Show und ara la 1 aen rt copyright by peon penn rub pub CO C LM q GEORGE MARSH wl ru service FROM THE BEGINNING at hl his fur put past sunset hour oct la in the canadian north jim stuart trader in charleo of stuarts stuart rival la in the hir fur aurore lablanc Li LA Blond Bland daughter with his hl headman omar rescues hu e from am overturned canos in the 1 jn a spirit of fun full he and jim arjang certain island bland Leni leblond ond with paradis Pa radix his hi bau bre lieutenant to exchange dot bof on is paradis display enmity auw toward d jim going to 0 o ovive I 1 in earch of erf the tha mining girl mind and the uland island to see it if aurora has ha left idt tb the promised note jim is I 1 ambushed by forced to travel toward the borlond pot post on tir the way he b overturns the th boat beet leaving heavill le aVill andrew andre w christie displeased at sc als trade his on an the batch jims jiro superior allows allow liun him a at t hui his request rc me on year to wake make food paradis bribes brab we an inn to ambush jim and omar the no attempt fail ana and jim takes the indan ind an t to a leblond lablond after hearing the story lory leblond discharge caradia jim and aurore aurora acknowledge their mutual love lova though aurore 1 returning to winnipeg and jini jim make personal appeal appal to the th indians who he have persistently kaa has planned a canoe no arii trip P to a fu s ad to trade their lure fur with him he finds find that pardi has baa enlisted their 81 aloe to discourage them from trading dims with stuart CHAPTER V continued aft take her away from 3 jim in down own there in the city smoke they wont let him have her but Sm okell always love old jim wont lie so the man and the great dog he I 1 bad once carried inside his fur parka side by side in perfect as aa a puppy sat ilander understanding standing while the flush of the sky slowly faded through the long bor northern thern twilight la in the mirror of the lake then as jim held a lighted natch to his pipe in the indigo gloom of the spruce of the mainland across the straight there was the flash and roar of a rifle followed swiftly by another A bullet wrenched the shattered pipe from stuarts teeth then he wove or e headlong for the bushes as omar ti 1 and D esau took cover on the opposite side bide of the dead fire you too beet called omar no nol I 1 growled jim hunching bunching hun ching toward toward his gun which stood propped against a bush jt if they want war give it to em deml I 1 again the twilight silence was split by the guns on the mainland and bullets spattered around the camp while the excited smoke yelped as he be raced iback aback and forth still untouched ruin the canoe if we dont top stop em stormed the maddened fur trader r as he drew himself within reach of his gun here smoke get youl you here down then the rifles of omar and esau opened on the ambush two hundred yards across the strait shortly the repeating guns of the three men firing let jet the flashes made the opposite shore too hot for the slagle single shot rifles la in the ambush the shooting stopped well the war on the Pl Is on emarl called jim 1 I think making their getaway afraid well cross in the canoe in the dusk and hunted hunt hun tem em knowing that rifle sights were now invisible la in the murk of the opposite there shore jim stood up to find omar calmly examining the canoe now know bilici ho do you suppose pulled that trick esau dose young men follow us from de camp 1 I suppose tome come of Par aills ls people only they dont know that never see him again omar approached jim and thrust a face into his the fierceness of which even the gathering dusk did not soften dey follow us and shoot to keel do 11 I 1 use dees now wen I 1 feet feel de neck deck of dat Parade Para dees ear the halfbreed half breed pitted to the long skinning knife blung from the sash at his waist yes I 1 guiss guess youre justified in using anything now after us and get us too in this country if were not careful came pretty close with that first shot got my pipe right under my hand I 1 know an in adian could shoot so straight dese coln follow us said bald esau wen de moon go down we drop down de riviere an wait malt for dem eft can de all ah hah bab agreed omar we mak 4 beetle ambush for dom dem 11 As A the night thickened before the tabon moon died at midnight the peterboro peter boro from sunset house silently left the island and dropped down through the thadows shadows to the outlet and into the river A few miles downstream they turned la in and made camp jim wrapped himself la in his blanket with smoke beside him to wrestle with a difficult problem clearly the indians who had followed them down lh the lake would stop at nothing to drive them out ont of the country with these paid henchmen of paradis paradas on his heels tr he could not go on but to allow I 1 omar and deau to co shoot them out of their canoe in the morning much as they deserved it would bo be bad gen they had kinsmen among the pipestone Pl ojibway who would take i UP the feud thus started and jims anin ringlon glon was one of conciliation yet bio h had bad to defend himself and omar and esau esan would be hard bard to handle the sun was high la in the okyon the following morning before the three aho who waited in the river willows willow saw a canoe turn the bend above them dearly clearly the two saddlers paddlers padd lera lers were confident that the peterboro peter boro was wag somewhere far ahead of them downstream for tile the men in the willows plainly heard their voices there ther was the muffled click of steel on betael as three rifles were cocked then the willows were silent presently as the birch bark canoe cano drifted abreast of the ambush there was a roar as the guns spat from the shore cha irh paddle of the tb bowman fell sua from his hands handa with a cry of terror the swung the nose of the craft toward the opposite bank as the rifles again exploded in his fear the indian in the bow of the canoe plunged headlong into the hie river and made for the shore while his mate flattened on the floor of the canoe then from the willows two men paddled rapidly across the stream to the drifting canoe while the third covered the craft with his rifle running the peterboro peter boro alongside omar stepped into the birch barkand bark and lifting the gray faced young ojibwa in his great arms with a curse threw him into the water we not shoot de skunk an we not shoot at you dis tarn tam ill I 1 roared the infuriated halfbreed half breed deprived of his big vengeance by the commande com mandi mandl of stuart but de next tarn tam I 1 wee split your lak I 1 stab de caribou As the frightened ojibwa swam for the shore omar returned to the peter bero and finished the work of the rifle shots in destroying the canoe by take her away from jim down there in the city smoke 11 opening great seams with his knife then be e tossed overboard the bag of provisions with the rifles of the indians deans and abandoned the waterlogged craft now travel home in your moccasins called the halfbreed half breed in ojibwa to the indian as he reached the shore and tell them how we gave you a swim and let you go gol I 1 wondering what further evidence of hostility awaited them but forced by the necessity of breaking the tha conjurers influence in the pipestone country if sunset house were to survive jim continued down the river CHAPTER VI through the Pl pipestone chain of lakes traveled the canoe from the south visiting the fishing camps and denouncing as a false shaman an impostor imposter the paid agent of paradis and leblond often the appeals of jim find and omar were met with sneers and shouts of dissent more than once superstitious indians refused to talk to theland the them mand and frightened women herded their offspring into the cipis tipis at the coming of the white trader with the evil eye but to jims satisfaction most of the older indians listened while many were friendly and notwithstanding sullen and black faces face among the younger men the tha progress of the peterboro peter boro through the Pl pipestone country had not been again molested but one night an old ojibwa came to their camp on the lake of the great stones which emptied into the sturgeon you are going down into the sturgeon river coun country tryl he asked accepting the tobacco and dish of tea jim offered lim him yes replied jim in ojibwa this othis false shaman Jin gwak has turned the hunters against us tor for the pay of Pa radix we are going to find him I 1 and make him eat his lies for a long interval the old man smoked his silt alit like eyes on the fire then he be said do not go he Is waiting for you jim glanced at the interested faces of omar and esau was this man friendly or a spy he wondered 1 I an am glad he said 1 I feared he would run away the old indian lifted questioning eyes to the bronzed face of the white man for it a space pace he seemed to measure the metal of the th speaker whose cold gaze met his scrutiny then lie quietly said as a be again looked into the fire you toil will never come back jim studied the wrinkled mask of the old ojibwa framed in its long grizzled locks had he be come to warn them as a friend or was he seeking to learn their plans only to send the information ahead of them you tou have lived through many snows he said bald wisdom has come to you through the years you know t that at Is a liar or you would not sit here and look me in the eye this paradis has filled his UPI with flour and tea and tobacco why because keeps the hunters from trading with the old company dut but this Is finished leblond has sent paradis far south to the the old indian looked up with puzzled eyes you say paradis has gone south yes the seamed beamed vasa visage e of the indian stiffened in thought as his narrowed eyes BOUX foupht lit his moccasin then he said he has put a spell upon the young men on tile the sturgeon river this Jin gwak it if you go there they will lill kill you at the words ainar boisvert Bols vert rose to his feet shaking with rage thrusting his bis clenched fists at the ojibwa he be opened and closed his fingers with these hands he be stormed 1 I will choke the breath from the lying throat of this wabeno go back and send your young men to tell him we are coming coining tell him that omar Bols boisvert vert who broke the neck of big bierre at port fort severn with his fist Is coming to drive him out of the sturgeon river country tell him it if be stays omar boisvert Bols Dols vert who sets bear traps with his hands bands will tear his tongue from his throat inflamed with passion omar stood over the squatting figure of the tha old indian who gazed up at him with a look of mingled surprise and regret you think me the friend of jing wak and this Par paradas aills ls he said calmly you are wrong I 1 come here because I 1 am their enemy took my daughter from me in silence the indian rose shook hands and went to his hl As he be pushed out from the shore he said to jim who followed him with the customary 0 bo o jos your canoe will never pass this way again well what ayou make of him asked jim of the silent figures of his hl friends was he nosing around trying to find out something or was he be bringing a friendly warning ne he Is fren of Jin gwak said esau and Is scare ah hahl agreed omar ne ille ees scare he got no do Para rara dees to help heem beem now but in spite of the confidence of his men jim was troubled what he be desired was wag to bring about the downfall of the sorcerer by peaceable means to gain the friendship of the hunters but it looked as a if he would fall it if the old indian was to be trusted they would be lucky to get out of the sturgeon with whole skins skills how far the adherents of were prepared to go he be already knew in the end it meant bloodshed and that meant defeat the enmity of many of the hunters whose trade he be sought and defeat meant goodby good by to sunset house and aurore leblond for he be would have not even a future in the com banys service to oner offer her As he be brooded blooded with his thoughts the day on the island with the daughter of the man v whose hose wiles were fast drawing the net of defeat about the little fur post seemed more like something he had read more the fancy of a dream than reality those brief hours of unalloyed might delight had bad been given him to torment his memory in the years to come she would never return to the lake of the sand benches beaches the following morning esau left them traveling la in a small canoe he had got by trade from an ojibwa the old man started ahead of them donn doann the sturgeon on his lone search for Jin gwak time and again jim had bad endeavored to learn how he ha hoped to circumvent the med medicine leineman man who had such stich a hold on the hunters of 0 the sturgeon but esau had kept his own counsel with a smile the wily old indian had replied beet may be esau ees too old alices back no longer carry de bees beeg load for de companes com panee his leg are stilt stiff for de winter trall trail but he has seen manee ving flag and bees memory cea acs long eef beef lie he nevalee come bark baek act mean bees head bead also ees no chod 11 more he refused to pay bay and ornar omar when questioned by the curious jim had shaken his head doubtfully as a lie he explained esaus reticence the old mans plan was so wild in its details and depended for its success so BO largely on luck that esau dared not divulge it to his chief so stuart parted with his friend with misgiving in his heart the loyal old indian was going down the sturgeon into the enemies country alone to light fight for sunset house what could he do to there in his stronghold one against many he gripped tile the old ojibway hand in parting 1 I dont like to havo have you yon go alone esau jim said we ought to fight this out together you yon an your fader was de good wen fren of me replied esau his eyes bright with feeling 1 I am ole man 1 soon I 1 go talk to your fader wen I 1 meet heem ho he ask esau how you leere de boyr boy I 1 wan to tell hoem beem do de boy ees ver vcr line fine will de beef trade fit at de house of de setting sun the old mans fingers gripped hard on jims dat acs wy I 1 go to fin jing wah turning esau shoved shored off tie me canoe and was wag soon out of sight behind a timbered point in the gray eyes of jim stuart as he watched the dip and swing of esaus paddle until the bent back of the old man disappeared there was the mist of memory and the emotion of a full heart the father he had burled on the shore of far gods lake what would he not give today for his companionship and his counsel 0 0 0 0 0 0 it was september the moon of the mating of the caribou september when through the wild valleys the lifting sun rolled back curtains of mist veiling telling ridges touched here and there with yellow and gold by the magic wand of the frost september when the muskegs muskets were blue with ripened berries and the loons restless with the urge of far journeying called at sunset across nameless lakes north on the vast marshes of the great bay the legions of the geese were assembling for their autumn rendezvous later to ride the first stinging winds south over tile the green seas of the spruce and the flaming islands of the hardwood ridges passing over the spawning beds of the sturgeon at the outlet of the lake 0 of f the great stones where for a mile on oil the sandy bandy bottom the dark shaves shape of the huge fish were visible beneath the peterboro peter boro jim and omar entered the river from which the old ojibwa had warned them they would never return two days journey downstream where the river widened to form a large lake jim hoped to find the man they sought how when he found him he was to break the power 0 of f the sorcerer he did not know but the future of sunset house depended on it and in his desperation jim was prepared to go far how far the man who |