The Dolores star., 1918-04-12
CHATTER !.

CHAPTER !.
-
oelne Jn.S
The midnight sun had Get, but IN q
crotch between two snow peaks II had
k1ndled q vast caldron from which ross
Q mist Of Jewels. garnet and turquoise.
topas and amethyst and opal. all
swimming in sea Of molten gold. The
glow Of It still chung 10 the face Of the
broad Yukon, as q flush does to the
soft. wrinkled cheek of q girl just
reused from deep sleep.
Except for q faint murkiness In the
cir II was still day. There was light
enough for the four men playing pi-
nochle on the upper deck, though the
women Of their party, gossiping In
chairs grouped near at hand, had at
last put aside their embroidery. The
girl who sat By herself at little dis
lance held magazine still open In
her lap.
Gordon Elliot had taken the boat at
Pierre's Portage. nfty miles farther
down the river. He had come direct
from the creeks, and his Impressions
Of the motley pioneer life at the gold
diggings were 30 vivid that he had
found an isolated corner Of the deck
where he could scribble them In a note
book while still fresh.
But he had not been too busy to see
that the girl In the wicker chair was
a. much Of an outsider as he was.
Plainly this was her FIRST trip in. Cor
don was stranger in the Yukon coun-
ny. one not likely to be overwelcome
when II became known what his mis-
sion was.
From where he was leaning against
the deckhouse Elliot could see only a
dne, chiseled profile shading into
mass Of crisp, black hair, but some
quality in the detachment Of her per
sonality stimulated gently his imagina-
don. He wondered who she could be.
&. A short. thickset man who had ridden
down on the stage with Elliot to
Pierre's Portage drifted along the deck
toward him. He wore the careless
.Garb OF Q mining man In q country
which looks nrst to comfort.
Bound for Kusfakf" he asked, BY
nay Of opening conversation.
Yes" answered Gordon.
The miner nodded toward the group
under the awning. 'That bunch lives
ut Kusiak. They've got ON at different
places the last two or three days
except Selfridge and his wife; they've
been out. Guess you can tell that from
hearing her talk-the little woman In
red with the snappy black eyes. She's
spillin' over with talk about the styles
In New York and the cabarets and the
new shows. That pot-bellied little fell
low In the checked suit 10 Selfridge.
He 10 Colby Macdonald's man Friday"
Elliot took In with q quickened In
tsrest the group bound for Kusiak. He
had noticed that they monopolized as
q matter Of course the best places on
the deck and in the dining room. They
were civil enough to outsiders, but
their manner had the unconscious self
ishness that often regulates social ac-
6vities. It excluded from their gay
ETY. everybody that did. not belong to
the proper set.
'.That sort Of thing gets my goat" the
miner went on sourly. those women
over there have elected tbemaelyea
Society with a capital 8. They pnt on
All the airs the Four Hundred a. N
New York. And who are thew anv.
howf-wiyes TO a bunch OF grating
polittciana mostlv.n
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