Show rk AM flawd IN THE FO frh E S I 1 HAROLD TITUS dorir jy S a 4 IRWIN IRVIN MYER ryda J juff U CHAPTER IX 9 fraps FOR OR a week kerry young made maps sitting in the office with nan downer for hours each day sometimes long intervals would pass without a word being exchanged again slie she would go to him abruptly with some question and her manner would betray her profound respect for ills judgment he had said that he could do many in and about the woods she learned the truth of his statement intelligent as she was well as she had been trained by her farsighted far sighted father laws flaws had developed in her procedure errors in judgment had gone undetected young did not force ills his opinions did not offer advice but when she brought matters to ills his attention in which he be discovered haws lie he pointed these out dally daily he assumed stature and importance to her undertaking youre right again she cried once youre always rl right ait I 1 its ts you who should be running this job me take root he laughed lie settled down in one place why not she challenged anil and curiously he asked that of himself tip rose then from his place beneath the drawing board and muzzled nans knee fl abich alch made it un necessary to pursue that question further 1 I must run down to the mill for ahall a halt hour she said the dog watched her prepare to depart want to go tip young asked the dog wagged an affirmative all right then go along nan st stood od in the doorway watching the retriever apparently could not believe this order to follow another go on kerry said go with nan and doggishly dum founded with nan lie he went close to other heels for the first time since puppy bood it became a little game between the three whenever nan went out tip gave evidence of wanting to go but always he be awaited youngs order before following and once when the girl had crossed to the landing to send a telegram and was urgently wanted by telephone kerry scrawled a note gave it to the dog and told him to find nan ne he did di dafter after much running here and there and snuffling at the ground and it would have been difficult to determine which was the more pleased girl or dog finish tomorrow nan said looking over jerrys shoulder can I 1 get you to make next a new cruise of the stuff northwest of townline Town line lake ay you ou can get me he said with odd soberness to try to do about anything you want done the words gave him a strange giddy feeling well go tomorrow morning then she replied overlooking his inference with a canoe on a trailer behind her car they drove to the end of the road which gave access to town line lake then they set off on that body of water to spend the day making a swift reconnaissance of 0 the country in which young was to work A family of ducks duck a swam before them ruffling the placid surface the tee mothers head was raised high she uttered low quacks of warning and the brood clustered close about her ber As ane canoe drew closer the old one took wing and the youngsters doing their best skittered skittered ered ered along the water halt half flying halt half swimming making a great todo to do A little breeze arose and the lake which had lain like a burnished plate of steel was touched to life lobes ot of light blue appeared turned to indigo and ran together until the body ot of water lay like a great sapphire flecked with emerald islands an eagle soared majestically above and as they rounded a point a deer having late breakfast in the shallows lifted its head in quick alarm and loped noisily for coner coer waters cold young remarked trallis trall trailing iD a hand like ice feet I 1 this lake lahe Is terribly deep in the channels tile the indians indian say it neer beer rives gives up its dead and father said that was probably so youngs eyes held on nans competent shoulders watching their rhythmic swing her voice came back to him talking of the job but he caught only the music of it why he told himself the thing that had made of him a wanderer was gone I 1 he had at last found an answer to his doubt of responsibility for ruining old jack snow knowing in that why wander farther fart ber why not take root and here surely nan downer was the most lovely ao 10 most well land here she was saying breaking off this wild train of thought 1 I can see the corner stake father had a survey made three years ago they landed nan produced a map and spread it on a log here we are right here this creek otter Is alive with trout and beaver ponds make it splendid fly fishing which Is what the sort of folks who might buy will want there are bass and other fish galore in the lake one of the best areas for deer in the country runs down into section twelve here there are some moose too and plenty of grouse this h happens apkens she continued to be the northwestern corner of our holdings the road we used today Is the only one that comes close theres no one at all in the country beyond tod west knows it like a book and I 1 gus guess hes bes the only white man alive who does tod west tile the name struck temper within young tod west who had ruined one he loved in boyhood who now boug sought lit to ruin one lie he perhaps was to love in maturity little did kerry reckon in that moment that nans idle remark connecting west and that vast lonely country beyond them would one day come back to him would pound in ills his ears with the rush of fevered blood that he would fight a fog of sickness and pain to remember it to remember that none but tod west knew those vast swamps and Untra untracked cled uplands they bent on A covey of half grown grouse fluttered out of the way not particularly alarmed A spotted fawn ran before them and a spruce lien hen stared stupidly from a low limb bear sign showed in the game trail and a wolf had bad passed that way last night off to the right sounded a sudden tremendous crashing which could only have been a moose making away from man his worst enemy here was an old burning where lightning had started ore fire wild grasses and firewood abounded and young stopped watching bees work in the brilliant blossoms he was about to go on when a small movement on the ground attracted him he be stooped and gently put down one hand palm cupped capped and rising showed nan a bee crawling upon ills his fingers pig he be chided hes loaded up so heavily that lie he cant fly go on try it from here ile he waved his hand band and the bee took win wing going slowly and groggily but with that aid finally making a successful attempt at flight he stooped over again watching another busy worker pretty fair italians he be said not pure hybrids but they look like right good honey boney makers are you among other things a bee expert espert nan laughed lau glied no but once I 1 had to live for a while with an old codger who kept lem em that was about the best time I 1 had when I 1 was a kid I 1 got real clubby with bees liked liked em when I 1 get so old ld I 1 I 1 cant ramble any more maybe ill settle down and keep em and let ern em keep roe Is that the only plan you it have avo lie he straightened and look looked ed at her so intently that she flushed maybe not he said gravely ill know before long ong later they stood shoulder to shoulder waiting for the compass to come to rest that they might be certain of precise directions eyes of each on the swinging dial nans breath was a caress for jerrys cheek and ills bis hands began to tremble A few days earlier lie he would have laughed at this reaction but now lie simply moved without explanation and placed the compass on a boulder where it would have stability that hemlock stub Is due clue north sh I 1 young eat cut off her words alth the low warning making no movement he whispered something coming hear it the girl did not tit nt first but after a moment of strained listening ah nodded her head bead silently something was coming their way slowly perhaps hesitantly then as a breath of breeze stirred tile the foliage blowing from thern them to the direction from which the sounds came that approach became more rapid noot hoof beats and scrapings of brush and finally aquier inquiring grunt or two ohl oh I 1 nan whispered as it came into view moose calf I 1 why hes coming up to us I 1 indeed it seemed as if the creature would run them down it came on head tip ears stiff emitting a series of 0 low sounds picking up its ita feet awkwardly with the long gangling legs great dark eyes fast on those two humans why I 1 uell hell 11 nan caught at jerrys elbow as the calf kept on never slackening slackened its pace and so close that in another stride or two they might have touched it it but on the movement the animal swerved halt half turned away swung oft off to the right and stopped facing them standing there all rigid attention and wonder the short tall twit twitched clied the nostrils quirked qu irked youngs elbow pressed nans hand band warningly to his side they stood motionless as the moose continued to stare at them making those plaintive inquiring sounds kerry could feel the girl tremble and that sent a tremor through his own body lie he began to imitate the sound the calf made and on that the creature backed oft off a few steps seeming frightened but when the t man an did not move it resumed its own grunts as if doing its best to bridge the barrier between species and talk what tile dickens are you he seem seemed ed to be trying to say where do you come from why are you here 1 I never smelled or saw anything like you two in all my born days I 1 im kind of afraid of you but I 1 want to give you a good once over before I 1 lilt hit for yonder theres so much for a young feller like me to run across for tile the first time F for or over a minute the calf stood there using all its sense to size up that man and that woman and then probably as an instinctive mistrust of anything so widely at variance with nii all its other young experience asserted itself began to back the retreat at first was orderly a slow backward stepping f 4 I 1 11 n is theres no one at all in the country beyond then it turned sideways and broke into a trot went faster once it stopped and cast an apprehensive glance over its shoulder and after that dropped its ears and disappeared at a lumbering but flowing trot why why of all tb things ings breathed nan withdrawing her hand band from youngs arm the man laughed never saw it before I 1 he said but in the woods if you use your eyes you see plenty for the first time ile he laughed lowly ills his first encounter with man scent you see lie ile winded us from wherever he was and curiosity made him come our way likely hes never been molested in all his bis couple of months on earth and so he know much about fear tough it that every species has its predator enemies and has to start learning how low to defend itself hy by the law of claw and tang fang before it has a good chance to enjoy such a swell world yes its tough she replied and looked with a peculiar intimacy into ills his face theres so much to enjoy if only all of us would they started on and after a time kerry spoke bluntly the thing that her last words had bad left in ills his mind the moose did me a favor lie ile frightened you a little and made you touch we me that was a downright enjoyable experience please I 1 but you understand dont you that I 1 mean that its not just a string of words yes and because of that please hight glit I 1 this Is the best stand of maple ive seen in tills country look tit at the birdseye birds eye tree there two good veneer log logs gs in it it was late afternoon when they beached the canoe on their return weve time to look at the cabin now nan told him nodding toward the log structure on the high bank and she led tile the way beside the door was a vick rack of implements for use in fighting fires the door itself was unlocked my father like locks in the bush slie she explained our men use this camp some but they always leave it open so anyone in need of shelter can get in the place was amply furnished blankets on the bunks banks insect nets hanging above them cooking nten and a goodly supply of imperishable staples on shelves abo above alie stove its a snug camp nan said be comfortable here kerry he scratched a temple thoughtfully dyon mind it if I 1 use ose my own outfit why nol no dont you yon fancy this camp oh its got shingles and glass glas in it id rather set up myself on one of those islands certainly it if you yon want it that way I 1 used to come here with my father but now the place has been a little spoiled for me you see holt stayed here alone the night father was killed and it if it been for wise old ezra hed hac bane been carted in to jail and held there for a while you think a lot of holt dolt dont you of course why I 1 hes the most loyal boy in the world lies hes worked his head off for me anybody would he said s and wondered why she colored quickly and looked at him almost defensively when hen she spoke of holt stuart other cars were there when they drove up to headquarters 0 one ne was ezra adams battered roadster and the old doctor looked up tip from tinkering erin with the motor in a way which commanded jerrys interest but nan with a wave to ezra was waa more intent on the group about the other oil oh theres mr dexter tip from chicago slie she said excitedly that means hes ready to closel close her face clouded and day before yesterday I 1 mailed tod west a formal request for permission to deed that section its our first c chance at a real sale oh I 1 hope it wont be block blocked edt chos sick era EMT young toung asked as nan walked rapidly on to greci greet the others nobody much except this motor he said loudly th then en with caution come close kerry stick your head bead down here with me like you were trying to help me tinker at so methin the bullet that killed cash he whispered was fired from tod bests pistol for a moment young did not reply a savage triumph swept him followed by a sinking sensation tod west the slayer of nans father and perhaps the slayer of her hopes as well he knew that even despite her misgivings the girl was hoping that west would be generous enough to permit her to close the deal which this evening seemed to be in prospects prospect and it was such a forlorn hope well he said that gives us a course to steer ezra the first move to watch him what else can we do it if hes bes started using that money hell keep on anyhow a good bet weve got to locate it before we tip our hand cut but suppose he suspects and lights out kerry twisted his head bead doubtfully lie ile wont II 11 light bt out so long iong as theres a lippe left all lie he has worked and schemed and killed for Is in this country A man of his age run away from it so long as theres a chance of hanging ban on now 14 I 1 can get jim hinkle to trail him he wont suspect jim that can be fixed up with me oil out of the picture for a few days maybe hell feel more free to act ill see to it that plenty of folks know im to be gone for a while 1 I swear its going to be up to you son I 1 the old man said 1 I get all fluttery inside now thinking about what might happen and about what you and ive got to make happen nan downer sat disconsolately at her desk that evening the man dexter and his companions had bad gone from the dinner table down to the river soon they would return and want to talk business and as bet et she was not able to talk in conclusive terms she had an opportunity to bring to realization tile the dreams she had bad shared with her father but not yet the legal rl right she had been be en conscious con selow for fo r a moment of an others presence but did not goolic look up tit at once when she did it was into the flushed face of tod west oh she cried and rose quickly from her chair surprised eh lie he asked and stepped closer why surprised I 1 got a letter from you yesterday now she caught the reek of whisky on ills breath well you want my answer now he taunted a TO BE |