Show V u d r az e n t aa 6 tap ly copyright ty by penn pub co q GEORGE MARSH service CHAPTER II 11 continued 4 the old indians eyes snapped with humor he don salk lie he sen for E esau sau you do esau esau ruffed puffed for a space his eyes on ills his moc moccasin ensin then he said ilak wa do de bees beeg shaman mak me declue no more stuart leaned forward curiously burlou ily you chased him out of 0 the country the old man shook his head stuart turned to omar who ho chuckled esau nevalee tell but lakwa come to wolf riviere to trade next tarn tam hees bees ear ah hah bah I 1 ile fie no good for shaman after he lose bees ear you mean they were cut off omar nodded ridout dem lie he was no good to mak de medicine stuart glanced doubtfully nt at tho the esau do you intend to cut off JIng ears esau he laughed that will be some job I 1 a wild lot up there in the pipestone country they might cut ot off yours or worse the lean face of the old ojibwa shaped a cryptic smile as he rose with a grunt and went out to visit the gill nets below the post do you believe the old rascal actually cut off the medicine mans ears stuart demanded of the grinning amur no one know esau nevalle tell but the hie shaman you say lost his magic with his ears ah hah all de laugh at beeam afenir dat data well ill say a great yarn anyway cut but what do you suppose esau meant when he be said hed put the devil into the halfbreed half breed shrugged 1 I dont know de fader of esau was a shaman a sorcerer esau debbe got frion among de devil ills supplies and trade goods properly checked and stowed away against the coming of the ojibway for the christmas trade stuart prepared to follow the freight canoes with his fur from the spring trade down to lake expanse the headquarters of the district there he would listen in sullen silence while his chief andrew christie talked deep into the night of the failure of sunset house to obtain its share of the trade with endless reiteration the stiff necked inspector would dwell on the cost of building the post and IN small yearly returns in fur while jim raging inwardly endured in silence and from the increasing stiffness in the manner of his chief the discourage stuart knew that the end of sunset house would mean the end of his advancement in the companas Comp anys service for a failure la Is a failure the fact that he be had been chosen to lead a forlorn hope that sunset mouse house was doomed from the beginning would be forgotten ile he would have had bad his chance if he stayed with the hudsons Hud sons bay they would send him somewhere as clerk assistant to a luckier man but the journey to lake expanse would consume a fortnight and the thought of what might await him behind a certain split rock on an island ten miles across the unruffled surface of led him to postpone his start with omar 0 0 the spell pell of the northern norther sum summer mer was on cloudless sky the dusky spruce green of the ridges the cool depths of the translucent lake as jim paddled alongshore toward the sturgeon set unes lines at the outlet to deceive the sharp eyes which followed hla his departure from the post then with a savage lunge his paddle tore the water to foam across the lake they laughed at the name sunset house did they so they held the whole Illi Ii estone and sturgeon river trade by bribing a sorcerer well as Omari ald there were ways of handling a shaman esau was art an old hand at that game ile he and omar should have their wish they would go to the summer camps of the fl lake indians carry the war into the enemies country jim stuarts future as a furman fur man was at stake ned hed played fair but now all rules were ot off and henceforth be no quarter then his anger cooled as he thought of the girl whose message he was paddling ten miles to look for at the split rock A reckless game this he admitted some day shed be seen and colloy followed ed they even might be caught then what ile he laughed aloud at the thought well she was worth it this bewildering daughter of leblond Le Klond it was mid forenoon when the of jim stuart approached the split rock on the stony beach of the island stepping from the canoe jims eager eyes searched the bushes busbea behind the rock for the telltale white of the note which she had promised to leave then 4 ing under a stone he saw to his mir prise a folded sheet ruled as aa it if torn from a small note book it did not seem like ilke lier her this soiled scrap of paper at his feet puzzled he picked it up and rend read this Is your our first and last warning louls l leblond Lel ilond tee fee that there are no more inore love notes liere here for you voit the rest arst time aou ou come for a letter get lend lead the note was written in pencil in an immature Im matura hand and unsigned FROM THE BEGINNING from his fur post sunset house in the canadian north jim stuart trader in charge with his headman omar rescues a girl from an overturned canoe in the lake she is aurore leblond daughter of stuarts rival in the fur business and proves to be a charming companion in a spirit of fun she and jim arrange to exchange notes on a certain island leblond with paradis his halfbreed half halt breed lieutenant arrives in search of the missing girl paradis displays enmity toward jim though leblond acknowledges his debt of gratitude to sunset house paradis I 1 lie ile had followed her canoe at a distance and finding her note had left this and now leblond would not atlow allow her out of his sight would watch her as a lynx watches a rabbit jim stuart had bad seen the last of the girl who had find filled the living room at sunset mouse house with laug laughter liter whose departure had left him lonely vaguely restless puzzled with himself nice dog in the manger fills paradis I 1 the head man of lennond had only run true to form in spying on the girl who laughed at him then the angered stuart rasped aloud get lead eh if I 1 come again if I 1 could meet monsieur garadis here id come tomorrow weel today do from the thick spruce in his roar rear a voice wheeled jim in his tracks as paradis appeared in the brush back of the canoe carrying a gun stuart was unarmed with evident satisfaction paradis leered at the man who watched him well monsieur stuart here ees paradis I 1 he taunted you have your what weel the writer of love notes do about beet youre a pretty specimen of a man paradis said jim coolly refusing to take the situation seriously you swing a gun on me then ask me what I 1 intend to do drop that gun and come down here on the beach if youre not afraid and ill show you what ill do about it ali ah lie he boasts paradis grinned in derision well theres only one way to call ablat a bluff drawled jim you hold the cards its your play yes it ees my play As paradis bent with laughter jim edged a yard nearer but I 1 have not made up my mind weder to shoot sou for de insult you give nie me or take you to louis leblond and let you taste de sting of black jules dog whip at aba ali fantastic threat the hard thin thinking kinz stuart grinned in derision but the situation was not humorous was this wild eyed ra paradis radis fingering the trigger of his rifle fifteen feet away unbalanced over the girl or drunk either condition was equally dangerous with that chat gun shoot me eh jim scoffed sliding a moccasin a foot nearer the man who covered him hang if my man omar pet get you first and run the northwest north west trading company out of the bush then an idea flashed through his active brain as the inflamed eyes of Par aills glared at him take me to Le leblond Elond its his daughter let him settle it 1 I settle my own affair the face of paradis was distorted with passion slowly be brought the rifle ride to his shoulder stuarts heart started with a leap the man was crazed I 1 lie he would shoot I 1 with a desperate bound jim strained to reach the madman to deflect his bis 1 fr take me to leblond its his daughter let him settle it aim but fell sprawled in low brush far short of his goal as paradis garadis backed away his gun still covering his bli enemy ali ah chuckled the other that was worth de blow in de face at medicine stone to see you jump like a frog jim got to his feet his eyes on the grimacing face behind the rifle barrel ile he must get closer risk being hit to get that gun put but how lowering the rifle paradis Pari idia said with a chuckle now that I 1 have made you jump I 1 weel make a beetle hole bole through your hearth heart monsieur jcck stuart then lie he the rifle and took deliberate airn aim the leveled gun was yarda away with low bush between it war hopeless if ho he rushed garadis caradia miss him then sucking sticking in a deep breath jim deliberately folded ills his arms over his chest and taking a desperate chance challenged all right im ready now right through the heart for a space the black tube covered the chest of the man whose eyes did not waver your arm la Is cen de way de shot weel not be a clean one muttered the man whose finger slowly curled on the trigger jim stuarts straight gaze held the grimacing face behind the black tube sighted on his laboring heart but doubt slowly chilled him had he misjudged his man did Par paradis aills after all intend to murder him slowly under the strain the sweat broke from his forehead better to take the chances of a rush than to be shot like a spy against a wall wait then as jim stiffened for a headlong leap with a laugh paradis dropped his gun butt now we go an see louis leblond jim let the breath out of his lungs it had seemed minutes while he be looked into that gun muzzle it had taken all the nerve he had but it had worked that trick or was paradis merely baiting him get into sow boat I 1 take de stern and paddle I 1 if you move I 1 shoot you for sure sur e I 1 order ordered ed P paradis ara dis jim did as he was told facing him with the gun in his hands paradis squatted in the bow of the boat and they started along the shallows of the shore you think you are luckee I 1 deed not shoot you monsieur stuart of de hudsons Hud sons ray bay but when louis leblond hear you come to meet hees bees daughter den you I 1 shoot dat beeg dog whip of jules ah I 1 can hear it seen leeng now crack she go on your bacal the threats of Par paradis aills fell on deaf ears jim was not worrying over leblond but be did not relish the humiliation of being brought into the post by the unbalanced paradis lie ile pictured the mirth in the ebes of aurore leblond cut but as for the jealous and demented paradis he almost pitied him there would be no mer mercy cy when she learned how lie he had spied upon her movements and leblond shed laugh at him as she did that night at sunset house beyond the island of the split rock across a half mile of quiet water lay another and larger one As jim paddled leisurely ignoring the abuse of the man squatted in the bow holding his rifle ride lie he wondered whether this strait was visible from LeD londS place on tile the mainland you tell me how far your place Is from here he said as the water began to boll behind his paddle tree four mile not far dont hurry burry louis LeBlond LeB londhe she weel soon enough teach you to come sn sneaking eakin round de south shore for de love let tair paradis laughed uproariously then as the man in the bow lurched forward and jerked himself to an upright position jim suddenly realized that he was not cot mad but drunk on his knees stuart rapidly drove the light out into the strait with his brisk stroke from le blonds the canoe could not be scent with a lurch of his heavy body jim rolled the light canoe over as he plunged into the lake As the speeding canoe capsized with a cry the surprised paradis slid headlong into the water as his rifle exploded rising beyond reach of the boat for an instant he beat the water desperately then sank Hold the struggling paradis away with a stilt stiff left arm jim sucked bucked in a deep breath and sank beneath the surface then as he rose struck the gasping man fiercely in the face the fingers which clutched stuarts Bt uarta shirt relaxed and lie he pushed the tha half conscious trader to the boat floating bottom up now can you bear that dog whip sing lie he laughed but the man jim held beside the alie overturned canoe was too busy coughing up water to hear too frightened to answer youre a clever man with the indians 11 aradis ls but therece ther ere some tricks jou ou dont know taunted jim as he swam beside the boat look out I 1 roll into the lake it if you movel he warned as the dazed passenger lifted a livid face to the man in the water at last they reached the shore and wading to the beach with the man who had ambushed him jim dropped him none too tenderly now what are you going to toll tell leblond when you can walk and are able to find your boat which you have hidden somewhere on this shore he asked of the coughing hing paradas propped on his elbow 99 his red eyes p picturing ic his fear of what awaited him at the hands of the hudsons Hud sons day bay man paradis weakly shook his head you deserve a good north country beating my friend for throwing that gun on me you might have pulled that trigger but tor for spying on miss aurore you deserve ill take t this Ms stuart suddenly bent over the shivering paradis ls who shrank from the blow lip he anticipated and jerked a look roll into th lake it if you move knife from its sheath on the others belt yes jim went on you deserve getting this between your ribs for following her out here and im coln to let you have it with a black scowl jim drew back the skinning knife and thrust savagely at the helpless man at his feet the mottled face of went white as he shrank from the blow but the shining blade stopped slopped inches from his bis ribs how druh like that my brave beauty not so nice when the other ma man n has the whip hand eh dont dont I 1 whimpered the man on the beach too weak to move 1 I onlee play wid you I 1 nevalee shoot 1 well the least I 1 can do is to cut a birch whip and give you what you promised id get but stuart had had enough of this head man of Le Blonds the yellowness of spirit of the one who an hour before had held a rifle on his heart disgusted him and across the lake omar was waiting ng just remember one thing ls he said when you lie ile about what happened ened this morning I 1 let you drown when I 1 had good reason to from now on between you and me therell be war youve started to put me out of business you and leblond but before youre through know youve been in a fight now go back and tell them a cock and bull yarn about what happened to youl turning from the surprised paradis ls jim stepped into his boat and started started for sunset house As he passed the split rock he suddenly swung the canoe with a sweep of his paddle and started furiously back up the shore her note paradise must have it in his pocket it could be dried and read but when jim reached the strip of beach where he had left his man it was empty TO BE CONTINUED |