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Give Jewelry | i] For Chris mas This year we have the finest selection we ever had, . ; All kinds of Silverware Diamond Set and all other. kinds Gold Rings Broaches, Cut Glass and Ivory Goods Just let u us know you needa and. we will send on approval foryour selection- Join Bulger Limited Jeweller ; ~ At the Clock on the: Street a PRIN CE, RUPERT. ye me oo = a” 3 ;had published it in Albany; soon it {her again, her heavy hai. touched, by. 4, R wits |. _PROVIN (CIAL ‘ASSAYER "Prick lata uent on, i reaest: Great Foneter Bit YaNcooren, nel] Mea Marooned ‘BY GEORGE MARSH . Now, I want to give you fair warning that some of your people hare come to us this. summer of their own accord There’s an Indian’ who claims you stole his daughter—" “What! That. skunk of an Oijbwa? Tle tells you that?’ Guthrie sickened at the thought of Ninda’s memory. be- ing made the catspaw of Indian gossip. “That's what he claims, Its none of my business, but he’ 's got it in for yon. So don’t: blame us. He's working for us, of course, for the ‘fur. " * “A girl he claimed as his daughter “ime to Blkwan in June, dying with tuberculosis,” said Garth quietly. “éShe ‘Twants his revenge. Just tell him Mr. —" “Skene” prompted the other. “Just tell -him for, me, Mr. Skene, that I'll give him te the dog if he shows up at the post. He knows Shot” _ “Looks like a tough old veteran," commented Skene admiringly glanc- ing ot the aeredale, tense as a statute, hair and tail up, bristling at his stuke. “He is, He's nn overseas man. He would. tear that Indian’s throat ont in one snap.” “There’s another matter tuo,” con- tinned Garth, “When your people the coast, une of them—tfellow. with a black beard—tried souiething that will get him knifed if he shows up at the couldn’t travel, we took care of her un til! she died. He tried to hold me up —for stuff. I kicked him out, so he host nguin.” At the words Etienne slowly moved up to’ 1 position beside Guthrie, his right hand vesting care- lessly on his hip, his fingers touching the bone handle of his sheath knife. The bearded lender of the sailors took 4 curious look at the flint-like face of the half-brecd, and smileil- indifferent- ly at the threat. “Just tell him for me will you 'to keep away from Elkwan.” “Oh, you mean Binck Breault. He's sailing muster—owns the schooner. I am the mute. He's a bit rough, I'll ad- mit, but don’t make any mistake about who’s boss. MeDonald's ‘running: this party.” “Phat’s why I’m asking you to tell McDonald that we won't stand for manbandling women on this coast,” insisted Guthrie, “Right-o, Plt tell him, Well, we'll be off,” anid the big sailor offering bis hand, which Guthrie shook. “én glad to meet a reasonable Hudson Bry man and one who wasn't sitting snug onthe bay when te hed our backs to the wall in front of Amiens.” And as Garth stood pondering the remarks, Skene turned and Joining his men, walked to the bont with a Jimp. He too, thought the man who watched is wearing his service stripe. The sail- ors Inunched their boat in the rising: tide, and poling it out to the deeper Waiter, row ed away. So the memory of Nindo was to be mouthed on evil tongues? The story was going out among the Crees that: the factor at Elkwan had fuken her from her family. It was. the kind of tale only too. readily believed. Jude- ing from the coolness of Swan, the, missionary, Quarrier, without ” doubt. would be the property of: the whole of tlie west coast. Poor, loyal. Niida! Then, the thought of one who had seen J. and: understood cnine- Hike the. breath of cleat. olr from, the spruce, . He saw. the moonlight, hor fine davk eyes with> the questioning -look, as she said sald : : ‘Good-by, Mr. Buxile.’ nm” reo * . cHAPTER vv “the winter wood. “ent, the. geese -anlt- se came to Elkwan when we were down “How many of our people sre winter- ing on the island?" asked Garth. The halt breed closed his small eye, his face contracted into a network of lines as he counted the families, which had, through the. summer, crossed the strait to hunt on the great ilsland, in- steud of taking the river trail to the forest and muskegs of the Elkwan headwaters. . “We got tw ely e—fifteen mmnter dere "| Tttawapiskat und Kapiskau sot morn dat + “phat means a lot of fox pelts if the mice aut rabbits are plentiful, and the littera came through the summer.” Ettenne scowled. ' We not got mooch of cet,” he murmured, ‘Dem people geeve de hunter beeg price.” It was true. Cut off from the island until the ice set hard, as the post was, while the hunters could reach, the schooner wintering at Seal Cove and get nore for their fur, the outlook was indeed gloomy. But Garth had no idea of allowing these strangers to come into his territory and take the valuable fox trade of ‘Atkimiski away from him without a struggle. While he remained in the employ of the com- pany he would give the best that he had of loyalty and service. His pride was involved, nnd as he searched for a solution of the problem which the pre sence. of this schooner presented, the desire to. bent this freetrader in his bold try for the priceless silver and black fox of Akimiskl obessed his thoughts. | From Graman at Attnwapiskat auc Boucher . at Kapiskan, he «anticipated little aid or comfort. The former was an inactive, oklish man with a largc up-river trade, and Boucher, according to Cameron’ at Albany, ‘nlready in e panic over the rumour ‘of the machine guns aboard MeDonald’s schooner. . So Garth had decided that he would ig- nore his colleagues on the coast south of him and play a lone. hand. ‘For a spnee the two men nursed their pipes in silence; then: the face of the white man suddenly lighted. “Saul Souci!” he cried. ‘Why did-| n’t we think of him before? Etienne. we'll hunt up old Saul and send him to winter on the island. He's got: two ov three sons there, and hesides being Treaty Chief of the Crees, he is a sort of a medicine‘inan, shaman, isn’t it?" Blowing a cloud of smoke through his teeth the half-breed grunted- his disapproval, “Ee winter on the Little Elkwan—up - ‘in dee. Winisk countree. Heet will tak long tam to. find heem,” “Oh, I know it will be difficult to get him across the strait before the ice, but w ell put him over somehow,” “We. ‘got ‘frozen in wid our cance up riviere,” protested the hard herded bush man. . “We'll tnke a birelt ennoe and lenye it—~carry the. little tobaggan to. come; out. with—the dogs can .follow’ the shore going up,” urged. the enthused Guthrie. ™ Knowing the eountry Etienne reall. zed only too well the diffientty of tra- velling betw eel SCNSOnS; brerking the: young ice in the quiet "Teaches ‘ot the river until ‘compelled td :nbandon the ennoe; then the wait for the closing of the stream ind the snow. : For ‘weeks. the thin ice of. the Elk- wan would! be a trap. for. the. unw. ary, dog:team, To the trathvise | Bitlenne. it’ was a: foolish venture; td the man whose only thought : was the. salvage of | the. ‘fax. trade, a necessity. ‘ ae ‘““How-you get--heem to de. island?” : “te the: cliannel and ‘straits: are open, Tl wite: of the mad purpose of Guthrie long now matil the big snow,” “‘yourh- safed the hunter, lighting-his pipe. snow?” .— but the lynx and fox seein * the valley,” jimark, ki. rd old, but the half-breed knew tht be would need every possible iurgmment to gain Souci's ear to- the propusition. them nye’ there, Mee Sal the. island, ae frowning face of: ‘his wife.’ well take him'in the York boat. We . ean ‘wait for the wind and if. t-there isn’t | rep ed: ‘and cached, ‘the whitefish’ platforn 50 Fly 5 Poadak jeroaning with.” eee poll of! the. nets —, we are two- dom fool! yor . ; “But: We've got | to give these people a fight for that far—its. worth thous- ands tous”: . : “AML right, Boss, ' we _fight. ” But - when the veteran voyager told his her dark face greyed with fear at the thought of the November- journey’ over tthe thin ice of the Blkwean. © For a week with his two ‘huskies Castor and Pollux; and Shot, follow- ing opposite banks of the river to avoid fighting, "Garth and “ Wittenne poled and paddled and tracked: past black spruce and-popular grown shores from the Intter of which the * frost had : stripped the leaves. At the mouth of, tle Little ‘Elkwan : the. winter suddenly shut down, -lock- ing lakes and dead waters with a sbell too thick for their battering poles to . break a ¢hannel through for. their ™ canoe, - and the qnen in search of Saul | Souci were prisoners. Somew here up the little Eliwan ran the trap lines’ of the man, to reach whom they had slaved for days with ice-crusted poles and piddies, and freezing hands, while their hot breaths rose in columns on the keen air; but until a fall of snow or some bitter nights to bridge the riv- er trail, they could not move. How. ever, there were five hungry mouths to feed, so they hunted back in the mus- keg for Caribou. At last when severe frost had sealed the slower flowing reaches of the river with three-inch ice, they hitched the huskies and start- ed, Shot,; who the winter previous had learned: to draw Garth’s trapping sled, refusing to team with the larger dogs, ran loose, .The second day out thoy learned of an Indiin that Souci's ain camp was two sleeps up the river, And thanks to the trnined eyes of Etienne, the sled avoided the traps of shell ice over the swift water and the second night turn: ed inte a winter eamp, At the challenge of his dogs Saul Souci, Treaty Chief of the Elkwans Crees, lean, grizzled, ‘taciturn, with bony features, over which. Jenther-like *- skin. lined «with rinkles.was tightly -. drawn, ‘pushed through the flap ‘of his von tipi. -. : “Kequay he nid, showing. no. sur-- prize at the strange appearance | of the Hlkwan. people one: hundred’ and fitty niles inland at.a time’when no sane Indian travelled the river. The three shook lands and, first feeding and chaining the dogs to trees, entered the smoky tent where Saul’s wife and. two sons Were eating from a copper kettle. Not wntil his guesis had been served avith caribou stew and ten did Souci question them as to the purpose of thelr coming. Then he said in Cree, which Ltienne interpreted to Garth: “Yon take a hard moon to travel up the Elikwan” ™ eWe could not wait so » started in- the canoe,” replied Btienue in the sume — language. “You did nat irenk throw the ice’ a. No. y > . “The poese have passed, it will not be “How are the gana 3 sig DS Hice the “There:nre plenty of nilnk and. orter ’ ; i have ieft ; Etienne’s eyes bento nt. the re- “There is much ‘fox sign at Akins This’ was hearsay over. month - “My ‘sons - will be. glad. Dives. ; i ‘of. “We: have’ cone ‘to: tall: “tt fon ant : 4 4 an nal at “Souel’s, face ‘clouded as: fhe’ ith