HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Times, 1916-05-11, Page 7Max 4 tit, Xg:IG
THE WXN.GHAM TIMES
Pap 7
e,SMSMS"a&S MSM 'z`ScaS S"eSe
h
BONOR THL ISIG'SNOWS
GAMES O LIVER, :i ICuRwoOD ,6-
ZS MS'ZS
SSS
p
r;•'sem
WARMER
vSSS'`lc SS ISMSS.
easeseace
Copyritaht 1911 by the Bobbs'M,rrill Co.
S SGS 5T+E v5S5S5 S51q rt, \^5
SleSMSa'
Ca
S'SS'v'SMS
SYNOPSIS
i In the far northwest the wife or John
Crimmins dies, leaving baby Medusa
nouns Jan Thoreau comes from the Bar.
Area Lands with file violin. Mukee, the
iteree, had once spied on. an Englishuesa
weeping through the Cummhis winnow
ytukee had elate the Englishman, Jaa
flakes lite home with Cummins, rind the
'two resolve to bring up the baby he cars
used manner. The mention of a tnbston-
tare angers Jan -
at ' no -larger than a breath, there
Was silence. The man wormed him.
Melt back into the shadows filch by
inch, followed by the white face of the
boy. Then there "bame shrilly from
Wail's lips the mad shrieking of a flame,
and his knife Sashed as he leaped at
.the other's breast.
The stranger was quicker than he,
With a sudden movement he cleared
Himself of the blow, and as Jan's arm
went past bim, the point of the knife
ripping his coat sleeve, he shot out it
powerful fist and sent the boy reeling
to the ground.
Stttnned and bleeding, Jan dragged
himself to Ms knees. lie saw the dogs
turning, heard a low voice urging them
to the trail and saw the sledge disap*
pear into the forest, He staggered
from his knees to his feet and stood
swaying in his weakness. Then he
followed.
He forgot that he was leaving his
.knife in the snow. forgot that back
'there about the fire there were other
dogs and other men. He followed,
-sickened by the blow, but gaining
-strength as he pursued. Ahead of bim
he could hear the sound of the tobog•
cgan and the cautious tushing of a whip
aver the backs of the tired huskies.
;The sounds filled him with fierce
.strength. He wiped away the warm
trickle of blood that ran over his cheek
and began to run, slowly at first,
ewinging in the easy wolf lupe of the
forest' runner, with his elbows close to
his sides.
'At that pace he could have followed
for hours, losing when the pack took a
-spurt, gaining when they lagged, an be
*latent Nemesis just behind when the
(weighted dogs lay down in their traces.
When be beard the cracking ot the
whip growing fainter be dropped his
arms straight to his sides and ran
more swiftly, bis brain reeling with the
madness of his desire to reach the
‘sledge, to drag from It the man who
•had struck him, to choke life from the
face that haunted tbat mental picture
of bis, grinning at bim and gloating at.
ways from tbe shadow world, just be-
yond the pale. sweet loveliness of the
woman who lived in it.
He did not feel the sort, sun packed
•snow under the beat of his feet. He
received the lash of tow hanging bush.
-es without experiencing the sensation
ttf their sting. Only be knew that be
wanted air -more and more air -and
to get It be ran with open mouth.
struggling and gasping for It and yet
not knowing that Jean de Gravota
would bavo called bim a tool for the
manner to wiech be aongbt tt.
He beard more and more faintly
the run of the sledge. Then he beard
it no longer. fils heart swelled in a
'final bursting effort, and be plunged
on until at last bis' legs crumpled
under him and he pitched face down-
ward in the snow, like a thing stung
iby sudden death.
it was then. with his scratched and
'bleeding Lace, lying in the Snow, tbat
reason began to: return to him. Aide
a little while he dragged himself weak -
la to his knees, still panting from the
Mad effort be bad made to overtake
the sledge. From a great: lts} n_Cele
When the Back Becomes Larne
,IT IS 11 SIGN OF KIDNEY TROUBLE
Doan's Kidney Pills cure the aching
'back by curing the aching kidneys be-
neath—for it is really the kidneys aching
.and not the back:.. •
Doan's , Kidney Pills are a special
kidney and bladder medicate for the
.cure of all kidney. troubles.
Mrs. Leuisa Gonssbaw, 083 Manning
..Ave., Toronto, Ont., writes: I take
.great pleasure in writing you, stating the
benefit I have received by using Doan s
Kidney Pills, About three. yeears',ego 1
was terribly afflicted with latae back, and
the,
badso d neteven r sweep
Boor. I as advised to try your pills,
.and before.I. had` needone box there Nadas
.a great improvement, and my back was
such better. Hovtever. I kept oil taking
diem until my back was completely
•cured, I highly recommence. 9)0an b'
for lame back."
leoan's Kidney Prins are the original
'p111 for the kideeyy. Sae thst our teach
mark the "Maillei%atf"-appc'ara,eq the
!wrapper.
Doan's' Kidney Pills are tide per bet,
.3 boxes for $1.25; at all fleeter: or
xlist:et cm receipt of price by The 'i'.
Milburn/ Ce., I.Iitate ,. Toronto, Ont.
Wiled ordering direct tareai a "1 dau's-•'
fieard"faari ifilfli011ie of s'bo t? , ffie
whispering echo of half a hundred
voices, and he knew that the sound
Came from the revelers at the post
Xt was proof to him that there bad
beep no interruption to the carnival
and that•the scene at the edge of the
forest had been witnessed by none. $e
turned again on the trail.
Where the forest broke into are open.
lighted by the stars, he found blotsd
in the footprints of the leading dog.
Halfway across the open he saw where
the leader had swung out from tart
trail and the others of the pack bad
crowded about him, to be urged on
by the lashings of the man's whip.
Other signs of the pa$k's growing el"
haustlon followed close.
The man now traveled beside the
sledge where tbe trail was rough and
rode where it was smooth and hard.
The deep Imprints of his heeled boots'
in the soft snow showed that be ran
for only a abort distance at a timee.
a hundred yards or less -and that aft-
er each running spell be brought the
pack to a walk. He was heavy and
lacked endurance, and this discovery,
brought a low cry or exultation to
Jan's lips.
He fel* into a dog trot. Mile after
mile dropped behind him. Other miles
were ahead of him, an endless vender-
ness of tulles, and through them the
pack persisted, keeping always beyond
sound and vision.
The starsbegan fading out of the
skies. Jan followed more and more
slowly. There was hard breathing ef-
fort now in his running -effort that
caused him physical pain and disown..
fort. His feet stumbled occasionally,
in the snow. His legs from thigh to
knee began to ache with the gnawing
torment that centers in the marrow
bone, and with this beginning of the
"runner's cramp" he was filled with e
new and poignant terror.
Would the dogs beat him out? Slough.
big in his trail, bleeding at every toet,
would they still drag their burden be-
yond the reach of his vengeance? The
fear fastened itself upon him, urging
him to greaten effort, and he called
upon the last of his strength in a spurt
that carried him to where the thick
spruce gave place to thin bush and the
bush to the barren and rocky side of e
huge ridge, up which the trail climbed
strong and web defined. For a few
paces he followed it, then slipped and
rolled back as the fatal paralysis dead.
ened alt power of movement in his
limbs. He lay where he fell, moaning
out his grief with wide staring eyes
turned straight up into the cold gray
of the starless sky.
For a long time he was motionless.
nen be began slowly to crawl up the
trail. Some of the dub paralytic ae.he
was gone from his limbs, and as tie
worked his blood began to warm them
into new strength until he stood up
and sniffed like an animal in the wind
that was coming over the ridge .from
the south.
There was something in that wind
that thrilled hire. It stung his nostrils
to a quick sensing of the nearnese
of something that was human. He
smelled smoke. In it there was the
pungent odor of green balsam mixed
with 'a faint perfume df pitch pine,
and because the odor of pitch grew
stronger as he ascended he knew that
it was a small fire that was making
the smoke, with none et the fierce, dry
woods to burn up the smell. It wee
a fire hidden among the rocks, a tiny
tire, over which the fleeing mlastoner
was cooking hie breakfast
Jan almost moaned aloud In his glad
nese, and the old mad strength return.
ed to his body. Near the summit ot
the ridge he picked 'up a Wale It will
a short, thick club with tho Meaty end
knotted and twisted;
Cahtioudly he lilted his Awe dyer the
rocks and looked out upon a elated*
still deep in 'most swept bare by, the
winter's Winds and covered with recta
and. bushes His face was so White
that ata littledietiiiico it might hail
been taken; for restos" hares It Wald
whiter when a few yards away lie- sit*
the lora the man and the dogs, -
'The milt was dote to the little blame
bis• broad shoulders hunched•.evea
steadying a brpall pot over the dame
Eilyond bim Were the dogs hnddded
about the sledge, Jhanlabate ae detlith.. '
.Jan drew i birfrselt over the eremite
Once he had seen a big footed, .lye
Weep ddond tnide'•ttW ere fol, and. like
Oust lens,. he crept :Upon the meth . hat
side the fire. One of the tired dogs
!moved," and- nils pointed nostrils quer-
;Wed 1tr the air. Jars lay eat la Mt
shod. Then the dog's muzzle dr'cippet
bbtvlreels itis ps sb,dad. the boa Moved
oh.
Indy by.
inch he advanced. The tumid
ea' ititwltiplled'theitatil'ites into of toot;;
the foot tengthhened into y'atds, 554
l 111 12ie man remained bnucbed beet
bis etmtnerfhg pet, In a dash Jeff took
the lest lettee .lend his doh Ct153 a
e own Wen the1. itilasiohef's hours Tits'.
teen 1 ithlikell iriteaf" like a It*, and, Wi1D
4 apte111.ort, thbly.-wes *:WI uironteii?
ant'', Jet > teepee" "M sh1fekeit
"I ate Jet Thcitesee-Jest 'bliifeltD'
lolledal` iehalt " 41i' ;,'04 It -4$s set u
e
club miff vvas upon i tib" Cg 5
his slender fingers tightening like stele
trice about the thick throat Of bee 66
ploy. "1 keel eel yon slaw -'slow!" he cele ,
se the missioner struggled weakly.
The great thick body heaved nodal ;
11:114,, and lie put. ay his strength WWI
his hands. Somethiug struck him in
tbe face. Something struck him agalt
and again, but he felt neither the pain
nor the force ot it, and his voice sob-
bed out bis triumph as he choked. The
man's hangs reached up and tore at
his hair, but Jan saw only the mis
sioner's mottled face growing more
mottled and his eyes staring in greater
agony up into his own.
"1 am Jan Thoreau," he panted again
and again. "I am Jan Thoreau, an' I
keel you -keel you!"
The blood poured from his face. It
blinded him until be could no longer
see the one from which he was chok-
ing life. Be hent down his bend to .es-
cape the blows. The man's body
heaved more and more; it turned until
be was half under it, but still he hung
to the thick throat, as the weasel hangs
in tenacious death to the jugular of its
prey.
The missioner's weight was upon
him in crushing force now. His huge
hands struck and tore at the boy's head
Theo Was Death In Each of tat. Two
Grips,
and face. and then they had fastened
themselves at his neck. Jan was con-
scious of a terrible effort to take in
breath, but be was not conscious of
pain. The clutch did not frighten. him.
It did not make bite loosen bis grip.
His fingers dug deeper. He strove to
cry o'nt still his words of triumph. bet
he could make no sound, except a gasp-
ing like that which came from between
the gaping jaws of the man whose life
his body and soul were fighting to
smother.
There was death in each of the two
grips. but the man's was stronger. and
his neck Wes larger and tougher, so
that after a time he staggered to his
knees and then to his feet, while Jan
lay upon his back, his fade and hair
red with blood, his eyes wide open and
with a lifeless glare in them. The mis-
sioner looked down upon his victim in
horror. As the life that bad nearly
ebbed out of him poured back into his
body he staggered among the doge.
fastened them to the sledge and urged
them down the mountain int, the plain.
There was soon no sound of the sledge.
* e s •: s . ,a i.
Half a mile demi the ridge, Where it
eloped up gradually Froin the forests
and swamps of the plain, a team of
powerful malertiutei Were running at
the head of a toboggan.` On the sledge
was a young half Cree woman. Now
beside the sledge, now at the head of
the dogs, cracking bis 'whip and about -
big joyously, ran Jeh51 dieGravbba.
He was bringing back With hire a
splendid young woman 'with big hue
than; eyea and hair`' that-ehone with
the gloss of a raven's wing in the soil.
She laughed at barn proudly as he
danced and leaped beside her. Meil-
ing softly le Cree, which Is the most
betntiful Itingnege ill the *bald, to
everything that he sea
J 1p cracked leaped and rain cr
ac ed lit*
earthed whip and Shouted and sting
until he was panting and red in the
face. /est as toW*ka heti called upon '
him to atop ani' get it second wind the
inalefmntes dropped back upon thele
ketincties Where Jan Thoreau lay,
tWiated and bleeding. In tIi4 snove
"What is this?" cried Jest.
1 He Wight Nue. �� hemp head *54
*boulders up di hid Midis led eddied
Wetly to It ilikI;'Ikthe teaeelkInta5'
sling herself *OM the thick fur* le
Which :let had. Wfpld her,
PALPITATION
OF THE
HEART.
Sudden fright or emotion may cause a
momentary arrest of the heart's action,
or some excitement or apprehension May
set up a rapid action of the heart thereby
causing palpitation,
Palpitation, again, is often the result
of digestive disorders arising front the
stomach„ or may be the result of over
indulgence of tobacco or alcoholic drinks.
The only way to regulate this serious
heart, trouble is to use Milburn's Heart
and Nerve Pills,
Mrs. J. S. Nicholls, I.istowell, Ont.,
writes: "I was weak and run down, my
heart would palpitate and I would take
weak and dizzy spells. friendad-
vised
vised me to try iburn's .eart and
Nerve Pills,. so I started et once to use
them, and found that I felt much
stronger. I cannot praise your medicine
too highly, for it has done ine a world of
goad."
Ivlilburn's Heart and Nerve Pills are
SOc per box, 3 boxes for 81.25; at all
dealers, • or mailed direct by The T.
Milburn Co., !,united, Toronto. Oat.
"It is the fiddler 1 tad you about,
who lives with Williams at Yost 1 -.ac
Bain!" he shouted excitedly in Cree.
"He bas peen murdered. Be has
been choked to deatb and torn to
pieces to the trice as If by an animal."
Jean's eyes roved about as lowaka
kneeled beside him. "What a fight!"
ne gasped. "See the footprints -a big
man and n small boy. and the mur-
derer has gone on a sledge!"
"He is warts." saki lowaka. "It
inn%' he tint ne is not dead,"
Jean de ciravnis sprang to his feet,
his tittte meek eyes flashing with a
dericernus lire. to a single leap he
www et the Ride ot the sledge throw -
Inc ett'tm airs and bundles and all
other oheelts except his ride.
'tea Is 'rend. lowaka. Look at the
purple and black in his face, It is
?esti de Gravels who will catch the
murderer, and yon will stay here and
make yourself a camp. Bi-o-teceol"
he shouted to the malemutes.
The team twisted sinuously and
swiftly in the trail as be sped over the
edge of the.mountain. Open the plain
below be knelt upon the toboggan, wit,
his rifle in front of him, and at his low,
hissing commands. which reached no
farther than the dogs' ears, the team
stretched their long bodies in pursuit
of the missioner and his huskies.
Jean knew that whoever was ahead
of him was not far away, and he
laughed and hunebed his shoulders
when be saw that his magnificent
malemutes were making three times
the speed of the huskies, It was a
short chase. It led across the narrow
plain and into a dense tangle of swamp,
where the huskies had picked their
way in aimless wandering until they
came out in thick balsam and Bank-
sian pine, Half a mile farther on, and
the trail broke into an open which
led down to the smooth surface of a
lake, and twathirds across the lake
was the fleeing missioner.
CHAPTER V.
for Her.
THE malemute leader flung open
his jaws in a deep baying tri-
umph, and with a savage yell
Jean cracked his caribou whip
over his back. He saw the man ahead
of him lean over the end of his sledge
as be urged his dogs, but the buskies
went no faster, and then he caught a
glitter of something that flashed for a
moment In the sun.
"Aha" said Jean softly as a bullet
sang over his bead. "He fires at Jean
de Gravois!" He dropped . his whip,
andthere was a warm glow of haappf.
ness fn his little dark face as he level-
ed his rifle over the backs of his male -
mutes. "He fires. at Jean de Gravels,
and it is Jean whb can hamstring a
caribou at 300 yards on the rune"
For an instant, at the crack Of his
ride there was no movement ahead,
then something rolled from the sledge
and lay doubled up in the snow. A
hundred yards beyond it the huskies
stopped in a rabble and turned to look
At the,alteralAQhing.:strangers.
oiwkwomommoimmoromb
Your Liver
is Clogged up
natio Why There Tits' Out if
Serto--flaw re Anal&
CARTER'S Lic1TIl
LIVER PILLS
wfli put yes tight
a few days
Tliey de
their duty.
Cure
C•asd.
to*, cath Neches! faei.MD 4 $um* �l hiss.
1p, eeaM►
Genuine sett Caeca Signature
1
llesid'a' it Jeon slopped. and when tie
saw the faee that stared up at bite,
he clutehed his thin hands in .his bong
Meek flair and crleO out in shrill amaze.
n:ent and horror:
""The suints In heaven. tt is the mis-
sioner from Churcbili!"
He turned the Man over and found
where bis bullet bad entered under
one arm and come out from under the
other. There was uo spark at life left.
The missioner was already dead.
"The iniesioner from Cburieill!" he
gasped again.
He looked up at the warm suss and
Melted the melting snow under pts
moccasined feet.
"It will thaw very soon," be said to
himself, looking again at the dead man,
"and then he will go into the lake."
He headed his malemutes back to the
forest. Theo be rataou
out and cut the
traces of the exhausted huskies. and
with his whip scattered them in free•
doe over the ice.
"Go to tbe wolves!" be shouted in
Cree. ' "Hide yourselves from the post,
or Jean de Gravois will rut out your
tongues and take your skins orf sliver"
when he came back to the top et the
mountain Jean found lowaka making
hot coffee, while Jan was bundled up
In furs near the fire.
'"It is as 1 said," she called. "Pie is
alive!"
Tbus it bappened that the return of
Jean de Gravels to the post was even
more dramatic than he had schemed it
to be, for be brought back with him
not only a beautiful wife from Church.
111, but also the half dead Jan Thoreau
from the scene of battle on the moun-
tain. .And in the mystery of it all be
reveled for two days, for Jean de Gra-
vels said not a word about the dead
man on the lake beyond the forest, nor
did the huskies come back into their
bondage to give a hint of the missing
missionary.
• • * * • * •
From the day after the caribou roast
the fur gatherers began scattering.
The Eskimos left the next morning.
On the second day Mukee's people
from tbe west set off along the edge
of the Barrens. Most of the others left
by ones and two into the wilderness
to the south and east.
Less than a dozen still put off their
return to the late spring trapping, and
among these were Jean de Gravels
and his wife. Jean wafted until the
third day. Then he went to see Jan.
The boy was bolstered up in his cot,
with Cummins balancing the little
Melisse on the edge of the bed when
he came in.
For a time Jean sat and watched
them in silence. Tben he made a sign
to Cummins, who joined him at the
door.
"I am going the Athabasca way to-
day," he said. "I wish to talk with
the boy before 1 go. I have a word
to say to him which no ears should
hear but his own. Will it be right?"
"Talk to him as long as you like,"
said Cummins, "but don't worry hint
about the missionary. You'll not get
a word from him."
Jan's eyes spoke with a devotion
greater than words as Jean de Gra-
vels came and sat close beside him.
He knew that it was Jean who bad
brought him alive into the post.
"Ah, it was wan be-e-a'u-tiful fight,"
he said softly. "You are a brave boy,
Jan Thoreau!"
"Yon did not see it?" asked Jan.
Unconsciously the words came from
him in French. Jean caught one ot
his thin bands and laughed joyfully,
for the spirit of him was French to
the bottom of lits soul.
"1 see it? No, neither I nor Iowaka,
but there it was in the snow, as plain
as the eyes in your face, And did 1
not follow the trail that staggered
down the mountain, while Iowake
brought yon back to life? And when
l came to the lake did I not see some
thing black out upon it, like a charred
log? And' when I Came to it was it
not the dead body of the missioner
from Churchill? Eh, Jan Thoreau?'
Jan sat up in his bed. with a eharq
"The thaw will open up the lake in
a few days. Then be will go down in
the first slush." And Jean looked about
Wm cautiously again and whispered
tow -"if you see anything about the
dead missioner that you do not under.
stand think of Jean de Gravels."
He rose to his feet and bent over
Jan"s white face.
"I am going the Athabasca way to-
day," he finished. "Perhaps, Jan Thor-
eau, you will bear after a time that it
would be best for Jean de Gravels
never to return again to tbis Post Lac
Bain. If so you will find him be-
tween Fond du Lac and the beaver
river." He passed out
When Cummins returned he found
Jan's cheeks flushed and the boy in a
fever.
"Devil take that Gravoter' he gtowt
ed.
"He hat been a brother to ane." said
Jan simply. "I love hint,"
On the second day after the French-
man's departure Jan rose free of the
fever which bad threatened him for a
tithe. earl in the afternoon he hare
bested Ctiremins' doge. The last of the
trappers bad started from the poet that
Morning, their sledges and dogs sink.
Ing heavily in the deepening slush, and
Jan set tlf' ,ver the smooth toboggan
y con an
trail made b the 's a . teen t ill
p y
his return to Port Churchill
This trail folicieved close along the
babe of the ridge upon *bleb he had
fought the missionary, joining that of
Jean de (Revolt miles beyond Jan
climbed the ridge. From 'Were he had
made his attack he Minted the Iai«
meet nbftterated trail Of the. Wench-
i hen and hie malemutes until be rem*
to the fake. and then he knelt that
Jelin de 4Jrlsvole bad Spoken the teeth,
toe lire l'otkad, lbe'.tnlssioitaryr With tits
face belt burled In the *Web. stark
tJt.
Qtandren Cry for letcher'e
Tho. Ulna Yen
7;r-' .i j sys lemiglnt, end trlikch etas been
in use for o, c:." . ci y eti..s, has bortio the signature OE
mei has been readies under his fere
so:sal stipervision since its infancy.,
.0 C .4 "allow no one to deceive you In tlz1s.
.All Counterfeits, Imitations and s'Just'.osegood" are but
Fxlwriiuents tlnit trifle 'with and endanger the. health OG
Infants and Children— l✓h'perjence against ] epeeianents
What is CASTORIA
Oastoria is a !harmless substitute for Castor Oil, Fares
gorie, laurops and Soothing Syrups. It is pleasant.. It
contains neither ()plum, Morphine nor other Nareetie
substance. Its age is its guarantee. It destroys 'Wornine
and alloys Feverishness. For more than thirty years It
has been in constant use for the relief of Constipation,
Flatulency,, Wind Colic, all 'teething Troubles and
7aiarrltoea. ?It rer;ulates the Stomach and Bowels,
assimilates the Food, giving healthyand natural !Sleep,
The Children's, Panacea -The alether's Friend.
GENUINE CASTORIA ALWAYSI
Bears the Signature of
In Use For Over 30 Years
The Kind You Have Always Bought
THE CENTAUR COMPANY, NEW YORK CITY.
He no longer had to guess at the
meaning of Jean's words. The bullet
bole under the dead man's arms was
too large to escape eyes Like Jan's. Into
the little hidden world which be treas-
ured in his heart there came another
face, to remain always with him -the
face;of the courageous little forest
dandy who was hurrying with his
bride back Into the country of the
Athabasca.
From that night Jan's eyes were no
longer filled with the nervous, glitter-
ing flashes which at times had given
him an appearance almost of madness.
In place of their searching suspicions,
there was a warmer and more com-
panionable glow. and Cummins felt
the effect of the change,
A Ciee trapper bad found Jan's vio-
lin in the snow and had brought it to
Meballa. Before Cummins finished his
supper the boy began to play, and lee
continued to play until the lights at
the post went out and both the man
and the child were deep in sleep.
Then Jan stopped. There was the fire
of a keen wakefulness in his eyes as
he carefully unfastened the strings of
bis instrument and bold it close to the
oil lamp, so that he could peer down
through the narrow aperture in the
box.
He looked again at Cummins. The
man was sleeping with bis face to the
wall. With the hooked wire which he
used for cleaning his revolver Jan
fished gently at the very end of the
box, and after three or four efforts
the wire caught in something soft,
which he pulled toward him. Through
the bulge in the "Jr' hole he dragged
forth a small, tightly rolled- cylinder
of faded'red cloth.
For a few moments he sat watching
the deep breathing of Cummins, un-
rolling the cloth as he watched, until
be had spread out upon the table be-
fore him a number of closely Written
pages of paper. $e weighted them at
one end with his violin and held them
down at the other with his bands.
The writing was in French. Several
of the pages were in a heavy mascu-
line hand, the words running one upon
another so Closely that in places they
seemed to be connected, and from
them Jan took his fingers, so that they
rolled up like a spring. Over the oth-
ers he bent his head, and there came
from him a low, sobbing breath.
On these pages the writing was that
of a woman, and from the paper there
stili rose a faint, sweet scent of helio-
trope. Pair half an hour Jan gazed
upon them, reading the words slowly
until he mime to the last page.
A, mit end etrange longing crept
into his heart. Be Stretched out his
arms, with the papers and his violin
clutched in his hands, as if a wonder,
fel Splrit was calling to him..
Por the first time in his lonely life
It came to him -thee call of the gt'eeat
world beyond the wilderness ---and *ad.
deals* be crushed the women's letter
to leis lips, end bis voice burst from
him is whispering, thrilling eagerness:
"I will come to you -some day --Wen
to leetbs Melisse come too."
He rolled tbe written page* togetb-
er, Wrapped them in the faded red
cloth and concealed theta tgttin in the
box of his violin before be re-entered
the cabin.
The. next morning Quatrain* stood
le the door and Wild:
"How warns the sun tet The snow
and ice are. going, •Jen. Ile epring.
We'll house the sledges today sed
begin feeding the dogs on fish."
Each *it thereafter the tote rose
earlier. the day was longer and the air
Was Wariner, And with they *Wreath
there bods came that *Street *real' tit
the budding earth atilt' the ely *lad
Monde of the deep, unseen fife et the
fhrtest.,;aer keaieg trout Ila+ sang Went-
ber In its -136i of anew,
The post fell back into its old ways.
Now and then a visitor came in from
put of the forest. but be retnalned for
only a day or two, taking hack into
the solitude with him a few of the
secessartes of lite. Williams was busy
m•eparing his hooks for the coming of
.he coceeanv'a meet agent from bon-
ito(. and llulnwms, wild was nelping
the factor, had a good deal of extra.
Uwe on his hands.
Before the last of the snow was
gone he and Jan began dragging in
logs for an addition which they plan-
ned for the little cabin. Basking out:
in the sun, with a huge bearskin for a
Door, Melisse looked upon the new
home building with wonderful demon-
strations of Interest. Cummins' taco
glowed with pleasure as she kicked
and scrambled on the bearskin and
gave shrill voiced approval of their
efforts.
Jan was the happiest youth in the
world. It was certain that the little
Matisse, nearly six months old. under-
stood what they were doing.
As the weather grew warmer and
spring changed into summer Jan took
Melisse upon short excursions with
him into the forests, and be picked
for her great armfuls of foweri
and arctic ferns. The grave was nev-
er without fresh offerings. and the
cabin. with its new addition complete,
was always filled with the beautiful
things that spring up out of the earth.
Jan and Melisse were happy, and in
the joys of these two there was pleas-
ure for the others of the post, as therei
had been happiness in the presence of
the woman. -Only upon Cummins had
there settled a. deep grief. The
changes of spring and summer, bring-
ing with them all that this desolate
world held of warmth and beauty, fele
ed him with the excruciating pain of
his great grief, as if the woman had
died but yesterday.
At last, his gaunt frame thinned by;
sleepless nights and days of mental
torture, be said that the company's
business was calling him to Churchill,
and early in August he left for the
bay. He left Melisse in care of Jan,
and the child seemed to recognize the
guardianship.
When Cummins came back from
,Fort Churchill in the autumn he
brought with him a pack full of things
for Melisse, including new books and
papers, for which he had spent a share
of his season's earnings. As he was
freeing these treasures from their
wrapping of soft caribou skin, with
Jan and' Melisse both looking on, her
stopped suddenly and glanced from his
knees up at the boy.
"They're Wondering over at Church-
ill what became of the missionary who
left with the imafl, Jan. They say he
was last Seen at the lttawney"
"And tot here?" replied Jain quickly.
"Not that they knot, of," said Cum-
mins, still keeping his eyes on the
boy. "The than who drove him never
got back to Churchill. They're won-
dering where the driver went tea. Ai
company officer has gone up to the
Etawney, and it 16 possible he may
come bier to Lae 1,3ain. I don't believe
he'll find the missionary."
"Neither do I," eafd Jan quite coolly'.
" probably
e !bdesdr and thewolves,
and foxes have eaten him before thIs--
or zriebby ze feeshd"
OUnitnins resented bis task of um.
packing, and among this kooks *Welt
be briuigh't forth. there Were ' WO -Which
be Axe to,Jen.
8
m a' BR crold"J1N'tirzo