The Holly chieftain., 1909-07-30

wooded shores q stones throA above.
then back ut the coward he had beaten
and whose life was forfeit under the
code. There was queer light In his
eyes.
Leave him here. Poleon. Wen 70
away. you and l. In the canoe. and the
first boat will pick him up Come"
Necia tugged at his wrist for fear she
might not prevail. but he was bent on
brushing away handful of hungry
mosquitoes which. warmed by the
growing day. had ventured out on the
river His face became wrinkled and
set.
"Bien" he grunted. Eve lef i'm
here biccause dere amt 'nough room
in de batteau, eh: All right Dat's
good ting But he's seeck man. 20
mebbe feex it him nice place for stop
till dem boats come"
'Yes, yes. Leave me here. I'll make
1t through all right" begged Runnion.
Better you camp yonder on de point,
were you can see dose steamboat wen
she comes roun' de ben Dis Is bad
place" He indicated the thicket,
quarter Of mile above which ran out
almost to the cut bank. Come. / help
you get feex."
Runnion shrank from his proffered
assistance half fearfully. but, reassur-
ed. allowed the Frenchman to help him
toward the shore.
I'VE tell 1t de first boat bout you
an dey pick you up You wait here.
Necia."
The girl watched her rescuer guide
Runnion up to the level Of the woods,
then disappear with him In the frs
and was relieved to see the two
emerge upon the river bank again far
ther on. for she had feared for an In
stant that Poleon might forget There
seemed to be no danger. however. for
he was crashing through the brush In
advance of the other. who followed
laboriously. Once Runnion gained the
high point he would be able to COM
mand a view Of both reaches Of the
river and could make signals to at
tract the first steamboat that CHANGED
to come along Without doubt craft
of some sort would pass from one d.
rection or the other by tomorrow at
latest. or. II not. she and Poleon could
send back succor to him from the first
habitation they encountered. The two
men disappeared again. and her fears
had begun to prey ON her second
time when she beheld the big Cana
dian returning He was hurrying a
bit. apparently to be rid of the mos
quftoes that swarmed about him. and
she marked that. in addition to whip
ping himself with handful of black
berry bushes. he wore Runnion's coat
to protect his shoulders
''Woof. Dose skeeter bug is hon.
gry." he cried
dis nice batteau," Poleon remarked
critically; II max 1t go fas'." and be-
gan to row swiftly. seeking the breeze
of the open river In which to shake
of the horde Of stlnging pests that
had risen with the sun. II come way
queeck witout t'inkin' bout gun or
skeeter net or not'in'. Runnion she's
lem me dis coat. SO mebbe | dom look
SO worse lax l do JUS now, eh?''
How did you leave him? Is he
badly injured?"
''No; bus 1t up on de face an de
rib, but she's feelin' good now. Yes,
I'm leave i'm nice place for stop an
wait on de steamboat-plaintee spruce
bough for set on"
She began to shudder again. and,
sensitive to her every motion. he asked
solicitously If she were sick, but she
shook her head.
T-l-was thinking what-supposing
you hadn't come. oh, Poleon. you
don't know what you saved me from"
| She leuned forward and laid tiny,
grateful hand on the huge brown paw
that rested on his our II wonder II
can ever forget!'
She noted that they were running
with the current and inquired:
"Where are we going!"
"Waal. | can't pull dis boat 'gainst
dat current, 80 guess we pass ON till
I fin my shirt, den bimeby we pick 1t
up some steamboat an 30 home"
Five miles below his quick eye de-
tected his half submerged 'bark''
lodged beneath some overhanging frs
which from the waters action had
fallen forward into the stream. and by
rare good fortune 1t was still upright,
although awash. He towed II to the
next sand bar, where he wrung out
and donned his shirt. then tipped the
water from the smaller craft and,