Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1925-10-14

4l1CCIAOo W CUTIE UdCh SOOIl. tIldI D
sure. Wonder what kind of a dodge
he's up to now"
Curran also inquired about Mash
kaugan, but found that no one had
seen him. Curran was growing more
and more nervous, vaguely scent
ing something that might be affect
ing his plans.
He judged it best not to go to the
old chiefs tent, deeming it likely
that the girl, after her conversation
with the priest, might not be in a
mood in which it would be best to
talk with her
He would have to get hold of Nj
missuts alone. Inquiring for the
| chief, he learned that the old man
had taken his gun and gone out on
the barrens to try for caribou.
During the next two days Curran
made rather large inroads on his
supply of strong drink and began to
| fume because the old priest had not
returned. AS for Mashkaugan, Cur
ran heartily hoped he had broken his
neck somewhere.
Perhaps he's gone and made
away with himself with all his crazy
superstitions. hope he has; 'twould
! be a good radiance of bad rubbish.
/ Best thing he could have DONE"
| Wandering over to the landing, he
| counted the canoes there-ten in all.
! A peculiar mark on one of them at
! tracted his attention. This canoe had
! been there for a number of days, he
! felt sure, and looked like the 9TH
! ers, so the he had hitherto paid no
| special attention to it.
! Curran turned it over. There was
! no doubt. It was Mashkaugan's.
The agent looked about him. An
Indian squaw was coming down to
! the waterside, bearing kettle she
wanted to fill.
GLOW longs this canoe been
| here ?" he asked.
The squaw looked at him in some
surprise. To her these white men
were beyond comprehension. The
canoe had been there four days in
| all. Any one who had seen it once
| should have been able to recognize
it at the merest glance. Here was a
man who had never noticed it. Such
| blindness was amazing.
| She held up one hand with four
! fingers outspread.
'EFour days." she replied. "Time
when Mashkaugan came in the
night"
"Did you see him."
'No see him." she replied. "Canoe
! gone and then canoe come back, so
Mashkaugan here"
She shrugged her shoulders and
went up the sloping bank, bearing
| her heavy black kettle.
Curran dashed off to the chiefs
| tent. 1t suddenly struck him that he
| had not seen Ameou Tor some time.
| AS a rule, she was always busy be-
| for the tent, over the cooking fire, or
| doing some of the endless jobs In
| dian women always find waiting for
| them. He must ask if she was i'll
or had disappeared.
This time he laid aside the usual
formality of asking for admlttance.
He found the old chief just returned
with big quarter of meat. The wife
! and children were also in the tent,
but there was no sign of the young
! woman.
"Where's your daughter?" he de-
manded harshly.
The old man pointed to the north
with his thumb.
"Gone away with White Beard, the
Manitou Ilno," he answered quietly.
"Why didn't you tell me of this
I've been expecting all the time to
see her. What are you hiding from
me?"
81 hide nothing" replied the old
chief. "You never ask me-"
Curran swore loudly.
"Where have they gone? What
DO YOU know about all this? If
you're trying to play tricks on me
You'll 90 hungry this winter. Not a
bound of flour will you get. You'll
lust take up your tent and your wo-
man and the brats and get out of
here You knew | wanted Ameou for
nv wife, and now you'vs gone and
sent her away, have you? You're
| going to have to deal with me
noww
He hammered the palm of his left
hand with his fist, raging so that the
| children covered in a corner Of the
| tent: but the old man looked at him
quietly, his serene and wrinkled face
| displaying not the slightest trace
| of emotion.
"Gone to camp of Atuk, the Mas
caupee. on Many Beaver Lake." he
answered. go look see, II you
want"
But Curran had already dashed
| out of the tent.
"Here. Akitamek! Kaku! Hustle
along here! Get my canoe ready at
once an get your paddles! Run over
TO the post and get bread and meat
and tea for a day or two! Never
mind the cooking things, for we're
Going where we can borrow some!
furry up, and don't keep ME wait
ing, or III pull the pelts off you'll
He ran to the post, yelling orders
to old Cyp-t zen. From his room he
took a pistol, which he stuck in his
| hip-pocket. He as mad all through,
and felt that he was in the mood to
! hurt somebody.
"Let any Of these chaps play any
dog-tricks OH me and they'd get
holes punched in them" he ex-
! claimed.
i When he entered the canoe he also
took a paddle AS rule, he consid-
cred it against his dignity to work
| when there were men to do the
sweating for him; but now he was
II hurry.
In @nothe~ minu+- they were
af1oat, and the canoe was going
downstream at a good pace. The
Indians seemed to work more easily
than the agent; doubtless they Ia
bored more effectively. But Curran
was not satisfied with the speed, and
| kept urging them on ceaselessly.
"You men get confoundedly lazy,
sitting around the post for the whole
summer, doing nothing" he sheer
ing. 81 could have taken your two
squaws and got better gait out of
! them"
The Indians made no reply. Their
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