The Detroit times., 1912-07-15
PHILIPSTEELE
yftaeRUALNORnwtsIhON1E
kJAMES OLIVER CURWOOD
Author Of IheDensr Tuil ReliOorof,AeBe Snwadc.
Sv Copyright 1911 The Boob. Merrill Company,
a. Copyright 1911. The BOes. Merrill Company,

there amt any OF 'em here-not even
a woman" r
Steele shrugged his shoulders as
Breed mentioned the three women at
| Nelson.
There are only two wSmen there
now" he replied. Since a certain
Bucky Nome passed that way, one Of
them has gone into the South"
well, two, then" said Breed, who
had not caught the fash OF fire In the
others eyes. But | tell you there
amt one here, Steele, not even an
lndian--and that dirty Cree. Jack, is
doing the cooking. Blessed Saints,
caught him mixing biscuit dough in
! the wash basin the other day, and
I've been eating those biscuits ever
since our people went out TO their
Itrap.lines! There's you. and Nome,
two Crees, a half and myself-and
that's every soul therell be at Lac
Balm until the mid-winter run OF fur
Now, what in Heavens NAM Is the
poor old Mrs. Colonel going TO dor"
Got a bed for herr"
"A bunk-hard as nails!"
Good grub?"
Rotten" groaned the factor.
Every trappers son OF them took
out big supplies this fall and we're
stripped. Beans. flour, sugar'n' prunes
and caribou until feel like turning
| inside out every time / smell 1t. I'd
! give a months commission for a
pound OF pork. Look here! II this
letter amt quality you can cut
me into jiggers. Bet the Mrs. Colonel
wrote 1t for her hubby"
! From tncidn nnnGaf praad draw
forth a square white envelope with
broken seal of red wax, and from 1t
extracted a folded sheet OF cream
tinted paper. Scarcely had Steele
taken the note in his hands when a
quick thrill passed through him. Be
fore he had read the first line he was
conscious again of that haunting
sweetness in the air he breathed-the
perfume of hyacinth. There was not
only this perfume. but the same pa
per, the same delicately pretty writ
ing OF the letter he had burned more
j than a week before. He made no ef-
fort to suppress the exclamsJcs ~
establishment that broke from his lips,
Breed was staring at him when he
lifted his eyes.
This is a mighty strange coinci-
dence. Breed" he said. regaining his
composure. II could almost swear that
know this writing, and yet of course
such thing is impossible Still, it's
mighty queer. Will you let me keep
the letter until tonight? I'd like to
take II over TO the cabin and compare
lit"
/ Needn't return II at ALL interrupt,
ed the factor Hope you find some
thing interesting TO tell me at supper
five sharp. IL will be a blessing IL
you know EN-"
Ten minutes later Steele was In the
little cabin which he and. Nome &C.
cupied while at Lac Balm. Jack, the
Cree. had built a rousing fire in the
long sheet-iron stove, and as Steele
Iopened It's furnace-like door, flood OF
Hight poured out into the gathering
gloom OF early evening Drawing a
chair full into the light. he again
opened the letter. Line for line and
word for word he scrutinized the
writing, and with each breath that he
rdrew he found himself more deeply
thrilled by a curious mental excite
ment which II was impossible for him
to explain. According to the letter
Colonel and Mrs. Becker had arrived
at Churchill aboard the London ship
a little over a month previously He
remembered that the date on the let-
ter from the girl was six weeks old
At the time il was written, Colopel
Becker and his wife were either In
London or Liverpool. or crossing the
Atlantic No matter how similar the
two letters appeared to him, he realiz-
ed that, under the circumstances, the
same person could not have written
them both. For many minutes he sat
back in his chair, with his eyes half
closed. absorbing the comforting heat
of the fire. Again the old vision re-
turned to him. In subconscious sort
of way he found himself fighting
against II, as he had struggled a score
of times TO throw of its presence,
since the girls letter had come to him.
And this time. as before, his effort
was futile. He saw her again-Hld
always as on that night of the Haw-
kins' ball eyes and lips smiling at
him, the light shining gloriously In
the deep red gold Of her hair.
4 (Conttnued)