Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1916-08-11

look upon the race OF announcer white
woman in all those leagues. Are there
any French of my sex at Fort St
LOUISE
"No."
'Nor at ST. Ignace, Pere Allouez
assures me. l shall have no rival
then in all this wilderness; you think
me harmless, monsieur? Look at me,
and sayr'
81 do not need to look; you will
have your game. / have no doubt, al
though the final result may not prove
what you desires"
'You fear the end?"
''It may be so; you play with fire,
and although I know little Of women,
yet I have felt the wild passions Of
men in lands where there is no re-
straint of law. The wilderness sees
many gedies-ferce, bitter, revenge
full deeds-and it's best you use care.
'Tis my belief this Francois Cassion
might prove a devil, once his heart
| was tricked. Have you thought of
| this?"
I had thought of it, but with no
mercy in my heart, yet as D'Artigny
spoke felt the ugliness of my threat
more acutely, and, for an instant,
| stood before him white-lipped and
ashamed. Then before me arose Cas-
sions face, sarcastic, supercilious,
hateful, and laughed in scorn of the
warning.
Thought Of ity' I exclaimed, Eyes,
but for that care nothing. Why
| should I, monsieur? Has the man
shown mercy to me, that should feel
regret because he suffers? As to his
revenge, death is not more to be
dreaded than lifetime passed in his
presence. But why do you make plea
on his behalf-the man is surely no
friend of yours?"
Il make no plea for him." he an
swered, strangely sober, "and claim
no friendship. Any enemy to La Sale
is an enemy to Rene d'Artigny; but
would front him as a man should.
It is not my nature to do a deed Of
treachery."
"You hold this treachery?"
"What else? You propose Turing
him to love you, that you may gain
confession from his lips. To attain
this end you barter your honesty, your
wcmanhood; you take advantage of
your beauty to ensTave him; you count
as ally the loneliness Of the wilderness;
| ay! and, if I understand Alright, you
| hope through me to awaken the mans
| jealousy. Is this not true?"
I drew quick breath, my eyes star
| ing into his face, and my limbs trem-
| bling. His words cut me like knife,
! yet I would not yield, would not even
acknowledge their truth.
'You are unjust, unfair" I burst
forth impetuously. "You will see but
the one side-that of the man. 1 can
not fight this battle with my hands,
| nor will submit to such wrong with
| out struggle. He has never thought to
spare me, and there is no reason why
| I should show him mercy. l wish
your good will, monsieur, your respect,
but I cannot hold this plan which
propose as evil. Do you?"
He hesitated, looking at me with
such perplexity in his eyes as to
| prove his doubt.
81 cannot judge you," he admitted
at last, ''only that is not the way in
| which I have been trained. Neither
will L stand between you and your
revenge nor have part in it. l am
your friend-now, always. In every
honorable way I will serve you and
your cause. If Cassion dares violence
| or insult he must reckon with me,
| though I faced his whole company.
pledge you this, but 1 will not play a
part or act a lie even at your re-
| quest"
"You mean you will not pretend to
care for me?" I asked, my heart
leaden at his words.
'There would be no pretense," he
answered frankly. 81 do care for you,
but I will not dishonor my thought of
you by thus deliberately scheming to
outwit your husband. I am man of
the woods, the wilderness; not since l
was a boy have 1 dwelt in civilization,
but in all that time have been COM
panion of men to whom honor was
everything. have been comrade with
Sieur de la Sale, with Henri de Tonty,
and cannot be guilty of an act Of
treachery, even for your sake. Per-
chance my code is not the same as the
perfumed gallants' of Quebec-yet it is
mine, and learned in a hard school"
He went on quietly, "There are two
things I cannot ignore-one is, that
I am an employee Of this Francois
Cassion, pledged to his service by my
own free will; the other is, that you
are his wife, joined to him by Holy
church, and although you may have.
assumed those vows under coercion,
your promise is binding. [ can but
choose my path of duty and abide
therein"
His words hurt, angered me; 1
lacked power of expression, ability to
grasp his full meaning and purpose.
'You-you desert me then? You
you leave me to this fate?"
fsI leave Won to reconsider yOJIr