Middletown transcript. [volume] (Middletown, Del.) 1868-current, 1918-06-01

bearing OF IT'S 0nOUiQeTS NanOes
sheer defiance Of him. But such is the
peculiar completely Of q woman that
she took one longing glance backward,
and then fell in behind the packs. She
was weighted down with dread of the
unknown, boiling over with rage at
the man who swung light-footed in the
lead; but nevertheless she followed
him.
All the rest Of the day they bore
steadily northward. Hazel had no idea
Of Bill Wagstaff's destination. She
was too bitter against him to ask, after
admitting that she could not face the
wilderness alone. She knew nothing
Of the North, but she thought there
must be some mode of communication
or transportation. If she could once
get in touch with other people-well,
she would show Roaring Bill. OF
course, getting back to Cariboo Mead
ows meant new start in the world,
for she had no hope, nor any desire,
to teach school there after this cpl
sode. She found herself facing that
prospect unmoved, however. The i'm
portant thing was getting out Of her
present predicament.
Roaring Bill made his camp that
night as If no change in their attitude
had taken place. To all his efforts at
conversation she turned a deaf ear and
a stony countenance. She proposed to
eat his food and use his bedding, be-
cause that was necessary. But socially
she would have node of him.
Thereafter, day by day, the miles un-
rolled behind them. Always Roaring
Bill faced straight north. For a week
he kept on tirelessly, and consuming
desire to know how far he intended to
60 began to take hold Of her. At last
they dropped into valley where the
woods thinned out, and down the CEN
ter of, which flowed q stable river.
This they followed north a matter Of
three days. On the west the valley
wall ran to a timbered ridge.
Then the stream they followed
merged itself in another, both wide and
deep. which flowed west through a
level-bottomed valley three miles or
more in width. Roaring BIZ halted on
the river bank and stripped his horses
clean, though it was but two in the
afternoon and their midday fire less
than an hour extinguished. She
watched him curiously. When his
packs were off he beckoned to her.
"Hold them a minute" he said, and
put the lead ropes in her hand.
Then he went up the bank into a
thicket Of saskatoons. Out Of this he
presently emerged, bearing on his
shouldt canoe, old and weather.
beaten, but stanch, for it rode light
as a feather on the stream. Bill
seated himself In the canoe, holding to
Silks lead rope. The other two he
left free.
SNOW" he directed, "when I start
across, you drive Niger and Satin in
If they show signs Of hanging back.
Bounce q rock or two of them If they
lag"
Her task was an easy On, for Satin
and Niger followed Silk unhesitat-
ingly. The river Tapped along the
sleek sides of them for fifty yards.
Then they dropped suddenly into
swimming water, and the current swept
them downstream slantwise for the op-
posite shore, only their heads showing
above the surface. Hazel wondered
what river 1t might be. It was good
quarter Of a mile wide, and swift.
Roaring Bill did not trouble to en-
tighten her as to the locality. When
he got back he slowed the saddle and
pack aGuipment in the canoe.
"An aboard for the north side," he
said boyishly. And Hazel climbed ODE
diently amidships.
On the farther side, Bill emptied the
canoe, and slowed it out of sight in a
convenient thicket, repacked his
horses and struck out again. Hazel
drew upon her knowledge of British
Columbia geography, and decided that
the big river where Bill hid hiS canoe
must be thu Frazer where II delbouchod