Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1926-02-11


at Og0ke lake. Instead OF belonging
to a type more or less common to the
frontier railroad f0WnS, the girl posing
as the sister OF Lafiamme was unde-
niably handsome. with q mass Of
straight. black hair. and the brilliant
olive skin which so often character
ICES the quarter or eighth blood. For
that she was breed. he had no doubt
Extending a round arm. she gave
Steele her hand with something more
than the pressure demanded by hos
pltaIity. as her white teeth flashed In
a smile.
III Is kind Of you, mademoiselle. TO
take me In tonight" he said and the
thought shaped itself swiftly. as her
thfck-lashed eyes made a bold APP
praisal Of the stranger at Ogoke. that
this girl. of whom Lafiamme had tired,
might have knowledge Invaluable
might even. by the adroit use of her
evident vanity. betray the plans OF
the lord OF Ogoke lake. For that she
should be In Ignorance OF the -infafna-
tion Of the latter for Denise st. Onge
was unlikely.
"Oh, Ia. la Eet ees TO ourselves
we are kind. Ees eet not so. Louisf"
''Yes. monsieur" replied Latiamme
with a leer. Judging from the toilet
OF mademoiselle. one should say It Is
to Rose that you are kind. You have
not worn that thing In months. Rose"
'NO7 / had reason. ! do not waste
myself on the blind
"Ahl But monsieur is not blind.
Ell
mo man ees blind who has been
months cen the north with no one
but the squaws to see. Ell. Monsieur
Steele?" And she smiled suggestive
~ into Sieele's amused eyes. Then
her face darKened. ''Oh. forgot,
monsieur has come from walllng
River" she said In a low tone. husky
with emotion.
Good. thought Steele. she Knows
and will talk.
Then he gambled with: zone can
never see too many beautiful women.
mademoiselle."
"Oh, you think her beautiful. ehf"
replied Rose Lafamme. tapping the
floor with the toe Of her slipper.
Louis say she ees not"
Come, monsieur" Interrupted the
trader, with a scowl at the speaker.
as an OJibway woman stood in the
doorway, announcing dinner.
AS they seated themselves at the
table. Steele was highly optimistic OF
what his stay at the post might dis
close Whether Lafiamme had decided
to- take him at his word. or still sus-
pected his presence at Ogoke. David
had more chance OF learning that
night than he. but that the outraged
pride of Rose Lafamme would lead
her TO talk. II the opportunity offered,
he was now sure. Her reference to
Walling River had cleared any doubt
on that score. The canker Of jealousy
and the fiouted woman's instinct for
revenge would play havoc with the
haIf-breed In Rose Lafiamme
you are from New York, Monsieur
Steele, that wonderful city l have
never seenY the hostess was saying
"Yes. II Is my home. but / seldom
see it.
seldom see III And all the life
there TO enjoy-the theaters. the
beautiful women7"
"But there are beautiful women
elsewhere. mademolselle; 0goke lake,
for instance" Steele hazarded, lifting
hfa r,t,-n - che ,4rI - he ofornad Il
furtiveiy at Laiiamme.
mon Dieu, but you are the fat
tererl You are man OF thee ladies,
monsieur. even eef you desert them
to travel cen this wilderness"
at is only that my inspiration Is
great this evening"" he returned.
Lafiamme laughed unpleasantIy In
the girls face. kindling with pleasure
at the remark. In a fash, she turned |
with what was near snarl. her dark
eyes flaming. You see, from others
there is appreciation Then. light
ing a cigarette. she rested her round
elbows on the table. and leaning to-
ward Steele with a challenging look,
startled him with: SAY more pretty
words to me, you big American
Steele threw a sidelong glance at
Lafiamme, to find only amused toler-
ance. He was In doubt whether the
girl was making a forIorn attempt to
arouse the trader's jealousy or merely
set on his own conquest Since his
ready answers to a few weIl-chOsen
questions Of Lafiamme's regarding
New York, Steele believed that the
Iatter's suspicious had faded. But
II was too early to hazard an attempt
to learn anything. He was dealing
with a man both ruthless and power.
full. so Steele was discreet. but he
saw that little more whisky was need
ed to loose the tongue of the girl be-
yond control. For that he waited.
ITO BE CONTINUED
Mnshsr~x h,,S gr.ess~~