Show GEORGE MARSH CHAPTER I 1 with a grinding of brakes the imperial express came to a stop at nottoway Nott away a huddle of log buildings and frame shacks buried in the eternal spruce traversed by the canadian national beyond the clearing a steel bridge spanned the upper nottoway Notta Nott war away river which flows north to jmes james bay the attention of the idlers at the shack of a station was suddenly focused on a russet haired giant carrying a cased gun duffel bag and a surveyors transit who blocked the platform door of a sleeper he swung to the ground followed by a wide shouldered young man with penetrating agate gray eyes from the scotch station agent who nodded to two half b bleeds eeds who whispered heads together as they watched the travelers the gray eyes missed nothing the strangers left their dunnage and started for the head of the train reaching the staring half breeds the larger man stopped bo jol the secret mac he threw at the surprised pair blood leaped to their sullen faces as one said nobody spik to youl you but you strain your eyes looking dont you youre figuring what m my name and age is and where im from well I 1 always aim to please im four years old my names marie and ive forgotten where im from that help any the listening group of loungers waited with caught breaths as the scarred face of the taller breed filled with blood his yellow eyes blazed as they measured the man who slouched big hands on hips smiling at his discomfiture for an instant his right hand hovered over his cost coat pocket then left it as his companion seized his arm you look for here he snarled brother I 1 thought you were after information drawled the amused giant and I 1 was giving you some of course if you cant use it well aloir ld lesieu sieu with a careless wave of his hand the russet haired young man joined his waiting companion dont start anything here redl red cautioned the dark man its too early weve got to look around but you sure got the goat of that burntwood Burnt wood 1 I meant to that bird looks like a bad boy to me he needs a spanking good job somebody did on his face with a knifel knife 1 at the head of the train the travelers found a blocky individual sliding an eighteen foot peterboro Peter boro canoe from a baggage car his high cheek tones iones slits ilits of eyes and crow black hair marked a strain of indian blood watching the proceeding betted fretted a huge airedale 1 all ali right blaise said the man IV with ith the gray eyes well give you a hand the airedale leaped on the speaker who grasped the dogs hairy bowls hello flame old part partner nerl the bush smell good after the train boy depositing the canoe on the slant ot of the railroad fill the man called blaise said we got ta rush dat grub os dis train not stop for long fame shortly a heap of dunnage and provision bags lay beside the track the square built blaise tossed the canoe to his shoulder and started down a path to the river well a red said garrett finy lay my guess is that those two breeds at the station might know something we came a long way to learn 1 before we leave this great city of six shacks and a store im going to make some talk with those baules 09 altogether too keen to know who we are and where were going well give them a chan chance ce to find fidd out tonight said finlay 4 D down own the line they say no one at nottoway Nott away will talk before w we e start well e U find out why chief we cant go back you and blaise laise and me until we do find out weve eve burned our bridgest bridges 1 its sink or swim bowl now the bronzed face of the other hardened while lights flickered in his wa deep set eyes right red well we u get to the b ottom bottom of this if it takes es all winter and god help sorney somebody y when we dot dol after supper the friends separated leaving malone in conversa ill n with cotter the storekeeper inlay went to the house of the station ion agent I 1 mcleod the so you youre re going to the bay on w survey observed the scotch i glad of the chance for a gossip with someone f from born the outside n yes 68 we ire re meeting the main party y at rupert house wintering there eh elext oh 0 ares fes we wont get out until this U 3 tala I 1 by the way au all ikid I 1 mystery 1 about here mr MCI mc oa threw out ainlay finlay aver vp 0 d shot a fidelo sidelong ng glance the e steel tims rims of his spectacles penn pu COL co W K U C at his cifes troubled face before he answered you u thing noticed some eta noticed eT something 8 the place seems see scared to breatchel br eathel when 1 asked cotter who this isadore was who has the big storehouse store house here he looked at me as s if I 1 was throwing gun en on him e a again te the 6 eyes of mcleod and his wife locked what did ld gotter cotter tell you why he said isadore b hip was a ig s fur man on lake was wani VI lie had a depot here bec ause all his stuff went in from the railroad but when I 1 asked him if any prospectors were going into the mail this way he acted like a scared rabbit frunza I 1 understand that three parties who tried it were reported drowned esau in the rapids but B mysterious raS about lSe that demanded finlay raslee with assumed innocence mcleods McL eods pale blud eyes squinted hard at his caller young man I 1 ive ve been on this section of steel only six months my business essis is rail ra your job is surveying for the government going on in S the bush 6 two hundred miles ks north of here h aint 1 my business Is it yours finlay slowly smiled then there is something T going gouig on in the S bus h north of here said finlay ive had my answer yes youve had your answer admitted mcleod but mind you im deaf blind and dumb finlay took a sheet of paper from his wallet and folded it to expose a single line of writing at its foot he leaned and showed the folded sheet to the station agent 1 I wonder if t nobody spik to you recognize that handwriting mr mcleod he asked while his wife peered over his shoulder r mcleod read the line aloud 1 I dont believe those six men were drowned the station agent nervously cleared his throat never saw that handwriting before he replied with a shake of the head while finlay caught a look of suppressed excitement fx cit ement in mrs mcleods McL eods pink face you dont think that anybody in nottoway Nott away wrote that letter 1 then the scotchmans Scotch mans faded blue eyes snapped no I 1 dont want anything to do with it W he spat out where did you get that let letter terl it was sent to my rn family at north bay robert F inlay finlay one go of those six men was my brother teh teh too badill bad murmured mrs M rs mcleod so youre here to investigate 9 no im here on survey dut duty y bound for james bay naturally after our getting that letter I 1 im m asking while im here finlay questions in g looked significantly at the mc leads but it looks as if no one dared answer them mcleod but im sorry said is that isa isadore dore reported all I 1 can tell you rou that the canoes of the parties had been found by waswanipi indians finlay frowned has chasn alt t isadore adores Is s freight already gone down river I 1 he suddenly demanded yes weeks ago breeds here who then the two when we left the were so curious tp train are lookout men mcleod ial eod blinked into the stare that I 1 lookout men drove into his dont understand I 1 mean that checking on for that leaves here canoe every asking you what jim im north the checking mr mcleod is who ar are e they tor for and why mcleod coughed ca caught aught his wife s then replied rep lied if you eyes warning something S 6 think S ethere her e was brothers brother s disappearance about your cious appearance why dont don t you bring in provincial poli police cc I 1 the but this 1 got a 8 thing I 1 one but there letter not a thing does afek Ef question this eK id fellow like with to ask the knife you slash afraid tt on his 0 face apack pack a gun ak he say youre oure pretty shrewd mr fin lay td ka have to judge for yourself i dont don t know after a 8 chat about lower BY ontario thet the mcleods home country finlay bade them goodnight good night As he left eft th the ehouse hous e he saw the taller of the half breeds who ho had rival wat watched ched his s ar at nottoway Nott away with such inter est Fin lays alls cl curious ls eyes studied the he man rr wh who was evidently wait ng for t him 1 l in 1 front of the frame ame store which carried aich on a spruce e cotter cos above 11 e the door 1 I the name aj J caS approaching 11 the halfbreed half breed he ca caged 11 ed fin ame e even evening in g I 1 the other grinned slapping vigorously at his face and neck good night flight for bug alsol al sol soll finlay lost no time in getting to se the point you know the river to the bay the breed nodded you headin for de bay on survey he asked yes were heading for rupert the river runs pretty hard tor for a hundred miles below here I 1 hear plenty strong water on all dese erel two men drown last pearlt finlay closely watched the flickering eyes as he said and four the year before but that was on the waswanipi they tell melt mel ah hahl hah 1 I see that the hudsons Hud sons bay and jules isadore have depots here observed finlay nodding at the storehouses besida beside the track who is this isadore the halfbreed half breed gaped in surprise you nevare hear of heem no awal wal you not see hees place on nottoway Nott away trail he does a big fur busi business ness I 1 judge by the size of his depot ver beeg business he agreed ver beeg I 1 mcleod he talk wid you bout isadore finlay laughed inwardly no he says hes new here know isadore all ah As yet the man who had evidenced such curiosity concerning the survey party had not shown his hand then finlay abruptly brought the matter to a head you work for isadore yes my name is finlay yours louis batoche 4 you handle his freight yes now finlay returned the other with a grimace 1 I ask you question wy you go by dis way to rupert and not by easy trail to moose finlay laughed so that was the in the woodpile they wanted to know why the survey party was taking the nottoway Nott away trail to the bay he answered disarmingly oh were going to make a new survey of the nottoway Nott away from lake mat agami to rupert bay othe otherwise fwise wed have gone by moose garry narrowly watched the effect of his explanation the halfbreed half breed lifted ted his brows in seeming surprise as he replied ah haht hahl I 1 seel the answer appeared to satisfy Bat oches curiosity his eyes dropped to the river shore where the smoke from Bl aises smudge fire hung in the spruce tops then his gaze shifted to a tent above the bridge who are those men camped there prospectors asked finlay batoche laughed dey head for de rouyn drouyn contree not no t interested in trying for the chibougamau finlay watched thi the other closely Bat oches eyes glittered chib he sneered onlee ilee fool head for de chibougamau from here and they paid for it by drowning in the waswanipi rapids all of them Bat oches pale eyes probed the in inscrutable face of the white man then shifted to the spruce ridge beyond the river onlee indian travel dat waswanipi it ees bad water de prospector all go in from lac st jean 0 1 I hear that Is adores people found a piece of a canoe for surel all smash up below beeg lapide on waswanipi W which party was that two young fallar who go in in last year wid peterboro Peter boro cano Fin lays eyes clung for an instant to the purple ridge as pain lanced through him all they found no bodies or outfit batoche shook his head dats data aall well im much obliged said finlay ive got to see my man brassard well be pushing off in the morning jol replied batoche as finlay left him and started for the camp on the river shore in the meantime down on the river shore waise blaise brassard had been smoking in the lee of his smudge fire before a small sma 1 A tent with a cheesecloth mosquito drop near him lay the big airedale flame said the ruminating brassard exhaling a cloud of pipe blaise big lob job and got SITi smoke olm you dis as summer wat you cink the dog raised his head his cornered eyes ged gazed fixedly three through der Ks stood shaggy and agreed brows erh then as if he he sud understood denly his nako feet stiffened an stood ears with cocked head rose thrust to forward forward peering toto into the ecru scrub b ahl somebody coment comm co mint 1 ah h hahl neck and the hair of on i flames back lifted as his throat welled it u a menacing rumble CONTINUED |