Adventure, August 1917 — page 25: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Northwoman get him to the house?” asked Bancroft. ‘One of you on each side of his shoulders here and I'll take his legs.” Fleenor panting for breath, they at last laid the man on the floor of the living-room, where Joan began to bathe the hardened blood from his face while Stanton took the men outside and down to the lake, where they removed the body of the squaw to a temporary hiding-place and covered it with a blanket. “T was just stopping a minute, and you’re busy,” said Fleenor when the work was finished. ‘‘T’ll go on home.” No word of polite insistence that he remain was offered, and the fur-trader paddled slowly out of the bay just as the late twilight of the North country was dropping over the lake. “Now for the man,” said Stanton as he led the way to the house. ‘I must get him and start. You won’t mind my running off this way?” “Not at all,”’ replied Wallace. “Is there anything I can do to help you?” “No, thanks. This is a game I’ve got to play alone, and I must play it at once. I’ll be back in a few days, however, and I’ll be glad to see you again.” BANCROFT went directly into the _living-room where the Indian lay, still bound. He bent at once and cut the ropes about the man’s ankles and then those at his wrists. “Come,” he said in Ojibway, leading the way to the door. “Oh, Stan!” called Joan, running outside after the missionary. ‘‘Where are you going?” , Stanton stopped, spoke to the girl for a moment in a low tone, and then went on to the lake, the Indian following. Those in the house saw them set a canoe afloat and get in. The Indian in the bow, they paddled out toward the mouth of the bay and soon faded into the darkness. “Poor Stan,” said Mrs. Knox. “You don’t know how he has worried about this whisky business and how hard he has worked. For the last four months, or until I went away a month ago, he has done nothing else. There wasn’t anything else to do. None of the children were brought here this Summer to get their schooling, and so few of the Indians camped near here, and those few were always drunk.” ‘to tell more because it touched -one until the evil itself shows. 23 “But surely there is some way to get trace of who is bringing the whisky into the country,” said Wallace. ‘‘I’d like to see him do it, not only to win out for him- self, but because my guide got drunk one night and I don’t want it to happen again.” The women looked at him quickly and Wallace stopped speaking. Hedidnot wish upon the theft of his notes. : “Don’t you know where he got it?” asked Joan. “T haven’t any idea, and I wasn’t able to learn from him. He simply wouldn’t answer.” “He got it from Fleenor,” stated Mrs. Knox positively. “T wouldn’t hesitate to believe anything about that man,” said Wallace. “I agree with you there, and I wouldn’t look any farther if I were ‘Mr. Bancroft. The man’s appearance and his. speech; alone confirm any suspicion one might have.” “The same thing I’ve told Stan any number of times,” declared the older woman. “But he won’t see any evil in any It’s the hardest thing in the world for him to think any one is not as honest and clean as he is himself.”’ “But if he does find any proof against Fleenor,” and Joan shrugged her shoulders. ‘‘Stan may be a missionary, but there are times when you’d never know it.” ‘“‘There are no times when you’d know it,” stoutly defended Mrs. Knox. ‘That is the reason he is such a good one, has such an influence over the Indians in a big district. You should have seen the mis- sionaries I have seen, my child. If I were an Indian I would remain a heathen. His father was as fine a man as ever lived, and he did a great work in this country. It was Christianity that drove him, and he often worried because he thought Stanton didn’t have enough of it. But Stanton seems to have something that does better work.” ‘‘He’s just human, is all,’’ supplemented Joan, and her eyes as she said it gave Wallace a sudden desire to have this girl as his champion, too. ‘“He’s just thor- oughly, essentially human, and he doesn’t try to deceive himself or any one else with religion as it is generally understood. I sometimes think Stan hasn’t much of the religion his father had.” CoOmiclsoo CO 5}