Cheyenne record., 1916-12-07


lonalinsss beroes N, and he win not
look upon the faes Of another white
woman In all those leagues. Are there
any French Of my sex at Fort 81
Louisr n
"No."
'rNor at St Ignace, Pere AIlouez
assures me. shall have no rival
then in all this wilderness; you think
me harmless. monsieur? Look at me,
and say!"
IT do not need to look; you win
have your game. I have no doubt, al
though the final result may not prove
what you desire.''
"You fear the endf" ~
"'It may be SO; you play with IRE,
and although know little Of women,
yet have felt the wild passions Of
! men in lands where there is no re-
straint of law. The wilderness sees
many tragedies-ferce, bitter, revenge
full deeds-and tbs best you use care.
'Tis my belief this Francois Cassion
might prove q devil, once his heart
was tricked. Have you thought of
| this?"
I had thought Of 1t, 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-
sion's face. sarcastic, supercilious,
hateful, and laughed in scorn Of the
warning.
Thought Of itr' I exclaimed, Eyes,
but for that I care nothing. Why
should I, monsieur7 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 a lifetime passed in his
presence. But why do you make plea
on his behalf-the man is surely no
friend of yoursT
| II 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
womanhood; you take advantage of
your beauty to enslave him; you count
as ally the loneliness Of the wilderness;
ayl and, II understand Alright, you
hope through mo to awaken the mans
jealousy. Is this not true?"
drew a quick breath, my eyes star
ing into his face, and my limbs trem-
bling. His words cut me like a knife,
yet would not yield, would not even
acknowledge their truth.
You are unjust, unfair" burst
forth impetuously. "You will see but
the one side-that Of the man. I 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
should show him mercy. I wish
your good will, monsieur, your respect,
but I cannot hold this plan which
propose as evil. Do your
He hesitated, looking at me with
such perplexity in his eyes as to
prove his doubt.
n cannot judge you," he admitted
at last, "only that is not the way in
which I have been trained. Neither
will 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. II Cassion dares violence
or insult he must reckon with me,
though I faced his whole company.
nj h,,k T ,olo
part or act lie even at your re-
quest"
"You mean you will not pretend to
care for me?" asked. my heart
leaden at his words.
''There would be no pretense," he
answered frankly. II do care for you,
but will not dishonor my thought Of
you by thus deliberately scheming to
outwit your husband. I am a man of
the woods, the wilderness; not since
was a boy have I dwelt in civilizat ton,
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 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. I can but
choose my path Of duty and abide
therein"
His words hurt, angered me; I