The Dolores star., 1918-11-01

Thereafter. day by day, the miles un-
rolled behind them. Always Roaring
Bill faced straight north. For week
he kept on tirelessly. and a consuming
desire to know how far he intended to
go 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 sizable river.
This they followed north matter OF
three days. On the west the valley
wall ran to 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 Bill halted on
the river bank aud 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 of he beckoned to her.
Hold them minute" he said, and
put the lead ropes in her hand.
Then he went up the bank into q
thicket Of saskatoons. Out of this he
presently emerged. bearing on his
shoulders canoe, old and weather
beaten, but stanch, for 1t 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.
'Now," he directed, "when I start
across, you drive Niger and Satin in
If they show signs Of hanging back.
Bounce a rock or two of them II they
lag,
Her task was an easy one, for Satin
and Niger followed Silk unibesitat-
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. 1t was good
quarter Of 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 equipment in the canoe.
"All aboard for the north side," he
said boyishly. And Hazel climbed obe'
diently amidships.
On the farther side, Bill emptied the
canoe, and slowed 1t 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 the Fraser where 1t debouched
from the mountains. And in that case
she was far north, and In wilderness
indeed.
Her muscles gradually hardened to
the saddle and to walking. Her appe-
tite grew in proportion. The small sup
ply of eatable dainties that Roaring
Bill had brought from the Meadows
dwindled and disappeared, until they
were living on bannocks baked a Ia
frontier in his frying pan, on beans
and coffee. and venison killed by the
way. Yet she relished the coarse fare
even while she rebelled against the cir.
cumstances Of its partaking.
"Do you realize" she broke out one
evening over the fire, "that this is sim.
ply abductlon7"
mot ct ALL" Bill answered prompt.
ly. abduction means to take away
surreptitiously by force. to carry away
wrongfully and by violence any human
being, to hdnap. Now. you can't by
any stretch Of the Imagination accuse
me of force, violence or kidnapping
not by long shot. You merely wan.
dered Into my camp. and 1t wasn't con.
venient for me to turn back. There
rore circumstances-not my act, re-
member-made it advisable for you to
accompany me. or course I'll admit
that, according to custom and usage,
you would expect me to do the polite
thing and restore you to your own
stamping ground. But there's no law
making 1t mandatory for fellow to
pilot home n lady In distress. Isn't
that right?"