ARRI ER 
 
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THE BARRIER 
 
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The Barrier 
 
 Bj REX BEACH 
 
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 AUTHOR OF 
 
 -The Spoiler*, " "The Silver Horde." Etc. 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS NEW YORK 
 
 PublUhed bv arrangement with Harper & Brothers 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 Copyright, 1908, by Harper & Brothers 
 Printed in the United States of America 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 I. THE LAST FRONTIER ......... i 
 
 II. POLEON DORET S HAND is QUICKER THAN His 
 
 TONGUE ............. 15 
 
 III. WITHOUT BENEFIT OP CLERGY ...... 34 
 
 IV. THE SOLDIER FINDS AN UNTRODDEN VALLEY . 49 
 
 V. A STORY is BEGUN .......... 67 
 
 VI. THE BURRELL CODE .......... 81 
 
 VII. THE MAGIC OF BEN STARK ....... 95 
 
 VIII. THE KNIFE ............. 107 
 
 IX. THE AWAKENING ........... 124 
 
 X. MEADE BURRELL FINDS A PATH IN THE MOON 
 
 LIGHT ............. 141 
 
 XI. WHERE THE PATH LED ........ 158 
 
 XII. A TANGLED SKEIN .......... 174 
 
 XIII. STARK TAKES A HAND IN THE GAMB . . . 190 
 
 XIV. A MYSTERY is UNRAVELLED ....... 209 
 
 XV. AND A KNOT TIGHTENED ........ 229 
 
 XVI. JOHN GALE S HOUR .......... 245 
 
 XVII. THE LOVE OF POLEON DORET ...... 259 
 
 XVIII. RUNNION FINDS THE SINGING PEOPLE ... 283 
 
 XIX. THB CALL OP THE OREADS ....... 302 
 
 M . 5820 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THB LAST FRONTIER 
 
 MANY men were in debt to the trader at Flambeau, 
 and many counted him as a friend. The latter 
 never reasoned why, except that he had done them 
 favors, and in the North that counts for much. Per 
 haps they built likewise upon the fact that he was ever 
 the same to all, and that, in days of plenty or in times 
 of famine, his store was open to every man, and all 
 received the same measure. Nor did he raise his prices 
 when the boats were late. They recalled one bleak 
 and blustery autumn when the steamer sank at the 
 Lower Ramparts, taking with her all their winter s 
 food, how he eked out his scanty stock, dealing to each 
 and every one his portion, month by month. They 
 remembered well the bitter winter that followed, when 
 the spectre of famine haunted their cabins, and when 
 for endless periods they cinched their belts, and cursed 
 and went hungry to sleep, accepting, day by day, the 
 rations doled out to them by the grim, gray man at 
 the log store, Some of them had money-belts weight 
 ed low with gold washed from the bars at Forty Mile, 
 and there were others who had wandered in from the 
 
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 Koyukuk with the first frosts, foot-sore and dragging, 
 the legs of their skin boots eaten to the ankle, and the 
 taste of dog meat still in their mouths. Broken and 
 dispirited, these had fared as well through that des 
 perate winter as their brothers from up-river, and re 
 ceived pound for pound of musty flour, strip for strip 
 of rusty bacon, lump for lump of precious sugar. 
 Moreover, the price of no single thing had risen through 
 out the famine. 
 
 Some of them, to this day, owed bills at Old Man 
 Gale s, of which they dared not think; but every fall 
 and every spring they came again and told of their dis 
 appointment, and every time they fared back into the 
 hills bearing another outfit, for which he rendered no 
 account, not even when the debts grew year by year, 
 not even to "No Creek" Lee, the most unlucky of them 
 all, who said that a curse lay on him so that when a 
 pay-streak heard him coming it got up and moved 
 away and hid itself. 
 
 There were some who had purposely shirked a reckon 
 ing, in years past, but these were few, and their finish 
 had been of a nature to discourage a similar practice 
 on the part of others, and of a nature, moreover, to 
 lead good men to care for the trader and for his methods. 
 He mixed in no man s business, he took and paid his 
 dues unfalteringly. He spoke in a level voice, and he 
 smiled but rarely. He gazed at a stranger once and 
 weighed him carefully, thereafter his eyes sought the 
 distances again, as if in searcn of some visitor whom 
 he knew or hoped or feared would come. Therefore, 
 men judged he had lived as strong men live, and were 
 glad to call him friend. 
 
 This day he stood in the door of his post staring up 
 the sun- lit river, absorbing the warmth of the Arctic 
 
 2 
 
THE LAST FRONTIER 
 
 afternoon. The Yukon swept down around the great 
 bend beneath the high, cut banks and past the little 
 town, disappearing behind the wooded point below, 
 which masked the up-coming steamers till one heard 
 the sighing labor of their stacks before he saw their 
 smoke. It was a muddy, rushing giant, bearing a 
 burden of sand and silt, so that one might hear it hiss 
 and grind by stooping at its edge to listen; but the 
 slanting sun this afternoon made it appear like a boil 
 ing flood of molten gold which issued silently out of 
 a land of mystery and vanished into a valley of forget- 
 fulness. At least so the trader fancied, and found him 
 self wishing that it might carry away on its bosom the 
 heavy trouble which weighed him down, and bring in 
 its place forgetfulness of all that had gone before. In 
 stead, however, it seemed to hurry with news of those 
 strange doings "up-river," news that every down- 
 coming steamboat verified. For years he had known 
 that some day this thing would happen, that some day 
 this isolation would be broken, that some day great 
 hordes of men would overrun this unknown land, bring 
 ing with them that which he feared to meet, that which 
 had made him what he was. And now that the time 
 had come, he was unprepared. 
 
 The sound of shouting caused him to turn his head. 
 Down-stream, a thousand yards away, men were rais 
 ing a flag-staff made from the trunk of a slender fir, 
 from which the bark had been stripped, heaving on 
 their tackle as they sang in unison. They stood well 
 >out upon the river s bank before a group of well-made 
 houses, the peeled timbers of which shone yellow in the 
 sun. He noted the symmetrical arrangement of the 
 buildings, noted the space about them that had been 
 smoothed for a drill-ground, and from which the stumps 
 
 3 
 
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 had been removed; noted that the men wore suits of 
 blue; and noted, in particular, the figure of an officer 
 commanding them. 
 
 The lines about the trader s mouth deepened, and 
 his heavy brows contracted. 
 
 "That means the law," he murmured, half aloud^ 
 while in his voice was no trace of pleasure, nor of that 
 interest which good men are wont to show at sight of 
 the flag. "The last frontier is gone. The trail ends 
 here!" 
 
 He stood so, meditating sombrely, till the fragment 
 of a song hummed lightly by a girl fell pleasantly on 
 his ears, whereupon the shadows vanished from his 
 face, and he turned expectantly, the edges of his teeth 
 showing beneath his mustache, the corners of his eyes 
 wrinkling with pleasure. 
 
 The sight was good to him, for the girl approaching 
 down the trail was like some wood sprite, light-footed, 
 slender, and dark, with twin braids of hair to her waist 
 framing an oval face colored by the wind and sun. 
 She was very beautiful, and a great fever surged up 
 through the old man s veins, till he gripped the boards 
 at his side and bit sharply at the pipe between his 
 teeth. 
 
 "The salmon-berries are ripe," she announced, "and 
 the hills back of the village are pink with them. I took 
 Constantine s squaw with me, and we picked quarts 
 and quarts. I ate them all!" 
 
 Her laughter was like the tinkle of silver bells. Her 
 head, thrown back as she laughed gayly, displayed a 
 throat rounded and full and smooth, and tanned to the 
 hue of her wind-beaten cheeks. Every move of her 
 graceful body was unrestrained and flowing, with a 
 hint of Indian freedom about it. Beaded and trimmed 
 
THE LAST FRONTIER 
 
 like a native princess, her garments manifested an 
 ornature that spoke of savagery, yet they were neatly 
 cut and held to the pattern of the whites. 
 
 "Constantine was drunk again last night, and I had 
 to give him a talking to when we came back. Oh, but 
 I laid him out! He s frightened to death of me when 
 I m angry." 
 
 She furrowed her brow in a scowl the daintiest, 
 most ridiculous pucker of a brow that ever man saw 
 and drew her red lips into an angry pout as she re 
 counted her temperance talk till the trader broke in, 
 his voice very soft, his gray -blue eyes as tender as 
 those of a woman: 
 
 "It s good to have you home again, Necia. The old 
 sun don t shine as bright when you re away, and when 
 it rains it seems like the moss and the grass and the 
 little trees was crying for you. I reckon everything 
 weeps when you re gone, girl, everything except your 
 old dad, and sometimes he feels like he d have to bust 
 out and join the rest of them." 
 
 He seated himself upon the worn spruce-log steps, 
 and the girl settled beside him and snuggled against his 
 knee. 
 
 "I missed you dreadfully, daddy," she said. "It 
 seemed as if those days at the Mission would never 
 end. Father Barnum and the others were very kind, 
 and I studied hard, but there wasn t any fun in things 
 without you." 
 
 "I reckon you know as much as a priest, now, don t 
 you?" 
 
 "Oh, lots more," she said, gravely. "You see, I am 
 a woman." 
 
 He nodded reflectively. "So you are! I keep for 
 getting that." 
 
 5 
 
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 Their faces were set towards the west, where the 
 low sun hung over a ragged range of hills topped with 
 everlasting white. The great valley, dark with an un 
 trodden wilderness of birch and spruce and alder, lay 
 on this side, sombre and changeless, like a great, dark- 
 green mat too large for its resting-place, its edges turned 
 up towards the line of unmelting snow. Beyond were 
 other ranges thrust skyward in a magnificent confusion, 
 while still to the farther side lay the purple valley of 
 the Koyukuk, a valley that called insistently to rest 
 less men, welcoming them in the spring, and sending 
 them back in the late summer tired and haggard 
 with the hunger of the North. Each year a tithe re 
 mained behind, the toll of the trackless places, but 
 the rest went back again and again, and took new 
 brothers with them. 
 
 "Did you like the books I sent you with Poleon 
 when he went down to the coast? I borrowed them 
 from Shakespeare George/ 
 
 The girl laughed. "Of course I did that is, all but 
 one of them." 
 
 "Which one?" 
 
 "I think it was called The Age of Reason, or some 
 thing like that. I didn t get a good look at it, for 
 Father Barnum shrieked when he saw it, then snatched 
 it ivS if it were afire. He carried it down to the river 
 with the tongs." 
 
 "H m! Now that I think of it," said the old 
 man, "Shakespeare grinned when he gave it to me. 
 You see, Poleon ain t much better on the read than 
 I am, so we never noticed what kind of a book it 
 was." 
 
 "When will Poleon get back, do you suppose?" 
 
 "Most any day now, unless the Dawson dance-halls 
 
 6 
 
THE LAST FRONTIER 
 
 are too much for him. It won t take him long to sell 
 our skins if what I hear is true." 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 "About these Cheechakos. They say there are 
 thousands of tenderfeet up there, and more coming 
 in every day." 
 
 "Oh! If I had only been here in time to go with 
 him!" breathed the girl. "I never saw a city. It 
 must be just like Seattle, or New York." 
 
 Gale shook his head. "No. There s considerable 
 difference. Some time I ll take you out to the States, 
 and let you see the world maybe." He uttered the 
 last word in an undertone, as if in self -debate, but the 
 girl was too excited to notice. 
 
 "You will take mother, too, and the kiddies, won t 
 you?" 
 
 "Of course!" 
 
 "Oh! I I" The attempt to express what this 
 prospect meant to her was beyond her girlish rapture, 
 but her parted lips and shining eyes told the story to 
 Gale. "And Poleon must go, too. We can t go any 
 where without him." The old man smiled down upon 
 her in reassurance. "I wo.ider what he ll say when 
 he finds the soldiers have come. I wonder if he ll 
 like it." 
 
 Gale turned his eyes down-stream to the barracks, and 
 noted that the long flag-staff had at last been erected. 
 Even as he looked he saw a bundle mounting towards 
 its tip, and then beheld the Stars and Stripes flutter 
 out in the air, while the men below cheered noisily. 
 It was some time before he answered. 
 
 "Poleon Doret is like the rest of us men up here 
 in the North. We have taken care of ourselves so 
 far, and I guess we re able to keep it up without 
 7 
 
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 the help of a smooth-faced Yankee kid for guar- 
 dian." 
 
 "Lieutenant Burrell isn t a Yankee," said Necia. 
 "He is a blue-grass man. He comes from Kentucky." 
 
 Her father grunted contemptuously. "I might have 
 known it. Those rebels are a cultus, lazy lot. A regu 
 lar male man with any ginger in him would shed his 
 coat and go to work, instead of wearing his clothes but 
 toned up all day. It don t take much savvy to run 
 a handful of thirteen-dollar-a-month soldiers." Necia 
 stirred a bit restlessly, and the trader continued: "It 
 ain t man s work, it s loafing. If he tries to boss us 
 he ll get quite a surprise." 
 
 "He won t try to boss you. He has been sent here 
 to build a military post, and to protect the miners in 
 their own self-government. He won t take any part 
 in their affairs as long as they are conducted peace 
 ably." 
 
 Being at a loss for an answer to this unexpected de 
 fence, the old man grunted again, with added contempt, 
 while his daughter continued: 
 
 "This rush to the upper country has brought in all 
 sorts of people, good, bad and worse; and the soldiers 
 have been sent to prevent trouble, and to hold things 
 steady till the law can be established. The Canadian 
 Mounted Police are sending all their worst characters 
 down-river, and our soldiers have been scattered among 
 the American camps for our protection. I think it s 
 fine." 
 
 "Where did you learn all this?" 
 
 "Lieutenant Burrell told me," she replied; at which 
 her father regarded her keenly. She could not see 
 the curious look in his eyes, nor did she turn when, a 
 moment later, he resumed, in an altered tone: 
 
 8 
 
THE LAST FRONTIER 
 
 "I reckon Poleon will bring you something pretty 
 from Dawson, eh?" 
 
 "He has never failed to bring me presents, no matter 
 where he came from. Dear old Poleon!" She smiled 
 tenderly. "Do you remember that first day when he 
 drifted, singing, into sight around the bend up yonder? 
 He had paddled his birch-bark from the Chandelar 
 without a thing to eat ; hunger and hardship only made 
 him tne happier, and the closer he drew his belt the 
 louder he sang." 
 
 "He was bound for his New Country !" 
 
 "Yes. He didn t know where it lay, but the fret 
 for travel was on him, and so he drifted and sang, as 
 he had drifted and sung from the foot of Lake Le 
 Barge." 
 
 "That was four years ago," mused Gale, "and he 
 never found his New Country/ did he?" 
 
 "No. We tied him down and choked it out of him," 
 Necia laughed. "Dear, funny old Poleon he loves me 
 like a brother." 
 
 The man opened his lips, then closed them, as if on 
 second thought, and rose to his feet, for, coming tow 
 ards them up the trail from the barracks, he beheld a 
 trim, blue-coated figure. He peered at the approach 
 ing officer a moment, set his jaw more firmly, and dis 
 appeared into the store. 
 
 "Well, we have raised our flag-staff," said the Lieu 
 tenant as he took a seat below Necia. "It s like get 
 ting settled to keep house." 
 
 "Are you lazy?" inquired the girl. 
 
 "I dare say I am," he admitted. "I ve never had 
 time to find out. Why?" 
 
 "Are you going to boss our people around?" she 
 continued, bent on her own investigation. 
 
 9 
 
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 "No. Not as long as they behave. In fact, I 
 hardly know what I am to do. Maybe you can tell 
 me." His smile was peculiarly frank and winning. 
 "You see, it s my first command, and my instructions, 
 although comprehensive, are rather vague. I am sup 
 posed to see that mining rights are observed, to take 
 any criminals who kindly offer themselves up to be ar 
 rested, and to sort of handle things that are too tough 
 for the miners themselves." 
 
 "Why, you are a policeman!" said Necia, at which 
 he made a wry face. 
 
 "The Department, in its wisdom, would have me, a 
 tenderfoot, adjust those things that are too knotty 
 for these men who have spent their lives along the 
 frontier." 
 
 "I don t believe you will be very popular with our 
 people," Necia announced, meditatively. 
 
 "No. I can see that already. I wasn t met with 
 any brass-bands, and I haven t received any engraved 
 silver from the admiring citizens of Flambeau. That 
 leaves nothing but the women to like me, and, as you 
 are the only one in camp, you will have to like me very 
 much to make up for its shortcomings." 
 
 She approved of his unusual drawl; it gave him a 
 kind of deliberation which every move of his long, 
 lithe body belied and every glance of his eyes con 
 tradicted. Moreover, she liked his youth, so clean 
 and fresh and strange in this land where old men ar 
 many and the young ones old with hardship and grave 
 with the silence of the hills. Her life had been spent 
 entirely among men who were her seniors, and, al 
 though she had ruled them like a spoiled queen, she 
 knew as little of their sex as they did of hers. Un 
 consciously the strong young life within her had clam- 
 
 10 
 
THE LAST FRONTIER 
 
 ored for companionship, and it was this that had 
 drawn her to Poleon Doret who would ever remain 
 a boy and it was this that drew her to the young 
 Kentuckian; this, and something else in him, that 
 the others lacked. 
 
 "Now that I think it over," he continued, "I d 
 rather have you like me than have the men do so." 
 
 "Of course," she nodded. "They do anything I 
 want them to all but father, and " 
 
 "It isn t that," he interrupted, quickly. "It is be 
 cause you are the only woman of the place, because 
 you are such a surprise. To think that in the heart 
 of this desolation I should find a girl like like you, 
 like the girls I know at home." 
 
 "Am I like other girls?" she inquired, eagerly. "I 
 have often wondered." 
 
 "You are, and you are not. You are surprisingly 
 conventional for these surroundings, and yet uncon 
 ventionally surprising for any place. Who are you? 
 Where did you come from? How did you get here?* 
 
 "I am just what you see. I came from the States, 
 and I was carried. That is all I can remember." 
 
 "Then you haven t lived here always?" 
 
 "Oh, dear, no! We came here while I was very lit 
 tle, but of late I have been away at school." 
 
 "Some seminary, eh?" 
 
 At this she laughed aloud. "Hardly that, either. 
 I ve been at the Mission. Father Barnum has been 
 teaching me for five years. I came up-river a day 
 ahead of you." 
 
 She asked no questions of him in return, for she had 
 already learned all there was to know the day before 
 from a grizzled corporal in whom was the hunger to 
 talk. She had learned of a family of Burrells whose 
 
 zz 
 
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 name was known throughout the South, and that 
 Meade Burrell came from the Frankfort branch, the 
 branch that had raised the soldiers. His father had 
 fought with Lee, and an uncle was now in the service 
 at Washington. On the mother s side the strain was 
 equally militant, but the Meades had sought the sea. 
 The old soldier had told her much more, of which she 
 understood little; told her of the young man s sister, 
 who had come all the way from Kentucky to see her 
 brother off when he sailed from San Francisco; told 
 her of the Lieutenant s many friends in Washington, 
 and of his family name and honor. Meade Burrell 
 was undoubtedly a fine young fellow in his corporal s 
 eyes, and destined to reach great heights, as the other 
 Burrells had before him. The old soldier, further 
 more, had looked at her keenly and added that the 
 Burrells were known as "divils among the weemen." 
 Resting thus on the steps of Old Man Gale s store, 
 the two talked on till they were disturbed by the 
 sound of shrill voices approaching, at which the man 
 looked up. Coming down the trail from the town 
 was a squaw and two children. At sight of Necia the 
 little ones shouted gleefully and scampered forward, 
 climbing over her like half-grown puppies. They were 
 boy and girl, both brown as Si washes, with eyes like 
 jet beads and hair that was straight and coarse and 
 black. At a glance Burrell knew them for "breeds," 
 and evidently the darker half was closer to the surface 
 now, for they choked, gurgled, stuttered, and coughed 
 in their Indian tongue, while Necia answered them like 
 wise. At a word from her they turned and saw him, 
 then, abashed at the strange splendor of his uniform, fell 
 silent, pressing close to her. The squaw, also, seemed 
 to resent his presence, for, after a lowering glance, 
 
 12 
 
THE LAST FRONTIER 
 
 she drew the shawl closer about her head, and, leaving 
 the trail, slunk out of sight around the corner of the 
 store. 
 
 Burrell looked up at his companion s clear-cut, deli 
 cate face, at the wind-tanned cheeks, against which her 
 long braids lay like the blue-black locks of an Egyptian 
 maid, then at her warm, dark eyes, in which was a hint 
 of the golden light of the afternoon sun. He noted 
 covertly the slender lines of her body and the dainty, 
 firm, brown hands flung protectingly about the shoul 
 ders of her little friends, who were peering at him owl- 
 ishly from their shelter. 
 
 The bitter revolt that had burned in him at the pros 
 pect of a long exile in this undiscovered spot died out 
 suddenly. What a picture she made! How fresh and 
 flower-like she looked, and yet the wisdom of her! He 
 spoke impulsively: 
 
 "I am glad you are here, Miss Necia. I was glad 
 the moment I saw you, and I have been growing glad 
 der ever since, for I never imagined there would be 
 anybody in this place but men and squaws men who 
 hate the law and squaws who slink about like that." 
 He nodded in the direction of the Indian woman s disap 
 pearance. "Either that, or, at best, a few breeds 
 like these little fellows." 
 
 She looked at him quickly. 
 
 "Well! What difference would that make?" 
 
 "Ugh! Squaws and half-breeds!" His tone con 
 veyed in full his utter contempt. 
 
 The tiny hands of the boy and girl slid into her own 
 as she arose. A curiously startled look lay in her 
 eyes, and an inquiring, plaintive wrinkle came be 
 tween her brows. 
 
 "I don t believe you understand," she said. "Lieu- 
 
 13 
 
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 tenant Burrell, this is my sister, Molly Gale, and this 
 is my little brother John." Both round - eyed elfs 
 made a ducking courtesy and blinked at the soldier, 
 who gained his feet awkwardly, a flush rising into his 
 cheeks. 
 
 From the regions at the rear of the store came the 
 voice of an Indian woman calling: 
 
 Necia! Necia!" 
 
 "Coming in a moment," the girl called back; then, 
 turning to the young officer, she added, quietly: 
 "Mother needs me now. Good-bye 1" 
 
CHAPTER II 
 POLEON DORET S HAND is QUICKER THAN HIS TONGUH 
 
 THE trader s house sat back of the post, farther up 
 on the hill. It was a large, sleepy house, sprawl 
 ing against the sunny side of the slope, as if it had 
 sought the southern exposure for warmth, and had 
 dozed off one sultry afternoon and never waked up 
 from its slumber. It was of great, square-hewn tim 
 bers, built in the Russian style, the under side of each 
 log hollowed to fit snugly over its fellow underneath, 
 upon which dried moss had previously been spread, 
 till in effect the foot-thick walls were tongued and 
 grooved and, through years of seasoning, become so 
 tinder dry that no frosts or heats could penetrate 
 them. Many architects had worked on it as it grew, 
 room by room, through the years, and every man had 
 left behind the mark of his individuality, from Pretty 
 Charlie the pilot, who swung an axe better than any 
 Indian on the river, to Larsen the ship s carpenter, who 
 worked with an adze and who starved the summer 
 following on the Koyukuk. It had stretched a bit 
 year by year, for the trader s family had been big in 
 the early days when hunters and miners of both breeds 
 came in to trade, to loaf, and to swap stories with him. 
 Through the winter days, when the caribou were in the 
 North and the moose were scarce, whole families of 
 natives came and camped there, for Alluna, his squaw, 
 
 15 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 drew to her own blood, and they felt it thei? due 
 to eat of the bounty of him who ruled them like an 
 overlord ; but when the first goose honked they slipped 
 away until, by the time the salmon showed, the house 
 was empty again and silent, save for Alluna and the 
 youngsters. In return these people brought him many 
 skins and much fresh meat, for which he paid no price, 
 and, with the fall, his cache was filled with fish of 
 which the bulk were dried king salmon as long as a 
 grown man s leg and worth a dollar apiece to any 
 traveller. 
 
 There are men whose wits are quick as light, and 
 whose muscles have been so tempered and hardened 
 by years of exercise that they are like those of a wild 
 animal. Of such was John Gale; but with all his in 
 telligence he was very slow at reading, hence he chose 
 to spend his evenings with his pipe and his thoughts, 
 rather than with a book, as lonesome men are sup 
 posed to do. He did with little sleep, and many nights 
 he sat alone till Alluna and Necia would be awakened 
 by his heavy step as he went to his bed. That he 
 was a man who could really think, and that his thoughts 
 were engrossing, no one doubted who saw him sitting 
 enthralled at such a time, for he neither rocked, nor 
 talked, nor moved a muscle hour after hour, and only 
 his eyes were alive. To-night the spell was on him 
 again, and he sat bulked up in his chair, rocklike and 
 immovable. 
 
 From the open door of the next room he could hear 
 Necia and the little ones. She had made them ready 
 for bed, and was telling them the tale of the snow* 
 bird s spot. 
 
 "So when all the other birds had failed," he heard 
 her say, "the little snowbird asked for a chance to 
 
 16 
 
DORET S HAND QUICKER THAN HIS TONGUE 
 
 try. He flew and flew, and just before he came to the 
 edge of the world where the two Old Women lived he 
 pulled out all of his feathers. When he came to them 
 he said: 
 
 "I am very cold. May I warm myself at your 
 fire? 
 
 "They saw how little and naked he was, and how 
 he shivered, so they did not throw sticks at him, but 
 allowed him to creep close. He watched his chance, 
 and when they were not looking he picked up a red- 
 hot coal in his beak and flew back home with it as fast 
 as ever he could and that is how fire came to the 
 Indian people. 
 
 "Of course the coal was hot, and it burned his throat 
 till a drop of blood came through, so ever since that 
 day the snowbird has had a red spot on his throat." 
 
 The two children spoke out in their mother s tongue, 
 clamoring for the story of the Good Beaver who saved 
 the hunter s life, and she began, this time in the lan 
 guage of the Yukon people, while Gale listened to the 
 low music of her voice, muffled and broken by the log 
 partition. 
 
 His squaw came in, her arrival unannounced ex 
 cept by the scuff of her moccasins, and seated herself 
 against the wall. She did not use a chair, of which 
 there were several, but crouched upon a bear-skin, 
 her knees beneath her chin, her toes a trifle drawn to 
 gether. She sat thus for a long time, while Necia 
 continued her stories and put the little ones to bed. 
 Soon the girl came to say good-night. 
 
 John Gale had never kissed his daughter, and, as it 
 was not a custom of her mother s race, she never missed 
 the caresses. On rare occasions the old man romped 
 with the little ones and took them in his arms and acted 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 as other fathers act, but he had never done these things 
 with her. When she had gone he spoke without 
 moving. 
 
 "She ll never marry Poleon Doret." 
 
 "Why?" inquired Aliuna. 
 
 "He ain t her kind." 
 
 "Poleon is a good man." 
 
 "None better. But she ll marry some some white 
 man." 
 
 "Poleon is white," the squaw declared. 
 
 "He is and he ain t. I mean she ll marry an * out 
 side man. He ain t good enough, and well, he ain t 
 her kind." Alluna s grunt of indignation was a suffi 
 cient answer to this, but he resumed, jerking his head 
 in the direction of the barracks. "She s been talking 
 a lot with this this soldier." 
 
 "Him good man, too, I guess," said the wife. 
 
 "The hell he is!" cried the trader, fiercely. "He 
 don t mean any good to her." 
 
 "Him got a woman, eh?" said the other. 
 
 "No, no! I reckon he s single all right, but you 
 don t understand. He s different from us people. 
 He s he s " Gale paused, at a loss for words to 
 convey his meaning. "Well, he ain t the kind that 
 would marry a half-breed." 
 
 Aliuna pondered this cryptic remark unsuccessfully, 
 and was still seeking its solution when her lord con 
 tinued: 
 
 "If she really got to loving him it would be bad for 
 all of us." 
 
 Evidently Aliuna read some hidden meaning back 
 of these words, for srie spoke quickly, but in her own 
 tongue now, as she was accustomed to do when ex 
 cited or alarmed. 
 
 18 
 
DORET S HAND QUICKER THAN HIS TONGUE 
 
 "Then this thing must cease at once. The risk is 
 too great. Better that you kill him before it is too 
 late." 
 
 "Hardly that," said the trader. 
 
 "Think of the little ones and of me," the squaw 
 insisted, and, encouraged by his silence, continued: 
 "Why not? Soon the nights will grow dark. The 
 river runs swiftly, and it never gives up its dead. I 
 can do it if you dare not. No one would suspect 
 me." 
 
 Gale rose and laid his big hand firmly on her shoul 
 der. 
 
 "Don t talk like that. There has been too much 
 blood let already. We ll allow things to run along a 
 bit as they are. There s time enough to worry." 
 
 He rose, but instead of going to his room he strode 
 out of the house and walked northward up the trail, 
 passing through the town and out of sight. Alluna 
 sat huddled up in the doorway, her shawl drawn close 
 about her head, and waited for him until the late sun 
 which at this time of year revolves in a great circle 
 overhead dipped down below the distant mountains 
 for the midnight hour, then rolled slanting out again 
 a few points farther north, to begin its long journey 
 anew; but he did not return. At last she crept stiffly 
 in-doors, like an old and weary woman, the look of 
 fright still staring in her eyes. 
 
 About nine o clock the next morning a faint and 
 long-drawn cry came from the farthest limits of the 
 little camp. An instant later it was echoed closer, and 
 then a dog began to howl. Before its voice had died 
 away another took it up sadly, and within three breaths, 
 from up and down the half-mile of scanty water-front, 
 came the cry of "Steam-bo-o-a-t!" Cabin doors 
 
 19 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 opened and men came out, glanced up the stream and 
 echoed the call, while from sleepy nooks and sun- 
 warmed roofs wolf-dogs arose, yawning and stretching. 
 Those who had slept late dressed as they hurried tow 
 ards the landing-place, joining in the plaint, till men 
 and malamutes united in the shrill, slow cry. 
 
 Down-stream came the faint-sighing whoof-whoof of 
 a steamer, and then out from behind the bend she 
 burst, running on the swift spring current with the 
 speed of a deer. She blew hoarsely before the tardy 
 ones had reached the bank, and when abreast of the 
 town her bell clanged, the patter of her great wheel 
 ceased, she reversed her engines and swung gracefully 
 till her bow was up against the current, then ploughed 
 back, inching in slowly until, with much shouting and 
 the sound of many gongs, she slid her nose quietly 
 into the bank beneath the trading-post and was made 
 fast. Her cabin-deck was lined with passengers, most 
 of whom were bound for the "outside," although stil! 
 clad in mackinaw and overalls. They all gazed silent 
 ly at the hundred men of Flambeau, who stared back 
 at them till the gang-plank was placed, when they came 
 ashore to stretch their legs. One of them, however, 
 made sufficient noise to make up for the silence of 
 the others. Before the steamer had grounded he ap 
 peared among the Siwash deck-hands, his head and 
 shoulders towering above them, his white teeth gleam 
 ing from a face as dark as theirs, shouting to his 
 friends ashore and pantomiming his delight to the two 
 Gale children who had come with Alluna to welcome 
 him. 
 
 "Who s dose beeg, tall people w at stan longsids 
 of you, Miz Gale?" he called to her; then, shading his 
 eyes elaborately, he cried, in a great voice: "Wall! 
 
 20 
 
DORET S HAND QUICKER THAN HIS TONGUE 
 
 wall I b lieve dat s M sieu Jean an Mam selle Mollee. 
 Ba Gar! Dey get so beeg w ile I m gone I don know 
 dem no more!" 
 
 The youthful Gales wriggled at this delicious flattery 
 and dug their tiny moccasined toes into the sand. 
 Molly courtesied nervously and continuously as she 
 clung to her mother, and the boy showed a gap where 
 two front teeth had been and was now filled by a very 
 pink tongue. 
 
 "Wen you goin stop grow, anyhow, you two, eh?" 
 continued the Frenchman, and then, in a tone of sad 
 ness: "If I t ink you ack lak dis, I don buy all dese 
 present. Dese t ing ain no good for ole folks. I 
 guess I ll t row dem away." He made as if to heave a 
 bundle that he carried into the river, whereupon the 
 children shrieked at him so shrilly that he laughed 
 long and incontinently at the success of his sally. 
 
 Lieutenant Burrell had come with the others, for 
 the arrival of a steamboat called for >,he presence of 
 every soul in camp, and, spying Necia in the outskirts 
 of the crowd, he took his place beside her. He felt con 
 strained, after what had happened on the previous 
 evening, but she seemed to have forgotten the episode, 
 and greeted him with her usual frankness. Even had 
 she remembered it, there was nothing he could say in 
 explanation or in apology. He had lain awake for 
 hours thinking of her, and had fallen asleep with her 
 still in his mind, for the revelation of her blood had 
 come as a shock to him, the full force of which he 
 could not appreciate until he had given himself time 
 to think of it calmly. 
 
 He had sprung from a race of siave-holders, from 
 a land where birth and breed are more than any other 
 thing, where a drop of impure blood effects an in* 
 
 21 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 eracLcable stain; therefore the thought of this girl s 
 ignoble parentage was so repugnant to him that the 
 more he pondered it the more pitiful it seemed, the 
 more monstrous. Lying awake and thinking of her 
 in the stillness of his quarters, it had seemed a very 
 unfortunate and a very terrible thing. During his 
 morning duties the vision of her had been fresh be 
 fore him again, and his constant contemplation of 
 the matter had wrought a change in his attitude 
 towards the girl, of which he was uncomfortably 
 conscious and which he was glad to see she did not 
 perceive. 
 
 "There are some of the lucky men from El Dorado 
 Creek," she inlormed him, pointing out certain people 
 on the deck. "They are going out to the States to 
 get something to eat. They say that nothing like 
 those mines have ever been heard of in the world. I 
 wish father had gone up last year when the news 
 came." 
 
 "Why didn t he?" asked the Lieutenant. "Surely 
 he must have been among the first to learn of it." 
 
 "Yes. Stick George sent him word a year ago last 
 fall, when he made the first discovery, but for some 
 reason father wouldn t go." 
 
 The men were pouring off the boat now, and through 
 the crowd came the tall Frenchman, bearing in the 
 hollow of each arm a child who clasped a bundle to 
 its breast. His eyes grew brighter at sight of Necia, 
 and he broke into a flood of patois; they fairly bom 
 barded each other with quick questions and fragmen 
 tary answers till she remembered her companion, who 
 had fallen back a pace and was studying the new 
 comer, whereupon she turned. 
 
 "Oh, I forgot my manners. Lieutenant Burrell, 
 
 22 
 
DORET S HAND QUICKER THAN HIS TONGUE 
 
 this is Napoleon Doret our Poleon!" she added, with 
 proud emphasis." 
 
 Doret checked his volubility and stared at the 
 soldier, whom he appeared to see for the first time. 
 The little brown people in his arms stared likewise, 
 and it seemed to Burrell that a certain distrust was in 
 each of the three pairs of eyes, only in those of the 
 man there was no shyness. Instead, the Canadian 
 looked him over gravely from head to heel, seeming 
 to note each point of the unfamiliar attire; then he 
 inquired, without removing his glance: 
 
 Were bouts you live, eh?" 
 
 "I live at the post yonder," said the Lieutenant. 
 
 "Wat biznesse you work at?" 
 
 "I am a soldier." 
 
 "Wat for you come ere? Dere s nobody fightin* 
 roun dis place." 
 
 "The Lieutenant has been stationed here, foolish," 
 said Necia. "Come up to the store quick and tell me 
 what it s like at Dawson." With a farewell nod to 
 Burrell,she went off with Doret, whose speech was im 
 mediately released again. 
 
 In spite of the man s unfriendliness, Burrell watched 
 him with admiration. There were no heels to his 
 tufted fur boots, and yet he stood a good six feet two, 
 as straight as a pine sapling, and it needed no second 
 glance to tell of what metal he was made. His spirit 
 showed in his whole body, in the set of his head, and, 
 above all, in his dark, warm face, which glowed with 
 eagerness when he talked, and that was ever when he 
 was not singing. 
 
 "I never see so many people since I lef Quebec," 
 he was saying. "She s jus lak beeg city mus be 
 t ree, four t ousan* people. Every day some more 
 23 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 dey come, an* all night dey dance an sing an drink 
 w iskee. Ba gosh, dat s fine place!" 
 
 "Are there lots of white women ?" asked the girl. 
 
 "Yes, two, t ree hondred. Mos of dem is work in 
 dance-halls. Dere s one fine gal I see, name Marie 
 Bourgette. I tell you bout her by-an -by." 
 
 "Oh, Poleon, you re in love!" cried Necia. 
 
 "No, siree!" he denied. "Dere s none of dem gal 
 look half so purty lak you." He would have said 
 more, but spying the trader at the entrance of the store, 
 he went to him, straightway launching into the de 
 tails of their commercial enterprise, which, happily, had 
 been most successful. Before they could finish, the 
 crowd from the boat began to drift in, some of them 
 buying drinks at the bar and others making purchases 
 of tobacco and so forth, but for the main part merely 
 idling about curiously. 
 
 Among the merchandise of the Post there were for 
 sale a scanty assortment of fire-arms, cheap shot-guns, 
 and a Winchester or two, displayed in a rack behind 
 the counter in a manner to attract the eye of such native 
 hunters as might need them, and with the rest hung a 
 pair of Colt s revolvers. One of the new arrivals, who 
 had separated from the others at the front, now called 
 to Gale: 
 
 "Are those Colts for sale? Mine was stolen the 
 other day." Evidently he was accustomed to Yukon 
 prices, for he showed no surprise at the figure the 
 trader named, but took the guns and tested each of 
 them, whereupon the old man knew that here was no 
 "Cheechako," as tenderfeet are known in the North, 
 although the man s garb had deceived him at first 
 glance. The stranger balanced the weapons, one in 
 either hand, then he did the "double roll" neatly e 
 
 24 
 
DORET S HAND QUICKER THAN HIS TONGUE 
 
 following which he executed a move that Gale had 
 not witnessed for many years. He extended one of 
 the guns, butt foremost, as if surrendering it, the 
 action being free and open, save for the fact that his 
 forefinger was crooked and thrust through the trigger- 
 guard; then, with the slightest jerk of the wrist, the 
 gun spun about, the handle jumped into his palm, and 
 instantly there was a click as his thumb flipped the 
 hammer. It was the old "road-agent spin," which 
 Gale as a boy had practised hours at a time; but that 
 this man was in earnest he showed by glancing up 
 ward sharply when the trader laughed. 
 
 "This one hangs all right," he said; "give me a 
 box of cartridges." 
 
 He emptied his gold-sack in payment for the gun 
 and ammunition, then remarked: 
 
 "That pretty nearly cleans me. If I had the price 
 I d take them both." 
 
 Gale wondered what need induced this fellow to 
 spend his last few dollars on a fire-arm, but he said 
 nothing until the man had loosened the bottom but 
 tons of his vest and slipped the weapon inside the 
 band of his trousers, concealing its handle beneath the 
 edge of his waistcoat. Then he inquired: 
 
 "Bound for the outside?" 
 
 "No. I m locating here." 
 
 The trader darted a quick glance at him. He did 
 not like this man. 
 
 "There ain t much doing in this camp; it s a pretty 
 poor place," he said, guardedly. 
 
 "I ll put in with you, from its looks," agreed the 
 other. "It s got too many soldiers to be worth a 
 damn." He snarled this bitterly, with a peculiar leer- 
 Ing lift of his lip, as if his words tasted badly. 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "Most of the boys are going tip-river," said Gale. 
 
 "Well, those hills look as if they had gold in them," 
 said the stranger, pointing vaguely. "I m going to 
 prospect." 
 
 Gale knew instinctively that the fellow was lying, 
 for his hands were not those of a miner; but there 
 was nothing to be said. His judgment was verified, 
 however, when Poleon drew him aside later and said: 
 
 "You know dat feller?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "He s bad man." 
 
 "How do you know?" 
 
 "She s leave Dawson damn queeck. Dose Mounted 
 Police t row im on de boat jus before we lef." Then 
 he told a story that he had heard. The man, it seemed, 
 had left Skagway between two suns, upon the disrup 
 tion of Soapy Smith s band of desperadoes, and had 
 made for the interior, but had been intercepted at 
 the Pass by two members of the Citizens Committee 
 who came upon him suddenly. Pretending to yield, 
 he had executed some unexpected coup as he delivered 
 his gun, for both men fell, shot through the body. No 
 one knew just what it was he did, nor cared to question 
 him overmuch. The next heard of him was at Lake 
 Bennett, over the line, where the Mounted Police recog 
 nized him and sent him on. They marked him well, 
 however, and passed him on from post to post as they 
 had driven others whose records were known; but he 
 had lost himself in the confusion at Dawson for a few 
 weeks, until the scarlet-coated riders searched him 
 out, disarmed him, and forced him sullenly aboard 
 this steamer. The offscourings of the Canadian fron 
 tier were drifting back into their native country to 
 settle. 
 
 26 
 
DORET S HAND QUICKER THAN HIS TONGUE 
 
 Old Man Gale cared little for this, for he had spent 
 his life among such men, but as he watched the fellow 
 a scheme outlined itself in his head. Evidently the 
 man dared not go farther down the river, for there was 
 nothing save Indian camps and a Mission or two this 
 side of St. Michael s, and at that point there was a court 
 and many soldiers, where one was liable to meet the 
 penalty of past misdeeds, hence he was probably re 
 solved to stop here, and, judging by his record, he was 
 a man of settled convictions. Continued persecution 
 is wont to stir certain natures to such reckless des 
 peration that interference is dangerous, and Gale, re 
 calling his sullen look and ill-concealed contempt for 
 the soldiers, put the stranger down as a man of this 
 type. Furthermore, he had been impressed by the 
 fellow s remarkable dexterity of wrist. 
 
 The trader stepped to the door, and, seeing Burrell 
 on the deck of the steamer, went down towards him. 
 It was a long chance, but the stakes were big and worth 
 the risk. He had thought much during the night previ 
 ous in fact, for many hours and the morning had 
 found him still undecided, wherefore he took this course. 
 
 "Necia tells me that you aim to keep law and order 
 here," he began, abruptly, having drawn the young 
 man aside. 
 
 "Those are my instructions," said Burrell, "but 
 they are so vague " 
 
 "Well! This camp is bigger than it was an hour 
 ago, and it ain t improved any in the growth. Yonder 
 goes the new citizen." He pointed to the stranger, 
 who had returned to the steamer for his baggage and 
 was descending the gang-plank beneath them, a valise 
 in each hand. "He s a thief and a murderer, and we 
 don t want him here. Now, it s up to you." 
 
 27 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "I don t understand," said the Lieutenant, where* 
 upon the trader told him Doret s tale. "You and 
 your men were sent here to keep things peaceable," he 
 concluded, and I reckon when a man is too tough 
 for the Canuck police he is tough enough for you to 
 tackle. There ain t a lock and key in the camp, and 
 we ain t had a killing or a stealing in ten years. We d 
 like to keep it that way." 
 
 "Well you see I know nothing of that shooting 
 affray, so I doubt if my authority would permit me to 
 interfere," the soldier mused, half to himself. 
 
 "I allowed you were to use your own judgment," 
 said the elder man. 
 
 "So I am, I suppose. There is one chance, Mr. 
 Gale. If you ll back me up I ll send him on down 
 to St. Michael s. That is the most I can do." 
 
 The Lieutenant outlined his plan, and as he went on 
 the trader nodded approval. 
 
 The young man gazed back at him so squarely, his 
 eyes were so pleasant and friendly, his whole person 
 breathed such straight-up honesty and freshness, that 
 shame arose in the old man, and he had hard shift to 
 keep his glance from wavering. Without forethought 
 he answered, impulsively: 
 
 "He s desperate and he s dangerous. I sold him a 
 45 just now." He was about to tell him where the 
 man wore it, and to add a word concerning his dex 
 terity with the gun, when the very fearless delibera 
 tion of the youth deterred him. On second thought, 
 Gale yielded to an impulse to wait and see how Meade 
 Burrell would act under fire. If the soldier emerged 
 scathless, it would give him a line on his character; 
 if he did not well, that would be even better. The 
 sight of his blue and brass awoke in the elder maa 
 
 28 
 
DORET S HAND QUICKER THAN HIS TONGUE 
 
 dread and cowardice, emotions he had never experi 
 enced before. Anyhow, he owed it to himself, to Necia, 
 and to the others to find out what kind of man this 
 soldier was. 
 
 The crowd was coming back to the steamer, which 
 had discharged her few bundles of freight, and there 
 was no one inside the log post as they entered except 
 Doret and the stranger, who had deposited his bag 
 gage at the rear and was talking with the Frenchman 
 at the bar. At sight of the Lieutenant he became 
 silent, and turned carelessly, although with a distrust 
 ful stare. Burrell wasted no time. 
 
 "Are you going to locate here?" he began. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "I notice you go skeleton-rigged," the soldier con 
 tinued, indicating the man s baggage. "Pretty small 
 outfit for a miner, isn t it?" 
 
 "It s plenty for me." 
 
 "Have you enough money to buy your season s grub ?" 
 
 "I guess that s my business." 
 
 "Pardon me, it is my business also." 
 
 "What is this a hold-up ?" The man laughed harsh 
 ly, at the same time swinging around till he faced his 
 questioner. Gale noted that his right hand now hung 
 directly over the spot where his suspenders buttoned 
 on the right side. The trader moved aside and took 
 tip a position at some distance. 
 
 "My orders are to see that all new-comers either have 
 an outfit or are able to buy one," said Burrell. "Those 
 that are not equipped properly are to be sent down 
 river to St. Michael s, where there is plenty of every 
 thing and where they will be taken care of by the 
 government. Mr. Gale has only sufficient provisions 
 to winter the men already in this district." 
 
 29 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 **I can take care of myself," said the man, angrily, 
 "whether I m broke or not, and I don t want any of 
 your interference." He shot a quick glance at Poleon 
 Doret, but the Frenchman s face was like wood, and 
 his hand still held the neck of the whiskey bottle 
 he had set out for the stranger before the others en 
 tered. Gale leaned against the opposite counter, his 
 countenance inert but for the eyes, which were fixed 
 upon the Lieutenant. 
 
 "Come," said the officer, peremptorily, "I have 
 heard all about you, and you are not the kind of citizen 
 we want here, but if you have enough money for an 
 outfit I can t send you away. If you haven t " 
 
 "I m broke, "said the man, but at the note in his voice 
 Poleon Doret s muscles tightened, and Burrell, who also 
 read a sinister message in the tone, slid his heavy ser 
 vice revolver from its holster beneath his coat. 
 
 He had never done this thing before, and it galled 
 him. He had never drawn a weapon on a man, and 
 this playing at policeman became suddenly most re 
 pugnant, stirring in him the uncomfortable feeling 
 that he was doing a mean thing, and not only a mean 
 thing, but one of which he ought to be heartily ashamed. 
 He felt decidedly amateurish, especially when he saw 
 that the man apparently intended no resistance and 
 made no mo^e. However, he was in for it now, and 
 must end as he had begun. 
 
 "Give me your gun," he said; "I ll unload it and give 
 it back to you at the gang-plank." 
 
 "All right, you ve got the upper hand," said the 
 man through lips that had gone white. Drawing his 
 weapon from beneath his vest, he presented it to 
 the officer, butt foremost, hammer underneath. The 
 cylinder reposed naturally in the palm of his hand, 
 
 30 
 
IfrORET S HAND QUICKER THAN HIS TONGUE 
 
 and the tip of his forefinger was thrust through the 
 trigger-guard. 
 
 Burrell lowered the barrel of his revolver and put 
 out his left hand for the other s weapon. Suddenly 
 the man s wrist jerked, the soldier saw a blue flicker 
 of sunlight on the steel as it whirled, saw the arm of 
 Poleon Doret fling itself across the bar with the speed 
 of a striking serpent, heard a smash of breaking glass, 
 felt the shock of a concussion, and the spatter of some 
 jiquid in his face. Then he saw the man s revolver 
 on the floor half-way across the room, saw fragments 
 of glass with it, and saw the fellow step backward, 
 Snatching at the fingers of his right hand. A smell 
 of powder-smoke and rank whiskey was in the air. 
 
 There are times when a man s hand will act more 
 swiftly than his tongue. Napoleon Doret had seen 
 the manner of the stranger s surrender of his gun, and, 
 realizing too late what it meant, had acted. At the 
 very instant of the fellow s treachery, Doret struck 
 with his bottle just in time to knock the weapon from 
 his hand, but not in time to prevent its discharge. The 
 bullet was lodged in the wall a foot from where Gale 
 stood. As the stranger staggered back, the French 
 man vaulted the bar, but, though swift as a cat, the 
 soldier, who had also leaped, was before him. Aiming 
 a sweeping downward blow with his Colt, Burrell 
 clipped the Skagway man just above the ear, and he 
 reeled; then as he fell the officer struck wickedly 
 again at his opponent s skull, but Doret seized him by 
 the arm. 
 
 44 Ba Gar, don t kill im twice!" 
 
 Burrell wrenched his arm free and turned on Doret 
 a face that remained long in the Frenchman s memory, 
 a face suffused with fury and convulsed like that of a 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 sprinter at the finish of a race. The two men stare/1 at 
 each other over the fallen figure for a brief moment* 
 until the soldier gained mastery of himself and sheathed 
 Ms weapon, when Poleon smiled. 
 
 "I spoil a quart of good w iskee on you. Dat s 
 wort* five dollar." 
 
 The Lieutenant wiped the liquor from his face. 
 
 "Quick work, Doret," he said. "I owe you one." 
 
 Gale s face was hidden as he bent over the prostrate 
 man, fingering a long and ragged cut which laid the 
 fellow s scalp open from back of the ear to the temple, 
 but he mumbled something unintelligibleo 
 
 "Is he hurt badly?" 
 
 "No, you chipped him too low," said the trader. "I 
 told you he was bad." 
 
 "He s goin* have nice birt -mark, anyhow," said 
 Doret, going back of the bar for some water. They 
 revived the man, then bound up his injury hastily, and 
 as the steamer cast off they led him to the bank and 
 passed his grip-sacks to a roustabout. He said no word 
 as he walked unsteadily up the plank, but turned and 
 stared malignantly at them from the deck; then, as 
 the craft swung outward into the stream, he grinned 
 through the trickle of blood that stole down from 
 beneath his wide hat, if the convulsive grimace he made 
 could be termed a grin, and cried: 
 
 "I d like to introduce myself, for I m coming back 
 to winter with you, Lieutenant! My name is Run- 
 nion." And until the steamer was hidden behind the 
 bend below they saw him standing there gazing back 
 at them fixedly. 
 
 As Burrell left the two men at the store, he gave his 
 hand frankly to the French-Canadian,, and said p while 
 his cheeks flushed: 
 
DORET S HAND QUICKER THAN HIS TONGUE 
 
 "I want to thank you for saving me from my own 
 awkwardness. " 
 
 Doret became even more embarrassed than the 
 Lieutenant at this show of gratitude, and grunted 
 churlishly. But when the young man had gone he 
 turned to Gale, who had watched them silently, and 
 said: 
 
 "He s nice young feller, ole man. Saprel Wen 
 he s mad his eye got so red laic 1 my onaershirt." 
 
 But the trader made no reply. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 WITHOUT BENEFIT OP CLERGT 
 
 WHEN the steamer bad gone Napoleon Doret went 
 to look for Necia, and found her playing with the 
 younger Gales, who revelled in the gifts he had brought. 
 Never had there been such a surprise. Never had 
 there been such gorgeous presents for little folks. This 
 was a land in which there were no toys, a country too 
 young for babes ; and any one whose youth had been 
 like that of other children would have seen a pathos 
 in the joy of these two. Poleon had been hard put 
 to it to find anything suitable for his little friends, for 
 although there was all manner of merchandise coming 
 into Dawson, none of it was designed for tiny people a 
 not even clothes. 
 
 It was evident that he had pleased them, for when 
 he appeared they ran at his legs like twin cubs, in 
 coherent and noisy, the pleasure within them too tur 
 bulent for expression. They had never played with 
 a toy that Poleon had not built for them, nor worn a 
 garment that Alluna had not made. This, then, was a 
 day of revelations, for the first thing they beheld upon 
 opening their packs was a pair of rubber boots for 
 each. They were ladies knee-boots, the smallest size 
 in stock, but the Gales entered them bodily, so to speak, 
 moccasins and all, clear to their hips, like the waders 
 that duck-hunters use. When they ran tney tetl down 
 
 34 
 
WITHOUT BENEFIT OF CLERGY 
 
 and out of them, but their pride remained upright and 
 serene, for were not these like the boots that Poleon 
 wore, and not of Indian make, with foolish beads on 
 them ? Next, the youthful heir had found a straw hat of 
 strange and wondrous fashion, with a brim like a board 
 and a band of blue, which Poleon had bought from a 
 college man who had retained this emblem of his past 
 to the final moment. Like the boots, it was much too 
 large for little John, and hard to master, but it made a 
 brave display, as did a red cravat, which covered his 
 front like a baseball catcher s harness. Molly had 
 also two sets of side-combs, gorgeously ornamented 
 with glass diamonds, and a silver-handled tooth-brush, 
 with which she scrubbed the lame puppy. This puppy 
 had three legs and the mange, and he was her par 
 ticular pride. 
 
 There were certain other things, the use of which 
 they did not understand, like queer-smelling, soft, 
 yellow balls which Necia said were oranges and good 
 to eati although the skins were leathery and very bit 
 ter, nor were they nearly so pleasant to the nose as 
 the toilet soap, which Necia would not allow them 
 even to taste. Then there was a box of chocolate 
 candies such as the superintendent at St. Michael s 
 sent them every spring, and an atomizer, which Necia 
 had filled with Florida Water. This worked on the 
 puppy even better than the tooth-brush. 
 
 The elder girl laughed gladly as Poleon entered, 
 though her eyes were wet with the pity of it. 
 
 "You seem to bring sunshine wherever you go," 
 she said. "They have never had things to play with 
 like other children, and it makes me cry to watch them." 
 
 "Ho, ho!" he chuckled, "dis ain* no time for cryin*. 
 Ba gosh! I guess you don* have so much present 
 
 35 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 w en you was liT gal you se f, w at? Mebbe you 
 t ink I forget you. Wai, I didn t. " 
 
 He began to undo the fastenings of a parcel he car 
 ried in his arms, for Napoleon Doret had brought other 
 things from Dawson besides his gilts to the children. 
 Necia snatched at the package. 
 
 "Don t you dare open it! Why, that s half the 
 fun." She was a child herself now, her face flushed 
 and her hands a-tremble. Taking the package to the 
 table, she hurriedly untied the knots while he stood 
 watching her, his teeth showing white against his dark 
 face, and his eyes half shut as if dazzled by the sight of 
 her. 
 
 "Oh, why didn t you tie more knots in it?" she 
 breathed as she undid the last, and then, opening the 
 wrappings slowly, she gasped in astonishment. She 
 shook it out gently, reverently a clinging black lace 
 gown of Paris make. Next she opened a box and 
 took from it a picture hat, with long jet plumes, which 
 she stroked and pressed fondly against her face. 
 There were other garments also a silken petticoat, 
 silk stockings, and a pair of high -heeled shoes to match, 
 with certain other delicate and dainty things which 
 she modestly forbore to inspect before the French 
 man, who said no word, but only gazed at her, and for 
 whom she had no eyes as yet. Finally she laid her 
 presents aside, and, turning to him, said, in a hushed, 
 awe-stricken voice: 
 
 "It s all there, everything complete! Oh, Poleon 
 you dear, dear Poleon!" She took his two big hands 
 by the thumbs, as had been her custom ever since 
 she was a child, and looked up at him, her eyes wet 
 with emotion. But she could not keep away from the 
 dre^s for long, and returned to feast her eyes upon it 
 
 36 
 
WITHOUT BENEFIT OP CLERGY 
 
 the two children standing beside her, sprouting out 
 o their rubber boots, with eyes and mouths round 
 and protruding. 
 
 "You lak it, eh?" pressed Poleon, hungry for more 
 demonstrative expression. 
 
 "Oh-h," she sighed, "can t you see t Where on 
 earth did you get it ?" Then suddenly realizing its 
 ralue, she cried, "Why, it must have cost a fortune!" 
 A quick reproach leaped into her face, but he only 
 laughed again. 
 
 "Wan night I gamble in beeg saloon. Yes, sir! I 
 gamble good dat night, too. For w ile I play roulette, 
 den I dance, den I play some more, an by-an -by I 
 ee a new dance gal. She s Tranche gal, from Mon 
 treal. Dat s de one I tol you bout. Ba Gar! She s 
 swell dress , too. She s name Marie Bourgette." 
 
 "Oh, I ve heard about her," said Necia. "She owns 
 a claim on Bonanza Creek." 
 
 "Sure, she s frien s wit Charlie McCormack, dat riche 
 feller, but I don* know it dis tarn , so I ask her for dance 
 wit* me. Den we drink a bottle of champagne 
 twenty dollar. 
 
 " Mamselle, I say, how much you charge for sell 
 me dat dress? 
 
 " For w y shall I sell im, she say; I don* wear im 
 before till to-night, an I don get no more dress lak 
 dis for t ousan dollar. " 
 
 Necia exclaimed excitedly. 
 
 " For w y you sell im? I say. Biccause I ll tak f 
 im down to Flambeau for Necia Gale, w at never had 
 no dress lak dat in all her life. Wai, sir, dat Marie 
 Bourgette, she s hear of you before, an your dad, too 
 mos all dose Cheechakos know bout Old Man Gate- 
 so she say: 
 
 37 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 " Wat lookin kind of gal is dis Necia? An I tell 
 her all bout you. Wen I m t rough she say: 
 
 "But maybe your little fricin is more bigger as I 
 am. Maybe de dress won t fit.* 
 
 "Ha! You don know me, mamselle, I say. 4 I 
 can guess de weight of a caribou to five poun*. She ll 
 be same size la kin one inch roun de waisV 
 
 " Poleon Doret, she say, you ain* no Franche- 
 mans to talk lak dat. Look here! I can sell dis dress 
 for t ousan dollar to-night, or I can trade im for gol - 
 mine on El Dorado Creek to some dose Swede w at 
 want to catch a gal, but I m goin* sell im to you for 
 t ree hondred dollar, jus w at I pay for im. You 
 wait here till I come back. 
 
 " No, no, Mamselle Marie, I ll go long, too, for so 
 you don* change your min , I say; an I stan outside 
 her door till she pass me de whole dam* works. 
 
 " Don forget de little shoes, I say an dat s how 
 it come!" 
 
 "And you paid three hundred dollars for it!" Necia 
 said, aghast. The Canadian shrugged. 
 
 "Only for de good heart of Marie Bourgette I pa# 
 wan t ousan*/ said he. " I mak seven hondred dollar 
 clean profit! * 
 
 "It was very nice of both of you, but I can t weai 
 It. I ve never seen a dress like it, except in pictures, 
 and I couldn t " She saw his face fall, and said, im 
 pulsively: 
 
 "I ll wear it once, anyhow, Poleon, just for you. 
 Go away quick, now, and let me put it on." 
 
 "Dat s good," he nodded, as he moved away. "I 
 bet you mak dose dance-hall women look lak sucker. * 
 
 No man may understand the girl s feelings as she 
 set about clothing herself in her first fine dress. Time 
 
WITHOUT BENEFIT OF CLERGY 
 
 and again she had studied pictures from the "out* 
 side" showing women arrayed in the newest styles, 
 and had closed her eyes to fancy herself dressed in 
 like manner. She had always had an instinctive feel 
 ing that some day she would leave the North and see 
 the wonderful world of which men spoke so much, and 
 mingle with the fine ladies of her picture-books, but she 
 never dreamed to possess an evening-gown while she 
 lived in Alaska. And now, even while she recognized 
 the grotesqueness of the situation, she burned to wear 
 it and see herself in the garb of other women. So, 
 with the morning sun streaming brightly into her 
 room, lighting up the moss-chinked walls, the rough 
 barbarism of fur and head and trophy, she donned 
 the beautiful garments. 
 
 Poleon s eye had been amazingly correct, for it 
 fitted her neatly, save at the waist, which was even 
 more than an inch too large, notwithstanding the fact 
 that she had never worn such a corset as the well- 
 formed Marie Bourgette was accustomed to. 
 
 She pondered long and hesitated modestly when she 
 saw its low cut, which exposed her neck and shoulders 
 in a totally unaccustomed manner, for it struck her 
 as amazingly indecent until she scurried through her 
 magazines again and saw that its construction, as 
 compared with others, was most conservative. Even 
 so she shrank at sight of herself below the line of sun 
 burn, for she was ringed about like a blue-winged teal, 
 the demarcation being more pronounced because of 
 the natural whiteness of her skin. The year previous 
 Doret had brought her from the coast a Spanish shawl, 
 which a salt-water sailor had sold him, and which had 
 lain folded away ever since. She brought it forth now 
 and arranged it about her shoulders, but in spite of 
 a 39 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 this covering the fair flesh beneath peeped through it* 
 wide interstices most brazenly. She had never paid 
 marked attention to the fairness of her skin till now, 
 and all at once this difference between herself and her 
 little brother and sister struck her. She had been a 
 mother to them ever since they came, and had often 
 laughed when she saw how brown their little bodies 
 were, rejoicing in blushing quietude at her own white* 
 ness, but to-day she neither laughed nor felt any joy, 
 rather a dim wonder. She sat down, dress and all, in 
 the thick softness of a great brown bear -skin and 
 thought it over. 
 
 How odd it was, now that she considered it, that 
 she needed no aid with these alien garments, that she 
 knew instinctively their every feature, that there was 
 no intricacy to cause her more than an instant s trouble. 
 This knowledge must be a piece with the intuitive wit 
 that had been the wonder of Father Barnum and had 
 enabled her to absorb his teachings as fast as he gave 
 them forth. 
 
 She was interrupted in her reverie by the passing of 
 a shadow across her window and the stamp of a man s 
 feet on the planks at the door Of course, it was 
 Poleon, who had come back to see her; so she roee 
 hastily, gave one quick glance at the mirror above 
 her washstand, choosing the side that distorted her 
 image the least, and, hearing him still stamping, per 
 functorily called: 
 
 "Come in! Ill be right out." 
 
 She kicked the train into place behind her, looped 
 ths shawl carelessly about her in a way to veil her 
 modesty effectively, and, with an expectant smile at his 
 extravagance of admiration, swept out into the big 
 room, very self-conscious and very pleasing to tho 
 
 40 
 
WITHOUT BENEFIT OF CLERGY 
 
 eye. She crossed proudly to the reading-table to give 
 him a fair view of her splendor, and was into the mid 
 dle of the room before she looked up. Taken aback, 
 she uttered a little strangled cry and made a quick 
 movement of retreat, only to check herself and stand 
 with her chin high in the air, while wave after wave of 
 color swept over her face. 
 
 "Great lovely dove!" ejaculated Burrell, fervently, 
 staring at her. 
 
 "Oh, I I thought you were Poleon. He " In 
 spite cf herself she glanced towards her room as if to 
 flee; she writhed at the utter absurdity of her ap 
 pearance, and knew the Lieutenant must be laughing at 
 her. But flight would only make it worse, so she stood 
 as she was, having drawn back as far as she could, till the 
 table checked her. Burrell, however, was not laughing, 
 nor smiling even, for his embarrassment rivalled hers. 
 
 "I was looking for your father," he said, wondering 
 if this glorious thing could be the quaint half-breed 
 girl of yesterday. There was nothing of the native 
 about her now, for her lithe young figure was drawn 
 up to its height, and her head, upon which the 
 long, black braids were coiled, was tipped back in 
 a haughty poise. She had flung her hands out to 
 grasp the table edge behind her, forgetful of her shswl, 
 which drooped traitorously and showed such rounded 
 lines as her ordinary dress scarce hinted at. This was 
 no Indian maid, the soldier vowed; no blood but the 
 purest could pulse in such veins, no spirit save the 
 highest could flash in such eyes as these. A jealous 
 rancor irked him at the thought of this beauty intended 
 for the Frenchman s eyes. 
 
 "Can t you show yourself to me as well as to Poleon P H 
 he said. 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "Certainly not!" she declared. "He bought this 
 dress for me, and I put it on to please him." Now she 
 was herself again, for some note in the Lieutenant s 
 voice gave her dominance over him. "After he sees it 
 I will take it off, and" 
 
 "Don t don t take it off-^ver," said Burrell. "I 
 thought you were beautiful Before, because of your 
 quaintness and simplicity, but now " his chest swelled 
 "why, this is a breath from home. You re like my 
 sister and the girls back in Kentucky, only more 
 wonderful." 
 
 "Am I?" she cried, eagerly. "Am I like other 
 girls? Do I really look as if I d always worn clothes 
 like these?" 
 
 "Born to them," said he. 
 
 A smile broke over her grave face, assuming a hun 
 dred different shades of pleasure and making a child 
 of her on the instant; all her reserve and hauteur van 
 ished. Her warmth and unaffected frankness suffused 
 him, as she stood out, turning to show the beauties of 
 her gown, her brown hands fluttering tremulously as 
 she talked. 
 
 "It s my first party-dress, you know, and I m as 
 proud of it as Molly is of her rubber boots. It s too 
 big in here and too small right there; that girl must 
 have had a bad chest; but otherwise it fits me as if 
 it had been made for me, doesn t it ? And the shoes! 
 Aren t they the dearest things? See." She held her 
 skirts back, showing her two feet side by side, her 
 dainty ankles slim and shapely in their silk. 
 
 "They won t shed water." he said. 
 
 "I know; and look at the heels. I couldn t walk 
 a mile to save my life." 
 
 "And tney will come off if they get wet. w 
 
 42 
 
WITHOUT BENEFIT OF CLERGY 
 
 "But they make me very tall." 
 
 "They don t wear as well as moccasins." Both 
 laughed delightedly till he broke in, impulsively: 
 
 "Oh, girl, don t you know how beautiful you are?" 
 
 "Of course I do!" she cried, imitating his change of 
 voice; then added, naively, "That s why I hate to take 
 it off." 
 
 "Where did you learn to wear things like that?" he 
 questioned. "Where did you get that well that 
 air?" 
 
 "It seems to me I ve always known. There s noth 
 ing strange about it. The buttons and the hooks and 
 the eyes are all where they belong. It s instinct, I 
 suppose, from father s side " 
 
 "Probably. I dare say I should understand the 
 mechanism of a dress-suit, even if I d never seen one," 
 said the man, amused, yet impressed by her argument. 
 
 "I ve always had visions of women dressed in this 
 land of clothing, white women never natives not 
 dressed like this exactly, but in dainty, soft things, 
 not at all like the ones I wear. I seem to have a mem 
 ory, although it s hardly that, either it s more like a 
 dream as if I were somebody else. Father says it is 
 from reading too much." 
 
 41 A memory of what?" 
 
 "It s too vague and tantalizing to tell what it is, 
 except that I should be called Merridy." 
 
 "Merridy? Why that?" 
 
 "I ll show you. See." She slipped her hand in 
 side the shawl and drew from her breast a thin gold 
 chain on which was strung a band ring. "It was 
 grandmother s that s where I got the fancy for the 
 name of Merridy, I suppose." 
 
 "May I look?" 
 
 43 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 ? 0f course. But I daren t take it off. I haven t 
 had it off my neck since I was a baby." She held it 
 out for him to examine, and, although it brought his 
 head close to hers, there was no trace of coquetry in 
 the invitation. He read the inscription, "From Dan 
 to Merridy," but had no realization of what it meant, 
 for he glimpsed the milk-white flesh almost at his lips, 
 and felt her breath stirring his hair, while the delicate 
 scent of her person seemed to loose every strong emo 
 tion in him. She was so dainty and yet so virile, so 
 innocent and yet so wise, so cold and yet so pulsating. 
 
 "It is very pretty," he said, inanely. 
 
 At the look in his eyes as he raised his head her own 
 widened, and she withdrew from him imperceptibly, 
 dismissing him with a mere inflection. 
 
 "I wish you would send Poleon here. It s time he 
 saw his present." 
 
 As Burrell walked out into the air he shut his jaws 
 grimly and muttered: "Hold tight, young man. She s 
 not your kind she s not your kind." 
 
 Inside the store he found Doret and the trader in con 
 versation with a man he had not met before, a ragged 
 nondescript whose overalls were blue and faded and 
 patched, particularly on the front of the legs above 
 the knees, where a shovel-handle wears hardest; whose 
 coat was of yellow mackinaw, the sleeves worn thin 
 below the elbows, where they had rubbed against his 
 legs in his work. As the soldier entered, the man 
 turned on him a small, shrewd, weather-beaten face 
 with one eye, while he went on talking to Gale. 
 
 "It ain t nothin to git excited over, but it s wuth 
 follerin . If I wasn t so cussed unlucky I d know 
 there was a pay streak som ere close by." 
 
 "Your luck is bound to change, Lee," said the 
 
 44 
 
WITHOUT BENEFIT OF CLERGY 
 
 trader, who helped him to roll up a pack of provi 
 sions. 
 
 "Mebbe so. Who s the dressmaker?" He jerked 
 his bushy head towards Burrell, who had stopped at 
 the front door with Poleon to examine some yellow 
 grains in a folded paper. 
 
 "He s the boss soldier." 
 
 "Purty, ain t he?" 
 
 "If you ain t good he ll get you," said Gale, a trifle 
 cynically, at which Lee chuckled. 
 
 "I reckon there s several of us in camp that ain t 
 been a whole lot too good," said he. "Has he tried to 
 git anybody yet?" 
 
 "No, but he s liable to. What would happen if h 
 did ? Suppose, for instance, he went after you or me ?" 
 
 The one-eyed man snorted derisively. "It ain t 
 wuth consider^ !" 
 
 "Why not?" insisted Gale, guardedly. "Maybe 
 I ve got a record you don t know." 
 
 "If you have, don t tell me nothin about it," hastily 
 observed Lee. " I m a God-fearin citizen myself, lean- 
 in* ever towards peace and quietudes, but what s past 
 is dead and gone, and I d hate to see a lispin child 
 like that blue-and-yeller party try to reezureck it." 
 
 "He s got the American army to back him up at 
 least five of them." 
 
 "Five agin a hundred. He aims to overawe us, 
 don t he?" snickered the unregenerate Lee, but his 
 wrinkles changed and deepened as he leaned acros* 
 the counter confidentially. 
 
 "You say the word, John, and I ll take some feller 
 along to help me, and we ll transfer this military post. 
 There s plenty that would like the job if you give the 
 wink." 
 
 45 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "Pshaw! I m just supposing," said the trader. 
 * As long as they play around and drill and toot that 
 horn, and don t bother anybody, I allow they re not 
 in the way." 
 
 "All right! It s up to you. However, if I happen 
 to leap down on this pay streak before it sees me comin t 
 I m goin to put my friends in first and foremost, and 
 shut out these dressmakers complete. So long!" He 
 thrust his arms beneath the legs of a new pair of blue 
 overalls that formed his pack-straps, wriggled the bur 
 den comfortably into place between his shoulders, and 
 slouched out past Doret, to whom he nodded, ignoring 
 the "dressmaker." 
 
 Having given Necia s message to Poleon, the Lieu 
 tenant took up his business with the trader. It con 
 cerned the purchase of certain supplies that had been 
 omitted from the military outfit, and when this was 
 concluded he referred to the encounter of that morning. 
 
 "I don t want you to think I bungle everything in 
 that manner," he said, "for I don t. I want to work 
 with you, and I want to be friends with you." 
 
 "I m willing," said Gale. 
 
 "Nobody dislikes playing policeman more than I 
 do, but it s a part of my duty, and I ll have to do it," 
 continued the young man. 
 
 "I reckon you simply aim to keep peace, eh? You 
 ain t lookin for nobody in particular?" 
 
 "Of course not outside of certain notorious crimi 
 nals who have escaped justice and worked north." 
 
 "Then there is a few that you want, eh?" 
 
 "Yes, certain old-timers. The officers at every 
 post have descriptions of a few such, and if they show 
 tip we will take them in and hold them till courts are 
 established." 
 
 46 
 
WITHOUT BENEFIT OF CLERGY 
 
 "If you ve got their names and descriptions, mebbe 
 I could help you," said the trader, carelessly. 
 
 "Thank you, I ll bring up the list and we ll go over 
 it together. You must have been here a good while." 
 
 "About ten years." 
 
 "Then Miss Necia was born out in the States?" 
 
 Gale shot a startled glance at the soldier before he 
 answered in the affirmative, but Burrell was studying 
 a pattern of sunlight on the floor and did not observe 
 him. A moment later he inquired, hesitatingly: 
 
 "Is this your first marriage, Mr. Gale?" "When 
 the other did not answer, he looked up and quickly 
 added: 
 
 "I beg your pardon, sir. What led me to ask was 
 Miss Necia she is so well she is such a remarkable 
 girl." 
 
 Gale s face had undergone a change, but he answered, 
 quietly: 
 
 "I ain t never been married." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "When I took Alluna it wasn t the style, and neither 
 one of us has thought much about it since." 
 
 "Oh, I see," exclaimed Burrell, hurriedly. "I ll 
 bring that list with me the first time I think about it," 
 and, nodding amiably, he sauntered out But his 
 mind was in a whirl, and even after he had reached 
 his quarters he found himself repeating: 
 
 " The other was bad enough. Poor little girl! Poor 
 little girl!" 
 
 Gale likewise left the store and went into his house, 
 the odd look still strong in his eyes, to find Necia posing 
 in her new regalia for Poleon s benefit. At sight of 
 her he fell into a strange and unexpected humor, and 
 to their amazement commanded her roughly to take 
 
 47 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 tiie things ofL His voice and manner were harsh and 
 at utter variance with any mood he had ever displayed 
 before; nor would he explain his unreasoning fury, but 
 strode out again, leaving her in tears and the French 
 man staring. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THB SOLDIER FINDS AN UNTRODDEN VALLEY 
 
 DURING the weeks that followed Meade Burrell 
 saw much of Necia. At first he had leaned on 
 the excuse that he wanted to study the curious 
 Ireak of heredity she presented; but that wore out 
 quickly, and he let himself drift, content with the 
 pleasure of her company and happy in the music of 
 her laughter. Her quick wit and keen humor delighted 
 him, and the mystery ui her dark eyes seemed to hold 
 the poetry and beauty of all the red races that lay 
 behind her on the maternal side. At times he thought 
 of her as he had seen her that morning in the dance- 
 girl s dress, and remembered the purity of neck and 
 breast it had displayed, but he attributed that to the 
 same prank of heritage that had endowed her with 
 other traits alien to her mother s race, 
 
 He had experienced a profound sense of pity for her 
 upon learning her father s relation to Alluna, but this 
 also largely vanished when he found that the girl was 
 entirely oblivious to its significance. He had tried her 
 in many subtle ways, and found that she regarded the 
 matter innocently, as customary, and therefore in the 
 light of an accepted convention; nor did she seem to 
 nee anything in her blood or station to render her in 
 ferior to other women. She questioned him tirelessly 
 about his sister r and he was glaa of this, for It placed 
 
 49 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 no constraint between them. So that, as he explored 
 her many quaint beliefs and pagan superstitions, the 
 delight of being with her grew, and he ceased to reason 
 whither it might lead him. 
 
 As for her, each day brought a keener delight. She 
 unfolded before the Kentuckian like some beautiful 
 woodland flower, and through innumerable, unnoticed 
 familiarities took him into her innermost confidence, 
 sharing with him those girlish hopes and beliefs and 
 aspirations she had never voiced till now. 
 
 A month of this went by, and then Runnion returned. 
 He came on an up-going steamer which panted in for 
 a rest from its thousand-mile climb, and for breath to 
 continue its fight against the never-tiring sweep of 
 waters. The manner of his coming was bold, for he 
 stood fairly upon the ship s deck, staring at the grow 
 ing picture of the town, as ht> had watched it recede 
 a month before, and his smile was evil now, as it had 
 been then. With him was a stranger. When the boat 
 was at rest Runnion sauntered down the gang-plank 
 and up to the Lieutenant, who stood above the landing- 
 place, and who noted that the scar f close up against 
 his hat -band, was scarce healed. He accosted the 
 officer with an insolent assurance 
 
 **Well t Fm back again, you see, and I m back to 
 stay." 
 
 "Very well, Runnion; did you bring an outfit with 
 you ?" The young man addressed him civilly , although 
 he felt that the fellow s presence was a menace and 
 would lead to trouble. 
 
 "Yes, and I m pretty fat besides.** He shook a 
 well-laden gold-sack at the officer, "I reckon I can 
 rustle thirteen dollars a month most anywhere, if I en 
 left alone." 
 
 50 
 
AN UNTRODDEN VALLEY 
 
 "What do you want in this place, anyhow?" de 
 manded Burrell, curiously. 
 
 "None of your damned business," the man answered, 
 grinning 
 
 "Be sure it isn t," retorted the Lieutenant, "be 
 cause it would please me right down to the ground if 
 it were. I d like to get you." 
 
 "I m glad we understand each other," Runnion 
 said, and turned to oversee the unloading of his 
 freight, falling into conversation with the stranger, 
 who had been surveying the town without leaving the 
 boat. Evidently this man had a voice in Runnion s 
 affairs, for he not only gave him instructions, but 
 bossed the crew who handled his merchandise, and 
 Meade Burrell concluded that he must be some incom 
 ing tenderfoot who had grub-staked the desperado to 
 prospect in the hills back of Flambeau. As the two 
 came up past him he saw that he was mistaken 
 this man was no more of a tenderfoot than Runnion; 
 on the contrary, he had the bearing of one to whom 
 new countries are old, who had trod the edge of things 
 all his life. There was a hint of the meat-eating animal 
 about him; his nose was keen and hawklike, his walk 
 and movements those of the predatory beast, and as 
 he passed by, Burrell observed that his eyes were 
 of a peculiar cruelty that went well with his thin 
 lips. He was older by far than Runnion, but, 
 while the latter was mean-visaged and swaggering, 
 the stranger s manner was noticeable for its repres 
 sion 
 
 Impelled by an irresistible desire to learn something 
 about the man, the Lieutenant loitered after Runnion 
 and his companion, and entered the store in time to see 
 the latter greet "No Creek" Lee, the prospector, who 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 had come into town for more food. Both men spoke 
 with quiet restraint. 
 
 "Nine years since I saw you, Stark," said the miner. 
 "Where you bound?" 
 
 "The diggings," replied Stark, as Lee addressed the 
 stranger. 
 
 "Mining now?" 
 
 "No, same old thing, but I m grub-staking a few 
 men, as usual. One of them stays here I may open 
 a house in Dawson if the camp is as good as they say 
 it is." 
 
 "This here s a good place for you." 
 
 Stark laughed noiselessly and without mirth. "Fine! 
 There must be a hundred people living here." 
 
 "Never mind, you take it from me," said the miner, 
 positively, "and get in now on the quiet. There s 
 something doing." His one sharp eye detected the 
 lieutenant close by, so he drew his friend aside and 
 began talking to him earnestly and with such evident 
 effect as to alter Stark s plans on the moment ; for when 
 Runnion entered the store shortly Stark spoke to him 
 quickly, following which they both hurried back to the 
 steamer and saw to the unloading of much additional 
 freight and baggage. From the volume and variety of 
 this merchandise, it was evident that Mr. Stark would 
 in no wise be a burden to the community. 
 
 Burrell was not sufficiently versed in the ways of min 
 ing-camps to know exactly what this abrupt change of 
 policy meant, but that there was something in the air 
 he knew from the mysterious manner of "No Creek" 
 Lee and from the suppressed excitement of Doret and 
 the trader. His curiosity got the better of him finally, 
 and he fell into talk with Lee, inquiring about the 
 stranger by way of an opening. 
 
 52 
 
AN UNTRODDEN VALLEY 
 
 "That s Ben Stark. I knew him back in the Cassiar 
 country," said Lee. 
 
 "Is he a mining man?" 
 
 "Well, summat. He s made and lost a bank-roll 
 that a greyhound couldn t leap over in the mining 
 business, but it ain t his reg lar graft. He run one 
 of the biggest places in the Northwest for yeaid." 
 
 "Saloon, eh?" 
 
 "Saloon and variety house seven bartenders, that s 
 all. He s the feller that killed the gold-commissioner. 
 Of course, that put him on the hike again." 
 
 "How do you mean?" 
 
 "Well, he had a record as long as a sick man s drug 
 bill before he went into that country, and when he put 
 the commissioner away them Canadian officials went 
 after him like they was killin snakes, and it cost him 
 all he had made to get clear. If it had happened 
 across the line, the coroner s jury would have freed 
 him, cause the commissioner was drunk and started 
 the row; but it happened right in Stark s saloon, and 
 you know Canucks is stronger than vitriol for law and 
 order. Not bein* his first offence, it went hard with 
 him." 
 
 "He looks like a killer," said Burrell. 
 
 "Yes, but he ain t the common kind. He always 
 lets the other man begin, and therefore he ain t never 
 done time." 
 
 "Come, now," argued the Lieutenant, "if it were the 
 other man who invariably shot first, Stark would have 
 been killed long ago." 
 
 "I don t care what would have happened, it *atn l 
 happened, and he s got notches on his gun till it 
 looks like a cub bear had chawed it. If you was a 
 Western man you d know what they say about him. 
 
 53 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 ?The bullet ain t been run to kill him. That s the 
 sayin . You needn t grin, there s many a better man 
 than you believes it." 
 
 "Who is it that the bullet hasn t been run to kill?" 
 said the trader s deep voice behind them. He had 
 finished with his duties, and now sauntered forward. 
 
 "Ben Stark," said Lee, turning. "You know him, 
 John?" 
 
 "No, I never saw him, but I know who he is used 
 to hear of him in the Coeur d Alenes." 
 
 "That s him I was talking to," said the miner. 
 "He s an old friend of mine, and he s going to locate 
 here." 
 
 Burrell thought he saw Lee wink at the trader, but 
 he was not sure, for at that moment the man of whom 
 they were speaking re-entered. Lee introduced him, 
 and the three men shook hands. While the soldier 
 fell into easy conversation with the new-comer, Gale 
 gazed at him narrowly, studying him as he studied 
 all men who came as strangers. As he was doing so 
 Alluna entered, followed by Johnny and Molly. She 
 had come for sugar, and asked for it in her native 
 tongue. Upon her exit Stark broke off talking to the 
 Lieutenant and turned to the trader. 
 
 "Your squaw, Mr Gale?" 
 
 The old man nodded. 
 
 "Pah-Ute, eh?" 
 
 "Yes. Why, do you savvy the talk?" 
 
 "Some. I lived in California once a " 
 
 "Where?" The question came like a shot. 
 
 "Oh, here and there; I followed the Mother Lode 
 for a spell." 
 
 "I don t recall the name," said the trader, after a 
 bit. 
 
 54 
 
AN UNTRODDEN VALLEY 
 
 "Possibly. Where were you located?" 
 
 " I never lit on any one place long enough to call ft 
 home." 
 
 It seemed to Burrell that both men were sparring 
 cautiously in an indirect, impersonal manner. 
 
 "Those yotir kids, too, eh?" Stark continued. 
 
 "Yes, and I got another one besides older. A 
 girl." 
 
 "She s a pip, 1 too," said "No Creek" Lee, fervently. 
 "She s plumb beautiful." 
 
 "All of them half-breeds?" questioned Stark. 
 
 "Sure." The trader s answer was short, and when 
 the other showed no intention of pressing the sub 
 ject further he sauntered away; but no sooner was he 
 out of hearing than Stark said: "Humph! They re 
 all alike." 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 "Squaw-men." 
 
 "This one ain t," Lee declared. "He s different; 
 ain t he, Lieutenant?" 
 
 "He certainly is," agreed Burrell. This was the 
 first criticism he had heard of Necia s father, and al 
 though Stark volunteered no argument, it was plain 
 that his opinion remained unaffected. 
 
 The old man went through the store at the rear and 
 straightway sought Alluna. Speaking to her with un 
 wonted severity in the Pah-Ute language, he said: 
 
 "I have told you never to use your native tongue 
 before strangers. That man in the store under 
 stands." 
 
 "I only asked for sugar to cook the berries with," 
 she replied. 
 
 "True, but another time you might say more, there 
 fore the less you speak it the better. He is the kind 
 5 55 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 who sees much and talks little. Address me in Siwash 
 or in English unless we are alone/ 
 
 "I do not like that man," said the woman. "His 
 eyes are bad, like a fish eagle s, and he has no 
 heart." 
 
 Suddenly she dropped her work and came close up 
 to him. "Can he be the one?" 
 
 "I don t know. Stark is not the name, but he 
 might have changed it; he had reasons enough." 
 
 "Who is this man Stark?" 
 
 "I don t know that, either. I used to hear of him 
 when I was in British Columbia." 
 
 "But surely you must know if he is the same she 
 must have told you how he looked others must have 
 told you" 
 
 Gale shook his head. "Very little. I could not ask 
 her, and others knew him so well they never doubted 
 that I had seen him; but this much I do know, he was 
 dark" 
 
 "This man is dark " 
 
 " and his spirit was like that of a mad horse " 
 
 "This man s temper is black " 
 
 " and his eyes were cruel." 
 
 "This man has evil eyes." 
 
 "He lacked five years of my age," said the trader. 
 
 "This man is forty years old. It must be he," said 
 the squaw. 
 
 Even Necia would have marvelled had she heard 
 this revelation of her father s age, for his hair and 
 brows were grizzled, and his face had the look of a 
 man of sixty, while only those who knew him well, like 
 Doret, were aware of his great strength and the endur- 
 that belied his appearance. 
 
 "We will send Necia down to the Mission to-night, 
 
 56 
 
AN UNTRODDEN VALLEY 
 
 and let Father Barnum keep her there till this man 
 goes," said the squaw, after some deliberation. 
 
 "No, she must stay here," Gale replied, with de 
 cision. "The man has come here to live, so it won t 
 do any good to send her away, and, after all, what is to 
 be will be. But she must never be seen in that dance- 
 girl s dress again, at least, not till I learn more about 
 this Stark. It makes no difference whether this one is 
 the man or not; he will come and I shall know him. 
 For a year I have felt that the time was growing short, 
 and now I know it." 
 
 "No, no!" Alluna cried; "we have no strangers 
 here. No white men except the soldiers and this 
 one have come in a year. This is but a little trading- 
 post." 
 
 "It was yesterday, but it isn t to-day. Lee has 
 made a strike like the one George Carmack made on 
 the Klondike. He came to tell me and Poleon, and 
 we are going back with him to-night, but you must 
 say nothing or it will start a stampede." 
 
 "Other men will come a great many of them?" 
 interrogated Alluna, fearfully, ignoring utterly the mo 
 mentous news. 
 
 "Yes. Flambeau will be another Dawson if this 
 find is what Lee thinks it is. I stayed away from the 
 Upper Country because I knew crowds of men would 
 come from the States, and I feared that he might be 
 among them; but it s no use hiding any longer, there s 
 no other place for us to go. If Lee has got a mine, 
 I ll have the one next to it, for we will be the first ones 
 on the ground. What happens after that won t mat 
 ter much, you four will be provided for. We are to 
 leave in an hour, one at a time, to avoid comment." 
 
 "But why did this man stop here?" insisted the 
 
 57 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 woman. "Why did he not stay on the steamboat 
 and go to Dawson?" 
 
 "He s a friend of Lee s. He is going with us. M 
 Then he added, almost in a whisper, "Before we re 
 turn I shall know." 
 
 Alluna seized his arm. "Promise to come back, 
 John! Promise that you will come back even if this 
 should be the man." 
 
 "I promise. Don t worry, lift ^ woman; I m not 
 ready for a reckoning yet." 
 
 He gave her certain instructions about the store, 
 charging her in particular to observe the utmost secrecy 
 regarding the strike, else she mi^ v .t precipitate a prema 
 ture excitement which would go far towards ruining his 
 and Poleon s chances. All of which she noted; then, as 
 he turned away, she laid her hand on his arm and said: 
 
 "If you do not know him he will not know you. Is 
 it not so?." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Then the rest is easy " 
 
 But he only shook his head doubtfully and answered, 
 "Perhaps I am not sure," and went inside, where 
 he made up a light pack of bacon, flour and tea, a pail 
 or two, a coffee-pot and a frying-pan, which he rolled 
 inside a robe of rabbit-skin and bound about in turn 
 with a light tarpaulin. It did not weigh thirty pounds 
 in all. Selecting a new pair of water-boots, he stuffed 
 dry grass inside them, oiled up his six-shooter, then 
 slipped out the back way, and in five minutes was hid 
 den in the thickets. Half an hour later, having com 
 pleted a detour of the town, he struck the trail to the 
 interior, where he found Poleon Doret, equipped in a 
 similar manner, resting beside a stream, singing the 
 songs of his people. 
 
AN UNTRODDEN VALLEY 
 
 When Burrell returned to his quarters he tried to 
 ntti^ate the feeling of lonesomeness that oppressed 
 him by tackling his neglected correspondence. Some 
 how, to-day, the sense of his isolation had come over 
 him stronger than ever. His rank forbade any in 
 timacy with his miserable handful of men, who had 
 already fallen into the monotony of routine, while 
 every friendly overture he mace towards the citizens 
 of Flambeau was met with distrust and coldness, his 
 stripes of office seeming to erect a barrier and induce 
 an ostracism stronger and more complete than if they 
 had been emblems of the penitentiary. He began to 
 resent it keenly. Even Doret and the trader seemed 
 to share the general feeling, hence the thought of the 
 long, lonesome winter approaching reduced the Lieu 
 tenant to a state of black despondency, deepened by 
 the knowledge that he now had an open enemy in 
 camp in the person of Runnion. Then, too, he had 
 taken a morbid dislike to the new man, Stark. So 
 that, all in all, the youth felt he had good reason to be 
 in the dumps this afternoon. There was nothing de 
 sirable in this place everything undesirable except 
 Necia. Her presence in Flambeau went far towards 
 making his humdrum existence bearable, but of late 
 he had found himself dwelling with growing serious 
 ness on the unhappy circumstances of her birth, and 
 had almost made up his mind that it would be wise 
 not to see her any more. The tempting vision of her 
 in the ball-dress remained vividly in his imagination, 
 causing him hours of sweet torment. There was a 
 sparkle, a fineness, a gentleness about her that seemed 
 to make the few women he had known well dull and 
 commonplace, and even his sister, whom till now he 
 had held as the perfection of all things feminine, suf- 
 
 59 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 fered by comparison with this maiden of the fron 
 tier. 
 
 He was steeped in this sweet, grave melancholy, when 
 a knock came at his door, and he arose to find Necia 
 herself there, excited and radiant. She came in with 
 out sign of embarrassment or slightest consciousness of 
 the possible impropriety of her act. 
 
 "The most wonderful thing has happened," she be 
 gan at once, when she found they were alone. " You ll 
 faint for joy." 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 "Nobody knows except father and Poleon and the 
 two new men " 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 "I teased the news out of mother, and then came 
 right here." 
 
 He laughed. "But what may I ask" 
 
 "Lee has made a strike a wonderful strike richer 
 than the Klondike." 
 
 "So? The old man s luck has changed. I m right 
 glad of that," said the soldier. 
 
 "I came as fast as I could, because to-morrow 
 everybody will know about it, and it will be too 
 late." 
 
 "Too late for what?" 
 
 "For us to get in on it, of course. Oh, but won t 
 there be a stampede! Why, all the people bound for 
 Dawson on the next boat will pile off here, then the 
 news will go up-river and down-river, and thousands 
 of others will come pouring in from everywhere, and 
 this will be a city. Then we will stake our town lots 
 and sell them for ever so much money, and go around 
 with our noses in the air, and they will say to each 
 .other. 
 
 Oo 
 
AN UNTRODDEN VALLEY 
 
 " Who is that beautiful lady with the fine clothes?* 
 and somebody will answer: 
 
 04 Why, that is Miss Necia Gale, the mine-owner. 
 And then you will come along, and they will say: 
 
 " That is Lieutenant Burrell, the millionaire, and " 
 
 "Hold on! hold on!" said the soldier, stopping her 
 breathless patter. "Tell me all about this." 
 
 "Well, No Creek* came in this morning to tell dad 
 <tnd Poleon. Then the boat arrived with an old friend 
 of Lee s, a Mr. Stark, so Lee told him, too, and now 
 they ve all gone back to his creek to stake more claims. 
 They slipped away quietly to prevent suspicion, but 
 I knew there was something up from the way Poleon 
 acted, so I made Alluna tell me all about it. They 
 haven t more than two hours start of us, and we can 
 overtake them easily." 
 
 "We! Why, we are not going?" 
 
 "Yes, we are," she insisted, impatiently "you and 
 I. That s why I came, so you can get a mine for 
 yourself and be a rich man, and so you can help me 
 get one. I know the way. Hurry up!" 
 
 "No," said he, in as firm a tone as he could com 
 mand. "In the first place, these men don t like me, 
 and they don t want me to share in this." 
 
 "What do you care?" 
 
 "In the second place, I m not a miner. I don t 
 know how to proceed." 
 
 "Never mind; I do. I ve heard nothing but mining 
 all my life." 
 
 "In the third place, I don t think I have the right, 
 for I m a soldier. I m working for Uncle Sam, and I 
 don t believe I ought to take up mining claims. I m 
 not sure there is anything to prevent it, but neither 
 am I sure it would be quite the square thing are you ?" 
 
 61 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 ? Why, of course it s all right," said Necia, her 
 gager face clouding with the look of a hurt child. "If 
 you don t do it, somebody else will." 
 
 But the Lieutenant shook his head. "Maybe I m 
 foolish, but I can t see my way clear, much as I would 
 like to." 
 
 " Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" she exclaimed, brokenly. "I 
 do so want to go. I want you to be rich, and I want 
 to be rich myself. I want to be a fine lady, and go 
 outside and live like other girls. It s the only chance 
 I ever had and I ll never have another. Oh, it 
 means so much to me; it means life, future, every 
 thing! Why, it means heaven to a girl like me!" Her 
 eyes were wet with the sudden dashing of her hopes, 
 and her chin quivered in a sweet, girlish way that made 
 the youth almost surrender on the instant. But she 
 turned to the window and gazed out over the river, 
 continuing, after a moment s pause: "Please don t 
 mind me but you can t understand what a differ 
 ence this would make to me." 
 
 "We couldn t possibly overtake them if we tried," 
 he said, as if willing to treat with his conscience. 
 
 "No, but we could beat them in. I know where 
 Lee is working, for I went up last winter with Con- 
 stantine and his dog-team, over a short cut by way 
 of Black Bear Creek. We took it coming back, and 
 I could find it again, but Lee doesn t know that route, 
 so he will follow the summer trail, which is fifteen miles 
 farther. You see, his creek makes a great bend to the 
 southward, and heads back towards the river, so by 
 crossing the divide at the source of Black Bear you 
 drop into it a few miles above his cabin." 
 
 While she made this appeal Burrell fought with him 
 self. There were reasons why he longed to take this 
 
 62 
 
AN UNTRODDEN VALLEY 
 
 trip, more than he had longed for anything since boy 
 hood. These men of Flambeau had disregarded him, 
 and insisted on treating him with contemptuous dis 
 trust, despite his repeated friendly overtures; where 
 fore he was hungry to beat them at their own game, 
 hungry to thrust himself ahead of them and compel 
 them to reckon with him as an equal, preferring a 
 state of open enmity, if necessary, to this condition of 
 indifferent toleration. Moreover, he knew that Necia 
 was coveted by half of them, and if he spent a night 
 in the woods alone with her it would stir them up a 
 bit, he fancied. By Heaven! That would make them 
 sit up and notice him! But then it might work a 
 wrong upon her; and yet, would it? He was not so 
 sure that it would. She had come to him; she was 
 old enough to know her mind, and she was but a half- 
 breed girl, after all, who doubtless was not so simple 
 as she seemed. Other men had no such scruples in 
 this or any other land, and yet the young man hesi 
 tated until, encouraged by his silence, the girl came 
 forward and spoke again, impulsively: 
 
 "Don t be silly, Mr. Burrell. Come! Please come 
 with me, won t you?" 
 
 She took him by the edges of his coat and drew him 
 to her coaxingly. It may have been partly the spirit 
 of revolt that had been growing in him all day, or it 
 may have been wholly the sense of her there beside 
 him, warm and pleading, but something caused a 
 great wave to surge up through his veins, caused him 
 to take her in his arms, fiercely kissing her upturned 
 face again and again, crying softly, deep down in his 
 throat: 
 
 "Yes! Yes! Yes! You little witch? I ll go any 
 where with you! Anywhere! Anywhere!" The im- 
 
 63 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 pulse was blind and ungovernable, and it grew as his 
 Kps met hers, while, strangely enough, she made no 
 resistance, yielding herself quietly, till he found her 
 arms wound softly about his neck and her face nestling 
 close to his. Neither of them knew how long they 
 stood thus blended together, but soon he grew con 
 scious of the beating of her heart against his breast, 
 as she lay there like a little fluttering bird, and felt 
 the throbbing of his own heart swaying him. Her 
 arms, her lips, and her whole body clung to his in a 
 sweet surrender, and yet there was nothing immodest 
 or unmaidenly about it, for his strength and ardor had 
 lifted her and drawn her to him as on the sweep of a 
 great wave. 
 
 She drew her face free and hid it against his neck, 
 breathing softly and with shy timidity, as if the sound 
 of the words she whispered half frightened her. 
 
 "I love you. I love you, Meade." 
 
 It may happen that a man will spend months in 
 friendly and charming intimacy with a woman and 
 never feel the violence or tenderness of passion till 
 there comes a psychic moment or a physical touch 
 that suddenly enwraps them like a flame. So it was 
 with Burrell. The sweet burden of this girl in his 
 arms, the sense of her yielding lips, the warmth of her 
 caressing hands, momentarily unleashed a leaping pack 
 of mad desires, and it was she who finally drew herself 
 away to remind him smilingly that he was wasting 
 time. 
 
 "My lips will be here when those mines are worked 
 out," she said. "No, no!" and she held him off as 
 he came towards her again, insisting that if they 
 were going they must be off at once, and that he 
 could have no more kisses for the present. "But, of 
 
 64 
 
AN UNTRODDEN VALLEY 
 
 course, it is a long trip, and we will have to sit down 
 now and then to rest," she added, shyly; at which he 
 vowed that he was far from strong, and could not walk 
 but a little way at a time, yet even so, he declared, the 
 trail would be too short, even though it led to Canada. 
 
 "Then get your pack made up," she ordered, "for 
 we must be well up towards the head of Black Bear 
 Creek before it grows dark enough to camp." 
 
 Swiftly he made his preparations; a madness was 
 upon him now, and he took no pains to check or 
 analyze the reasons for his decision. The thought of 
 her loveliness in his arms once more, far up among the 
 perfumed wooded heights, as the silent darkness stole 
 upon them, stirred in him such a fret to be gone that 
 it was like a fever. He slipped away to the barracks 
 with instructions for his corporal, but was back again 
 in a moment. Finally he took up his burden of blanket 
 and food, then said to her: 
 
 "Well, are you ready, little one?" 
 
 "Yes, Meade," she answered, simply. 
 
 "And you are sure you won t regret it?" 
 
 "Not while you love me." 
 
 He kissed her again before they stepped out on the 
 river trail that wound along the bank. A hundred 
 yards beyond they were hidden by the groves of birch 
 and fir. 
 
 Two hours later they paused where the foaming 
 waters of Black Bear Creek rioted down across a 
 gravelled bar and into the silent, sweeping river, stand 
 ing at the entrance to a wooded, grass-grown valley, 
 with rolling hills and domes displayed at its head, 
 while back of them lay the town, six miles away, its 
 low, squat buildings tiny and toylike, but distinctly 
 silhouetted against the evening sky. 
 
 65 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "Is it not time to rest ?" said the soldier, laughingly, 
 yet with a look of yearning in his misty eyes as he took 
 the girlish figure in his arms. But she only smiled up 
 at him and, releasing his hold, led the way into the 
 forest. 
 
 He turned for a moment and shook his fist at the 
 village and those in it, laughing loudly as if from the 
 feel of the blood that leaped within him. Then he 
 joined his companion, and, hand-in-hand, they left the 
 broad reaches of the greater stream behind them and 
 plunged into the untrodden valley. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 A STORY IS BEGUN 
 
 "It s fonny t ing how two bran (*$, 
 Was changin everything 
 De cloud she s no more ou de sky t 
 An winter s jus 1 lak tpring. 
 Dey mak my pad* *o very light, 
 De trail, she r not so long 
 I d walk it t orty mile to-night 
 For heir ker sing wan song. 
 Bui now I m busy mak fortune 
 for marry on dat girl, 
 An t| she s tole me yass, dat s soon, 
 Bonheur! I m own de worV /** 
 
 POLEON DORET sang gayly as the trader came 
 towards him through the open grove of birch, for 
 he was happy this afternoon, and, being much of a 
 dreamer, this fresh enterprise awoke in him a boyish 
 pleasure. Then Necia had teased him as he came 
 away, and begged him, as was always her custom, to 
 take her with him, no matter whence or whither, so 
 long as there was adventure afoot. Well, it would not 
 be long now before he could say yes, and he would 
 take her on a journey far longer than either of them 
 had yet taken a journey that would never end. Had 
 not the gods looked with favor, at last, upon his long 
 novitiate, and been pleased with the faith he had 
 kept? Had not this discovery of "No Creek" Lee s 
 
 67 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 been providentially arranged for his own especial 
 benefit? A fool could see that this was a mark of 
 celestial approbation, and none but a fool would ques 
 tion the wisdom of the gods. Had he not watched 
 the girl grow from a slip of thirteen and spoken never 
 a word of his love? Had he not served and guarded 
 her with all the gentle chivalry of an olden knight? 
 Of course! And here was his reward, a gift of wealth 
 to crown his service, all for her. Now that she was a 
 woman, anL. had seen him tried, and knew he was a 
 man, he would bring his burden of prosperity and lay 
 it at her feet, saying: 
 
 "Here is another offering, my Necia, and with it go 
 the laughter and the music and the heart of Poleon 
 Doret." 
 
 Sacre*! It would not take her long to wake up 
 after that! The world was very bright indeed this 
 afternoon, and he burst again into song in company 
 with the voices of the forest people: 
 
 "Chanti, rossignol, chantt 
 
 Toi qui a le cceur gai ; 
 
 Tu as le coeur a rire 
 
 Mai f V ai-t-a pleurer, 
 
 II y a longtemps que f faim6 
 Jamais je ne t oublierai" l 
 
 "Whew!" said Gale, slipping out of his pack-stmpSi 
 "the skeeters is bad." 
 
 ** Sing, little bird, oh, sing away! 
 
 You with the voice so light and gay! 
 Vours is a heart that laughter cheers, 
 Mine is a heart that s full of tears. 
 
 Long have I loved, I love her yefcg 
 Leave her I can, but not forget."* 
 8 
 
A STORY IS BEGUN 
 
 "You bet your gum boots," said Poleon. "Dey re 
 mos so t ick as de summer dey kill Johnnie Platt on 
 de Porcupine." Both men wore gauntleted gloves of 
 oaribou-sku. and head harnesses of mosquito-netting 
 stretched over gi^belike frames of thin steel bands, 
 which they slipped on over their hats after the manner 
 of divers helmets, for without protection of some kind 
 the insects would have made travel impossible once 
 the Yukon breezes were left behind or once the trail 
 dipped from the high divides where there was no 
 moss. 
 
 "Let s see. It was you that found him, wasn t it?" 
 said Gale. 
 
 "Sure t ing! I m comin* down for grub in my 
 oanoe, w en I see dis feller on de bank, walkin lak he s 
 in beeg horry. * Ba Gar! I say, dere s man goin so 
 fast he ll meet hese f comin home! Den he turn roun 
 an* go tearin back, wavin hees arms lak he s callin* 
 me, till he fall down. W en I paddle close up, I don* 
 know im no more dan stranger, an* me an Johnnie 
 Platt is trap togeder wan winter. Wat you t ink of 
 dat?" 
 
 "I saw a fellow killed that way at Holy Cross," in 
 terpolated the trader. 
 
 " Hello/ I say, w at s de matter? An 1 den I see 
 somet ing bout im dat look familiar. Hees face she s 
 all swell up an bleed n lak raw meat." The French 
 man curled his upper lip back from his teeth and shook 
 his head at the remembrance. 
 
 "Jesu, dat s orrible sight! Dem fly is drive *im 
 crazee. Hees nose an ears is look lak holes in beeg 
 red sponge, an hees eye are close up tight." 
 
 "He died before you got him in, didn t he?" 
 
 "Yes. He was good man, too. Some tarn* if I ever 
 
 6g 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 have bad enemy w at I like to see catch hell I m goin* 
 turn im loose mong dose skeeter-bug. " 
 
 "Holy Mackinaw!" ejaculated Gale. "Who d ever 
 think of that ? Why, that s worse than dropping water 
 on his skull till he goes crazy, like them Chinamen do. * 
 
 The Frenchman nodded. "It s de wors* t ing I 
 know. Dat s w y I lak* to geeve it to my enemy." 
 
 " Imagine fightin the little devils till they stung you 
 crazy and pizened your eyes shut!" 
 
 Gale fell to considering this, while Poleon filled his 
 pipe, and, raising his veil, undertook to smoke. The 
 pests proved too numerous, however, and forced him 
 to give it up. 
 
 "Ba gosh! Dey re hongry!" 
 
 "It will be all right when we get out of the woods," 
 said the elder man. 
 
 "I guess you been purty glad for havin* Necia 
 home again, eh?" ventured the other after a while, 
 unable tc avoid any longer the subject uppermost in 
 his mind. 
 
 "Yes, I m glad she s through with her schooling." 
 
 "She s gettin purty beeg gal now." 
 
 "That s right." 
 
 "By -an* -by she s goin* marry on some feller 
 w at?" 
 
 "I suppose so. She ain t the kind to stay single.** 
 
 "Ha! Dat s right, too. Mebbe you don* care if 
 she does get marry, eh?" 
 
 "N->t if she gets a man that will treat her right." 
 
 "Wai! Wai! Dere s no trouble bout dac," ex 
 claimed Doret, fervently. "No man w at s livin could 
 treat her bad. She s too good an too purty for have 
 bad husban ." 
 
 " She is, is she ?" Gale turned on him with a strang* 
 
 70 
 
A STORY IS BEGUN 
 
 glare in his eyes. "Them s the kind that get the 
 he-devils. There s something about a good girl that 
 attracts a bad man, particularly if she s pretty; and 
 it goes double, too the good men get the hellions. 
 A fellow can t get so tough but what he can catch a 
 good woman, and a decent man usually draws a critter 
 that looks like a sled and acts like a timber wolf." 
 
 "Necia wouldn t marry on no bad man," said Doret, 
 positively. 
 
 "No?" said Gale. "Let me tell you what I saw 
 with my own eyes. I knew a girl once that was just 
 as good and pure as Necia, and just as pretty, too 
 yes, and a thousand times prettier." 
 
 "Ho, ho!" laughed Doret, sceptically. 
 
 "She was an Eastern girl, and she come West where 
 men were different to what she d been used to. Those 
 were early days, and it was a new country, where a 
 person didn t know much about his neighbor s past 
 and cared less; and, although there were a heap of 
 girls thereabouts, they were the kind you ll always 
 find in such communities, while this one was plumb 
 different. Man! Man! But she was different. She 
 was a woman! Two fellows fell in love with her. One 
 of them lived in the same camp as her, and he was a 
 good man, leastways everybody said he was, but he 
 wasn t wise to all the fancy tricks that pretty women 
 banker after; and, it being his first affair, he was right 
 down buffaloed at the very thought of her, so he just 
 hung around and slept late so that he might dream 
 about her and feel like he was her equal or that she 
 loved back at him. You know! The other fellow came 
 from a neighboring town, and he wasn t the same 
 kind, for he d knocked around more, and was a better 
 liar but he wasn t right. No, sir! He was sure a 
 6 71 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 wrong guy, as it came out, but he was handsomer and 
 younger, and the very purity and innocence of the girl 
 drew him, I reckon, being a change from what he had 
 ever mixed up with." 
 
 "Wy don* dis good man tak a shot at him?" asked 
 Poleon, hotly. 
 
 "First, he didn t realize what was going on, being 
 too tied up with dreaming, I reckon; and, second, 
 neither man didn t know the other by sight, living as 
 they did in different parts; third, he was an ordinary 
 sort of fellow, and hadn t ever had any trouble, man to 
 man, at that time. Anyhow, the girl up and took the 
 bad one." 
 
 "Wat does de good man do, eh?" 
 
 "Well, he was all tore up about it, but he went 
 away like a sick quail hides out." 
 
 "Dat s too bad." 
 
 "He heard about them now and then, and what he 
 heard tore him up worse than the other had, for the 
 girl s husband couldn t wear the harness long, and, hav 
 ing taken away what good there was in her, he made 
 up in deviltry for the time he had lost. She stood it 
 pretty well, and never whimpered, even when her eyes 
 were open and she saw what a prize-package she had 
 drawn. The fact that she was game enough to stand 
 for him and yet keep herself clean without complaint 
 made the man worse. He tried to break her spirit 
 in a thousand ways, tried to make her the same as he 
 was, tried to make her a bad woman, like the others he 
 had known. It appeared like the one pleasure he got 
 was to torture her." 
 
 "Wy don she quit *im?" said Doret. "Dat ain 
 wrong for quit a man lak him." 
 
 "She couldn t quit on account of the kid. They had 
 
 72 
 
A STORY IS BEGUN 
 
 youngster. Then, too, she had ideas of her own; 
 so she stood it for three years, living worse than a dog f 
 till she saw it wasn t any use till she saw that he would 
 make a bad woman of her as sure as he would make 
 one of the kid till he got rough " 
 
 "No! No! You don mean dat? No man don* 
 hurt no woman," interjected Doret. 
 
 "By God! That s just what I mean," the trader 
 answered, while his face had grown so gray as to match 
 his brows. "He beat her." 
 
 Poleon broke into French words that accorded well 
 with the trader s harsh voice. 
 
 "The woman sent for the other man after that, for 
 he had been living lonely, loving her all the time, and 
 you d better believe he went." 
 
 "Ha! Dat s fine! Dat s dam* fine!" said the other. 
 "I ll bet dere s hell to pay den w at?" 
 
 "Yes, there was a kind of reckoning." The old man 
 lapsed into moody silence, the younger one waiting 
 eagerly for him to continue, but there came the sound 
 of voices down the trail, and they looked up. 
 
 "Here comes Lee," said Gale. 
 
 "W at happen* den ? I m got great interes bout dis 
 woman," insisted Poleon. 
 
 "It s a long story, and I just told you this much to 
 show what I said was true about a good girl and a bad 
 man, and to show why I want Necia to get a good one. 
 The sooner it happens the better it will suit me." 
 
 Neither man had ever spoken thus openly to the 
 other about Necia before, and although their language 
 was indirect, each knew the other s thought. But 
 there was no time for further talk now, for the others 
 were close upon them. As they came into \iew, Gale 
 exclaimed: 
 
 73 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "Well, if he hasn t brought Runnion along!" 
 
 "Humph!" grunted Doret. "I don t ink much ol 
 dat feller. Wat s de matter wit No Creek, anyhow ?" 
 
 The three new arrivals dropped down upon the moss 
 to rest, for the up-trail was heavy and the air sultry 
 inside the forest. Lee was the first to speak,, 
 
 "Did you get away without bein seen?" he asked. 
 
 "Sure," answered Gale. "Poleon has been here two 
 hours." 
 
 "That s good; I don t want nobody taggin along. " 
 
 "We came right through the town boldly," an 
 nounced Stark; "but if they had seen you two they 
 would have suspected something, sure." 
 
 Runnion volunteered nothing except oaths at the 
 mosquitoes and at his pack - straps, which were new 
 and cut him already. As no explanation of his pres 
 ence was offered, neither the trader nor Doret made 
 any comment then, but it came out later, when the old 
 miner dropped far enough behind the others to render 
 conversation possible. 
 
 "You decided to take in another one, eh?" Gale 
 asked Lee. 
 
 "It wasn t exactly my doin s," replied the miner. 
 "Stark asked me to let Runnion come long, bein as he 
 had grub-staked him, and he seemed so set on it that I 
 ackeressed. You see, it s the first chance I ever had 
 to pay him back for a favor he done me in the Cassiar 
 country. There s plenty of land to go around." 
 
 It was Lee s affair, thought the trader, and he might 
 telj whom he liked, so he said no more, but fell to 
 studying the back of the man next in front, who hap 
 pened to be Stark, observing every move and trick of 
 him, and, during the frequent pauses, making a point 
 of listening and watching him guardedly, 
 
 74 
 
A STORY IS BEGUN 
 
 All through the afternoon the five men wound up 
 the valley, following one another s footsteps, emerging 
 from sombre thickets of fir to flounder across wide 
 pastures of "nigger-heads," that wobbled and wriggled 
 and bowed beneath their feet, until at cost of much 
 effort and profanity they gained the firmer footing of 
 the forest. Occasionally they came upon the stream, 
 and found easier going along its gravel bars, till a 
 bend threw them again into the meadows and mesas 
 on either hand. Their course led them far up the 
 big valley to another stream that entered from the 
 right, bearing backward in a great bow towards the 
 Yukon, and always there were dense clouds of mos 
 quitoes above their heads. At one point Stark, hot 
 and irritable, remarked: 
 
 "There must be a shorter cut than this, Lee?" 
 
 "I reckon there is," the miner replied, "but I ve 
 always had a pack to carry, so I chose the level ground 
 ruther than climb the divides." 
 
 "S pose dose people at camp hear bout dis strike 
 an beat us in?" suggested Poleon. 
 
 "It wouldn t be easy going for them after they got 
 there," Stark said, sourly. "I, for one, wouldn t stand 
 for it." 
 
 "Nor I," agreed Runnion. 
 
 "I don t see how you d help yourself," the trader 
 remarked. "One man s got as good a right as an 
 other." 
 
 "I guess I d help myself, all right," Stark laughed, 
 significantly, as did Runnion, who added: 
 
 "Lee is entitled to put in anybody he wants on his 
 own discovery, and if anybody tries to get ahead of us 
 there s liable to be trouble." 
 
 "I reckon if I don t know no short-cut, nobody else 
 
 75 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 does/ Lee remarked, whereupon Doret spoke up re* 
 
 assuringly: 
 
 "Dere s no use gettin* scare* lak dat, biccause no 
 body knows w ere Lee s creek she s locate* but John 
 an* me, an* dere s nobody w at knows he mak* de strike 
 but us four." 
 
 "That s right," said Gale; "the only other way across 
 is by Black Pear Creek, and there ain t a half-dozen 
 men ever been up to the head of that stream, much 
 tess over the divide, so I don t allow there s any use to 
 fret ourselves." 
 
 They went on their way, travelling leisurely until 
 late evening, when they camped at the mouth of the 
 valley up which the miner s cabin lay. They chose a 
 long gravel bar, that curved like a scimitar, and made 
 down upon its outer tip where the breeze tended to 
 thin the plague of insects. They were all old-stagers 
 in the ways of camplife, so there was no lost motion 
 or bickering as to their respective duties. Their prep 
 arations were simple. First they built a circle of 
 smudges out of wet driftwood, and inside this Lee 
 kindled a camp-fire of dry sticks, upon which he cooked, 
 protected by the smoke of the others, while Gale 
 went back to the edge of the forest and felled a dozen 
 small firs, the branches of which he clipped. These 
 Poleon and Runnion bore down to the end of the 
 spit for bedding, while Stark chopped a pile of dry 
 wood for the night. Gale noted that the new man 
 swung an axe with the free dexterity of one to whom 
 its feel was familiar, also that he never made a slip 
 nor dulled it on the gravel of the bar, displaying an 
 all-round completeness and a knack of doing things 
 efficiently that won reluctant approval from the trader 
 despite the unr2^soning dislike he had taken to him. 
 
A STORY IS BEGUN 
 
 Lee was ready for them by the time they had fin- 
 fashed their tasks, and, fanned by the breeze that sucked 
 up the stream and lulled by the waters, they ate their 
 scanty supper. Their one-eyed guide had lived so 
 long among mosquitoes and had become so inoculated 
 with their poison that he was in a measure impervious to 
 their sting, hence the ; -v sects gathered on his wrinkled, 
 hair-grown hide only to give up in melancholy disgust and 
 fly to other and fuller-blooded feeding-grounds. Camp 
 had been made early, at Gale s suggestion, instead of 
 pushing on a few miles farther, as Lee had intended; 
 and now, when the cool evening fell and the draught 
 quickened, it became possible to lay off gloves and head 
 gear; so they sat about the fire, talking, smoking, 
 and rubbing their tired feet. 
 
 It is at such hours and in the smoke of such fires 
 that men hark backward and bring forth the sacred, 
 time-worn memories they have treasured, to turn them 
 over fondly by the glow of dying embers. It is at 
 such times that men s garrulity asserts itself, for the 
 barriers of caution are let down, as are the gates of 
 remembrance, and it is then that friends and enemies 
 are made, for there are those who cannot listen and 
 others who cannot understand. 
 
 "No Creek" Lee, the one-eyed miner who had 
 made this lucky strike, told in simple words of his long 
 and solitary quest, when ill-luck had risen with him 
 at the dawn and misfortune had stalked beside him 
 as he drifted and drank from camp to camp, while the 
 gloom of a settled pessimism soured him, and men 
 began to shun him because of the evil that seemed to 
 follow in his steps. 
 
 "I ve been rainbow -chasin* forty years," he said, 
 "and never caught nothin but cramps and epidemics 
 
 77 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 and inflammations. Fm the only miner in Alaska 
 that never made a discovery ot gold and never had a 
 creek named after him." 
 
 "Is that how you got your name?" asked Runnion. 
 
 "It is. I never was no good to myself nor nobody 
 else. I just occupied space. I ve been the vermifuge 
 appendix of the body politic; /es, worse n that I ve 
 been an appendix with a seed in it. I made myself 
 sore, and everybody around me, but I m at the bat 
 now, and don t you never let that fact escape you." 
 
 " How are you going to spend your money ?" inquired 
 Stark. 
 
 "I m goin* to eat it up! I ve fed on dried and des 
 iccated and other disastrous and dissatisfactory diets 
 till I m all shrivelled up inside like a dead puff-ball; 
 now it s me for the big feed and the long drink. I m 
 goin to Frisco and get full of wasteful ^and exorbitant 
 grub, of one kind and another, like tomatters and 
 French vicious water." 
 
 Poleon Doret laughed with the others ; he was bub 
 bling with the spirits of a boy whose life is clean, for 
 whom there are no eyes in the black dark that lies 
 beyond a camp-fire, and for whom there are no un 
 forgettable faces in its smoke. When Lee fell silent 
 the trader and Stark resumed their talk, which was 
 mainly of California, it seemed to the Frenchman, who 
 also noted that it was his friend who subtly shaped 
 the topics. In time their stories revived his memory 
 of the conversation in the birch grove that morn- 
 ing, and when there occurred a lapse in the talk he 
 said: 
 
 "Say, John, w at happen 5 to dat gal we was talkin* 
 *bout dis mornin ?" 
 
 Gale shook his head and turned again to his conv 
 
 78 
 
3 r^ 
 
 <u S 
 
 t J 
 
 -= % 
 
 rt 
 T3 = 
 
 ^ "^ 
 
 
 f- 
 
A STORY IS BEGUN 
 
 panion, but the young man s mind was bent on its 
 quest, and he continued: 
 
 "Dat was strange tale, for sure." 
 
 "What was it?" questioned Runnion. 
 
 "John was tell *bout a feller he knowed w at marry 
 a good gal jus* to mak her bad lak hese f." 
 
 "How s that?" inquired Stark, turning curiously 
 upon the old man; but Gale knocked the ashes from 
 his pipe and replied: 
 
 "Oh, it s a long story happened when I was in 
 Washington State." 
 
 Poleon was about to correct him it was California, 
 he had said when Gale arose, remarking sleepily that 
 it was time to turn in if they wished to get any rest 
 before the mosquitoes got bad again, then sauntered 
 away from the fire and spread his blanket. The rest 
 followed and made down their beds, then, drawing on 
 globes and hat-nets, and rolling themselves up in their 
 covepngs, fell to snoring. All except the trader, who 
 lay foi hours on his back staring up at the stars, as if 
 trying to solve some riddle that baffled him. 
 
 They awoke early, and in half an hour had eaten, 
 remade their packs, and were ready to resume their 
 march, As they were about to start. Gale said: 
 
 "I reckon we d better settle right now who has the 
 choice of locations when we get up yonder. I ve 
 been on stampedes where it saved a heap of hard 
 feeling." 
 
 "I m agreeable," said Stark. "Then there won t 
 be any misunderstanding." 
 
 The others, being likewise old at the game, acquiesced. 
 They knew that in such cases grave trouble has often 
 occurred when two men have cast eyes on the same 
 claim, and have felt the miner s causeless "hunch" 
 
 79 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 that gold lies here or there, or that the ground one 
 of them covets is wanted by the other. 
 
 "I ll hold the straws," said Lee, "and every feller 
 will have an even break." Turning his back on the 
 others, he cut four splinters of varying lengths, and, 
 arranging them so that the ends peeped evenly from 
 his big hand, he held them out. 
 
 "The longest one has the first choice, and so on," 
 he said, presenting them to Gale, who promptly drew 
 the longest of the four. He turned to Doret, but the 
 Frenchman waved him courteously to Stark, and, when 
 both he and Runnion had made their choice, Lee handed 
 him the remaining one, which was next in length to 
 that of the trader. Stark and Runnion qualified in 
 the order they drew, the latter cursing his evil luck. 
 
 "Never min , ole man," laughed Poleon, "de las 
 shot she s de sure wan." 
 
 They took up their burdens again, and filed towards 
 the narrow valley that stretched away into the hazy 
 distances. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE BURRELL CODB 
 
 NOT until his dying day will Barrel 1 lose the mem 
 ory of that march with Necia through the un 
 trodden valley, and yet its incidents were never clear- 
 cut nor distinct when he looked back upon them, but 
 blended into one dreamlike procession, as if he wan 
 dered through some calenture where every image was 
 delightfully distorted and each act deliciously unreal, 
 yet all the sweeter from its fleeting unreality. They 
 talked and laughed and sang with a rush of spirits as 
 untamed as the waters in the course they followed. 
 They wandered, hand-in-hand, into a land of illusions, 
 where there was nothing real but love and nothing 
 tangible but joy. The touch of their lips had waked 
 that delight which comes but once in a lifetime and 
 then to but few; it was like the moon-madness of the 
 tropics or the dementia of the forest folk in spring. A 
 gentle frenzy possessed them, rendering them insensible 
 to fatigue and causing them to hurry the more breath- 
 Vessly that they might sooner rest and sit beside each 
 other. it times they fell into sweet silences where 
 the waters laughed with them and the trees whis 
 pered their secret, bowing and nodding in joyous sur 
 prise at this invasion; or, again, the breezes romped 
 with them, withdrawing now and then to rush out and 
 greet them at the bends in boisterous pleasure. 
 
 81 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 They held to the bed of the stream, for its volume 
 was low and enabled them to ford it from bar to bar. 
 Necia had been raised in the open, with the wild places 
 for her playground, and her muscles were like those 
 of a boy, hence the two swung merrily onward, as if 
 in playful contest, while the youth had never occasion 
 to wait for her or to moderate his gait. Indeed, her 
 footing was more sure than his, as he found when she 
 ventured out unhesitatingly upon felled logs that lay 
 across swift, brawling depths. The wilderness had no 
 mystery for her, and no terrors, so she was ever at his 
 side, or in advance, while her eyes, schooled in the 
 tints of the forest, and more active than those of & 
 bird, saw every moving thing, from the flash of a camp- 
 robber , wing through some hidden glade to the in 
 quisitive nodding of a fool hen where it perched high 
 Up against the bole of a spruce. They surprised a 
 *3iarten fishing in a drift-wood dam, but she would no* 
 let the soldier shoot, and made him pass it by, where 
 It sat amazed till it realized that these were lovers 
 and resumed its fishing. Gradually the stream dimin 
 ished, and its bowldered bed became more difficult to 
 traverse, until, assuming the airs of a leader, the girl 
 commanded him to lay off his pack, at which he pre 
 tended to obey mutinously, though thrilling with the 
 keenest delight at his own submission. 
 
 "What are you going to do?" he inquired. 
 
 "Mind your own business, sir," she commanded, 
 sternly. 
 
 From her belt she drew a little hunting-knite, with 
 which she cut and trimmed a slender birch the thick 
 ness of his thumb, whereupon he pretended great 
 fright, and said: 
 
 "Please! please! What have I done?" 
 
 82 
 
THE BURRELL CODE 
 
 "A great deal! You are a most bold and stubborn 
 creature." 
 
 "All pack animals are stubborn/ he declared. "It s 
 the only privilege they have." 
 
 "You are much too presumptuous, also, as I dis 
 covered in your quarters." 
 
 "My only presumption is in loving you." 
 
 "That was not presumption," she smiled; "it was 
 pre-emption. You must be punished." 
 
 "I shall run away," he threatened. "I shall gallop 
 right off through the woods and begin to eat grass. 
 I am very wild." 
 
 As she talked she drew from her pocket a spool of 
 line, and took a fly-hook from her hat; then, in a trice, 
 she had rigged a fishing-rod, and, creeping out upon a 
 ledge, she whipped the pool below of a half-dozen rain 
 bow trout, which she thrust into his coat while they 
 were still wriggling. Then she as quickly put up her 
 gear, and they resumed their journey, climbing more 
 steeply now, until, when the sun was low, they quit 
 the stream-bed and made through the forest towards 
 the shoulder of an untimbered ridge that ran down 
 into the valley. And there, high up on the edge of 
 the spruce, they selected a mossy shelf and pitched 
 their camp. 
 
 They had become so intimate by now as to fall into 
 a whimsical mode of speech, and Necia reverted to a 
 childish habit in her talk that brought many a smile 
 to the youth s face. It had been her fancy as a little 
 girl to speak in adjectives, ignoring many of her nouns, 
 and its quaintness had so amused her father that on 
 rare occasions, when the humor was on him, he also 
 took it up. She now addressed herself to Burrell in 
 the same manner. 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "I think we are very smarts to come so far, 
 said. 
 
 "You travel like a deer," he declared, admiringly, 
 "Why, you have tired me down." Removing his pack,, 
 he stretched his arms and shook out the ache in He 
 shoulders. 
 
 "Which way does our course lie now, Pathfinder?" 
 
 "Right up the side of this big, and then along the 
 ridge. In two hours we come to a gully running so" 
 she indicated an imaginary direction "which we go 
 down till it joins another stream so, and right there 
 we ll find old No Creek s* cabin, so! Won t they be 
 surprised to see us! I think we re very cunning to 
 beat them in, don t you?" She laughed a glad littte 
 bubbling laugh, and he cried: 
 
 "Oh, girl! How wonderful you are!" 
 
 "It s getting very dark and fierce," she chided, 
 "and all the housework must be done." 
 
 So he built a fire, then fetched a bucket of water 
 from a rill that trickled down among the rocks near 
 by. He made as if to prepare their meal, but she 
 would have none of it. 
 
 "Bigs should never cook," she declared. "That 
 work belongs to littles," then forced him to vacate 
 her domain and turn himself to the manlier duties of 
 chopping wood and boughs. 
 
 First, however, she showed him how to place two 
 green foot-logs upon which the teapot and the frying- 
 pan would sit without upsetting, and how long she 
 wished the sticks of cooking-wood. Then she banished 
 him, as it were, and he built a wickiup of spruce tops, 
 vtnder the shelter of which he piled thick, fragrant bil 
 lows of "Yukon feathers." 
 
 Once while he was busy at his task he paused to 
 
THE BURRELL CODE 
 
 revel in the colors that lay against hill and valley, and 
 to drink in the splendid isolation of it all. Below 
 lay the bed of Black Bear Creek, silent and sombre in 
 the creeping twilight; beyond, away beyond, across 
 the westward brim of the Yukon basin, the peaks were 
 blue and ivory and gold in the last rays of the sun; 
 while the open slopes behind and all about wore a car 
 pet of fragrant short-lived flowers, nodding as if tow 
 ards sleep, and over all was the hush of the lonely 
 hills. A gust blew a whiff of the camp smoke towards 
 him, and he turned back to watch Necia kneeling 
 beside the fire like some graceful virgin at her altar 
 rites, while the peculiar acrid out-door odor of burn 
 ing spruce was like an incense in his nostrils. 
 
 He filled his chest deeply and leaned on his axe, for 
 he found himself shaking as if under the spell of some 
 great expectancy. 
 
 "Your supper is getting cold," she called to him. 
 
 He took a seat beside her on a pile of boughs where 
 the smoke was least troublesome; he had chosen a 
 spot that was sheltered by a lichen - covered ledge, 
 and this low wall behind, with the wickiup joining it, 
 formed an enclosure that lent them a certain air of 
 privacy. They ate ravenously, and drank deep cup- 
 fuls of the unflavored tea. By the time they were 
 finished the night had fallen and the air was just cool 
 enough to make the fire agreeable. Burrell heaped oa 
 more wood and stretched out beside her. 
 
 "This day has been so wonderful," said the girl, 
 "that I shall never go to sleep. I can t bear to end it." 
 
 "But you must be weary, little maid," he said, 
 gently; "I am." 
 
 "Wait, let me see." She stretched her limbs and 
 moved slightly to try her muscles, "Yes, I am a very 
 
 85 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 tired, but not the kind of tired that makes you want 
 to go to bed. I want to talk, talk, talk, and not about 
 ourselves either, but about sensibles. Tell me about 
 your people your sister." 
 
 He had expected her to ask this, for the subject 
 seemed to have an inexhaustible charm for her. She 
 would sit rapt and motionless as long as he cared to 
 talk of his sister, in her wide, meditative eyes the 
 shadow of a great unvoiced longing. It always seemed 
 to make her grave and thoughtful, he had noticed, so 
 he had tried lately to avoid the topic, and to-night 
 in particular he wanted to do so, for this was no time 
 for melancholy. He had not even allowed himself to 
 think, as yet, and there were reasons why he d ; 3 not 
 wish her to do so; thought and realization and a re 
 adjustment of their relations would come after to 
 night, but this was the hour of illusion, and it must 
 not be broken; therefore he began to tell her of other 
 people and of his youth, making his tales as fanciful 
 as possible, choosing deliberately to foster the merry 
 humor in which they had been all day. He told her 
 of his father, the crotchety old soldier, whose absurd 
 sense of duty and whose elaborate Southern courtesy 
 had become a byword in the South. He told her 
 household tales that were prized like pieces of the 
 Burrell plate, beautiful heirlooms of sentiment that 
 mark the honor of high-blooded houses; following 
 which there was much to recount of the Meades, from 
 the admiral who fought as a boy in the Bay of Tripoli 
 down to the cousin who was at Annapolis; the while 
 his listener hung upon his words hungrily, her mind 
 so quick in pursuit of his that it spurred him uncon 
 sciously, her great, dark eyes half closed in silent 
 laughter or wide with wonder, and in them always 
 
 86 
 
THE BURRELL CODE 
 
 the warmth of the leaping firelight blended with the 
 trust of a new-born virginal love. 
 
 Without realizing it, the young man drifted further 
 than he had intended, and further than he had ever 
 allowed himself to go before, for in him was a clean 
 and honest pride of birth, like his mother s glory in her 
 forebears, the expression of which he had learned to 
 repress, inasmuch as it was a Dixie-land conceit and 
 had been misunderstood when he went North to the 
 Academy. In some this would have seemed oigot- 
 ed and feminine, this immoderate admiration for his 
 own blood, this exaggerated appreciation of his family 
 honor, but in this Southern youth it was merely the 
 unconscious commendation of an upright manliness 
 for an upright code. When he had finished, the girl 
 remarked, with honest approval: 
 
 "What a fine you are. Those people of yours have 
 all been good men and women, haven t they?" 
 
 "Most of them," he admitted, "and I think the 
 reason is that we ve been soldiers. The army disci 
 pline is good for a man. It narrows a fellow, I sup 
 pose, but it keeps him straight." 
 
 Then he began to laugh silently. 
 
 "What is it?" she said, curiously. 
 
 "Oh, nothing! I was just wondering what my strait- 
 laced ancestors would say if they could see me now." 
 
 "What do you mean?" the girl asked, in open-eyed 
 wonderment. 
 
 "I don t care," he went on, unheeding her question. 
 "They did worse things in their time, from what I 
 hear." He leaned forward to draw her to him. 
 
 "Worse things? But we are doing nothing bad," 
 said Necia, holding him off. "There s no wrong in 
 loving." 
 
 r 87 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "Of course not," he assured her. 
 
 "I am proud of it," she declared. "It is the finest 
 thing, the greatest thing that has ever come into my 
 life. Why, I simply can t hold it; I want to sing it 
 to the stars and cry it out to the whole world. Don t 
 you?" 
 
 " I hardly think we d better advertise," he said, dryly. 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Well, I shouldn t care to publish the tale of this 
 excu. sion of ours, would you?" 
 
 "I don t see any reason against it. I have often 
 taken trips with Poleon, and been gone with him for 
 days and days at a time." 
 
 "But you were not a woman then," he said, softly. 
 
 "No, not until to-day, that s true. Dear, dear! 
 How I did grow all of a sudden! And yet I m just the 
 same as I was yesterday, and I ll always be the same, 
 just a wild little. Please don t ever let me be a big 
 tame. I don t want to be commonplace and ordinary. 
 I want to be natural and good." 
 
 "You couldn t be like other women," he declared, 
 and there was more tenderness than hunger in his 
 tone now, as she looked up at him trustingly from the 
 shelter of his arms. "It would spoil you to grow up." 
 
 "It is so good to be alive and to love you like this!" 
 she continued, dreamily, staring into the fire. "I 
 seem to have come out of a gloomy house into the 
 glory of a warm spring day, for my eyes are blinded 
 and I can t see half the beautifuls I want to, there are 
 so many about me," 
 
 "Those are my arms," interjected the soldier, lightly, 
 in an effort to ward off her growing seriousness. 
 
 "I ve never been afraid of anything, and yet I feel 
 so safe inside them. Isn t it queer?" 
 
 88 
 
THE BURRELL CODE 
 
 The young man became conscious of a vague dis 
 comfort, and realized dimly that for hours now he 
 had been smothering with words and caresses a 
 something that had striven with him to be heard, 
 a something that instead of dying grew stronger the 
 more utterly this innocent maid yielded to him. It 
 was as if he had ridden impulse with rough spurs in a 
 fierce desire to distance certain voices, and in the first 
 mad gallop had lost them, but now far back heard 
 them calling again more strongly every moment. A 
 man s honor, if old, may travel feebly, but its pursuit 
 is persistent. It was the talk about his people that 
 had raised this damned uneasiness and indecision, he 
 thought. Why had he ever started it ? 
 
 "The marvellous part of it all," continued the girl, 
 "is that it will never end. I know I shall love you 
 always. Do you suppose I am really different from 
 other girls?" 
 
 "Everything is different to-night the whole world," 
 he declared, impatiently. "I thought I knew myself, 
 but suddenly I seem strange in my own eyes." 
 
 "I ve had a big handicap," she said, "but you must 
 help me to overco ne it. I want to be like your 
 sister." 
 
 He rose and piled more wood upon the fire. What 
 possessed the girl? It was as if she knew each cun 
 ning joint of his armor, as if she had realized her 
 peril and had set about the awakening of his conscience, 
 deliberately and with a cautious wisdom beyond her 
 years. Well, she had done it and he swore to him 
 self. Then he melted at the sight of her, crouched 
 there against the shadows, following his every move 
 ment with her soul in her eyes, the tenderest trace of 
 a smile upon her lips. He vowed he was a reprobate 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 to wrong her so; it was her white soul and her woman s 
 love that spoke. 
 
 When she beheld him gazing at her, she tilted her 
 head sidewise daintily, like a little bird. 
 
 "Oh, my! What a fierce you are all at once!" 
 
 Her smile flashed up as if illumined by the leaping 
 blaze, and he crossed quickly, kneeling beside her. 
 
 "Dear, wonderful girl," he said, "it is going to be 
 my heart s work to see that you never change and 
 that you remain just what you are. You can t un 
 derstand what this means to me, for I, too, was 
 blinded, but the darkness of the night has restored 
 my vision. Now you must go to sleep ; the hours are 
 short and we must be going early." 
 
 He piled up a great, sweet-scented couch of springy 
 boughs, and fashioned her a pillow out of a bundle of 
 smaller ones, around which he wrapped his khaki coat; 
 then he removed her high-laced boots, and, taking her 
 tiny feet, one in the palm of either hand, bowed his 
 head over them and kissed them with a sense of her 
 gracious purity and his own unworthiness. He spread 
 one of the big gray blankets over her, and tucked her 
 in, while she sighed in delightful languor, looking up 
 at him all the time. 
 
 "I ll sit here beside you for a while," he said. "I 
 want to smoke a bit." 
 
 She stole a slim, brown hand out from beneath the 
 cover and snuggled it in his, and he leaned forward, 
 closing her lids down with his lips. Her utter weari 
 ness was manifest, for she fell asleep almost instantly, 
 her fingers twined about his in a childlike grip. 
 
 At times a great desire to feel her in his arms, to 
 have her on his breast, surged over him, for he had 
 lived long apart from women, and the solitude of 
 
 90 
 
THE BURRELL CODE 
 
 the night seemed to mock him. He was a strong 
 man, and in his veins ran the blood of wayward fore 
 bears who were wont to possess that which they con 
 quered in the lists of love, mingled with which was the 
 blood of spirited Southern women who had on occasion 
 loved not wisely, according to Kentucky rumor, but 
 only too well. Nevertheless, they were honest men 
 and women, if over-sentimental, and had transmitted 
 to him a heritage of chivalry and a high sense of 
 honor and courage. Strange to say, this little, sim 
 ple half-breed girl had revived this honor and cour 
 age, even when he tried most stubbornly to smother 
 it. If only her love was like her blood, he might 
 have had no scruples; or if her blood were as pure 
 as her love even then it would be easier; but, as it 
 was, he must give her up to-night, and for all time. 
 Her love had placed a barrier between them greater and 
 more insurmountable than her blood. 
 
 He sat for a long time with the dwindling firelight 
 playing about him, his manhood and his desires locked 
 in a grim struggle, wondering at the hold this forest 
 elf had gained upon him, wondering how it was that 
 she had stolen into his heart and head and taken such 
 utter possession of him. It would be no easy task to 
 shut her out of his mind and put her away from him. 
 And she . . . ? 
 
 He gently withdrew his fingers from her grasp, and, 
 seeking the other side of the wickiup, covered himself 
 over without disturbing her, and fell asleep. 
 
 It was early dawn when Necia crept to him. 
 
 "I dreamed you had gone away," she said, shivering 
 violently and drawing close. "Oh, it was a terrible 
 awakening " 
 
 "I was too tired to dream," he said. 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "So I had to come and see if you were really here, 90 
 
 He quickly rekindled the fire, and they made a hasty 
 breakfast. Before the warmth of the rising sun had 
 penetrated the cold air they had climbed the ridge and 
 obtained a wondrous view of broken country, the hills 
 alight with the morning rays, the valleys misty and 
 mystical. They made good progress on the summit, 
 which was paved with barren rock and sparsely car 
 peted with short moss, while there was never a hint 
 of insects to annoy them. Merrily they swung along, 
 buoyed up by an unnatural exaltation; yet now and 
 then, as they dr^.w near their destination, the young 
 man had a chilling premonition of evil to come, and 
 wondered if he had not been foolhardy to undertake 
 this rash enterprise. 
 
 "I wish Stark was not one of Lee s party/ 1 he said 
 once. "He may misunderstand our being together 
 this way." 
 
 "But when he learns that we love each other, that 
 will explain everything." 
 
 "I m not so sure. He doesn t know you as Lee 
 and Poleon and your father do. I think we had better 
 say nothing at all about you and me to any one." 
 
 "But why?" questioned the girl, stopping abruptly. 
 "They mil know it, anyhow, when they see us. I can t 
 conceal it." 
 
 "I am wiser in this than you are," the soldier in 
 sisted, "and we mustn t act like lovers; trust this to 
 me." 
 
 "Oh, I won t play that!" cried Necia, petulantly. 
 "If all this is going to end wher. ^e get to Lee s cabin, 
 we ll stay right here forever." 
 
 He was not sure of aif the logic he advanced In con 
 vincing her, but she yielded finally, saying: 
 
 92 
 
THE BURRELL CODE 
 
 54 Well. I suppose you know best, and, anyhow, littles 
 should always mind." 
 
 They clung to the divide for several hours, then de 
 scended into the bed of a stream, which they followed 
 until it joined a larger one a couple of miles below, and 
 there, sheltered in a grove of whispering firs, they 
 found Lee s cabin nestling in a narrow, forked valley. 
 Evidently the miner had selected a point on the main 
 creek just below the confluence of the feeders as a 
 place in which to prospect, and Burrell fell to wonder 
 ing which one of these smaller streams supplied the 
 run of gold. 
 
 "There s no one here," said Necia, gleefully. "We ve 
 beat them in! We ve beat them in!" 
 
 They had been walking rapidly since dawn, and, al 
 though Bun-ell s watch showed two o clock, she re 
 fused to halt for lunch, declaring that the others might 
 arrive at any moment ; so down they went to the lower 
 end of " No Creek " Lee s location, where Burrell blazed 
 a smooth spot on the down-stream side of a tree and 
 wrote thereon at Necia s dictation. When he had fin 
 ished, she signed her name, and he witnessed it, then 
 paced off four hundred and forty steps, where he squared 
 a spruce-tree, which she marked: "Lower centre end 
 stake of No. i below discovery. Necia Gale, locator." 
 She was vastly excited and immensely elated at her 
 good-fortune in acquiring the claim next to Lee s, and 
 chattered like a magpie, filling the glades with resound 
 ing echoes and dancing about in the bright sunlight 
 that filtered through the branches. 
 
 "Now you stake the one below mine," she said. 
 "It s just as good, and maybe better nobody can 
 tell." But he shook his head. 
 
 "I m not going to stake anything," said he. 
 93 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "You must!" she cried, quickly, the sparkle dying 
 from, her eyes. "You said you would, or I never would 
 have brought you." 
 
 "I merely said I would come with you," he cor- 
 rected. "I did not promise to take up a claim, for I 
 don t think I ought to do so. If I were a civilian, it 
 would be different, but this is government land, and I 
 am a part of the government, as it were. Then, too, 
 in addition to the question of my right to do it, there 
 would be the certainty of making enemies of your 
 people, old "No Creek" and the rest, and I can t af 
 ford that now. With you it is different, for you are 
 entitled to this ground. After Lee s friends have 
 shared in his discovery I may change my mind." 
 
 All arguments and pleading were in vain; he re 
 mained obdurate and insisted on her locating two oth 
 er claims for herself, one on each of the smaller creeks 
 where they came together above the house. 
 
 "But nobody ever stakes more than one claim on 
 a gulch," objected the girl. "It s a custom of the 
 miners." 
 
 "Then we ll call each one of these branches a dif 
 ferent and separate creek," he said. "The gold was 
 carried down one of those smaller streams, and we 
 won t take any chances on which one it was. When 
 a fellow plays a big game he should play to win, and, 
 as this means such a great deal to you, we won t over 
 look any bets." 
 
 Necia consented, and when her three claims had 
 been properly located the couple returned to the 
 cabin to get lunch and to await with some foreboding 
 the coming of the others and what of good or ill it 
 might bring. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE MAGIC OP BEN STARK 
 
 BEFORE the party came in sight, the sound of 
 their voices reached the cabin, and Burrell rose 
 nervously and sauntered to the door. Uncertain how 
 this affair might terminate, he chose to get first look 
 at his enemies, if they should prove to be such, real 
 izing the advantage that goes to a man who stands 
 squarely on both feet. 
 
 The trail came through the brush at the rear, and 
 he heard Lee say: 
 
 "This here s the place, boys the shack ain t fifty 
 yards away." 
 
 "Likely looking gulch," Gale was heard to reply, 
 in his deep tones there was a crackle of dead brush, 
 a sound as of a man tripping and falling heavily, then 
 oaths in a voice that made the Lieutenant start. 
 
 "Ha, ha!" laughed Doret. "You mus be tired, 
 Meestaire R-r-unnion. Better you pick up your feet. 
 Dat s t ree tarn* you ve " 
 
 They emerged into the open behind the house to 
 pause in line back of Lee, who was staring at the stove 
 pipe of his cabin, from which came a wisp of smoke. 
 It seemed to Burrell that they held their position for 
 a long time. Then he heard Lee say: 
 
 "Well, I ll be damned! Somebody s here ahead 
 of us" 
 
 95 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 ^ We ve been beaten," growled Stark, angrily, push* 
 Bag past him and coming round the corner, an ugly 
 iook in his eyes. 
 
 Burrell was standing at ease in the door, smoking, 
 cue forearm resting on the jamb, his wide shoulders 
 nearly filling the entrance. 
 
 " Good -afternoon," he nodded, pleasantly. 
 
 Lee answered him unintelligibly; Stark said nothing* 
 font Runnion s exclamation was plain, 
 
 "It s that damned blue-belly!" 
 
 "When did you get here?" said Stark, after a pause. 
 
 "A few hours ago," 
 
 "How did you come?" asked Lee. 
 
 "Black Bear Creek," said the soldier, curtly, at 
 which Runnion broke into profanity. 
 
 "Better hush," Burrell admonished him; "there s 
 & lady inside," and at that instant Nccia showed her 
 laughing face under his arm t while the trader uttered 
 Sier name in amazement. 
 
 "Lunch is ready," she said. "We ve been expect* 
 tng you for quite a while," 
 
 **Ba Gar! Dat s fonny t ing for sure, " said Poleon, 
 ^ Who tol s you v bout dis strike eh?" 
 
 e * Mother ; I made her," the girl answered. 
 
 "Take off your packs and come in," Burrell in- 
 irited, but Stark strode forward. 
 
 "Hold on a minute. This don t look good to me. 
 You say your mother told you. I suppose you r* 
 Old Man Gale s other daughter eh ?" 
 
 Necia nodded. 
 
 6 What time of day was it when you learned about 
 this?" 
 
 "Cut that out/ roughly interjected Gale, ? Do 
 fou think J double-crossed you?" 
 
 06 
 
THE MAGIC OP BEN STARK 
 
 The other turned upon him. 
 
 "It looks that way, and I intend to find out. You 
 yesterday you hadn t told anybody " 
 
 "I didn t think about the woman/ said the trader, 
 a trifle disconcerted, whereupon Runnion gave vent 
 to an ironical sneer. 
 
 "But here s your girl and this man ahead of us. I 
 suppose there s others on the way s too." 
 
 "Nonsense!" Burrell cut in. "Don t quarrel about 
 this. Miss Gate got wind of your secret, and beat you 
 at your own game, so that ends it; but there s plenty 
 of ground left, for all of you, and no harm done, No 
 body knows of this strike from us, I can assure you." 
 
 "I call it dam sleeck work," chuckled the Canadian, 
 slipping out of his straps. "De nex* tarn 1 I go stam- 
 pedin I tak* you long, Necia." 
 
 "Me, too/ said Lee. "An* now I m goin to tear 
 into some of them beans I smell a bilin in yonder/ 
 
 The others followed, although Stark and Runnion 
 looked black and had little to say. It was an uncom 
 fortable meal every one was ill at ease, Gale, in par 
 ticular, was quiet, and ate less than any of them. His 
 eyes sought Stark s face frequently, and once the blood 
 left his cheeks and his eyes blazed as he observed the 
 gambler eying Necia, gazing at her with the same 
 boldness he would have used in scanning a horse. 
 
 "You are a mighty good-looking girl for a blood/" 
 remarked Stark, at last. 
 
 "Thank you/ she replied, simply, and the soldier s 
 vague dislike of the man crystallized into hate on the 
 instant. There was a tone back of his words that 
 seemed aimed at the trader, Meade thought, but Gale 
 showed no sign of it, so the meal was finished in silence, 
 after which the five belated prospectors went out to 
 
 97 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 snake their locations, for the fear of interruption 
 upon them now. 
 
 First they went down-stream, and, according to their 
 agreement, the trader staked first, followed by Poleon 
 and Stark, thus throwing Runnion s claim more than 
 a mile distant from Lee s discovery. From here they 
 went up the creek to find the girl s other locations, one 
 on each branch, at which Stark sneeringly remarked 
 that she had pre-empted enough ground for a full- 
 grown white woman. 
 
 Runnion s displeasure was even more open, and he 
 fell into foul-mouthed mutterings, addressing himself 
 to Poleon an> Stark while the trader was out of ear 
 shot. 
 
 "This affair don t smell right, and I still think it s a 
 frame-up/ 
 
 "Bahl" exclaimed Doret. 
 
 "The old man sznt the girl on ahead of us to blanket 
 all the good ground. That s what he did!" 
 
 "Dat s fool talk," declared the Frenchman. 
 
 44 I m not so sure, * Stark broke in. "You remember 
 he hung back and wanted to go slow from the start; 
 and didn t he ask us to camp early last night? Looks 
 now as if he did it just to give her time to get in first. 
 He admitted that he knew the Black Bear trail, and if 
 he lied about keeping his mouth shut to the squaw, 
 he d lie about other " 
 
 44 Wait wan minnit," interrupted Poleon, his voice 
 as soft as a woman s. " I tol you dat 1 know all bout 
 dis Black Bear Creek, too you member, eh? Wai, 
 mebbe you t ink I m traitor, too* W at? W y don ? 
 you spik out?" 
 
 The three of them were alone, and only the sound of 
 Gale s axe came to them; but at the light in the Ca* 
 
THE MAGIC OP BEN STARE 
 
 aadian s face Runnion hastily disclaimed any such 
 thought on his part, and Stark shrugged his denial. 
 
 "I don know you feller* at all," continued Poleon, 
 "but Ole Man Gale, he s my frien , so I guess you don 
 better talk no more lak* dat. M 
 
 "Don t get sore," said Stark. "I simply say it 
 | looks bad." But the other had turned his back and 
 was walking on. 
 
 There are men quite devoid of the ability to read 
 the human face, and Runnion was of this species. 
 Moreover, malice was so bitter in his mouth that he 
 must have it out, so when they paused to blaze the 
 next stake he addressed himself to Stark loud enough 
 for Poleon to hear. 
 
 "That Lieutenant is more of a man than I thought 
 he was." 
 
 "How so?" inquired the older man. 
 
 "Well, it takes nerve to steal a girl for one night and 
 then face the father; but the old man don t seem to 
 mind it any more than she does. I guess he knows 
 what it means, all right." 
 
 Stark laughed raucously. "I thought of that my 
 self," he said. 
 
 "That s probably how Gale got his squaw, " con 
 cluded Runnion, with a sneer, 
 
 It seemed a full minute before the Frenchman gave 
 sign that he had heard, then a strange cry broke from 
 his throat and he began to tremble as if with cold. 
 He was no longer the singer of songs or the man w*ho 
 was forever a boy; the mocking anger of a moment 
 ago was gone; in its place was a consuming fury that 
 sucked the blood from beneath his tan, leaving him 
 the pallor of ashes, while his mouth twitched and his 
 head rolled slightly from side to side like a palsied old 
 
 99 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 man s. The red of his lips was blanched, leaving two 
 white streaks against a faded, muddy background, 
 through which came strange and frightful oaths in a 
 bastard tongue. Runnion drew back, fearful, and the 
 older man ceased chopping and let his axe hang loosely 
 in his hand. But evidently Poleon meant no violence, 
 for he allowed the passion to run from him freely until 
 it had spent its vigor, then said to Runnion: 
 
 "M sieUs eider you are brave man or dam fool." 
 
 "What dc you mean, Frenchy?" said the man ad 
 dressed, uneasily. 
 
 "Somebody goin die for w ? at you say jus" now. 
 Mebbe its goin* be you, m j sieu : mebbe it s goin 1 be 
 him; I can t tell yet, but I m hope an pray it s goin 
 c you t biccause I t ink w at you say is a lie, an 5 no 
 body can spik dose kin of lie Tx>ut Necia Gale. 89 
 
 He went crashing blindly through the underbrush, 
 his head wagging, his shoulders slumped loosely for 
 ward like those of a drunken man, his lips framing 
 words they could not understand. 
 
 When he had disappeared Runnion drew a deep 
 breath. 
 
 "I guess I ve framed something for Mister Ptirrell 
 this time." 
 
 "You go about it queer," said Stark. "I d rather 
 tackle a gang-saw than a man like Poleon Doret, Your 
 frame-up may work double." 
 
 "Huh! No chance o The soldier was out all night 
 alone with that half-breed girl, and anybody can see 
 she s crazy about hinL What s the answer?" 
 
 "Well, she s mighty pretty," agreed the other, 
 "most too pretty for a mixed blood, but you can t 
 make that Frenchman believe she s wrong." 
 
 ?6 Why 9 he believes it now/* chuckled Runnion. "o* 
 too 
 
THE MAGIC OP BEN STARK 
 
 at least he s jealous, and that s just as good. Those 
 two will have trouble before dark. I wish they would 
 then I d have a chance." 
 
 "Have you got your eye on her, too?" 
 
 "Sure! Do you blame me?" 
 
 "No, but she s too good for you." 
 
 Then she s too good for them, I think 111 enter 
 the running." 
 
 "Better stay out," the gambler ad vised; "you ll have 
 ore feet before you finish. As a matter of fact, I don t 
 like her father any better than you like her lovers " 
 
 "Well, it s mutual. I can see Gale hates you like 
 poison/ 1 
 
 " and I don t intend to see him and his tribe hog 
 all the best ground hereabouts," 
 
 "They ve already done it. You can t stop them." 
 
 Before answering, Stark listened for the trader,, but 
 evidently Gale had finished his task and returned to 
 the shack, for there was neither sign nor sound of 
 frim. 
 
 "Yes, I can stop them," said Stark. "I want the 
 ground that girl has staked, and I m going to get it. 
 It lies next to Lee s, and it s sure to be rich, ours is 
 so far away it may not be worth the recorder s fees. 
 This creek may be as spotted as a coach -dog, so I 
 don t intend to take any chances." 
 
 "She made her locations legally," said Runnion. 
 
 "You leave that to me. When will the other boys 
 be here?" 
 
 " To-morrow morning. I told them to follow about 
 four hours behind^ and not to run in on us till we had 
 finished. They ll camp a few miles down the creek, 
 and be in early." 
 
 "You couldn t get but three, eh?" 
 
 IOX 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 ce That s all I could find who would agree to give u& 
 halt" 
 
 4 Can we count on them?" 
 
 "Huh!" the other grunted. "They worked with 
 me and Soapy on the Skagway trail." 
 
 "Good, Five against three, not counting the girl 
 and the Lieutenant/ Stark mused, "Well, that will 
 do it," He outlined his plan, then the two returned 
 to the cabin to find Lee cooking supper Poleon was 
 there with the others* but, except for his silence, he 
 showed no sign of what had taken place that afternoon. 
 
 Stark developed a loquacious mood after supper, 
 devoting himself entirely to Necia v in whom he seemed 
 to take great interest. He was an engaging talker, 
 with a peculiar knack of suggestion in story-telling 
 an unconscious halting and elusiveness that told more 
 than words could express and, knowing his West so 
 well, he fascinated the girl, who hung upon his tales 
 with flattering eagerness* 
 
 Poleon had finished several pipes, and now sat in 
 the shadows in the open doorway, apparently tired 
 and dejected, though his eyes shone like diamonds 
 and roved from one to the other. Half unconsciously 
 he heard Stark saying: 
 
 "This girl was about your size, but not so dark. 
 However, you remind me of her in some ways that s 
 why it puts her in my mind, I suppose She was 
 about your age at the time nineteen * ? 
 
 "Oh f I m not eighteen yet," said Necia, 
 
 "Well, she was a fine woman, anyhow, the best that 
 ever set foot in Chandon, and there was a great deal 
 of talk when she chose young Bennett over the Gay- 
 lord man, for Bennett had been running second best 
 from the start, and everybody thought it was settled 
 
 IO9 
 
THE MAGIC OF BEN STARK 
 
 Between her and the other one. However, they were 
 married quietly." 
 
 The story did not interest the Canadian ; his mind was 
 in too great agitation to care for dead tales; his heart 
 burned within him too fiercely, and he felt too great a 
 desire to put his hands to work. As he watched Bur- 
 rell and Runnion bend over the table looking at a lit 
 tle can of gold-dust that Lee had taken from under 
 his bunk, his eyes grew red and bloodshot beneath his 
 hat-brim. Which one of the two would it be, he won 
 dered. From the corner of his eye he saw Gale rise 
 from Lee s bed, where he had stretched himself to 
 smoke, and take his six-shooter from his beit, then re 
 move the knotted bandanna from his neck, and begin 
 to clean the gun, his head bowed over it earnestly, his 
 face in the shadow. He had ever been a careful and 
 methodical man, reflected Poleon, and evidently would 
 not go to sleep with his fire-arm in bad condition. 
 
 "Nobody imagined that Gay lord would cause 
 trouble," Stark was saying, "for he didn t seem to be 
 a jealous sort, just stupid and kind of heavy -witted; 
 but one night he took advantage of Bennett s absence 
 and sneaked up to the house/ The story-teller paused, 
 and Necia, who was under the spell of his recital, urged 
 him on: 
 
 "Yes, yes. What happened then? Go on." But 
 Stark stared gloomily at his hands, and held his silence 
 for a full minute, the tale appearing to have awakened 
 more than a fleeting interest in him. 
 
 "It was one of the worst killings that ever happened 
 in those parts," he continued. "Bennett came back 
 to find his wife murdered and the kid gone." 
 
 * Oh! M said the girl, in a shocked voice. 
 
 there was the deuce of a time. The town 
 103 
 
BARRIER 
 
 rose up in a body, and we you see, I happened to be 
 there we followed the man for weeks. We trailed 
 him and the kid clear over into the Nevada desert 
 where we lost them." 
 
 "Poor man!" 
 
 "Poor man?" The story-teller raised his eyes and 
 laughed sinisterly. " I don t see where that comes in." 
 
 "And you never caught him?" 
 
 "No. Not yet." 
 
 "He died of thirst in the desert, maybe, he and the 
 little one." 
 
 " That s what we thought at the time, but I don t 
 believe it now." 
 
 "How so?" 
 
 "Well, I ve crossed his trail since then. No. Gay- 
 lord is alive to-day, and so is the girl. Some time we ll 
 meet " His voice gave out, and he stared again at 
 the floor. 
 
 "Couldn t the little girl be traced?" said Necia. 
 "What was her name?" 
 
 Stark made to speak, but the word was never uttered, 
 for there came a deafening roar that caused Lee s 
 candle to leap and flicker and the air inside the cabin 
 to strike the occupants like a blow. Instantly there 
 was confusion, and each man sprang to his feet crying 
 out affrightedly, for the noise had come with utter 
 unexpectedness. 
 
 "My God, I ve killed him!" cried Gale, and with one 
 jump he cleared half the room and was beside Stark, 
 while his revolver lay on the floor where he had been 
 Bitting. 
 
 "What is it?" exclaimed Burrell; but there was 
 
 no need to ask, for powder - smoke was beginning to 
 
 ]11 the sooxn and tt\e trader s face gave ooewec. I* 
 
;r*B MAGIC OP BBN STARI 
 
 wui whiter than mat of his daughter, whc had crouched 
 fearfully against the wall, and he shook like a man 
 with ague. But Sta^K stood unhurt, and more com 
 posed than r.ny of them; following the first bound 
 from his chair, he had relapsed into his customary 
 quiet. There had blazed up one momentary flash or 
 suspicion and anger, but it died straightway, for nr 
 man could have beheld the trader and not felt con- 
 trition. His condition was pitiable, and the sight of 
 a strong man overcome is not pleasant; when it was 
 seen that nc harm had been done the others strove to 
 make light of the accident. 
 
 "Get together, all of you! It s nothing to be ex 
 cited over," said Stark. 
 
 "How did it happen?" Runnion finally asked Gale, 
 who had sunk limply upon the edge of the bunk; but 
 when the old man undertook to answer his words were 
 unintelligible, and he shook his head helplessly. 
 
 Stark laid his finger on the hole that the bullet had 
 bored in the log close to where he was sitting, and 
 laughed. 
 
 "Never mind, old man, it missed me by six inches. 
 You know there never was a bullet that could kill me. 
 I m six-shooter proof." 
 
 "Wha d I tell you?" triumphantly ejaculated Lee, 
 turning his one eye upon the Lieutenant. "You 
 laughed at me, didn t you?" 
 
 "I m beginning to believe it myself," declared the 
 soldier. 
 
 "It s a cinch," said Stark, positively. 
 
 Doret, of all in the cabin, had said nothing. Seated 
 apart from the others, he had seen the ^iiair from a 
 distance, as it were, and now ste^^ed to the bed to 
 Uy his hand on Gale s shoulder. 
 
 105 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "Brace up, John! Sacre" bleu! Your face look lak* 
 flour. Come outside an get liT air." 
 
 "It will do you good, father," urged Necia. 
 
 The trader silently rose, picked up his hat, and 
 shambled out into the night behind the Frenchman. 
 
 "The old man takes it hard," said Lee, shaking his 
 head, and Burrell remarked: 
 
 "I ve seen things like that in army quarters, and the 
 fellow who accidentally discharges his gun invariably 
 gets a greater shock than his companion." 
 
 "I call it damned careless, begging your pardon. 
 Miss Necia," said Runnion. 
 
 Poleon led his friend down the trail for half a mile 
 without speaking, till Gale had regained a grip of him 
 self and muttered, finally: 
 
 "I never did such a thing before, Poleon, never in 
 all my life.* 
 
 The young man turned squarely and faced him, the 
 starlight illumining their faces dimly. 
 
 "Why?" said Doret. 
 
 "Why?" echoed Gale, with a start. "Well, because 
 I m careful, I suppose." 
 
 "Why?" insisted the Frenchman. 
 
 " I I I What do you mean ?" 
 
 "Don lie wit me, John. I m happen to be watch 
 you underneat* my hat w en you turn roun* for see if 
 anybody lookin ." 
 
 "You saw?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "I thought you were asleep," said Gale. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THB KNIFB 
 
 IN every community, be it never so small, there are 
 undesirable citizens; and, while the little party was 
 still at breakfast on the following morning, three such 
 members of society came around the cabin and let 
 fall their packs, greeting the occupants boisterously. 
 
 "Well, well!" said Lee, coming to the door. "You re 
 travellin* kind of early, ain t you?" 
 
 "Yes early and late," one of them laughed, while 
 the other two sprawled about as if to rest. 
 
 "How far are you goin ?" 
 
 "Not far," the spokesman answered. 
 
 Now in the North there is one formality that must 
 be observed with friend or enemy, and, though Lee 
 knew these men for what they were, he said: 
 
 "Better have some breakfast, anyhow." 
 
 "We just ate." There was an uncomfortable pause, 
 then the speaker continued: "Look here. It s no use 
 to flush around. We want a piece of this creek." 
 
 "What are you goin* to do with it ?" 
 
 "Cut that out, Lee. We re on." 
 
 "Who wised you up to this?" inquired the miner, 
 angrily, for he had other friends besides those present 
 whom he wished to profit by this strike, and he had 
 fcoped to keep out this scum. 
 
 "Never mind who put us Jerry. We re here, ain t we ? * 
 107 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 Stark spoke up. "You can t keep news of a gold 
 strike when the wind blows, Lee. It travels on the 
 breeze." 
 
 The harm was done, and there was no use in con 
 cealment, so Lee reluctantly told them of his discovery 
 and warned them of the stakes already placed. 
 
 "And see here, you fellers," he concluded, "I ve 
 been forty years at this game and never had a creek 
 named after me, but this one is goin to be called " No 
 Creek " Lee Creek or I fight. Does it go ?" 
 
 "Sure, that s a good name, and we ll vote for it." 
 
 "Then go as far as you like," said the miner, dis 
 missing them curtly. 
 
 "I ll step along with the boys and show them where 
 our upper stakes are," volunteered Stark, and Runnion 
 offered to do the same, adding that it were best to 
 make sure of no conflict so early in the game. The 
 five disappeared into the woods, leaving the others at 
 the cabin to make preparations for the homeward trip. 
 
 "That man who did the talking is a tin-horn gam 
 bler who drifted in a month ago, the same as Runnion, 
 and the others ain t much better," said Gale, when they 
 had gone. "Seems like the crooks always beat the 
 straight men in." 
 
 "Never knowed it to fail," Lee agreed. "There s 
 a dozen good men in camp I d like to see in on this find, 
 but it 11 be too late gin we get back." 
 
 "Dose bum an saloon feller got all de bes claims at 
 Klondike," said Poleon. "I guess it s goin be de 
 same here." 
 
 "I don t like the look of this," observed the Lieu 
 tenant, thoughtfully. "I m afraid there s some kind of 
 a job on foot." 
 
 "There s nothing they can do," Gale answered. 
 
 108 
 
THE KNIFE 
 
 * We ve got our ground staked out, and it s up to them 
 to choose what s left." 
 
 They were nearly ready to set out for Flambeau 
 when the five men returned. 
 
 "Before you go/ said Stark, "I think we d better 
 organize our mining district. There are enough pres 
 ent to do it." 
 
 44 We can make the kind of laws we want before the 
 gang comes along," Runnion chimed in, " and elect a 
 recorder who will give us a square deal." 
 
 44 I ll agree if we give Lee the job," said Gale. "It s 
 coming to him as the discoverer, and I reckon the money 
 will be handy, seeing the hard luck he s played in." 
 
 "That s agreeable to me," Stark replied, and pro 
 ceeded forthwith to call a miners meeting, being him 
 self straightway nominated as chairman by one of the 
 strangers. There was no objection, so he went in, as 
 did Lee, who was made secretary, with instructions to 
 write out the business of the meeting, together with the 
 by-laws as they were passed. 
 
 The group assembled in the cleared space before the 
 cabin to make rules and regulations governing the dis 
 trict, for it is a custom in all mining sections removed 
 from authority for the property holders thus to make 
 local laws governing the size of claims, the amount of 
 assessment work, the size of the recorder s fees, the 
 character of those who may hold mines, and such other 
 questions as arise to affect their personal or property 
 interests. In the days prior to the establishment of 
 courts and the adoption of a code of laws for Alaska, 
 the entire country was governed in this way, even to 
 the adjudication of criminal actions. It was the primi 
 tive majority rule that prevails in every new land, and 
 the courts later recognized and approved the laws so 
 
 109 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 made and administered, even when they differed in 
 every district, and even when these statutes were 
 often grotesque and ridiculous. As a whole, however, 
 they were direct in their effect and worked no hardship; 
 in fact, government by miners meeting is looked upon 
 to this day, by those who lived under it, as vastly superior 
 to the complicated machinery which later took its place. 
 
 The law permits six or more people to organize a 
 mining district and adopt articles of government, so 
 this instance was quite ordinary and proper,, 
 
 Lee had come by his learning slowly, and he wrote 
 after the fashion of a school-boy, who views his char 
 acters from every angle and follows their intricacies 
 with corresponding movements of the tongue, hence 
 the business of the meeting progressed slowly, 
 
 It was of wondrous interest to Necia to be an in 
 tegral part of such important matters, and she took 
 pride in voting on every question^ but Burrell, who 
 observed the proceedings from neutral ground, could 
 not shake off the notion that all was not right. Things 
 moved too smoothly. It looked as if there had been 
 a rehearsal. Poleon and the trader, however, seemed 
 not to notice it, and Lee was wallowing to the waist 
 in his own troubles, so the young man kept his eyes 
 open and waited. 
 
 The surprise came when they had completed the 
 organization of the district and had nearly finished 
 adopting by-laws. It was so boldly attempted and 
 so crude in its working-out that it seemed almost 
 laughable to the soldier, until he saw these men were 
 in deadly earnest and animated by the cruelest of 
 motives. Moreover, it showed the first glimpse of 
 Stark s spite against the trader, which the Lieutenant 
 had divined. 
 
 no 
 
THE KNIFE 
 
 Runnion moved the adoption of a rule that no wom 
 en be allowed to locate mining claims, and one of the 
 strangers seconded it. 
 
 "What s that?" said Lee, raising his one eye from 
 the note-book in which he was transcribing. 
 
 "It isn t right to let women in on a man s game," 
 said Runnion. 
 
 "That s my idea," echoed the seconder,, 
 
 "I s pose this is aimed at my girl,* said Gale, spring 
 ing to his feet. "I might have known you bums were 
 tip to some crooked work." 
 
 Poleon likewise rose and ranged himself with the 
 trader. 
 
 "Ba Gar I I don stan* for dat," said he, excitedly. 
 "You want for jump Necia s claims, eh?" 
 
 "As long as I m chairman we ll have no rough 
 work," declared Stark, glaring at them. "If you 
 want trouble, you two, I reckon you can have it, but, 
 whether you do or not, the majority is going to rule, 
 and we ll make what laws we want to." 
 
 He took no pains now to mask his dislike of Gale, 
 who began to move towards him in his do^ed, reso 
 lute way Necia, observing them, hastened to her 
 father s side, for that which she sensed in the bearing 
 of both men quite overcame her indignation at this 
 blow against herself. 
 
 "No, no, don t have any trouble," she pleaded, as 
 she clung to the trader. "For my sake, daddy, sit 
 down." Then she whispered fiercely into his ear: "Can t 
 you see he s trying to make you fight? There s too 
 many of them. Wait! Wait!" 
 
 Burrell attempted to speak, but Stark, who was 
 presiding, turned upon him fiercely: 
 
 "Now this is one time when you can t butt in, 
 in 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 Mr. Soldier Man. This is our business. Is that 
 plain?" 
 
 The Lieutenant realized that he had no place in this 
 discussion, and yet their move was so openly brazen 
 that he could restrain himself with difficulty. A mo 
 ment later he saw the futility of interference, when 
 Stark continued, addressing the trader: 
 
 "This isn t aimed at you in particular, Gale, nor at 
 your girl, for a motion to disqualify her isn t necessary. 
 She isn t old enough to hold mining property." 
 
 "She s eighteen," declared the trader. 
 
 "Not according to her story." 
 
 "Well, I can keep her claims for her till she gets 
 of age." 
 
 "We ve just fixed it so you can t," grinned Runnion, 
 cunningly. "No man can hold more than one claim 
 on a creek. You voted for that yourself." 
 
 Too late, Gale saw the trick by which Stark had 
 used him to rob his own daughter. If he and his 
 two friends had declined to be a part of this meeting, 
 the others could not have held it, and before another 
 assembly could have been called the creek would have 
 been staked from end to end, from rim to rim, by honest 
 men, over whom no such action could pass; but, as it 
 was, his own votes had been used to sew him up in a 
 mesh of motions and resolutions. 
 
 "No Creek" Lee had the name of a man slow in 
 speech and action, and one who roused himself to 
 anger deliberately, much as a serpent stings itself into 
 a painful fury; but now it was apparent that he was 
 boiling over, for he stammered and halted and blurted 
 explosively. 
 
 "You re a bunch of rascals, all of you, try-in* to down 
 a pore girl and get her ground; but who put ye wise 
 
 112 
 
THE KNIFE 
 
 to this thing, in the first place ? Who found this gold ? 
 Just because there s enough of you to vote that mo 
 tion through, that don t make it legal, not by a 
 damned sight, and it won t hold, because I won t write 
 it in the book. You you " He glared at them 
 malevolently, searching his mind for an epithet suffi 
 ciently vile, and, finding it, spat it out "dress 
 makers!" 
 
 So this was why both Stark and Runnion had gone 
 up the creek with the three new men, thought Burrell. 
 No doubt they had deliberately arranged the whole thing 
 so that the new arrivals could immediately relocate each 
 of Necia s claims the pick of all the ground outside 
 Lee s discovery, and the surest to be valuable and that 
 Stark would share in the robbery. He or Runnion, or 
 both of them, had broken Lee s oath of secrecy even 
 before leaving camp, which accounted for the presence 
 of these thugs; and now, as he revolved the situation 
 rapidly in his mind, the soldier looked up at a sudden 
 thought. Poleon had begun to speak, and from his 
 appearance it seemed possible that he might not cease 
 with words; moreover, it was further evident that 
 they were all intent on the excited Frenchman and had 
 no eyes for the Lieutenant. Carefully slipping around 
 the corner of the cabin, and keeping the house between 
 him and the others, Burrell broke into a swift run, mak 
 ing the utmost possible speed for fear they should 
 miss him and guess his purpose, or, worse yet, finish 
 their discussion and adjourn before he could complete 
 his task. He was a light man on his feet, and he dodged 
 through the forest, running more carelessly the farther 
 he went, visiting first the upper claims, then, making a 
 wide detour of the cabin, he came back to the initial 
 stake of Necia s lower claim, staggering from his 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 exertions, his lungs bursting from the strain. He had 
 covered nearly a mile, but, even so, he laughed grimly 
 as he walked back towards the cabin, for it was a game 
 worth playing, and he was glad to take a hand on the 
 side of the trader and the girl. Coming within earshot, 
 he heard the meeting vote to adjourn. It could not 
 have terminated more opportunely had he held a stop 
 watch on it. 
 
 From the look of triumph on Runnion s face, the 
 Lieutenant needed no glance at Gale or Poleon or 
 Necia to know that the will of the majority had pre 
 vailed, and that the girl s importunities had restrained 
 her advocates from a resort to violence. She looked 
 very forlorn, like a little child just robbed and deceived, 
 with the shock of its first great disillusionment still 
 fresh in its eyes. 
 
 Runnion addressed the other conspirators loudly. 
 
 "Well, boys, there are three good claims open for 
 relocation. I m sorry I can t stake one of them." 
 
 "They won t lie open long," said one of the un 
 desirable citizens, starting to turn down-stream while 
 his two companions made for the opposite direction. 
 But Burrell stopped them. 
 
 "Too late, boys. Your little game went wrong. 
 Now! Now! Don t get excited. Whew! I had quite 
 a run." 
 
 Gale paused in his tracks and looked at the young 
 man queer ly. 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "I ve jumped those claims myself." 
 
 "You jumped them!" cried Necia. 
 
 "Sure! I changed my mind about staking." 
 
 "It s a lie!" cried Runnion, at which Burrell whirled 
 on him. 
 
 114 
 
THE KNIFE 
 
 "I ve been waiting for this, Runnion ever since 
 you came back. Now " 
 
 "I mean you haven t had time," the other tem 
 porized, hurriedly. 
 
 "Oh, that sounds better! If you don t believe me 
 take a look for yourself; you ll find my notice just be 
 neath Miss Gale s." Then to "No Creek " Lee he con 
 tinued, "Kindly record them for me so there will be 
 no question of priority." 
 
 "I ll be damned if I do!" said the belligerent record 
 er. "You re worse n these crooks. That ground be 
 longs to Necia Gale." 
 
 Up to this time Stark had remained silent, his im 
 passive face betraying not a shadow of chagrin, for 
 he was a good loser ; but now he spoke at large. 
 
 "Anybody who thinks the American army is asleep 
 is crazy." Then to Burrell, "You certainly are a nice 
 young man to double-cross your friends like that." 
 
 "You re no friend of mine," Meade retorted. 
 
 " I ? What do you mean ?" 
 
 "I double-crossed you, Stark, nobody else." 
 
 The Kentuckian glared at him with a look like that 
 which Runnion had seen in his face on that first day 
 at the trading-post. The thought of these five men 
 banded together to rob this little maid had caused a 
 giddiness to rise up in him, and his passions were be 
 ginning to whirl and dance. 
 
 "There s no use mouthing words about it," said he. 
 * These thugs are your tools, and you tried to steal 
 that ground because it s sure to be rich." 
 
 Stark exclaimed angrily, but the other gave him 
 no time to break in. 
 
 "Now, don t get rough, because that is my game, 
 and I d be pleased enough to take you back a prisoner." 
 
 "5 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 Then turning to Lee, he said: "Don t make me force 
 you to record my locations. I staked those cla ; ms for 
 Miss Gale f and I ll deed them to her when sue turns 
 eighteen," 
 
 Poleon Doret called to Runnion: "M sieu,you mem 
 ber w at I tol you yestidday ? I m begin for t ink it s 
 goin be you," 
 
 The man paled in his anger, but said nothing. Necia 
 clapped her hands gleefully. 
 
 Seeing that the game had gone against him 9 Stark 
 got his feelings under control quickly , and shrugged his 
 shoulders as he turned away. 
 
 "You re in the wrong, Lieutenant/ he remarked; 
 44 but I don t want any trouble YouVe got the law 
 with you/ k Then to Runnion and the others he said a 
 "Well, I m ready to hit the trail/ 
 
 When they had shouldered their packs and disap 
 peared down the valley, Gale held out his hand to the 
 soldier* " Young man, I reckon you and I will be 
 friends." 
 
 a Thank you/* said Burrell, taking the offer of friend 
 ship which he knew was genuine at last. 
 
 "I m in on that!" said "No Creek" Lee; "you re all 
 right!" 
 
 Poleon had been watching Stark s party disappear 8 
 but now he turned and addressed the young soldier. 
 
 "You mak some enemies to-day, M sieu." 
 
 "That s right," agreed Lee. "Ben Stark will never 
 let up on you now," 
 
 "Very well r that is his privilege. 8 
 
 "You don t savvy what it means to get him down 
 on you," insisted Lee. "He ll frame things up to suit 
 himself , then pick a row with you. He s the quick 
 est man on a trigger in the West, but he won t nevet 
 
 116 
 
THE KNIFE 
 
 nake no open play, only just devil the life out of yota 
 with little things till you flare up, then he ll down you. 
 That s how he killed the gold commissionei back in 
 British Columbia." 
 
 Necia had said little so far, but the look in her eyes 
 repaid the soldier for his undertaking in her behalf, and 
 for any mischief that might ensue from it.. She came 
 forward and laid her hands upon his. 
 
 "Promise that you won t have trouble with him," 
 she begged, anxiously, "for it s all my fault, and I d 
 I d always blame myself if any hurt came to you. 
 Promise ! Won t you ?" 
 
 "Don t worry, daughter," reassured Gale. "There s 
 nothing Stark can do, and whatever happens we re 
 with the Lieutenant. He s our kind of people." 
 
 Burrell liked this grizzled old fellow with the watch 
 ful eyes, and was glad now that he could grip his hand 
 and face him squarely with no guilt upon his con 
 science. 
 
 By this time Doret had finished with their blankets, 
 and the four set out for town, but instead of following 
 the others they accepted Necia as guide and chose the 
 trail to Black Bear Creek. They had not gone far be 
 fore she took occasion to lag behind with the Lieutenant. 
 
 **I couldn t thank you before all those people they 
 would have read our secret but you know how I feel, 
 don t you, Meade?" 
 
 "Why! It was a simple thing " 
 
 "It was splendid when you defied them. My, what 
 a fierce you arel Oh, boy! What if something should 
 happen to you over this!" 
 
 "But there s no chance. It s all done, and you ll 
 have your fine dresses and be able to hold your nose 
 just QA high as you want." 
 
 Ml 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "Whatever I get I will owe to you. I I ve been 
 thinking. Suppose well, suppose you keep two of 
 those claims; they are sure to be rich " 
 
 "Why, Necia!" he exclaimed. 
 
 "They re yours, and I have no right to them undea 
 the law. Of course it would be very handsome ol 
 you to give me one the poorest.* 
 
 "You ought to have your ears boxed/" he laughed 
 at her. 
 
 "I aon t see why. You you may be very pool, 
 for all I know." 
 
 "I am," he declared, "but not poor enough to takf 
 payment for a favor." 
 
 "Well, then, if they are really mine to do with as i 
 please, I ll sell one to you " 
 
 "Thanks. I couldn t avail myself of the offer/ he 
 said, with mock hauteur. 
 
 "If you were a business man instead of a fighting 
 person you would listen to my proposition before 
 you declined it. I ll make the price right r and you 
 may pay me when we get behind yonder clump of 
 bushes." She pouted her lips invitingly, but he de 
 clared she was a minor and as such her bargain would 
 not hold, 
 
 It was evidently her mood to re-enter the land ol 
 whims and travel again, as they had on the way from 
 town, but he knew that for him such a thing could 
 not be, for his eyes had cleared since then. He knew 
 that he could never again wander through the happy 
 valley, for he vowed this maid should be no plaything 
 for him or for any other man, and as there could be 
 no honorable end to this affair, it must terminate at 
 once. Just how this was to be consummated he had 
 not determined as yet, nor did he like to set about its 
 
 118 
 
THE RNIFB 
 
 olution, it hurt him so to think of losing her. How 
 ever, she was very young, only a child, and in time 
 would come to count him but a memory, no doubt; 
 while as for him well, it would be hard to forget her, 
 but he could and would. He reasoned glibly that this 
 was the only honest course, and his reasoning con 
 vinced him; then, all of a sudden, the pressure of her 
 warm lips came upon him and the remembrance upset 
 every premise and process of his logic. Nevertheless, 
 he was honest in his stubborn determination to con 
 clude the affair, and finally decided to let time show 
 him the way. 
 
 She seemed to be very happy, her mood being in 
 marked contrast to that of Poleon and the trader, 
 both of whom had fallen oilent and gloomy, and in 
 whom the hours wrought no change. The latter had 
 tacitly acknowledged his treachery towards Stark on 
 the previous night, but beyond that he would not go, 
 offering no motive, excuse, or explanation, choosing to 
 stand in the eyes of his friend as an intended murderer, 
 notwithstanding which Poleon let the matter drop for 
 was not his friend a good man ? Had he not been tried 
 in a hundred ways ? The young Frenchman knew there 
 must have been strong reason for Gale s outburst, and 
 vras content to trust him without puzzling his mind to 
 discover the cause of it. 
 
 Now, a secret must either grow or die there is no 
 fallow age for it and this one had lived with Gale 
 for fifteen years, until it had made an old man of him. 
 It weighed him down until the desire to be rid of it 
 almost became overpowering at times; but his caution 
 was ingrained and powerful, and so it was that he 
 resisted the temptation to confide in his partner, al 
 though the effort left him tir*d and inert. The only 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 one to whom he could talk was Alluna- she under- 
 "stoodp and though she might not help, the sound oi his 
 own voice at least always afforded him some relief. 
 
 As to Poleon, no one had ever seen him thus. Never 
 in all his life of dream and song and romance had he 
 known a heavy heart until now, for if at times he had 
 wept like a girl, it was at the hurts of others. He had 
 loved a bit and gambled much, with equal misfortune, 
 and the next day he had forgotten. He had lived the 
 free, clean life of a man who wins joyously or goes 
 down with defiance in his throat, but this venomous 
 thing that Runnion had planted in him had seeped 
 and circulated through his being until every fibre was 
 penetrated with a bitter poison. Most of his troubles 
 could be grappled with bare hands, but here was one 
 against which force would not avail, hence he was un 
 happy. 
 
 The party reached Flambeau on the following day, 
 sufficiently ahead of Stark and his men for Lee to 
 make known his find to his friends, and by sunset the 
 place was depopulated, while a line of men could be 
 seen creeping slowly up the valleys. 
 
 <jale found Alluna in charge of the store, but no 
 opportunity of talking alone with her occurred until 
 late in the evening, after Necia had put the two little 
 ones to bed and had followed them wearily. Then he 
 told his squaw. She took the news better than he 
 expected, and showed no emotion such as other women 
 would have displayed, even when he told her of the 
 gunshot. Instead, she inquired: 
 
 "Why did you try it there before all those others?" 
 
 "Well, when I heard him talking, the wish to kill 
 him was more than I could stand, and it came on roe 
 all at once so that I was mad, I suppose I never 
 
 I2O 
 
THE KNIFE 
 
 did the like before." He half shuddered at tha 
 
 memory. 
 
 "I am sorry, " she said, 
 
 "Yes! So am I." 
 
 "Sorry that you failed, for you will never have as 
 good a chance again. What was the matter with your 
 aim? I have seen you hit a knot-hole, shooting from 
 the hip." 
 
 44 The man is charmed," declared Gale. "He s bul 
 let-proof." 
 
 "There are people," she agreed, "that a gunshot 
 will not injure. There was a man like that among my 
 people my father s enemy but he was not proof 
 against steel." 
 
 "Your old man knifed him, eh?" 
 
 She nodded. 
 
 "Ugh!" the man shivered. "I couldn t do that. 
 A gun is a straight man s friend, but a knife is the 
 weapon of traitors. I couldn t drive it home." 
 
 "Does this man suspect?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Then it is child s play. We will lay a trap." 
 
 "No, by God!" Gale interrupted her hotly. "I 
 tried that kind of work, and it won t do. I m no 
 murderer." 
 
 Those are only words," said the woman, quietly. 
 "To kill your enemy is the law." 
 
 The only light in the room came from the stove, a 
 great iron cylinder made from a coal -oil tank that lay 
 on a rectangular bed of sand held inside of four timbers, 
 with a door in one end to take whole lengths of cord- 
 wood, and which, being open, lit the space in front, 
 throwing the sides and corners of the place into blackel 
 mystery. 
 
 tat 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 When he made no answer the squaw slipped out 
 feito the shadows, leaving him staring into the flames, 
 to return a moment later bearing something in her 
 hands, which she placed in his. It was a knife in a 
 scabbard, old and worn. 
 
 "There is no magic that can turn bright steel," 
 she said, then squatted again in the dimness outside of 
 the firelight. Gale slid the case from the long blade 
 and held it in his palm, letting the firelight flicker on 
 it. He balanced it and tested the feel of its handle 
 against his palm, then tried the edge of it with his 
 thumb-nail, and found it honed like a razor. 
 
 "A child could kill with it," said Alluna. "Both 
 edges of the blade are so thin that a finger s weight 
 will bury it. One should hold the wrist firmly till it 
 pierces through the coat, that is all after that the 
 flesh takes it easily, like butter." 
 
 The glancing, glinting light flashing from the deadly 
 thing seemed to fascinate the man, for he held it a 
 long while silently. Then he spoke. 
 
 "For fifteen years I ve been a haunted man, with a 
 soul like a dark and dismal garret peopled with bats 
 and varmints that flap and flutter all the time. I used 
 to figger that if I killed this man I d kill that memory, 
 too, and those flitting, noiseless things would leave 
 me, but the thought of doing it made me afraid every 
 time, so I ran away, which never did no good you 
 can t outfoot a memory and I knew all the wnile 
 that we d meet sooner or later. Now that the day is 
 here at last, I m not ready for it. I d like to run away 
 again if there was any place to run to, but I ve followed 
 frontiers till I ve seen them disappear one by one; I ve 
 retreated till my back is against the Circle, and there 
 isn t any further land to go to. All the time I ve 
 
 122 
 
THE KNIFE 
 
 prayed and planned for this meeting, and yet Tm 
 undecided." 
 
 "Kill him! * said Alluna. 
 
 "God knows I ve always hated trouble, whereas it r s 
 what he lives on. I ve always wanted to die in bed, 
 while he s been a killer all his life and the smoke hangs 
 forever in his eyes. Only for an accident we might 
 have lived here all our days and never had a run-in, 
 which makes me wonder if I hadn t better let things 
 go on as they are." 
 
 "Kill himi It is the law/ 1 repeated Alluna, stub 
 bornly, but he put her aside with a slow shake of the 
 head and arose as if very tired. 
 
 "No! I don t think I can do it not in cold blood, 
 anyhow. Good -night! I m going to sleep on it," 
 He crossed to the door of his room, but as he went 
 he noted that he slipped the knife and scabbard in 
 side the bosom of his shirt 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE AWAKENING 
 
 EARLY the next morning Corporal Thomas came 
 into the store and found Necia tending it while 
 Gale was out. Ever since the day she had ques 
 tioned him about Burrell, this old man had taken 
 every occasion to talk with the girl, and when he 
 asked her this morning about the reports concerning 
 Lee s strike, she told him of her trip, and all that 
 had occurred. 
 
 \ "You see, I m a mine-owner now," she concluded. 
 *If it hadn t been a secret I would have told you 
 before I went so you could have been one of the 
 first." 
 
 "I m goin , anyhow," he said, "if the Lieutenant 
 will let me and if it s not too late." 
 
 Then she told him of the trail by Black Bear Creek 
 which would save him several hours. 
 
 "So that s how you and he made it?" he observed, 
 gazing at her shrewdly. " I supposed you went with 
 your father?" 
 
 "Oh, no! We beat him in," she said, and fell to 
 musing at the memory of those hours passed alone with 
 Meade, while her eyes shone and her cheeks glowed. 
 The Corporal saw the look, and it bore out a theory 
 he had formed during the past month, so, as he lin 
 gered, he set about a task that had lain in his mind 
 
 124 
 
THE AWAKENING 
 
 for some time. As a rule he was not a careful man in 
 his speech, and the delicacy of this manoeuvre taxed 
 his ingenuity to the utmost, for he loved the girl and 
 /eared to say too much. 
 
 "The Lieutenant is a smart young fellow," he be 
 gan; "and it was slick work jumpin all those claims. 
 It s just like him to befriend a girl like you I ve seen 
 him do it before " 
 
 "What!" exclaimed Necia, " befriend other girls?" 
 
 "Or things just like it. He s always doing favors 
 that get him into trouble." 
 
 "This couldn t cause him trouble, could it, outside 
 of Stark s and Runnion s grudge?" 
 
 "No, I reckon not," assented the Corporal, groping 
 blindly for some way of expressing what he wished 
 to say. "Except, of course, it might cause a lot of 
 talk at headquarters when it s known what he s done 
 for you and how he done it. I heard something abotxV 
 it down the street this morning, so I m afraid it will 
 get to St. Michael s, and then to his folks." He real 
 ized that he was not getting on well, for the task was 
 harder than he had imagined. 
 
 "I don t understand," said Necia. "He hasn t done 
 anything that any man wouldn t do under the same 
 circumstances." 
 
 "No man s got a right to make folks talk about a 
 nice girl," said the Corporal; "and tne feller that told 
 me about it said he reckoned you two was in love." 
 He hurried along now without offering her a chance 
 to speak. "Of course, that had to be caught up quick; 
 you re too fine a girl for that." 
 
 "Too fine?" Necia laughed. 
 
 "I mean you re too fine and good to let him put 
 you in wrong, just as he s too fine a fellow and got 
 
 "5 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 too much ahead of him to make what his people would 
 call a messy-alliance." 
 
 "Would his people object to to such a thing?" 
 questioned the girl. They were alone in the store, and 
 so they could talk freely. "I m just supposing, you 
 know." 
 
 "Oh, Lord ! Would they object ?" Corporal Thomas 
 laughed in a highly artificial manner that made Necia 
 bridle and draw herself up indignantly. 
 
 "Why should they, I d like to know? I m just as 
 pretty as other girls, and I m just as good. I know 
 just as much as they do, too, except about certain 
 things." 
 
 "You sure are all of that and more, too," the Cor 
 poral declared, heartily, "but if you knowed more 
 about things outside you d understand why it ain t 
 possible. I can t tell you without hurtin your feel- 
 in s, and I like you too much for that, Miss Necia. 
 Seems as if I m almost a daddy to you, and I ve only 
 knowed you for a few weeks " 
 
 "Go ahead and tell me; I won t be offended," in 
 sisted the girl. "You must. I don t know much about 
 such things, for I ve lived all my life with men like 
 father and Poleon, and the priests at the Mission, who 
 treat me just like one of themselves. But somebod> 
 will want to marry me some day, I suppose, so I ought 
 to know what is wrong with me." She flushed up 
 darkly under her brown cheeks. 
 
 The feeling came over Corporal Thomas that he had 
 hurt a helpless animal of some gentle kind; that he 
 was bungling his work, and that he was not of the 
 calibre to go into the social amenities. He began to 
 perspire uncomfortably, but went on, doggedly: 
 
 "I m goin to tell you a story, not because it applies 
 126 
 
THE AWAKENING 
 
 to Lieutenant Burrell, or because he s in love with you, 
 which of course he ain t any more than you be with 
 him" 
 
 "Of course," said the girl. 
 
 " but just to show you what I mean. It was a 
 good long spell ago, when I was at Fort Supply, 
 which was the frontier in them days like this is now. 
 We freighted in from Dodge City with bull teams, and 
 it was sure the fringe of the frontier; no women no 
 society nothin much except a fort, a lot of Injuns, 
 and a few officials with their wives and families. Now 
 them kind of places is all right for married men, but 
 they re tough sleddin for single ones, and after a while 
 a feller gets awful careless about himself; he seems to 
 go backward and run down mighty quick when he gets 
 away from civilization and his people and restaurants 
 and such tilings; he gets plumb reckless and forgetful 
 of what s what. Well, there was a captain with us, a 
 young feller that looked like the Lieutenant here, and 
 a good deal the same sort high-tempered and chiv- 
 a/rious and all that sort of thing; a West-Pointer, too, 
 good family and all that, and, what s more, a captain 
 at twenty-five. Now, our head freighter was married 
 to a squaw, or leastways he had been, but in them 
 days nobody thought much of it any more than they 
 do up here now, and particularly because he d had a 
 government contract for a long while, ran a big gang 
 of men and critters, and had made a lot of money. 
 Likewise he had a girl, who lived at the fort, and was 
 mighty nice to look at, and restful to the eye after a 
 year or so of cactus-trees and mesquite and buffalo- 
 grass. She was twice as nice and twice as pretty as 
 the women at the post, and as for money well, her 
 dad could have bought and sold all the officers in a 
 
 127 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 lump; but they and their wives looked down on her 
 and she didn t mix with them none whatever, To 
 make it short, the captain married her Seemed like 
 he got disregardful of everything, and the hunger to 
 have a woman just overpowered him. She d been 
 courted by every single man for four hundred miles 
 around. She was pretty and full of fire, and they 
 was both of an age to love hard, so Jefferson swore he d 
 make the other women take her; but soldierin is a heap 
 different from any other profession, and the army has 
 got its own traditions. The plan wouldn t work. By- 
 and-by the captain got tired of trying, and gave up 
 the attempt just devoted himself to her and then 
 we was transferred, all but him. We shifted to a bet 
 ter post, but Captain Jefferson was changed to another 
 company and had to stay at Supply, Gee! it was a 
 rotten hole! Influence had been used, and there he 
 stuck, while the new officers cut him out completely, 
 just like the others had done, so I was told, and it 
 drifted on that way for a long time, him forever makin* 
 an uphill fight to get his wife reco nized and always 
 quittin loser. His folks back East was scandalized 
 and froze him cold, callin him a squaw-man; and the 
 story went all through the army, till his brother officers 
 had to treat him cold in order to keep enough warmth 
 at home to live by, one thing leading to another till he 
 finally resented it openly After that he didn t last 
 long. They made it so unpleasant that he quit the 
 service crowded him out, that s all. He was a born 
 soldier, too, and didn t know nothing else nor care for 
 nothing else ; as fine a man as I ever served under, but 
 it soured him so that a rattlesnake couldn t have lived 
 with him. He tried to go into some kind of business 
 after he quit the army, but he wasn t cut out for it, and 
 
 128 
 
THE AWAKENING 
 
 never made good as long as I knew of him. The last 
 time I seen him was down on the border, and he had 
 sure grown cultus. He had quit the squaw, who was 
 livin* with a greaser in Tucson " 
 
 "And do you think I m like that woman?" said 
 Necia, in a queer, strained voice. She had listened 
 intently to the Corporal s story, but he had purposely 
 avoided her eyes and could not tell how she was 
 taking it. 
 
 "No! You re different, but the army is just the 
 same. I told you this to show you how it is out in 
 the States. It don t apply to you, of course " 
 
 "Of course!" agreed Necia again. "But what 
 would happen to Lieutenant Burrell if if well, if 
 he should do somethin^ 1 ike that? There are many 
 half-breed girte, I dare say, like this other girl, or 
 like me." 
 
 She did not flush now as before ; instead, her cheeks 
 were pale. 
 
 "It would go a heap worse with him than it did 
 with Captain Jefferson," said the Corporal, "for he s 
 got more ahead of him and he comes from better 
 stock. Why, his family is way up! They re all sol 
 diers, and they re strong at headquarters; they re 
 mighty proud, too, and they wouldn t stand for his 
 doing such a thing, even if he wanted to. But he 
 wouldn t try; he s got too much sense, and loves the 
 army too well for that. No, sir! He ll go a long ways, 
 that boy will, if he s let alone." 
 
 "I never thought of myself as an Indian," said 
 Necia, dully. "In this country it s a person s heart 
 that counts." 
 
 "That s how it ought to be," said the Corporal, 
 heartily; "and I m mighty sorry if I ve hurt you, lit- 
 
 129 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 tie girl. I tn a rough old rooster, and I never thought 
 but what you understood all this. Up here folks look 
 at it right, but outside it s mighty different; even yet 
 you don t half understand." 
 
 "I m glad I m what I am!" cried the girl. "There s 
 
 nothing in my blood to be ashamed of, and I m white 
 
 in here!" She struck her bosom fiercely. "If a man 
 
 Cloves me he ll take me no matter what it means to him. * 
 
 "Right for you," assented the other; "and if I was 
 younger myself, I d sure have a lot of nice things to 
 say to you. If I d a had somebody like you I d a* 
 let liquor alone, maybe, and amounted to something, 
 but all I m good for now is to give advice and draw 
 my pay." He slid down from the counter where he 
 had been sitting. "I m goin* to hunt up the Lieu 
 tenant and get him to let me off. Mebbe I can stake 
 a claim and sell it." 
 
 The moment he was gone the girl s composure van- 
 shed and she gave vent to her feelings. 
 
 "It s a lie! It s a lie!" she cried, aloud, and with 
 her fists she beat the boards in front of her. "He 
 loves me! I know he does!" Then she began to 
 tremble, and sobbed: "I m just like other girls." 
 
 She was still wrestling with herself when Gale re 
 turned, and he started at the look in her face as she 
 approached him. 
 
 "Why did you marry my mother?" she asked. 
 "Why? Why did you do it?" 
 
 He saw that she was in a rage, and answered, bluntly, 
 "I didn t." 
 
 She shrank at this. Then why didn t you ? Shame! 
 Shame! That makes me worse than I thought I was. 
 Oh, why did you ever turn squaw-man ? Why did you 
 make me a breed ?" 
 
 130 
 
THE AWAKENING 
 
 "Look heref What ails you?" said the trader. 
 
 "What ails me?" she mocked. "Why, I m neither 
 white nor red, I m not even a decent Indian. I m a 
 a " She shuddered. "You made me what I am. 
 You didn t do me the justice even to marry my mother." 
 
 "Somebody s been saying things about you," said 
 Gale, quietly, taking her by the shoulders. "Who is 
 it? Tell me who it is." 
 
 "No, no! It s not that! Nobody has said anything 
 to my face; they re afraid of you, I suppose, but God 
 knows what they think and say to my back." 
 
 "I ll " began the trader, but she interrupted him. 
 
 "I ve just begun to realize what I am. I m not re 
 spectable. I m not like other women, and never can 
 be. I m a squaw a squaw I" 
 
 "You re not!" he cried. 
 
 "It s a nice word, isn t it?" 
 
 "What s wrong with it?" 
 
 "No honest man can marry me. I m a vagabondl 
 The best I can get is my bed and board, like my 
 mother." 
 
 "By God! Who offered you that?" Gale s face 
 was whiter than hers now, but she disregarded him 
 and abandoned herself to the tempest of emotion that 
 swept her along. 
 
 " He can play with me, but nothing more, and when 
 ke is gone another one can have me, and then another 
 and another and another as long as I can cook and 
 wash and work. In time my man will beat me, just 
 like any other squaw, I suppose, but I can t marry; 
 I can t be a wife to a decent man." 
 
 She was in the clutch of an hysteria that made her 
 writhe beneath Gale s hand, choking and sobbing, until 
 he loosed her; then she leaned exhausted against a 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 post and wiped her eyes, for the tears were coming 
 now. 
 
 "That s all damned rot," he said. "There s fifty 
 good men in this camp would marry you to-morrow." 
 
 "Bah! I mean real men, not miners. I want to be 
 a lady. I don t want to pull a hand-sled and wear 
 moccasins all my life, and raise children for men with 
 whiskers. I want to be loved I want to be loved! 
 I want to marry a gentleman." 
 
 "Burrell!" said Gale. 
 
 "No!" she flared up. "Not him nor anybody in 
 particular, but somebody like him, some man with 
 clean finger-nails." 
 
 He found nothing humorous or grotesque in her 
 measure of a gentleman, for he realized that she was 
 strung to a pitch of unreason and unnatural excite 
 ment, and that she was in terrible earnest. 
 
 "Daughter," he said, "I m mighty sorry this knowl 
 edge has come to you, and I see it s my fault, but things 
 are different now to what they were when I met 
 Alluna. It wasn t the style to marry squaws where 
 we came from, and neither of us ever thought about it 
 much. We were happy with each other, and we ve 
 been man and wife to each other just as truly as if a 
 priest had mumbled over us." 
 
 "But why didn t you marry her when I came? 
 Surely you must have known what it would mean to 
 me. It was bad enough without that." 
 
 The old man hesitated. "I ll own I was wrong," 
 he said, finally, staring out into the sunshine with an 
 odd expression. "It was thoughtless and wrong, dead 
 wrong; but I ve loved you better than any daughter 
 was ever loved in this wide world, and I ve worked and 
 starved and froze and saved, and so has Alluna, so 
 
 132 
 
THE AWAKENING 
 
 that you might have something to live on when I m 
 gone, and be different to us. It won t be long now, 
 I guess. I ve given you the best schooling of any 
 girl on the river, and I d have sent you out to a 
 convent in the States, but I couldn t let you go so far 
 awa y God ! I loved you too much for that I 
 couldn t do it, girl. I ve tried, but you re all I ve 
 got, and I m a selfish man, I reckon." 
 
 "No, no! You re not," his daughter cried, impul 
 sively. "You re everything that s good and dear, but 
 you ve lived a different life from other men and you 
 see things differently. It was mean of me to talk as 
 I did." She put her arms around his neck and hugged 
 him. "But I m very unhappy, dad." 
 
 "Don t you aim to tell what started this?" he said, 
 gently, caressing her with his great, hard hand as 
 softly as a mother. But she shook her head, and he 
 continued, "I ll take the first boat down to the Mis 
 sion and marry your ma, if you want me to." 
 
 "That wouldn t do any good," said she. "We d 
 better leave things as they are." Then she drew away 
 and smiled at him bravely from the door. " I m a very 
 bad to act this way. S cuses?" 
 
 He nodded and she went out, but he gazed after 
 her for a long minute, then sighed. 
 
 "Poor little girl!" 
 
 Necia was in a restless mood, and, remembering that 
 Alluna and the children had gone berrying on the 
 slopes behind the Indian village, she turned her way 
 thither. All at once a fear of seeing Meade Bur- 
 rell came upon her. She wanted to think this out, 
 to find where she stood, before he had word with her. 
 She had been led to observe herself from a strange 
 angle, and must verify her vision, as it were. As 
 
 133 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 yet she could not fully understand. What if he bad 
 changed, now that he was alone, and had had time 
 to think? It would kill her if she saw any difference 
 in him, and she knew she would be able to read it ia 
 his eyes. 
 
 As she went through the main street of the camp she 
 saw Stark occupied near the water-front, where he had 
 bought a building lot. He spoke to her as she was 
 about to pass. 
 
 "Good-morning, Miss. Are you rested from your 
 trip ?" 
 
 She answered that she was, and would have con 
 tinued on her way, but he stopped her. 
 
 "I don t want you to think that mining matter was 
 my doing/ he said. "I ve got nothing against you. 
 Your old man hasn t wasted any affection on me, and 
 I can get along without him, all right, but I don t 
 make trouble for girls if I can help it." 
 
 The girl believed that he meant what he said; his 
 words rang true, and he spoke seriously. Moreover, 
 Stark was known already in the camp as a man who 
 did not go out of his way to make friends or to render 
 an accounting of his deeds, so it was natural that when 
 he made her a show of kindness Necia should treat him 
 with less coldness than might have been expected. The 
 man had exercised an occult influence upon her from 
 the time she first saw him at Lee s cabin, but it was 
 too vague for definite feeling, and she had been too 
 strongly swayed by Poleon and her father in their at 
 titude towards him to be conscious of it. Finding him 
 now, however, in a gentle humor, she was drawn to 
 him unwittingly, and felt an overweening desire to talk 
 with him, even at the hazard of offending her own 
 people. The encounter fitted in with her rebellious 
 
 134 
 
THE AWAKENING 
 
 mood, for there were things she wished to know, things 
 she must find out from some one who knew the world 
 and would not be afraid to answer her questions 
 candidly. 
 
 "I m going to build a big dance -hall and saioon 
 here," said Stark, showing her the stakes that he had 
 driven. * As soon as the rush to the creek is over I ll 
 hire a gang of men to get out a lot of house logs. I ll 
 finish it in a week and be open for the stampede.* 
 
 "Do you think this will be a big town?" she asked. 
 
 "Nobody can tell, but I ll take a chance. If it 
 proves to be a false alarm I ll move on I ve done it 
 before." 
 
 "You ve been in a great many camps, I suppose." 
 
 He said that he had, that for twenty years he had 
 been on the frontier, and knew it from West Texas to 
 tke Circle. 
 
 "And are they all alike?" 
 
 "Very much. The land lies different but the people 
 ar* the same." 
 
 "I ve never known anything except this." She 
 swept the points of the compass with her arm. "And 
 there is so much beyond that I want to know about 
 oh, I feel so ignorant! There is something now that 
 perhaps you could tell me, you have travelled so much." 
 
 "Let s have it," said he, smiling at her seriousness. 
 
 She hesitated, at a loss for words, finally blvrting 
 out what was in her mind. 
 
 "My father is a squaw-man, Mr. Stark, and I ve 
 been raised to think that such things are customary." 
 
 "They are, in all new countries," he assured her. 
 
 "But how are they regarded when civilization comes 
 along?" 
 
 "Well, they aren t regarded, as a ruJe. Squaw-men 
 135 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 are pretty shiftless, and people don t pay much atten* 
 tion to them. I guess if they weren t they wouldn t be 
 squaw-men." 
 
 "My father isn t shiftless," she challenged, at which 
 he remained silent, refusing to go on record. "Isn t 
 a half-breed just as good as a white?" 
 
 "Look here," said he. What are you driving at ?" 
 
 "I m a blood, " she declared, recklessly, "and I 
 want to know what people think of me. The men 
 around here have never made me feel conscious of it, 
 but" 
 
 "You re afraid of these new people who are coming, 
 *h? Well, don t worry about that, Miss. It wouldn t 
 make any difference to me or to any of your friends 
 whether you were red, white, black, or yellow." 
 
 "But it would make a difference with some people?" 
 insisted the girl. 
 
 "Oh, I reckon it would with Eastern people, They 
 look at things kind of funny, but we re not in the 
 East." 
 
 "That s what I wanted to know. Nice people back 
 there wouldn t tolerate a girl like me for a moment, 
 would they ? They wouldn t consider me good enough 
 to associate with them?" 
 
 He shiugged his shoulders. "I guess you d have a 
 hard time breaking in among the bon-tonners. But 
 what s the use of thinking about it. This is your 
 country and these are your people." 
 
 A morbid desire was upon her to track down this 
 intangible racial distinction, but she saw Runnion, 
 whom she could not bear, coming towards them, so 
 thanked Stark hurriedly and went on her way. 
 
 "Been making friends with that squaw, eh?" re 
 marked Runnion, casually. 
 
 136 
 
THE AWAKENING 
 
 "Yes," replied Stark. "She s a nice little girl, and 
 I like her. I told her I didn t have any part in that 
 miners meeting affair." 
 
 "Huh! What s the matter with you? It was all 
 your doing." 
 
 "I know it was, but I didn t aim it at her. I want 
 ed that ground next to Lee s, and I wanted to throw 
 a jolt into Old Man Gale. I couldn t let the girl stand 
 in my way; but now that it s over, I m willing to be 
 friends with her." 
 
 "Me, too," said Runnion, looking after Necia as her 
 figure diminished up the street. "By Heaven! She s 
 as graceful as a fawn; she s white, too. Nobody would 
 ever know she was a breed." 
 
 "She s a good girl," said Stark, musingly, in a gentle 
 tone that Runnion had never heard before. 
 
 "Getting kind of mushy, ain t you? I thought you 
 had passed that stage, old man." 
 
 "No, I don t like her in that way." 
 
 "Well, I do, and I m dead sore on that soldier." 
 
 "She s not your kind," said Stark. "A bad man 
 can t hold a good woman; he can win one easy enough, 
 but he can t keep her. I know!" 
 
 "Nobody but a fool would want to keep one," Run 
 nion replied, "specially a squaw." 
 
 "She s just woke up to the fact that she is a squaw 
 and isn t as good as white. She s worried." 
 
 "I ll lay you a little eight to five that Burrell has 
 .thrown her down," chuckled Runnion. 
 
 "I never thought of that. You may be right." 
 
 "If it s true I ll shuffle up a hand for that soldier." 
 
 "If I were you I wouldn t deal it to him," said the 
 gambler, dryly. "He may not cut to your break." 
 
 Meanwhile, Necia had passed on out of the town and 
 137 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 the Indian village at the mouth of the creek, 
 until high up on the slopes she saw Alluna and the 
 little ones. She climbed up to them and seated her 
 self where she could look far out over the westward 
 valley, with the great stream flowing half a mile be 
 neath her. She stayed there all the morning, and al 
 though the day was bright and the bushes bending 
 with their burden of blue, she picked no berries, but 
 fought resolutely through a dozen varying moods that 
 mirrored themselves in her delicate face. It was her 
 first soul struggle, but in time the buoyancy of youth 
 and the almighty optimism of early love prevailed; 
 she comforted herself with the fond illusion that this 
 man was different from all others, that his regard was 
 equal to her own, and that his love would rise above 
 such accidental things as blood or breed or birth. And 
 so she was in a happier frame of mind when the little 
 company made their descent at mid-day. 
 
 As they approached the town they heard the fa 
 miliar cry of "Steam-bo-o-o-at," and by the time they 
 had reached home the little camp was noisy with the 
 plaint of wolf-dogs. There were few men to join in 
 the welcome to-day, every able-bodied inhabitant 
 having disappeared into the hills, but the animals came 
 trooping lazily to the bank, and sat down on their 
 haunches watching the approaching steamer, in their 
 soft eyes the sadness of a canine race of slaves. Be 
 hind them limped a sick man or two, a soldier from the 
 barracks, and in the rear a fellow who had drifted in 
 the week before with scurvy. It was a pitiful review 
 that lined up to greet the tide of tenderfeet crowding 
 towards their El Dorado, and unusual also, for as yet 
 the sight of new faces was strange in the North. 
 
 The deserted aspect of the town puzzled the cap- 
 
 138 
 
THE AWAKENING 
 
 tain of the steamer, and upon Umding he maue his 
 way at once to John Gale s store, wher^ he learned 
 from the trader of the strike and of the stampede that 
 had resulted. Before the recital was finished a man 
 approached and spoke excitedly. 
 
 "Captain, my ticket reads to Bawson, but I m get 
 ting off here. Won t you have my outfit put ashore ?" 
 He was followed by a group of fellow-passengers who 
 made a similar request. 
 
 "This place is good enough for ms," one of them said. 
 
 "Me, too," another volunteered. "This strike is new, 
 and we ve hit her just in time." 
 
 Outside a dozen men had crowded "No Creek" Lee 
 against the wall of the store and were clamoring to 
 hear about his find. Before the tardy ones had cleared 
 the gang-plank the news had flashed from shore to 
 ship, and a swarm came up the bank and into the 
 post, firing questions and answers at each other eagerly, 
 elbowing and fighting for a place within ear-shot of the 
 trader or the ragged man outside. 
 
 The frenzy of a gold stampede is like the rush from 
 a burning building, and equally easy to arouse. No 
 statement is too wild to lack believers, no rumor too 
 exaggerated to find takers. Within an hour the crew 
 of the steamer was busy unloading countless tons of 
 merchandise and baggage billed to Dawson, and tents 
 began to show their snowy whiteness here and there. 
 As a man saw his outfit appear he would pounce upon 
 it, a bundle at a time, and pile it by itself, which re 
 sulted in endless disputes and much confusion; but 
 a spirit of youth and expectancy permeated all and 
 prevented more than angry words. Every hour the 
 heaps of baggage grew larger and the tents moiB 
 numerous. 
 
 139 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 Stark wasted no time. With money in his hands 
 he secured p dozen men who were willing to work for 
 hire, for there are always those who prefer the surety 
 of ten coined dollars to the hope of a hundred. He 
 swooped down with these helpers on his pile of merchan 
 dise that had lain beneath tarpaulins on the river-bank 
 since the day he and Runnion landed, and by mid-after^ 
 noon a great tent had been stretched over a frame 
 work of peeled poles built on the lot where he and 
 Necia had stood earlier in the day. Before dark his 
 saloon was running, To be sure, there was no floor, 
 and his polished fixtures looked strangely new and 
 incongruous, but the town at large had assumed a 
 similar au* of incompleteness and crude immaturity, 
 and little welder, for it had grown threefold in half 
 a day. Stark swiftly unpacked his gambling imple 
 ments, keen to sce^t every advantage, and out of the 
 handful of pale-faced jackals who follow at the heels of 
 a healthy herd, he hired men to run them and to deal. 
 By night Flambeau was a mining-camp. 
 
 Late in the evening the boat swung out into the 
 river, and disclosed a strange scene CA transformation 
 to the puzzled captain of a few hours ago. The river- 
 bank was lined with canvas shelters, illumined dully 
 by the tent-lights within till they looked like a nest 
 of glowworms in deep grass. A long, hoarse blast of 
 good wishes rose from the steamer, then she sighed her 
 way around the point above bearing forth the message 
 that a new camp had been born. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 HEADS BURRELL FINDS A PATH IN THE MOONLIGHT 
 
 CREEK " LEE had C0me int hi 8 OWn at 
 
 last, and was a hero, for the story of his long 
 ill-luck was common gossip now, and men praised him 
 for his courage. He had never been praised for any 
 thing before and was uncertain just how to take it. 
 
 "Say, are these people kiddin me?" he inquired, 
 confidentially, of Poleon. 
 
 "Wy? Wat you mean?" 
 
 "Well, there s a feller makin a speech about me 
 down by the landing." 
 
 "Wat he say?" 
 
 "It ain t iiothin to fight over. He says I m another 
 Dan l Boom, leadin the march of empire westward." 
 
 "Dat s nice, for sure." 
 
 "Certainly sounds good, but is it on the level?" 
 
 "Wai, I guess so," admitted Poleon. 
 
 The prospector swelled with indignation. "Then, 
 why in hell didn t you fellers tell me long ago?" 
 
 The scanty ounce or two of gold from his claim lay 
 in the scales at the post, where every new-comer might 
 examine it, and, realizing that he was a never-ending 
 source of information, they fawned on him for his 
 tips, bribing him with newspapers, worth a dollar 
 each, or with cigars, which he wrapped up carefully 
 and placed in his mackinaw till every pocket of the 
 
 141 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 rusty garment bulged so that he could not sit 
 losing them. They dwelt upon his lightest word, and 
 stood him up beside the bar where they filled him with 
 proofs of friendliness until he shed tears from his one 
 good eye. 
 
 He had formed a habit of parsimony born of his? 
 years of poverty, and was so widely known as a tight 
 man by the hundreds who had lent to him that his 
 creditors never at any time hoped for a reckoning. 
 And he never offered one; on the contrary, he had 
 invariably flown into a rage when dunned, and exhib 
 ited such resentment as to discourage the practice. 
 Now, however, the surly humor of the man began to 
 mellow, and in gradual stages he unloosened, the proc 
 ess being attended by a disproportionate growth of 
 the trader s cash receipts. Cautiously, at first he let 
 out his wit, which was logy from long disuse, and as 
 heavy on its feet as the Jumping Frog of Calaveras, 
 but when they laughed at its labored leaps and sallies 
 his confidence grew. With the regularity of a clock 
 he planted cigars and ordered "a little more hard 
 stuff," while his roving eye rejoiced in lachrymose 
 profusion, its over-burden losing itself in the tangle of 
 his careless beard. By-and-by he wandered through 
 the town, trailed by a troop of tenderfeet, till the 
 women marked him, whereupon he fled back to the 
 post and hugged the bar, for he was a bashful man. 
 ,When Stark s new place opened it offered him another 
 retreat of which he availed himself for some time. But 
 late in the evening he reappeared at Old Man Gale s 
 store, walking a bit unsteadily, and as he mounted 
 the flight of logs to the door he stepped once too often. 
 
 "What s become of that fourth step?" he demanded, 
 sharply, of Polecn. 
 
 14* 
 
MEADE BURRELL FINDS A PATH 
 
 fc< Dere she is," said the Frenchman. 
 
 "I m damned if it is. You moved it since I was here.** 
 
 "I ll have im put back," laughed the other. 
 
 "Say! It s a grand thing to be rich, ain t it?" 
 
 "I don know, I ain* never try it." 
 
 "Well, it is; and now that I ve arrived, I m goin* 
 to change my ways complete. No more extravagance 
 in mine I ll never lend another cent." 
 
 "Wat s den,?" ejaculated Doret, in amazement. 
 
 "No more hard-luck stories and hurry-ups for 
 mine. I m the stony-hearted jailer, I am, from now, 
 henceforth, world thout end, amen! No busted miners 
 need apply. I ve been a good thing, but to-night I 
 turn on the time-lock." 
 
 "Ba gosh! You re fonny feller," laughed Poleon, 
 who had lent the one-eyed man much money in the 
 past and, like others, regarded him not merely as a 
 bad risk but as a total loss. "Mebbe you t ink you ve 
 been a spen t rif all dese year." 
 
 "I ve certainly blowed a lot of money on my friends," 
 Lee acknowledged, "and they re welcome to what 
 they ve got so far, but I m goin to chop all them prodigal 
 habits and put on the tin vest. I ll run the solderin - 
 rron up my seams so they can t get to me without a 
 can-opener. I m air-tight for life, I am." He fumbled 
 in his pockets and unwrapped a gift cigar, then felt for 
 a match. Poleon tossed one on the bar, and he reached 
 for it twice, missing it each time. 
 
 "I guess dose new frien of yours is mak you purty 
 full, M sieu* Tin Vest." 
 
 "Nothin* of the sort. I ve got a bad dose of in 
 digestion." 
 
 "Dat s orrible disease! Dere s plaintee riche maa 
 die on dat seecknesae. You better lie down." 
 
 M3 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 Doret took the hero of the day by the arm and led 
 him to the rear of the store, where he bedded him on 
 a pile of flour sacks, but he had hardly returned to 
 the bar when Lee came veering out of the dimness, 
 making for the light like a ship tacking towards a 
 I beacon. 
 
 "What kind of flour is that?" he spluttered. 
 
 "Dat s just plain w eat flour." 
 
 "Not on your life," said the miner, With the firm 
 ness of a great conviction. "It s full of yeast pow 
 ders. Why, it s r arin and risin like a buckin hoss. 
 I m plumb sea-sick." He laid a zigzag course for the 
 door. 
 
 "Were you goin ?" asked Poleon. 
 
 "I m goin to get somethin for this stomach trouble. 
 It s fierce." He descended into the darkness boldly, 
 and stepped off with confidence this time too soon. 
 Poleon heard him floundering about, his indignant 
 voice raised irascibly, albeit with a note of triumph. 
 
 "Wha d I tell you? You put it back while I was 
 ashleep." Then whistling blithely, if somewhat out 
 of tune, he steered for the new saloon to get something 
 for his "stomach trouble." 
 
 At Stark s he found a large crowd of the new men 
 who welcomed him heartily, plying him with countless 
 questions, and harking to his maudlin tales of this new 
 country which to him was old. He had followed the 
 muddy river from Crater Lake to the Delta, searching 
 the bars and creek-beds in a tireless quest, till he knew 
 each stream and tributary, for he had been one of the 
 hardy band that used to venture forth from Juneau 
 on the spring snows, disappearing into the uncharted 
 valley of the Yukon, to return when the river clogged 
 and grew sluggish, and, like Gale, he had lived these 
 
 144 
 
MEADE BURRELL FINDS A PATH 
 
 many years ahead of the law where each man was his 
 own court of appeals and where crime was unknown. 
 He had helped to build camps like Forty Mile and 
 Circle; he knew by heart the by-laws and rules that 
 governed every town and mining district in the coun 
 try; he knew every man and child by name, but, while 
 many of his friends had prospered, unceasing ill-luck 
 had dogged him. Yet he had held to honesty and 
 hard work, measuring a man by his ability to swing 
 an axe or a shovel, and, despite his impecuniosity, re 
 garding theft as the one crime deserving capital pun 
 ishment. 
 
 "Oh, there s lots of countries worse n this," he de 
 clared. "We may not be very han some to the naked 
 eye, and we may not wear our handk chiefs in our 
 shirt cuffs, but there ain t no widders and orphans 
 doin our washin , and a man can walk away from his 
 house, stay a month, and find it there when he comes 
 back." 
 
 "Those days are past," said Stark, who had joined 
 in the discussion. "There s too many new people 
 coming in for all of them to be honest." 
 
 "They d better be," said Lee, aggressively. "We 
 ain t got no room for stealers. Why, I had a hand in 
 makin the by-laws of this camp myself, !OP^ with 
 John Gale, and they stip lates that any person caught 
 robbin a cache is to be publicly whipped in front of 
 the tradin -post, then, if it s winter time, he s to be 
 turned loose on the ice barefooted, or, if it s summer, 
 he s to be set adrift on a log with his shirt off." 
 
 "Either one would mean certain death," said a 
 stranger. "Frost in winter, mosquitoes in summer!" 
 
 "That s all right," another bystander declared. "A 
 man s life depends on his grub up here, and I d be in 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 favor of enforcing that punishment to the letter if we 
 caught any one thieving." 
 
 "All the same, I take no chances," said Stark. 
 "There s too many strangers here. Just to show you 
 how I stand, I ve put Runnion on guard over my pile 
 .of stuff, and I ll be glad when it s under cover. It isn t 
 the severity of punishment that keeps a man from going 
 wrong, it s the certainty of it." 
 
 "Well, he d sure get it, and get it proper in this 
 camp," declared Lee; and at that moment, as if his 
 words had been a challenge, the flaps of the great tent 
 were thrust aside, and Runnion half led, half threw 
 a man into the open space before the bar. 
 
 "Let s have a look at you," he panted. "Well, if 
 it ain t a nigger!" 
 
 "What s up?" cried the men, crowding about the 
 prisoner, who crouched, terror-stricken, in the trampled 
 mud and moss, while those playing roulette and "bank" 
 left the tables, followed by the dealers. 
 
 "He s a thief," said Runnion, mopping the sweat 
 from his brow. "I caught him after your grub pile. 
 Stark." 
 
 "In my cache?" 
 
 "Yes He dropped a crate of hams when I came 
 up on aim, and tried to run, but I dropped him, 1 He 
 held his Colt in his right hand, and a trickle of blood 
 from the negro s head showed how he had been felled. 
 
 "Why didn t you shoot?" growled Stark, angrily, 
 at which the negro half arose and broke into excited 
 denials of his guilt. Runnion kicked him savagely, and 
 cursed him, while the crowd murmured approval. 
 
 "Le* me see him," said Lee, elbowing his way 
 through the others. Fixing his one eye upon the 
 wretch, he spoke impressively. 
 
 146 
 
MEADE BURRELL FINDS A PATH 
 
 "You re the first downright thief I ever seen. Was 
 you hungry?" 
 
 "No, he s got plenty," answered one of the tender- 
 feet, who had evidently arrived on the boat with the 
 darky. "He s got a bigger outfit than I have." 
 
 The prisoner dr^w himself up against the bar, facing 
 his enemies sullenly. 
 
 "Then I reckon it s a divine manifestation," said 
 "No Creek" Lee, tearfully. "This black party is goin 
 to furnish an example as will elevate the moral tone 
 of our community for a year." 
 
 "Let me take him outside," cried Stark, reaching 
 under the bar for a weapon. His eyes were cruel, 
 and he had the angry pallor of a dangerous man. "I ll 
 save you a lot of trouble." 
 
 "Why not do it legal?" expostulated Lee, "It s 
 just as certain." 
 
 "Yes! Lee is right," echoed the crowd, bent on a 
 Roman holiday. 
 
 "What y all aim to do?" whined the thief. 
 
 "We re goin to try you," announced the one-eyed 
 miner, "and if you re found guilty, as you certainly 
 are goin to be, you ll be flogged. After which perdica- 
 ment you ll have a nice ride down -stream on a saw- 
 log without your laundry." 
 
 "But the mosquitoes " 
 
 "Too bad you didn t think of them before. Let f 
 get at this, boys, and have it over with." 
 
 In far countries, where men s lives depend upon the 
 safety of their food supply, a side of bacon may mean 
 more than a bag of gold; therefore, protection is a 
 strenuous necessity. And though any one of those 
 present would have gladly fed the negro had he been 
 needy, each of them likewise knew that unless an 
 
 147 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 example were made of him no tent or cabin would 
 be safe. The North being a gameless, forbidding coun 
 try, has ever been cruel to thieves, and now it was 
 heedless of the black man s growing terror as it set 
 about to try him. A miners meeting was called on 
 the spot, and a messenger sent hurrying to the post 
 for the book in which was recorded the laws of the men 
 who had made the camp. The crowd was determined 
 that this should be done legally and as prescribed by 
 ancient custom up and down the river. So, to make it 
 self doubly sure, it gave Runnion s evidence a hearing; 
 then, taking lanterns, went down to the big tarpaulin- 
 covered pile beside the river, where it found the crate 
 of hams and the negro s tracks. There was no defence 
 for the culprit and he offered none, being too scared 
 by now to do more than plead. The proceedings were 
 simple and quiet and grim, and were wellnigh over when 
 Lieutenant Burrell walked into the tent saloon. He 
 had been in his quarters all day, righting a fight with 
 himself, and in the late evening, rebelling against his 
 cramped conditions and the war with his conscience, 
 he had sallied out, and, drawn by the crowd in Stark s 
 place, had entered. 
 
 A man replied to his whispered question, giving 
 him the story, for the meeting was under Lee s domina 
 tion, and the miners maintained an orderly and busi 
 ness-like procedure. The chairman s indigestion had 
 vanished with his sudden assumption of responsibility, 
 and he showed no trace of drink in his bearing. Be 
 neath a lamp one was binding four -foot lengths of 
 cotton tent-rope to a broomstick for a knout, while 
 others, whom Lee had appointed, were drawing lots to 
 see upon whom would devolve the unpleasant duty of 
 flogging the captive. The matter-of-fact, relentless ex- 
 
 148 
 
MEADt BURRELL FINDS A PATH 
 
 pedition of the affair shocked Burrell inexpressibly, 
 and seeing Poleon and Gale near by, he edged towards 
 them, thinking that they surely could not be in sym 
 pathy with this barbarous procedure. 
 
 "You don t understand, Lieutenant," said Gale, in 
 a low voice. "This nigger is a thief!" 
 
 "You can t kill a man for stealing a few hams." 
 
 "It ain t so much what he stole; it s the idea, and 
 it s the custom of the country." 
 
 "Whipping is enough, without the other." 
 
 "Dis stealin she s bad biznesse," declared Poleon. 
 "Mebbe dose ham is save some poor feller s life." 
 
 "It s mob law," said the Lieutenant, indignantly, 
 "and I won t stand for it." 
 
 Gale turned a look of curiosity upon the officer. 
 " How are you going to help yourself ?" said he; but the 
 young man did not wait to reply. Quickly he elbowed 
 his way towards the centre of the scene with that air of 
 authority and determination before which a crowd 
 melts and men stand aside. Gale whispered to his 
 companion: 
 
 "Keep your eye open, lad. There s going to be 
 trouble." They stood on tiptoe, and watched eagerly. 
 
 "Gentlemen," announced Burrell, standing near the 
 ashen -gray wretch, and lacing the tentful of men, 
 "this man is a thief, but you can t kill him!" 
 
 Stark leaned across the bar, his eyes blazing, and 
 touched the Lieutenant on the shoulder. 
 
 "Do you mean to take a hand in all of my affairs?" 
 
 "This isn t your affair; it s mine," said the officer. 
 "This is what I was sent here for, and it s my particu 
 lar business. You seem to have overlooked that in> 
 portant fact." 
 
 "He stole my stuff, and he ll take his medicine." 
 149 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "I say he won t!" 
 
 For the second time in their brief acquaintance these 
 two men looked fair into each other s eyes. Few men 
 had dared to look at Stark thus and live ; for when a 
 man has once shed the blood of his fellow, a mania 
 obsesses him, a disease obtains that is incurable. There 
 is an excitation of every sense when a hunter stands 
 up before big game; it causes a thrill and flutter of 
 undiscovered nerves, which nothing else can conjure 
 up, and which once lived leaves an incessant hunger. 
 But the biggest game of all is man, and the fiercest 
 sensation is hate. Stark had been a killer, and his 
 brain had been seared with the flame till the scar was 
 ineradicable. He had lived those lurid seconds when 
 a man gambles his life against his enemy s, and, hav 
 ing felt the great sensation, it could never die ; yet with 
 it all he was a cautious man, given more to brooding 
 on his injuries and building up a quarrel than to reck 
 less paroxysms of passion, and experience had taught 
 him the value of a well-handled temper as well as the 
 wisdom of knowing when to use it and put it in action. 
 He knew intuitively that his hour with Burrell had not 
 yet come. 
 
 The two men battled with their eyes for an opening. 
 Lee and the others mastered their surprise at the inter 
 ruption, and then began to babble until Burrell turned 
 from the gambler and threw up his arm for silence. 
 
 "There s no use arguing," he told the mob. "You 
 can t do it I ll hold him till the next boat comes, 
 then I ll send him down-river to St. Michael s." 
 
 He laid his hand upon the negro and made for the 
 door, with face set and eyes watchful and alert, know 
 ing that a hair s weight might shift the balance and 
 cause these men to rive him like wolves. 
 
 55 
 
MEADE BURRELL FINDS A PATH 
 
 Lee s indignation at this miscarriage of justice had 
 him so by the throat as to strangle expostulation for 
 a moment, till he saw the soldier actually bearing off 
 his quarry. Then he broke into a flood of invective. 
 
 41 Stop that!" he bellowed. "To hell with your law 
 we re goin* accordin* to our own." An ominous echo 
 arose, and in the midst of it the miner, in his blind fury- 
 forgetting his exalted position, took a step too near 
 the edge of the bar, and fell off into the body of the 
 meeting. With him fell the dignity of the assemblage. 
 Some one laughed; another took it up; the nervous 
 tension broke, and a man cried: 
 
 4 The soldier is right. You can t blame a dinge for 
 stealing," and another: " Sure! Hogs and chickens are 
 legitimate prey." 
 
 Lee was helped back to his stand, and called for 
 order; but the crowd poked fun at him, and began 
 moving about restlessly till some one shouted a motion 
 to adjourn, and there arose a chorus of seconders. A/ 
 few dissenting voices opposed them, but in the mean-\ 
 time Burrell was gone, and with him the cause of the 
 tumult; so the meeting broke up of its own weight a 
 moment later. 
 
 As Poleon and Gale walked home, the Frenchman 
 said, "Dat was nervy t ing to do." 
 
 The trader made no answer, and the other continued, 
 "Stark is goin for kill im, sure." 
 
 "It s a cinch," agreed Gale, "unless somebody gets 
 Stark first." 
 
 When they were come to his door the trader paused, 
 and, looking back over the glowing tents and up at 
 the star-sprinkled heavens, remarked, as if concluding 
 some train of thought, "If that boy has got the nerve 
 to take a nigger thief out of a miners meeting and 
 ii 1*1 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 hold him against this whole town, he wouldn t hesi 
 tate much at taking a white man, would he?" 
 
 "Wai," hesitated the other, "mebbe dat would depen* 
 on de crime." 
 
 "Suppose it was murder?" 
 
 "Ha! We ain* got no men lak* dat in Flambeau.** 
 
 They said good-night, and the old man entered his 
 house to find Alluna waiting for him, a look of worry 
 on her stolid face. 
 
 "What s wrong?" he inquired. 
 
 "All night Necia has been weeping." 
 
 "Is she sick?" He started for the girl s door, but 
 Alluna stopped him. 
 
 "No! It is not that kind of weeping; this comes 
 from the heart. It is there she is sick. I went to her, 
 but she grew angry, and said I had a black skin and 
 could not understand; then she went out-doors and 
 has not returned." 
 
 Gale sat down dejectedly. "Yes, she s sick in her heart, 
 all right, and so am I, Alluna. When did she go out?" 
 
 "An hour ago." 
 
 "Where is she?" 
 
 "Out by the river-bank I followed her in the shad 
 ows. It is best for her to stay there till she is calm." 
 
 "I know what ails her," said the father. "She s 
 found that she s not like other girls. She s found that 
 a white soul doesn t count with white people; they 
 never go below the skin." Then he told her of the 
 scene that morning in the store, adding that he be 
 lieved she loved Lieutenant Burrell. 
 
 "Did she say so?" 
 
 "No, she denied it, now that she knows she hasn t 
 got his kind of blood in her." 
 
 "Blood makes no difference," said the woman, stub- 
 152 
 
MEADE BURRELL FINDS A PATH 
 
 bornly. "If he loves her, he will take her; if he does 
 not that is all." 
 
 Gale looked up at her, and was about to explain, 
 when the utter impossibility of her comprehending 
 him made him desist, and he fell moody again. At last 
 he said, "I ve got to tell her, Alluna." 
 
 "No, no!" cried the woman, aghast. "Don t tell 
 her the truth! Nothing could be worse than that!" 
 
 But he continued, deliberately: "Love is the biggest 
 thing in the world; it s the only thing worth while, an^ 
 she has got to have a fair show at it. This has been 
 on my mind for weeks, and I ve put it away, hoping \ 
 wouldn t have to do it; but to-day I came face to fac^ 
 with it again, and it s up to me. She ll have to know 
 some time, so the sooner the better/ 
 
 "She would not believe you," said the woman, at 
 which he started. 
 
 "I never thought of that, I wonder if she would 
 doubt! I couldn t stand that." 
 
 " There is no proof, and it would mean your life. 
 A good man s life is a great price to pay for the happi 
 ness of one girl " 
 
 "I gave it once before," said Gale, a trifle bitterly, 
 "and now that the game is started I ve got to play 
 the string out; but I wonder if she would doubt " 
 He paused for a long moment. " Well, I ll have to risk 
 it. However, I ve got a lot of things to do first yot 
 and the youngsters must be taken care of." 
 
 "And Stark?" said Alluna. 
 
 "Yes, and Stark." 
 
 Burrell took his prisoner to the barracks, where he 
 placed him under guard, giving instructions to hold 
 him at any cost, not knowing what wild and reckless 
 
 153 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 humor the new citizens of Flambeau might develop 
 during the night, for it is men who have always lived 
 with the halter of the law tight upon their necks who 
 run wildest when it is removed. Men grown old on 
 the frontier adhere more closely to a rigid code than 
 do tenderfeet who feel for the first time the liberty 
 and license of utter unrestraint, and it was these stran 
 gers whom the soldier feared rather than men like 
 Gale and "No Creek" Lee, who would recognize the 
 mercy of his intervention and let the matter drop. 
 
 After he had taken every precaution he went out 
 into the night again, and fought with himself as he had 
 fought all that day and all the night before; in fact, 
 ever since old Thomas had come to him after leaving 
 Necia, and had so cunningly shaped his talk that Bur- 
 rell never suspected his object until he perceived his 
 position in such a clear light that the young man looked 
 back upon his work with startled eyes. The Corporal had 
 spoken garrulously of his officer s family; of their pride, 
 and of their love for his profession ; had dwelt enthusi 
 astically upon the Lieutenant s future and the length 
 he was sure to go, and finally drifted into the same 
 story he had told Necia. Burrell at last sensed the 
 meaning of the crafty old soldier s strategy and dis 
 missed him, but not before his work had been accom 
 plished. If a coarse-fibred, calloused old campaigner 
 like Corporal Thomas could recognize the impossibility 
 of a union between Necia and himself, then the young 
 man must have been blind indeed not to have seen it 
 for himself. The Kentuckian was a man of strong 
 and virile passions, but he was also well balanced, and 
 had ever followed his head rather than his heart, 
 holding, as he did, a deep-seated contempt for weak 
 men who laid their courses otherwise. The genera- 
 
MEADE BURRELL FINDS A PATH 
 
 tions of discipline back of him spoke to his conscience. 
 He had allowed himself to become attached to this 
 girl until yes, he knew now he loved her. If only 
 he had not awakened her and himself with that first 
 hot kiss; if only But there was no going back now, 
 no use for regrets, only the greater necessity of mapping 
 out a course that would cause her least unhappiness. 
 If he could have run away he would have done so 
 gladly, but he was bound here to this camp, with no 
 possibility of avoiding her. 
 
 When he drove his reason with firm hands he saw 
 but one course to follow; but, when his mind went 
 slack for a moment, the old desire to have her 
 returned more strongly than ever, and he heard voices 
 arguing, pleading, persuading she was the equal 
 of any woman in the world, they said, in mind, 
 in purity, and in innocence. He hated himself for 
 hesitating; he railed at his own indecision; and then, 
 when he had justified his love and persuaded him^ 
 self that he was right in seeking this union, there would 
 rise again the picture of his people, their chagrin, and 
 what would result from such a marriage. He knew 
 how they would take it; he knew what his friends 
 would say, and how he would be treated as the husband 
 of a half-breed Indian; for in his country one drop of 
 colored blood made a negro, and his people saw but 
 little difference between the red and the black. It 
 would mean his social ostracism; he would be shunned 
 by his brother officers, and his career would be at an 
 end. He swore aloud in the darkness that this was 
 too great a price to pay for love, that he owed it to 
 himself and to his dear ones at home to give up this 
 dark-eyed maid who had bewitched him. 
 
 He had wandered far during this debate, clear past 
 1.55 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 the town, and out through the Indian village; but 
 now that he believed he had come to an understanding 
 with himself, he turned back towards his quarters. 
 He knew it would be hard to give her up ; but he had 
 irrevocably decided, and his path began to unfold it 
 self so clear and straight that he marvelled how he 
 could have failed to see it. He was glad he had con 
 quered, although the pain was still sharp. He felt a 
 better man for it, and, wrapped in this complacent 
 optimism, he passed close by the front of the trader s 
 store, where Necia had crept to be alone with her 
 misery. 
 
 The high moon cast a deep, wide shadow upon the 
 store steps where the girl sat huddled, staring out into 
 the unreal world, waiting for the night wind to blow 
 away the fears and forebodings that would not let her 
 sleep. It was late, and the hush of a summer mid 
 night lay upon the distant hills. Burrell had almost 
 passed her when he was startled by the sound of his 
 name breathed softly; then, to his amazement, he saw 
 her come forth like a spirit into the silver sheen. 
 
 " Necia!" he cried, "what are you doing here at 
 this hour? * She looked up at him sadly; he saw that 
 her cheeks were wet, and something inside him snapped 
 and broke. Without a word he took her in his arms, 
 meeting her lips in a long kiss, while she, trembling 
 with the joy of his strong embrace, drew closer and 
 closer and rested her body wearily against his. 
 
 "Little girl! little girl!" he whispered, over and 
 over, his tone conveying every shade of sympathy, 
 love, and understanding she had craved. He knew 
 what had made her sad, and she knew that he knew. 
 There was no need for words; the anguish of this long 
 day had whetted the edge of their desire, and they were 
 
 156 
 
MEADE BURRELL FINDS A PATH 
 
 too deeply, too utterly lost in the ecstasy of meeting 
 to care for speech. 
 
 As she lay cradled in his arms, which alternately 
 held her with the soft tenderness of a mother and 
 crushed her with the fierce ardor of a lover, she lost 
 herself in the bliss of a woman s surrender, and forgot 
 all her terrifying doubts and fears. What were ques 
 tions of breed or birth or color now, when she knew he 
 loved her? Mere vapors that vanished with the first 
 flutter of warm wings. 
 
 Nor did Meade Burrell recall his recent self -conquest 
 or pause to reason why he should not love this little 
 wisp of the wilderness. The barriers he had built 
 went down in the sight and touch of his love and dis 
 appeared; his hesitation and infirmity seemed childish 
 now yes, more than that, cowardly. He realized all 
 in a moment that he had been supremely selfish, that 
 his love was a covenant, a compact, which he had en 
 tered into with her and had no right to dissolve with 
 out her consent, and, strangely enough, now that he 
 acknowledged the bond to himself, it became very sweet 
 and satisfying. 
 
 "Your lips cling so that I can t get free," sighed the 
 girl, at last. 
 
 "You never shall," he whispered. But when she 
 smiled up at him piteously, her eyes swimming, and 
 said, " I must," he wrenched himself away and let her go. 
 
 As he went lightly towards the barracks through 
 the far-stretching shadows, for the moon was yellow 
 now, Meade Burrell sighed gladly to himself. Again 
 his course ran clear and straight before him though 
 wholly at variance with the one he had decided upon 
 so recently. But he knew not that his vision was 
 obscured and that the moon-madness was upon him. 
 
 157 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 WHERE THE PATH LED 
 
 BY daylight next morning every man and most of 
 the women among the new arrivals had dis 
 appeared into the hills the women in spite of the 
 by-laws of Lee s Creek, which discriminated against 
 their sex. When a stampede starts it does not end 
 with the location of one stream-bed, nor of two; every 
 foot of valley ground for miles on every hand is pre 
 empted, in the hope that more gold will be found; each 
 creek forms a new district, and its discoverers adopt 
 laws to suit their whims. The women, therefore, has 
 tened to participate in the discovery of new territory 
 and in the shaping of its government, leaving but few 
 of either sex to guard the tents and piles of provisions 
 standing by the river-bank. In two days they began 
 to return, and straggled in at intervals for a week 
 thereafter, for many had gone far. 
 
 And now began a new era for Flambeau an era of 
 industry such as the frontier town had never known. 
 The woods behind rang with the resounding discords 
 of axes and saws and crashing timber, and new cabins 
 appeared on every hand, rising in a day. The sluggish 
 air was noisy with voices, and the edge of the forest 
 receded gradually before the busy pioneers, replacing 
 the tall timbers with little, high -banked homes of 
 <5>ruce and white-papered birch. From dawn till dark 
 
 158 
 
WHERE THE PATH LED 
 
 the rhythmic rasp of men whip-sawing floor lum 
 ber to the tune of two hundred dollars per thousand; 
 and with the second steamer came a little steam saw 
 mill, which raised its shrill complaint within a week, 
 punctuating the busy day with its piping whistle. 
 
 The trail along the Flambeau was dotted continu 
 ously with toiling human beasts of burden, that floun 
 dered laboriously beneath great packs of provisions and 
 tools and other baggage, winding like an endless stream 
 of ants through the hills to "No Creek" Lee Creek, 
 where they re-enacted the scenes that were occurring in 
 the town. Tents and cabins were scattered throughout 
 the length of the valley, lumber was sawed for sluice- 
 boxes, and the virginal breezes that had sucked through 
 this seam in the mountains since days primeval came 
 to smell of spruce fires and echo with the sounds of life. 
 
 A dozen teats were pitched on Lee s discovery claim, 
 for the owner had been besieged by men who clamored 
 to lease a part of his ground, and, yielding finally, he 
 had allotted to each of them a hundred feet. Forth 
 with they set about opening their portions, for the 
 ground was shallow, and the gold so near the surface 
 that winter would interfere with its extraction; where 
 fore, they made haste. The owner oversaw them all, 
 complacent in the certainty of a steady royalty accru 
 ing from the working of his allotments. 
 
 Every day there came into Flambeau exaggerated 
 reports of new strikes in other spots, of strong indica 
 tions and of rich prospects elsewhere. Stories grew 
 out of nothing, until the camp took an hysterical pleas 
 ure in exciting itself and deceiving every stranger who 
 came from north or south, for the wine of discovery 
 was in them all, and it pleased them to distort and en 
 large upon every rumor that came their way, such being 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 the temper of new gold-fields. They knew they were 
 lying, and that all other men were lying also, and yet 
 they hearkened to each tale and almost deceived them 
 selves, 
 
 Burrell sought Necia at an early day and, in pres 
 ence of her father, told her that he had been ap< 
 preached by men who wished to lease the claims he 
 held for her It would prove an inexpensive way tc 
 develop her holdings, he said, and she would run no 
 risk; moreover, it would be rapid, and insure a quick 
 return, for a lease so near to proven territory was in 
 great demand. After some discussion this was ar 
 ranged, and Meade, as trustee, allotted her ground in 
 tracts, as Lee had done. Poleon followed suit ; but the 
 trader chose to prospect his own claims, and to that 
 end called in a train of stiff-backed Indian packers, 
 moved a substantial outfit to the creek, and thereafter 
 spent much of his time in the hills, leaving the store 
 to Doret. He seemed anxious to get away from the 
 camp and hide himself in the woods. Stark was al 
 most constantly occupied at his saloon, for it was a 
 mint, and ran day and night. Runnion was busy 
 with the erection of a substantial structure of squared 
 logs, larger than the trading-post, destined as a dance- 
 hall, theatre, and gambling - house. Flambeau, the 
 slumbrous, had indeed aroused itself, stretched its 
 limbs, and sprung into vigorous, virile, feverish being^ 
 and the wise prophets were predicting another Daw- 
 son for it, notwithstanding that many blank spots had 
 been found as the creek of Lee s finding bared its bed 
 rock to the miners. These but enhanced the value 
 of the rich finds, however, for a single stroke of good- 
 fortune will more than offset a dozen disappointments 
 The truth is, the stream was very spotted fl 
 
 160 
 
WHERE THE PATH LED 
 
 had by chance hit upon one of the bars where the metal 
 had lodged, while others above and below uncovered 
 a bed-rock as barren as a clean-swept floor. In places 
 they cross-cut from rim to rim, drove tunnels and drains 
 and drifts, sunk shafts and opened trenches without 
 finding a color that would ring when dropped in the, 
 pan; but that was an old, old story, and they were 
 used to it. 
 
 During these stirring weeks of unsleeping activity 
 Burrell saw little of Necia, for he had many things to 
 occupy him, and she was detained much in the store, 
 now that her father was away,, When they met for a 
 moment they were sure to be interrupted, while in and 
 around the house Alluna seemed to be always near her. 
 Even so, she was very happy ; for she was sustained by 
 the constant hectic excitement that was in the air and 
 by her brief moments with Meade, which served to 
 gladden her and make of the days one long, delicious, 
 hopeful procession of undisturbed dreams and fancies. 
 He was the same fond lover as on that adventurous 
 journey up Black Bear Creek, and wooed her with a 
 reckless fire that set her aglow. And so she hummed 
 and laughed and dreamed the days away, her happi 
 ness matching the peace and gladness of the season, 
 
 With Burrell, on the contrary, it was a season of 
 penance and flagellations of spirit, lightened only by 
 the moments when he was with her, and when she 
 made him forget all else. This damnable indecision 
 goaded him to self-contempt; he despised himself for 
 his weakness, his social instincts and training, his sense 
 of duty s and the amenities of liie that proud men hold 
 dear tugged steadily, untiringly at his reason, while 
 the little imp of impulse sat grinning wickedly, ready 
 to pop out and upset all his high resolutions. Ifc raised 
 
 161 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 such a tumult in his ears that he could not hear the 
 other voices; it stirred his blood till it leaped and 
 pounded, and then ran off with him to find this tiny 
 brown and beaming witch who was at the bottom of 
 it all. 
 
 No months in any clime can compare with an Arctic 
 summer when Nature is kind, for she crowds into this 
 short epoch all the warmth and brightness and splen 
 dor that is spread over longer periods in other lands, 
 and every growing thing rejoices riotously in scent 
 and color and profusion. It was on one of these 
 heavenly days, spiced with the faintest hint of autumn, 
 that Necia received the news of her good-fortune. One 
 of her leasers came into the post to show her and Po- 
 leon a bag of dust. He and his partner had found 
 the pay-streak finally, and he had corne to notify her 
 that it gave promise of being very rich, and now that 
 its location was demonstrated, no doubt the other "lay 
 men " would have it within a fortnight. As all of them 
 were ready to begin sluicing as soon as the ground could 
 be stripped, undoubtedly they would be able to take 
 out a substantial stake before winter settled and the 
 first frost closed them down. 
 
 She took the news quietly but with shining eyes, 
 though her pleasure was no greater or more genuine 
 than Poleon s, who grasped both her hands in his and 
 shouted, gleefully: 
 
 "Bien! I m glad! You ll be riche gal for sure now, 
 an* wear plaintee fine dress lak* I fetch you. Jus* t ink, 
 you fin* gol on your place more queecker dan you* 
 fader, an* he s good miner, too. Ha! Dat s bully!" 
 
 " Oh, Poleon! I ll be a fine ladr, after all," she cried 
 "just as I ve dreamed about! Wasn t it beautiful, that 
 pile of yellow grains and nuggets? Dear, dear! And 
 
 162 
 
WHERE THE PATH LED 
 
 part of it is mine! You know I ve never had money, 
 I wonder what it is like to be rich!" 
 
 "How I m goin* tell you dat?" 
 
 "Oh, well, they will find it on your claims very soon." 
 
 He shook his head. "You better knock wood w en 
 you say dat. Mebbe I draw de blank again; nobody 
 can t tell. I ve do de sam* t ing before, an 1 dose men 
 w at been workin my groun* dey re gettin purty blue." 
 
 "It s impossible. You re sure to strike it, or if you 
 don t, you can have half of what I make I ll be too 
 wealthy, anyhow, so you might as well." 
 
 He laughed again, at which she suddenly remembered 
 that he had not laughed very much of late, or else she 
 had been too deeply absorbed in her own happiness to 
 mark the lack of his songs and merriment, 
 
 "When you do become a Flambeau king,** she con 
 tinued, "what will you do with yourself? Surely you 
 won t continue that search for your far country. It 
 could never be so beautiful as this." She pointed to 
 the river that never changed, and yet was never the 
 same, and to the forests, slightly tinged with the signs 
 of the coming season. "Just look at the mountains," 
 she mused, in a hushed voice; "see the haze that 
 hangs over them the veil that God uses to cover up 
 his treasures." She drew a deep breath. "The breeze 
 fairly tastes with clean things, doesn t it? Do you 
 know, I ve often wanted to be an animal, to have my 
 senses sharpened one of those wild things with a 
 funny, sharp, cold nose, I d like to live in the trees 
 and run along the branches like a squirrel, and drink 
 in the perfume that comes on the wind, and eat the 
 tender, growing things. The sun is bright enough 
 and the world is good enough, but I can t feel enough. 
 Tin incomplete," 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 very fine, " agreed the Canadian. "I don* see 
 w y anybody would care for livin on dem cities w en 
 dere s so much nice place outside." 
 
 "Oh, but the cities must be fine also," said she, 
 "though, of course, they can t be as lovely as this. 
 Won t I be glad to see them!" 
 
 "Are you goin* away?" he inquired, quickly, 
 
 "Of course." Then glimpsing his downcast face, she 
 hastened to add, "That is, when my claims turn out 
 rich enough to afford it." 
 
 "Oh," he said, with relief. "Dat s different, 1 
 s pose it mus be purty dull on dem beeg town; no- 
 w ere to go, not in to see cept lot of houses." 
 
 "Yes," said Necia, "I ve no doubt one would get 
 tired of it soon, and long for something to do and 
 something really worth while, but I should like to try 
 it once, and I shall as soon as I m rich enough. Won t 
 you come along?" 
 
 "I don know," he said, thoughtfully; "mebbe so I 
 stay here, mebbe so I tak my canoe an go away. For 
 long tarn I t ink dis Flambeau she s de promis Ian* I 
 hear callin to me, but I don know yet for w ile." 
 
 "What kind of place is that land of yours, Poleon?" 
 
 "Ha! I never see im, but she s been cryin to me 
 ever since I m little boy. It s a place w ere I don* get 
 too hot on de summer an too col on de winter; it s 
 place w ere birds sing an flowers blossom an* de sun 
 shine, an w ere I can sleep widout dreamin bout it all 
 de tarn ." 
 
 "Why, it s the land of content you ll never dis 
 cover it by travel. I ll tell you a secret, Poleon. I ve 
 found it yes, I have. It lies here." She laid her hand 
 on her breast. "Father Barnum told me the story of 
 your people, and how it lives in your blood that hunger 
 
 164 
 
WHERE THE PATH *-ED 
 
 to find the far places; it s what drove the voyageurs 
 and coureur du bois from Quebec to Vancouver, and 
 from the Mississippi to Hudson s Bay. The wander 
 lust was their heritage, and they pushed on and on 
 without rest, like the salmon in the spring, but they 
 were different in this: that they never came back to 
 die." 
 
 "Dat s me! I never see no place yet w at I care for 
 die on, an* I never see no place yet w at I care for see 
 again cept dis Flambeau. I lak it, dis one, purty 
 good so far, but I ain know w en I m goin get tire*. 
 Dat depen s." There was a look of great tenderness 
 in his eyes as he bent towards her and searched her 
 face, but she was not thinking of him, and at length 
 he continued: 
 
 "Fader Barnum, he s goin be here nex* Sonday for 
 cheer up dem Injun. Constantino she s got de let 
 ter." 
 
 41 Why, that s the day after to-morrow!" cried Necia. 
 "Oh, won t I be glad to see him!" 
 
 "You don* get dem kin of mans on de beeg cities," 
 said Poleon. "I ain never care for preachin much, 
 an dese feller w at all de tarn* pray an* sing t rough de 
 nose, dey mak me seeck. But Fader Barnum Ba 
 Gar! She s the swell man." 
 
 "Do you know," said Necia, wistfully, "I ve always 
 wanted him to marry me." 
 
 "You t inkin* bout marry on some feller, eh?" said 
 the other, with an odd grin. "Wai! w y not? He ll 
 be here all day an* night. S pose you do it. Mos 
 anybody w at ain got some wife already will be glad 
 for marry on you an mebbe some feller w at has got 
 wife, too! If you don* lak dem, an if you re goin 
 many on somebody, you can be wife to me." 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 Necia laughed lightly. "I believe you would marry 
 me if I wanted you to; you ve done everything else 
 I ve ever asked. But you needn t be afraid; I won t 
 take you up.* In all her life this man had never spoken 
 of love to her, and she had no hint of the dream he 
 cherished. He had sung his songs to her and told her 
 stories till his frank and boyish mind was like an open 
 page to her; she knew the romance that was the very 
 fibre of him, and loved his exaggerated chivalry, for it 
 minded her of old tales she had read; but that he could 
 care for her save as a friend, as a brother such a 
 thought had never dawned upon her. 
 
 While they were talking a boat had drawn inshore 
 and made fast to the bank in front of them. An Ind 
 ian landed and, approaching, entered into talk with 
 the Frenchman. 
 
 By-and-by Poleon turned to the girl, and said: 
 
 "Dere s hondred marten -skin come in; you min* 
 de store w ile I mak trade wit dis man." 
 
 Together the two went down to the boat, leaving 
 Necia behind, and not long after Runnion sauntered 
 up to the store and addressed her familiarly. 
 
 "Hello, Necia! I just heard about the strike on 
 your claim. That s fine and dandy." 
 
 She acknowledged nis congratulations curtly, for 
 although it was customary for most of the old-timers 
 to call her by her Christian name, she resented it from 
 this man. She chose to let it pass, however. 
 
 "I had some good news lart night myself," he con 
 tinued. "One of my men has hit some good dirt, and 
 we ll know what it means in a day or so. I ll gamble 
 we re into the money big, though, for I always was a 
 lucky cuss. Say, where s your father?" 
 
 "He s out at the mine." 
 
 1 66 
 
WHERE THE PATH LED 
 
 "We ve used up all of our bar sugar at the saloon, 
 and I want to buy what you ve got." 
 
 "Very well, I ll get it for you." 
 
 He followed her inside, watching her graceful move 
 ments, and attempting, with his free-and-easy insolence, 
 to make friendly advances, but, seeing that she refused 
 to notice him, he became piqued, and grew bolder. 
 
 "Look here, Necia, you re a mighty pretty girl. 
 I ve had my eye on you ever since I landed, and the 
 more I see of you the better I like you." 
 
 "It isn t necessary to tell me that," she replied, 
 "The price of the sugar will be just the same." 
 
 "Yes, and you re bright, too," he declared. " That s 
 what I like in a woman good looks and brains. 
 I believe in strong methods and straight talk, too; 
 none of this serenading and moonlight mush for me. 
 When I see a girl I like, I go and get her. That s me. 
 I make love like a man ought to " 
 
 "Are you making love to me?" she inquired, curi 
 ously. 
 
 "It s a little bit sudden, I know, but a man has ta 
 begin some time. I think you d just about suit me. 
 We ll both have money before long, and I ll be good tc 
 you." 
 
 The girl laughed derisively in his face. 
 
 "Now don t get sore. I mean business. I don t 
 wear a blue coat and use a lot of fancy words, and then 
 throw you down when I ve had my fun, and I don t 
 hang around and spoil your chances with other men 
 either." 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "Well, I m no soft-talking Southerner with gold 
 buttons and highfalutin ways. I don t care if you are 
 a squaw, I ll take you " 
 
 M 162 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "Don t talk to me!" she cried, in disgust, her voict 
 hot with anger and resentment. 
 
 But he continued, unheeding: "Now, cut out these 
 airs and get down to cases. I mean what I say. I 
 know you ve been casting sheep s eyes at Burrell, but, 
 Lord! he wouldn t have you, no matter how rich you 
 get. Of course, you acted careless in going off alone 
 with him, but I don t mind what they re saying around 
 camp, for I ve made little slips like that myself, and 
 we d get along " 
 
 "I ll have you killed!" she hissed, through her 
 clinched teeth, while her whole body vibrated with pas 
 sion. "I ll call Poleon and have him shoot you!" She 
 pointed to the river-bank a hundred yards away, where 
 the Canadian was busy assorting skins. 
 
 But he only laughed at her show of temper, and 
 shrugged his shoulders as he answered her, roughly: 
 
 "Understand me, I m on the square. So think it 
 over, and don t go up in the air like a sky-rocket." 
 
 She cried out at him to "Go go go!" and finally 
 he took up his bundle, saying, as he stepped out slowly: 
 
 "All right! But I m coming back, and you ll have 
 to listen to me. I don t mind being called a squaw- 
 man. You re pretty near white, and you re good 
 enough for me. I ll treat you right why, I ll even 
 marry you if you re dead set on it. Sure!" 
 
 She could scarcely breathe, but checked her first in 
 clination to call Poleon, knowing that it needed only a 
 word from her to set that nut-brown savage at Run- 
 nion s throat. Other thoughts began to crowd her 
 brain and to stifle her. The fellow s words had stabbed 
 her consciousness, and done something for her that 
 gentler means would not have accomplished ; they had 
 opened her eyes to a thing that she had forgotten a 
 
 1 68 
 
WHERE THE PATH LED 
 
 hideous thing that had reared its fangs once before to 
 strike, but which her dreams of happiness had driven 
 out of her Eden. All at once she saw the wrong that 
 had been done her, and realized from this brute s in 
 sult that those early fears had been well grounded. It 
 suddenly occurred to her that in all the hours she had 
 spent with her lover, in all those unspeakably sweet and 
 intimate hours, there had never been one word of mar 
 riage. He had looked into her eyes and vowed he 
 could not live without her, and yet he had never said 
 the words he should have said, the words that would 
 bind her to him. His arms and his lips had comforted 
 her and stilled her fears, but after all he had merely 
 made love. A cold fear crept over the girl. She re 
 called the old Corporal s words of a few weeks ago, and 
 her conversation with Stark came back to her. What 
 if it were true that which Runnion implied ? What if 
 he did not intend to ask her, after all ? What if he had 
 only been amusing himself? She cried out sharply at 
 this, and when Doret staggered in beneath a great load 
 of skins he found her in a strange excitement. When 
 he had finished his accounting with the Indian and dis 
 missed him, she turned an agitated face to the French 
 man. 
 
 "Poleon," she said, "I m in trouble. Oh, I m in 
 such awful trouble!" 
 
 "It s dat Runnion! I seen im pass on de store w ile 
 I m down below." His brows knit in a black scowl, 
 and his voice slid off a pitch in tone. "W at he say, 
 eh?" 
 
 "No, no, it s not that. He paid me a great compli 
 ment." She laughed harshly. "Why, he asked me 
 to marry him." The man beside her cursed at this, 
 but she continued: "Don t blame him for liking 
 
 169 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 I m the only woman for five hundred miles around 
 or I was until this crowd came so how could he help 
 himself? No, he merely showed me what a fool I ve 
 been." 
 
 "I guess you better tell me all bout dis t ing," said 
 Poleon, gravely. "You know I m all tarn ready for 
 help you, Necia. Wen you was little feller an got 
 bust your finger you run to me queeck, an I feex it." 
 
 "Yes, I know, dear Poleon," she assented, grate 
 fully. "You ve been a brother to me, and I need you 
 now more than I ever needed you before. I can t go 
 to father; he wouldn t understand, or else he would 
 understand too much, and spoil it all, his temper is so 
 quick." 
 
 "I m not w at you call easy-goin mese f," the 
 Canadian said, darkly, and it was plain that he was 
 deeply agitated, which added to the girl s distress; but 
 she began to speak rapidly, incoherently, her impul 
 siveness giving significance to her words, so that the 
 man had no difficulty in following her drift. With 
 quick insight he caught her meaning, and punctuated 
 her broken sentences with a series of grave nods, as 
 suring her that he knew and understood. He had 
 always known, he had always understood, it seemed. 
 
 "Don t think I m unwomanly, Poleon, for I m not. 
 I may be foolish and faithful and too trusting, but I m 
 not unmaidenly. You see, I ve never been like other 
 girls and he was so fine, so different, he made me love 
 him it s part of a soldier s training, I suppose. It 
 was so sweet to be near him, and to hear him tell of 
 himself and all the world he knows I just let myself 
 drift. I m afraid I m afraid I listened too well, and 
 my ears heard more than he said my head is so full 
 of books, you know." 
 
 170 
 
WHERE THE PATH LED 
 
 "He should have know dat, too," said Poleon. 
 
 "Yes," she flared up. "He knew I was only an 
 Indian girl." 
 
 The only color in Doret s face lay now in his cheeks, 
 where the sun had put it; but he smiled at her his 
 warm, engaging smile and laid his great brown hand 
 upon her shoulder softly. 
 
 "I ve look in hees eye an I m always t ink he s good 
 man. I don* never t ink he ll mak* fun of poor little 
 gal." 
 
 "But he has, Poleon; that s just what he has done." 
 She came near to breaking down, and finished, pathet 
 ically, "They re telling the story on the street, so 
 Runnion says." 
 
 "Dat s easy t ing for feex," he said. "Runnion, 
 she don* spread no more story lak dat." 
 
 "I don t care what they say. I want the truth. 
 I want to know what he means, what his intentions 
 are. He swears he loves me, and yet he has never 
 asked me to marry him. He has gone too far; he has 
 made a fool of me to amuse himself, and and I couldn t 
 see it until to-day. He s laughing at me, Poleon, he s 
 laughing at me now! Oh, I can t bear it!" 
 
 The Frenchman took up his wide hat from the coun 
 ter and placed it carefully upon his head, but she stop 
 ped him as he moved towards the door, for she read 
 the meaning of the glare in his eyes. 
 
 "Wait till you understand wait, I say! He hasn t 
 done anything yet." 
 
 "Dat s de trouble. I m goin mak im do somet ing." 
 
 "No, no! It isn t that; it s these doubts that are 
 killing me I m not sure " 
 
 I hear plaintee," he said. "Dere s no tarn* for 
 monkey rounY* 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "I tell you he may be honest," she declared. "He 
 may mean to marry me, but I ve got to know. That s 
 why I came to you; that s what you must find out for 
 me." 
 
 "I m good trader, Necia," said the Canadian, after a 
 moment. " I ll mak bargain wit you now. If he say 
 yes, he ll marry you, I don ask no more; but if he say 
 no, you geeve im to me. Is it go?" 
 
 She hesitated, while he continued, musingly, "I 
 don see how no man on all dis worl could lef you go." 
 Then to her, "Wai, is it bargain?" 
 
 "Yes," she said, the Indian blood speaking now; 
 "but you must learn the truth, there must be no mis 
 take that would be terrible." 
 
 "Dere am* goin be no mistakV 
 
 "If he should refuse, I I ll marry some one, quick. 
 I won t be laughed at by this camp; I won t be a joke. 
 Oh, Poleon! I ve given myself to him just as truly as 
 if well, he he has taken my first kiss." 
 
 Doret smote his hands together at this and began 
 to roll his head backward from side to side, as if in 
 some great pain, but his lips were dry and silent. After 
 a moment the spell left him, the fire died down, leav 
 ing only a dumb agony in its place. She came closer 
 and continued: 
 
 "I ll never let them point at me and say, There goes 
 the squaw that he threw away. " 
 
 "You mak dis very hard fing for me," he said, 
 wearily. 
 
 "Listen," she went on, lashing herself with pity 
 and scorn. "You say Father Barnum will be here on 
 Sunday. Well I ll marry some one, I don t care 
 who!" Then, with a sudden inspiration, she cried, 
 "I ll marry you you said I could be a wife to you." 
 
 172 
 
WHERE THE PATH LED 
 
 He uttered a sharp cry. "You mean dat, Necia?" 
 
 <Yes," she declared. "Why not? You ll do it for 
 my sake, won t you?" 
 
 "Would you stan up wit* me longside of de pries , 
 lovin dat oder feller all de tarn ?" he asked, queerly. 
 
 "Yes, yes! I d rather it was you than anybody, 
 but married I ll be on Sunday. I ll never let them 
 laugh at me." 
 
 Doret held his silence for a moment, then he looked 
 up and said, in level tones: 
 
 "It s easy t ing for go an* ask im, but you mus f 
 hear hees answer wit your own ears den you can t 
 t ink I m lyin*. I ll fetch im ere on dis place if you 
 feex it for hide you se f behin dose post." He indi 
 cated a bundle of furs that were suspended against a 
 pillar, and which offered ample room for concealment. 
 J Dere s goin be no lies to-day." 
 
 He pulled himself together and went out, with the 
 tired gait of an old man, his great shock head bowed 
 low. A few moments later he returned. 
 
 "I ve sent liT Jean for im. You get in dere out of 
 sight an wait." 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 A TANGLE D SKEIN 
 
 WHEN Burrell entered he wasted no time in 
 greetings. 
 
 "I know why you sent for me, Poleon. I ve heard 
 the news, and I would have been up anyhow to con 
 gratulate her very soon. I call it pretty fine." 
 
 "Yes, dere s been beeg strike all right, an* Necia 
 is goin be riche gal." 
 
 "I m as pleased as if the claim were mine, and you 
 feel the same way, of course." 
 
 The Frenchman nodded. "I love Necia very much, 
 lak well, lak I m broder to her." The knowledge 
 that she was listening made him very uncomfortable 
 in fact, this whole affair savored more of double- 
 dealing and treachery than anything he had ever at 
 tempted, and it went sorely against his grain, but it 
 had presented itself as the only way to help her, and 
 he proceeded, groping haltingly for fit expression, 
 "Dere s t ing I want for talk bout wit you, but I m 
 scare* you ll t ink I m butt in." 
 
 "Nonsense," said Burrell. "I know you too well for 
 that." 
 
 "You know me for good man, eh? An* you know 
 I ain* try for bre k up oder fellers biznesse, never! 
 Wai, I m come to you now lak wan good man to 
 
 174 
 
A TANGLED SKEIN 
 
 noder biccause I m got bad trouble on de min f , an* you 
 mus n t get sore." 
 
 "There s no danger, Poleon. Let s have it. If there 
 is anything I can do, you may count on me." 
 
 "Wai," he began, nervously, clearing his throat, 
 "it s lak* dis. Dere s fellei been talk some bout 
 Necia, an* it ain nice talk neider." 
 
 "Who is he?" exclaimed the soldier, in a tone that 
 made the girl s heart leap. 
 
 "Wait! Lemme tol you w at he say, den we ll talk 
 *bout feex im plaintee. He say dere s joke down on 
 Stark s saloon dat Necia Gale is mak fool of herse f 
 on you, an* dat you ain care for marry her." 
 
 "Runnion!" cried Burrell, and started for the door. 
 " I ll settle with him now for fair!" But Poleon blocked 
 his way, and, observing him gravely, continued, in a 
 tone that the other could not disregard nor mistake: 
 
 No, M sieu , before you pass on dat place you ll tol 
 me if it s true." 
 
 "True!" the Lieutenant retorted, angrily. "What 
 business is it of yours? This concerns me." 
 
 "An me, too! I m w at you call gardeen for Necia 
 till John Gale come back, an* I m broder of her, too. 
 You promis* jus now you don get mad, an I don say 
 she s Runnion neider w at spik dose t ing; dere s 
 more dan im been talkin*. Is it true?" 
 
 His sternness offended Burrell, for the soldier was 
 not the kind to discuss his affairs in this way, there 
 fore he drew back scowling. 
 
 "Poleon Doret," he said, "it s not one s enemies 
 who do him injury, it s his damned fool friends. I 
 have learned to regard you highly because you are a 
 brave man and an honest one, but it seems that you 
 are a sentimental idiot." 
 
 375 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "Dem is tough word," Doret replied. "But dere s 
 reason w*y I can t tak on no madnesse. You say I m 
 bones . Wai, I m hones now, an I come to you wit* 
 fair words an I show my ban to you I don 1 hoi* out 
 no cards, ITaeu* but I don tlnk it is you who have 
 play square, altogeder. I m Necia s frien , an 111 
 fi^lit for her jus so queecker lak* you, but I mus know 
 dis t tng for sure, so if you have de good heart an* de 
 courage of good man you ll tell me de truth. Do you 
 have the feelin for marry on her?" 
 
 The pause that followed was awkward for both of 
 them, while the girl, who stood concealed near by, held 
 lier breath am\ buried her nails in her palms. Why 
 did he hesitate? Would he never speak? It seemed 
 no*, for he swung between diverse emotions anger that 
 tnifi outsider should question njTT\ on so intimate a 
 matter, chagrin at the knowledge of having injured 
 Necia, and rage, blind rage, at the thought of its be 
 coming a bar-room topic. Gradually the conviction 
 grew that it was not a question of idle curiosity with 
 Doret, and the man s history recurred to him. No 
 wonder he was interested in the girl, no wonder he 
 wished to guard her; he had been a brother indeed. 
 even as he said, and he could have no motive save an 
 honorable one. It never occurred to the soldier that 
 this Frenchman could harbor feelings akin to his own. 
 The man was rough and foreign; his thoughts had 
 been couched in harsher language, perhaps, than he 
 intended moreover, the fellow s high sense of honor 
 was a byvo-rd and of a sodden the desire to set him 
 self right in this man s eyes dictated his answer. 
 
 "I am amazed at myself for |fcpmng to you,** hs 
 said, at last, "and quite shocked, in fact, at my an* 
 your que^cus, :u: c-erl^r-s I d b<=::er, after 
 17* 
 
A TANGLED SKEIN 
 
 Alt. First, however, let me say that the little girl is 
 just as pure now as she was before she knew me " 
 
 Poleon threw up his hand. "M sieu*, dat s more 
 closer to de insult dan w at you call me jus* now. 
 You don* need for spoke it." 
 
 "You re right! There s no need to tell you that. 
 As for showing her certain attentions well, I admit 
 that I have, as you know, but, thank God, I can say 
 I ve been a gentleman and addressed her as I would 
 the fairest 1-idy I ve known." 
 
 "An* you mean for marry, eh?" probed the other. 
 
 Now, no man could have answered such a direct 
 question easily, and in this case it was especially hard 
 for the Kentuckian. who was torn between his un 
 governable desire and that decision which cold reason 
 had thrust upon him. He wanted to say, "Yes, I ll 
 marry her to-morrow," but something bade him pause 
 before he sacrificed upon this altar of a youthful love 
 his life, his hopes, his ambitions. Had he not wrestled 
 with himself for months in thinking it all out, until 
 his mind was weary and listless with the effort? For 
 the great test that tries a man s soul and compels him 
 to know himself had not yet come to Meade Burrell; 
 wherefore, he hesitated long. 
 
 "I did not say so," he declared, at last. "It s a 
 thing I can t well discuss, because I doubt if you could 
 understand what I would say. This life of yours is dif 
 ferent from mine, and it would be useless for me to 
 explain the reason why I cannot many her. Leaving 
 out all question of my sentiment, there are insur 
 mountable obstacles to such a union; but as to .his talk, 
 I think that can be stopped without annoyance to her, 
 and as for the rest, we must trust to time to bring 
 about a proper adjustment " 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 A low, discordant sound of laughter arrested hit 
 words, and, turning, he beheld Necia standing revealed 
 in the dimness. 
 
 "What an amusing person you are!" she said. "I ve 
 had hard work holding in all this time while you were 
 torturing your mind and twisting the honest English 
 language out of shape and meaning, I knew I should 
 have to laugh sooner or Iater " 
 
 "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded. "Is 
 it a joke?" 
 
 "Indeed it is," she declared, laughing afresh, "and 
 the best I ve ever enjoyed. Wasn t it funny, Poleon " 
 she turned gayly to the Frenchman, but he stood like 
 one petrified "to see him debating coolly whether he 
 cared for me enough to face the world with me, and 
 trying to explain to you that he was too good to marry 
 a squaw ? Oh, you were very gentlemanly about it, sir, 
 and you wouldn t have hurt my feelings for the world!" 
 
 "Necia!" 
 
 "That s your Dixie chivalry, I suppose. Well, I ve 
 played with you long enough, Lieutenant Burrell, I m 
 tired of the game, and you interest me no longer." 
 
 "You you say you ve been playing with me!" 
 stammered the man. The bottom of things seemed 
 suddenly to slide from under him; he was like one 
 sinking in some hideous quagmire. He felt as if he 
 were choking, 
 
 "Why, of course," she cried, scornfully, "just as 
 you took me up for amusement. You were such a 
 fine, well-dressed, immaculate mound of conceit that 
 I couldn t resist the temptation, and you hid your 
 condescension so poorly that I thought you ought to 
 be taken down a peg. I knew I was a squaw, but I 
 wanted to see if I were not like other women, after all* 
 
A TANGLED SKEIN 
 
 and if you were not like other men." She was talking 
 rapidly now, almost shrilly, for she had never attempt 
 ed to act before, while he stood dazed and speechless, 
 fumbling at his throat while she railed at him. "You 
 needn t waste time debating whether I m good enough 
 for you, because I m not decidedly, I m not your kind, 
 and you are a joke to me." 
 
 He uttered an inarticulate cry, but she ran on un 
 heeding, her eyes wide and glowing like coals, her lips 
 chalk-white. "You see, it s time I stopped such fool 
 ishness, anyhow, for I m to be married on Sunday." 
 
 "You are going to be married?" he muttered, 
 laboriously. 
 
 "Yes, to Poleoo, Why, that s been understood for 
 years." 
 
 He whirled upon the Canadian in a fury, and his 
 words came hot and tumbling. 
 
 "So you re in this, Doret. You re a part of this 
 Kttle farce. You trapped me here to make a fool of 
 me, did you? Well, I can settle with you " 
 
 "D-don t blame him!" cried the girl, hysterically. 
 * It is all my doing. He had no part in it." 
 
 Burrell wheeled back to the Frenchman again. "Is 
 this true?" 
 
 "Yes," said Doret, in a restrained voice. "Dis ain 
 no work of mine." 
 
 "You re a liar!" breathed the Kentuckian, now fair- 
 ly wild with anger; but the other looked him squarely 
 between the eyes and made no move. 
 
 "M sieu ," he cried, "I m livin t orty year, an* never 
 took no nam lak dat before, but dere s reason here 
 w y I can t mak no answer." He inclined his head 
 towards the girl, and before Burrell could break out 
 again he checked him. 
 
 179 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "It s no good mak fight wit lesser dan two people. 
 You ve tol me dat you are gentleman. Wai, I am* 
 nobody but trapper an trader, but I don spoil de name 
 of no good girl, an I don quarrel in presence of lady, 
 so mebbe, affer all, dere s mistak somew ere, an I m 
 gentleman mese f stead of you." 
 
 "Why, you aren t really angry, Lieutenant?" mock 
 ed Necia. "It s only the joke of an ignorant half- 
 breed girl whose sense of humor is all out of gear. You 
 mustn t quarrel over a squaw!" 
 
 She taunted him like a baited badger, for this thing 
 was getting beyond her control and the savage in 
 stincts of the wilderness were uppermost. 
 
 "You are quite right," he replied. "I am very 
 foolish, and the laugh is with you." His lips tried 
 to frame a smile, but failed, and he added: "Your 
 wit is not my kind, that is all. I beg you both to ac 
 cept my congratulations on your nuptials. Undoubt 
 edly, you will be happy together; two people with 
 such similar ideas of humor must have much to 
 enjoy in common." He bowed low and, turning, walked 
 out. 
 
 The moment he was gone she cried, breathlessly: 
 
 "You must marry me, Poleon. You ve got to do 
 it now." 
 
 "Do you mean dat for sure?" he said. 
 
 "Can t you see there s nothing else for it, after this? 
 I ll show him that he can t make me a toy to suit his 
 convenience. I ve told him I would marry you on 
 Sunday, and I ll do it or die. Of course you don t 
 love me, for you don t know what love is, I suppose; 
 how could you?" She broke down and began to 
 catch her breath amid coughing sobs that shook her 
 slender body, though they left her eyes dry and feverish. 
 
A TANGLED SKEIN 
 
 ?*I I m very unhappy, b-but I ll be a good wife to 
 you. Oh, Poleon, if you only knew " 
 
 He drew a long breath. When he spoke his voice 
 had the timbre of some softly played instrument, and 
 a tremor ran through his words. 
 
 "No! I don know w at kin of love is dis, for sure. 
 De kin* of love I know is de kin I sing bout in my 
 songs; I s pose it s different breed to yours, an I m 
 begin to see it don live nowhere but on dem songs of 
 mine. Dere s long tarn I waste here now five year 
 but to-morrow I go again lookin for my own countree." 
 
 "Poleon!" she cried, looking up with startled eyes. 
 "Not to-morrow, but Sunday we will go together." 
 
 He shook his head. "To-morrow, Necia! An I go 
 alone." 
 
 "Then you won t marry me?" she asked, in a 
 hushed and frightened voice. 
 
 "No! Dere s wan t ing I can t do even for you, 
 Necia, dere s wan t ing I can t geeve, dat s all jus* 
 wan on all de worl . I can t kill de liT god wit de 
 bow an arrer. He s all dat mak de sun sliine, de 
 birds sing, an de leaves w isper to me; he s de wan liT 
 feller w at mak my life wort livin an keep music in 
 my soul. If I keel im dere am no more lef lak it, 
 an* I m never goin fin my Ian of content, nor sing 
 nor laugh no more. I m t inkin I would rader sing songs 
 to im all alone onderneat de stars beside my camp- 
 fire, an talk wit im in my bark canoe, dan go livin 
 wit you in fine house an let im get col an die." 
 
 "But I told him I d marry you that I had always 
 intended to. He ll believe I was lying," she moaned, 
 in distress. 
 
 "Dat s too bad but dis t ing ain* no doin s wit* 
 me. Dere s wan t ing in dis worl mus live forever* 
 
 181 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 an dat s love if we kill im den it s purty poor place 
 for stoppin in. I m cut off my han for help you, 
 Necia, but I can t be husban to no woman in fun." 
 
 "Your foolish head is full of romance," she burst 
 out. "You think you re doing me a favor, but you re 
 not. Why, there s Runnion he wants me so much 
 that he d even marry me !" Her wild laughter stab 
 bed the man. "Was ever a girl in such a fix! I ve 
 been made love to ever since I was half a woman, but 
 at thought of a priest men seem to turn pale and run 
 like whipped dogs. I m only good enough for a bad 
 man and a gambler, I suppose." She sank to a seat, 
 flung out her arms hopelessly, and, bowing her head, 
 began to weep uncontrollably. "If if I only had a 
 woman to talk to but they are all men ail men." 
 
 Poleon waited patiently until her paroxysm of sob 
 bing had passed, then gently raised her and led her 
 out through the back door into the summer day, which 
 an hour ago had been so bright and promising and was 
 now so gray and dismal. He followed her with his 
 eyes until she disappeared inside the log-house. 
 
 "An dat s de end of it all," he mused. "Five year 
 I ve wait an jus for dis." 
 
 Meade Burrell never knew how he gained his quar 
 ters, but when he had done so he locked his door be 
 hind him, then loosed his hold on things material. 
 He raged about the room like a wild animal, and vented 
 his spite on every inanimate thing that lay within 
 reach. His voice was strange in his own ears, as was 
 the destructive frenzy that possessed him. In time 
 he grew quieter, as the physical energy of this brutal 
 impulse spent itself; but there came no surcease of his 
 mental disquiet. As yet his mind grasped but dully 
 the fact that she was to marry another, but gradually 
 
 182 
 
A TANGLED SKEIN 
 
 this thought in turn took possession of him. She would 
 be a wife in two days. That great, roistering, brown 
 man would fold her to himself she would yield to him 
 every inch of her palpitant, passionate body. The 
 thought drove the lover frantic, and he felt that mad 
 ness lay that way if he dwelt on such fancies for long. 
 Of a sudden he realized all that she meant to him, and 
 cursed himself anew. While he had the power to pos 
 sess her he had dallied and hesitated, but now that he 
 had no voice in it, now that she was irretrievably be 
 yond his reach, he vowed to snatch her and hold her 
 against the world. 
 
 As he grew calmer his reason began to dissect the 
 scene that had taken place in the store, and he won 
 dered whether she had been lying to him, after all. 
 No doubt she had been engaged to the Frenchman, 
 and had always planned to wed Poleon, for that was 
 not out of reason; she might even have set out mis 
 chievously to amuse herself with him, but at the 
 recollection of those rapturous hours they had spent 
 together, he declared aloud that she had loved him, 
 and him only. Every instinct in him shouted that she 
 loved him, in spite of her cruel protestations. 
 
 All that afternoon he stayed locked in his room, 
 .and during those solitary hours he came to know his 
 own soul. He saw what life meant: what part love 
 plays in it, how dwarfed and withered all things are 
 when pitted against it. 
 
 A man came with his supper, but he called to him 
 to be gone. The night settled slowly, and with the 
 darkness came such a feeling of despair and lonesome- 
 ness that Burrell lighted every lamp and candle in 
 the place to dispel, in some measure, the gloom that 
 had fallen upon him. There are those who believa 
 u 183 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 that in passing from daylight to darkness a subtle 
 transition occurs akin to the change from positive to 
 negative in an electrical current, and that this in 
 tangible, untraceable atmospheric influence exerts a 
 definite, psychical effect upon men and their modes 
 of thought. Be this as it may, it is certain that as 
 the night grew darker the Lieutenant s mood changed. 
 He lost his fierce anger at the girl, and reasoned 
 that he owed it to her to set himself right in her 
 eyes; that in all justice to her he ought to prove 
 his own sincerity, and assure her that whatever her 
 own state of mind had been, she wronged him when 
 she said he had made sport of her for his own pleas 
 ure. She might then dismiss him and proceed with her 
 marriage, but first she must know this much of the 
 truth at least. So he argued, insensible to the sophis 
 try of his reasoning, which was in reality impelled by 
 the hunger to see her and hear her voice again*, He 
 snatched his hat and bolted out, almost running in his 
 eagerness. 
 
 An up-river steamboat was just landing as he neared 
 the trading-post a freighter, as he noted by her lights. 
 In the glare at the river-bank he saw Poleon and the 
 trader, who had evidently returned from Lee s Creek, 
 and without accosting them he hurried on to the store. 
 Peering in from the darkness, he saw Alluna no doubt 
 Necia was alone in the house behind. So he stumbled 
 around to the back to find the window of her room 
 aglow behind its curtain, and* receiving no answer to 
 his knock, he entered, for it was customary at Gale s 
 to waive ceremony Inside the big room he paused a 
 then stepped swiftly across and rapped at her door 
 falling back a pace as she came out. 
 
 Instead of speaking at once, as he had pHanned, m 
 
A TANGLED SKEIN 
 
 prevent her escaping, he was struck speechless, lor tht 
 vision that met his eyes was that which he had seeu 
 one blithe spnng morning three months before; but 
 to-night there was no shawl to conceal her sweetly 
 rounded neck and shoulders, whose whiteness was 
 startling against the black of the ball-room gown. The 
 slim gold chain hung around her neck and her hair 
 was piled high, as before He noted every smallest 
 detail as she stood there waiting for him to speak, 
 forgetful of everything else. 
 
 She had put on the gown again to see if. perchance, 
 Acre might be some mark of her blood or breed that 
 had escaped her previous scrutiny t and, as there was 
 no one to observe her., she had attired herself slowly, 
 absorbed in her whimsy Her wistful beauty dazed 
 the young man and robbed him of the words he had 
 rehearsed but as she made to flee from him, with a 
 pitiful gesture, towards her room, the fear of losing her 
 aroused him and spurred his wit 
 
 Don t go away! I have something I must tell you, 
 I ve thought it over, and you ve got to listen, Necia." 
 
 "1 am listening./" she answered, very quietly, 
 
 "Understand me ; Tm not whining, and I m willing 
 to take my medicine. 1 couldn t talk or think very 
 straight this afternoon, but you were wrong. 1 
 
 **Yes I know now t I was wrong, It was most un- 
 lady like wasn t it? But you see, I am only a little 
 savage 
 
 "1 don t mean that; I mean you were wrong when 
 you said I had played with you. In the sight of God, 
 I sweat you were mistaken. You have made me love 
 , Necia Can t you see?" 
 
 ohe made no sign. 
 
 ?t lf you can t, 1 owe it to you and to myself to aet 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 you righto I am not ashamed to acknowledge am 
 
 Sovcj and even when you are married to Poieon I wot 
 you to know that I shall love you always," 
 
 Even yet she made no sign. Was he not merely 
 repeating the same empty words with which he had 
 so often beguiled her? There was no word of mar 
 riage; he still considered her unworthy, beneath him. 
 The pain of it caused the girl to wince suddenly, and 
 her sensitive face flinched, seeing which he broke 
 out: 
 
 "You do love ms, Necia you do; I see it in your 
 eyes!" And he started towards her with open arms, but 
 she shrank away from him. 
 
 "No, no! Don t touch me!" she almost screamed. 
 
 "My dear one," he breathed, "you must listen to 
 me. You have nothing to fear, for I love you love 
 you love you! You were made for met Youll be 
 my wife. Yes; you ll be married on Sunday B but to 
 me^ not to Poieon or any other man!" 
 
 Did she hear aright? Was he, her soldier lover, 
 asking her, the Indian girl ? 
 
 "You do love me, don t you?" he pleaded, But still 
 she could not speak, and he tried to read the answer 
 in her swimming eyes. 
 
 "You mean you want to marry me?" she mur 
 mured, at last, hesitating shyly at the word that had 
 come to play so momentous a part in her little world. 
 
 "Indeed I do!" he declared, with emphasis. "In 
 spite of everything, anything, Nothing else matters." 
 
 "Nothing?" 
 
 <f Nothing! Ill quit the army. Ill give up the 
 Service, and my people, too. Ill put everything back 
 of me, and well start out anew just you and I." 
 
 *"Wait a moment," she said, retreating a little from 
 186 
 
A TANGLED SKEIN 
 
 his eager, out-stretched arms. "Why do you need to 
 io all that ?" 
 
 "Never mind why; it s as good as done. You 
 wouldn t understand " 
 
 "But I think I do understand now, Do I really 
 mean all that to you?" 
 
 "Yes, and more!" 
 
 "Listen to me," said the girl, quietly. "I want you 
 to talk slowly so I may not misunderstand. If you 
 marry me, must you forego all those great things you 
 speak of your profession, your family, your future?" 
 
 "Don t let s talk about it, Necia; I ve got you, and " 
 
 "Please answer me," she urged, "I thought I un 
 derstood, but I m afraid I don t. I thought it was 
 my being a breed that stood in the way " 
 
 "There s nothing in the way " 
 
 " that I wasn t good enough. I knew I could over- 
 ^ome that; I knew I could make myself grow to your 
 level, but I didn t think my blood would fetter you 
 and make this difference. I suppose I am putting it 
 awkwardly, because I m not sure that I quite under 
 stand it myself yet. Things seem different now, some 
 how, than they did before " 
 
 "Nonsense!" exclaimed the soldier, "If they don t 
 bother me, Necia, why should you worry?" 
 
 "Would you really have to give up your family 
 your sister? Would those people you are so proud 
 of and who are so proud of you would they cut you 
 off?" 
 
 "There is no question of cutting off, I have no in 
 heritance coming; I don t want any. I don t want 
 anything except you, dear " 
 
 "Won t you tell me?" she persisted. "You see, I 
 wn dull at these thingSo" 
 
 187 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "Well, what if they do?" he conceded "You more 
 than make it up to me you outweigh a thousand 
 families." 
 
 "And would your marriage to a a to me destroy 
 your army career?" 
 
 "Well, it will really be much easier for both of us if 
 I resign from the Service," he finally admitted. "In 
 fact, I ve decided to do so at once." 
 
 "No, no! You mustn t do that. To-night you 
 think I am worth the price, but a day will come " 
 
 He leaned forward and caught her hands in his. 
 
 " Meade, I can t let you do it." 
 
 "I d like to see you help yourself," he said, banter- 
 ingly. 
 
 "I can and I will. You must not marry me, Meade 
 it s not right it can t be." She suddenly realized 
 what this renunciation would mean, and began 1#- 
 shiver. To think of losing him now, after he had come 
 to her freely it would be very hard! But to her, too, 
 there had come the revelation that love means sac 
 rifice, and she knew now that she loved her soldier too 
 well to let her shadow darken his bright future, too 
 well to ruin him. 
 
 "It will be over before you know it," she heard him 
 saying, in a lame attempt at levity. "Father Barnum 
 is an expert, and the operation won t occupy him ten 
 minutes." 
 
 "Meade, you must listen to me now," she said, so 
 earnestly that it sobered him. "Do you think a girl 
 could be happy if she knew a good man had spoiled 
 his life for her ? I would rather die now than let you 
 do such a thing. I couldn t bear to see myself a drag 
 on you. Oh, I know it would be wonderful, this happi 
 ness of ours, for a time, and then " She was finding 
 
 188 
 
A TANGLED SKEIN 
 
 it more and more difficult to continue. "A prisonef 
 grows to hate the chains that bind him; when that day 
 came for you, I should hate myself. No, no! Believe 
 me, it can t be. You re not of my people, and I m not 
 of yours." 
 
 At that moment they heard the voices of the trader 
 and his squaw outside, approaching the hoase. The 
 girl s breath caught in her throat, she flung herself 
 recklessly upon her lover s breast and threw her arms 
 around his neck in an agony of farewell. 
 
 "Meade! Meade! my soldier!" she sobbed, "kiss me 
 good-bye for the last time!" 
 
 "No," he said, roughly. 
 
 But she dragged his face down to her burning lips. 
 
 "Now you must go," she said, tearing herself away, 
 "and, for my sake, don t see me again." 
 
 "I will! I will! I ll ask your father for you to 
 night." 
 
 "No, no! Donf please don t! Wait till till to 
 morrow till I say the word! Promise me! On your 
 love, promise 1" 
 
 Her eyes held such a painful entreaty that he nodded 
 acquiescence as the door opened and her father and 
 Alluna entered. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 STARK TAKES A HAND IN THE GAME 
 
 I^HE old man greeted the Lieutenant affably, but 
 as his glance fell on his daughter he stopped 
 stock-still on the threshold. 
 
 "I told you never to wear that dress again," he said, 
 in a dry, harsh voice. 
 
 The girl made no answer, for her heart was breaking, 
 but turned and went into her room. Burrell had an 
 irresistible desire to tell Gale that he wanted his 
 daughter for his wife; it would be an unwonted pleas 
 ure to startle this iron-gray old man and the shawled 
 and shambling mummy of red, with the unwinking eyes 
 that always reminded him of two ox-heart cherries; 
 but he had given Necia his promise. So he descended 
 to the exchange of ordinary topics, and inquired for 
 news of the creek. 
 
 "Necia s ground is getting better every hour," the 
 trader said. "Yesterday they found a sixty -dollar 
 pan." 
 
 "Have you struck pay on yours?" 
 
 "No; Poleon and I seem to hold bad hands. Some 
 of his laymen are quitting work. They ve cross-cut 
 in half a dozen places and can t find a color." 
 
 "But surely they haven t fully prospected his claims 
 yet; there must be plenty of room for a pay-streak 
 somewhere, mustn t there?" 
 
 190 
 
^ .2 
 
 rt <- 
 
 Q I 
 
 * 
 
 u S 
 o 
 
 n 
 
 M 
 TO t>* 
 
 r s ^ 
 
 O 43 
 *- 4-. 
 
 ^) > 
 
 w ^c 
 
 H 
 
STARK TAKES A HAND IN THE GAME 
 
 "It looks like he had drawn three blanks," said Gale, 
 "although we can t tell for sure. They re breaking most 
 as bad for me, too; but I ve got a new hunch, and 
 I m running up a dreen to catch bed-rock along the 
 left rim. I ve got twenty men at work, and I ll know 
 before long. You heard about Runnion, of course ?" 
 
 "Yes; the usual story the bad men get the good 
 mines, and the good ones get the hungry spots. Well, 
 I might have been one of the unfortunates if I had 
 staked for myself; but I hardly think so, I m pretty 
 lucky. 1 lie laughingly bade them good-night, con 
 tent with himself and at peace with the world. 
 
 Gale went to Necia s door and called her, but when 
 she appeared he was unprepared for the tragic face 
 with which she greeted him. 
 
 "Daughter," he said, " on t feel bad over what I 
 said; I didn t mean to be cruoS with you, but I don t 
 like that dress." 
 
 "Were you cross with me, daddy?" she said, dully. 
 "I didn t hear. What did you say?" 
 
 He looked at her in amazement. "Necia, little girl, 
 what is the trouble?" 
 
 She was staring past him, and her fingers were 
 fumbling helplessly with the lace of her gown, but she 
 began to show signs of collapse. 
 
 "I sent him away I gave him up, when he wanted 
 me wanted me Oh, daddy! he wants to marry 
 me and I sent him away." 
 
 Alluna uttered a short, satisfied exclamation, and, 
 Jooking at Gale meaningly, said: 
 
 "It is good. It is good. He is a stranger." 
 
 But the man disregarded her interruption. 
 
 "He asked you to marry him in in in spite of 
 who you are and what I am ?" 
 
 191 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "Yes* he is ready to give up his ambition, his army, 
 his future, his family, everything, for me to sacrifice 
 it all; and so, of course, I couldn t let him. She spoke 
 simply, as if her father would surely understand and 
 approve her action, while in her voice was a note o 
 inevitable resignation. "You see, I never understood 
 what my blood would mean to him until to-night. I ve 
 been selfish and thoughtless, I guess. I just wanted 
 him, and wanted him to take me; but now that he is 
 mine, I love him more than I thought. He is so dear 
 to me that I can t drag him down I can t I can t!" 
 She went to the open door and stood leaning against 
 the casing, facing the cool outer darkness, her face hid 
 den from them, her form sagging wearily, as if the 
 struggle had sapped her whole strength. 
 
 Alluna crept to the trader and looked up at him 
 eagerly, whispering: 
 
 "This will end in a little while, John. She is young. 
 She can go back to the Mission to-morrow. She will 
 soon forget. * 
 
 "Forget! Do you think she can forget?" 
 
 "Any woman can forget. Only men remember." 
 
 "It is the red blood in you lying. You know you 
 He." 
 
 "It is to save your life," she said. 
 
 "I know; but it s no use." To Necia he said: "You 
 needn t worry, little daughter." But her ears were deaf. 
 "You needn t give him up, I say this will end all 
 right." 
 
 Seeing that she gave no sign of heeding, he stepped 
 closer, and swung her about till she faced him. 
 
 "Can t you trust me this one time? You always 
 have before, Necia. I say he ll marry you, and it witf 
 all come out right." 
 
 192 
 
STARK TAKES A HAND IN THE GAME 
 
 She raised her hopeless eyes and strove gamely to 
 meet his, then, failing, broke away, and turned back 
 to the door. "I knew you couldn t understand. I 
 I oh, God, I love him so!" With a cry like that of 
 a wounded animal she fled out into the night, where 
 she could give vent to her anguish unseen; for she had 
 never wept before her father, but always crept away 
 and hid herself until her grief was spent. Gale would 
 have started after her, but Allure dragged him back 
 fiercely. 
 
 4 No, no! It means your life, John. Let the secret 
 die, and she will forget. She is so young. Time will 
 cure her time cures everything. Don t tell her 
 don t tell any one and, above all, don t tell that sol 
 dier! He would not believe, nor would she. Even 
 I have doubtedl" 
 
 "You?" 
 
 "Yes, John. And if / don t believe, what is a 
 stranger to say ? No man knowing you would believe 
 the tale without proof. Suppose she doubted have 
 you ever thought of that ? Would you not rather have 
 her die still loving you than live and disbelieve?" 
 
 "Yes, yes! Of course, I I ve thought of that, but 
 Woman, you re worse than a rattlesnake!" 
 
 "Even if he knew, he might not marry her. You at 
 least are clean, and that other man was a devil. A 
 brave man s life is too great a price to pay for a grief 
 that will die in a year." Alluna was speaking swiftly 
 in her own language, her body tense, her face ablaze, 
 and no man seeing her could ever again have called 
 her people stolid. 
 
 "You think time will cure a love like that?" he said. 
 
 "Yes, yes!" 
 
 " That s all you know about it. Time may act that 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 way perhaps in cities and such places, but out in the 
 hills it is different. When you ve got the breath of the 
 forest in you, I say it is different. Time why, I ve 
 lived fifteen years in the open with a living memory. 
 Every night I ve dreamed it over, every day I ve lived 
 it through; in every camp-fire I see a face, and every 
 wind from the south brings a voice to me. Every 
 stormy night a girl with eyes like Necia s calls to me, 
 and I have to follow Every patch of moonlight shows 
 her smiling at me, iast beyond, just in the shadow s 
 edge. Love! Time! Why, Alluna, love is the only 
 thing in the world that never dies, and time only makes 
 it the more enduring." 
 
 He took up the white slouch hat he had thrown down 
 when he came in, and stepped to the door. 
 
 "Where are you going?" inquired the squaw, fear 
 fully. 
 
 "To the barracks to give myself up!" 
 
 She flung herself at him with a great cry, and seized 
 him about the waist. 
 
 "You never loved me, John, but I have been a good 
 woman to you, although I knew you were always think 
 ing of her and had no thought of me. I have loved 
 this girl because you loved her. I have hated your 
 enemies because you hated them, and now I remember 
 while you forget." 
 
 Forget ! What do you mean ?" 
 
 "Stark!" 
 
 The man paused. "I did almost forget him and 
 after fifteen years!" 
 
 "Let us kill him to-night; then we will go to the 
 soldier together, side by side I am your woman. Necia 
 Will look after the little ones. 
 
 Gale stared at her, and as he gazed the red pigment 
 194 
 
STARK TAKES A HAND IN THE GAME 
 
 underneath her skin, the straight - hanging, manelike 
 hair, the gaudy shawl she never went without, the shape 
 less, skin-shod feet, the slovenly, ill-fitting garb of a 
 mis-cast woman vanished, and he saw her as she was 
 on a day long past, a slim, shy, silent creature, with 
 great, watchful, trusting eyes and a soul unspoiled. 
 No woman had ever been so loyal, so uncomplaining. 
 He had robbed her of her people and her gods. He 
 had shifted hither and yon at the call of his uncertain 
 fortune, or at a sign of that lurking fear that always 
 dogged him, and she had never left his side, never 
 questioned, never doubted, but always served him like 
 a slave, without asking for a part in that Other love, 
 without sharing in the caresses he had consecrated to 
 a woman she had never seen. 
 
 "By Heaven! You re game, Alluna, but there s a 
 limit even to what I can take from you," he said, at last. 
 "I don t ever seem to have noticed it before, but there 
 is. No! I ve got to do this thing alone to-night, all 
 of it, for you have no place in it, and I can t let the 
 little girl go on like this. The sooner that soldier 
 knows the better." He leaned down and touched her 
 brown mouth with his grizzled lips. "Thank you, 
 Alluna, for making a man of me when I d nearly for 
 gotten. Now you stay here." He knew he could 
 count on her obedience, and so he left her. When he 
 had gone she drew the shawl up over her face and 
 crouched in the doorway, .straining her eyes after him 
 through the dark. In time she began to rock and sway, 
 and then to chant, until the night moaned with the 
 death-song of her people. 
 
 Necia had no idea whither she went ; her only thought 
 was to flee from her kin, who could not understand, 
 to hide under cover in some solitary place, to let the 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 darkness swallow her up, so that she might give way to 
 her grief and be just a poor, weak woman. So, with 
 a dull and aching heart, she wandered, bareheaded, 
 bare-necked, half -demented, and wholly oblivious to 
 her surroundings, without sense of her incongruous 
 attire or of the water that squeezed up through the 
 soggy moss at her tread and soaked her frail slippers. 
 On she stumbled blindly through the murk like some 
 fair creature of light cast out and banished. 
 
 The night was cloudy and a wind came sighing from 
 the north, tossing the girl s hair and tugging at the care 
 less folds of her dress, but she heard nothing save the 
 devil s tattoo that rang in her head, and felt nothing 
 beyond the pain at throat and breast, which in time 
 became so bitter that the tears were wrung from her 
 dry eyes, and she began to weep in a pitiful woman 
 fashion, as if her heart would bursto The first drops 
 cleared a way for others, and soon she was sobbing 
 freely, alone and without solace, lost in the nighto 
 
 She had not succeeded in thoroughly isolating her 
 self, however, for a man who was steering his course 
 by the sense of feel and the wind s direction heard 
 her and paused. His steps were muffled in the soft 
 footing, so that she had no warning of his presence 
 until he was near enough to distinguish her dimly 
 where-she leaned against the log wall of a half-com 
 pleted cabin, 
 
 To his question, "What s the trouble here?" she 
 made no answer, but moved away, whereupon he de 
 tained her. "There s something wrong. Who are 
 you, anyhow?" 
 
 "It s only Necia, Mr. Stark," said the girl, at which 
 fee advanced and took her by the arm. 
 
 "What ails you, child? What in the world are yota 
 196 
 
STARK TAKES A HAND IN THE GAME 
 
 doing here? Come! It s only a step to my cabin; 
 you must come in and rest awhile, and you ll soon 
 be all right. Why, you ll break your neck in this 
 darkness." 
 
 She hung back, but he compelled her to go with him 
 in spite of her unwillingness. 
 
 "Now, now," he admonished, with unusual kindli 
 ness for him; "you know you re my little friend, and 
 I can t let you go on this way; it s scandalous. I won t 
 stand for it. I like you too much." 
 
 In truth he had done things during these last few 
 weeks to make her think so, having never missed an 
 opportunity to stop and pass a word with her, at the 
 same time showing her a queer courtesy and considera 
 tion quite foreign to his saturnine habits. She had 
 never mentioned the fact to her father or the others, 
 for she had developed a sort of sympathy for the man, 
 and felt that she understood him better than they did. 
 
 He led her inside his cabin, and closed the door in 
 the face of the night wind before he struck a light. 
 
 "I can t stand to see you cry," he repeated, as he 
 adjusted the wick. "Now, as soon as " He stop 
 ped in astonishment, for he had turned to behold, in 
 stead of the little half-breed girl, this slender, sorrow 
 ful stranger in her amazingly wonderful raiment. 
 
 "By " He checked himself insensibly, and stood 
 motionless for a long time, while she wiped her eyes and, 
 woman-like, straightened out her gown and smoothed 
 her hair with little feminine touches. 
 
 "I I hope you ll excuse me for acting this way," 
 ahe smiled at him, piteously ; then, observing his strange 
 features, "Why, what is the matter, Mr. Stark; are you 
 angry?" 
 
 His hawklike face was strained and colorless, his 
 197 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 black eyes fierce and eager, his body bent as if to pounce 
 upon a victim. In truth he was now the predatory 
 animal. 
 
 "No/ 8 he replied, as if her question carried no mean- 
 Ing; then, coming to himself, "No no! of course not, 
 but you gave me a start. You reminded me of some 
 one. How do you come to be dressed like that? I 
 never knew you had such clothes?" 
 
 "Poleon brought them from Dawson; they are the 
 first I ever had." 
 
 He shook his head in a slow, puzzled fashion. 
 
 "You look just like a white girl I mean I don t 
 know what I mean." This time he roused himself 
 fully, the effort being more like a shudder. 
 
 "So I have always thought," she said, and her eyes 
 filled again. 
 
 "Your skin is like milk beneath your tan, and I 
 don t mean any disrespect, but Well, I m just so 
 damned surprised ! Come over here and sit down while 
 I mix you something to put the heart back into you." 
 
 He shoved forward a big chair with a wolf -skin flung 
 over it, into which she sank dejectedly, while he step 
 ped to the shelves beside the Yukon stove and took 
 down a bottle and some glasses. She glanced about 
 with faint curiosity, but the interior of the cabin show 
 ed nothing out of the ordinary, consisting as it did of 
 one room with a cot in the corner, upon which were 
 tumbled blankets, and above which was a row of pegs. 
 Opposite was a sheet-iron box-stove supported knee- 
 high on a tin-capped framework of wood, and in the 
 centre a table with oil-cloth coven Around the walls 
 were some cooking utensils, a few cases of canned 
 goods, and clothes hanging in a row. 
 
 "I m not fixed up very well yet," he apologized; 
 198 
 
STARK TAKES A HAND IN THE GAME 
 
 "I ve been too busy at the saloon to waste time on 
 living quarters. But it s comfortable enough for an 
 old roadster like me, for I ve bruised around the 
 frontier so long that I ve learned there s only three 
 things necessary to a man s comfort warm clothes, a 
 full stomach, and a dry place to sleep. All the rest 
 that goes to make a man content he has inside him, 
 and I m not the kind to be satisfied, no matter where 
 I am or what I have. I never was that kind, so I 
 just don t make the attempt." 
 
 He was talking to give her leeway, and when he had 
 concocted a weak toddy, insisted that she must drink 
 it, which she did listlessly, while he rambled on. 
 
 **I ve noticed a few things in my life, Miss Necia, 
 and one of them is that it often does a heap of good 
 to let out and talk things over : not that a fellow gains 
 any real advantage from disseminating his troubles, 
 but it serves to sort of ease his mind. Folks don t 
 often come to me for advice or sympathy, I don t 
 have it to give, but maybe it will help you to tell me 
 what caused this night-marauding expedition of yours." 
 Seeing that she hesitated, he went on: "I suppose 
 there s a lot ot reasons why you shouldn t confide in 
 me I don t like that old man of yours, nor any of 
 your friends, but maybe that s why I m interested. 
 If any of them has upset you, I ll take particular pleas 
 ure in helping you get even." 
 
 "I don t want to get even, and there is nothing to 
 tell," said Necia, "except a girl s troubles, and I can t 
 talk about them." She smiled a painful, crooked 
 smile at him. 
 
 "Your old man has been rough to you?" 
 
 "No, no! Nothing of that sort." 
 
 "Then it s that soldier?" he quizzed, shrewdly. **I 
 14 199 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 knew you cared a heap for him. Don t he 
 you?" 
 
 "Yes! That s the trouble; and he wants to marry 
 me; he swears he will in spite of everything." 
 
 "See here! I don t quite follow. I thought you 
 liked him he s the kind most women go daffy over/ 
 
 "Like him!" The girl trembled with emotion. 
 "Like him! Why why, I would do anything to 
 make him happy." 
 
 "I guess I must be kind of dull," Stark said, per 
 plexedly. 
 
 "Don t you see? I ve got to give him up I m a 
 squaw." 
 
 "Squaw hell! With those shoulders?" 
 
 Stark checked himself, for he found he was rejoic 
 ing in his -enemy s defeat, and was in danger of betray 
 ing himself to the girl. In every encounter the young 
 man had bested him, and these petty defeats had 
 crystallized his antipathy to Burrell into a hatred so 
 strong that he had begun to lie awake nights planning 
 a systematic quarrel. For he was the kind of man 
 who throve upon contentions: so warped in soul that 
 when no man offered him offence he brooded over 
 fancied wrongs and conjured up a cause for enmity, 
 goading himself into that sour, sullen habit of mind 
 that made him a dread and a menace to all who lacked 
 his favor. His path was strewn from the border North 
 with the husks of fierce brawls, and he bore the in 
 eradicable mark of the killer, carrying always in his 
 brain those scars that hate had seared. In his eyes 
 forever slumbered a flame waiting to be blown to life, 
 and when embroiled in feuds or bickerings a custom 
 had grown upon him to fight these fights in secret 
 many times, until of nights he would lie in solitary 
 
 goo 
 
STARK TAKES A HAND IN THE GAME 
 
 darkness writhing in spirit as he hounded his man to 
 desperation, or forced him into a corner where he 
 might slake his thirsty vengeance. After such black, 
 sleepless hours he dragged himself from his battle 
 grounds of fancy, worn and weary, and the daylight 
 discovered him more saturnine and moody, more 
 menacing than ever. 
 
 He had brooded over his quarrel with Gale and the 
 Lieutenant ever since their first clash, for in this place 
 they furnished the only objects upon which his mania 
 could work and it was a mania, the derangement of a 
 diseased t distorted mind. His regard for Necia was a 
 careless whim, a rather aimless, satisfying hobby, not 
 At all serious, entirely extraneous to his every-day life, 
 and interesting only from its aimlessness, being as near 
 to an unselfish and decent motive as the man had ever 
 come. But it was not of sufficient consequence to 
 stand out against or swerve the course of a quarrel; 
 wherefore, he was gladdened by the news of Bun-ell s 
 discomfiture. 
 
 "So you like him too much to stand in his way," he 
 said, meditatively. "How does your father look at 
 it?" 
 
 "He wants the Lieutenant to marry me. He says 
 he will fix it up all right; but he doesn t understand. 
 How could he ?" 
 
 "You are doing just right," concurred the man, 
 hypocritically, "an<? vou ll live to be glad you stood 
 out." Now that both his enemies desired this thing, 
 he was set on preventing it, regardless of the girl. " How 
 did the Lieutenant take it when you refused him?" 
 
 "He wouldn t take it at all. He only laughed and 
 declared he would marry me, anyhow." The very 
 thought thrilled her. 
 
 201 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 he know you love him?" 
 
 The tender, sobbing laugh she gave was ample axtr 
 swer, 
 
 "Well, what s your plan?" 
 
 "I I I don t know. I am so torn and twisted 
 with it all that I can t plan, but I have thought I 
 ought to go away." 
 
 "Good!" he said, quickly, but his acquiescence, in 
 stead of soothing her, had the contrary effect, and she 
 burst out impulsively: 
 
 "Oh I can t I can t! I can t go away and never 
 see him! I can t do it! I want to stay where he is!" 
 She had been holding herself in stubbornly, but at 
 last gave way with reckless abandon, "Why wasn t I 
 born white like other girls? I ve never felt like an 
 Indian. I ve always dreamed and fancied I was dif 
 ferent, and I am, in my soul I know I am! The 
 white is so strong in me that it has killed the red, and 
 I m one of father s people. I m not like the other two; 
 they are brown and silent, and as cold as little toads; 
 but I m white and full of life, all over. They never see 
 the men and women that I see in my dreams. They 
 never have my visions of the beautiful snow-white 
 mother, with the tender mouth and the sad eyes that 
 always smile at me." 
 
 "You have visions of such things, eh?" 
 
 "Yes, but I came a generation late, that s all, and 
 I ve got that other woman s soul. I m not a half- 
 breed I m not me at all. I m Merridy Merridy! 
 That s who I am." 
 
 Her face was turned away from him, so that she did 
 not notice the frightful effect her words had upon 
 Stark. 
 
 "Where did you get that name?" His voice was 
 202 
 
STARK TAKES A HAND IN THE GAME 
 
 pitched in a different key now. Then, after a moment, 
 he added, "From the story I told you at the mine that 
 night, I suppose?" 
 
 44 Oh no," she answered. "I ve always had it, 
 though they call me Necia. Merridy was my father s 
 mother. I guess I m like her in many ways, for I otten 
 imagine she is a part of me, that her spirit is mine. It s 
 the only way I can account for the sights I see." 
 
 "Your father s mother?" he said, mechanically. 
 "That s queer." He seemed to be trying to shake 
 himself free from something. "It s heredity, I sup 
 pose. You have visions of a white woman, a woman 
 named Merridy, eh?" Suddenly his manner changed, 
 and he spoke so roughly that she looked at him in 
 vague alarm. 
 
 "How do you know? How do you know she was 
 his mother?" 
 
 "He told me so " 
 
 Stark snarled. "He lied!" 
 
 "I can show you her wedding-ring I ve always 
 worn it." She fumbled for the chain about her neck, 
 but it eluded her trembling fingers. "It has her 
 name in it From Dan to Merridy." 1 
 
 Stark s hand darted forward and tore the thing from 
 her shoulders, then he thrust it under the lamp and 
 glared at the inscription, while his fingers shook so 
 that he could barely distinguish the words. His eyes 
 were blazing and his face livid. 
 
 Necia cried out, out he dropped the ornament and 
 seized her fiercely, lifting her from the chair to her feet; 
 then, with one swift, downward clutch, he laid hold of 
 her dress at the left shoulder and ripped it half to her 
 waist. A hoarse sound came from his throat, a cry 
 half of amazement, half of triumph. 
 
 207 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "Let me go! Let me go!" She struggled to free 
 herself, but he held her in a viselike grip, while he 
 peered closely a,t a blemish well down upon her back. 
 Then he let her slip from his grasp, and. seized with ter 
 ror, she staggered away from him. He was leaning 
 heavily with both hands upon the table, his face work 
 ing, his head drawn down between his shoulders, his 
 thin lips grinning, his whole manner so terrifying that 
 she shrank back till she brought up against the bark 
 walls. She turned and made for the door, whereupon 
 he straightened up and said, in a queer, commanding 
 voice : 
 
 " Wait don t go! I I you " He licked his 
 lips as if they were dust dry, passed an uncertain hand 
 across his beaded brow, and, raising the water-pail 
 beside the door to his mouth, drank heavily in great, 
 noisy gulps. 
 
 Let me out of here !" the girl demanded, imperiously. 
 
 " Don t be scared," he said, more quietly now. " You 
 must excuse me. You you gave me an awful fright. 
 Yes that was it. Don t worry. I didn t mean any 
 harm." 
 
 "You hurt my shoulder," she said, almost ready to 
 cry. "And you tore my dress," she added, angrily 
 "my fine dress. Are you crazy?" 
 
 "You see, it s like this, that name of Merridy and 
 that ring well, the whole thing was so startling, I 
 I went off my head. It came suaden, and I thought 
 I thought it don t matter what thought, but I m 
 sorry. I ll apologize and I ll get you a new dress, 
 a whole lot of dresses, if you like." This seemed to 
 amuse him, and he began to laugh silently. 
 
 His first impulse had been to tell her everything, 
 but his amazement had rendered him speechless, and 
 
 204 
 
STARK TAKES A HAND IN THE GAME 
 
 now he was thankful for it. Following his discovery 
 of her identity, he had been stricken dumb, staring at 
 her like one demented; then, as he was about to ex 
 plain, his mind suddenly grasped the significance of 
 this revelation and the advantage it gave him over 
 his enemies; a plan began to unfold, vague at first, 
 its details not worked out, but a plan whereby he could 
 by keeping silent use this knowledge to serve his venge 
 ful ends. In an instant his vision cleared and his 
 brain became active and alert, like that of a man 
 brought suddenly under the stimulus of strong liquor. 
 Care must be exercised she must not learn too much 
 for if she suspected the truth she would go to her 
 soldier lover at once, and no power on earth could hold 
 her back. That would block the vengeance that he 
 saw shaping in the dank recesses of his distorted brain. 
 
 First, and above all, he must get the girl away from 
 Flambeau. 
 
 "I went clear off my head," he heard himself saying, 
 "at that name of Merridy, that ring, and all. Why 
 why, I thought you might be the missing girl I told 
 you of you remember, that day up on Lee s Creek 
 so I had to see; but, dear me, I should have been more 
 considerate I should have explained. The trouble is 
 I m a nervous man, and I get impulsive streaks on me 
 sometimes that I can t control. I m sorry I spoiled 
 your dress, but I ll get you another you bet I will." 
 
 This explanation of his strange behavior seemed 
 plausible enough to banish all personal fears from 
 Necia s mind. Indeed, Stark had now become so 
 gentle and apologetic in his demeanor that her wom- 
 Jln s curiosity overcame her instinct to flee, and she 
 ventured the question: 
 
 "So you really thought I was that other girl?" 
 205 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "I did for a minute. The mother was a a friend 
 of mine, and so I lost my head. But I m all right 
 now, and if you ll overlook my roughness we ll go back 
 to your troubles.* 
 
 These last few moments had driven her own worries 
 from her mind, but he was bent on recalling them, and 
 so continued, cautiously: 
 
 "You were saying that you thought you d go away. 
 I think that s a good plan, and you d be wise to do it 
 for more reasons than one. It will give you time to 
 think it all over and know your own mind " 
 
 "I know my mind now, and yet I don t want to go 
 away." 
 
 " and it will give Burrell a chance to prove him 
 self. He ll either show that he has got to have you 
 at any cost, or that you are right in your decision. If 
 the first should happen, you can come back to him; if 
 the last why, it will be better for you, anyhow. As 
 long as you stay here neither one of you can see 
 clearly." 
 
 She was touched by his interest, and realized the 
 force of his argument, which, strange to say, seemed 
 to second her own thoughts; yet she hesitated. 
 
 "I want to help you I m going to help you be 
 cause I ve got an interest in you like you were mine." 
 Again he betrayed that strange, mirthless amusement. 
 
 "There is no place for me to go," said Necia, blankly, 
 "except the Mission, and I have no way of getting 
 there." 
 
 "Don t you worry. I ll furnish the means, and 
 you d better go to-night" she flinched "yes, to 
 night; there s no use prolonging your agony. I ll get 
 a boat ready and send a trusty man with you. The 
 current is swift, and if he rows well you can make it 
 
 206 
 
STARK TAKES A HAND IN THE GAME 
 
 by to-morrow evening. That s only one night out, and 
 I ll put some blankets aboard so you can wrap up and 
 have a sleep." 
 
 "I feel as if I d never sleep again," she sighed. 
 
 "New, now, this will come out all right yet. I d 
 take you down there myself, but I ve got to stay here. 
 I ve got work to do. Yes, I ve sure got work of im 
 portance ahead of me." 
 
 "I must go back and get some clothes," she said, 
 At which he would have demurred had he not seen 
 that she could not travel in her present condition. 
 
 "Very well. But don t let anybody see you." 
 
 "Of course not." 
 
 "It s getting late, and your folks will be abed." He 
 looked at his watch. "Midnight! Be here in an hour, 
 and I ll have the skiff ready." 
 
 The light of sacrifice was in Necia s eyes, and her 
 cheeks were blanched with the pallor of a great reso 
 lution. She did not stop to reason why or how she 
 had been led to this disposal of her future, but clutched 
 desperately at Stark s plan of rescue from her agoniz 
 ing predicament. 
 
 "I ll be here in an hour," she said, simply. 
 
 He let her out, closed the door after her, and locked 
 it; then, drawing a deep breath, he raised his clenched 
 hands above his head, and gave a great sigh of exulta 
 tion. Next he took out his six-shooter and examined 
 it carefully. The shells did not suit him, so he filled 
 the gun with new ones, loosened the three lower but 
 tons of his vest, and slid the weapon inside his trousers 
 band; then, facing the direction of Gale s trading-post, 
 he spoke aloud. 
 
 "I was a long time coming, Gaylord, but I m here, 
 and I ve got you where I ve wanted you these fifteen 
 
 207 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 years yes, and I ve got you, too, BurrelU By God, 
 
 this is my night!" 
 
 His lithe body became panther-like in poise f his bear 
 ing that of the meat-eating animal, and his face set in 
 a fierce, exultant cruelty as be blew out his light and 
 left the caoin. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 A MYSTERY IS UNRAVELLED 
 
 IEUTENANT BURRELL was considerably taken 
 aback when, a quarter of an hour after the young 
 lover s ecstatic return to his quarters, Gale knocked at 
 his door, for the trader s visit, coupled with the late 
 hour and his sombre countenance, forecast new com 
 plications. 
 
 "He s here to object, but it won t go t " thought the 
 Lieutenant^ as he made his visitor welcome. 
 
 It was the trader s first glimpse of the officer s quar 
 ters, and he cast a roving eye over the room, as if 
 measuring the owner s character by his surroundings. 
 
 "I ve got to have a long talk with you, Burrell," 
 he began, with an effort. "It s liable to take me an 
 hour or two." 
 
 "Then take this chair and be comfortable/ 
 
 Meade swung his big reading -chair out beneath the 
 hanging-lamp, and, going to the sideboard, brought 
 back a bottle, some glasses, and a pouch of tobacco. 
 Noting the old man s sigh of fatigue as he sat himself 
 down heavily, Ije remarked, sympathetically: 
 
 "Mr. Gale, you ve made a long trip to-day, and you 
 must be tired. If this talk is to be as lengthy as you 
 say, why not have a drink with me now, and postpone 
 it until to-morrow?" 
 
 "I ve been tired for eighteen years," the other re- 
 
 20Q 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 plied; " to-night I hope to get rested." He lapsed into 
 silence, watching his host pour out two glasses of 
 liquor, fill his pipe, and then stretch himself out con 
 tentedly, his feet resting on another chair a picture 
 of youthful strength, vitality, and determination. Be 
 neath the Lieutenant s flannel Siiirt the long, slim 
 muscles showed free and full, and the firm set of jaw 
 and lip denoted a mind at rest and confident of itself. 
 Gale found himself for a moment jealously regarding 
 the youth and his enviable state of contentment and 
 decision. 
 
 "Well, let f s get at it," the younger man finally said. 
 
 "I suppose you ll want to interrupt and question 
 me a heap, but I ll ask you to let me tell this story the 
 way it comes to me, till I get it out, then we can go 
 back and take up the queer stuff. It runs back eighteen 
 or twenty years, and, being as it s part of a hidden life, 
 it isn t easy to tell. You ll be the first one to hear it, 
 and I reckon you re enough like other men to dis 
 believe you re not old enough, and you haven t 
 knocked around enough to learn that nothing is im 
 possible, that nothing is strange enough to be unrea 
 sonable. Likewise, you ll want to know what all this 
 has to do with you and Necia yes, she told me about 
 you and her, and that s why I m here/ He paused. 
 "You really think you love her, do you?" 
 
 Burrell removed his pipe and gazed at its coal im 
 personally. 
 
 "I love her so well, Mr. Gale, that nothing you can 
 say will affect me. I I hesitated at first about ask 
 ing her to be my wife, because you ll appreciate the 
 unusual well, her unusual history. You see, I come 
 from a country where mixed blood is about the only 
 thing that can t be lived down or overlooked, and I ve 
 
 210 
 
A MYSTERY IS UNRAVELLED 
 
 been raised with notions of family honor and pride of 
 race and birth, and so forth, that might seem pre 
 posterous and absurd to you. But a heap of conceits 
 like that have been bred into me from generations back; 
 they run in the blood of every old family in my country, 
 and so, I m ashamed to say, I hesitated and tried to 
 reason myself into giving her up, but I ve had my eyes 
 opened, and I see how little those things amount to, 
 after all. I v m going to marry Necia, Mr. Gale. I d 
 like to do it the day after to-morrow, Sunday, but she 
 isn t of age yet, and if you object, we ll have to wait 
 until November, when she turns eighteen. We d both 
 hke your consent t of course; I d be sorry to marry 
 her without it; but if you refuse, we ll be forced to 
 displease you.* He looked up and met the father s 
 gaze steadily. "Now, I ll be glad to listen as long as 
 you care to talk, but I don t think it will do any good." 
 
 The other man s lips framed a faint smile. 
 
 "We 1 !! see. I wish to God I d had your decision 
 when I was your age, this story would be different, and 
 easier to tell." He waited a moment, then settled to 
 his self-appointed task. "I was mining at the time 
 up in the Mother Lode country of California, which was 
 the frontier then, pretty much as this is now, only we 
 had better things to eat. I came from the East, or 
 my people did, but I was ranch-raised, and loved the 
 hills and woods and places where you don t talk much, 
 so I went to prospecting because it took me out whert 
 the sun was bright and I could see the wild things at 
 play. I was one of the first men into a camp named 
 Chandon helped to build it, in fact, and got hold of 
 gome ground that looked real good. It was hard min 
 ing, however, and, being poor, I was still gripping my 
 drill and hammer after the town had grown up. 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "A woman came out from the East Vermont, it 
 was and school-teaching was her line of business, only 
 she hadn t been raised to it, and this was her first clat 
 ter at the game; but things had broke bad for her 
 people $ and ended in her pulling stakes and coming 
 West all alone. Her folks died and left her up against 
 it, I gathered from what little she told me sort of an 
 old story, I guess, and usual too, only for her. She 
 was plumb unusual." 
 
 He seemed to ponder this a moment, and then re 
 sumed: 
 
 "It don t make any difference to you how I first 
 saw her s and how I began to forget that anything else 
 in the world was worth having but her, I d lived m 
 the woods all my life, as I said, and knew more about 
 birds and bugs and bees than I did about women; I 
 hadn t been broke proper, and didn t know how to act 
 with them; but I laid out to get this girl, and I did 
 fairly well. There s something wild in every woman 
 that needs to be tamed, and it isn t like the wildness 
 that runs in wood critters; you can win that over by 
 gentleness, but you have to take it away from a wom 
 an. Every live thing that couldn t talk was my friend; 
 but I made the mistake of courting my own kind the 
 same way, not knowing that when two of any species 
 mate the male must rule. I was too gentle. Even 
 so, I reckon I d have won out only for another man. 
 Dan Bennett was his name the kind that dumb 
 animals hate, and well, that takes his measure. His 
 range adjoined mine, and, though I d never seen him, 
 I heard stories now and then the sort of tales you can t 
 tell to a good woman ; so it worried me when I heard of 
 his attentions to this girL Still, I thought she d surely 
 find him out and recognize the kind of fellow he 
 
 212 
 
A MYSTERY IS UNRAVELLED 
 
 bttt, Lord! a woman can t tell a man from a dog, and 
 there wasn t any one to warn hen There were plenty 
 of women who knew him, but they were the ones who 
 flew by night, while she lived in the sunshine; and 
 women of that kind don t make complaint, anyhow. 
 
 "This Bennett came from the town below, where he 
 ran a saloon and a brace game or two ; but being as he 
 rode into our camp and out again in the night, and aa 
 I didn t drink nor listen to the music of the little rolling 
 ball, why, we never met, even after he began coming 
 to Chandon. Understand, I wasn t too good for those 
 amusements; I just didn t happen to hanker after them, 
 for I was living with the image of the little school- 
 ma am in my mind, and that destroyed what bad 
 habits I d formed. 
 
 "It was along in the early spring that she began to 
 see I had notions about her, but my damned back 
 wardness wouldn t let me speak, and, in addition, I was 
 getting closer to ore every shot at the mine, and was 
 holding off until I could lay both myself and my gold 
 mine at her feet, and ask her to take the two of us, so 
 if one didn t pan out the other might. But it seemed 
 like I d never get into pay. The cioser I got the harder 
 I worked, and, of course, the less I saw of her, likewise 
 the oftener Bennett came. I reckon no man ever 
 worked like I did two shifts a day, eighteen hours, 
 with six to sleep. The skin came off of my hands, and 
 I staggered when I came out into the daylight, for t u< * 
 rock was hard, and I had no money to hire a helper; 
 but I was young and strong, and the hope of her w&s 
 like drink and food and sleep to me. At last I struck 
 it, and still I waited awhile longer till I could be sure. 
 Then I went down to my little shack and put on my 
 other clothes. I remember I d gone so thin that they 
 
 213 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 hung loose, and my palms were so raw I had hard 
 work handling the buttons, and got my shirt all bloody, 
 for I d been in the drift forty hours, without sleep and 
 breathing powder smoke, till my knees buckled and 
 wabbled under me. To this day the smell of stale 
 powder smoke makes a woman of me ; but that morn 
 ing I sang, for I was going for my bride, and the world 
 was brighter than it has ever been for eighteen years. 
 The little school-house was closed, at which I remem 
 bered that the term was over. I d been living under 
 ground for weeks and lost track of the days, so that I 
 had to count them up on my fingers. It took me a 
 long time, for I was pretty tired in my head ; but when 
 I d figured it out I went on to where she was boarding. 
 
 "The woman of the place came to the door, a Scotch 
 woman. She had a mole on her chin, I remember, a 
 brownish-black mole with three hairs in it. She wore 
 an apron, too, that was kind of checkered, and three 
 buttons were open at the neck of her dress, I recall a 
 lot more of little things about her, though the rest of 
 what happened is rather dreamy. 
 
 "I asked for Merridy, and she told me she d gone 
 away gone with Bennett, the night before, while I 
 was coughing blood from the powder smoke ; that they 
 were married in the front room, and that the bride 
 looked beautiful. She had cried a bit on leaving 
 Chandon, and and that was about alL I counted 
 the buttons on the Scotchwoman s waist eight or ten 
 times, and by-and-by she asked if I was sick. But I 
 wasn t. She was a kind-hearted woman, and I d been to 
 her house a good deal, so she asked me to come in and 
 rest. I wasn t tired, so I went away, and climbed back 
 up to the little shack and the mine that I nated now." 
 
 The trader paused, and, reaching for the bottle^ 
 214 
 
A MYSTERY IS UNRAVELLED 
 
 poured himself out a glass of brandy, which he spilled 
 into his throat raw, then continued: 
 
 44 1 turned into a kind of hermit after that, and 
 I wasn t good to associate with. Men got so they 
 shunned me, and I knew they told strange stories, be 
 cause I heard them whisper when I went to the stores 
 for grub once a month. I changed all over, till even 
 my squirreh and partridges and other friends quit me; 
 once in Awhile I got out a ton or two of rock and sold 
 it, but I never worked the mine or opened it up I 
 couldn t bear to go inside the drift. I tried it time 
 and again, but the smell of its darkness drove me out; 
 every foot of its ragged walls had left its mark on me, 
 and my heart was torn and gouged and shivered worse 
 than its seams and ledges. I could have sold it, but 
 there was no place for me to go, and what did I want 
 with money? I was shy of the world, like a crippled 
 child that dreads the daylight, and I shrank from going 
 out where people might see my scars; so I stayed there 
 by myself nursing the hurt that never got any better. 
 You see, I d been raised among the hills and rocks, and 
 I was like them in a way; I couldn t grow and alter 
 and heal up. 
 
 "From time to time I heard of her, but the news, in 
 stead of gladdening me, as it would have gladdened 
 some men, wrung out what bits of suffering were left 
 in me, and I fairly ached for her. Nobody comes to 
 see clearer than a woman deceived, so it didn t take 
 her long to find out the kind of man Bennett was. He 
 wasn t like her at all, and the reason he had courted 
 her so hotly was just that he had had everything that 
 rightly belongs to a man like him, and had sickened of 
 it, so he wanted her because she was clean and pure 
 and different; and. realizing that he couldn t get her 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 any other way, he had married her. But she was a 
 treasure no bad man could appreciate, and so he tired 
 quickly, even before the little one came. 
 
 "When I heard that she had borne him a daughter 
 I wrote her a letter, which took me a month to com 
 pose, and which I tore up. One day a story came to 
 me that made me saddle my horse to ride down and 
 kill him and, mind you, I was a man who made pets of 
 little wild, trusting things. But I knew she would 
 surely send for me when her pain became too great, 
 so I uncinched my gear and hung it up, and waited 
 and waited and waited. Three long, endless years I 
 waited, almost within sound of her voice, without a 
 word from her, without a glimpse of her, and every hour 
 of that time went by as slowly as if I had held my 
 breath. Then she called to me, and I went. 
 
 "I tell you, I was thankful that day for the fortune 
 that had made me take good care of my horse, for I 
 rode like Death on a wind-storm. It grew moonlight 
 as I raced down the valley, and the foam from the 
 animal s mxizzle lodged on my clothes, and made me 
 laugh and swear that the morning sun would show 
 Dan Bennett s blood in its place. I rode through the 
 streets of Mesa, where they lived, and past the lights 
 of his big saloon, where I heard the sound of devil s 
 revelry and a shrill-voiced woman singing a woman 
 the like of which he had tried to make my Merridy. I 
 never skulked or sneaked in those days, and no man 
 ever made me take back roads, so I came up to his 
 house from the front and tied my horse to his gate-post. 
 She heard me on the steps and opened the door, 
 
 " You sent for me, said I. Where is he? But he 
 had gone away to a neighboring camp, and wouldn t 
 be back until morning, at which I felt the way a thief 
 
 216 
 
A MYSTERY IS UNRAVELLED 
 
 must feel, for I d hoped to meet him in his own house, 
 and I wasn t the kind to go calling when the husband was 
 out. I couldn t think very clearly, however, because 
 of the change in her. She was so thin and worn and 
 sad, sadder than any woman I d ever seen, and she 
 wasn t the girl I d known three years before. I guess 
 I d changed a heap myself; anyhow, that was the first 
 thing she spoke about, and the tears came into her eyes 
 as she breathed : 
 
 "Poor boy! poor boy I You took it very hard, 
 didn t you? 
 
 " You sent for me, f said I. Which road did he 
 take? 
 
 "There s nothing you can do to him/ she answered 
 back. I sent for you to make sure that you still love 
 me/ 
 
 " Did you ever doubt it? said I, at which she began 
 to cry, sobbing like a woman who has worn out all 
 emotion. 
 
 " Can you feel the same after what I ve made you 
 suffer? she said, and I reckon she must have read the 
 answer in my eyes ; for I never was much good at talk 
 ing, and the sight of her, so changed, had taken the 
 speech out of me, leaving nothing but aches and pains 
 and ashes in its place. When she saw what she wished 
 to know, she told me the story, the whole miserable 
 story, that I d heard enough of to suspect. Why she d 
 married the other man she couldn t explain herself, 
 except that it was a woman s whim I had stayed 
 away and he had come the oftener part pique and 
 part the man s dare-devil fascination. I reckon; but a 
 month had shown her how she really stood, and had 
 shown him, too. Likewise, she saw the sort of man 
 he was and the kind of life he lived. At last he got 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 rough and cruel to her, trying every way to break he* 
 spirit; and even the baby didn t stop him it made him 
 worse, if anything till he swore he d make them both 
 the kind he was, for her goodness seemed to rile and 
 goad him; and, having lived with the kind of woman 
 you have to beat, he tried it on her. Then she knew 
 her fight was hopeless, and she sent for me. 
 
 " He s a fiend, she told me. I ve stood all I can- 
 He ll make a bad woman of me as sure as he will of the 
 little one, if I stay on here, so I have decided to go and 
 take her with me/ 
 
 " Where? said I. 
 
 " Wherever you say/ she answered; and yet I did 
 not understand, not till I saw the look in her eyes. 
 Then, as it dawned on me, she broke down, for it was 
 a terrible thing for a good woman to offer. 
 
 " It s all for the little girl! she cried. More than 
 her life depends upon it. We must get her away from 
 him/ 
 
 "She saw it was her only course, and went where 
 her heart was calling." 
 
 The Lieutenant met the look of appeal in the trader s 
 eyes, and nodded to imply his complete understanding 
 and approval. 
 
 "We love some women for their goodness, others we 
 love for their frailness, but there never was one who 
 combined the two like her, and, now that I knew she 
 loved me, I began to believe again there was a God 
 somewhere. I d never seen the youngster, so she led 
 me in where it was sleeping, and I remember my boots 
 made such a devil of a thumping on the floor that she 
 laid her slim white finger on her lips and smiled at me. 
 All the fingers in the world began to choke at my 
 throat, and all the blood in me commenced, to pound 
 
 218 
 
A MYSTERY IS UNRAVELLED 
 
 at my heart, when I looked on that little sleeping kid- 
 die. The tears began to roll out of my eyes, and, be* 
 cause they had been dry for four years, they scalded 
 like melted metal. That was the only time I ever 
 wept the sight of her baby did it. 
 
 "I love her already, I whispered, and I ll spend 
 my life making her happy and making a lady of her/ 
 which clinched what wavering doubt the mother had, 
 and she began to plan quickly, the fear coming on her 
 of a sudden that our scheme might fail. I was for 
 riding away with both of them that night, back through 
 the streets of Mesa and up into the hills, where I d have 
 held them single-handed against man or God or devil, 
 but she wouldn t hear of it. 
 
 " We must go away/ she said, a long way from 
 here, where the world won t find us and the little one 
 can grow to womanhood without knowing. She must 
 never learn who her father was or what her mother 
 did. We will start all over, you and I and the baby, 
 and forget. Do you love me well enough to do it ? 
 
 "I uttered a cry and took her in my arms, the arms 
 that had ached for her all those years. Then I kissed 
 her for the first time." 
 
 The old man tried to light his pipe, which had gone 
 out, but his fingers shook so that he dropped the match; 
 whereupon, without speaking, Burrell struck another 
 and held it for him. The trader drew a noisy puff or 
 two in silence and shot his host a grateful glance. 
 
 "Her plan was for me to take the youngster away 
 that night, and for her to join us later, because pur- 
 suit was certain, and three could be traced where one 
 might disappear; she would follow when the oppor 
 tunity offered. I saw that he had instilled a terror 
 into her, and that she feared him like death; but, as I 
 
 2IQ 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 thought it over, her scheme seemed feasible, so I agreed 
 I was to ride west that hour with the sleeping babe, 
 and conceal myself at a place we selected, while she 
 would say that the little one had wandered away and 
 been lost in the canon, or anything else to throw 
 Bennett off. After a time she would join us. Well 
 the little girl never waked when I took her in my arms, 
 nor when the mother broke down again and talked to 
 me like a crazy woman. Her collapse showed the ter 
 rible strain she had been living under, and the ragged 
 edge where her reason stood. She had been brave 
 enough to plan coolly till the hour for giving up her 
 baby, but when that came she was seized with a thou 
 sand dreads, and made me swear by my love for her, 
 which was and is the holiest thing in all my life, that 
 if anything happened I would live for the other Merridy. 
 I begged her again to come with me, but her fears held 
 her back. She vowed, however, that Bennett should 
 never touch her again, and I made her swear by her 
 love for the babe that she would die before he ever laid 
 hands on her. It woke a savage joy in me to think 1 
 had bested him, after all. 
 
 "I never thought of what I was giving up, of the 
 clean name I was soiling, of the mine back there that 
 meant a fortune any time I cared to take it, for things 
 like that don t count when a man s blood is hot, so I 
 rode away in the yellow moonlight with a sleeping 
 baby on my breast, where no child or woman had ever 
 lain except for that minute before I left. She stood 
 out from beneath the porch shadow and smiled her 
 good-bye the last I ever saw of her. . . . 
 
 "I travelled hard that night and swapped horses 
 at daylight; then, leaving the wild country behind, I 
 came into a region I didn t know, and found a Mexican 
 
 220 
 
A MYSTERY IS UNRAVELLED 
 
 woman who tended the child for me, for I was close by 
 the place where Merridy was to come. Every night I 
 went into the village in hopes that some word had ar 
 rived, and I waited patiently for a week. Then I got 
 the blow. I heard it from the loafers around the little 
 post-office first, but it dazed me so I wouldn t believe 
 it till I borrowed the paper and read the whole story, 
 with the type dancing and leaping before me. It took 
 some hours for it to seep in, even after that, and for 
 years I recalled every word of the damned lie as if it 
 had been branded on me with hot irons. They called 
 it a shocking crime, the most brutal murder California 
 had ever known , and in the head-lines was my name in 
 letters that struck me between the eyes like a hammer. 
 Mrs. Dan Bennett had been foully murdered by me, 
 in a fit of sudden jealousy, and I had disappeared with 
 the baby! The husband had returned unexpectedly 
 to find her dying, so he said, but too far gone to call 
 for help, and with barely sufficient strength to tell him 
 who did it and how! Then the paper went on with the 
 tale of my courting her, and her turning me down for 
 Bennett. It told how I had gone off alone up into the 
 hills, turning into a bear that nobody, man or child, 
 could approach. It said I had brooded there all this 
 time till the mania got uppermost, and so came down 
 to wreak my vengeance. They never even did me the 
 credit of calling me crazy; I was a fiend incarnate, a 
 beast without soul, and a lot of things like that; and, 
 remember, I had never harmed a living thing in all 
 my life. However, that wasn t what hurt. What 
 turned me into a dull, dead, suffering thing was the 
 knowledge that she was gone. For hours I couldn t 
 get beyond that fact. Then came the realization that 
 Bennett had done it, for I reasoned that he had 
 
 221 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 dragged a hint of the truth from her by very force of 
 the fear he held her in and slain her. God ! the 
 awful rage that came over me! But there was nothing 
 to do; I had sworn to guard the little one, so I couldn t 
 take vengeance on him. I couldn t go back and prove 
 my innocence, for that would give the child to him. 
 What a night I spent ! The next day I saw I had been 
 indicted by the grand jury and was a wanted man. 
 From a distance I watched myself become an outlaw; 
 watched the county put a price upon my head, which 
 Bennett doubled ; watched public opinion rise to such 
 a heat that posses began to scour the mountains. 
 What I noted in particular was a statement in the 
 paper that The sorrowing husband takes his bereave 
 ment with the quiet courage which marks a brave man ! 
 That roused me more than the knowledge that he had 
 made me a wolf and set my friends on my track, which 
 I hadn t covered very well, having ridden boldly. It 
 happened that the Mexican woman couldn t read and 
 talked little; still, I knew they d find me soon it 
 couldn t be otherwise so I made another run for it, 
 swearing an oath, however, before I left that I d come 
 back and have that gambler s heart. 
 
 "It was lucky I went, for they uncovered my sign 
 the next day, and the country where I d hidden blazed 
 like a field of dry grass. They were close on my heels, 
 and they closed in from every quarter, but, pshaw! I 
 knew the woods like an Indian, and the wild things 
 were my friends again, which would have made it play 
 if I d been alone, but a girl child of three was harder 
 to manage. So I cowered and skulked day after day 
 like a thief or the murderer they thought me, working 
 always farther into the hidden places, travelling by 
 night with the little one asleep on my bosom, by day 
 
 222 
 
A MYSTERY IS UNRAVELLED 
 
 praying with her in some leafy glen, with my pursuers 
 so close behind that for weeks I never slept; and my 
 love for the child increased daily till it became almost 
 an insanity. 
 
 " She was the only woman thing I had ever possessed, 
 and it seemed like my love for the mother came back 
 and settled on her. And she loved me, too, and trusted 
 me. Every little smile, every clasp of her tiny, dim 
 pled ringers showed it, and tied her to me with another 
 knot till the fear of losing her became greater than I 
 could bear, till it kept the chill of death in my bones 
 and filled my veins with glacier water. I became an 
 animal, a cowardly, quailing coyote, all through the love 
 of a child. 
 
 "We had close squeezes many times, but I finally 
 won, in spite of the fact that they tracked us clear to 
 the edge of the desert, for I had hit for the state line, 
 knowing that Nevada was a wilderness, and feeling 
 that I d surely lose them there. And I did. But in 
 doing it I nearly lost Merridy. You see, the constant 
 travel and hardship was too much for a prattling baby, 
 and she fell sick from tne heat and the dust and the 
 thirst. I d been going and going till I was a riding 
 skeleton, till my arms were crooked and dead from 
 holding her, but this new thing frightened me like those 
 men and dogs had nevei done. Here was a thing 
 I couldn t hide from nor outride, so I doubled back and 
 came boldly into the watered country again, expecting 
 they would take me, of course, for a runaway man with 
 a babe in his arms isn t hard to identify, but I didn t 
 care. I was bound for the nearest ranch or mining- 
 camp where a woman could be found; but, as luck 
 would have it, I went through without trying. I had 
 gone farther from men and things, however, than I 
 
 223 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 thought, and this return pursuit was a million times 
 worse than the other, for I couldn t go fast enough to 
 shake Death, who ran with his hand on my cantle or 
 rode on my horse s rump. It was then I found Alluna. 
 She was with a hunting-party of Pah-Utes, who knew 
 nothing of me nor of the white man s affairs, and cared 
 less ; aud when I saw the little squaw I rode my horse 
 up beside her, laid the sick child in her arms, then 
 tumbled out of the saddle. They had a harder job to 
 pull me through than they did to save Merridy, for I d 
 given the baby all the water and hadn t slept or rested 
 for many years, so it seemed. 
 
 "The little one was playing around several days be 
 fore I got back my reason. Meanwhile the party had 
 moved North, taking us with them, and, as it happened, 
 just missing a posse who were returning from the 
 desert. 
 
 "When I was able to get about I told Alluna that 
 I must be going, but as I told her I watched her face, 
 and saw the sign I wanted the white girl had clutched 
 at her like she had at me, and she couldn t give her up, 
 so I made a dicker with hec old man. It took all the 
 money I had to buy that squaw, but I knew the kiddie 
 must have a woman s care ; and the three of us started 
 out soon after, alone, and broke, and aimless and 
 we ve been going ever since. 
 
 "That s the heart of the story, Lieutenant, and that s 
 how I started to drift. Since then we three have 
 never rested. I left them once in Idaho and went 
 back to Mesa, riding all the way, mostly by night, 
 but Bennett was gone. He d run down mighty fast 
 after Merridy died, so I heard, growing sullen and 
 uglier day by day and I reckon I was the only one 
 who knew why till he had a killing in his place. It 
 
 224 
 
A MYSTERY IS UNRAVELLED 
 
 was unorovoked, and instead of stopping to face it out 
 the yellow in him rose to the surface and he left be 
 fore sunup, as I had left, making a clean getaway, too, 
 for there was no such hullabaloo raised about killing 
 a man as there was about the other. So my trip was 
 all for nothing. 
 
 "I was used to disappointment by now, so I took it 
 quiet and went back to Alluna and the little one, know 
 ing that some day we two men would meet. You see, 
 I figured that God had framed a cold hand for me, but 
 He would surely give me a pair before the game closed. 
 Of course, never having seen Bennett, I was handi 
 capped, and, added to that, he changed his name, so 
 the search was mighty slow and blind, but I knew 
 the day would come. And it would have come only 
 for this. 
 
 " There isn t much more to tell. I did what most 
 men would have done, I reckon, because I was just 
 average in every way. I took Alluna, and together 
 we drifted North, along the frontier, until we landed 
 here. Every year the little girl got more beautiful and 
 more like her mother, and every year we two loved her 
 more. We changed her name, of course, for I ve al 
 ways had the dread of the law back of me, and then 
 the other two kiddies came along; but we were living 
 pretty easy, the woman contented and me waiting for 
 Bennett, till you stepped in and Necia fell in love. 
 That s another thing I never counted on. It seems 
 like I ve always overlooked the plainest kind of facts. 
 I ve held off telling you the last few weeks, hoping you 
 two wouldn t make it necessary, for I reckon I m sort 
 nf a cowaru; out she informed me to-night that she 
 couldn t marry you, being what she thinks she is, and 
 knowing the blood she has in her I knew she wouldn t. 
 
 22$ 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 I figured it wouldn t be right to either of you to let 
 you go it blind, and so I came in to tell you this whole 
 thing and to give myself up." 
 
 Gale stopped, then poured himself another drink. 
 
 "To give yourself up?" echoed Burrell, vaguely. 
 "How do you mean ?" He had sat like one in a trance 
 during the long recital, only his eyes alive. 
 
 "I m under indictment for murder," said the 
 trader. "I have been for fifteen years, and there s 
 no chance in the world for me to prove my inno 
 cence." 
 
 "Have you told Necia?" the young man in 
 quired. 
 
 "No, you ll have to do that I never could she 
 might disbelieve. What s more, you mustn t tell her 
 yet. Wait till I give the word. It won t be long, per 
 haps a day. I want to go free a little while yet, for 
 I ve got some work to do." 
 
 Burrell rose to his feet and stamped the cramps from 
 his muscles. He was deeply agitated, and his mind 
 was groping darkly for light to lay hold of this new 
 thing that confronted him. 
 
 "Why, yes, yes of course don t come until you re 
 ready," he muttered, mechanically, as if unaware of 
 the meaning of his words. "To be sure, I m a 
 policeman, am I not ? I had forgotten I was a jailer, 
 and and all that." He said it sneeringly, and with 
 a measure of contempt for his office; then he turned 
 suddenly to the trader, and his voice was rich and 
 deep-pitched with feeling. 
 
 "John Gale," he said, "you re the bravest man I 
 ever knew, and the best." He choked a bit. "You 
 sacrificed all that life meant when this girl was a baby, 
 and now when she has come into womanhood you give 
 
 226 
 
A MYSTERY IS UNRAVELLED 
 
 I 
 
 up your blood for her. By God! You are a man I 
 I want your hand!" 
 
 In spite of himself he could not restrain the moist-" 
 ure that dimmed his eyes as he gripped the toil-worn 
 palm of this great, giay hulk of a man, so aged and 
 bent beneath the burden of his life-long, fadeless love, 
 who, in turn, was powerfully affected by the young 
 man s impulsive outburst of feeling and his unexpected 
 words of praise. The old man looked up a trifle shyly. 
 
 "Then you don t doubt no part of it?" 
 
 "Certainly not." 
 
 "Somehow, I always figured nobody would believe 
 me if ever I told the whole thing." 
 
 The soldier gazed unseeingly into the flame of his 
 lamp, and said: 
 
 "I wonder if my love for the daughter is as great 
 and as holy as your love for the mother. I wonder if 
 I could give what you have given, if I had nothing but 
 a memory to live with me." Then he inquired, irrele 
 vantly; "But what about Bennett, Mr. Gale? You 
 say you never found him?" 
 
 The trader answered, after a moment s hesitation, 
 "He s still at large." At which his companion ex 
 claimed, "I d love to meet him in your stead!" 
 
 Gale seemed seized with a desire to speak, but, even 
 while he hesitated, out of the silent night there came 
 the sound of quick footsteps approaching briskly, as 
 if the owner were in haste and knew whither he was 
 bound. Up the steps they came lightly; then the 
 room and the whole silence round about rang and 
 echoed with a peremptory signal. Evidently this man 
 rapped on the board door to awaken and alarm, for 
 instead of his knuckles he used some hard and heavy 
 thing like a gun-butt. 
 
 227 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 * Lieutenant Burrell! Lieutenant BurrellP 8 a gruff 
 voice cried. 
 
 "Who s there ?" called the young man. 
 
 "Let me in! Quick! I ve got work for you to do! 
 Open up, I say! Thi? IF Ren Sfcvkf" 
 
K XV 
 
 AND A KNOT TIGHTENED 
 
 A DAY of shattered hopes is a desolate thing, but 
 the night of such a day is desolate indeed. In 
 all his life Poleon Doret had never sunk to such depths 
 of despondency, for his optimistic philosophy and his 
 buoyant faith in the goodness of life forbade it. There 
 fore, when darkness came it blotted out what little 
 brightness and light and hope were left to him after 
 Necia s stormy interview with the Lieutenant. The 
 arrival of the freight steamer afforded him some dis 
 traction, but there was only a small consignment for 
 the store, and that was quickly disposed of so, leav 
 ing the other citizens of Flambeau to wrangle over their 
 private merchandise, he went back to his solitary vigil, 
 which finally became so unbearable that he sought to 
 escape his thoughts, or at least to drown them for a 
 while, amid the lights and life and laughter of Stark s 
 saloon. Being but a child by nature, his means of dis 
 traction were primal and elementary, and he began to 
 gamble, as usual with hard luck, for the cards had ever 
 been unkind to him. He did not think of winnings or 
 losings, however he merely craved the occupation; 
 and it was this that induced him to sit at a game in 
 which Runnion played, although ordinarily he would 
 not have tolerated even tacitly such a truce to his dis 
 likes. As it was, he crouched in a corner, his hat pulled 
 
 22Q 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 down over his brow, his swarthy face a darker hue 
 beneath the shadow, losing steadily, only now and then 
 showing a flash of white teeth as he saw his money go. 
 What mattered loss to him ? He had no more need of 
 money now than Necia had of his love. He would spend 
 the dollars he had eked a,nd scraDed and saved for her 
 as she had spent the treasures or hi? heart, and now 
 that the one had brought him no return he wished to 
 be rid of the other, for he was shortly to go again in 
 search of his " New Country," where no man needs gold 
 half so much as a clean heart. It would be a long 
 journey, far to the West and North a journey that 
 none of his kind had ever fared back from, and he 
 wished to go light, as all good adventurers go. 
 
 Runnion annoyed him with his volubility, for the 
 news of his good-fortune had fired the man with a 
 reckless disregard for money, and he turned to gaming 
 as the one natural recourse of his ilk. As the irony of 
 fate would have it, he won what the Canadian lost, 
 together with the stakes of various others who played 
 for a time with him and then gave up, wagging their 
 heads or swearing softly at the cards. 
 
 It was shortly after midnight that Stark came into 
 the place. Poleon was not too absorbed in his own 
 fortunes to fail to notice the extraordinary ferocity 
 and exhilaration of the saloon-keeper, nor that his face 
 was keener, his nostrils thinner, his walk more nervous, 
 and his voice more cutting than usual when he spoke 
 to Runnion, 
 
 "Come here," 
 
 " I ll be with you when I finish this hand,** said the 
 player, over his shoulder. 
 
 "Come here!" Stark snapped his command, and 
 Runnion threw down his cards, 
 
 330 
 
AND A KNOT TIGHTENED 
 
 "I m right in the middle of a winning streak. You 11 
 break my luck, Ben." 
 
 But the other only frowned impatiently, and, draw 
 ing the reluctant gambler aside, began to talk rapidly 
 to him, almost within ear-shot of Poleon, who watched 
 them, idly wondering what Stark had to say that could 
 make Runnion start and act so queerly. Well, it was 
 their affair. They made a bad pair to draw to. He knew 
 that Runnion was the saloon-keeper s lieutenant and 
 obeyed implicitly his senior s commands. He could dis 
 tinguish nothing they said, nor was he at all curious un 
 til a knot of noisy men crowded up t> the bar, and, fore 
 ing the two back nearer to the table where he sat, his 
 sharp ears caught these words from Runnion s lips: 
 
 "Not with me! She d never go with me I" and 
 Stark s reply: 
 
 "She ll go where I send her, and with anybody I 
 tell her to." 
 
 The Frenchman lost what followed, for a newly dealt 
 hand required study. He scanned his cards, and tossed 
 them face up before the dealer ; then he overheard Run 
 nion say: 
 
 "It s the only one in camp. He might sell it if you 
 offered him enough." At this Stark called one of the 
 men at the bar aside, and the three began to dicker. 
 
 "Not a cent less," the third man announced, loudly. 
 "There ain t another Peterborough in town." 
 
 It was Poleon s deal now, and when he had finished 
 both Stark and Runnion had disappeared, also the 
 man they had accosted, which pleased the Canadian, 
 for now that Runnion was eliminated from the game 
 he might win a little. A steady, unvarying run of 
 bad hands is uninteresting, and does not occu py one s 
 mind as well as an occasional change of luck 
 * 231 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 Outside Runnion was saying again to Stark: 
 
 "She won t go with me, Ben; she don t like me. 
 You see, I made love to her, and she got mad and 
 wanted me killed." 
 
 "She ll never know who you are until it s too late 
 to turn back," said the other, "and you are the only 
 man I can trust to take her through. I can trust you 
 you owe me too much to be crooked." 
 
 "Oh, I ll act square with you! But look here, what s 
 ^11 this about, anyhow? Why do you want that girl? 
 You said you didn t care for her that way; you told 
 me so yourself. Been having a change of heart, or is 
 it your second childhood?" He laughed disagreeably. 
 
 "It s none of your business," said the gambler. "I 
 want her, and that s enough. All you have to do is 
 to take her to St. Michael s and keep her there till 
 you hear from me. She thinks she is going to the 
 Mission, and you needn t tell her otherwise until you 
 get her aboard a steamer; then take her, no matter 
 what kind of a fight she puts up. You ve got a light- 
 rowing skiff, and you d better keep going till you re 
 overtaken by a down-river boat. I want her as far 
 away from here as possible. There s going to be some 
 hell in this camp. Now, hike, and get yourself ready." 
 
 "All right! But I ain t the safest kind of a chap 
 eron for a good-looking girl." 
 
 Stark laid a cold hand on Runnion s shoulder, close 
 up to his neck. 
 
 "Get that out of your mind. She belongs to me." 
 
 "You said just now " 
 
 "Never mind what I said. She s mine, and you ve 
 got to promise to be straight with her. I ve trusted 
 you before, and if you re not on the level now, say so. 
 It will save you a lot of trouble." 
 
 232 
 
AND A KNOT TIGHTENED 
 
 "Oh! All right!" exclaimed Runnion, testily. 
 "Only it looks mighty queer." 
 
 He melted into the darkness and Stark returned to 
 his cabin, where he paced back and forth impatiently, 
 smiling evilly now and then, consulting his watch at 
 frequent intervals. A black look had begun to set 
 tle on his face, but it vanished when Necia came, and 
 he met her with a smile. 
 
 " I was afraid you had weakened," he said. " Every 
 thing is ready and waiting. I ve got the only canoe in 
 the place, a Peterborough, and hired a good oarsman 
 to put you through, instructing him to make as fast 
 time as he can, and to board the first steamer that 
 overtakes you. Too bad this freighter that just got in 
 isn t going the other way. However, there s liable to 
 be another any hour, and if one doesn t come along 
 you ll find enough blankets and food in the skiff, so 
 you needn t go ashore. You ll be there before you 
 know it." 
 
 "You are very kind," said the girl. "I can t thank 
 you enough." She was clothed in her simple every 
 day dress, and looked again the sun-colored half-breed 
 girl with the wide, dark eyes and the twin braids of 
 crow-black hair. 
 
 "You didn t run into anybody, eh?" 
 
 She shook her head. Then he led her out into the 
 darkness, and they stumbled down to the river s-bank, 
 descending to the gravelly water s edge, where rows 
 of clumsy hand-sawed boats and poling-skiffs were 
 chafing at their painters. The up-river steamer was 
 just clearing. 
 
 Stark s low whistle was answered a hundred yards 
 below, and they searched out a darker blot that proved 
 to be a man s figure. 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 - Is everything ready?" he inquired, at which the 
 shadow grunted unintelligibly. So, holding Necia by 
 the arm, Stark helped her back to a seat in the stern. 
 
 "This man will take you through," he said. "You 
 can trust him, all right." 
 
 The oarsman clambered in and adjusted his sweeps, 
 then Stark laid a hand on the prow and shoved the 
 light boat out into the current, calling softly: 
 
 "Good-bye, and good -luck." 
 
 "Good-bye, Mr. Stark. Thank you ever so much," 
 the girl replied, too numb and worn out to say much, 
 or to notice or care whither she was bound or who was 
 her boatman. She had been swept along too swiftly 
 to reason or fear for herself any more. 
 
 Half an hour later the scattered lights of the little 
 camp winked and twinkled for the last time. Turning, 
 she set her face forward, and, adjusting the cushions 
 to her comfort, strained her tired eyes towards the 
 rising and falling shadow of her boatman. She seemed 
 borne along on a mystic river of gloom that hissed and 
 gurgled about her, invisible but all-pervading, irresisti 
 ble, monstrous, only the ceaseless, monotonous creak of 
 the rowlocks breaking the silence. 
 
 Stark did not return to his cabin, but went back 
 instead to his saloon, where he saw Poleon Doret still 
 sprawling with elbows on the table, his hat pulled low 
 above his sullen face. The owner of the place passed 
 behind the bar and poured himself a full glass of 
 whiskey, which he tossed off, then, without a look to 
 right or left, went out and down towards the barracks. 
 A light behind the drawn curtains of the officer s house 
 told that his man was not abed, but he waited a long 
 moment after his summons before the door was opened, 
 
 234 
 
AND A KWOT TIGHTENED 
 
 during which he heard the occupant moving about and 
 another door close in the rear. When he was allowed 
 entrance at last he found the young man alone in a 
 smoke-filled room with a bottle and two empty glasses 
 on the table. 
 
 For at the sound of his voice Gale had whispered 
 to Burrell, " Keep him out!" and the Lieutenant had 
 decided to refuse his late visitor admittance when 
 he lighted on the expedient of concealing the trader 
 in the bedroom at the rear. It was only natural, he 
 reasoned, that Gale should dislike to face a man like 
 Stark before he had regained his composure. 
 
 "Go in there and wait till I see what he wants," he 
 had said, and, shutting the old man in, he had gone 
 forth to admit Stark, resenting his ill-timed intrusion 
 and inquiring brusquely the cause of it. 
 
 Before answering, Stark entered and closed the door 
 behind him. 
 
 "I ve got some work for you, Lieutenant." 
 
 "I guess it can wait till morning," said Meade. 
 
 "No, it can t; it s got to be done to-night, right now! 
 You represent the law, or at least you ve taken every 
 occasion to so declare yourself, and to mix in with 
 little things that don t cut much figure; so now 
 I ve come to you with something big. It s a serious 
 affair, and being as I m a peaceful man I want to go 
 by the law." His eyes mocked the words he uttered. 
 "You re mighty prompt and determined when it comes 
 to regulating such affairs. You seem to carry the 
 weight of this whole community on your shoulders, so 
 I m here to give you some information." 
 
 Burrell ignored the taunt, and said, quietly: "It s 
 a little late for polite conversation. Come to the 
 point." 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 I ve got a criminal for you." 
 
 "What kind?" 
 
 "Murderer." 
 
 "You ve had a killing in your place, eh? * 
 
 "No, I ve just made a discovery. I found it all out 
 by accident, too pure accident. By Heaven! You 
 can t tell me there isn t a beneficent Providence over,, 
 looking our affairs. Why, this felon has lived here 
 among us all this time, and only for the merest chance 
 I never would have recognized him." 
 
 "Well, well! Go on!" snapped Burrell, impatiently. 
 
 "He s a friend of yours, and a highly respected 
 party. He s a glorious example to this whole river." 
 
 The officer started. Could it be? he wondered. 
 Could knowledge of this affair have reached this man ? 
 He was uncomfortably aware of that presence in the 
 back room, but he had to know the truth. 
 
 "Who is the man?" 
 
 "He s your friend. He s " Stark paused, gloat 
 ing over his enemy s suspense. 
 
 "Go on." 
 
 "He s everybody s friend. He s the shining mark 
 of this whole country. He s the benevolent renegade, 
 Squaw-man Gale." 
 
 "John Gale?" 
 
 "Gaylord is his name, and I was a fool not to know 
 it sooner." 
 
 "How did you discover this?" inquired Burrell, 
 lamely. "What proof have you?" 
 
 The disclosure had not affected the soldier as Stark 
 expected, and his anger began to lift itself. 
 
 "That s neither here nor there; the man s a mur 
 derer; he s wanted in California, where I came from; 
 he s been indicted, and there s a price on his head, 
 
 236 
 
AND A KNOT TIGHTENED 
 
 He s hidden for fifteen years, but he ll hang as sure 
 as I stand here." 
 
 Disclosures of a complex nature had so crowded on 
 Burrell in the last few hours that he saw himself the 
 centre of a most unfortunate and amazing tangle. 
 Things were difficult enough as it was, but to have 
 this man appear and cry for justice this man above 
 all others! it was r>- complication quite unlooked for 
 a hideous mockery. He must gain time for thought. 
 One false step might ruin all. He could not face this 
 on the spur of the moment, so, shrugging his shoulders 
 with an air of polite scepticism, he assumed a tone of 
 good-natured raillery. 
 
 "Fifteen years? Murder? John Gale a murderer? 
 Why, that s almost pardon me if I smile I m get 
 ting sleepy. What proof have you?" 
 
 "Proof!" blazed the gambler. "Proof! Ask Gay- 
 lord! Proof! Why, the woman he murdered was my 
 wife!" 
 
 It was Bun-ell s turn now to fall incoherent, and not 
 only did his speech forsake him, but his thoughts went 
 madly veering off into a wilderness where there was no 
 trail, no light, no hope.. What kind of a coil was this? 
 What frightful bones were these he bared ? This man 
 was Bennett! This was Necia s father! This man he 
 hated, this man who was bad, whose name was a curse 
 throughout the length and breadth of the West, was 
 the father of the girl he loved! His head began to 
 whirl, then the story of the trader came back to him, 
 and he remembered who and what the bearer of these 
 later tidings was. He raised a pair of eyes that had 
 become furious and bloodshot, and suddenly realized 
 that the man before him, who persisted in saddling 
 upon Gale this heinous crime, was the slayer of Necia s 
 
 237 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 mother; for he did not doubt Gale s story for an in 
 stant. He found bis fingers writhing to feel the creat 
 ure s throat. 
 
 "Proof!" Stark was growling. "How much proof 
 do you need? I ve followed him for fifteen years. 
 I ve tracked him with men and dogs through woods 
 and deserts and mining-camps. I ve slept on his trail 
 for five thousand miles, and now d.^ you think I m mis 
 taken? He killed my wife, I say, and robbed me of 
 my little girl! That s her in his house. That s her 
 he calls Necia. She s my girl my girl, do you under 
 stand? and I ll have his life." 
 
 It was hate that animated him, and nothing more. 
 He had no joy in the finding of his offspring, i?.o up 
 lifted thought of justice. The thirst for revenge, per 
 sonal, violent, utter, was all that prompted this man; 
 but Burrell had no inkling yet of the father s well- 
 shaped plans, nor how far-reaching they were, and could 
 barely stammer: 
 
 "So! You you know?" 
 
 "Yes! She wears the evidence around her neck, 
 and if that isn t enough I can furnish more evidence 
 enough to smother you. My name isn t Stark at all; 
 I changed it years ago for certain reasons. I ve changed 
 it more than once, but that s my privilege and my own 
 affair. Her name is Merridy Bennett/* 
 
 " I don t suppose you know I m going to marry her,* 
 said the Kentuckian, irrelevantly. 
 
 "No," replied the other, "I wasn t aware of the 
 fact." 
 
 "Well, I am. I ll be your son-in-law." He said this 
 as if it were the statement of an astonishing truth, 
 whereat Stark grinned, a mirthless, disquieting sort of 
 grimace, and said : 
 
 238 
 
AND A KNOT TIGHTENED 
 
 "There s a lot of things for you and me to settle up 
 first. For one thing, I want those mines of hers." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Well, I m her father, and she s not of age." 
 
 "I ll think it over." 
 
 "I ll take them, anyway, as her next of kin." 
 
 Burrell did not follow up this statement, for its truth 
 was incontrovertible, and showed that the father s ill- 
 will was too tangible a thing to be concealed; so he 
 continued : 
 
 "We ll adjust that after Gale is attended to; but, 
 meanwhile, what do you want me to do?" 
 
 "I want you to arrest the man who killed my wife. 
 If you don t take him the miners will. I ve got a fol 
 lowing in this camp, and I ll raise a crowd in fifteen 
 minutes enough to hang this squaw-man, or batter 
 down your barracks to get him. But I don t want to 
 do that ; I want to go by the law you ve talked so much 
 about; I want you to do the trick." 
 
 At last Burrell saw the gambler s deviltry. He 
 knew Stark s reputation too well to think that he feared 
 a meeting with Gale, for the man had lived in hope of 
 that these fifteen years, and had shaped his life around 
 such a meeting; but this indirect method the Ken- 
 tuckian felt a flash of reluctant admiration for a man 
 who could mould a vengeance with such cruel hands, 
 and, even though he came fjxmi a land of feuds, where 
 hate is a precious thing, the cunning strength of this 
 man s enmity dwarfed any he had ever known. Stark 
 had planned his settlement coldly and with deliberate 
 malice ; moreover, he was strong enough to stand aside 
 and let another take his place, and thus deny to Gale 
 the final recourse of a hunted beast, the desperate satis 
 faction that the trader craved. He tied his enemy s 
 
 339 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 hands and delivered him up with his thirst unsatisfied 
 to whom ? He thrust a weapon into the hand of his 
 other enemy, and bade this other enemy use it ; worse 
 than that, forced him to strike the man he honored 
 the man he loved. Burrell never doubted that Stark 
 had carefully weighed the effect of this upon Necia, 
 and had reasoned that a girl like her could not under 
 stand a soldier s duty if it meant the blood of a parent. 
 If he refused to act, the gambler could break him, while 
 every effort he made to protect Gale would but in 
 crease the other s satisfaction. There was no chance 
 of the trader s escape. Stark held him in his hand. 
 His followers would do his bidding. It was a desper 
 ate affair. Was it impossible, the Lieutenant won 
 dered, to move this man from his purpose ? 
 
 "Have you thought of Necia? She loves Gale. 
 What effect will this have on her?" 
 
 "Damn her! She s more his brat than mine. I 
 want John Gay lord!" 
 
 At this a vicious frenzy overtook Burrell, and he 
 thought of the man behind yonder door, whom he had 
 forgotten until these words woke something savage in 
 him. Well! Why not? These two men had stalked 
 each other clear into the farthest places, driven by 
 forces that were older than the hills. Who was he to 
 stand between such passions? This was ordained, it 
 was the course of nature, the clash of elements, and 
 this was a fair battle-ground, so why should he under 
 take to stop a thing decreed ? 
 
 The gambler s words rang in his ears "I want John 
 Gaylord " and before he knew what he was doing he 
 had answered: "Very well. I ll give him to you," and 
 crossed quickly to the door of his bedroom and flung 
 it open. On the threshold he paused stock-still. The 
 
 240 
 
AND A KNOT TIGHTENED 
 
 place was empty; a draught sucked through the oper 
 window, flirting with the curtain and telling the story 
 of the trader s exit. 
 
 "If you re looking for your coat, it s here," he heard 
 Stark say. "Get into it, and we ll go for him." 
 
 The Lieutenant s mind was working fast enough now, 
 in all conscience, and he saw with clear and fateful eyes 
 whither he was being led, at which a sudden reckless 
 disregard for consequences seized him. He felt a blind 
 fury at being pulled and hauled and driven by this 
 creature, and also an unreasoning anger at Gale s 
 defection. But it was the thought of Necia and 
 the horrible net of evil in which this man had en 
 snared them both that galled him most. It was all 
 a terrible tangle, in which the truth was hopelessly 
 hidden, and nothing but harm could come from at 
 tempting to unravel it. There was but one solution, 
 and that, though fundamental and effective, was not 
 to be expected from an officer of the law. Neverthe 
 less, he chose it, for Ben Stark was too potent a force 
 for evil to be at large, and needed extermination as 
 truly as if he were some dangerous beast. He deter 
 mined to finish this thing here and now. 
 
 Meade went to his bureau, took his revolver from the 
 belt where he had hung it, and came out into the other 
 room. Stark, seeing the weapon, exclaimed: 
 
 "You don t need that; he won t resist you." 
 
 "I ve decided not to take him," said Burrell. 
 
 "Decided not to take him?" shouted the other. 
 "Have you weakened? Don t you intend to arrest 
 that man?" 
 
 "No!" cried the soldier. "I ve listened to your lies 
 long enough; now I m going to stop them, once for all. 
 You re too dangerous to have around." 
 
 241 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 They faced each other silently a moment; then 
 Stark spoke in a very quiet voice, though his eyes were 
 glittering: 
 
 " What s the meaning of this? Are you crazy?" 
 
 "Gale was here just before you came, and told me 
 who killed your wife. I know." 
 
 "You do?" 
 
 "I do." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "It s pretty late. This place is lonely. This is the 
 simplest way." 
 
 The gambler fell to studying his antagonist, and 
 when he did not speak Burrell continued: 
 
 "Come, brace up! I m giving you a chance." 
 
 But Stark shook his head. 
 
 "Don t be afraid," insisted the Lieutenant. "There 
 are no witnesses. If you get me, nobody will know, 
 and your word is good. If not it s much simpler 
 than the other." Then, when the gambler still made 
 no move, he insisted, "You wouldn t have me kill you 
 like a rattlesnake?" 
 
 "You couldn t," said the older man. "You re not 
 that kind and I m not the kind to be cheated, either. 
 Listen! I ve lived ov^r forty years, and I never took 
 less than was coming to me. I won t begin to 
 night." 
 
 "You ll get your share " 
 
 "Bah! You don t know what I mean. I don t 
 want you; it s him I m after, and when I m done with 
 him I ll take care of you; but I won t run any risk 
 right now. I won t take a chance on losing what I ve 
 risked so much to gain, what I ve lived these fifteen 
 years to get. You might put me away there s the 
 possibility and I won t let you or any other man of 
 
 242 
 
AND A KNOT TIGHTENED 
 
 woman either, not even my girl cheat me out of 
 Gale. Put up your gun." 
 
 The soldier hesitated, then did as he was bidden, for 
 this man knew him better than he knew himself. 
 
 "I ought to treat you like a mad dog, but I can t do 
 it while your hands are up. I m going to fight for 
 John Gale, however, and you can t take him." 
 
 "I ll have his carcass hung to my ridge-pole before 
 daylight." 
 
 "No." 
 
 "I say yes!" Stark turned to go, but paused at the 
 door. "And you think you ll marry Necia, do you?" 
 
 "I know it." 
 
 "Like hell you will! Suppose you find her first." 
 
 "What do you mean? Wait " 
 
 But his visitor was gone, leaving behind him a lover 
 already sorely vexed, and now harassed by a new and 
 sudden apprehension. What venom the man dis 
 tilled! Could it be that he had sent Necia away? 
 Burrell scouted the idea. She wasn t the kind to go 
 at Stark s mere behest ; and as for his forcing her, why, 
 this was not an age of abductions! He might aim to 
 take her, but it would require some time to establish 
 his rights, and even then there were Gale and himself 
 to be reckoned with. Still, this was no time for idling, 
 and he might as well make certain, so the young man 
 put on his coat hurriedly, knowing there was work to 
 do. There was no telling what this night would bring 
 forth, but first he must warn his friend, after which 
 they would fight this thing together, not as soldier and 
 civilian, but as man and man, not for the law, but 
 against it. He smiled as he realized the situation. 
 Well, he was through with the army, anyhow; his path 
 was strange and new from this time henceforth, and 
 
 243 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 led him away from all he had known, taking him among 
 other peoples; but he did not flinch, for it led to her. 
 Behind him was that former life; to-night he began 
 anew. 
 
 Stark traced his way back to his cabin in a ten times 
 fiercer mood than he had come, reviling, cursing, hat 
 ing; back past the dark trading-post he went, pausing 
 to shake his clenched fist and grind out an oath be 
 tween his teeth ; past the door of his own saloon, which 
 was a-light, and whence came the sound of revelry, 
 through the scattered houses, where he went more by 
 feel than by sight, up to the door of his own shack. 
 He fitted his key in the lock, but the door swung open 
 without his aid, at which he remembered that he had 
 only pulled it after him when he came away with Necia. 
 He closed it behind him now, and locked it, for he had 
 some thinking to do; then felt through his pockets for 
 a match, and, striking it, bent over his lamp to adjust 
 the wick. It flared up steady and strong at last, flood 
 ing the narrow place with its illumination; then he 
 straightened up and turned towards the bed to throw 
 off his coat, when suddenly every muscle of his body 
 leaped with an uncontrollable spasm, as if he had un 
 covered a deadly serpent coiled and ready to spring. 
 In spite of himself his lungs contracted as if with the 
 grip of giant hands, and his breath came forth in a 
 startled cry. 
 
 John Gale was sitting at his table, barely an arm s- 
 length away, his gray -blue eyes fixed upon him, and the 
 deep seams of his heavy face set as if graven in stone. 
 His huge, knotted hands were upon the table, and be 
 tween them lay a naked knife. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 JOHN GALE S HOUR 
 
 IT was a heathenish time of night to arouse the girl, 
 thought Burrell, as he left the barracks, but he must 
 allay these fears that were besetting him, he must see 
 Necia at once. The low, drifting clouds obscured what 
 star-glow there was in the heavens, and he stepped back 
 to light a lantern. By its light he looked at his watch 
 and exclaimed, then held it to his ear. Five hours had 
 passed since he left Gale s house. Well, the call was 
 urgent, and Necia would understand his anxiety. 
 
 A few moments later he stood above the squaw, who 
 crouched on the trader s doorstep, wailing her death 
 song into the night. He could not check her; she paid 
 no heed to him, but only rocked and moaned and 
 chanted that strange, weird song which somehow gave 
 strength to his fears. 
 
 "What s wrong; where is Necia? Where is she?" 
 he demanded, and at last seized her roughly, facing 
 her to the light, but Alluna only blinked owlishly at 
 his lantern and shook her head. 
 
 "Gone away," she finally informed him, and began to 
 weave again in her despair, but he held her fiercely. 
 
 "Where has she gone? When did she go?" He 
 shook her to quicken her reply. 
 
 "I don know. I don know. Long time she s gone, 
 
 2 45 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 comprehend, so he pushed past her into the house to 
 see for himself, and without knocking flung Necia s door 
 open and stepped into her chamber. Before he had 
 swept the unfamiliar room with his eyes he knew that 
 she had indeed gone, and gone hurriedly, for the signs 
 of disorder betrayed a reckless haste. Hanging across 
 the back of a chair was what had once been the won 
 drous dress, Poleon s gift, now a damp and draggled 
 ruin, and on the floor were two sodden satin slippers 
 and a pair of wet silk stockings. He picked up the 
 lace gown and saw that it was torn from shoulder to 
 waist. What insanity had possessed the girl to rip her 
 garment thus? 
 
 "She take her nother dress; the one I make las sum 
 mer," said Alluna, who had followed him in and stood 
 staring as he stared. 
 
 "When did she go, Alluna? For God s sake, what 
 does this mean?" 
 
 "I don know! She come and she go, and I don* 
 see her; mebbe three, four hour ago." 
 
 "Where s Gale? He ll know. He s gone after her, 
 eh?" 
 
 The upward glow of the lantern heightened the 
 young man s pallor, and again the squaw broke into 
 her sad lament. 
 
 "John Gale he s gone away with the knife of my 
 father. I am afraid I am afraid." 
 
 Burrell forced himself to speak calmly; this was no 
 time to let his wits stampede. 
 
 "How long ago?" 
 
 "Long time." 
 
 "Did he come back here just now?" 
 
 - No; he went to the jail-house, and he would not 
 let me follow. He don come back no more." 
 
JOHN GALE S HOUR 
 
 This was confusing, and Meade cried, angrily: 
 
 "Why didn t you give the alarm? Why didn t you 
 come to me instead of yelling your lungs out around 
 the house?" 
 
 "He told me to wait," she said, simply. 
 
 "Go find Poleon, quick." 
 
 "He told me to wait," she repeated, stoically, atY"" 
 Burrell knew he was powerless to move her. He saw 
 the image of a great terror in the woman s face. Th6 
 night suddenly became heavy with the hint of un 
 speakable things, and he grew fearful, suspecting now 
 that Gale had told him but a part of his story, that 
 all the time he knew Stark s identity, and that his 
 quarry was at hand, ready for the kill ; or, if not, he had 
 learned enough while standing behind that partition. 
 Where was he now ? Where was Necia ? What part did 
 she play in this? Stark s parting words struck Bur 
 rell again like a blow. This life-long feud was drawing 
 swiftly to some tragic culmination, and somewhere out 
 in the darkness those two strong, hate-filled men were 
 settling their scores. All at once a fear for the trader s 
 life came upon the young man, and he realized that a 
 great bond held them together. He could not think 
 clearly, because of the dread thing that gripped him at 
 thought of Necia. Was he to lose her, after all ? He 
 gave up trying to think, and fled for Stark s saloon, 
 reasoning that where one was the other must be near, 
 and there would surely be some word of Necia. He 
 burst through the door; a quick glance over the place 
 showed it empty of those he sought, but, spying 
 Poleon Doret, he dragged him outside, inquiring breath 
 lessly : 
 
 "Have you seen Gale?" 
 
 "No." * 
 w 247 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 2* Have you seen Stark? Has he been about?** 
 
 "Yes, wan hour, mebbe two hour ago. W y? Wat 
 for you ask?" 
 
 "There s the devil to pay. Those two have come 
 together, and Necia is gone." 
 
 "Necia gone?" the Canadian jerked out. "Wat 
 you mean by dat ? Were she s gone to ?" 
 
 "I don t know nobody knows. God! I m shak 
 ing like a leaf." 
 
 "Bah! She s feel purty bad! She s go out by her- 
 se f. Dat s all right." 
 
 "I tell you something has happened to her; there s 
 hell to pay. I found her clothes at the house torn to 
 ribbons and all muddy and wet." 
 
 Poleon cried out at this. 
 
 "We ve got to find her and Gale, and we haven t a 
 minute to lose. I m afraid we re too late as it is. I 
 wish it was daylight. Damn the darkness, anyhow! 
 It makes it ten times harder." 
 
 His incoherence alarmed his listener more than his 
 words. 
 
 "Were have you look?" 
 
 "I ve been to the house, but Alluna is crazy, and 
 says Gale has gone to kill Stark, as near as I can make 
 out. Both of them were at my quarters to-night, and 
 I m afraid the squaw is right." 
 
 "But w ere is Necia?" 
 
 "We don t know; maybe Stark has got her." 
 
 The Frenchman cursed horribly. "Have you try 
 hees cabane?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 Without answer the Frenchman darted away, and 
 the Lieutenant sped after him through the deserted 
 TOWS of log-houses. 
 
 248 
 
JOHN GALE S HOUR 
 
 "Ha! Dere s light," snarled Doret, over his shoul 
 der, as they neared ther goal. 
 
 "Be careful," panted Burrell. " Wait! Don t knock." 
 He forced Poleon to pause. "Let s find out who s in 
 side. Remember, we re working blind." 
 
 He gripped his companion s arm with fingers of steel, 
 and together they crept up to the door, but even be 
 fore they had gained it they heard a voice within. It 
 was Stark s. The walls of the house were of moss- 
 chinked logs that deadened every sound, but the door 
 itself was of thin, whip-sawed pine boards with ample 
 cracks at top and bottom, and, the room being of small 
 dimensions, they heard plainly. The Lieutenant lean 
 ed forward, then with difficulty smothered an excla 
 mation, for he heard another voice now the voice of 
 John Gale. The words came to him muffled but dis 
 tinct, and he raised his hand to knock, when, suddenly 
 arrested, he seized Poleon and forced him to his knees, 
 hissing into his ear: 
 
 "Listen! Listen! For God s sake, listen!" 
 
 For the first time in his tempestuous life Ben Stark 
 lost the iron composure that had made his name a by 
 word in the West, and at sight of his bitterest enemy 
 seated in the dark of his own house waiting for him 
 he became an ordinary, nervous, frightened man faced 
 by a great peril. It was the utter unexpectedness of 
 the thing that shook him, and before he could regain 
 his balance Gale spoke: 
 
 "I ve come to settle, Bennett." 
 
 "What are you doing here ?" the gambler stammered. 
 
 "I was up at the soldier s place just now and heard 
 you. I didn t want any interruptions, so I came here 
 where we can be alone." He paused, and, when Stark 
 
 24$ 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 made no answer, continued, "Well, let s get at it.** 
 But still the other made no move. "You ve had all 
 the best of it for twenty years," Gale went on, in his 
 level voice, "but to-night I get even. By God! I ve 
 lived for this." 
 
 "That shot in Lee s cabin?" recalled Stark, with the 
 light of a new understanding. "You knew me then?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Stark took a deep breath. "What a damned fool 
 I ve been!" 
 
 "Your devil s magic saved you that time, but it won t 
 stop this." The trader rose slowly with the knife in 
 his hand. 
 
 "You ll hang for this!" said the gambler, unsteadily, 
 at which Gale s face blazed. 
 
 "Ha!" exclaimed the trader, exultingly; "you can 
 feel it in your guts already, eh ?" 
 
 With an effort Stark began to assemble his wits as 
 the trader continued: 
 
 "You saddled your dirty work on me, Ben Stark, 
 and I ve carried it for fifteen years; but to-night I put 
 you out the way you put her out. An eye for an eye!" 
 
 "I didn t kill her," said the man. 
 
 "Don t lie. This isn t a grand jury. We re all 
 alone." 
 
 "I didn t kill her." 
 
 "So? The yellow is showing up at last. I knew 
 you were a coward, but I didn t think you d be afraid 
 to own it to yourself. That thing must have lived 
 with you." 
 
 "Look here," said Stark, curiously, "do you really 
 think I killed Merridy?" 
 
 "I know it. A man who would strike a woman 
 would kill her if he had the nerve." 
 
 250 
 
JOHN GALE S HOUR 
 
 Stark had now mastered himself, and smiled. 
 
 "My hate worked better than I thought. Well, well, 
 that made it hard for you, didn t it?" he chuckled. 
 "I supposed, of course, you knew " 
 
 "Knew?" Gale s face showed emotion for the first 
 time. "Knew what ?" His hands were quivering 
 slightly. 
 
 "She killed herself." 
 
 "So help you God?" 
 
 "So help me God!" 
 
 There was a long pause. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Say, it s kind of funny our standing here talk 
 ing about that thing, isn t it? Well, if you want to 
 know, I came home early that night I guess you 
 hadn t been gone two hours and the surprise did it, 
 more than anything else, I suppose she hadn t pre 
 pared a story. I got suspicious, named you at ran 
 dom, and hit the nail on the head. She broke down, 
 thought I knew more than I did, and and then there 
 was hell to pay." 
 
 "Go on." 
 
 "I suppose I talked bad and made threats I was 
 crazy over you till she must have thought I meant to 
 kill her, but I didn t. No. I never was quite that 
 bad. Anyhow, she did it herself." 
 
 Gale s face was like chalk, and his voice sounded thin 
 and dry as he said: 
 
 "You beat her, that s why she did it." 
 
 Stark made no answer. 
 
 "The papers said the room showed a struggle." 
 
 When the other still kept silent, Gale insisted: 
 
 Didn t you?" 
 
 At this Stark flamed up defiantly, 
 251 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "Well, I guess I had cause enough. No woman ex* 
 cept her was ever untrue to me wife or sweetheart." 
 
 You didn t really think?" 
 
 Think hell! I thought so then, and I think so now. 
 She denied it, but " 
 
 "And you knew her so well, too. I guess you ve 
 had some bad nights yourself, Bennett, with that al 
 ways on your mind " 
 
 - I swore I d have you " 
 
 " and so you put her blood on my head, and made 
 me an outlaw." After an instant: "Why did you 
 tell me this, anyhow?" 
 
 "It s our last talk, and I wanted you to know how 
 well my hate worked." 
 
 "Well, I guess that s all," said Gale. So far they 
 had watched each other with unwavering, unblinking 
 eyes, straining at the leash and taut in every nerve. 
 Now, however, the trader s fingers tightened on the 
 knife-handle, and his knuckles wnitened with the grip, 
 at which Stark s right hand swept to his waist, and 
 simultaneously Gale lunged across the table. His 
 blade flickered in the light, and a gun spoke, once 
 twice again and again. A cry arose outside the cabin, 
 then some heavy thing crashed in through the door, 
 bringing light with it, for with his first leap Gale had 
 Carried the lamp and the table with him, and the two 
 had clenched in the dark. 
 
 Rurrell had waited an instant too long, for the men s 
 voices had held so steady, their words had been so 
 vital, that the finish found him unprepared, but, thrust 
 ing the lantern into Poleon s hand, he had backed off a 
 pace and hurled himself at the door. He had learned 
 the knack of bunching his weight in football days, and 
 the barrier burst and splintered before him. He fell to 
 
 252 
 
JOHN GALE S HOUR 
 
 his knees inside, and an instant later found himself 
 wrestling for his life between two raging beasts. The 
 Lieutenant knew Doret must have entered too, though 
 he could not see him, for the lantern shed a sickly gloom 
 over the chaos. He was locked desperately with John 
 Gale, who flung him about and handled him like a 
 child, fighting like an old gray wolf, hoary with years 
 and terrible in his rage. Burrell had never been so 
 battered and harried and torn; only for the lantern s 
 light Gale would doubtless have sheathed his weapon 
 in his new assailant, but the more fiercely the trader 
 struggled, the more tenaciously the soldier clung. As 
 it was, Gale carried the Lieutenant with him and struck 
 over his head at Stark. 
 
 Poleon had leaped into the room at Bun-ell s heels, 
 to receive the impact of a heavy body hurled backward 
 into his arms as if by some irresistible force. He seized 
 it and tore it away from the thing that pressed after 
 and bore down upon it with the ferocity of a wild beast. 
 He saw Gale reach over the Lieutenant s head and 
 swing his arm, saw the knife-blade bury itself in what 
 he held, then saw it rip away, and felt a hot stream 
 spurt into his face. So closely was the Canadian en 
 tangled with vStark that he fancied for an instant the 
 weapon had wounded both of them for the trader had 
 aimed at his enemy s neck where it joined the shoulder, 
 but, hampered by the soldier, his blow went astray 
 about four inches. Doret glimpsed Burrell rising from 
 his knees, his arms about the trader s waist, and the 
 next instant the combatants were dragged apart. 
 
 The Lieutenant wrenched the dripping blade from 
 Gale s hand; it no longer gleamed, but was warm and 
 slippery in h;s fingers. Poleon held Stark s gun, which 
 was empty and smoking. 
 
 2 53 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 The fight had not lasted a minute, and yet what ter 
 rible havoc had been wrought! The gambler was 
 drenched with his own blood, which gushed from him, 
 black in the yellow flicker, and so plentifully that the 
 Frenchman was befouled with it, while Gale, too, was 
 horribly stained, but whether from his own or his 
 , enemy s veins it was hard to tell. The trader paid no 
 -heed to himself nor to the intruders, allowing Burrell 
 to push him back against the wall, the breath wheezing 
 in and out of his lungs, his eyes fastened on Stark. 
 
 "I got you, Bennett!" he cried, hoarsely. "Your 
 magic is no good." His teeth showed through his 
 grizzled muzzle like the fangs of some wild animal. 
 
 Bennett, or Stark, as the others knew him, lunged 
 about with his captor, trying to get at his enemy, and 
 crying curses on them all, but he was like a child in 
 Poleon s arms. Gradually he weakened, and suddenly 
 resistance died out of him. 
 
 "Come away from here," the Lieutenant ordered 
 Gale. 
 
 But the old man did not hear, and gathered him 
 self as if to resume the battle with his bare hands, 
 whereupon the soldier, finding himself shaking like a 
 frightened child, and growing physically weak at what 
 he saw, doubted his ability to prevent the encounter, 
 and repeated his command. 
 
 "Come away!" he shouted, but the words sounded 
 foolishly flat and inane. 
 
 Then Stark spoke intelligibly for the first time. 
 
 "Arrest him! You ve got to believe what I told you 
 now, Burrell." He poured forth a stream of unspeak 
 able profanity, smitten by the bitter knowledge of his 
 first and only defeat. "You ll hang, Gaylord! I ll 
 see your neck stretched, damn your heart!" To 
 
 254 
 
JOHN GALE S HOUR 
 
 Poleon he panted, excitedly: "I followed him for fifteen 
 years, Dorct. He killed my wife." 
 
 "Dat s damn lie!" said the Frenchman. 
 
 "No, it isn t. He s under indictment for it back in 
 California. He shot her down in cold blood, then ran 
 off with my kid. That s her he calls Necia. She s 
 mine. Ain t I right, Lieutenant ?" 
 
 At this final desperate effort to fix the crime upon 
 his rival, Burrell turned on him with loathing. 
 
 "It s no use, Stark. We heard you say she killed 
 herself. We were standing outside the door, both of 
 us, and got it from your own lips." 
 
 Until this moment the man had stood on his own 
 feet, but now he began to sag, seeing which, Poleon 
 supported him to the bed, where he sank weakly, col 
 lapsing in every joint and muscle. 
 
 "It s a job," he snarled. "You put this up, you 
 three, and came here to gang me." An unnatural 
 shudder convulsed him as his wounds bit at him, and 
 then he flared up viciously. "But I ll beat you all. 
 I ve got the girl! I ve got her!" 
 
 "Necia!" cried Burrell, suddenly remembering, for 
 this affray had driven all else from his mind. 
 
 Stark crouched on the edge of his bunk a ghastly, 
 gray, grinning thing! One weapon still remained to 
 him, and he used it. 
 
 "Yes, I ve got my daughter!" 
 
 "Where is she?" demanded the trader, hoarsely. 
 "Where s my girl?" 
 
 The gambler chuckled; an agony seized him till he 
 hiccoughed and strangled; then, as the spell passed, he 
 laughed again. 
 
 "She s got you in her head, like the mother had, but 
 111 drive it out; I ll treat her like I did her" 
 
 255 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 Gale uttered a terrible cry and moved upon him. 
 but Burrell shouldered the trader aside, himself pos 
 sessed by a cold fury that intensified his strength ten* 
 fold. 
 
 "Stop it, Gale! Let me attend to this. Ill make 
 him tell!" 
 
 "Oh, will you?" mocked the girl s father. 
 
 "Where is she?" 
 
 "None of your damned business." Again he was 
 seized with a paroxysm that left him shivering and 
 his lips colorless. The blankets were soaked and soggy 
 with blood, and his feet rested in a red pool. 
 
 "Ben Stark/ 1 said the tortured lover, "you re a sick 
 man, and you ll be gone in half an hour at this 
 rate. Won t you do one decent thing before you 
 die?" 
 
 "Bah! I m all right." 
 
 "Ill get you a doctor if you ll tell tia where she is. 
 II you don t Fli let you die. For God s sake, man, 
 speak upT 
 
 The wounded man strove to rise, but could not, then 
 considered for a moment before he said: 
 
 "I sent her away." 
 
 " Where r 
 
 "Up -river, on that freighter that left last night. 
 She ll go out by Skagway, and I ll join her later, where 
 I can have her to myself. She s forty miles up-river 
 now, and getting farther every minute oh, you can t 
 catch her! 5 
 
 The three men stared at one another blankly. 
 
 "Why did she go?" said Gale, dully. 
 
 "Because 1 told her who she was, and who you arei 
 because she thinks you killed her mother; because she 
 glad to get away 8 " Now that he was grown toe? 
 
JOHN GALE S HOUR 
 
 weak to inflict violent pain, the man lied malevolently, 
 gloating over what he saw in the trader s face. 
 
 "Never mind, old man, I ll bring her back," said 
 Burrell, and laid a comforting hand on Gale s shoulder, 
 for the fact that she was safe, the fact of knowing some 
 thing relieved him immensely; but Stark s next words 
 plunged him into even blacker horror than the trader 
 felt. 
 
 "You won t want her if you catch her. . Runnion 
 will see to that." 
 
 "Runnion!" 
 
 "Yes, I sent him with her." 
 
 The lover cried out in anguish and hid his face in his 
 hands. 
 
 "He s wanted her for along time, so I told him to go 
 ahead; 
 
 None of them noticed Poleon Doret, who, upon this 
 unnatural confession, alone seemed to retain sufficient 
 control to doubt and to reason. He was thinking hard, 
 straightening out certain facts, and trying to square 
 this horrible statement with things he had seen and 
 heard to-night. All of a sudden he uttered a great 
 cry, and bolted out into the darkness unheeded by 
 Gale and Burrell, who stood dazed and distraught with 
 a fear greater than that which was growing in Stark at 
 sight of his wounds. 
 
 The gambler looked down at his injuries, opened and 
 closed the fingers of his hand as if to see whether he 
 still maintained control of them, then cried out at the 
 two helpless men: 
 
 "Well, are you going to let me bleed to death?" 
 
 It brought the soldier out of his trance. 
 
 "Why no, no! We ll get a doctor." 
 
 But Gale touched him on the shoulder and said: 1 
 257 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 -He s too weak to get out, Lock him In, and lei 
 
 him die in the dark." 
 
 Stark cursed affrightedly, for it is a terrible thing to 
 bleed to death in the dark, and in spite of himself the 
 Lieutenant waveredc 
 
 "I can t do that, I promised." 
 
 " He told that lie to my girl, He gave her to that 
 hound," said the trader, but Burrell shoved him through 
 the door. 
 
 "No! I can t do that. * And then to the wounded 
 man he said, Til get a doctor, but God have mercy 
 on your soul." He could not trust himself to talk 
 further with this creature, nor be near him any longer^ 
 for though he had a slight knowledge of surgery, 
 he would sooner have touched a loathsome serpent 
 than the flesh of this monstrous man. 
 
 He pushed Gale ahead of him. and the old man went 
 like a driven beast, for his violence had wasted itself, 
 and he was like a person under the spell of a strong 
 drug. At the doctor s door Burrell stopped,, 
 
 "I never thought to ask you," he said, wearily; "but 
 you must be hurt ? He must have wounded you ?" 
 
 "I reckon he did I don t know " Then the man s 
 listless voice throbbed out achingly, as he cried in de 
 spair: "She believed him, boy! She believed his lies! 
 That s what hurts." Something like a sob caught in 
 his throat, and he staggered away under the weight 
 of, his great bereavement 
 
CHAPTER 
 
 CTIB LOVB OP POLEON DORBTl 
 
 the girl crouching at the stern of Runuion * 
 boat It seemed as if this day and night would 
 never end. It seemed as if the procession of natural 
 events must have ceased, that there was no longer any 
 time, foi she had been suffering steadily for hours and 
 hours without end, and began to wonder dreamily 
 whether she had not skipped a day in her reckoning 
 between the time when she first heard of the strike on 
 her claim and this present moment It occurred to 
 her that she was a rich girl now in her own right, and 
 she smiled her crooked smile, as she reflected that the 
 thing she had longed for without hope of attainment 
 had come with confusing swiftness, and had left her 
 unhappier than ever . . . 
 
 Would the day never come? She pulled the rugs 
 up closer about her as the morning chill made her 
 shiver. She found herself keeping mechanical count 
 with the sound of the sweeps they must be making 
 good speed, she thought, and the camp must be miles 
 bshind now. Had it been earlier in the season, when 
 the river ran full of drift, they never could have gone 
 thus in the dark, but the water was low and the chances 
 of collision so remote as to render blind travel safe. 
 Even yet she could not distinguish her oarsman, ex 
 cept as a black bulk, for it had been a lowering night 
 
 259 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 and the approaching dawn failed to break through tha 
 blanket of cloud that hung above the great valley. 
 He was a good boatman, however, as she gathered from 
 the tireless regularity of his strokes. He was a silent 
 man, too, and she was grateful for that. She snuggled 
 down into her blanket and tried to sleep, but she only 
 dozed for a minute, it seemed, to find her eyes fly wide 
 open again. So, restless and tired of her lonely vigil, 
 she gave a premonitory cough, and said to her com 
 panion: 
 
 "You must be tired rowing so steadily?" 
 
 "Oh, I don t mind it," he replied. 
 
 At the sound of his voice she sat bolt upright. It 
 couldn t be if this were Runnion he would have spoken 
 before! She ventured again, tremulously: 
 
 "Have you any idea what time it is?" 
 
 "About three o clock, I fancy." 
 
 "Who are you?" The question came like a shot. 
 
 "Don t you know?" 
 
 "What are you doing here, Mr. Runnion?" 
 
 "I m rowing," he answered, carelessly. 
 
 "Why didn t you speak?" A vague feeling of un 
 easiness came over her, a suspicion .that all was not 
 right, so she waited for him to explain, and when he 
 did not, she repeated her question. "What made you 
 keep still so long ? You knew who 7 was ?" 
 
 "Well, it s the first time I ever took you on a mid 
 night row, and I wanted to enjoy it." 
 
 The mockery in his voice quickened her apprehension. 
 Of a sudden the fear of being misjudged impelled her 
 to end this flight that had become so distasteful in 
 a moment, preferring to face the people at the post 
 rather than continue her journey with this man. 
 
 "I ve changed my mind, Mr. Runnion," she said. 
 260 
 
THE LOVE OP POLfcON DORET 
 
 " I don t want to go down to the Mission. I want you 
 to take me back." 
 
 "Can t do it," he said; "the current is too swift. 
 
 "Then set me ashore and I ll walk back. It cant 
 be far to town." 
 
 "Twenty-five miles. We ve been out about three 
 kours." He kept on rowing steadily, and although 
 the distance they had gone frightened her, she sum 
 moned her courage to sav: 
 
 "We can make that easily enough. Come, run in to 
 the bank." 
 
 He ceased rowing and let the boat drift with dragging 
 sweeps, filled his pipe and lighted it, then took up his 
 oars again and resumed his labors. 
 
 "Please do as I ask you, Mr. Runnion. I ve decided 
 I don t want to go any farther." He laughed, and the 
 sound aroused her. "Put me ashore this minute!" she 
 cried, indignantly. "What do you mean?" 
 
 "You ve got a fierce temper, haven t you?" 
 
 "Will you do it or not?" 
 
 When he made no answer, except to continue the 
 maddening monotony of his movements, she was seized 
 with a rash resolve to wrench the oars out of his hands, 
 and made a quick motion towards him, at which he 
 shouted: 
 
 "Sit down! Do you want to upset us?" 
 
 The unstable craft lurched and dipped dangerously, 
 and, realizing the futility of her mad impulse, she sank 
 back on her knees. 
 
 "Put me ashore!" 
 
 "No," he said, "not till I m ready. Now, keep your 
 eat or we ll both drown; this ain t a ferry-boat." Af 
 ter a few strokes, he added, "We ll never get along to 
 gether unless you tame that temper." 
 
 261 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 "We re not going to get along together, Mr. Run. 
 nion only as far as the Mission. 1 dare say you can 
 tolerate me until then, can you not?" She said this 
 bitingly. 
 
 "Stark told me to board the first boat for St. Mi 
 chael s," he said, disregarding her sarcasm, "but I ve 
 made a few plans of my own the last hour or so." 
 
 "St. Michael s! Mr. Stark told you why, that s im 
 possible! You misunderstood him. He told you to 
 row me to the Mission. I m going to Father Barnum s 
 house." 
 
 "No, you re not, and I didn t misunderstand him. 
 He wants to get you outside, all right, but I reckon 
 you d rather go as Mrs. Runnion than as the sweet 
 heart of Ben Stark." 
 
 "Are you crazy?" the girl cried. "Mr. Stark kindly 
 offered to help me reach the Father at his Mission. 
 I m nothing to him, and I m certainly not going to be 
 anything to you. If I d known you were going to row 
 the boat, I should have stayed at home, because I de 
 test you." 
 
 "You ll get over that." 
 
 "I m not in the humor for jokes." 
 
 He rested again on his oars, and said, with delibera 
 tion: 
 
 "Stark * kindly offered* did he? Well, whenever 
 Ben Stark kindly offers anything, I m in on the play. 
 He s had his eye on you for the last three months, and 
 he wants you, but he slipped a cog when he gave me the 
 oars. You needn t be afraid, though, I m going to do 
 the square thing by you. We ll stop in at the Mission 
 and be married, and then we ll see whether we want 
 to go to St. Michael s or not, though personally Fin 
 for going back to Flambeau." 
 
 262 
 
THE LOVE OF POLEON DORET 
 
 During the hours while he had waited for Necia to 
 discover his identity, the man s mind had not been idle; 
 he had determined to take what fortune tossed into 
 his lap. Had she been the unknown, unnoticed half- 
 breed of a month or two before, he would not have 
 wasted thought upon priests or vows, but now that a 
 strange fate had worked a change in her before the 
 world, he accepted it. 
 
 The girl s beauty, her indifference, the mistaken at 
 titude of Stark urged him, and, strongest of all, he was 
 drawn by his cupidity, for she would be very rich, so 
 the knowing ones said. Doubtless that was why Stark 
 wanted her, and, being a man who acknowledged no 
 fidelity to his kind or his Creator, Runnion determined 
 to outwit his principal, Doret, Burrell, and all the rest. 
 It was a chance to win much at the risk of nothing, 
 and he was too good a gambler to let it pass. 
 
 With his brusque declaration Necia realized her 
 position that she was a weak, lonely girl, just come 
 into womanhood, so cursed by good looks that men 
 wanted her, so stained by birth that they would not 
 take her honestly; realized that she was alone with a 
 dissolute creature and beyond help, and for the first 
 time in her life she felt the meaning of fear. 
 
 She saw what a frail and helpless thing she was; 
 nothing about her was great save her soul, and that 
 was immeasurably vexed and worried. She had just 
 lived through a grief that had made her generou3, and 
 now she gained her first knowledge of the man-animal s 
 gross selfishness. 
 
 "You are absolutely daft," she said. "You can t 
 force me to marry you." 
 
 "I ain t going to force you; you ll do it wi/lingly." 
 
 "I ll die first. I ll call the first man we see Ft! 
 18 263 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 tell Father Barnum, and he ll have you run out of the 
 country it would only take a word from me." 
 
 "If you haven t changed your mind when we get to 
 his place, I ll run through without stopping; but there 
 isn t another priest between there and St. Mike s, and 
 by the time we get to the mouth of the river, I guess 
 you ll say yes to most anything. However, I d rather 
 marry you at Holy Cross if you ll consent, and I m 
 pretty sure you will when you think it over." 
 
 "We won t discuss it." 
 
 "You don t understand yet," he continued, slowly. 
 "What will people say when they know you ran away 
 with me." 
 
 "I ll tell them the truth." 
 
 "Huh! I m too well known. No man on the river 
 frould ever have you after that." 
 
 "You you " Her voice was a-quiver with indig 
 nation and loathing, but her lips could not frame an 
 epithet fit for him. He continued rowing for some 
 time, then said: 
 
 "Will you marry me?" 
 
 "No! If this thing is ever known, Poleon will kiM 
 you or father." 
 
 For a third time he rested on his oars. 
 
 "Now that we ve come to threats, let me talk. I 
 offered to marry you and do" the square thing, but if 
 you don t want to, I ll pass up the formality and take 
 you for my squaw, the same as your father took Al- 
 luna. I guess you re no better than your mother, so 
 your old man can t say much under the circumstances, 
 and if he don t object, Poleon can t. Just remember, 
 you re alone with me in the heart of a wilderness, and 
 you ve got to make a choice quick, because I m going 
 ashore and make some breakfast as soon as it s ligbl 
 
 264 
 
THE LOVE OF POLEON DORET 
 
 enough to choose a landing-place. If you agree to 
 come quietly and go through with this thing like a 
 sensible girl, I ll do what s right, but if you don t 
 then I ll do what s wrong, and maybe you won t be 
 so damned anxious to tell your friends about this trip, 
 or spread your story up and down the river. Make up 
 your mind before I land." 
 
 The water gurgled at the bow again, and the row 
 locks squeaked. Another hour and then another pass 
 ed in silence before the girl noted that she no longer 
 seemed to float through abysmal darkness, but that 
 the river showed in muddy grayness just over the gun 
 wale. She saw Runnion more clearly, too, and made 
 out his hateful outlines, though for all else she be 
 held they might have been miles out upon a placid sea, 
 and so imperceptible was the laggard day s approach 
 that she could not measure the growing light. It was 
 a desolate dawn, and showed no glorious gleams of 
 color. There was no rose -pink glow, no merging of 
 a thousand tints, no final burst of gleaming gold; the 
 night merely faded away, changing to a sickly pallor 
 that grew to ashen gray, and then dissolved the low- 
 hung, distorted shadows a quarter of a mile inland on 
 either hand into a forbidding row of unbroken forest 
 backed by plain, morass, and distant hills untipped by 
 slanting rays. Overhead a bleak ruin of clouds drifted; 
 underneath the river ran, a bilious yellow. The whole 
 country so far as the eye could range was unmarred 
 by the hand of man, untracked save by the feet of the 
 crafty forest people. 
 
 She saw Runnion gazing over his shoulder in search 
 of a shelving beach or bar, his profile showing more 
 debased and mean than she had ever noticed it before. 
 They rounded a bend where the left bank crumbled 
 
 265 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 before the untiring teeth of the river, forming a bristling 
 chevaux-de-frise of leaning, fallen firs awash in the cur 
 rent. The short side of the curve, the one nearest 
 them, protected a gravel bar that made down-stream 
 to a dagger-like point, and towards this Runnion pro 
 pelled the skiff. The girl s heart sank and she felt 
 her limbs grow cold. 
 
 The mind of Poleon Doret worked in straight lines. 
 Moreover, his memory was good. Stark s statement, 
 which so upset Gale and the Lieutenant, had a some 
 what different effect upon the Frenchman, for certain 
 facts had been impressed upon his subconsciousness 
 which did not entirely gibe with the gambler s re 
 marks, and yet they were too dimly engraved to af 
 ford foundation for a definite theory. What he did 
 know was this, that he doubted. Why? Because cer 
 tain scraps of a disjointed conversation recurred to 
 him, a few words which he had overheard in Stark s 
 saloon, something about a Peterborough canoe and a 
 woman. He knew every skiff that lay along the water 
 front, and of a sudden he decided to see if this one was 
 where it had been at dusk; for there were but two 
 modes of egress from Flambeau, and there was but one 
 canoe of this type. If Necia had gone up-river on the 
 freighter, pursuit was hopeless, for no boatman could 
 make headway against the current; but if, on the 
 other hand, that cedar craft was gone He ran out 
 of Stark s house and down to the river-bank, then 
 leaped to the shingle beneath. It was just one chance, 
 and if he was wrong, no matter; the others would 
 leave on the next up-river steamer; whereas, if his 
 suspicion proved a certainty, if Stark had lied to throw 
 them off the track, and Runnion had taken her down- 
 
 266 
 
THE LOVE OF POLEON DORET 
 
 stream well, Poleon wished no one to hinder him, for 
 he would travel light. 
 
 The boat was gone! He searched the line back 
 ward, but it was not there, and his excitement grew 
 now, likewise his haste. Still on the run, he stumbled 
 up to the trading-post and around to the rear, where, 
 bottom up, lay his own craft, the one he guarded jealous 
 ly, a birch canoe, frail and treacherous for any but a 
 man schooled in the ways of swift water and Indian 
 tricks. He was very glad now that he had not told the 
 others of his suspicions; they might have claimed the 
 right to go, and of that he would not be cheated. He 
 swung the shell over his shoulders, then hurried to the 
 bank and down the steep trail like some great, mis 
 shapen turtle. He laid it carefully in the whispering 
 current, then stripped himself with feverish haste, for 
 the driving call of a hot pursuit was on him, and al 
 though it was the cold, raw hours of late night, he 
 whipped off his garments until he was bare to the mid 
 dle. He seized his paddle, stepped in, then knelt amid 
 ships and pushed away. The birch -bark answered 
 him like a living thing, leaping and dancing beneath 
 the strokes which sprung the spruce blade and boiled 
 the water to a foam, while rippling, rising ridges stood 
 out upon his back and arms as they rose and fell, 
 stretched and bent and straightened. 
 
 A half-luminous, opaque glow was over the waters, 
 but the banks quickly dropped away, until there was 
 nothing to guide him but the suck of the current and 
 the sight of the dim-set stars. His haste now became 
 something crying that lashed him fiercely, for he seem 
 ed to be standing still, and so began to mutter at the 
 crawling stream and to complain of his thews, which 
 did not drive him fast enough, only the sound he made 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 was more like the whine of a hound in leash or a woli 
 that runs with hot nostrils close to the earth. 
 
 Runnion drove his Peterborough towards the shore 
 with powerful strokes, and ran its nose up on the gravel, 
 rose, stretched himself, and dragged it farther out, 
 then looked down at Necia. 
 
 "Well, what is it, yes or no? Do you want me for 
 a husband or for a master ?" She cowered in the stern, 
 a pale, fearful creature, finally murmuring: 
 
 "You you must give me time." 
 
 "Not another hour. Here s where you declare your 
 self; and remember, I don t care which you choose, 
 only you d better be sensible." 
 
 She cast her despairing eyes up and down the river, 
 then at the wilderness on either shore; but it was as 
 silent and unpeopled as if it had been created that 
 morning. She must have time; she would temporize, 
 pretending to yield, and then betray him to the first 
 comer; a promise exacted under duress would not be 
 binding. 
 
 "I ll go quietly," she said, in a faint voice. 
 
 "I knew you d see that I m acting square. Come! 
 Get the cramp out of yourself while I make a pot of 
 coffee." He held out his hand to assist her, and she 
 accepted it, but stumbled as she rose, for she had been 
 crouched in one position for several hours, and her 
 limbs were stiff. He caught her and swung her ashore; 
 then, instead of putting her feet to the ground, he 
 pressed her to himself roughly and kissed her. She 
 gave a stifled cry and fought him off, but he laughed 
 and held her the closer. 
 
 "Ain t I good for one kiss? Say, this is the deuce 
 of an engagement. Come, now " 
 
 268 
 
THE LOVE OF POLEON DORET 
 
 "No, no, no!" she gasped, writhing like a wild thing j 
 but he crushed his lips to hers again and then let hef 
 go, whereupon she drew away from him panting, dis 
 hevelled, her eyes wide and filled with horror. She 
 scrubbed her lips with the back of her hand, as if to 
 erase his mark, while he reached into the canoe and 
 brought forth an axe, a bundle of food, and a coffee-pot; 
 then, still chuckling, he gathered a few sticks of drift 
 wood and built a fire. She had a blind instinct to flee, 
 and sought for a means of escape, but they were well 
 out upon the bar that stretched a distance of three 
 hundred feet to the wooded bank; on one side of the 
 narrow spit was the scarcely moving, half-stagnant 
 water of a tiny bay or eddy, on the other, the swift, 
 gliding current tugging at the beached canoe, while 
 the outer end of the gravelled ridge dwindled down to 
 nothing and disappeared into the river. At sight of 
 the canoe a thought struck her, but her face must have 
 shown some sign of it, for the man chanced to look at 
 the moment, and, seeing her expression, straightened 
 himself, then gazed about searchingly. Without a 
 word he stepped to the boat, and, seizing it, dragged it 
 entirely out upon the bar, where her strength would 
 not be equal to shoving it off quickly, and, not content 
 with this, he made the painter fast, then went back to 
 his fire. The eagerness died out of her face, but an 
 instant later, when he turned to the clearer water of 
 the eddy to fill the coffee-pot, she seized her chance and 
 sped up the bar towards the bank. The shingle under 
 foot and her noisy skirts betrayed her, and with an 
 oath he followed. It was an unequal race, and he 
 handled her with rough, strong hands when he over- 
 tool: her. 
 
 "So! You lied to me! Well, I m through with this 
 .269 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 foolishness. If you ll go back on your word like thift 
 you ll bawl me out before the priest, so I ll forget my 
 promise, too, and you ll be glad of the chance to marry 
 me." 
 
 "Let me go!" she panted. "I ll marry you. Yes, 
 yes, I ll do it, only don t touch me now!" 
 
 He led her back to the fire, which had begun to 
 crackle. She was so weak now that she sank upon the 
 stones shivering. 
 
 "That s right! Sit down and behave while I make 
 you something hot to drink. You re all in." After 
 a time he continued, as he busied himself about his 
 task: "Say, you ought to be glad to get me; I ve 
 got a lot of money, or I will have, and once you re Mrs. 
 Runnion, nobody 11 ever know about this or think of 
 you as a squaw." He talked to her while he waited 
 for the water to boil, his assurance robbing her of hope, 
 for she saw he was stubborn and reckless, determined 
 to override her will as well as to conquer her body, 
 while under his creed, the creed of his kind, a woman 
 was made from the rib of man and for his service. He 
 conveyed it to her plainly. He ruled horses with a 
 hard hand, he drove his dog teams with a biting lash, 
 and he mastered women with a similar lack of feeling 
 or consideration. 
 
 He was still talking when the girl sprang to her feet 
 and sent a shrill cry out over the river, but instantly 
 he was up and upon her, his hand over her mouth, while 
 she tore at it, screaming the name of Poleon Doret. He 
 silenced her to a smothered, sobbing mumble, and 
 turned to see, far out on the bosom of the great soiled 
 river, a man in a bark canoe. The craft had just swung 
 past the bend above, and was still a long way off so far 
 away, in fact, that Necia s signal had not reached it. 
 
 270 
 

 4> 
 
 
 
 jtn 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 "rt 
 
 h 
 4> 
 
 O 
 
 <U 
 <-> 
 
 2 
 
 CJ 
 
 O, 
 
 H. 
 
THE LOVE OF POLEON DORET 
 
 for its occupant held unwaveringly to the swiftest chan 
 nel, his body rising and falling in the smooth, unend 
 ing rhythm of a master-boatman under great haste, 
 his arms up-flung now and then, as the paddle glinted 
 and flashed across to the opposite side. 
 
 Runnion glanced about hurriedly, then cursed as he 
 saw no place of concealment. The Peterborough stood 
 out upon the bar conspicuously, as did he and the girl; 
 but the chance remained that this man, whoever he 
 was, would pass by, for his speed was great, the river 
 a mile in width, and the bend sharp. Necia had cried 
 Poleon s name, but her companion saw no resemblance 
 to the Frenchman in this strange-looking voyager; in 
 fact, he could not quite make out what was peculiar 
 about the man perhaps his eyes were not as sharp as 
 hers and then he saw that the boatman was naked 
 to the waist. By now he was drawing opposite them 
 with the speed of a hound. The girl, gagged and held 
 by her captor s hands, struggled and moaned despair 
 ingly, and. crouching back of the boat, they might have 
 escaped discovery in the gray morning light had it not 
 been for the telltale fire a tiny, crackling blaze no 
 larger than a man s hat. It betrayed them. The 
 dancing craft upon which their eyes were fixed whip 
 ped about, almost leaping from the water at one stroke, 
 then came towards them, now nothing but a narrow 
 thing, half again the width of a man s body. The cur 
 rent carried it down abreast of them, then past, and 
 Runnion rose, releasing the girl, who cried out with all 
 her might to the boatman. He made no sound in 
 reply, but drove his canoe shoreward with quicker 
 strokes. It was evident he would effect his landing 
 mear the lower end of the spit, for now he was within 
 hearing distance, and driving closer every instant. 
 
 371 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 Necia heard the gambler call: 
 "Sheer off, Doret! You can t land here!" 
 She saw a gun in Runnion s hand, and a terrible^ 
 sickening fear swept over her, for he was slowly walk* 
 ing down the spit, keeping abreast of the canoe as it 
 drifted. She could see exactly what would happen: 
 no man could disembark against the will of an armed 
 marksman, and if Poleon slackened his stroke, or stop 
 ped it to exchange his paddle for a weapon, the current 
 would carry him past; in addition, he would have to 
 fire from a rocking paper shell harried by a boiling 
 current, whereas the other man stood flat upon his 
 feet. 
 
 "Keep away or I ll fire!" threatened Runnion again* 
 and she screamed, "Don t try it, Poleon, hell kill you!" 
 At her words Runnion raised his weapon and fired. 
 She heard the woods behind reverberate with the echoes 
 like a sounding-board, saw the white spurt of smoka 
 and the skitter of the bullet as it went wide. It was a 
 long shot, and had been fired as a final warning; but 
 Doret made no outcry, nor did he cease coming; instead, 
 hiv paddle clove the water with the same steady strokes 
 that took every ounce of effort in his body. Runnion 
 threw open his gun and replaced the spent shell. On 
 came the careening, crazy craft in a sidewise drift, and 
 with it the girl saw coming a terrible tragedy. She 
 started to run down the gravelled ridge behind her 
 enemy, not realizing the value or moment of her action, 
 nor knowing clearly what she would do ; but as she drew 
 near she saw Runnion raise his gun again, and, without 
 thought of her own safety, threw herself upon him. 
 Again his shot went wide as he strove to hurl her off, 
 but his former taste of her strength was nothing to this, 
 now that she fought for Poleon s life. Runnion snarled 
 
 272 
 
THE LOVE OF POLEON DORET 
 
 angrily and thrust her away, for he had waited till 
 the canoe was close. 
 
 "Let me go, you devil!" he cried, and aimed again; 
 but again she ran at him. This time, however, she did 
 not pit her strength against his, but paused, and as he 
 undertook to fire she thrust at his elbow, then dodged 
 out of his way. Her blow was crafty and well-timed, 
 and his shot went wild. Again he took aim, and 
 again she destroyed it with a touch and danced out 
 of his reach. She was nimble and light, and quick 
 ened now by a cold calculation of all that depended 
 upon her. 
 
 Three times in all she thwarted Runnion, while the 
 cunoe drove closer every instant. On the fourth, as 
 she dashed at him, he struck to be rid of her, cursing 
 wickedly struck as he would have struck at a man. 
 Silently she crumpled up and fell, a pitiful, draggled, 
 awkward little figure sprawled upon the rocks; but 
 the delay proved fatal to him, for, though the canoe 
 was close against the bank, and the huge man in it 
 seemed to offer a mark too plain to be missed, he was 
 too close to permit careful aim. Runnion heard him 
 giving utterance to a strange, feral, whining sound, as 
 if he were crying like a fighting boy; then, as the 
 gambler raised his arm, the Canadian lifted himself up 
 on the bottom of the canoe until he stood stretched to 
 his full height, and leaped. As Runnion fired he 
 sprang out and was into the water to his knees, his 
 backward kick whirling the craft from underneath 
 him out into the current, where the river seized it. 
 He had risen and jumped all in one moment, launching 
 himself at the shore like a panther. The gun roared 
 again, but Poleon came up and on with the rush of the 
 great, brown grizzly that no missile can stop, Run- 
 
 273 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 nion s weapon blazed in his face, but he neither felt 
 nor heeded it, for his bare hands were upon his quarry, 
 the impact of his body hurling the other from his feet, 
 and neither of them knew whether any or all of the 
 last bullets had taken effect. Poleon had come like an 
 arrow, straight for his mark the instant he glimpsed it f 
 an insensate, unreasoning, raging thing that no weight 
 of lead nor length of blade could stop. In his haste 
 he had left Flambeau without weapon of any kind, for 
 in his mind such things were superfluous, and he had 
 never fought with any but those God gave him, nor 
 found any living thing that his hands could not master. 
 Therefore, he had rushed headlong against this armed 
 and waiting man, reaching for him ever closer and 
 closer till the burning powder stung his eyes. They 
 grappled and fought, alone and unseen, and yet it 
 was no fight, for Runnion, though a vigorous, heavy- 
 muscled man, was beaten down, smothered, and crushed 
 beneath the onslaught of this great naked fellow, who 
 all the time sobbed and whined and mewed in a pant 
 ing fury. 
 
 They swung half across the spit to the farther side, 
 where they fell in a fantastic convulsion, slipping and 
 sliding and rolling among the rocks that smote and 
 gouged and bruised them. The gambler fought for 
 his life against the naked flesh of the other, against the 
 distorted face that snapped and bit like the muzzle 
 of a wolf, while all the time he heard that fearful, in 
 articulate note of blood-hunger at his ear. The Cana 
 dian s clenched hands crushed whatever they fell upon 
 as if mailed with metal; the fingers were like tearing 
 tongs that could not be loosed. It was a frightful 
 combat, hideous from its inequality, like the battle oi 
 a man against a maddened beast whose teeth tore and 
 
 274 
 
THE LOVE OP POLEON DORET 
 
 whose claws ripped, whose every move was irresistible. 
 And so it was over shortly. 
 
 Poleon rose and ran to the fallen girl, leaving behind 
 him a huddled and twisted likeness of a man. He 
 picked her up tenderly, moaning and crooning; but as 
 her limp head lolled back, throwing her pale, blind 
 features up to the heavens, he began to cry, this time 
 like a woman. Tears fell from his eyes, burning tears, 
 the agony of which seared his soul. He laid her care 
 fully beside the water s edge, and, holding her head and 
 shoulders in the crook of his left arm, he wet his right 
 hand and bathed her face, crouching over her, half 
 nude, dripping with the sweat of his great labors, a 
 tender, palpitating figure of bronzed muscle and sinew, 
 with all his fury and hate replaced by apprehension 
 and pity. The short moments that he worked with her 
 were ages to him, but she revived beneath his minis 
 trations, and her first frightened look of consciousness 
 was changed to a melting smile. 
 
 41 W- what happened, Poleon? "she said. "I was afraid!" 
 
 He stood up to his full height, shaking, and weak as 
 the water that dripped from him, the very bones in 
 him dissolved. For the first time he uttered words. 
 
 "T ank God, ba gosh!" and ran his hand up over 
 his wet face. 
 
 "Where is he?" She started to her knees affright- 
 edly ; then, seeing the twisted, sprawling figure beyond, 
 began to shudder. "He he s dead?" 
 
 "I don* know," said Poleon, carelessly. "You feel 
 it purty good now, eh, w at?" 
 
 "Yes I he struck me!" The remembrance of 
 what had occurred surged over her, and she buried 
 her face in her hands. "Oh, Poleon! Poleon! He 
 was a dreadful man." 
 
 375 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 * He don* trouble you no more." 
 
 "He tried he Ugh! I I m glad you did it!* 
 She broke down, trembling at her escape, until her self 
 ishness smote her, and she was up and beside him on 
 the instant. "Are you hurt? Oh, I never thought 
 of that. You must be wounded!" 
 
 The Frenchman felt himself over, and looked down 
 at his limbs for the first time. "No! I guess not," 
 he said, at which Necia noticed his meagre attire, and 
 simultaneously he became conscious of it. He fell 
 away a pace, casting his eyes over the river for his 
 canoe, which was now a speck in the distance. 
 
 "Ba gosh! I m hell of a t ing for lookin at," he 
 said. "I m paddle hard dat s w y. Sacre*! how I 
 sweat !" He hitched nervously at the band of his over 
 alls, while Necia answered: 
 
 "That s all right, Poleon." Then, without warning, 
 her face froze with mingled repulsion and wonder. 
 Look! Look!" she whispered, pointing past him. 
 
 Runnion was moving slowly, crawling painfully into 
 a sitting posture, uplifting a terribly mutilated face, 
 dazed and half conscious, groping for possession of his 
 wits. He saw them, and grimaced frightfully, cower 
 ing and cringing. 
 
 Poleon felt the girl s hand upon his arm, and heard 
 her crying in a hard, sharp voice: 
 
 "He needs killing! Put him away!" 
 
 He stared down at his gentle Necia, and saw the 
 loathing in her face and the look of strange ferocity 
 as she met his eyes boldly. 
 
 "You don t know what he what he did/* she said, 
 through her shut teeth. " He " But the man waited 
 to hear no more. 
 
 Runnion saw him coming, and scrambled frantically 
 276 
 
THE LOVE OF POLEON DORET 
 
 to all -fours, then got on his feet and staggered down 
 the bar. As Poleon overtook him, he cried out pite- 
 ously, a shrill scream of terror, and, falling to his knees, 
 grovelled and debased himself like a foul cripple at 
 fear of the lash. His agony dispelled the savage taint 
 of Alluna s aboriginal training in Necia, and the pure 
 white blood of her ancestors cried out: 
 
 "Poleon, Poleon! Not that!" She hurried after 
 him to where he paused above the wretch waiting for 
 her. "You mustn t!" she said. " That would be mur 
 der, and and it s all over now." 
 
 The Frenchman looked at her wonderingly, not com 
 prehending this sudden leniency. 
 
 "Let him alone; you ve nearly killed him; that s 
 enough." Whereat Runnion, broken in body and 
 spirit, began to beg for his life. 
 
 "Wat s dat you say jus now?" Doret asked the 
 girl. "Was dat de truth for sure w at you speak?" 
 
 "Yes, but you ve done your work. Don t touch him 
 again." 
 
 He hesitated, and Runnion, quick to observe it, add 
 ed his entreaty to hers. 
 
 "I m beaten, Doret. You broke me to pieces. I 
 need help I I m hurt." 
 
 "W at you spec I do wit* im ?" the Canadian asked, 
 and she answered: 
 
 "I suppose we ll have to take him where he can get 
 assistance." 
 
 "Dat skiff am carry all t ree of us." 
 
 "I ll stay here," groaned the frightened man. "I ll 
 wait for a steamer to pick me up, but for God s sake 
 don t touch me again!" 
 
 Poleon looked him over carefully, and made up his 
 tnind that the man was more injured in spirit than in 
 
 277 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 body, for, outside of his battered muscles, he showed 
 no fatal symptoms. Although the voyageur was slower 
 to anger than a child, a grudge never died in him, and 
 his simple, self-taught creed knew no forgiveness for 
 such men as Runnion, cherished no mercy for preying 
 men or beasts. He glanced towards the wooded shores 
 a stone s-throw above, then back at the coward he had 
 beaten and whose life was forfeit under the code. 
 There was a queer light in his eyes. 
 
 "Leave him here, Poleon. We ll go away, you and 
 I, in the canoe, and the first boat will pick him up. 
 Come." Necia tugged at his wrist for fear she might 
 not prevail ; but he was bent on brushing away a hand 
 ful of hungry mosquitoes which, warmed by the grow 
 ing day, had ventured out on the river. His face be 
 came wrinkled and set. 
 
 "Bien!" he grunted. "We lef im here, biccause 
 dere ain t nough room in ie batteau, eh? All right! 
 Dat s good t ing; but he s seeck man, so mebbe I feex 
 it him nice place for stop till dem boats come." 
 
 "Yes, yes! Leave me here. I ll make it through 
 all right," begged Runnion. 
 
 "Better you camp yonder on de point, w ere you 
 can see dose steamboat w en she comes roun de ben . 
 Dis is bad place." He indicated the thicket, a quarter 
 of a mile above which ran out almost to the cut bank. 
 "Come! I help you get feex." 
 
 Runnion shrank from his proffered assistance half 
 fearfully, but, reassured, allowed the Frenchman to help 
 him towards the shore. 
 
 "We tell it de first boat bout you, an* dey pick you 
 up. You wait here, Necia." 
 
 The girl watched her rescuer guide Runnion up to 
 the level of the woods, then disappear with him in tha 
 
 278 
 
THE LOVE OF POLEON DORET 
 
 firs, and was relieved to see the two emerge upon the 
 river-bank again farther on, for she had feared for an 
 instant that Poleon might forget. There seemed to 
 be no danger, however, for he was crashing through 
 the brush in advance of the other, who followed labor 
 iously. Once Runnion gained the high point, he 
 would be able to command a view of both reaches 
 of the river, and could make signals to attract the 
 first steamboat that chanced to come along. With 
 out doubt a craft of some sort would pass from 
 one direction or the other by to-morrow at latest, 
 or, if not, she and Poleon could send back succor to 
 him from the first habitation they encountered. The 
 two men disappeared again, and her fears had begun 
 to prey on her a second time when she beheld the big 
 Canadian returning. He was hurrying a bit, apparent 
 ly to be rid of the mosquitoes that swarmed about him; 
 and she marked that, in addition to whipping himself 
 with a handful of blueberry bushes, he wore Runnion s 
 coat to protect his shoulders. 
 
 "Woof! Dose skeeter bug is hongry," he cried. 
 "Let s we pass on de river queeck." 
 
 "You didn t touch him again?" 
 
 "No, no. I m t rough wit im." 
 
 She was only too eager to be away from the spot, 
 and an instant later they were afloat in the Peter 
 borough. 
 
 "Dis nice baiteau," Poleon remarked, critically. 
 "I mak it go fas ," and began to row swiftly, seeking 
 the breeze of the open river in which to shake off the 
 horde of stinging pests that had risen with the sun. 
 "I come way queeck wit out t inkin Txnit gun or 
 skeeter net or not in . Runnion she s len me dis coat, 
 so mebbe I don look so worse lak I do jus now, eh ?" 
 * 279 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 How did you leave him? Is he badly injured?" 
 
 "No, I bus it up on de face an de rib, but she s 
 feelin good now. Yes. I m leave im nice place for 
 stop an wait on de steamboat plaintee spruce bough 
 for set on." 
 
 She began to shudder again, and, sensitive to her 
 every motion, he asked, solicitously, if she were sick, 
 but she shook her head. 
 
 "I I was thinking what supposing you hadn t 
 come? Oh, Poleon! you don t know what you saved 
 me from." She leaned forward and laid a tiny, grate 
 ful hand on the huge brown paw that rested on his 
 oar. "I wonder if I can ever forget?" 
 
 She noted that they were running with the current, 
 and inquired: 
 
 "Where are we going?" 
 
 "Wai, I can t pull dis boat gainst dat current, so I 
 guess we pass on till I fin my shirt, den bimebye we 
 pick it up some steamboat an* go home." 
 
 Five miles below his quick eye detected his half- 
 submerged "bark" lodged beneath some overhanging 
 firs which, from the water s action, had fallen forward 
 into the stream, and by rare good-fortune it was still 
 upright, although awash. He towed it to the next 
 sand-bar, where he wrung out and donned his shirt, 
 then tipped the water from the smaller craft, and, mak 
 ing it fast astern of the Peterborough, set out again. 
 Towards noon they came in sight of a little stern- 
 wheeled craft that puffed and pattered manfully 
 against the sweeping current, hiding behind the points 
 and bars and following the slackest water. 
 
 "It s the Mission boat!" cried Necia. "It s the Mis 
 sion boat! Father Barnum will be aboard." 
 
 She waved her arms madly and mingled her voice 
 280 
 
THE LOVE OF POLEON DORET 
 
 with Poleon s until a black-robed figure appeared be* 
 side the pilot-house. 
 
 "Father Barnum!" she screamed, and, recognizing 
 her, he signalled back. 
 
 Soon they were alongside, and a pair of Si wash deck 
 hands lifted Necia aboard, Doret following after, the 
 painter of the Peterborough in his teeth. He dragged 
 both canoes out of the boiling tide, and laid them bot 
 tom up on the forward deck, then climbed the narrow 
 little stairs to find Necia in the arms of a benignant, 
 white-haired priest, the best -beloved man on the 
 Yukon, who broke away from the girl to greet the 
 Frenchman, his kind face alight with astonishment. 
 
 "What is all this I hear? Slowly, Doret, slowly! 
 My little girl is talking too furiously for these poor old 
 wits to follow. I can t understand; I am amazed. 
 What is this tale ? 
 
 Together they told him, while his blue eyes now 
 opened wide with wonder, now grew soft with pity, 
 then blazed with indignation. When they had finished 
 he laid his hand upon Doret s shoulder. 
 
 "My son, I thank God for your good body and your 
 clean heart. You saved our Necia, and you will be 
 rewarded. As to this this man Runnion, we must 
 find him, and he must be sent out of the country; this 
 new, clean land of ours is no place for such as he 
 You will be our pilot, Poleon, and guide us to th( 
 spot." 
 
 It required some pressure to persuade the French 
 man, but at last he consented; and as the afternoon 
 drew to a close the little steamboat came squattering 
 and wheezing up to the bar where Runnion had built 
 his fire that morning, and a long, shrill blast summoned 
 him from the point above. When he did not appear 
 
 281 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 the priest took Poleon and his round-faced, silent crew 
 of two and went up the bank, but they found no sign 
 of the crippled man, only a few rags, a trampled patch 
 of brush at the forest s edge, and that was all. The 
 springy moss showed no trail; the thicket gave no 
 answer to their cries, although they spent an hour 
 in a scattered search and sounded the steamboat s 
 Whistle again and again. 
 
 "He s try for walk it back to camp," said Doret. 
 "Mebbe he ain hurt so much, after all." 
 
 "You must be right," said Father Barnum. "We 
 will keep the steamer close to this shore, so that he can 
 hail us when we overtake him." 
 
 And so they resumed their toilsome trip; but mile 
 after mile fell behind them, and still no voice came 
 from the woods, no figure hailed them. Doret, inscrut 
 able and silent, lounged against the pilot-house smok 
 ing innumerable cigarettes, which he rolled from squares 
 of newspaper, his keen eyes apparently scanning every 
 foot of their slow way; but when night fell, at last, 
 and the bank faded from sight, he tossed the last butt 
 overboard, smiled grimly into the darkness, and went 
 below. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 RUNNION FINDS THE SINGING PBOPLB 
 
 "K TO CREEK" LEE came into the trading-post on 
 
 |\| the following morning, and found Gale attend 
 ing store as if nothing unusual had occurred. 
 
 "Say! What s this about you and Stark? I hear 
 you had a horrible run-in, and that you split him up 
 the back like a quail." 
 
 "We had a row," a<imity,d the trader. "It s been 
 a long time working out, and last night it came to a 
 head." 
 
 "Lord ee! And to think of Ben Stark s bein* 
 licked! Why, the whole camp s talkin about it! 
 They say he emptied two six-shooters at you, but you 
 kept a-comin , and when you did get to him you just 
 carved your initials on him like he was a bass-wood 
 tree. Say, John, he s a goner, sure." 
 
 "Do you mean he s passing out?" 
 
 "Oh no! I reckon he ll get well, from what I hear, 
 though he won t let nobody come near him except old 
 Doc; but he s lost a battle, and that ends him. Don t 
 you savvy? Whenever a killer quits second best, it 
 breaks his hoodoo. Why, there s been men laying for 
 him these twenty years, from here to the Rio Grande, 
 and every feller he ever bested will hear of this and 
 begin to grease his holster; then the first shave-tail 
 desperado that meets him will spit in his eye. just to 
 
 2%-* 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 make a name for himself. No, sir! He s a spent shell. 
 He s got to fight all his battles over again, and this 
 time the other feller will open the ball. Oh, I ve 
 seen it happen before. You killed him last night, just 
 as sure as if you d hung up his hide to dry, and he 
 knows it." 
 
 "I m a peaceable man," said Gale, on the defensive. 
 I had to do it." 
 
 4 I know! I know ! There was witnesses this dress 
 maker at the fort seen it, so I hear." 
 
 The other acquiesced silently. 
 
 "Well! Well! Ben Stark licked! I can t get over 
 that. It must a been somethin powerful strong to 
 make you do it, John." It was as close to a question 
 as the miner dared come, although he was avid with 
 curiosity, and, like the entire town, was in a fret to 
 know what lay back of this midnight encounter, con 
 cerning which the most exaggerated rumors were rife. 
 These stories grew the more grotesque and ridiculous 
 the longer the truth remained hidden, for Stark could 
 not be seen, and neither Gale nor Burrell would speak. 
 All that the people knew was that one lay wounded 
 to death behind the dumb walls of his cabin, and that 
 the other had brought him down. When the old man 
 vouchsafed no more than a nod to his question, the 
 prospector inquired: 
 
 "Where s Poleon? I ve got news for him from the 
 creek." 
 
 "I don t know; he s gone." 
 
 "Back soon?" 
 
 "I don t know. Why?" 
 
 "His laymen have give up. They ve cross-cut his 
 ground and the pay ain t there, so they ve quit work 
 for good." 
 
 284 
 
RUNNION FINDS THE SINGING PEOPLE 
 
 "He drew a blank, eh?" 
 
 " Worse n that three of them. The creek is spot- 
 teder than a leopard. Runnion s men, for instance, 
 are into It bigger than a house, while Poleon s people 
 can t raise a color. I call it tough luck yes, worse n 
 tough: it s hard-biled and pickled. To them as has 
 shall it be given, and to them as hasn t shall be took 
 even what they ain t got, as the poet says. Look at 
 Necia! She ll be richer than a cream puff. Guess 
 I ll step around and see her." 
 
 "She s gone," said the trader, wearily, turning his 
 haggard face from the prospector. 
 
 "Gone! Where?" 
 
 "Up-river with Runnion. They got her away from 
 me last night." 
 
 "Sufferin snakes!" ejaculated Lee. "So that s 
 why!" Then he added, simply, "Let s go and git her, 
 John." 
 
 The trader looked at him queerly. 
 
 "Maybe I won t on the first boat! I m eating my 
 heart out hour by hour waiting waiting waiting for 
 some kind of a craft to come, and so is Burrell." 
 
 "What s he got to do with it?" said the one-eyed 
 miner, jealously. Can t you and me bring her back ?" 
 
 "He ll marry her! God, won t there never be a 
 boat!" 
 
 For the hundredth time that morning he went to the 
 door of the post and strained his eyes down-stream. 
 
 "Well, well! Them two goin to be married," said 
 Lee. "Stark licked, and Necia goin to be married 
 all at once. I hate to see it, John; he ain t good 
 enough; she could a done a heap better. There s a 
 lot of reg lar men around here, and she could a had 
 her pick. Of course, always bein broke like a dog my- 
 
 28* 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 self, I ain t kept up my personal appearance like I d 
 ought, but I ve got some new clothes now, and you 
 wouldn t know me. I bought em off a tenderfoot with 
 cold feet, but they re the goods, and you d see a big 
 improvement in me." 
 
 "He s a good man," said Gale. "Better than you 
 or me, and he s all torn up over this. I never saw a 
 man act so. When he learned about it I thought he d 
 i go mad he s haunted the river-bank ever since, raging 
 about for some means of following her, and if I hadn t 
 fairly held him he d have set out single-handed." 
 
 "I m still strong in the belief that Necia could have 
 bettered her hand by stayin out awhile longer," de 
 clared Lee, stubbornly; "but if she wants a soldier, 
 why, we ll get one for her, only I d rather have got her 
 somethin real good and pronounced in the military 
 line like an agit ant-gen ral or a walkin delegate." 
 
 While they were talking Burrell came in, and "No 
 Creek" saw that the night had affected the youth even 
 more than it had Gale, or at least he showed the marks 
 more plainly, for his face was drawn, his eyes were 
 sunken as if from hunger, and his whole body seemed 
 to have fallen away till his uniform hung upon him 
 loose, unkempt, and careless. It was as if hope had 
 been a thing of avoirdupois, and when taken away had 
 caused a shrinkage. He had interrogated Stark again 
 after getting the doctor, but the man had only cursed 
 at him, declaring that his daughter was out of reach, 
 where he would take care to keep her, and torturing 
 the lover anew by linking Runnion s name with the 
 girl s till the young man fled from the sound of the 
 monster s voice back to his own quarters. He strove 
 to keep the image of Runnion out of his mind, for his 
 reason could not endure it. At such times he cried 
 
 286 
 
RUNNION FINDS THE SINGING PEOPLE 
 
 aloud, cursing in a way that was utterly strange to a 
 God-fearing man, only to break off and rush to the 
 other extreme, praying blindly, beseechingly, for the 
 girl s safe-keeping. At intervals an unholy impulse 
 almost drove him to Stark s cabin to finish the work 
 Gale had begun, to do it coldly as a matter of justice, 
 for was he not the one who had put Necia into the 
 hands of that ruffian ? Greeting Lee mechanically, he 
 said to Gale: 
 
 "I can t wait much longer," and sank wearily into a 
 seat. Almost the next instant he was on his feet again, 
 saying to the trader, as he had said it a score of times 
 already: "Runnion comes to me, Gale! You under 
 stand he s mine, don t you?" 
 
 The old man nodded. "Yes! You can take him." 
 
 "Well, who do / git?" asked Lee. 
 
 "You can t come along," the trader said. "We 
 may have to follow the hound clean to the States. 
 Think of your mine " 
 
 "To hell with the mine!" exploded the shaggy pros 
 pector. "I reckon I m kind of a daddy to your gal, 
 and I m goin to be in at the finish." 
 
 Back and forth paced the Lieutenant restlessly, 
 pausing every now and then to peer down the river. 
 Suddenly he uttered a cry, and with a bound Gale was 
 beside him, Lee at his shoulder. 
 
 "Look! Over the point! Down yonder! I saw 
 smoke!" 
 
 The three stared at the distant forest fringe that 
 masked the bend of the river until their eyes ached, 
 and the dark-green grew black and wavered indis 
 tinctly. 
 
 "You re tired, my boy," said Gale. 
 
 "Wait!" 
 
 287 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 They obeyed, and finally over the tree-tops saw a 
 faint streamer of black. 
 
 "It is! It is!" cried the soldier. "I m going for 
 my war bag." And before the steamboat had hove 
 into sight he was back with his scanty bundle of 
 baggage, behaving like one daft, talking and laughing 
 and running here and there. Lee watched him closely, 
 then went behind the bar and poured out a stiff glass 
 of whiskey, which he made Burrell drink. To Gale he 
 whispered, a moment later: 
 
 "Keep your eye on him, John he ll go mad at this 
 rate." 
 
 They waited, it seemed interminably, until at last a 
 white hull slowly rounded the point, then shaped a 
 course across the current towards the other bank, 
 where the water was less swift. As it came fully into 
 sight, Gale swore aloud in despair: 
 
 "It s the Mission boat!" 
 
 "Well, what of that?" said Burrell. "We ll hire 
 it buy it take it!" 
 
 "It s no use; she ain t got but three dog-power to 
 her engines," Lee explained. "She s a down-river boat 
 has to run with the current to move." 
 
 "We can t use her," Gale gave in, reluctantly. " She d 
 only lose time for us. We ve got to wait for one of 
 the A. C. boats." 
 
 "Wait!" cried Burrell. "Good God! we ve done 
 nothing but wait, wait, WAIT! Let s do something!" 
 
 "You go back yonder and set down," commanded 
 Lee. "We ll have a boat before long." 
 
 The arrival of the tiny Mission steamer was never of 
 sufficient importance to draw a crowd to the river- 
 bank, so the impatient men at the post relaxed interest 
 in her as she came creeping up abreast of the town. It 
 
 288 
 
RUNNION FINDS THE SINGING PEOPLE 
 
 was little Johnny Gale who first saw Necia and Poleon 
 on board, for he had recognized Father Barnum s craft 
 at a distance, and stationed himself at the bank hand- 
 in-hand with Molly to bid the good, kind old man 
 welcome. 
 
 The men inside the house did not hear the boy cry 
 ing Necia s name, for his voice was small, and they had 
 gone to the rear of the store* 
 
 "Understand! You leave Runnion to me," Burrell 
 Was saying. "No man shall lay hands on him except 
 me " His voice trailed away; he rose slowly to his 
 feet, a strange light on his face. The others turned to 
 see what sight had drawn his eyes. In the opening, 
 all splendid with the golden sunlight, stood Necia and 
 Poleon Doret, who had her by the hand and she was 
 smiling! 
 
 Gale uttered a great cry and went to meet them, 
 but the soldier could move nothing save his lips, and 
 stood dazed and disbelieving. He saw them dimly 
 coming towards him, and heard Poleon s voice as if at 
 a great distance, saw that the Frenchman s eyes were 
 upon him, and that his words were directed to him. 
 
 "I bring her back to you, M sieuM" 
 
 Doret laid Necia s hand in that of her lover, and 
 Burrell saw her smiling shyly up at him. Something 
 gripped him chokingly, and he could utter no sound. 
 There was nothing to say she was here, safe, smiling, 
 that was all. And the girl, beholding the glory in his 
 eyes, understood. 
 
 Gale caught her away from him then, and buried her 
 in his arms. 
 
 A woman came running into the store, and, seeing 
 the group, paused at the door a shapeless, silent, 
 shawled figure in silhouette against the day. The 
 
 289 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 trader brought the girl to her foster-mother, who began 
 to talk in her own tongue with a rapidity none of them 
 had ever heard before, her voice as tender as some wild 
 bird s song; then the two women went away together 
 around the store into the house. Poleon had told 
 Necia all the amazing story that had come to him that 
 direful night, all that he had overheard, all that he 
 knew, and much that he guessed. 
 
 The priest came into the store shortly, and the men 
 fell upon him for information, for nothing was to be 
 gained from Poleon, who seemed strangely fagged and 
 weary, and who had said but little. 
 
 "Yes, yes, yes!" laughed Father Barnum. "I ll tell 
 you all I know, of course, but first I must meet Lieu 
 tenant Burrell and take him by the hand." 
 
 The story did not lose in his telling, particularly 
 when he came to describe the fight on the gravel bar 
 which no man had seen, and of which Poleon had told 
 him little ; but the good priest was of a militant turn, and 
 his blue eyes glittered and flashed like an old crusader s. 
 
 "It was a wondrous combat," he declared, with all 
 the spirit of a spectator, "for Poleon advanced bare 
 handed and beat him down even as the man fired into 
 his face. It is due to the goodness and mercy of God 
 that he was spared a single wound from this desperado 
 a miracle vouchsafed because of his clean heart and 
 his righteous cause." 
 
 "But where is Runnion?" broke in Burrell. 
 
 "Nursing his injuries at some wood-cutter s camp, 
 no doubt; but God be praised for that double spirit 
 of generosity and forgiveness which prompted our 
 Poleon to spare the wretch. No finer thing have I 
 known in all my life, Doret, even though you have 
 ever been an ungodly fellow." 
 
 990 
 
RUNNION FINDS THE SINGING PEOPLE 
 
 The Frenchman moved uneasily. 
 
 "Wai, I don* know; he ain fight so dam f hard." 
 
 "You couldn t find no trace of him ?" said Lee. 
 
 "No trace whatever," Father Barnum replied; "but 
 he will surely reach some place of refuge where we can 
 pick him up, for the days are still mild and the woods 
 full of berries, and, as you know, the streams overflow 
 with salmon, which he can kill with a stick. Why, 
 a man might live a fortnight without inconvenience!" 
 
 "I ll be on the lookout for him," said the Lieutenant, 
 grimly. "To-night I ll send Thomas and a couple of 
 men down the river." 
 
 When the voluble old priest had at last exhausted 
 his narrative he requested of Burrell the privilege of 
 a few words, and drew him apart from the others. His 
 face was shrewdly wrinkled and warm with under 
 standing. 
 
 " I had a long conversation with my little girl, for she 
 is like a daughter to me, and I discovered the depth of 
 her love for you. Do you think you are worthy of 
 her?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Do you love her as much as you should?" 
 
 "As much as I can. They don t make words or 
 numbers big enough to tell you how dear she is to me." 
 
 "Then why delay? To-morrow I leave again, and 
 one never knows what a day may bring forth." 
 
 "But Stark?" the young man cried. "He s her 
 father, you know; he s like a madman, and she s still 
 under age." 
 
 "I know very little of law outside of the Church," 
 the Father observed, "but, as I understand it, if she 
 marries before he forbids her, the law will hold him 
 powerless. Now, he has never made himself known to 
 
 391 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 her, he has never forbidden her anything; and although 
 my conclusion may not be correct, 1 believe it is, and 
 you have a chance if you make haste. At your age, 
 my boy, I never needed a spur," 
 
 "A spur? Good Lord! I m from Kentucky." 
 
 "Once she is yours before God, your hold will be 
 stronger in the eyes of men. If I am wrong, and he 
 takes her from you well, may some other priest re- 
 wed you two I sha n t!" 
 
 "Don t worry,* laughed Burrell, ablaze at the 
 thought. "You re the only preacher who ll kiss my 
 bride, for I m a jealous man, and all the Starks and 
 all the fathers in the world won t get her away from 
 me. Do you think she ll do it?" 
 
 44 A woman in love will do anything," 
 
 Burrell seized the little man by the hand, **If I had 
 known more law you needn t have given me this hint." 
 
 "I must go now to this Stark," said the Father; 
 "he may need me. But first I shall talk with Necia, 
 Poor child, she is in a difficult position, standing be 
 tween the love of John Gale and the loyalty she owes 
 her father. I I fear I cannot counsel her as well as 
 I ought, for I am very weak and human, You had 
 better come with me ; perhaps the plea of a lover may 
 have more weight than the voice of reason." As they 
 started towards the house, he continued, energetically: 
 "Young man, I m beginning to live once more. Do 
 you know, sometimes I think I was not designed for 
 this vocation, and, just between you and me, there was 
 a day when " He paused and coughed a trifle, then 
 said, sharply, "Well, what are you waiting for?" 
 
 Together they went into the trader s house. 
 
 Back in the store there was silence aiter the priest 
 and the soldier went out, which Gale broke at last: 
 
 292 
 
RUNNION FINDS THE SINGING PEOPLE 
 
 "This forgiveness talk is all right, I suppose but 
 / want Runmonf" 
 
 "We ll git him, too," growled Lee, at which Poleon 
 uttered a curt exclamation: 
 
 "No!" 
 
 "Why not?" said the miner. 
 
 "Wai," the Canadian drawled, slowly, then paused 
 to light the cigarette he had rolled in a bit of wrapping- 
 paper, inhaled the smoke deeply to the bottom of his 
 lungs, held it there a moment, and blew it out through 
 mouth and nostrils before adding, "you ll jus be 
 wastin tam*!" 
 
 Gale looked up from beneath his thatch of brow, and 
 asked, quietly: 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "You "member story I tol you wan day, two, free 
 mont ago," Polecn remarked, with apparent evasion, 
 "bout Johnny Platt w at I ketch on de Porcupine all 
 et up by skeeter-bugs ?" 
 
 "I do," answered Gale. 
 
 "Wai," he met their eyes squarely, then drew 
 another long breath from his cigarette "I m jus 
 hopin nobody don pick it up dis Runnion feller de 
 same way. Mebbe dey fin* hees han s tie behin* im 
 wit* piece of hees shirt " 
 
 "Good God!" cried the trader, starting to his feet. 
 "You you " 
 
 " 01 course, I m jus s posin . He was feel purty 
 good w en I lef . He was feel so good I tak hees coat for 
 keepin off dem bugs from me, biccause I lef it my 
 own shirt on de canoe. He s nice feller dat way; he 
 give up easy. Ba gosh! I never see worse place for 
 skeeters!" 
 
 Gale fell silent, and "No Creek" Lee began to swear 
 293 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 in little, useless, ineffective oaths, which were but two 
 ways of showing similar emotions. Then the former 
 stepped up and laid a big hand upon Poleon s shoulder. 
 "That saves us quite a trip," he said, but "No 
 Creek " Lee continued to swear softly, 
 
 It seemed that Poleon s wish was to be gratified, 
 for no news of the missing man came through in the 
 days that followed. Only at a fishing village far down 
 the river, where a few native families had staked their 
 nets and weirs for salmon, a hunter told a strange tale 
 to his brothers a tale of the white man s idiosyncrasies. 
 In sooth, they were a strange people, he observed, sur 
 passing wise in many things, yet ignorant and childish 
 in all others, else why should a half-naked man go 
 wandering idly through the thickets holding a knotted 
 rag behind his back, and that when the glades wer<j 
 dense and the moss-chinks filled with the singing peo 
 ple who lived for blood? The elders of the village 
 nodded their heads sagely, and commended the hunter 
 for holding aloof from the inert body, for the foolish 
 ness of this man was past belief, and well, his people 
 were swift and cruel in their vengeance, and sometimes 
 doubted an Indian s word, wherefore it were best to 
 pay no heed to their ways and say nothing. But they 
 continued to wonder why. 
 
 Father Barnum found the three still talkir g in the 
 store when he had finished an hour s counsel with 
 Necia, so came straight to the point. It was work that 
 delighted his soul, for he loved the girl, and had formed 
 a strong admiration for Burrell. Two of them took 
 his announcement quietly, the other cried out strenu 
 ous objections. It was the one-eyed miner. 
 
 294 
 
RUNNION FINDS THE SINGING PEOPLE 
 
 "Right away! Not on your life! It s too onex-> 
 pected. You ve got to hold em apart for an hour, any 
 how, till I get dressed." He slid down from his seat 
 upon the counter. "What do you reckon I got all 
 them clothes for?" 
 
 "Come as you are," urged the Father, but Lee fought 
 his point desperately. 
 
 44 I ll bust it up if you don t gimme time. What s an 
 hour or two when they ve got a life sentence comin to 
 em. Dammit, you jest ought to see them clothes !" 
 And by very force of his vociferations he succeeded in 
 exacting the promise of a brief stay in the proceedings 
 before he bolted out, the rags of his yellow mackinaw 
 flapping excitedly. 
 
 The priest returned to Necia, learing the trader and 
 Poleon alone. 
 
 "I s pose it s best," said the former. 
 
 "Yes!" 
 
 "Beats the deuce, though, how things work out, 
 don t it ?" 
 
 "I m glad for see dis day," said tht Frenchman. 
 "He s good man, an* he ain never goin to hurt her 
 none." He paused. "Dere s jus* wan t ing I want for 
 ask it of you, John you member dat day we stop on 
 de birch grove, an you spik bout her an tol me dose 
 story bout her moder ? Wai, I was dreamin dat tarn , so 
 I m goin ask it you now don never tell her w at I said." 
 
 "Doesn t she know, my boy?" 
 
 "No; I ain never spoke bout love. She t inks 
 I m broder wit* her, an* dat s w at I am, ba Gar!" 
 He could not hold his voice even it broke with him; 
 but he avoided the old man s gaze. Gale took him by 
 the shoulders. 
 
 "There ain t nothing so cruel in the world as a gentle 
 ao 295 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 woman," said he; "but she wouldn t hurt you for all 
 the world, Poleon; only the blaze of this other thing 
 has blinded her. She can t see nothing for the light of 
 this new love of hers." 
 
 "I know! Dat s w y nobody onderstan s but you 
 an me " 
 
 Gale looked out through the open door, past the sun 
 lit river which came from a land of mystery and van 
 ished into a valley of forgetfulness, past the forest and 
 the hills, in his deep-set eyes the light of a wondrous 
 love that had lived with him these many weary years, 
 and said: 
 
 "Nobody else can understand but me I know how 
 it is. I had even a harder thing to bear, for you ll 
 know she s happy at least, while I " His voice 
 trembled, but, after a pause, he continued: "They 
 neither of them understand what you ve done for them, 
 for it was you that brought her back; but some time 
 they ll learn how great their debt is and thank you. 
 It 11 take them years and years, however, and when 
 they do they ll tell their babes of you, Poleon, so that 
 your name will never die. I loved her mother, but I 
 don t think I could have done what you did." 
 
 "She s purty hard t ing, for sure, but I ain t ink 
 *bout Poleon Doret none w en I m doin* it. No, I m 
 t ink bout her all de tarn . She s HI gal, an I m beeg, 
 strong feller w at don matter much an w at ain know 
 much cept singin , an lovin her. I m see for sure 
 now dat I ain fit for her I m beeg, rough, fightin* 
 feller w at can t read, an she s de beam of sunlight 
 w at blin my eyes." 
 
 "If I was a fool I d say you d forget in time, but 
 I ve lived my life in the open, and I know you won t, 
 I didn t." 
 
 296 
 
RUNNION FINDS THE SINGING PEOPLE 
 
 "I don* want to forget,* the brown man cried, hur 
 riedly. "Le bon Dieu would not let me forget it s 
 all I ve got to keep wit me w en I m lookin for my 
 New Countree. " 
 
 "You re not goin* to look for that New Country 
 any more," Gale replied. 
 
 "To-day," said the other, quietly. 
 
 "No." 
 
 "To-day! Dis afternoon! De blood in me is callin 
 for travel, John. I m livin here on dis place five 
 year dis fall, an dat s long tarn for voyageur. I m 
 hongry for hear de axe in de woods an de moose blow 
 at sundown. I want for see the camp-fire t rough de 
 brush w en I come from trap de fox an dem little wild 
 fellers. I want to smell smoke in de dusk. My work 
 she s finish here, so I m paddle away to-day, an I ll 
 fin dat place dis tarn , for sure she s over dere." He 
 raised his long arm and pointed to the dim mountains 
 that hid the valley of the Koyukuk, the valley that 
 called good men and strong, year after year, and took 
 them to itself, while in his face the trader saw the hun 
 ger of his race, the unslaked longing for the wilder 
 ness, the driving desire that led them ever North and 
 West, and, seeing it, he knew the man would go. 
 
 "Have you heard the news from the creeks?" 
 
 "No." " 
 
 "Your claims are blanks; your men have quit." 
 
 The Frenchman shook his head sadly, then smiled - 
 a wistful little smile. 
 
 "Wai, it s better I lose dan you or Necia; I ain 
 de lucky kin , dat s all; an , after all, w at good to me 
 is riche gol -mine ? I ain got no use for money any 
 more." 
 
 They stood in the doorway together, two rugged, 
 297 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 Stalwart figures, different in blood and birth and every 
 other thing, yet brothers withal, whom the ebb and 
 flow of the far places had thrown together and now 
 drew apart again. And they were sad, these two, for 
 their love was deeper than comes to other people, and 
 they knew this was farewell; so they remained thus 
 side by side, two dumb, sorrowful men, until they were 
 addressed by a person who hurried from the town. 
 
 He came as an apparition bearing the voice of "No 
 Creek* Lee, the mining king, but in no other way 
 showing sign or symbol of their old friend. Its style 
 of face and curious outfit were utterly foreign to the 
 miner, for he had been bearded with the robust, un 
 kempt growth of many years, tanned to a leathery hue, 
 and garbed perennially in the habit of a scarecrow, while 
 this creature was shaved and clipped and curried, and 
 the clothes it stood up in were of many startling hues. 
 Its face was scraped so clean of whiskers as to be a 
 pallid white, but lack of adornment ended at this 
 point and the rest was overladen wondrously, while 
 from the centre of the half -brown, half -white face the 
 long, red nose of Lee ran out. Beside it rolled his lone 
 some eye, alive with excitement. 
 
 He came up with a strut, illumining the landscape, 
 and inquired: 
 
 "Well, how do I look?" 
 
 " I m darned if I know," said Gale. "But it s plumb 
 miusual." 
 
 "These here shoes leak," said the spectacle, pulling 
 up his baggy trousers to display his tan footgear, "be 
 cause they was made for dry goin that s why they 
 left the tops off; but they ve got a nice, healthy color, 
 ain t they? As a whole, it seems to me I m sort of 
 nifty." He revolved slowly before their admiring 
 
 298 
 
RUNNION FINDS THE SINGING PEOPLE 
 
 gaze, and while to one versed in the manners of the 
 Far East it would have been evident that the original 
 owner of these clothes had come from somewhere 
 beyond the Susquehanna, and had either been a foot 
 ball player or had travelled with a glee club, to these 
 three Northmen it seemed merely that here was the 
 modish echo of a distant civilization. 
 
 4 Wat s de matter on your face ? said Poleon. You 
 been fightin ?" 
 
 "I ain t shaved in a long time, and this here excite 
 ment has kind of shattered my nerves. I didn t have 
 no lookin -glass, neither, in my shack, so I had to use 
 a lard-can cover. Does it look bad?" 
 
 "Not to my way of thinkin ," said Gale, allaying 
 "No Creek s * anxiety. "It s more desp rate than 
 bad, but it sort of adds expression." At which the 
 miner s pride burst bounds. 
 
 "I ll kindly ask you to note the shirt ten dollars a 
 copy, that s all! I got it from the little Jew down yon. 
 der. See them red spear-heads on the boosum ? Flower 
 dee Lizzies, which means calla lilies in French. Every 
 one of em cost me four bits. On the level how am I ?" 
 
 "I never see no harness jus lak it mese f!" exclaimed 
 Doret. "You look good nough for tin-horn gambler. 
 Say, don you wear no necktie wit dem kin of clothes ?" 
 
 "No, sir! Not me. I m a rude, rough miner, and I 
 dress the part. Low-cut, blushin shoes and straw hats 
 I can stand for, likewise collars they go hand-in-hand 
 with pay-streaks; but a necktie ain t neither wore for 
 warmth nor protection; it s a pomp and a vanity, and 
 I m a plain man without conceit. Now, let s proceed 
 with the obsequies." 
 
 It was a very simple, unpretentious ceremony that 
 took place inside the long, low house of logs, and yet 
 
 299 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 H was a wonderful thing to the dark shy snaid whc 
 hearkened so breathlessly beside the man she had 
 singled cut the clean-cut man in uniform, who stood 
 so straight and tall, making response in a voice that 
 had neither fear nor weakness in it. When they had 
 done he turned and took her reverently in his arms 
 and kissed her before them all t then she went and 
 stood beside Gale and the red wife who was no wife, 
 and said, simply, 
 
 "1 am very happy," 
 
 The old man stooped, and for the fr-st time in her 
 memory pressed his lips to hers, then went out into 
 the sunlight, where he might be alone with himself and 
 the memory of that other Merridy. the wcman who, to 
 him s was more than all the women of the world ; the 
 woman who, each day and mght ; came to him, and 
 with whom he had kept faith. The burden she had 
 laid upon him had been heavy , but he had borne it long 
 and uncomplainingly, and now he was very glad, for 
 he had kept his covenant. 
 
 The first word of the wedding was borne by Father 
 Barnum, who went alone to the cabin where the girl s 
 father lay, entering with trepidation, for, in spite of the 
 pleas of justice and humanity, this stony-hearted, 
 amply hated man had certain rights which he might 
 choose to enforce ; hence, the good priest feared for the 
 peace of his little charge, and approached the stricken 
 man with apprehension. He was there a long time 
 alone with Stark, and when he returned to Gale s house 
 he would answer no questions, 
 
 a *He is a strange man a wonderfully strange man: 
 unrepentant and wicked; but 1 can t tell you what he 
 Have a little patience and you will soon know, 9 
 
 The mail boat fl which had arrived an hour after 
 300 
 
RCNNKOW FUNDS THE SINGING PEOPLE 
 
 Mission boat was ready to continue its run when, just 
 as it blew a warning blast, down the street of the camp 
 came a procession so strange for this land that men 
 topped eyed it curiously, and whispered among them- 
 elves. U was a blanketed man upon a stretcher, car 
 ried by a doctor and a priesto The face was muffled so 
 that the idlers could not make it out and when they 
 inquired they received no answer from the carriers, 
 who pursued their course impassively down the run 
 way to the water s edge and up the gang-plank to the 
 deck. When the boat had gone, and the last faint 
 cough of its towering stacks had <*aed away, Father 
 Barnum turned to his friends: 
 
 "He has gone away, not for a day, but for all time. 
 He is a strange man, and some things he said I could 
 not understand. At first I feared greatly, for when 
 I told him what had occurred of Necia s return and 
 of her marriage he became so enraged I thought he 
 would burst open his wounds and die from his very 
 fury; but I talked a long, long time with him, and 
 gradually I came to know somewhat of his queer, dis 
 ordered soul. He could not bring himself to face de 
 feat in the eyes of men, or to see the knowledge of it 
 in their bear.ug ; therefore, he fled. He told me that he 
 would be a bunted animal all his life; that the news 
 of his whipping would travel ahead of him; and that 
 his enemies would search him out to take advantage 
 of him. This I could not grasp, but it seemed a big 
 thing in his eyes so big that he wept, He said the 
 only decent thing he could or would do was to leave 
 the daughter he had never known to that happiness 
 he had never experienced, and wished me to tell her 
 that she was very much like her mother, who was the 
 woman in the world.* 
 
 301 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 fHB CALL OP THE OREADS 
 
 "pHERE was mingled rejoicing and lamentation hi 
 1 the household of John Gale this afternoon. Molly 
 and Johnny were in the throes of an overwhelming 
 sorrow, the noise of which might be heard from the 
 barracks to the Indian village. They were sparing of 
 tears as a rule, but when they did give way to woe 
 they published it abroad, yelling with utter abandon, 
 their black eyes puckered up, their mouths distended 
 into squares, from which came such a measure of sound 
 as to rack the ears and burden the air heavily with 
 sadness. Poleon was going away! Their own partic 
 ular Poleon! Something was badly askew in the gen 
 eral scheme of affairs to permit of such a thing, and 
 they manifested their grief so loudly that Burrell, 
 who knew nothing of Doret s intention, sought them 
 out and tried to ascertain the cause of ito They had 
 found the French-Canadian at the river with their 
 father, loading his canoe, and they had asked him 
 whither he fared. When the meaning of his words 
 struck home they looked at each other in dismay, then, 
 bred as they were to mask emotion, they joined hands 
 and trudged silently back up the bank with filling ey<ss 
 and chins a-quiver until they gained the rear of the 
 house. Here they sat down all forlorn, and began to 
 weep bitterly and in an ascending crescendo, 
 
 302 
 
THE CALL OP THE OREADS 
 
 "What s the matter with you tikes, anyhow?" in 
 quired the Lieutenant. He had always filled them 
 with a speechless awe, and at his unexpected appear 
 ance they began the slow and painful process of swal 
 lowing their grief . He was a nice man, they had both 
 agreed long ago and very splendid to the eye r but he 
 was nothing like Poleon, who was one of them, only 
 somewhat bigger. 
 
 "Come, now! Tell me all about it," the soldier in 
 sisted. "Has something happened to the three-legger 1 
 puppy?" 
 
 Molly denied the occurrence of any such catas 
 trophe. 
 
 "Then you ve lost the little shiny rifle that shoots 
 with aii ?" But Johnny dispelled this horrible sus 
 picion by drawing the formidable weapon out of the 
 grass behind him. 
 
 "Well, there isn t anything else bad enough to cause 
 all this outlay of anguish. Can t I help you out?* 
 
 * Poleon 1" they wailed, in unison. 
 
 "Exactly? What about him? vv 
 
 "He s gom k away!" said Johnny. 
 
 "He s gom away!" echoed Molly. 
 
 "Now, that s too bad, of course/ the young man 
 assented; "but think what nice things he ll bring you 
 when he comes back.* 
 
 "He ain t comm v back!" announced the heir, with 
 the tone that conveys a sorrow unspeakable 
 
 "He ain t comin back!" wailed the little girl, and, 
 being a woman, yielded again to her weakness, un 
 ashamed 
 
 Burrell tried to extract a more detailed explanation, 
 but this was as far as their knowledge ran. So he 
 ought out the Canadian, and found him with Gate in 
 
 303 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 the store, a scanty pile of food and ammunition on the 
 counter between them. 
 
 "Poleon," said he, "you re not going away?" 
 
 ? Yes," said Doret. "I m takin liT trip." 
 
 "But when are you coming back?" 
 
 The man shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "Dat s hard t ing for tellin . I m resless in my 
 heart, so I m goin 1 travel some. I ain never pass on 
 de back trail yet, so I spect I keep goin ." 
 
 "Oh, but you can t!" cried Burrell. "I I" He 
 paused awkwardly, while down the breeze came the 
 lament of the two little Gales. "Well, I feel just as 
 they do." He motioned in the direction of the sound. 
 * I wanted you for a friend, Doret; I hate to lose you." 
 
 "I ain never got my satisfy yet, so I m pass on 
 all de tarn pass on. Mebbe dis trip I fin de place." 
 
 "I m sorry because well, I m a selfish sort of cuss 
 and " Burrell pulled up blushingly, with a strong 
 man s display of shame at his own emotion. " I owe 
 all my happiness to you, old man. I can t thank you 
 neither of us can we shall never live long enough 
 for that, but you mustn t go without knowing that 1 
 feel more than I ll ever have words to say." 
 
 He was making it very hard for the Frenchman, 
 whose heart was aching already with a dull, unending 
 pain. Poleon had hoped to get away quietly ; his heart 
 was too heavy to let him face Necia or thi? man, and 
 run the risk of their reading his secret, so a plaintive 
 wrinkle gathered between his eyes that grew into a 
 smile. And then, as if he were not tried sufficiently, 
 the girl herself came flying in. 
 
 "What s this I hear ?" she cried. " Alluna tells me w 
 She saw the telltale pile on the counter, and her face 
 grew whit/ "Then it s true! Oh s Poleon I" 
 
 304 
 
THE CALL OP THE OREADS 
 
 He smiled, and spoke cheerily. "Yes, I been t inkin 9 
 "bout dis trip long tarn ." 
 
 "When are you coming back?" 
 
 "Wai, if I fin* dat new place w at I m lookin for 
 I don* never come back. You people was good frien* 
 to me, but I m kin* of shif less feller t you know. Mebbe 
 I forget all *bout Flambeau, an stop on my 4 New 
 Countree you never can tol* w at dcse Franchemans 
 goin* do." 
 
 "It s the wander-lust," murmured Burrell to him 
 self; "he ll never rest." 
 
 "What a child you are!" cried Necia, half angrily. 
 "Can t you conquer that roving spirit and settle down 
 like a man ?" She la*d her hand on his arm appealingly. 
 "Haven t I told you there isn t any far country ? 
 Haven t I told you that this path leads only to hard 
 ship and suffering and danger? The land you are 
 looking for is there " she touched his breast "so why 
 don t you stay in Flambeau and let us help you to 
 find it?" 
 
 He was deeply grateful for her blindness, and yet it 
 hurt him so that his great heart was nigh to bursting. 
 Why couldn t she see the endless, hopeless yearning 
 that consumed him, and know that if he stayed in sight 
 and touch of her it would be like a living death ? Per 
 haps, then, she would have given over urging him to do 
 what he longed to do, and let him go on that search 
 he knew was hopeless, and in which he had no joy. 
 But she did not see; she would never see. He laughed 
 aloud, for all the world as if the sun were bright and 
 the fret for adventure were still keen in him, then, pick 
 ing up his bundle, said: 
 
 "Dere s no use argue wit* Canayen man, Mebbe 
 eome day I come paddle back roun de ben* down 
 
 305 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 yonder, an* you hear me smgin dose chanson; but now 
 de day she s too fine, de river she s laugh too loud, an* 
 de birds she s sing too purty for Francheman to stop 
 on shore. Ba gosh, I m glad!" He began to hum, 
 and they heard him singing all the way down to the 
 river-bank, as if the spirit of Youth and Hope an4 
 Gladness were not dead within him,, 
 
 "Chante", rossignol, chanttt 
 
 Tot qui d le coeur gai ; 
 
 Tu as le coeur d, rire 
 
 Mai f V ai-ta pleurer, 
 
 II y a longtemps que f faime 
 Jamais je ne t oublierai" 1 
 
 A moment later they heard him expostulating with 
 some one at the water s edge, and then a child s treble 
 rose on high. 
 
 "No, no! I m goin , too! I m goin , too-o-o-o " 
 
 "Hey! John Gale!" called Poleon. "Come ere! Ba 
 gosh! You better horry, too! I can t hoi dis feller 
 long." 
 
 When they appeared on the bank above him, he 
 continued, "Look ere w at I fin on my batteau," 
 and held up the wriggling form of Johnny Gale. "He s 
 stow hisse f away onder dem blanket. Sacre*! He s 
 bad feller, dis man don pay for hees ticket at all; he s 
 reg lar toff mug." 
 
 " I want to go long!" yelled the incorrigible stow* 
 
 14< Sing, little bird, oh, sing away! 
 
 You with the voice so light and gay! 
 Yours is a heart that laughter cheers, 
 Mine is a heart that s full of tears. 
 
 Long have I loved, I love her yet; 
 
 Leave her I can, but not forget." 
 
THE CALL OF THE OREADS 
 
 away. He had brought his gun with him, and this 
 weapon, peeping forth from under Poleon s blanket, 
 had betrayed him. "I want to go long!" shrieked the 
 little man. "I like you best of all!" At which Doret 
 took him in his arms and hugged him fiercely. 
 
 "Wai, I guess you don* t ink *bout dem beeg black 
 bear at night, eh?" But this only awoke a keener 
 distress in the junior Gale. 
 
 "Oh, maybe de bear will get you, Poleon! Let me 
 go long, and I ll keep dem off. Two men is better dan 
 one please, Poleon 1" 
 
 It took the efforts of Necia and the trader combined 
 to tear the lad from the Frenchman, and even then the 
 foul deed was accomplished only at the cost of such 
 wild acclaim and evidence of undying sorrow that lit 
 tle Molly came hurrying from the house, her round face 
 stained and tearful, her mouth an inverted crescent. 
 She had gone to the lame puppy for comfort, and now 
 strangled him absent-mindedly in her arms, clutching 
 him to her breast so tightly that his tongue lolled out 
 and his three legs protruded stiffly, pawing an aimless 
 pantomime. When Johnny found that no hope re 
 mained, he quelled his demonstrations of emotion and, 
 as befitted a stout-hearted gentleman of the woods, 
 bore a final present to his friend. He took the little 
 air-gun and gave it into Poleon s hands against that 
 black night when the bears would come, and no man 
 ever made a greater sacrifice. Doret picked him up 
 by the elbows and kissed him again and again, then 
 set him down gently, at which Molly scrambled for 
 ward, and without word or presentation speech gave 
 him her heart s first treasure. She held out the three- 
 legged puppy, for a gun and a dog should ever go to 
 gether; then, being of the womankind aforesaid, she 
 
 307 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 began to cry as she kissed her pet good-bye on its 
 cold, wet nose. 
 
 "Wat s dis?" said Poleon, and his voice quavered, 
 for these childish fingers tore at his heart-strings ter 
 ribly. 
 
 "He s a very brave doggie," said the little girl. 
 "He will scare de bears away!" And then she became 
 dissolved in tears at the anguish her offering cost her. 
 
 Doret caressed her as he had her brother, then 
 placed the puppy carefully upon the blankets in the 
 canoe, where it wagged a grateful and amiable stump 
 at him and regained its breath. It was the highest 
 proof of Molly s affection for her Poleon that she kept 
 her tear-dimmed eyes fixed upon the dog as long as it 
 was visible. 
 
 The time had come for the last good-bye that awk 
 ward moment when human hearts are full and spoken 
 words are empty. Burrell gripped the Frenchman s 
 hand. He was grateful, but he did not know. 
 
 "Good -luck and better hunting!" he said. "A 
 heavy purse and a light heart for you always, Poleon. 
 I have learned to love you." 
 
 "I want you to be good husban*, M sieu*. Dat s de 
 bes t ing I can wish for you." 
 
 Gale spoke to him in patois, and all he said was: 
 
 "May you not forget, my son." 
 
 They did not look into each other s eyes; there was 
 no need. The old man stooped, and, taking both his 
 children by the hand, walked slowly towards the house. 
 
 "Dis tarn I ll fin it for sure," smiled Poleon to Necia. 
 
 Her eyes were shining through the tears, and she 
 whispered, fervently: 
 
 "I hope so, brother. God love you always." 
 
 It was grief at losing a playmate, a dear and well* 
 308 
 
THE CALL OF THE OREADS 
 
 beloved companion. He knew it well, and he was g)ad 
 now that he had never said a word of love to her. 3ft 
 added to his pain, but it lightened hers, and that had 
 ever been his wish. He gazed on her for a long mo 
 ment, taking in that blessed image which would ever 
 live with him in his eyes was the light of a love as 
 pure and clean as ever any maid had seen, and in his 
 heart a sorrow that would never cease. 
 
 "Good-bye, liT gal," he said, then dropped her 
 hand and entered his canoe. With one great stroke he 
 drove it out and into the flood, then headed away tow 
 ards the mists and colors of the distant hills, where 
 the Oreads were calling to him. He turned for one 
 last look, and flung his paddle high; then, fearing lest 
 they might see the tears that came at last unhindered, 
 he began to sing: 
 
 "Chanti, rossignol, chantff 
 Toi qui a le coeur gai ; 
 Tu as le coeur a rire 
 Mai f r ai-t-a pkurer. 
 
 He sang long and lustay. Keeping time to the dip 
 of his flashing paddle ana deiying his bursting heart. 
 After all, was he not a voyageur, and life but a song 
 and a tear, and then a dream or two ? 
 
 "I wish I might have known him better," sighed 
 Meade Burrell, as he watched the receding form of the 
 boatman. 
 
 "You would have loved him as we do," said Necia* 
 "and you would have missed him as we will." 
 
 "I hope some time he will be happy." 
 
 "As happy as you, my soldier?" 
 309 
 
THE BARRIER 
 
 ? * Yes; but that he can never be," said her husband 
 v for no man could love as I love you." 
 
 ** Yours is a heart that laughter cheers. 
 Mine is a heart that s full of tears. 
 Long have I loved, I love her yet; 
 Leave her I can, but not forget " 
 
 came the voice of the singer far down the stream, 
 A&d thus Poleon of the Great Heart went awav. 
 
The greatest pleasure in life is 
 that of reading. Why not then 
 own the books of great novelists 
 when the price is so small 
 
 C Of oil the amusements which can possibly 
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 Ask your dcrlcr for a list of the titles 
 in Burl s Popular Priced Fiction 
 
 In buying the books bearing the 
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 you are assured of wholesome, en 
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 as Richard the Lion Hearted. 
 
 Taming of Zenas Henry, The. Sara Ware Basset 
 Tarzan of the Apes. Edgar Rice Burroughs. 
 Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar. Edgar Rice Burroughs. 
 Tattooed Arm, The. Isabel Ostrander. 
 Tempting of Tavernake, The. E. Phillips Oppenheim. 
 Tess of the DtJrbervilles. Thomas Hardy. (Photoplay Ed.). 
 Tex. Clarence E. Mulford. 
 
DATE 
 
 
 
 
,YB 59665 
 
 M15820 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY