The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1923-12-07
oassNsA seRJ,cs.lHss

both Indians, smoked stolidiy, with
out bestowing upon her a single
glance, whilst she ate. When she had
| finished she pushed the tin plate from
her and looked at the half-breed. who
had seated himself a yard or so away
from her.
Who are your" she asked.
"Ah not tell you datr' said the man
with a. grin.
Then tell me what are you going to
do with me?"
You fin dat out for yourself in
a vaire leetle taime.' was the answer
Helen looked at the evil, cunning
face. and knew that 1t was no use
pursuing inquiries in that direction.
began to ask another question. to
her of even vaster moment:
THAT man who was with me In
the cabin, he"
'Sacreer' cried the half-breed IN
a sudden burst of fury. Dat man he
ees dead, Par Dieu! an eef he was
rot, roast heem a1ive!''
"Deadr' AS the exclamation broke
! from her, the girl looked at the half
breed with eyes in which cleaned a
sudden fear. Then hope came to her
as she remembered the shots that she
had heard. But" she protested, "he
was firing on you as you left. 1t
cannot be that he"
Nom broke in the .half-breed.
Dat man was with you he fire onlee
once, den he die. Dose shots dey ccme
from zee wood, an I not know who
fire dem. Eet was strange. I not
know eef there be one man or more,
so run Always wit you"
Great sobs shook her shoulders, and
scalding tears welled in her eyes. Her
lover had indeed gone to his death
after all. had given his life for hers
as at the very beginning Of their ac-
| quaintance he had risked 1t to the
same end by saving her!
The callous half-breed was disturbed
by the utter abandon of her grief.
mo need TO weep Xix zee rain in
when men are as zee leaves of zee
! forest? Dis man dead True-but
Get ees a small ting-zee death of
man. An I TAX you to anodder
man"
you will what?" Helen looked
up sharply as she asked the question.
There was a light Of wrath struggling
wi-t. the grief in her eyes and the
halr=e1-ed was startled by it.
Il TAX you 70 anodder man who
weel low you as white squaws de-
sire. He"
"Who Is this MANI" she asked. sud
denly interrupting him.
But the half-breed developed a sud
den wariness.
Nom he said. ''I not tell you dat,
/ pleasant"
This man whom you promise me?
He pays you to bring me to him?'
t"Oui! He pays q great price,!
| Time passed. and she still marched
| to and fro. The half breed was nod
ding over the fire, and his two com
panions were sound asleep. Under
! her fur parko she felt the butt OF
the pistol which Stane had given
her. when the attack on the cabin had
commenced. She looked at the three
men, and with her hand on the pistol
butt the thought came to her mind
/ that it would be a simple thing to
kill them In their sleep, and take the
dogs and so effect her escape. They
were murdered. they deserved to die,
| and she felt that she could kill them
without conjunction. But her eyes
swept the dark circle Of trees, and for
a moment she stared into the dark
ness with fixed gaze, then her hand
slipped from the pistol. and she put
from her the thought that had come
to her.
When the half-breed rose, and or
dered her to resume her place on the
sledge, she did so without demur.
making herself as comfortable as pos
sible. She was bound to the sledge
again, though, when they resumed the
journey, she was less like mere bale
| than she had been, and was free to
lift the blanket which now was thrown
over her head for protection from the
extreme cold more than for any other
reason. But only once before the
dawn did she avail herself Of this
privilege to look about her. and that
was when the second halt was made
She lifted the blanket to learn the
cause of the delay; and made the dis
covery that the dog-harness having be-
come entangled in the branch of q
fallen tree, had broken and the halt
was necessary for repairs. She dropped
her head-coverihg again and lay there
in the darkness. wild thoughts min
Cling with her grief
The sullen dawn of the northern
winter had broken when she lifted
the blanket again They were still
in the forest, having lost the trail
in the darkness, and presently a fresh
halt was necessary, and whilst two Of
/ the men prepared meal her chief
/ captor went off through the woods as
/ she guessed to discover their where
abouts He returned in the course of
half an hour and said something to
! his compaflion which Helen did not
understand: and after a rather lei
surely meal they harnessed up once
more.
! After a time the forest began to
open out They struck a frozen
river and descending the bank and
I taking to its smooth surface, their
speed accelerated. The banks of the
river widened. and in a little time
they swept clear of them on to the
/ open plain of what she easily guessed
was frozen lake. They turned
sharply to the right, and a few min
Utes afterward a whirl of snow
caused her to cover her face. Some
considerable time passed before she
/ looked forth again. They were trav-
D NH1