Part 8 (2/2)
”I pro yet”
He gave her certain instructions about the store, charging her in particular to observe the utht precipitate a pre 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 aht 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 fivecompleted a detour of the town, he struck the trail to the interior, where he found Poleon Doret, equipped in a sis of his people
When Burrell returned to his quarters he tried toof lonesolected correspondence Somehow, to-day, the sense of his isolation had coer than ever His rank forbade any intimacy with his miserable handful of men, who had already fallen into the monotony of routine, while every friendly overture he made towards the citizens of Flambeau wasto erect a barrier and induce an ostraciser and more complete than if they had been ean to resent it keenly Even Doret and the trader seeht of the long, loneso reduced the Lieutenant 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 ood reason to be in the du desirable in this place--everything undesirable--except Necia Her presence in Fla his humdrum existence bearable, but of late he had found hi seriousness on the unhappy circumstances of her birth, and had almost made up his mind that it would be wise not to see her anyvision of her in the ball-dress re hientleness about her that seemed to make the feomen he had knoell dull and commonplace, and even his sister, whos feminine, suffered by comparison with this rave melancholy, when a knock came at his door, and he arose to find Necia herself there, excited and radiant She cahtest consciousness of the possible i has happened,” she began at once, when she found they were alone ”You'll faint for joy”
”What is it?”
”nobody knows except father and Poleon and the t men--”
”What is it?”
”I teased the news out of hed ”But what--may I ask--”
”Lee has made a strike--a wonderful strike--richer than the Klondike”
”So? The old lad 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 neill go up-river and down-river, and thousands of others will co in from everywhere, and this will be a city
Then ill stake our town lots and sell theo around with our noses in the air, and they will say to each other:
”'Who is that beautiful lady with the fine clothes?' and somebody will answer:
”'Why, that is Miss Necia Gale, the , 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”