, 1911-10-05

thai they uiu not are to have II known
thai they were running away from
danger, Is not that human. m'seur:
Anyway. you were detailed to come,
and not until then did Meleese know
Of all that had occurred"
Tne Frencnman stopped Tor a mo
ment. The glare had faded from
Howland's eyes. The tense lines In
his face relaxed
"I-I-believe I understand every
thing now. JEAN be said. You
traced the wrong John Rowland,
that's all. l love Meleese, Jean. 1
would kill John Rowland for her. |
want to meet her brothers and shake
their hands. | don't blame them.
But somehow It hurts to think of her
of Meleese-as-as almost a muir
derer."
Mon Dieu. m'seur. has she not
saved your life? Listen to this. 1t
was then-when she knew what had
happened that Meleese came to me
whom she had made the happiest man
in the world. because 1t was she who
brought my Mariane over from
Churchill on a visit especially that l
might see her and fall In love with
her, m'seur-which I did. Meleese
came to me-to Jean Croisset-and in
stead of planning your murder. m'seur.
she schemed to save your hfe-with
me-who would hav cut you Into
bits no larger than my finger and fed
you to the carrion ven who would
have choked the life out of you until
your eyes bulged in death. as I choked
that one up on the Great Slave! Do
you understand. m'seur7 It was Me
leese who came and pleaded with me
to save your life-before you had left
Chicago. before she had heard more
of you than your name. before she had
learned
CROSSE: hesitated and stopped.
"Before what. JeanY"
Before she had learned to love you.
m'seur."
"God bless herr exclaimed How
land.
"You believe this, m'seurr
"As believe in a God"
Then / will tell you what she did.
m'seur," he continued in a low voice.
he pan vi tht bhothSi was ~ "a
you a prisoner lear Prince Albert and
bring you north. l knew what was TO
happen then. II was to be II beautiful
~ngean m'seur-a slow torturing
death on the spot where the crime was
committed sixteen years ago. But Me
leese knew nothing of this, She was
made to believe that up here. where
the mother and father died. you would
be given over to the prope law TO
the mounted police who come this way
now and then. She Is only u girl.
m'seur. easily made to believe strange
things in such matters as these. else
she would have wondered why you
were not given to the officers in Prince
Albert.
ut was Meleese's eldest brother who
thought of her as a lure to bring you
out of the town into their hands. and
not until the last moment, when they
were ready to leave for the south. did
she overhear words hat aroused her
suspicious that they were about to kill
you. 1t was then. m'seur, that she
came to me-"
And you, IeanY'
vi thN nay tha'
to become my wife. m'seur, ! promised
in our Blessed Lady's name to repay
my debt 10 Meleese, and the name OF
payment came in this fashion. Jack
pine. too. was her slave. and so we
worked together. Two hours after
Meleese and her brothers had left for
the south | was following mem. shaver
of beard and so changed That ! was
not recognized in the tighI on the Great
North trail. MeieeSe thought thai her
brothers would make vol a prisoner
that night without harming you. HeI
brothers told her how to bring you tC
their camp. She Knew nothing of the
ambush until they leaped on you from
cover.
Not until after the fight, wher
in their rage at your escape the broth
ers told her that they had intended to
kill you. did she realize fully what she
had done. That Is all, m'seur. Yor
know What happened after that. Sht
dared not tell you at Wekusko who
your enemies were. for those enemies