Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1913-10-22

For the love of heaven, play no
more of thatY' he cried in the boys
ear. "Play something fast"
Jan lifted his head as if from
dream. In an instant he perceived the
strange effect of his music, and his
bow raced across the strings of his
violin in rhythm swift and buoyant,
his voice rising shrill and clear in
words familiar to them all:
"Oh, re cariboo- oo-oo, re cariboo-oo-oo,
He roas' on high,
Jes' under re sky.
Re beeg white cariboo-oo-ool
ooh, re cariboo- oo-oo. re cariboo-oo-oo,
He brown an juic' an sweetl
Re cariboo-oo-oo he YER polite
He roas' on high,
JeS' under re sky,
He ready now to come an eat!'
With yells that rose above the last
words of the song Mukee and his Crees
tugged at their poles, and the roasted
caribou fell upon the snow. Jan drew
back and, with bis violin Rugged IN
der one arm, watched the wild jewellers
as, with barred knives flashing in the
freight, they crowded to the feast.
Williams, the factor, joined him.
Looks like a fight, doesn't it, Jan?
! Once | saw fight at caribou roast"
$50 did l." said Jan, who had not
taken his eyes from the jostling crowd.
cit was far to the west and north"
continued Williams, beyond the Great
Slave country"
Ear beyond" said Jan, lifting his
eyes quietly. ut was YER near to re
, Great Bear. For who you fight at re
Great Bear?'
The factor was silent, and the mus
cles of his arms grew like steel as be
saw the madness in JAMS face. Sud-
denly he reached out and gripped the
boys wrists Jan made no effort to
evade the clutch.
"For who you 6ghtY' he cried again.
"For who you fight at re Great BearY
1--WE tried to kill a man. but he got
: away" said Williams. speaking so low
that only Jan heard. HE was"- The
, factor stopped
ne missioner painted Jan.
The wild light went out Of his eyes
DIS uG up dl w lllAoAuoy lAO
! softer glow which came into them
loosened at once the factors grip on
the boys wrists.
Eyes, the missioner"
Jan drew back. He evaded meeting
the eyes of Cummins as he made his
way among the men. There was a
new burst of song as Mukee and his
rib
but the boy paid no attention to the
fresh excitement He thrust his knife
into it's sheath and ran-ran swiftly
through the packs of dogs fighting and
, snarling over the scraps that had been
E, thrown to them, past Maballa, who
! was watching the savage banquet
around the big fire, and into the little
, cabin to Melissa.
Here he flung himself upon his knees.
and for the first time he caught the
, baby in his arms, holding her close to
! him and rocking her to and fro as he
cried out sobbingly the words which
she did not understand.
"An' when l fin' heem an kill heem
will come back to you, my angel
Melissa" be whispered "And then
you will luf Jan Thoreau for letting
out the blood of missioner
He put her back into the little bed,
: kissed her again and turned to the
door.
For a few moments Jan stood with
! his back to Melissa and his eyes upon
the carnival about a great fire. AS he
looked the third caribou was pulled
down from it's Spit and the multitude
of dogs rushed in upon the abandoned
carcasses of the other two.
He caught his breath quickly as
loud shout and the wailing yelp Of
hurt dog rose for an instant above all
other sounds. Only one thing was
wanting to complete another picture
in his brain-a scene which had burned
itself into his life forever and which
he strove to fight back as he stood
staring from the doorway. He half
expected it to come-the shrill scream
Of a boyish voice, an instant's sullen
| quiet, then the low throated thunder Of
impending vengeance-and the fight.
| With marvellous quickness his excit-
ed mind reconstructed the scene be-
fore him into the scene that had been.
He heard the scream again, which had
been his voice. saw as If in a dream
| the frenZied rush of men and the fash
Of knives, and then from where he lay,
trampled and bleeding in the snow, the
long, lean team of swift huskies that
had carried In mad fight the one
whose life those knives sought.
Williams had been there: he had
seen the fght-his knife had flashed
with the others in it's demand for life.
| And yet he-Jan Thoreau-had not
been recognized by the factor out there
beside the caribou roasti
He hurried toward the fire Half
way across the open he stopped. From
out of the forest opposite Cummins'
cabin there trailed slowly a team Of
dogs. In the shadows Of the spruce
hidden from the jewelers., the team