The Translation of a Savage, Complete

Armour had not been brought up in England. She had a kind of grave sweetness and distant charm which made her notable at any table or in any ballro

erself was not elated; it gratified her, but she had been an angel, and a very unsatisfactory one, if it had not done so. As her confidence grew (though outwardly she had never appeared to lack it greatly), she did not hesitate to speak of herself as an Indian, her country as a good country, and her people as a noble if dispossessed race; all the

o induced General Armour and his wife to give her husband's solicitor no information regarding the birth of the child. There was thus apparently no more inducement for him to hurry back to England than there was when he had sent her off on his mission of retaliation, which had been such an ignominious failure. For the humiliation of his family had been short-liv

ied soon. The wedding had been delayed owing to his enforced absence abroad. Mrs. Edward Lambert, once Mrs. Townley, shyly regretted in Lali's presence that the child, or one as sweet, was not hers. Her husband evidently shared h

out a year after his wife had gone, he found occasion to reprove a half-breed, by name Jacques Pontiac; and Jacques, with more honesty than politeness, said some hard words, and asked how much he paid for his English hired devils to kill his wife. Strange to say, he did not resent this startling remark. It set him thinking. He began to blame himself for not having written oftener to his people-and to his wife. He wondered how far his revenge had succeeded. He was most ashamed of it now. He

was even most puzzled at the tone and substance of their letters. From the beginning there had been no reproaches, no excitement, no railing, but studied kindness and conventional statements, through which Mrs. Armour's solicitous affection scarcely ever peeped. He had shot his bolt, and got-consideration, almost imperturbability. They appeared to treat the m

ts reality as long as possible. He did his utmost to be philosophical and say his quid refert, but it was easier tried than done; for Jacques Pontiac's words kept rankling in his mind, and he found himself carrying round a vague load, which made

y made final arrangements for establishing a very large farm. When he once became actually interested in this he shook off something of his moodiness and settled himself to develop the thing. He had good tale

called himself a sneak, and one day at Fort Charles sat down to write to his solicitor in Montreal to say that he would come on at once. Still he hesitated. As he sat there thinking, Eye-of-the-Moon, his father-in-law, opened the door quietly and entered. He had avoided the chief ever since he had come back to Fo

hand for the pipe offered him, lighted it, and sat down, smoking in silence. Armour waited; but, seeing that the other was no

d to him courteously, then sat down again. Armour

have to beg of you for food and shelter. Then you take our daughters, and we know not where they go. They are gone like the down from the t

nd earnestness, which the stoic calm of his face might not have suggested; and Armour felt that he had no advantage at all. Besides, Armour had a conscience, though he had played some rare tricks with it of late, and it needed more hardihood than he possessed to fa

ently he said: "Eye-of-the-Moon, I don't think I can talk as poetically as you, even in my own language, and I

earance to his iron-featured face. He looked steadily at Armour, and said: "You are of those who rule in your land,"-here Armour protested,-"you have much gold to buy and sell. I

it galled him to think that he was under suspicion of having done any bodily inju

s for less than one moon, and you sent her far away, and you stayed. Her father was as a dog in your sight. Do men whose hearts are clear act so? Th

with a newspaper in his hand. He paused abruptly when he saw Eye-of-the-Moon. Armour felt that the trader had something important to communicate. He guessed it was in the paper. He mutely held o

hat she was in a critical condition. This time Armour did not ask for brandy, but the trader put it out beside h

as all right, of course, long ago,

g of her illness. It bewildered him, made him uneasy. Perhaps the first real sense of his duty as a husband came h

debating," he said. "Eye-of-the-Moon, my wife is in England, at my father's home. I am going to her. Men have lied in thinking I would do her any injury, but-but-never mind, the harm was

but then Armour had not been exercising moral courage during the last year or so, and its exercise was profitable to him. The next morning he