Show ial d M r co MARSH WALLI servi P by GEORGE installment THIRTEEN THE STOUT STORY SO 50 PAR FAR bound tor for the be sold gold country six men toot loot their uve aves on the nottoway Nott away river reil red malone garrett finly brother of one of the th six ix and blatse halfbreed guide arrive at nottoway Nott away ivray posing AS surveyors lurve there was the scuffing of moccasins sins in the trade room below sergeant called mcnab in a voice thin with excitement who do you thinks heading in here in that canoe if its tete blanche mcnab watch your step have david and his boy stand by outside we cant see much through these cracks its jules Is adorel isadore the three in the loft straightened where they lay fin lays fingers bit into reds arm isadore walking right into their hands 1 but the time was not ripe there was lisel there was that plane from the bay and the evidence they lacked to have isadore disappear now would put them all on their guard at waswanipi lise must be safe first no the time was not ripe to arrest jules isadore get him to talk his head off boffl I 1 garry carry called carry on as we planned I 1 ayel aye ayel im off to meet the blackguard I 1 now what the hell drawled red he after here he must think we ran his guard on the quiet water hes come here to pump mcnab hes worried said finlay he thinks weve slipped him and are making for the steel or rupert and he knows if we reach there it win will cook his goose I 1 after an interval finlay recognized Is adores voice as he entered the trade room with mcnab well mcnab began isadore with the purr of a cat in his voice im here to let bygones by gones be bygones and I 1 hope you are weve fought for the fur in the past but ive got a proposition now to our mutual advantage there was a dramatic pause then mcnab you and I 1 can make big money together carrys elbow pressed reds arm oh I 1 know how to take a licking laughed mcnab before you go into it sit down and have a taste of the best whiskey the hud sons bay ever imported thanks I 1 ciul there was the pop of a pulled cork the tinkle of glass and an interval of silence then by the way did a party posing as government surveyors stop here in june no but they stopped yesterday through a crack between the planks finlay saw Is adores hand stiffen with the glass it held half way to his lips then the hand returned the glass to the table at which the two sat went through yesterday Is adores voice was as brittle as ice yes a bound for rupert th they ey lied mcnab they came here for supplies bound back to waswanipi what kind of a cock ck and bull yarn did they tell you mcnab laughed why they had a wild tale about a medicine man filling the heads with cumbo mumbo jumbo and their stomachs with your whiskey isadore my whiskey a criminal offense do they think im a fool the indians believe Fin lays transit is an a evil eye that has sickened some of the children there are parties of hunting for him now wasting their time hes gone north 1 I dont think so there was an interval of silence then the trade room rattled with Is adores metallic laugh mcnab lets be frankl frank just what did they tell you about jules isadore it was mcnabb turn to laugh it complimentary they seem to think you know something about the drowning of those six men the muscles in Fin lays body tightened as he listened 1 I do isadore replied in a voice as cool coal as wind off frozen tundra my people found two bodies and the indians picked up pieces of canoes the year before that but heres my proposition mcnab it mearis means comfort for you and your family for life man ill make you rich if you show the brains I 1 think youve got you mean youve struck gold on the waswanipi 1 I have and im here to cut you in on it finlay could hear reds breath slowly leave his mouth so isadore had been protecting a gold strike on an the river 1 that was the answer to it all gold youve found gold in those sandbars sand bars as rich as the beaches were at nome man mcnab a b and im offering you an interest are you listening am I 1 listening man youve knocked me hat flat as a windfall wind fall faill A glass of scotch with you isadore on your good luckl and your good luck mcnab 1 the neck of a bottle clicked against blasses glasses as the drinks were poured but before we talk business I 1 want to ask you if this take fake surveyor told you he shot three men and wounded another shot three men why torl what suspicion brevall i that isadore lur fur strike and nl AIMS lm mio has made a told gold to keep prospectors prospector out of 0 the country ED route to the Hud hudson sons day bay pot post they visit isadore in his palatial home mett meet his wife and nd lise Is isidore adores 1 I dont know but he murdered them in cold blood hes a gunman a dead shot sent here by a montreal syndicate to locate our placer strike to avoid a rush of prospectors in here weve never regi registered stere d our claims the minute we did that the lake would be overrun over run but they ve found out we ship gold to montreal so out to jump us of course he can make a map hes a mining engineer reds fingers closed on Fir finlay days s well ill I 1 U arm as mcnab exploded be skin skinned A gunman kilerl killer what hes here tor fort to locate your gold strike exactly the conversation below was approaching pro aching the boiling point for the three men rigid in the fur loft well im waiting for your proposition isadore just a minute until I 1 give you the picture Fin lays going back up the waswanipi to hunt for our placer beds and hes going to disappear hell either drown as the other men did in that white whitewater water or the will wipe out his party when the police are sent in here to investigate blame me for losing control of my indians and not notifying the authorities they may even charge me with knowing too much about those men who were dro drowned edl all right where do I 1 come in in isadore youre going to say when they take your testimony that you know RIF my whiskey a criminal offense that the river is almost impassable water and you believe that the other parties and Fin lays men drowned but to your knowledge the indians went completely out of control this summer over this evil eye superstition that your own indians brought you rumors that the waswanipi were hunting for finlay and that he never had a show to get out alive anyway well the truth blurted mcnab if he went back yesterday as you say I 1 dont believe he heu 11 ever be heard from youre a partner after my own heart chuckled isadore he never will mcnab cleared his throat now about this partnership isadore clapped his glass on the table im offering you a fifth interest in the business one thousand shares of waswanipi gold limited when we incorporate last ye year ar that fifth interest ran into five figures duncan mcnab five figu figures resl great Jehosha phat you must have struck a bonanza the silence which followed seemed the measure of the scotchmans Scotch mans amazement Is adores callous laugh brought mcnab back to reali realities we have struck a bonanza and im cutting you in on it heres a thousand now in two five hundred dollar bills as evidence of my good faith and to bind our bargain now mcnab are with 1 I you me five hundred dollar bills first ones I 1 ever sai sa saw I but wait you mean to say youre handing me a fifth interest in your gold strike for telling the police what I 1 know is the truth finlay had not misjudged his man mcnab w was as playing to a fare thee weli the part of the dazed trader in his first contact with big business just that my friend isadore answered of course whatever happens youre going to defend your property and your partner youre going to fight for your owal own but to the police youre a silent partner understand youre still a hudsons Hud sons bay man 1 I understand put it there isa doret im with youl good heres luck to waswanipi gold limited and the owners isadore blondee and McNab ls ter answering an ipei fenby li is ambushed and bd learned by abalone and it develops develop that th they are re mounted officers officer they visit mcnab Hud hudson sons day B trader tracer and nl hide when isadore idore strives unexpectedly expectedly nn again mcnab cleared his throat now a what do you say to a bit of writing so there may be nc misunderstanding and everything ll 11 be ba shipshape Fin lays elbow found malones dialo ties ribs there spoke the true scot get him on paper mcnab garry carry breathed well use that some day if we live ali ah yes of course isadore isadora assented give me a pen and paper shortly the men in the loft heard mcnab read aloud for value received and in consideration of his future services 1 I jules isadore president of was gold limited of montreal hereby bargain sell and assign one thousand shares of the common stock of said company when issued to duncan mcnab now of mata agami lake waswanipi gold limited 4 by jules isadore president hows that mcnab fine and its mighty generous of you isadore ill never forget it there was the sound of voices outside the trade house the door creaked on its hinges the matter labelle asked isadore comin on to blow dooni soon beeg wind cloud een sout wesl we gotta start to camp at de inlet all right ill be with you in a minute 1 the men left the trade house mcnab said isadore pushing back his chair youre a shrewd man and know where your breads buttered stick with me and IU ill make you rich the ice suddenly returned to Is adores voice but if you change your mind if the police scare you and you double cross me you wont live long understand me mcnab isadore snapped his fingers disappear like that but the trader laughed you think im crazy isadore he blurted and finlay was relieved leave the police to me man IU ill handle them were partners now arent wea we youve cut me in on a bonanza dont worry about duncan me mcnab the two men left the trade room bound for the shore shortly the put put of the outboard motor drifted up from the lake with a grunt of relief red rolled over on his back and stretched his long arms as blaise and G garry arry sat up so its placer gold on the hes covering up after all what a line of hooey he handed mcnab and did mcnab do a job on him we may have use for that fake bill of sale some day well blaise how about it Ki Fi blaise grunted regretfully we make big mee stake to let dat fallar go he hunt us all de more hard now he tink he got mcnab in his pock pocket etl true hell make the lake hot for us now but we got the evidence I 1 want yet what puzzles me red is this plane from the bay it fit into the picture mcnab found his guests waiting in the trade room wen well how was that the scotchman chuckled mcnab have made a great actor it was perfect A fifth interest in waswanipi gold when issued issue dl exploded mcnab he must think im a numb skull to swallow that never be issued it if he gets out of this scrape all he has to do is to incorporate under another name and mcnab holds the bag it took will power sergeant not to smash that sneering face of his he forgot im scotch so am I 1 garry laughed but Is adores badly worried he knows hell need your help with the police anyhow im richer by a thousand dollars if its not counterfeit also evidence we may use said garry well if this storm st orm blows over were going to paddle 01 all night so well say goodby red lingered T behind as garry and laise blaise B left ae f t the room 1 I want a word with you mr mcnab before we go he said the trader stared curiously curiously y into reds candid blue eyes well constable on your mind minda thistle ell thistle why youve only known her since yesterday true malones malone eyes were dark with the intensity 0 of f his feeling but it take us long to find out I 1 just want to tell you that im coming com ing back here shell be waiting for me mcnabb bushy brows pulled down dow n over his searching ear ching eyes as he studied malones bronzed face shot with freckles 1 I realize you two it seems sudden I 1 know ive never believed in it but its tr true ue thistle and I 1 knew last night that it was that way with us I 1 love her and dont fear IU IIII come coma back through hell for herl her TO ae |