Part 4 (1/2)

And these men had violated all the canons of this discipline, frankly and co the penalty, but evidently utterly careless of it McTavish could not but feel a certain ad To hie, unseen, intangible force; a stern monster that de obedience as patriots rarely give their country's cause A stern, but kindly, er in ill

When he had finished his round on his couchevents

Barely half an hour later, footsteps sounded outside the door, and a pounding upon it brought hi back, and a

”Come with me,” the newcomer said, and McTavish preceded hi building

Two-thirds of the distance they had walked, when suddenly the walls fell away, and Donald found hie, low room, bare-floored and cheerless, that occupied the other third Save light, and around the wall he could see perhaps fiftyDirectly before him at the opposite end was a sort of low platfore stump served for a table, and another smaller one, behind it, for a chair A loneto the sht, McTavish could not at first make out his features Then, with a start of auis

How had he got here? What was he doing here, this intelligent half-breed? These and a hundred other questions flashed through the prisoner's an to speak He was a tall, finely-formed man, with a clearness of cut to his features that betokened English parentage on the one side, and the blood of chiefs on the other

”We are in council to-night to decide what to do with Captain McTavish,” he said slowly, using the excellent English at his command ”How he has come here, I do not know Who told him of the Free-Traders' Brotherhood, I do not know As one ainst hie presents for our best skins But he is one of the Hudson Baymust be done It must be done quickly We are in council; each man shall have his say”

Donald's eyes had becoe rooreat bales of pelts piled indiscriminately, thousands and thousands of dollars' worth

So, these were free-traders! This was the iance to the Hudson Bay! He shrugged his shoulders Whatever happened to hihty, intangible thing, the Company, did not look kindly upon free-traders Ever since 1859, when the ally expired, free-traders had been at ith the great concern, and in the Northwest had established a brisk and growing competition

But here, in the vast district between Labrador and the west shore of the bay, their invasions had, without exception, met with failure

More than that, those brave men who had undertaken to beard this lion in his iron wilderness had very rarely returned to tell the tale of the bearding Warned once or twice, the more timid retired, baffled and unsuccessful Persistent, the trader fell a victiun ”accidents,” canoe ”upsets,” or even starvation carefully engineered by unseen, but cos were traditions of the Coht up on thes, but he was certain in his own mind that they were not all fiction, for such fictions do not spring to life ions where emotions are naked and primitive, and existence is pared down to the raw

Here were men who had evidently banded themselves into a Free-Traders'

Brotherhood How many had enlisted in its ranks besides those in this room, he had no idea; perhaps there were hundreds It had evidently been well organized, for it had taken shape with aht This was more iade half-breed But that half-breed was hianization

”That's what half an intelligence will do for a man!” said McTavish to hih to be better than his class He therefore immediately sets himself up as a leader to buck the Cohts almost immediately turned to his own case What was that old Indian saying? He listened

”In the past history of the Co Murder, violence, Intrigue, conspiracy--all these have flourished when a rival took the field We may look for them now, and he who strikes first forestalls the other It is, of course, impossible for this Captain McTavish to reach Fort dickey or Fort Severn again Three sentences froun We are not strong enough yet for open conflict

By spring, perhaps, but not now McTavisharood brother, you do not counsel uis, in a tone of horror ”To kill our old friend, Captain McTavish, because he has happened to come upon us here--oh, no, no, no! It is impossible But, yet,” he added, ”he must not tell what he has seen”

He turned to McTavish

”Will you give an oath never to reveal what you have seen and heard here?”

”No,” Donald said bluntly ”I won't”

”By refusal, you sign your own death-warrant,” warned the half-breed, not unkindly ”For the sake of all of us, give this oath”

”Seguis,” replied Donald, just as quietly, ”you know you ask the impossible Let's not waste anyto do with me--and do it!”