, 1911-08-31

at is a warning, m'seur. You might
try. But l should probably kill you.
As it is"-he shrugged his shoulders as
he led the way down the ridge-"as 1t
is, there Is small chance of Jean Crois-
set answering the call"
MAY those saints of yours preserve
me, Jean. blu this is all very cheerful"
grunted Rowland, half laughing In
spite of himself. Now that I'm tied
up again, who the devil is there to die
but me2"
THAT is a hard question. m'seur,"
replied the half breed. with grim seri-
BUSINESS. Perhaps 1t ia your turn. !
half believe that 1t is"
Scarcely were the words out of his
mouth when there came again the
moaning howl from the top of the
ridge.
You're getting on my nerves, Jean
you n that accursed dog"
"Silence, m'seur!'
Out of the grim loneliness at the
foot of the mountain there doomed Il
shadow, which at first Rowland o
to be a huge mass Of rock. A few
steps farther and he saw that 1t was IA
building. Croisset gripped him firmly
by the arm.
stay here he commanded, II will
return soon"
For a quarter of an hour Rowland
waited. Twice in that interval the dog
howled above him. He was glad when
Croisset appeared out of the gloom.
"It is as | thought, m'seur. There is
death down here. Come with me-"
The shadow Of the big building
shrouded them as they approached
Rowland could make out that 1t was
built of massive logs and that there
seemed to be neither door nor window
on their side. And yet when Jean hest
tated for an instant before a bIotch of
gloom that was deeper than the Others
he knew that they had come to an en-
trance.
Rowland could feel the half breeds
hand clutch him %nervously by the arm
as they went step by step into the
black and silent mystery of the place.
Soon there came a fumbling of Crois
sets hand at n latch, and they passed
through a second door. Then Jean
struck Il match.
Half a dozen steps away was a table
and on the table a lamp Croisset
lighted 1t and with a quiet laugh faced
the engineer They were in n low,
dungeon-like chamber without a win
dow and with but the one door
through which they had entered The
table. two chairs, a stove and a bunk
built against one OF the log walls were
all that Rowland could see. But 1t
was not the barrenness of what he i'm.
agined was to be his new prison that
held his yes in staring inquiry on
Croisset. 1t was the look in his com
panion's face. the yellow pallor of fear
"a horror-that had taken possession
of It. The half breed closed and bolted
the door and hen sat down beside the
table. his thin face peering NJ through
the sickly lamp glow at the engineer.
"M'seur, it would be hard for you to
guess where you are"
Rowland waited.
IF you had lived in this country
long. m'seur, you would have heard
of la Maison de Mort Rouge-the house
of the Red Death. as o would call
it. That is where we are-in the dun
geon room. 1t is a Hudson Bay post.
abandoned almost since | can remem
Der. When | was a child the smallpox
plague came this way and killed all
the people. Nineteen years ago the
red plague came again. and not one
lived through 1t in this Poste de Nor
Rouge. Since then 1t has been lcf'
to the weasels and the owls. II Is
Stunned by every living soul betwe1I
the Athskasca and the bay. That is
why you are safe here"
I'VE gods!' breathed Rowland. sis
there anything more, Croisset? Safe
from what, man? Safe from what?"
From those who wish to kill you,
m'seur. You would not go into the
south, so Ia belle Meleese has compel.
led you TO go into the north. Compre
nez vous? You would have died last
night, m'seur. nae it not been for Me
leese. You escaped from the coyote.
but you would not have escaped from
the other. That is all | can tell you.
But you will be safe here. Those who
seek your life will soon believe that
you are dead. and then we will let you
go back. Is hat not a kind fate for
one who deserves to be cut into bits
and fed to the ravens?"
You will tell me nothing more,
JeanT" the engineer asked.
Nothing. except that while l would
like to kill you l have sympathy for
you. That perhaps is because l once
lived in the south. For six years |
was with the company in Montreal.
where ! went to school,"
Then he unbolted and opened the
door. Family there came to them, as
If from a great distance. the wailing
grief OF WoOnga, the dog.
''You said there was death here