Show r ox f 0 AM gnei i oliver f 43 service do 0 co INC U Kt 1919 dy SYNOPSIS CHAPTER I 1 introducing dome fome of ol 01 the people of the pretty little french canadian village ot of Perl Peri bonka bartic the tha crippled lady idol of 0 the simple inhabitants and heroine ot of ar an epic destined to live long lone in the vil lago lage annals annal ls CHAPTER IL HOW the romance ut ol molly brant si sister ter ot of the gibat indian chief joseph brant and sir william johnson la in pre p e revolutionary down to today with the days coni comes es birth ot of j a L von son paul to molly kirke wife of a powerful new york financier and her death when paul Is thirteen 7 years s old molly kirke was a des e eigard a nt ot of molly brant and her boy has many of the indian characteristics at thirty two paul marries claire durand daughter ot of his fat fathers liers business partner er he ha Is in charge of an immense engineering work on the mistassini river near Perl Peri bonka which his millionaire father has undertaken but hla his indian blood deplores the destruction st of the wilderness and h his a thoughts are more of carla haldan not then the crippled lady than ot of his work CHAFT CHAPTER EIt III baurs wife 15 1 in europe bhe he having no inclination to live in those horrible woods us he comes to see in carla daughter of a central european immigrant with her bar devotion to her invalid mother and her work of educating the village ebil dren bis ideal of 0 womanhood CHAPTER IV paul writes to alg wife urging her to join him chouch caria Is tile the inspiration of the letter later I that evening passing the haldan home he hears bears carla caria erving HP he enters the college cott aee mrs haldan long ions a hopeless invalid Is dega dead pauls efforts to comfort carla fie be feels bring them closer together CHAPTER V claire claere announces her intention of joining paul on the MIS in a short time she also writes to carla 0 of whom she has bas heard beard from paul a letter of kindly sympathy on OB the death of her mother CHAPTER vl VI paul pail goes to quebec 0 to o meet claire arid and brings her to his temporary home though she Is ap apparently e arti glad to be with him and e evinces fsr nc warm parm friendship for carla and pauls other friends ho be toels feels she rhe Is only there because she feels it her duty she la is not really happy he t becomes acome a aware of a suit gulf between him and a nd his wife CHAPTER VIT paul claire carli carl and two friends make a luncheon party to tc vleit the pig big gorge of the Jass lill an appallingly swift current which disappears in a mountain side current belief la Is that anything dropped into it is never seen again in sport port they cast into the stream pieces of 0 wood and other objects watching thim disappear finally they carry a large log to the edge of the rushing water r As they toss it over it upends up eds striking g paul and throwing him binl into 0 the stream the two atra women with alt h alforn pauls paulg life Is entwined see him ko go to what wha they are sure Is certain death one asks the other it she bhe la Is going with him receiving no answer she announces then I 1 arril ami and ana springs into the water CHAPTER VIII raul aul sees the action and believes the woman Is claire clinging to a rock which temporarily checks his rush to death he recognizes carla as the water brings bring her nearer he clutches her ber but the two are carried onward then a miracle pauls feet touch solid earth earb ile he drags himself with the girl into a subterranean cave CHAPTER IX fully satisfied there la Is no chance of escape and that for their few remaining remal hours they are in a world of their own paul and carla reach a perfect understanding as to their mutual love ilo he m moved ov e a fir fb the eu eue edge e ot or opted up debris and begun began to investigate it cautioning her to stand back a little the rubble loosened under ills bis feel and slid down there was quite a little rock slip before he be had bad gone far sending up a cloud of dust between them through this when it had settled carla followed him she heard mm him calling to her to go back but in a moment was standing at his side almost above them so steep was the ascent the fissure narrowed to half a dozen feet in width and was choked with loose rock and sand paul looked at it with somberly appraising eyes and instinctively put himself between it and carla another explosion of dynamite sent a scarcely perceptible tremor through the earth slight as it was a tiny stream of sand and pebbles came trickling down from the suspended avalanche ile he caught her hand and took her swiftly back to safety A nearer shot would send that thing down on us he said walt hero here until I 1 find out more about it what are you going to dol she asked first climb the edge of the wall and see what Is beyond ile be did this and returned to her in a few minutes tunny anny how little things put themselves in our way r 1 he tried to speak lightly the iho fissure la Is clear as a floor beyond that slug of debris which la Is ready to we could be out in five minutes it it were not tor for that As it la Is ive got to take a chance chalice 1 and the chance wo must get over the loose stuff either that or go back to the little fire we must go on she said yes lea weve VOTO got to go on we passed a stick back there five or six feet long by hugging close to the wall wait I 1 think I 1 can reach one ot of the keystones in the slide and loosen it lt it sont bg be aad lyhtle tiling ailini will ivill come cofi ie ilke ake it a house with tile tho found foundation ution pulled out front roni under it im going goin to take you back a distance and when the slide comes where will you be A against the rock wall as small email as ican I 1 can make inake myself I 1 you sou mean said carla caria with quiet quick understanding in her eyes that you are going to take the stick and pry one of the rocks loose but not from the edge of the wall tor for no foothold la Is there your intention Is to stand tn in front and make an effort to get out of the way when the avalanche starts 1 I am sure I 1 can do ILI it if it comes slowly yes but what if it should come the other way let iet us ns go together paul it may be that we can get over over it safely walt here until I 1 get the stick if we try to climb over it together we will not need the stick but we cannot climb it I 1 know I 1 have seen a hundred of those things la a the pit they are like hair trigger guns even when they look solid it I 1 Is necessary to loosen a rock and then make a run for it th the a stick will give me a few cew feet start but it may be more firmly used fixed than you think my stick will prove it until then you yon must remain here she accompanied led film to the down ward exit esit of the small room like prison they had bad entered and listened to his footsteps until the sound of them grew taint faint then she ascended to the crest odthe rock slip again A score of feet beyond lay the danger point between it and where she stood was the rough depression out of which paul would be compe compelled led to race for his life should he loosen the avalanche there was an overhang of rock high up and she did not seehof he be could escape it she turned to look back in the direction he had gone it was like paul to take the situation in this way as it if it were an unimportant incident rattler rather than a tragic thing light was fading swiftly and evening nin shadows were falling between the deep close walls of the crevasse A radiance wits was in carlas face as if a voiceless spirit within her were sending a message to some one in the world above she could hear pauls footsteps returning the lie iron nails in his boots striking on rock and her ups lips moved yearning t call his name then she ran down into the hollow i and up its farther edge ed e after all it I 1 might not be such a sword of damocles over them it if it were not then paul could only scold if it were she began to climb CHA CHAPTER PTER XII paul heard beard the crash ue ile was a little ittle beyond tile the place where he had bad left eft carla and ran to it calling her name ue ile leaped through the dust which was settling quickly and heavily and saw thet hollow choked to the brim kith the debris ot of the avalanche carla was caught in the last grip of it near the crest of the rock slip the upper part of her body was out and she was alive ahou paul reached her ue tried to speak as be tore at the rocks but his voice was gone Us ue saw carlas eyes looking at him with the light fading out of them she made no sound tier her eyes were closed when he had her in ills his arms at last yet she wa not dead he be found himself hini self saying the words over and over as he climbed with her out 0 of f the fissure it may be that thy the full story atory ot of carla ond and paul would never have bare been known had it not been tor for the happening ot of this night it seems reasonable that neither claire nor lucybelle lucy belle bella nor the others would have told the more intimate of its details A madman told the story tho the mad man was paul ue ile came into the engineers gi camp in the middle of the night they did not know him at first tor for brush and limbs and rocks had bad disfigured him in the darkness his face was like ilke that of a nan man who had been beaten alin naked fists his clothes wore were halt gone ills his feet were bleeding through tho the shredded leathea leat liei of his bis boots in his arms he a woman a dead woman they aliey thought not kot until derwent unwrapped wrapped en the coat with which her head and aboul ders were protected and saw her heir tact face could bo be clearly realize that the mar man was paul they tools took carta carla to the she was carried gently but quickly in a litter latter with halt half a dozen men taking tailing turns in bearing her even then in his bis exhaustion paul insisted on walking at her side aide until unit the last nerve to in him broke et etwas this which robbed him of a day and d a night ot of conselo conscious lu s iafe aben lie 1 lu self agalli after hours f cornous sleep der 0 her eyes were closed when he had her in his arms at last went told nim that carla was badly hurt but would live lim claire he said had returned to her people la in new york the second day after his supposed death lucybelle had gone with tier her word had been sent to her that he be and carla were alive and lucybelle lucy belle had replied that eliat claire was very fit then had find come a telegram from claire Deri derwent vent gave it ft to paul 1 I am so happy it said come to nie me us as quickly as you can only god knows how flow glad I 1 am it son sometimes betimes takes a thing tike like this to bring out the tove love in a comans bomani heart said derwent remembering pauls years ot of loneliness yes it does said paul and he saw carlas face between him und the words which claire had written he fie went to see carta carlo soon afterward he had taken a great deal of pride in the clean white bite hospital he be had built for the company and now he be blessed it derwent told him film what it had bad meant for carla they had bad X fayad her and had maria made tile the nary discovery that nere was not nol a broken bone in her body but some thing hi bad ad happe happened happeney to he her i r back ano and she was paralyzed from her wals down temporarily he believed knowing what paul would have done under the lie had sen ecna to quebec and montreal for expert assistance to consult with the com pany staff carla was propped up against a mass of pillows in her snowy bod bed when paul arrived everything was white about tier her except the rich dark ness of her hair the room the bed her lacy gown her race face like that with two silky braids streaming oer her shoulders she mihl might have been n child one who lind find been a lung long time sick with an exquisite fragile beauty about her lie ile bad not expected to find her so like a llly illy floret whose soul a breath m might carry away he ele seated himself beside tier her and she let her hand creep over the cover let to him it was helplessly weak her fingers were only a feathery pres prea sure about his please dont scold me paul she eald faintly trying to tc smile you toil see I 1 was right it if the rocks had burled buried you I 1 could never have got you out end and brought you home could I 1 12 ue he did not answer but held her hand band so closely that a joyous little melody of content came for a moment in her throat 1 I am glad I 1 was afraid you would be angry with me now I 1 know I 1 shall get well quickly 1 it seemed difficult for then them to find things toony paul lighting fighting with the grimly set lines of an indian in his face was holding back bach what he be wanted to tell her carla knew A little more and she would have cried her own weakness letting down the tbt thing which both were valiantly mak ing an effort to hold between them ue he told her about the specialists who were on their way and that their own staff had no doubt but that she would very soon be on tier her feet again ue ile tried to talk without it a strain in his voice yet be could fel feel the falseness and pretense of his effort when he wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her pate pale sweet face carla knew this too at last when it time for him to leave her she said when are you going home 1 I dont know lie he replied it must be soon she urged 1 I want it that way you must start today or tomorrow only that will make me well claire wants wanta you Please read this she gave him a crumpled yellow slip of paper it hiis was a 0 telegram crushed as if she had been holding it a long to be continued Cont famed |