The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-11-24
GABRIEL PERLEY, GUIDE.
BY PERSIS WHITE,
S~S~SaSe~c~e>

Amt you leaving at a Iunny
time?" he quizzed. His accent was
that Of a French Canadian halfbreed,
and such a mongrel he vas
ST should wait if it weren't for that
business" :
DAY after Tomorrow" he unused,
fshily.
YES" I snapped, IT know when
the season opens as well as YOU do"
Gabriel replied only by taking some
pink gum from his mouth and wrap
ping it in a dirty scrap of birch bark;
then he looked at the suitcase again.
My eyes, too, were magneted back
| to it.
Look here" he whispered, draw
Ing too close and leering horribly;
"you know I'm a poor man. All the
snowshoes I made last winter only
brought M in $50, and that's gone,
And, besides, you know I'm onto you
and your game" Here he stopped,
aware that the CLINT of his eyes was
more eloquent than words. '"In half
an hour we'll be at Greenville, and
then it will be up tn you to take your
choice. You a either"
Just at that instant my suitcase fell
on it's side and I reeled. Gabriel
laughed.
"Confound it," I growled; "these
bathtub boats are all right enough,
but why do they need to play billiards
with the landings like that?"
Gabriel made no answer. Tie Ka-
tahdin was whiting herself away from
the wharf. I could make out Green
vile nova higgeldy-piggledy town,
in the heart of the great Maine forest.
A noise startled me and I discov-
cred that my suitcase was in Gabriel
Perley's clutches.
Put that down." I stammered.
Gabriel merely glared. ooh, come
on" I added, pulling out my pocket
book; "you know just what I am.
There you go. It'll have to be
enough, too" ~ e..
Gabriel looked about the empty
deck, then counted the money, while
I set my back against him. What a
pity, I thought, to come at this stage
Of the game to blackmail and brib-
cry!
The guide touched me on the
shoulder. His expression was alto
gether changed; instead of wearing
the bullying, big-chief air, he had
simmered down to a meek cigar-store
Indian.
"Just once!" he was pickering,
pointing to the valise.
what do you suppose I paid you
for, you fool?" I said in a low voice,
peering round the deck Think I'm
going to run the risk of-you know
what-for your sake?"
Gabriel licked his chops. ooh, let
her go, then. I thought if you
weren't so blamed stingy I'd tell you
a story that would fit your case like a
she'll in a shotgun. But, anyhow,
there amt no time to tell it proper;
we'll be tied up at the Greenville
wharf in ten minutes"
I reflected. Apparently there was
no one on deck. I pulled a flask of
gin from my pocket and thrust it into
his hands.
Hin! so you carry it round with
you, do you?" he whined, emptying it
all at n gulp, much as n frog
swallows another. Then he began:
II used to be something of a snug
gler myself once. 1t was up at the
Little Fork camp. That's the biggest
log outfit in Aroostook, you know.
How we'll I remember that night!
All the lumbermen was accusing
Maine out for being a milk-and-ice-
water State, and fussing about prohi-
bition. Say, that booze of yours is
strong, Ell?
"Well. I told 'em, I says, I could
get 'em all the rumthey wanted, from
Canada, if they'd pay me proper.
They says they would, so 1 started.
1T was an early season, and the ice
was just beginning to melt. The riv-
ers at that time Of the year, you
know, amt high, but they're liable
to get high powerful sudden"
Hurry up with your story" I
urged. We're right at Greenville,
already"
The drunken guide sQuinted film
lily at me and went on: "Well I got
the rum at st. Joseph. I knowed a
Frenchman there and I hired him and
his team and started to tote the spir-
its. We crossed the American line,
and got to the northwest branch all
right-that's where I was a-going to
put in. I loaded the rum into a lum-
berman's scow and started down
alone. The river, as I say, want
high and the current want swift,
and the scow want loaded low, so I
knowed it was my chance to make
good time. But l was too slow; some
Indians told me there was a posse on
my trail in canoes. That settled the
scow business for me; I borrowed a
canoe from them and shifted my
dufle. That set her darn low in the
water, but 1 knowed she'd stand it
till I got to the Big Thunder Rips,
and then 1 cal'lated to cache part of
the liquor. Gee. that suitcase of
yours is all the time getting under
foot, amt it,"
"Hurry!" I begged.
Gabriel reeled. g~esticulated and
~hicooughed on: There was Lou Tate