The Pulaskian., 1920-03-12
CHAPTER xiii.
The Island.


land at one o'clock. They planned t.
spend three hours there and return OF
the evening tide.
Hilary, seated opposite his friend
told him of the conversation witt
Louis, who, manipulating the tiller
heard nothing.
ssIf Louis will swear to what he in
formed me-" he said, sit means thai
we can clap Brousseau into Jail. 9th
erwise he'll never give up his schemes
against me, because he has a personal
grievance"
"A1r. Askew," said LATE, might
put a question to you without giving
offense?"
''You may, Connell."
"I'm only saying what everybody's
saying in st. Boniface, and that is
about your cutting Brousseau out with
Mademoiselle Rosny."
II guess it's true, Lafe," said Hilary.
sTafe. she's-Well, you understand"
81 guess [ do" said LATE. He
stretched out a sinewy hand and
grpped Hilary's warmly. 81 wish
Clarice-my wife-could meet you" he
said.
4 hope she win, LATE, some day.
But now about Brousseau.'
II asked you that said LATE, "be-
cause there's lot hangs on it. Now
as to Louis--he wouldn't swear. If
he did swear, he'd swear that he'd
been lying as soon as Brousseau
slipped him a ten-dollar bill. No, sir,
it won't do. We've got to get the fox
right into the trap before we spring
It."
"I'm afraid I am no hand at spring
tng traps Lafe."
mo But we've got to give him rope
enough to hang himself. We don't
wrnt to go off at half-cock. That's
palmer, amt It? My advice is as be-
fore; lie low You see, sir, when a
man schemes and schemes and plans
his crooked work, all that he's doing
is to twist the rope tighter round his
own neck. We've got him now, but
we must get the moose tight, so that
he won't wriggle out of it. And he'll
twist it tight next time he wriggles.
That's my idea, Mr.. Askew."
Il guess you're right as usual LATE. !"
answered Hilary. "But I've been ~
ing low laundering long time"
No more was said upon the subject.
Out in the Gulf the choppiness of the
xxnvoc hoI oT,opfro5 &o n -+oodv, s.,,oo.V,
toward the island, which, lying in mid
stream, received and broke the full
force of the daily tides. The wind
aided them, and they swept through
the water. Hilary watched the near
ing land with interest that deepened
as he began to make out the luxurious
growth of conifers that covered it al
most to the seas verge.
In the center he could now make
out ridge of low hills, which seemed
TO ascend to a terminal cliff, having
on one side gentle slope and, on the
other, a preeipitous descent toward
the water.
There ought to be some fine cut
ting there for us some day." said
Hilary "Helloi What's that?"
somebody has got there before us. "
said Connel
a boat came into view, a little fish
ing sloop, much like Duval's, beached
on the shore, the sails down, the bow
high above high water.
"That boat belongs to Jacques
Brousseau," said Louis, pointing to-
ward it.
What's he doing on my limits. !
wonder" unused Hilary.
Il guess he's making this his winter
quarters. He's trapped the seigniory
50 long that he thinks it's his terri
tory
They grounded. Duval. leapine
ashore, brought the bow round above
the water level Lafe and Hilary
stepped out and stretched their cramp-
ed limbs.
The wind blew keenly, but, once I'm.
der the shelter of the island they
found it warm autumn weather
Leaving Louis stretched out in the
boat, under a tarpaulin, Lafe and Hill
airy started up the sloping beach toward
the interior. The first thing that they
noticed as peculiar, when they hat
passed the outer fringe of trees, was
the existence of a well-defined trail
They stopped and looked at it.
Do you suppose old jacques made
all that?" asked Lafe
TOO wide"
And too hard, Mr.. Askew. This
has been stamped out this summer
And Jacques has only been here
week, at mos"
THEM asked Hilary.
Somebody else has been on tn,
Island ali summer, or at least most O
the sumner. Maybe two or three 0
tAem It looks like it"
The trail had disappeared. The,
were now scrambling up a gulley be
tween great rocks that lowered Of