The Holly chieftain., 1909-07-30

he stood up to his full height. shak-
ing and weak A. the water that drip
ped from him, the very bones In him
dissolved. For the first time he ut
tered words. "Tank God. ba gosh!"
and ran bis hand up over his wet face
"Where is heY' She started to her
knees affrightedly; then. seeing the
twisted. sprawling figure beyond. be-
gan to shudder. "He-he's deadT'
II don't know" said Poleon careless
ly. You feel 1t purity good now. eh.
lw'atr
"YeslI-he struck mel" The remem-
brance Of what had occurred sursed
over her. and she buried her face in
her hands. "Oh. Poleon. Poleon! He
was q dreadful man."
"He dom trouble you no more"
"He tried-he- Ugh! FIN glad
you did itr' She broke down. trem-
bling at her escape. until her selfish
nAss smote her. and she was up and
beside him on the instant Are you
hurt? Oh. never thought Of that!
You must be wounded"
The Frenchman felt himself over and
loobed down at his limbs for the first
time. mo; guess not" he said. at
which Necia noticed his meager attire.
and simultaneously he became con-
! scious Of It. He fell away pace. cast
ing his eyes over the river for bis
canoe, which was now a speck in the
Aistaacs.
-Ba gosh! I'm h-l of ting for
Sookin' at" he said. I'm paddle hard:
OATS wy. sacre. how sweatr' He
hitcbed nervously at the band Of his
overaIls. while Necia answered:
That's all right, Poleon." Then.
without warning. her face froze with
mingled repulsion and wonder "I.ook.
lookr she whispered, pointing past
him
Runnion was moving slowly. crawl
ing painfully into sitting posture. up
lifting q terribly mutilated face. dazed
and half conscious, cropping for possess
sion Of his wits He saw them and
grimaced frightfully. covering and
crtngfng.
Poleon felt the girls hand upon bis
arm and heard her crying In hard.
UAAkP y NOlSCs
"He needs killing! Put him awayw
He stared down at his gentle Necia
and saw the loathing In her face and
the look Of strange ferocity as she
met his eycs boldly.
"You don't know what he-what he
did," she said through her shut teeth.
"He" But the man waited to hear
no more.
Runnion saw him coming and scram-
bled frantically to all fours. then got
on his feet and staggered down the
bar. AS Poleon overlook him he cried
out piteously. shrill scream of terror.
and, falling to his knees. groveled and
debased himself like a foul cripple at
fear OF the lash. His agony dispelled
the savage faint of Alluna's aboriginal
training In Necia. and the pure white
blood Of her ancestors cried out:
"Poleon. Poleon-not that!' She hur-
Hed after him to where he paused above
the wretch waiting for her. "You
mustn't" she said "That would be
murder, and-and-it's all over now"
The Frenchman looked at her won
deringly. not comprehending this sud
den leniency.
"Let him alone. You've nearly kill
cd him. That's enough" whereat
Runnion. broken in body and spirit
began to beg for his life.
"W'at's dat you say JUS now?" Do
ret asked the girl. "was dat de truth
for sure wat you speak,"
"Yes but you've done your work
Don't touch him again"
observe it, added his entreaty to hers
~I'm beaten. Doret You broke me
to pieces. need help-I-I'm hurt"
swat you spec do wit Imp" the
Canadian asked. and she answered:
II suppose we'll have to take him
where he can get assistance"
"Dat skin ain carry all tree OF u.s."
''I'll stay here" groaned the fright
ened man. "I'll wait for steamer to
pick me up. but for Gods sake don't
touch me again!"
Poleon looked him over carefully and
made up his mind that the man was
more injured In spirit than In body,
for outside Of his battered muscles he
showed no fatal symptoms Although
the voyageur was slower to anger than
a child. a grudge never died in him,
and his simple self taught creed knew
no forgiveness for such men az Run.
nion. cherished no mercy for proving
men OF beasts He glanced toward the