Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1909-04-10
CHATTER I.


many counted him us n
friend. The latter never rca-
soned why, except that lie hud done
them favors, AID In the north that
counts for much. Perhaps they built
likewise upon the fact that he wuH ever
the same to all and that In days OF
plenty or In times Of famine his store
was orCl 70 every man, ard all rccclv.
ed the same measure. Nor did he raise
his prices when the boats were late.
They recalled one bleak and bustcry
autumn when the steamer sank at the
Lower Ramparts. taking with her all
their winters food. how he ckcd out
his scanty stock, dealing TO each and
every one his portion month by month.
They remembered well the bitter win
ter that followed. when the slectcr Of
famine haunted their cabins and when
for cudless periods they clnchcd their
belts and cursed and went hungry to
sleep, accepting day by day the m.
tons dolcd cut TO them by tho grim.
gray man at the log store. Some OF
them had money belts weighted low
with gold washed from the bars ut
Forty Mile, and there were others who
had wandered In from the KOyuliuk
with the first frCsts. fOOtsUre and drag
ging, the legs OF their skin boots eaten
to the ankle and the taste Of dog meat
stlll In their mouths. Broken and dis
piritcd. these had Jared as we'll through
that desperate winter ns their brothers
from up river and received pound for
pound of musty -four, strip for strip OF
rusty bacon, lump for lump Of precious
sugar. Moreover, the price OF no single
thing had rlsen throughout the famine.
lie mixed In 10 mans business. He
took and paid his dues unfalterlngly.
lie spoke IN level voice. ana he smll.
ed but rarely. lie gazed at stranger
once and weighed him carefully; there.
after his eyes sought the distances
again, rs II In search Of some visitor
whom he knew or hoped or feared
would come.
This day lie stood In the door of his
post staring up the sunlit river, alb
sorblng the warmth Of the arctic after
noon. The Yukon swept down around
the great bend beneath the high, cut
banks and past the little town, disap-
pcarlng behind the wooded point be-
low, which masked the upcoming
steamers Till one heard the signing la
Dor of thelru9tacks before he saw their
smoke.
The sound of shouting caused him
to turn his head. Downstream, II thou
sand yards away, men were raising II
ilnpgtnm mazda from tho nf an
slender fir, from which the bark had
been stripped, hcavlng on their tackle
as they sang In unison. They stood
well out upon the rivers bank before
II group of well made houses, the peel
cd timbers Of which shOue yellow In
the sun. lie noted the symmetrical
arrangement OF the buildings, noted
the space about them that had been
smoothed for II drill ground and from
which the stumps had been removed,
noted that the men Wore suits of blue
and noted In particular the figure Of
an officer commanding them.
The lines about the traders mouth
deopened, and his heavy brows cen
tructel.
THAT means the law" he murmured
half aloud.
lie stood 80, medltatIng somberly,
TIL the fragment Of song hummcd
lightly by II girl fell pleasantly on his
ears, whercupon the shadows vanished
from his face, and he turned expect
antly, the edges Of his teeth showing
beneath his mustache, the corners Of
his eyes wrInklng with pleasure.
The sight was good to him, for the
girl approaching down the trail was
like some wood sprite, light footed,
slender and dark, with twin braids Of
hair to her waist framing an oval
face colored By the wind and sun. She
was very beautiful, and n great fever
surgcd up through the old mans veins
till he gripped the boards at his side