Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1941-09-25


Malone, Garrett Finlay brother of one
of the six, and Blaise, half-breed guide,
arrive at Nottaway posing as surveyors.
e q
Blaise quoted Flame as a figure
appeared in the path leading down
from the railroad fill.
"Bo'-jo'!" returned Blaise.
The half-breed's eyes roved over
the heaped bags; then he turned to
Brassard. "You on survey?"
The thick muscles under Blaise's
shirt frightened at the insolence of
the others manner. But his scanned
face might have been carved from
wood. "Ah-hah!" he said, easing a
cloud of smoke from his mouth.
"My name is Joe Flambeau. /
work for Jules Isadore!" announced
the caller. "What your name?" s.
81 am Big Windigo from Devil
Valley! eat Nottaway Riviere man
for support" The twinkle faded to
cold stare.
At the calculated affront the 9TH
er sucked in his breath. "By gar!
You eensult Joe F1ambeau!" he
choked. Then Flambeau's cropping
fingers found and closed on the bone
handle of the knife under his coat.
Don pull dat knife!" Brassard's
voice was as brittle as shell ice.
Look benin you'll" he said
Flambeau turned his head. Feet
punched under him, the big aire-
dale crouched like a panther.
"You pull dat knife and dat dog
land on your back and rip your
t'roat!"
Flambeau's hand moved away
from his knife handle. II don come
here for troubl!' he said weakly.
IT talk business wild YOU"
Forget wat 1 say!" appeased
Blaise. II dom mean citing. Wat
you want, Flambeau?"
"W'y you take Nottaway Trail to
de Bay?"
1--WE survey lower riviere."
Flambeau surprised Blaise with:
desc engineer pay you small
wages, I get you job wild big mon
ey.'
"Who wid?"
''Isadore! You are stout man. Isa-
dore pay big money for strong man
on de riviere."
1t was growing interesting. Blaise
took the bait "Ah-hah Wat you
pay?"
Double wat you get! Leave dose
men and dey will not make survey
alone"
Blaise threw back his head and
laughed. "You notice dat redhead?"
"Ah-hah!"
"He is Injun in white water! Fin
lay will run anything. Dey 60 to de
bay widout me-"
Flambeau scowled "Batoche will
talk wild you at daylight, here"
"Ah-hah!"
"Isadore give you big pay. Shake
hand!"
B1aise rose and extended a thick
paw. Then he deliberately tossed
his bombshell "W'y do Isadore
watch de Nottaway like a fox watch
a rabbit run? He strike gold on
Waswanipi?"
Flambeau's jaw sagged as he
stared at the cryptic face of the
speaker. "Mebbe he got gold! Meb-
be! You come wild us and fin out!
I see you at daylight"
Shortly Finlay and Malone joined
Blaise at the camp on the shore.
''This dump is sure stampeded!"
snorted the giant, filling and lighting
his pipe. Cant get soul to talk!
From the way they shut up you'd
think the bush north of here was
full Of cockeyed, man-eating Windi-
go!'
Who'd you talk WITH" asked
Finlay.
"Cotter the storekeeper's as
scared as a fox in deep snow with
a lynx on his trail. The rest are
the same way. You see McLeod?"
eyes. I showed him the last line
of the letter sent to the family and
asked if he recognized the writing.
BY the look in his wife's face I be-
lieve he wrote it himself"
Let's see that letter, again, Gar
ry! When Cotter asked me to regis
ter, l saw in his book some writing
on a loose sheet signed by Mcleod"
Finlay handed Malone the letter
he carried in his wallet and the lat
ter read aloud:
"To the family of Robert Finlay,
North Bay, Ontario:
"Last spring Robert Finlay and
his partner, Andrew Troup, left Not
taWay bound for the Chibougamau
gold country by way of the Was
wanipi River. In the fall it was
reported. here, that Montagnais In
dams had found their smashed ca
noe. This is the third party that has
disappeared on the Chibougamau
Trail in two years. There are peo-
pie who have reasons why they don't
want prospectors travelling Waswa-
nipi water.
Il don't believe these six men
were drowned.
ga Friend"
For some time Malone studied the
letter. eyes, it looks mighty like
that writing of McLeod's l saw in