he realizes cost him tile the love of till ha fl flin trice cee s edith falconer sir his brother Is a millionaire war profiteer with etienne Sa ianne anne halfbreed halt breed his arm friend garth meets doctor quarrier geologist and his sister joan their schooner has drifted ashore quarrier complains he h has been robbed by a jlian ian known as laughing g at elkman an indian girl ninda tuberculosis victim m whom garth has befriended I 1 dying joan trained war nurse cares for ninda but the girl dies charles guthrie writes reproach ina in his bis brother for not coming home charles wife assures him ethel mill loves him but garth in his heart knows better three of Mc Donalds patty visit elkman I 1 seeking to buy gun shells prom from them hem garth learna of ell eill talk among the indians concerning him and ninda with erlenne Et Eti lenne ennes help garth wins the friendship of saul medicine man or of the crees and gets bla hl promise to persuade the crees to take their fur furs to E callman instead of to mcdonald garth Is abbu hed by joe Mo koman dindas reputed father whom the factor hao driven from elkman shot bartho al companion on many battlefields in fran france cc saves him and the indian Is taken a prisoner to elkman gaith gaita sends to me mc donalld with a message of de flance and the war Is on oa CHAPTER VI continued 9 so you yon saw joe uld fid you skene the bass of ill mcdonold cDonald broke tile the silence with an odd slurring articulation due to the misshapen lips yes ile he says hes covered most of the camps camp at this end of tile the island of course tile the blizzard held him up and come in ID with their fur christmas week host of ern eni will he be thinks the older man wrinkled tits his bushy brows as he filled tits ills pipe these two halt half breeds from liel llon freres in th that at shack beyond nig big point hive have been after them hard you know given em cm the same talk the hudson Hud sons S bay handed em cm about our poor stu stuff ff and cheatie che atin by garl burst out breault 1 I run dese people oft off do de island toute suite where Is derp camp you would would you brawled trawled led IlI mcdonald cDonald you dont seem to realize that were anchored here in ID this ice until ilay do you want the french and the hudsons Hud sons bay to notify ottawa that a gang of pirates tile aie running amuck on the bay we cant fight the go eminent you know were here to take out the fur catch of not to lose the schooner the fur and trial in tile the bar bargain gain for god knows what Cre Bre aults face darkened behind boliand his black board beard as lie muttered in feeble protest his small eyes shifting from his chief to skene for support of tits his suggestion the sober skene shook hla his head not kol it if you manhandled man handled those french company COID PaDY men wed be in a nasty mess ess up here with two years trade of fur A snug riest nest egg tor for each of f us for the government to confiscate youre crazy Bre breault nult now what list did he fie learn of the whereabouts of oia treaty chief houct whom landed with him joe tie he headed bended for the north end of the island to find his sons lie ile been seen since well you can bet lies out to beat ITS if he be can but how can tie lie keep alo lanse e hunters huners away from us tills christmas lf if the strait Is open the indians say it seldom closes until january lie ile cant a agreed reed skene never wait till then to cross the lie ice well pay more for the fur right here within pitsy easy reah reach they always have a blowout new years and come here to hae bae it well rhe ghe em cm a good one lie we can afford to night o sic Ile dunald noil derf deff then added your hunch on tills kihwan man seems to be borne out by tits his buck ing the fee in that yOrk baat ollya man with guts would tackle that strait in a tub there aint no doubt about his color said akeno nith ith fin finality allty exhaling a cloud of smoke lies iles due to rive give us r tight fight as he wrote iou ou just how I 1 ant see but ive seen sect bedou enough 0 b men in the last five years to know enow tile look ionic of em cm lies iles one lie ile mus scare you my ft fran en lechle tilt bit ven aou meet beem on de beach bantered bante reil breault the heavy blows of skene lifted in a look close to conte contempt rapt which be cast at the speaker lir cault ive been in places that would hav have turned that lint black hair of jours gray eray scare aliel tills ellean man was civil and I 1 was civil I 1 was as after some shells but dont forget the message he sent seat you lie said if that black frenchman ever showed up at his placid again heff bet ct a knife stuck into him and im betting lip lie told old the truth from the ugly look ot of a halfbreed half halt breed he had bad with him blip wien the strait freezes why dunt you so go and ind find out breault lau lauglaug glAud derisively 1 I onlee sees de ci squaw fes es added SI cDonald get tills irai tiit to lo your our thick lead you by GEORGE MARSH copyright by the penn P blushing bli shing co service itoch away from the squaws squads this winter liere here were after fur not women 11 angered breault sneered viciously you don have lieve to worry bout boat do de women in scarlet patches blood aref the maimed face of the man on the box the deep blue of his eyes blackened then fl lamed arned slowly lie he straightened his big long body until his russet head touched the deck above A huge fist fisl trembled to in the bearded face of the man whose small eyes shifted in secret fear you drop another word like that to me you slacker and ill ham mer you into jelly stiff in his fits sent skene shene stoically puffed tit at his pipe watching through the corners of half closed eyes the groping right haar of the frenchman the master of the ghost swallowed hard choked ills eyes wavered then fell before tile the laming flaming mak grotesque terrible in its fury of the man who beat toward him the moving hand of breault stopped limp slowly wc cDonald Af regained his sent seat the sweat standing standi tiR in beads on his hi wide bronzed forehead refilling tits his pipe he lighted it and ignoring the rebuked breault turned to skene where were we oh besl now when does joe start tor for tile the other end of the island bland im carious to learn what that old Is up to now that hes got a dog team he be intends to start the voices of men on fleck deck evi evidently dent hailing balling some one on the lie ice fee cut off skene mcdonald IllIe Donald called tile the fuss about on fleck deck dog team on the lee ice came the reply the three men got into eskimo parkas and went on deck halfway from the shore a dog team was making its way over the lumpy ice fee of the lie co coe e who Is it ite cognize him asked skene of tile the ent east coit coast cree interpreter aho was wintering on the ghost its not JOE booi the indian shook his head fiend presently the hooded driver of the approaching huskies collect cal lerf ketuny Ke quay I 1 and shortly reached the rail of the schooner watched by tile the curious knot of men on deck making his dogs does fast the stranger clambered aboard and with a grave fequay Ke Ne quay shook the hand of each of the group then spoke in cree to the interpreter who Is he asked mcdonald iles hes got a cut to his jib different from most of these 1 crees rees shrewd looking old party lie ile says lies hes treaty chief of the elkman crees replied the interpreter ter preter lie cum to mak ta talk I 1 k with mcconald rial nal list hal skene ard McDonal rf exchanged sur looks till this said the latter in an undertone why its the bird guthrie put ashore with joe to work against us heres our chance to put one over on mr air hudsons Hud sons cay bay chuckled skene lle he must have a proposition to make or be would have kept tinny away from us iles hes got nerve ill say joe told me hed shoot him if he met him on the island stan shortly the old indian the fur hood of his caribou capote pushed back from a shock of raun raen hair sat in the warm cabin with acdonald Nc Donald and skene ills story told through the interpreter for he said he spoke no Fri english glish was brief yes res as they haff haa been told lie he vs as treaty chief of the ilawan crees and had been sent by guthrie to attempt to hold the trade until the strait closed but the hudsons Hud sons buy bay company had a cold heart it always had bad aleu the hunters little tor for their fur and now when others came to trade and threatened to take the fur from the old company its heart was still cold and it offered less than the new traders tie ile douel a chief had been pr promised reward if lie saved part of the trade and brought it to elk wan but nhat reward it was the pay of a squaw ills two sons already hart had three black fox pelts and eight silvers worth double what tile the factor fit at klawan had promised for or his nf winters work now he hod had great influence with the cree hunters was a shaman rind and many of them would wait until tile the strait closed and go to elkman what flat would ble mcdonald Donald tin ila I 1 I 1 hal iia I 1 offer fur for the services of send chief of tile lie ulkowan crees to bring the northern hunters to the schooner at well ill eny hes a cool one laughed laus lied Al cDonald lie comes come right inside our nire ire to our trenches tren dies tina wants to tini gain the hudsons Hud sons hay bay probably hinant offered ed him much but lies hes to sell us what well get anyway ills price demanded skene the Inter interpreter pieter talked rapidly with then replied with a grin ile he say lie he wan tree rille rifle vree free goose gun and trade good for ten prime black fox hoes ON own ii fur lie he trade also al so ten black rox fox two thousand dollars in trade goods Non nonsense 1 me to dona donald id scowled fiercely into the bony face of 0 the ola amman with its lentil leath er ilke skin mapped with lines the beady eyes of unwavering gave look for loot look for a space the cold blue eyes probed the black inscrutability of the lie crees stare slowly the caliber of saul rose in appraisal app idsal of the white man here was an indian of parts nerve brains power As a medicine man inin of use it if his service were needed but his price was ridiculous his help not necessary they had joe loroman it was enouf enough gli suppose by chance the strait should close tills this year throw threw out skene it never has ins so early mcdonald thought a splice space then turned to the interpreter offer him tile the guns and the value of five black fox the face of old darkened as the interpreter communicated the offer lie he shook his hear in finger anger well our limit said bald mcdonald rising tell him we dont need blin but well pay him libin a good price for his fur if hell bring it lo in at once silent in his disappointment souci went on deck followed by the joi others freeing his impatient dogs the old chief turned to the men m watching from the rail and said quietly in english ro bo jol tomorrow I 1 tak de fox to ulkowan goin coin to ly fly or swim laughed skene joined loudly by the group on deck the lean face of the dog driver framed in its fur hood was wooden la iz its placidity as he coolly said ve te strait freeze hard two sleeps back and cracking his long whip lie leaped on the tall of his toboggan and ans its off what I 1 the strait Is closeal clofed clo qed gasped Sic lionald seizing skene by the shoulder frozen solid lie salil 1 hallo there knuell cried tile excited trader to the fast traveling trog tog team you pierre bierre Ii erre I 1 get after him ahlai an and bring him back tell him well give him his price arre strait frozen 1 I H 11 1 skene now weve got to tight for that furl skene vias nas mer the rail with the shrieking ingerl interpreter breter and running to ward tile the sled which had come coine to a stop slowly the old man turned his fits dogs toward the schooner the clever beg beggar garl f exclaimed 51 cDonald in admiration Play played edus MS like c a sa salmon walled waited to spring hla his trump card and got lili ills own price without a haggle hagg gle I 1 knew he was shrewd nervy 1 speaks english tool the old iles hes the chap we need now our little job Is to stop a stampede across that lee ice for the christmas christinas feast east that guthrie has promised the crees at elkman lil kwan skene swung over the rail mil and announced to his chief says hell start north at once anda greca to hold his relations and most of the rest on the terms he offered ue he wants to bind the bargain with you person a ally I 1 goof and iI cDonald vaulted over the he schou schemers ners rail followed bil by skene and breault the strait was wag closed two sleeps back where lie he dema demanded navil of the indian bovair de shoal tit at beeg point you saw it 1 I cross to de elkman 1 what youre youe crossed the ice to tile the post I 1 the indian nodded ills his stone hard features an enigma to the men who sought to rend read them what did you learn pis dis guthrie know de ice fee set and all de cree cum to elkman ile he say lie he geve me file noting to work tor for heern beem saul houct grinned into the gaping faces surrounding him I 1 onlee saul get you all dat fox from de norca now Al Mc mcdanald cDonald Dunald thrust out a red hitless hand its a bargain I 1 you bring that trade here and you get three rifles three shotguns and tile the value vahie of ten prime black fox in trade dropping ills his rabbit skin mitten on its neck thong douel took the extend entend ed hand of the trader kiyam ap howiya it ees good he said solemnly thrusting his hand into the hanging mitten mitti nii he be cracked the whip of plaited caribou thongs over his lead dogs ears and again started tor for the shore leaving behind him on the lee ice an arguing group of my mystified stifled and excited men CHAPTER VII the morning subsequent to the nights of withering frost which clinched clin clied the grip of the ice on the west coast garth and etienne muffled in blanket capotes and fur robes drove their five dog team hitched batched to a runner sled for ice work out of the closed delta of the elkman and down the coast inland the wide marshes reached the ripples of drift like a white sea to the out guards 9 of the space or lay parti colored patches of dead grass brushed of snow splashing the white levels with ochre achre an and d dun splitting the frozen shell of the strait broken by pressure ridges and heaps of shattered ice fee I 1 p streak of black to the east marked the still open channel beyond lie yond the hidden sun breaking from the bay rimmed the barrens of I with fire cut but it was to the south where villere the great point of tile the island pushed its bulk bulb into the strait that garth hoped to find that tile the abnormal december cold had bad built a bridge of 91 ice fee to at ALI bitski over the easy going of wind hammered snow anict shoie ice fee the dogs romped past be beaches helies at a sandspit bul balders ders garth stopped with it a his ba from 01 I 1 ni alenne lenne lie reached the top of a lul litta rock and taking tits his binoculars from their case studied the miles allies of ice I 1 sheathed shoals which followed the thrust of big point toward the maini f land As lie looked his lips moved in a in uttered note of surprise could af it be that luck haff come coine to elkman tol to garth guthrie Gu thrle in the shape of a road of ice from roro before christ mas inas come up tip here quick I 1 lie he culled called to the inan at the sled the half brood breed scrambled to tile the top of tin boulder 1 I cant make out open gatei oner oer there said |