The Southern herald., 1916-12-01

any French of my sex at Fort st.
LOuis|
mo"
"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'
"I do not need to look; you will |
have your game. have no doubt al
though the final result may not prove |
what you desire"
you fear the end?"
ut may be so; you play with fire,
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 a devil, once his heart
was tricked. Have you thought Of
this?"
l had thought Of 1t, but with no
mercy in my heart, yet as D'Artlgny
spoke felt the ugliness Of my threat
more acutely, and, for an instant,
stood before him whlte-lipped and
ashamed. Then before me arose Cas-
siOn's face, sarcastic superciliOus,
hateful, and laughed in scorn Of the
warning.
Thought Of itp' exclaimed, Eyes,
but for that l care nothing. Why
should l, 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 a lifetime passed in his
presence. But why do you make plea
on his behalf-the man is surely no
friend of yours?"
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
1 would front him as a man should.
1t 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;
ay! and, If understand Alright, you
hope through me 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" l burst
forth impetuously. "You will see but
the one side-that Of the man. 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. wish
your good will, monsieur, your respect
but I cannot hold this plan which 1
propose as evil. Do you?"
He hesitated, looking at me with
such perplexity in his eyes as to
prove his doubt.
II cannot judge you," he admitted
at last, 'only that Is not the way in
which l 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 l will serve you and
your cause. If Cassion dares violence
or insult he must reckon with me-,
though faced his whole company. l
pledge you this, but will not play a
part or act lie even at your re-
quest"
"You mean you will not pretend to
care for me" l 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
outwlt your husband. l am a man of
the woods, the wilderness; not since l
was boy have l dwelt in civilization,
but in all that time l 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 Ia
mine, and learned in a hard school,"
He went on quietly, "There are two
things I cannot ignore-one is, that
Lam an employee Of this Francois
Casslon, 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. 1 can but
: choose my path Of duty and abide
therein"
, His words hurt, angered me;
lacked power of expression, ability Il
grasp his full meaning and purpose.
"YOu-you desert me then? YOU
you leave me to this fate?"
"I leave you to reconsider you
choice of action" he returned gravely
his hat still in hand, his lips unsmiling
II do believe your womanhood will