Show lit V i IV nr IX q VW f w 0 0 al Q by GEORGE MARSH W 14 11 cc THE STORY SO FAR bound tor for the C chibougamau gold coun country try six men lost their lives on the nottoway Nott away river red malone garrett finlay brother ot of one acrive t the six and blaise halfbreed half hau breed guide relve at nottoway Nott away posing as surveyors finlay is told that the six men were not drowned as reported suspicion prevails that isadore Isa dorc rich fur man has made a gold strike and aims to keep prospectors out ol of the country at any cost the three men start out on the nottoway Nott away despite warnings on the third day out they are ambushed from shore they escape serious injury and start tor for the hudsons Hud sons bay post finlay and malone visit isadore and meet use his pretty stepdaughter CHAPTER V continued 5 the trader led his guests into a large living room the floor of which was strewn with moose caribou and bearskin bear skin rugs two hundred miles from the railroad the trader ved in comfort so youre surveying dying ky ing the lakes he began 1 I suppose that will take you all summer almost garry answered his thoughts with the girl but we have the lower nottoway Nott away to finish before joining our party at rupert his narrowed eyes on a gun rack of caribou horns isadore contemplatively plat ively stroked his chin with a lean hand the little finger of which wore a large emerald lucky youre not mapping the big rivers that feed ed this chain of lakes iii need canoe men indians we left the best whitewater white water man in canada out there on the island but wed need more than indians said finlay pointedly wed need luck oh you have a man with you yes so you thought blaise was killed on the river did you surmised finlay then he said 1 I judge from the buoys you use planes here 9 there was a shadow of annoyance in the others baffling eyes 1 I have to hire a plane from quebec to bring the girls in and out the they Y dont like the river I 1 cant get them to winter here it makes it pretty lonely shortly a girl appeared at the door and nodded there was laughter outside and isa dores wife and stepdaughter step daughter entered the large room at one end of which a table was set hope you wont mind if we dolled u up p and powdered our noses bub pled corinne isadore its an event t to 0 have guests and such guests isadore disappeared and returned with a cocktail pitcher and glasses the two guests watched him closely as he filled the glasses with martinis and passed them finlay gave the okay signal to the questioning eyes of malone as he lifted his glass to our charming hostess he said holding his glass at his lips until isadore and corinne had started to drink he watched use lise closely as she placed her half emptied glass on the table making her so nervous he wondered on the surface she seems too decent to be the stepdaughter of this buccaneer yet after all ashes probably as hard as nails this is only part of Is adores esplan using his women to trap the men en he cant afford to have leave this country he cant decide whether were crazy or too dangerous to 0 garry caught the trader studying the bulge in reds coat caused by the 45 in his hip holster as he bent over ewer the effervescent corinne sudden death isadore he reflected if youre so foolish as to gryto pull anything tonight sudden death watch your step finlay sat between isadore and lise while malone was across the table on corinnec Co rinnes right he noticed the wine glasses with relief for it would be difficult to refuse whiskey but hed watch isadore pour pour that wine there was red fleshed sturgeon and roast ptarmigan and the hungry men did honor to the halfbreed half breed cook when the girl brought in bottles of red bordeaux garry gave malone the okay signal by rubbing his left ear so far so good mine host garry mentally applauded the wine may make your ladies talk it was evident that corinne isadore was making a night bight of it she was mercilessly flashing her black eyes at the russet haired giant blowing cigarette smoke in his face and greeting his low pitched conversation with bursts of laughter while he casually filled and refilled refluxed her gla glass ss she thinks ashes doing a swell job on him finlay thought but she know her man good old red trust that wily carrot top to draw her out with his irish tongue As he talked with garry isa dores cold eyes constantly wandered to his cifes flushed face inching closer to reds it was different with lise she lit and snuffed out half smoked cigarette after cigarette the hand holding her fork was unsteady it was evident that lise demarais was either excited or worried but worried about what Fin lays muscles instinctively tightened as he waited your home is in calgary lise asked yes he lied so your work has been in the westal west broke in isadore yes finlay was on his guard there were questions he wished to avoid 1 I suppose youre a province of quebec man he countered isadore laughed you think im french no my father was spanish I 1 and your mother armenian sweetheart lp laughed corinne where you got your business ability there was ice in Is adores look then with a shrug he smiled yes my mother was a clever woman he be said and deliberately nodded to his wife finlay saw corinne isadore answer what must have been a signal by raising her black brows she turned to red with when youve finished the map of the lake let me see it could it be traced id love a map of waswanipi his first move thought garry he believe were engineers of course ill trace one tor for you replied red beaming into corinnec Co rinnes challenging eyes finel fine applauded isadore wed appreciate it well gentlemen lets drink to a successful summer for us all but your glasses are empty ill open another bottle finlay noticed that the glasses ol of isadore and the girls were full that be accident hed watch this As the trader half turned to uncork a fresh bottle held at his side garry saw his left hand grasping the neck move over the mouth as he took the bottle in his right and rising fill the glasses of his guests Fin lays eyes found and held ma lones his right hand lazily moved to the back of his neck red caught caugh the warning and turned to corinne in british columbia he laughed laugh pd we always exchange glasses for a toast she ogled up at him with a flash of white teeth as he reached took her glass and handed her his own isadore coughed sharply the veins in his forehead swelled corinne not another drop youve had too much already his voice split the silence as an axe splits oak blood flooded the girls olive skin her eyes kindled im no child to be told what to drink she shot at the man who sat rigid watching her then drained the glass in her hand on the hush that followed broke an idle tapping on the spruce table As he watched the infuriated corinne malones straining ears caught the dots and dashes in morse code of Fin lays signalling sign alling fingers new bottle drugged Is adores high pitched voice now under control broke the tension im sorry gentlemen ex QZ 7 9 on the surface she seems too decent to be the stepdaughter of this buccaneer cuse corinne ashes not used to much wine corinne drew deeply on her cigarette blew a cloud of smoke into reds keds face as she lounged round arms on the table do you theena ive had too much wine beeg boy she whispered of course not beautiful red returned from the corner of his mouth watching her fast drooping eyelids weve forgotten our toast insisted the tight faced isadore raising his glass A successful summer to us all with a pardon me finlay reached past the surprised girl beside him and lifting her glass turned to his host to a successful summer his voice carried the ring of splintering ice eyes locked the three men drank lise turned on finlay why did you do that it was just as if lisel lise there was bottled fury in Is adores tone will you help corinne elbows sprawled on the table chin cupped cup in one hand a plume of hair like a drooping crows wing masking an eye corinne sighed to malone what has come over me I 1 feel so drowsy did you hear me lise isa dores voice was as brittle as march crust but lise demarais sat frozen to tier her chair her frightened eyes riveted r vet on something across the room finlay followed the direction of her gaze through a half opened door peered a hideously grotesque face framed by yellowish white hair tete blanche finlay muttered covered by his left arm his right hand slipped beneath his coat and closed on the stock of the 45 in the shoulder holster beneath his left armpit lise but the girls obsessed eyes were still anchored to the closed door across the room lisel lise she rose and went to her stepmother followed by isadore while finlay waited with folded arms fingers glued to the stock of his hidden pistol excuse me tor for a moment gentlemen tl emen said the trader he raised his half conscious wife to her feet and took her from the room followed by lise at the door she turned a bloodless face toward the two men at the table then disappeared red malones puzzled eyes clung to his chiefs As he caught the meaning of the folded arms he stiffened right handon hand on hip and pivoted swiftly in his chair but the door Finlay was watching remained closed on the silence of the room broke the tapped message from the middle finger of his left hand band tete blanche was at the door behind you it scared lisel lise if isadore return well shoot our way to the canoe noel red nodded action there was the glint of sun on young ice in his blue eyes stiff in their chairs the men waited then the trader returned it is most embarrassing gentlemen he coolly apologized mrs isadore took more than ashes accustomed cus tomed to I 1 hope understand garry rose of course he said will you thank her and your daughter for a most delicious dinn dinner erand and interesting evening but youre not going the night is is young 0 11 finlay admired Is adores callous nerve its late he replied well say good night well if you insist ill give you a light to your canoe outside the night was black as a spruce swamp isadore produced an electric torch and walked to the shore beside finlay close on the heels of the trader followed malone As he pushed off the canoe finlay said the evening was most pleasant mr isadore and instructive it will be a great pleasure to see you again gentlemen came the cool rejoinder and dont forget that tracing when you finish your map finlay and malone paddled in silence until they were well offshore now what do you think of that for a dinner party think snorted red my fingers ached to drown him in front of his place drugged his own wife some joke on the slick jules isadore and was he sore that was clever headwork of yours red when I 1 signalled signal led that held hed drugged the wine that strange western custom of switching glasses had him stopped dead nothing like an irish imagination red chuckled thought like it say the girls have been wise to his plan no it look so but what wa was h his s plan when he hid had us doped 1 I believe he wanted to search us hed let us sleep it off then hed apologize for his strong wine we handle our showing up here must have staggered him but hes got nerve what interests me most is this tete tele blanche he seems to be a bogey man at nottoway Nott away and lise looked as if shed seen a ghost when she spotted him in the doorway she must know hes Is adores private killer 1 I wonder how much those gals do know get anything out of corinne she threw a wicked eye at you red I 1 was worried thought shed kiss you right before king isadore red laughed what a doll to trot on your kneel knee ashes right up my alley for looks but she ask a suspicious question how about lise she puzzled me she started off with a rush was gay and flippant then suddenly grew absentminded absent minded drank hardly anything hear half what I 1 said she was sure easy on the eyes in those whipcords whip cords and easier in that white dress at dinner skin sort of transparent the distinct impression I 1 got was that she wants to leave waswanipi she say so of course but I 1 sensed it ashes worried the approach of the canoe to the island where blaise had a bright fire burning as a beacon was announced by the barking airedale well blaise what do you think of it asked finlay when he had finished his story we leave here babatch wa batch quick you mean tonight brassard nodded achy why tonight two fallar come here after dark I 1 give dem and taste of whiskey den dey talk we move out now onles you wish to fight well it all about Bl blaise alse demanded red blaise told his story that afternoon the two hunters had brought a canoe load of sturgeon to Isad Is adoras oreG place to be traded for supplies they were in the trade room when the peterboro Peter boro was first sighted far down the lake lab labelle elle rushed in and called the man with the scarred face outside where isadore was watching the distant canoe through glasses curious the two indians moved to the door and listened the trader was wild with rage you liar he said to batoche here come de men you said drown in de long of de nottoway Nott away the trader struck batoche in the face but labelle stepped between them then they moved away out of earshot of the eavesdroppers later the were starting with their supplies for their fishing camp when they heard an angry voice up the shore wat good are you now isadore send me to dat island tonight to finish your job they looked and saw the man with white hair the Montag nals called iwed the killer with a little man tetu talking to batoche so after dark the hunters had come to the island with the warning TO BE CONTINUED |