Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-03-25
THE.
BARRIER
By Rex Beach
Copyright, 1903. by Harper & Brothers
CHAPTER " CONTINUED

NO; she must stay here" Gale re.
piled, with decision. The man has
come here to live. so 1t won't do any
good to send her away, ana, after oil,
what is to be will be. But she must
never be seen in that dance girls dress
again, at least not till learn more
about this Stark. 1t makes no differ
ence whether this one Is the man or
not. He will come, and l shall know
him. For year l have felt that the
time was growing short, and now
know It,"
mo. no. Alluna cried. I'VE have
no strangers here. No white men ex-
cept the soldiers and this one have
como IN year. This is but little
trading post"
1T was yesterday. but 1t isn't to-
day. Lee has made strike like the
one George Cnrmack made on the
Klondikc. He came to tell the and
Poleon, and we are going back with
him tonight, but you must say moth
ing or it will start n stampede"
"Other men will come--a great many
VI lbeh' lutcifcsd-cO 'hiluuu lCdEluH
ly, ignoring utterly the momentous
news.
''Yes. Flambeau will be another
Dawson If this find is what Lee thinks
It Is, stayed Away from the upper
country bees: sc knew crowds Of men
would come from the States, and
feared that he nigh be among them
but it's no use hiding any longer.
There's no other place for us to 60. If
Lee has got mine I'll have the one
next to it, for we Will be the first ones
on the ground. What happens after
that won't matter much. You four will
be provided for. We are to leave in an
hour. one ut Il time, to avoid COM
ment."
"But why did this man stop here7r
insisted the woman "Wh5 die he nos
stay on the steamboat and &C to Da,~.
SOM
Hes a friend Of Lee'- He is going
with u.s." Then he added. almost In a
whisper. Before we return l shall
know"
Alluna seized his arm. Promise to
come back. John. Promise that you
will come back even If this should b.
the man."
II promise. Don't worry, little wo.
tan. I'm not ready for a reckoning
bet"
AS he turned away a. laid her hand
On his arm and said:
III you do not know him he vii! nci
know you. Is It not SOP
Eyes"
"Then the rest is easy"
But he only SHOOK hA head, doub3
fully and answered. Perhaps. l am
not sure" and went inside, where h.
made up light pack Of bacon. -four
Dud tea. pail or two. & coffeepot and
q frying pan. which he rolled inside =
robe of rabbit skin and bound abou:
In turn with light tarpauln. 1t did
not weigh thirty pounds in all. Select
Ing new pair of water boots. he
stuffed dry grass inside them. oiled up
his six shooter. then slipped out the
back way ard iii five minutes was hid
den in the thickets. Half an hour
later. having completed detour OF
the town, be struck the trail to the In.
terror, where he found Poleon DOret
equipped in a similar manner resting
beside stream, singing the songs OF
his people.
Wnen Burrell returned 20 urs uua =
tiers he tried to mitigate the feeling OF
lonesomeneaa thas oppressed him by
tcckliny his neglected correspondence
Somehow today the sense Of his isola
ton ha1 come over him stronger thar
ever Hts rank forbade any intimacy
with his miserable handful Of men
who had already fallen into the mo
notony of routine, while every friend
~ overture he made toward the citi
Zens OF Flamseau was met with dis
trust and GOODNESS, his stripes Of Office
seeming to erect barrier and Undue,
IN ostyacism stronger and more com
plete than If they had been emblenl
OF the penitertiary. Even Doret ant
the trader seemed to share the genera
feeling, hence the thought Of the long
lonesome winter approaching reduced
the lieutenant to state Of black de
Gpondenc.'. deepened by the knowledg
that he now had an open enemy il
camp Ii the person Of Runnion. Then
too, he had taken n morbid DISLIKE t
the new man, Stark. SO that all in al
the youth felt lie had good reason to b
In the dumps this afternoon. Their
was nothing desirable In this place
everything ndesirable-except Necia
Her presence In Flambeau went ia
toward making his humdrum existenc
bearable, but of late he had foun
himself dwelling with growing ser
BUSINESS on the unhappy circumstance
Of her birth and had almost made u
his mind that it would be wise not t
see her any more. The tempting visio
Of her in the ball dress remained vivid
ly In his imagination, causing hir
hours of sweet torment. There was
sparkle. fiIeness, a gentleness, abor
her that seemed to make the few W.
men he had known we'll dull and con
monplace, and even his sister, who,
till now he had held as the perfectlo
Of all things feminine, suffered
comparison with this maiden Of til
frontier.
He was stepped in this sweet, gray
melancholy when knock came at b
door, and he arose TO find Necia he
self there, excited and radiant. ST
came in without sign of embarras
ment or slightest consciousness Of I'll