Part 1 (1/2)
The Hunted Woman
by James Oliver Curwood
CHAPTER I
It was all new-- to the woray veil drawn closely about her face For eighteen hours she had been a keenly attentive, wide-eyed, and partly frightened bit of humanity in this onrush of ”the horde” She had heard a voice behind her speak of it as ”the horde”--a deep, thick, gruff voice which she kneithout looking had filtered its way through a beard She agreed with the voice It was the Horde--that horde which has always beaten the trails ahead for civilization and made of its own flesh and blood the foundation of nations Forsteadily into the ing, blasphehened sinew and red brawn, except the Straying Angels One of these sat opposite her, a dark-eyed girl with over-red lips and hollowed cheeks, and she heard the beardedto his coel in the other seat” This saruffened in its beard, had told her that ten thousand of the Horde had gone up ahead of the that h her She lifted her veil and rose slowly froe her dress Casually she looked straight into the faces of the bearded man and his companion in the seat behind They stared After that she heard nothing els, but only a wildly s,” and ”coyotes” that blehole s about the ”rail end” She learned that it was taking five hundred steers a week to feed the Horde that lay along the Grand Trunk Pacific between Hogan's Camp and the sea, and that there were two thousand souls at Tete Jaune Cache, which until a few months before had slumbered in a century-old quiet broken only by the Indian and his trade Then the train stopped in its twisting trail, and the bearded man and his colanced down
Again the veil was drawn close A shi+e; that was all they saw
[Illustration: ”Look at MacDonald It's not the gold, but MacDonald, that's takingMacDonald”]
The veiled woone She saw thatoff In her end of the car the hollow-cheeked girl and she were alone Even in their aloneness these tomen had not dared to speak until now The one raised her veil again, and their eyeseyes of the ”angel” stared Like the bearded man and his companion, she, too, understood, and an ee on her cheeks The eyes that looked across at her were blue--deep, quiet, beautiful The lifted veil had disclosed to her a face that she could not associate with the Horde The lips smiled at her--the wonderful eyes softened with a look of understanding, and then the veil was lowered again
The flush in the girl's cheek died out, and she s to Tete Jaune?” she asked
”Yes May I sit with you for a few minutes? I want to ask questions--so irl made room for her at her side
”You are new?”
”Quite new--to this”
The words, and the lance quickly at her coo--Tete Jaune,” she said ”It is a terrible place for a wo?”
”I have friends there Have you?”
”No”
The girl stared at her in amazement Her voice and her eyes were bolder now
”And without friends you are going--_there?_” she cried ”You have no husband--no brother----”
”What place is this?” interrupted the other, raising her veil so that she could look steadily into the other's face ”Would you irl, the flush reddening her cheeks again
”There's one of the big camps of the railroad builders down on the Flats
You can see it through theThat river is the Athabasca”
”Will the train stop here very long?”