UNDER FROZEN STARS
CHAPTER VI ? Continued
? 11 ?
With his tump-line Jim lashed the
two guns to a provision ha?, swung it
to his bnrk. adjusted the head-strap
over his forehead, and piled on the
rest of their outfit, while Smoke
thrashed off through the "hush" after
gnow-sh<?e rabbits. For 11 half mile
the trail held to the high land hack
from the river, then turned toward
the water. Bent under his heavy load.
Jim followed the moving legs of Omar
under the peterhoro. From the slowly
Increasing clamor of the rapids. Jim
judged that they were nearlng tho end
of the carry and approaching the
river, but his sweat-blinded eyes did
not lift from the moccasins of the man
In front.
Suddenly, the legs of Omar came to
a halt- Curious. Jim raised his head
handed bv ttie tumn-line but the
canoe on Omar's broad back, blocking
the trail, alone met his blurred eyes.
Then, to his startled enrs came
Omar's hoarse whisper: "De gun!
Quirk !"
"What Is it? -Game ahead?" Jim
wondered, as he slipped off the head
strap.
As his load slid to the ground he
wiped the sweat from his eyes and
souinted past Omar toward the river.
With n hound his heart started drum
mine against his ribs. There, twenty
yards up the trail, leering at the wait
ing Omar, stiff as a spruce under the
ennoo. stood Paul Paradis,
"Trapped !" muttered Jim. working
desperately to free the rifles from the
knotted tump-line which bound them
to the pack.
Again came Omar's whispered warn
ing: *T>e gun! Tak' to de bush!
Quork!" followed by the Jeer of Para
dis- "So you have come to vlseet
me?"
With his gun almost free. Jim heard
a movement in the bush, and looked up
to see two Indians hurl themselves at
the man waiting, legs braced, under
the canoe.
A* thpy came headlong on. with a
lunge of his great shoulders Omar
pivoted and swung the heavy peter
boro crashing Into their heads, at the
samp timp slipping his tump-line and
avoiding the falling host. Then with
a roar the enraged half breed met the
rush of a third man and. lifting him
above his head in his vise-like grip,
flung the writhing body to the trail.
Leaping over the stunned Indian, he
made for the surprised Paradls.
Dodging Into the brush to escape
the charging Omar. Paradls shouted:
"No knives!** as two Ojlbwas cata
pulted info the half-breed from the
rear, hringing him to his knees.
But they were fighting to take alive
a man whose strength was a byword
from Cod's lake to theParren Grounds,
and. as he tripped and fell with two
clawing Indians on his hack, legs
twined around his. Omar snarled: "I
tak* you. too. Para dees !"
When Omar clubbed his first as
sailants with his swinging canoe, Jim.
with his hands on his lashed gun. was
hurlpd to his face by the Impact of
two heavy bodies. As he fell the
realization that all he had worked for
? all he loved ? hung on the next few
seconds, flashed through his conscious
ness.
They bad not knifed him ! Thought
they could take him and Omar with
their bare hands, did they?
The old fury he had known in many
a trench fight overseas returned as
Jim fought the men on his hack who
sought to pin him to the ground. A
desperate heave and he twisted and
thrashed in their clinging arms until
he reached his knees. A wrench, and
he had a hand free, as they fell to the
trail ? a heap of straining, panting
men. Chin clamped on chest to cheat
their clawing fingers seeking his
throat, again and again Jim hunched
his fist over the shoulder into the jaw
of the man who faced him, then by
sheer strength bent back the head,
until, with a groan, he fainted.
I>esperate with the knowledge of
the white man's superior strength, the
remaining OJibwa clung like a cat,
with arms and legs, to Stuart's back,
but wrenching himself from his grip,
Jim beat him to the ground. On his
knees, the hands of the dazed Indian
fumbled with something on the trail, as
Jim rose panting to his feet Then, with
a blind lunge he lurched forward with
Stuart's recovered knife, to meet the
crash of a swinging fist which crum
bled him In a heap.
Omar!
Picking up the knife, Jim hurried
?head to aid bis friend. As he ap
proached, from the limp bodies of -two
Ken rose a pair of massive bleeding
?boulders, from which a shirt hung in
tatters. His heart checked as the sun
flashed from a knife blade and a
crouching figure left the brush to run
*t the square bulk of Omar's back.
"Behind you, Omar 1** warned the
inning Stuart
At the words, Omar leaped far to
the side and turned to face the dan
I*. But i he courage of Paul Paradls
by GEORGE MARSH
Copyright by Penn Pub. Co. fWNU Servleo)
FROM THE BEGINNING
At his fur post. Sunset House, in the Canadian north, Jim Stuart, trader in charge,
with his headman. Omar, rescues Aurore LeBlond. daughter of Stuart's rival in the fur
business, from an overturned canoe in the lake. In a spirit of fun. she and Jim arrange
to exchange notes on a certain island. LeBlond. with Paradis. his half-breed lieutenant,
arrives in ararch of the missing girl. Paradis displays enmity toward Jim. Going to
the island to see if Aurore has left the promised note. Jim is ambushed by Paradis and
forced to travel toward the LeBlond post. On the way he overturns the boat, leavint
his enemy on the beach. Jim's superior. Andrew Christie, displeased at Stuart's trade
showing, allows him. at his request, one year to "make good." Paradis bribes an
Indian to ambush Jim and Omar. The attempt fails, and Jim takes the Indian to
LeBlond. After hearing ths story, LeBlond discharges Paradis. Jim and Aurore
acknowledge their mutual love, though Aurore is returning to Winnipeg, and Jim
has planned a canoe trip to make a personal appeal to the Indians, who have persistently
refused to trade their furs with him. He finds that Paradis has enlisted their supersti
tion to discourage them from trading with Stuart. Esau, half-breed partisan of Stuart,
leaves on a mysterious journey which they hope will result in the overthrow of Jingwak.
sswycs
->"?
7T,'"; -;;,;;;,,r?
E&~3.JEWC
SSiss:
sight e "f l>!,ru'lls '"
There* wal? e"",L """r" Sm"*e r
,i~ ?" ""S
tC;?* AKain an'r^fn ^
took cnreful aim and fired nt th?
distant craft, but .he range wa, great
?ion. ,hitTr?hrn""K from "?r:
ben.l. ra""? I urn, .J a
Back an.! forth through the thl.-k
hush the tana|nit J|m ^r('^k
railing the dog he loved? hoping lf
?nsw," ^ih""* 'm "Ur' ??'???' w?um
answer will, ? whine. Rnt Smoke .11,1
no, answer. The two friends widened
husk, m,"!', 'hlnkl"? ">e wounded
husky might have crawled ofr some
to 1hV? Flna"-T w?? forced
to the conclusion that the .log had
been shot in the water an, I car red
down stream. "?i
I'nor Smoke! Sick at heart <it?n?
bathed his grimy face and arms 'at
thrJ "S thoughts went back
three > ears to the puppvhood of the
.rlend he had lost. From the time
when, a fluff,- hall of fllr. Jlm
brought him south from the hav to
?od ? lake, man and dog had known
no separation; together they had faced
t1>e drive of ,he blizzards and the
slant of the spring rains; shared the
hardships of the white trails of the
long snows and the summer white
waters. Two great tears ran down the
bronzed face of the man who knelt*
by the river, for the slant eyes of his
dog would never again shine with
Idolatry as his deep throat rumbled
at Jims caress; his plume of a tail
beat frantically to Jim's call as he
yelped in answer.
"Ccod-hy, Smoke!" sobbed the man.
turning his face twisted with grief
from the sober eyes of his friend "I
loved every black hair on you Jim
will never forget! Good by, Smoke!"
*??????
"Well you wanted to meet him again
and you had your wish." said Jim. as
they filled the magazines of their
rifles and started back for the canoe.
"Now did F^DIond lie to us and aend
him here to hide, or Is Taradls dis
obeying orders? I wish I knew."
The muscles ridged on Omar's
clamped Jaws as he scowled his dis
appointment. "Kef he onlee Jump
me wld dose oders." h. sighed. Then
his hand slid back to the empty sheath
on his sash "Dey get my knife w'en
dey hit me from behind. Dey get your
knife, too? You have moch trouble
wld dem?"
"They got mine. too. hut I picked
It up." Jim smiled at Omar's matter
of fact reference to his struggle to
free himself of the two OJIbwas. "We
must wash these scratches, Omar.'
he went on, examining the hulgin*
shoulders protruding through the
ripped shirt of his friend. "They
clawed you like a lynx."
Omar's marked face wrinkled In per
plexity. "W'y you fink dat Pnradees
try to tak' us wld hees hand? Ver'
strange t'lng!"
"I don't know. Maybe he wanted
to keep us In a cage to show us to the
Indians up here," laughed Jim. "One
thing's certain ; If he caught us we'd
heve never seen home again. But that
was a clever trick of yours ? clubbing
them with the boat, you old wolverine.
These young bucks of Paradls won't
forget the trimming you gave them.
There were three or four decorating
the trail when I got loose and started
to help you. Bow they'd laugh at
Cod's lake at these people trying to
take Omar Boisvert with their hands!"
Omar's mouth widened across his
square face. "Dese young feller on tie
Sturgeon keep dere hand o(T Omar
Boisvert, ah-hah," laughed the swart
s??n of Anak. "Dey got sore neck all
right."
"D'you suppose they've come to. and
are waiting for us with guns to come
back for the boat?"
Omar shook his head. "We go an'
see. 1 t'ink dey got dere fill for to
day. Paradls run; dey run. He keep
dere gun een hees canoe, lie want to
tak* us alive, he not dare geeve dem
de gun."
"You didn't kill any of 'em ? break
any necks ? with those bear traps of
hands?"
Omar thoughtfully scratched his
head. "Wan. mebbe. I twist hees
neck ver' hard." Then the narrow
a
A
v\
Again and Again the Two Took
Careful Aim and Fired at the
Distant Craft.
eyes of the half-breed suddenly cloud
ed. "Esaa !*' he gnsped. "Dey know
we come ; by gar. dey get Esau !n
The canoe of the old Indian, a day
ahead of them on the river, must have
run Into the party of Paradis.
"lie told me he would travel only at
night."
The deep chest of the half-breed
lifted In a heavy sigh. "Wldout Esau
we are no good," be said, as they
started back to the canoe.
"He may have missed them. There's
nothing to do but keep on."
Cautiously, deep In the bush on
either side of the portage trail, the
two men approached their canoe. As
Omar had said, it was unlikely that
Paradis had allowed his men to carry
rifles to the ambush, for In their ex
citement the Indians would have used
them, and for some subtle reason he
wanted to take Omar and Jim unhurt.
Nevertheless, the two men stalked
their canoe as If sure that trouble
r? ''ted them. But the Ojibwas, re
m! from their rough handling,
? 'iRappeared, leaving the canoe
outfit, with Omar's knife, lying
on ihe trail, untouched.
"Dey were scare' we come back wld
our gun and dey make for dere canoe."
"Yes. they must have had another
boat downstream."
As the peterboro was brought" to the
river, and slid Into the water, Jim
pointed at a patch of mud. "Look!
There they are ? Smoke's tracks!"
The two men bent over the deep
Impressions of a dog's feet In the mud
of the shore.
"He Jumped from here ? there's
where he landed. See that moccasin
print? He was right after them as
they put In the canoe ! They couldn't |
miss him ? shot him dead!**
Foot by foot Jim and Omar searched
the mud of the shore, but found do j
further traces of the vanished dog.
"Smokey ? poor old Smokey I"
mourned Jim. "You died like s sol- '
dler, facing 'em! And Jim can't give
you a decent grave."
Stuart straightened, and gazing
downstream where the stiffened body
of his dog rode the swift current on
Its way to the sea. brought his hand
to his forehead In salata.
The friends dropped a mile down
river, and, cutting back Into the tim
ber. made a small lire and ate. To
avoid a possible ambush, they watted
for the moon. then, hugging the shad
ows of the shore, traveled, until
stopped by the churn of broken water
ahead.
At dawn they carried around the
white-water, which seemed impassable,
and all day lay hidden in the brush be
low. watching the river and wondering
what chance two voyageurs who had
beaten their young men would have
with the wild Ojlbwas of Sturgeon
lake. Since the meeting with Paradis
and his men. the mission to Sturgeon
lake In search of Jingwak seemed but
a forlorn hope to Jim Stuart. The
presence In the country of LeBlond's
man had put a new face on things.
At tlie best, the Indians would refuse
w tisivii 10 uiem once iney nan near a
of the fight on the |>ortage. At th??
worst. It looked as If the prediction
of tlie old OJibwa at the I.ake of the
Great Stones would be fulfilled. The
peterhoro would never return up the
Sturgeon.
Of course. Jim knew that he and
Omar could not disappear olT the face
of the earth without a search by com
pany nu-n and the Provincial police.
The first sledding snow would bring
dog- teams from the south Into the
Sturgeon valley ? clean-faced trackers
who would follow Indian or white
man, wanted for murder. Into the
uttermost north ? clear to the frozen
sea. and beyond. There would be
trouble In the Pipestone und Sturgeon
river country if the factor of Suns<>t
House and his head man did not come
back. Hut unless Paradis was be
trayed. how were these grim man
hunters from the south to prove that
the missing men had been shot out of
their canoe from ambush or stabbed
as they slept? Whom could they ac
cuse? Unless, by some miracle. Esau
returned to Sunset House, all that
men would ever know would be that
three voyageurs and a dog had. like
thousands before them, faded Into the
north, leaving no trace.
Yes, the two friends agreed, having
shown his hand, there was no doubt
that Paradis, for his own personal
safety, would hunt them down when
he found they had continued north to
Sturg??on lake. In keeping on and
attempting to And Jlngwak, supported
by LeHlond'8 man, they were paddling
Into certain disaster, for after the
lesson on the portage, Paradis would
never again try to take them with
bare hands. And yet', as they planned
while they waited for darkness, and
the deep set gray eyes of the factor
of Sunset House met the knotted
squint of Omar's swart face, no sug
gestion of turning back was voiced
by either. Ahead of them, they hoped
against hope, a dauntless old man still
traveled on his lonely mission to Stur
geon lake ? a mission which would
mean, if he were met and recognized
by Paradis. the swift disappearance of
Ksau Otchlg. They had let him go
alone, on this mad search for the
sorcerer. They would follow and find
him. if alive, and make their fight to
gether. Jim would have as soon de
serted the old OJibwa In his present
need as he would have left a wounded
man between the lines in Flanders.
As the moon rose and they pushed
off into the shadows of the river shore,
the words of Aurore LeBlond, "You'd
die for love, so you say, but your
duty ? " haunted Jim's thoughts. Had
he played fair with this girl who had
so frankly shown him her heart? He
had allowed a sense of duty? of loy
alty to the company ? to cheat them of
priceless hours together before she
went south. And now this loyalty was
to rob them of their birthright For
even the masterful Omar admitted
that Jingwak and Paradis would never
allow the peterboro to return to Sun
set House. And now that he felt In
his heart that he had said good-by
forever, Jim lived again and again
each treasured moment he had spent
with her. Once more, as the boat' slid
past the snadow-packed river shore,
he felt the warm caress of her lips,
heard her low whisper, gazed Into the
dark depths of her eyes and crushed
her lithe body to his heart.
"Good-by, Aurore!" he murmured,
and above the fret of the river on the
near shore, he again heard her, "Good
by, magician, don't forget mf!"
! But he had forgotten her, the brood
ing bowmac. told himself, when he left
her and come north to his defeat. To
him In his loneliness had come this
miracle of the love of Aurore Le
Blond and he had turned from It, put
It aside as If a thing of little worth ?
this miracle of her love.
(TO BB CONTINUED.)
Fasting the Beet Way
?'How to Improve the appetite," was
the theme of a recent medical address
that consumed more than half ao
hour's time. We could tell it quicker:
Pass up your breakfast, dinner and
supper and repeat the same second day
if necessary. Your appetite will Im
prove. ? New Orleans Times- Pica jumi
MercolizodWax
Keeps Skin Young
0?t %o cm'* u<l u dir*rUd. Fine partirl*. u( Iifwl
?kin iiwl ufl until *11 such u tumplft. Uvrr
?Pot*. t?n ?n4 frwUM iliui>p**>. Skis ?? ib?n ? .!?
?ni>tlf?ty Vour l>?k? >??r? t'ouacrr
"" i.iii the Ltid-a btsiiljr of jr-vjr ?km. T?
wrlnkln u*e one ouon I'owil?r?J Suolil?
riiMilrvd la ooo-b&U pint witch Kutl. At drui ?tor?.
Awnta. IUk Money Selling Out Tim.I liputlr.
?'X'-elU-nt ? jualit). marie in our own labora
tory. Writ- fur particular*. Lincoln St. r
lluff Corp.. Imnkirk. N. Y.
IHlllSSKS I OIC I Mll.K n'OMKX. airri
*- 'O 5? for $.' 73. Marv- lou* v*ln^ Writ*,
for particular*. Lexlcgtnn I?reaa Shop.
4149 50 th St W?od*id>-. N Y
Mill's Centennial
A flour mill mailc of stone an?l
liewed timber ami powered by a wa
ter wheel iti Imliau creek. near I Vil
las, Texas, reached lis centennial of
operation this year. The mill, which
lias heen operated since 1S4!> by An
thony Watts and his descendants,
was built in \K\'2 to grind tiie grain
for the Indians. The Watts' de
scendants hehl a celebration in ob
servavice of t he mill's centennial.
SAWS M PRICE
Snipped on trial, no dvpositL must
cut hard and frozen timber satis
f-ictory.' Follow our Instructions and
it will continue to give that good
Service- R*f?r*nc* Any B^nb Here.
J. H. Miner Saw Mfg. Co.
Meridian, Miss.
Constructing Large Shrine
The largest shrine in western
Pennsylvania is helm; built at the
Slovak Franciscan Fathers* home at
Avalon. I 'a., by umMiiployed stone
masons and cutters. The workmen
are members of three Unman Catho
lic churches in the Pittsburgh district.
The shrim\ to eost about $30.U00, Is
being constructed of granite, with
red and white stone trimming. It
will include an altar, sacristy, grot
to, catacombs and fountains.
WHY PAY I
MORE?
St. Josep h's
GENU IN E
PURE ASPIRIN
Expert With His Toes
Although Wood row llorns, nine
year old negro boy of Okcmah, Okla.,
has no arms, lie is an expert marble
player. The boy plays marbles with
his toes and displays a deadly aim
with either foot, lie was born with
out arms.
Try Lydia E. Pinkhsm's Vegetable Compound
Had Melancholy Blues
Wanted to die . . . she felt so blue
and wretched! Don't let cramps ruin
Tour good times. Lydia E. Pinkham's
Vegetable Compound gives you relief.
Remarkable Feat
Many of the huge slabs of stone,
each weighing several tons, erected
at Stonehenge hy the Rriions of near
ly 4,000 years ago, were brought 160
miles across wild country froiu
Wales.
Site Would
A wife is somebody who thought
you had Jotted down the street num
ber of the people you are driving out
to visit for the first time.? Detroit
News.
For Uzy liver, stomach and
kidneys, biliousness, indi
gestion, constipation, iwsA
ache, colds and forer.
10/ and 35/ at dialers.