| Show A 71 ANA AN A 1 F N tars 41 GEORGE MARSH copyright ty by penn pann puli pub cd W service CHAPTER X continued 15 nia I 1 nia I 1 cried the excited sarah ep opening ening the door for the half frozen jim you sou are back nil all well tim jim patted the broad back of the solicitous ojibwa cold and hungry barnhill barahl he be laughed ali ah you not got get hurt by dose wild good I 1 sputtered the bustling sarah brushing the melting snow from JIMs coat no weve won sarahl sarah t weve beaten Para diall nial agol you tou find do da shaman cried the startled cook her 1 mall email I eyes black as buttons snapping with ith excitement yes esaus medicine was too strong for him while sarah busied herself with a hot bot supper aupper for her returned master jim stepped across to the trade house ile he closed the slab door against the drive of wind and light snow to find omar and esau smoking beside the sheet iron fron stove glove So metIn meting dere for you yon announced the halfbreed half breed with a nod of his black head toward the trade counter on the hand hewn spruce pruce planks lay a white envelope aurore I 1 she had written before she bhe went south and sent it by an indian 1 jims tanned face was radiant w with ith the joy of the surprise her writing I 1 lie ile had never seen III aurora had left him her first love letter I 1 conscious of the scrutiny of two pairs of black eyes at the stove jim thrust the letter unread into his pocket and left the room with a mumbled im starved coial to catl loath to read the letter before the curious eyes of his bis men jim crossed to ibis quarters and entered th the e living room she forgotten ashes written met and ive won ive come back black eyed sorceress of mine they cant take you away from me newt now he said aloud his 1119 voice thick with emotion as he opened the letter dear jim it ran youve been gone three weeks and ive been so BO lonely oh so lonely for the big gray eyed boy who made love so BO beautifully that day years ago ag 0 on the island then a look dazed uncomprehending drove the joy from his eyes aa a he read but if you had cared for me as I 1 loved you you have gone away you have held what you called your duty above love every day I 1 have gone alone somewhere to fight tills this thing out and always find the same answer I 1 know now that yours Is not the mad love ive dreamed of a love loe which counts no cost coat knows no law no jim we made mada a mistake you and 1 I but it was wa beautiful that day of ours on the island ill never forget it goodby good by jim I 1 acnone Au nonE 1 tie the unseeing eyes of stuart lifted to stare out at the fast darkening lake ills hla nerveless fingers opened and the letter fell to the floor it had come like a knife thrust in the dark with hla his heart quick with wl t h love for her she had struck him so it had been beell make believe that day on the island her eyes her up lips had tied lied for the pleasure of an august day her vanity had demanded the soul of a man to dek destroy troy had he staved it would have hae been K ah she barnt forgotten ashes ahe written mel and ive won Aur orel no different she would have played the game and then as now cast him aside after all there was no heart in her red blood charm rei re mesa eldess courage yes but heart thero there was none ills his ups curled bitterly at the memory of her radiant face lier her kisses again her arms circled his neck in parting ng the scent of her dark hair was in his nostrils but to rand wiand him this leave this farewell for a man who had bad tolled and fought through the weeks with only the tha thought of her the lovo love of iier to buoy him I 1 her first letter anil and her last I 1 CHAPTER XI late in the night the body which days of drudgery with pole and paddle paddie in the race against the freeze up ul had numbed with weariness brought the surcease of sleep to the tortured brain of jim stuart it had bad been a willo will o th ewis a phantom thevis the vision lon of the girl which had companioned companio ned him into the heart of Ki wedin ile he had had his dream now he once more faced reality in the trade room the following morning esau omar and jim sat bat in a council of war did leblond send paradis to the sturgeon country demanded jim of his swart counselors who scowled in thought as their mouths emitted smoke like wet wood and it if we think he did do we face him with it or lie ile low omar filled hla his capacious me mouth u th with smoke and slowly emptied it before replying we lie lak de fox een hees bees hole esau nodded in agreement 1 I think the game agreed jim if he thinks paradas went vent to lie he wont hear what happened at sturgeon lake until the christmas trade now esau and I 1 start north to get the early fur the first week in december well need two more dog teams teama well start this morning omar for expanse and bring them up on tho the first sI sledding edding omar stared in amazement at his chief do de cano weel freeze een tor for sure hen een two tree week we can travel de ice wid de dog he demurred jims face darkened youre not afraid of being caught by the ice with a shrug of his bis heavy shoulders the halfbreed half breed rose and knocked out hla his pipe all right we go now w ald de e wind behind us down the lake ot of the sand beaches through the gray october day traveled the canoe seeking to reach the post far to the south before the waterways closed while the silent wondered what new folly swayed the mind of the man whose paddle toro tore at the sullen black water breaking a lane with their poles through the half inch ice sheathing the winding inlet of expanse the voyageurs voya geurs who had barely nosed out ahead of the fast following freeze up at last paddled in to the beach at the headquarters of the company at their appearance in the door of the trade house the whiskered jaw of andrew christie dropped well ill be skin skinned I 1 good day mr christie said jim casualty casually there was a matter of business that wait for sled travel so omar and I 1 took a chance AS the inspector infector Ino ector perfunctorily gave jim a hand his face betrayed curiosity mingled with disapproval business eh ch its about time there was some business between yeh and me beside freighting yeh supplies to be et up by yer people while the fur goes to leblond well the business that brings yell yeh in the freeze up man alan delire crazy V jim met the usual christie wall wail with a complaisant smile ive come coale for two dog teams dog teams P 1 andrew christie raised bony hands in protest two do dog teams I 1 so yeve wasted all this time com colln in to expanse th chinkin inkin ill let yell yeb have haie two teams did yeh no ive wasted no time for im going back with the teams jim grinned into the purpled face of his irritable superior you gave me a year in which to double my trade you besl and I 1 dont mind tellin yell yeh that your successors bin picked jims wind burned face stiffened for an instant the deep set gray eyes grew dark with the anger he be fought to control this he thought this la Is my reward for losing her then buttressed with the knowledge of his sure victory ho he said mildly thanks for your expression of confidence evidently ashamed of the frank speaking into which his anger had led him christie compromised with what in thunder dayeh want of these dogs briefly jim told of his bis promise to the indians to visit tho the pipestone lakes in early december so ye bin up there this fall eh yes its a long story ill tell you iou later do I 1 get the dogs doga mr christie well if yeh cant get lem em down for the christmas trade I 1 suppose yell have to go after lem em so its agreed I 1 get two dog teams yes thanks I 1 think ill drop over and see mary 11 ahem I 1 the inspector scratched his bearded chin as he coughed he seemed embarrassed barr assed to the man who waited halted for him to speak 1 I 1 I bother mary now ahem A hem I 1 again he cleared nil his throat Yr tsee lee ashes always thought pretty well of you but weve had some news she better wait and go over to supper with me what could she have heard jim wondered as lie he followed christie into the house poor mary it if she only knew the truth I 1 but the desolation in his heart numbed him to indifference to the attl tude of the daughter of andrew christie it mattered little to jim stuart what rumor the moccasin telegraph had brought from grave faced she met him at the door and gave him an unresponsive hand patently avoiding his ae eyes and when she had served the men their supper returned to the kitchen doubtless a highly colored version of 0 the rescue of aurore and his trip with omar and pierre to Le LeBlon Blonds dB had reached expanse in his misery however low he ignored her coolness after supper in the trade house when he told of the ambush on the woman river and of the banishment of paradis ls the red face of christie beamed with satisfaction now weve got something to hold over leblonde LeBl chuckled the inspector rubbing his bony hands yes tes but I 1 dont think he knew anything about this ambush maybe not but ive me own idea about that now yen yeh learned up on the Pipe stones been keeping the trade from yen yeh behind a cloud of tobacco smote smoke the small eyes of omar twinkled as lie he waited eagerly for jims reply why the friendly indians told vs us that sunset house was supposed to lie be pestered with evil spirits devils t well ill be skin skinned 1 the thin lipped mouth of christie stretched in a loud load laugh De evils I 1 pretty good I 1 one anle blue eye closed under a bushy brow since yeh fished that good lookin girl of leblond outa the lake and sneaked over under her fat fathers tiers nose to spend the day with her I 1 figured there was a deavil among the alie up there dut but evil spirits I 1 jims cold eyes met the others smirk so aurtres Au indian girl had talked this was vas what mary had heard ra garadis radis ls spread the tale through a medicine man that the place wash was haunted stuart explained ignoring the insinuating grin of ills his chief but E esau sau convinced them that it was simply a trick to get the trade this was jims sole report of the odyssey of the three friends to the sturgeon valley and many a new moon was to swing above the tha white desert of lake expanse before andrew christie heard beard the story until the pelts of the Pl and the sturgeon country packed the fur loft of sunset house the lips of three men were closed when the ice grew strong enough for sledding on the great lake and ami the snow deepened in the forest jim and omar would start back with the dogs until then they were held prisoners at the post one windless day a lead hued sky blanketed the sun and the air slowly went white the long snows had come by the early eaily dusk six inches had fallen outside the trade house two toboggan sleds their loads covered with tarpaulin wrappers and lashed waited for the early start before dawn under the stars at christies christias Chri sties house jim the clerk mccomb and the inspector sat bat at their supper following her custom mary had served the men and retired to the alie kitchen yell hive plenty of mi on en yer tache cache stuart demanded demand ed christie two extra team sll make a hole in yer supply and I 1 dont want my dogs underfed we made a big haul of whitefish and lake trout this fall theres there Is plenty ill have your dogs back here in good shape before christmas all that noise ab about u t over at the trade house broke in me comb the three men stopped eating to listen 1 I hear dog bells said jim rising dont suppose sent a packet through from the railroad just what it Is agreed christie rising with a mouth full of food leaving the house the three men walked through the falling snow toward the yellow glow of the trade house windows in front of tha th C orava grave faced she met him at the door and gave him an Un spon give hand building the post dogs circled and snarled around a panting team whose driver held off christies christias Chri sties huskies with a heavy whip while he talked to two company indians mall packet I 1 jim surmised shell get my letter then next week while the driver led his tired dogs off to be fed the mall pouch was brought into the trade room and eagerly opened hoping against the inevitable jim waited as the inspector squinting leisurely at the addresses went through the pile of letters and papers dumped on the trade counter pitying him possibly regretting the raw of the note she had sent to sunset house aurore aurora might have written might even have softened toward the man she had so suddenly thrust from her life lie he waited hands handa desperately clenched his heart stifling its beating then he stiffened as christie picked up the last letter huml hum I 1 miss joan mccoy jackfish jim turned away to hide his disappointed face from the light of the lamp she had done with him lie he was a fool to think that aurore aurora leblond carried pity in that wild heart of hers pity for a former plaything of a fur trader burled far in the forest opening the sheet iron stove he be dropped the letter he had written into the flames they returned to the inspectors quarters where christie and mccomb greedily read papers weeks old while stuart smoked apart with his thoughts lie he had finished his pipe and was about to turn in for the steep sleep he would need before the early start when he be suddenly looked up to surprise mary christie watching him film from the doorway leading to the kitchen the eyes emesi of the girl which for days had worn the cold indifference of a stranger were now soft with pity gentle with the sympathy of a friend she beckoned to him and rising III at ease he followed her to the kitchen where she closed the door then he noticed that she held a winnipeg paper without a word mary handed the sheet to the man who vainly strove to fathom her swift change of mood im so sorry jim she said quietly that it has come to you as well us as to me lie he glanced at the sheet he held in his hands and there laughing up at him was the face of aurore aurora leblond under it he read miss aurore aurora LeB leblond load daughter of louis leblond of the northwest north west trading company who Is to marry bruce Ata maclauren cLauren well known winnipeg business man jim let the paper slide to the floor so it was maclauren all the tl ti e 7 maclauren the smooth city man her fathers financial backer while the three from sunset house went n north 0 rth to search for maclauren had wasted no time with the girl who doubted the love ot of a man who could leave her her eyes soft with compassion mary christie watched the stricken face of stuart after a space he raised his eyes to hers thank you mary he said thickly were getting an early start 1 I think ill turn in insensible to his bis surroundings like 0 one ne in a dream he stood staring at the floor then with a deep breath said goodnight good night 1 goodby good by maryl like a blind man he groped hla his way from the room BB |
