Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1911-08-15
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SVNl cOPrRGHT 1910 II.
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he thought Of N1eleese In spite Of
himself she had saved him from his
enemies. and he blessed Croisset for
having told him the meaning of this
flight into the north Once again she
had betrayed him. but this time it was
70 save his life. and his heart leaped in
joyous faith at this proof Of her love
for him. He believed that he under
stood the whole scheme now. Even
his enemies would think him dead.
They would leave the Wekusko. and
after d time. when it was safe for him
to return. he would be given bis free
dom.
With the passing of the hours gloom
Ter thoughts Swallowed these anticipa-
tons. In some mysterious way Me
leese was closely associated with those
who sought bis life. and IL they disap-
peared she would disappear with
them. He was convinced Of that.
And then-could he End her again7
Would she so into the south-to civi-
lsation-or deeper into the untraveled
wildernesses Of the north? In answer
to his question there flashed through
his mind the words Of Jean Croisset.
'NI'seur, know Of hundred men
Between Athabasca and the bay who
would kill you for what you have
said" Yes. she would 60 into the
north. Somewhere In that vast desc
lation Of which Jean had spoken he
would find her. even though he spent
half of his life In the search!
1t was past midnight when he spread
out the furs and undressed for bed.
With the breaking of day the hours
seemed of interminable length. For Q
time he amused himself by searching
every corner and crevice Of his prison
room. but he found nothing Of interest
beyond yAat hs bsa aSeSIy dae2sv-
ersd II sxam,Asd tho DIOR With
Oroisset had barred on him and Rave
up all hope Of escape IN that direction.
He could barely thrust bis arm
through the aperture that opened out
on the plague stricken cabin.
In no situation had be displayed the
white feather: at no time bad be felt
a thrill of fear. Els courage and reck-
lessness had terrified Meleeee. had as
tonished Croisset. And yet what had
he done? From the beginning. from
the moment he first placed his foot In
the Chinese cafe. his enemies had held
the whiphand. He had been conn
PEELED to play passive part. Up to
the point Of the ambush on the We
kusko trail he might have found some
vindication for himself. But this e1-
perience with Jean Croisset-it was
enough to madden him. now that he
was alone. to think about It why
had he not taken advantage Of Jean.
as Jackpine and the Frenchman had
taken advantage Of him?
Tie saw now what he might have
done. Somewhere. not very far back. tho
sledge carrying Meleese and Jackpine
had turned into the unknown. They
two were alone. Why had he not made
Croisset u prisoner. instead Of allowing
himself to be Gagged up like a weak
ling? He swore aloud as there dawned
on him more aud more q realisation
Of the opportunity he had lost. At the
point Of a gun he could have forced
Croisset to Overtake the other sledge.
He could have surprised Jackpine. a.
they had surprised him on the trail
And then? He smiled. but there was
no humor in the smile. BE at last
would have held the whip hand. And
what would Meleese have done?
Meleese loved him. He would have
staked his life on that His blood
ieaped as he felt again the thrill of her
kisses when she had come to him a.
he lay bound and gagged beside the
trail. She had taken his head In her
arms. and through the grief OF her
face he had seen shining the light OF
a great love that had glorifed 1t for all
time for him. She loved him! And he
had let her slip away from him. had
weakly surrendered himself at Q mo-
ment when everything that he dream
ed of might have been within bis
grasp. With Jackpine and Croisset In
his power
He went no further. Was 1t too late
to do these things now? Croisset would
return. With sort of satisfaction 1t
occurred to him that his actions had
disarmed the Frenchman Of suspicion.
He believed that it would be easy to
overcome Croisset. to force him to fol-
low in the trail of Neleese, and Jack
pine. And that trail? 1t would prob
ably lead to the very stronghold OF bis
enemies. But what of that7 He
loaded his pipe again. putting out
clouds of smoke until the room was
thick with it. That trail would take
him to Meleese-wherever she was.
Heretofore his enemies had come to
him: now he would go to them. With
Croisset In his power and with none
of his enemies aware OF his presence.
everything would be In his favor. He
laughed aloud as a sudden thrilling
thought flashed into his mind. Al .
last resort he would use Jean as q de-
coy.
He foresaw how easy 1t would be to
bring Meleese to him-to see CrOisset
His own presence would be like tbs
dropping of bomb at her feet. In
that moment, when she saw what he
was risking for her. that he was deter
mined to possess her, would she not
surrender to the pleading OF his lover
II not he would do the other thing
that which had brought the Joyous
,..s a. III. ,,,s All xyas fair IN war