Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1918-01-10
CHAPTER xvIiI-continued.


on, almost jauntily. II saw exactly
how things were going before we left
the boat. knew Hollis reputation
ashore, and determined to warn you of
his purpose, but had no opportunity.
Resides, felt you had SO poor IN Opin-
ion of me that probably you would not
llsten."
"You were greatly mistaken. Mr.. Nc
Cnnn," she said pleasantly. II would
have gladly received your advice. You
were my fathers friend"
could read the nuns surprise In
his fnce. The graciousness of her
words was shock, yet his egotism
made him instantly her victim.
"iOu mean you trusted met That
you would have listened?"
"Most assuredly. How could you
think otherwise? knew you were not
yourself In the boat, and the treat
rnent to which you were subjected was
brutal. I owed my life to you equally
with Captain Hollis. and am very
grateful. I have never forgotten that
you have been a guest In our home,
business associate Of my fathers.
Why should not have confidence In
you?"
l looked Mt her in amuzemcnt, but
her eyes never met mine. What did
this mean? Was the girl acting Il part
Was she endeuvOring to deceive him,
or was She speaking now In deadly ear
nest? EOthin. in her manner, or in
the tone of her voice, gave me a clue.
AS for McCunn. the very expression Of
his face pictured his delight, his con-
vlcttOn of her sincerity. 1t was almost
too good to be true. yet his was not q
nature to doubt his own attractiveness.
I-1-you surprise me-" he stam-
merci. absolutely forgetting my pres
encc. "I-I assure you l was actuuted
by TIE highest motives In all my ef-
forts My-my duty was to you, and
your father
He turned and faced me. the bully
In tlin surging to the surface.
II will converse with Miss CARING
Ton alone"
To resist would have been utter fool
Lshness. l could see the CLEAN of the
gun III his hand, and realized that
he only required an excuse to use 1t.
More. there was nothing In the express
6iOn of the girls face to inspire me to
Coward me. or exhibit the slightest in
tereBt
With hands clenched in imp0tent
Fage. not even venturing u reply,
stepped backward. AS l crossed the
Threshold Mccain closed the door, aud
heard the key turn In the lock.
trembling still with anger, and dazed
sank back upon the stool. reulizing my
utter helplessness. All She had done
and sniu appeared so natural 1t never
really occurred to me once that she
might be acting part. seeking In this
way to gain McCunns confidence, in
order to win from him the information
we required. 1t was only US sat there
ia silence. brOoding over every detail,
chat this possible conception began to
slowly dawn upon my mind. That she
could trust the man IN any way was
practically impossible. for he had re.
.vealed to her his true character in SO
many ways the memory could not be
Llotted out
AS the full knowledge Of this truth
grew apparent, wes able to view all
that had occurred later In different
Night. She had simply accepted her
one chance had grnsped with wOmanly
Intuition the single weapon left al
her command. Girl us she was in
years. her experience in the world had
been that of a woman, and she instinc.
lively realized her power-the power
OF wealth Of beauty. and of youth. II
had been beautifully done. SO deftly
accomplished as to deceive even me-
aye! and the method had succeeded
with Mccain. l recalled the express
sion of surprise. Of qualification. of
awakened pride on the mans face. He
had no power of resistance left; he
was already putty in her hands.
True but would he remain so? The
gnme She played was dangerous one
Il she ventured too far she would dis
cover the brute lurking in him still
Aud he had the power. the physical
power. to wrcak vengeance once he
suspicioned deceit. And there was ne
one to help her If she made single
false step-absolutely no one; she was
. lamb among wolves. Those fellow:
would never release me again. not fol
moment. I would be compelled Il
take observations. to calculate pssi
ton. to trace our sailing course on the
chart, But not for an instant would
be left again unguarded. either or
deck or in the cabin. Mccain woull
pee to that.
The afternoon passed, dragging It.
weary hours. Nothing happened to re
Hove the monotony and dread Of soil
tude. NJ one approached the door o
the stateroOm. not even TO offer Ill
food. and my ears were uble to dis
tinguish no sound Of movement in tn
main cabin. Occasionally footstep
passed along the deck overhead. an.
once or twics heard the voice of LIZ
orpool slrg out some order to the mes
f0R1narn Tho sim uonlr ito s.ovS clint