The newspaper., 1908-02-07

he had seen hundreds of them. 1t was
not long ere he had won her conf
dence and goodwill, as he had Ray S,
and then he took Martin aside.
That gals chaser's bin here bout
a week ago." he said. AN the worst
lookin' cuss | ever seen. / know from
his description twas him. He kept
quizzin' me ez to how long we'd been
here, If | knew Mcguire, or had seen
him lately, until l got sorter riled n
began to string him. ] told him final
ly that I'd been foolin' all long; that
Mcclure was a friend o mine; that
he'd been here day or two afore, bor-
rowed some money n lit out fer Can
ada, KNOWN there was bad man
arter him. Then this one-eyed gazoo
got mad, real mad, n said things, an
then he cleared out"
When Martin explained the situa-
ton, as he now did, Old Cy chuckled.
"'Tain't often one shoots in the dark
n makes a bull's-eye." he said.
Il think you and | had better keep
mum about this half-breed's call.
Martin added quietly. 'and If Angle
mentions it. you needn't say that you
know who he was. 1t will only make
my wife and the girl nervous"
The two tents were now pitched at
the head of a cove. some rods away
from the hermit's hut, and well out Of
sight from the landing. and to these
both Angie and Chip were assured
they must fee as soon as the expected
bateau entered the lake. and remain
secluded until 1t had departed.
In a way. II was a ticklish situation
All knowledge that this waif was with
Martins party must be kept from
Tins Place and this half-breed. or she
wouldn't be safe an hour; and until
the Canucks had come and gone. she
must be kept hidden. Another and
quite a serious annoyance to Martin
was the fact that he had counted on
these two men as helpers in cutting
and hauling logs for this new camp.
Only man-power was available. and
TO move logs foot in diameter and
20 feet long. in midsummer. was no
easy task; but Levi. more experienced
in camp-building. made light OF IT,
Wen cut the logs We need. clus to
the lake" he said. float 'em round.
n roll 'em up on skids. It's easy
'nough. n we don't need them Ca.
nuckcrs round a mint"
II was four days OF keen suspense to
Chip before they appeared. Neither
she nor Angie left the closed tent
while they remained over night. or
until they had been gone many hours.
and then every one felt easier.
The ringing sound Of axes now be-
gan to echo over the rippled lake. logs
were towed across with canoes. cell
lar under the new cabin site was ex-
cavated. and homebullding in the Wild
erness went merrily on.
While the men worked. Angie and
Chip were not idle. Not only did they
have meals to prepare over n rude out.
door fireplace. but they gathered grass
and moss for beds. wove a hammock
and rustic chair seats out OF sedge
grass. and countless other useful aids.
Chip was especially helpful and more
grateful than a dog for any and all
consideration. Not a step that she
could take or a bit of work that she
could do was left to Angle: her inter
est and do-all-she-could desire never
tagged. and from early morn until the
supper dishes were washed and wiped.
Chip was busy
But Martin. and especially Levi. had
other causes for worry than those
which camp-building entailed. The
fact that this 'Pernicious Pete" as
Angle had once called him. would soon
learn of their presence here. and hat
ing all awabiding people. as such
forest brigands always do. would nat
urally seek to injure them, was one
cause. Then. there were so many
ways by which he could do harm. a
fire started at one corner of the hut
at midnight. the same Indian-like
malice applied to their two tents. the
stealing of their canoes or the gashlng
of them with hunting knife. and
countless other methods OF venting
spite, presented themselves. In n way.
they were helpless against such a
night-prowling enemy. over one hun.
dred miles separated them from civil.
zation and all assistance: an impass.
able wilderness lay between. The
stream and their canoes were the only
means of egress. These valuable craft
were left out OF sight and sound each
night. on the lake shore. and so their
vulnerability on all sides was mani.
fest.
CTo BE coNTINUED)