The Maid of the Whispering Hills

ner of rock and depression shy white flowers lifted their pretty heads to the coaxing sun. Deep in the budding woods birds in flocks and bevies called a

crackling frost of nights and the snow piled deep around

gled, full to its low banks, as if the late summer would not see it shrunk to a lazy thread,

e forest and come back laden with tiny green sprays of the golden trailer, with wee white blo

wall; "how Francette does but sit in the shade and nurse that half-dead wolf. Is it by chance because of th

y dark eyes at the little maid's expense, but sh

ittle you know beyond the thought of a man truly, a

the golden wind. Francette, her eyes flaming with all too great a fire, set a pan of cool water be

ruised from tip to tip, one side flat under its broken ribs, he lay sullenly in the shade; of the cabin where McElroy had put him down, covered at night from the cool air by Francette's' own blanket of

ked the rough grey fur and

side her, springing quickly up when a voice spoke, cool and amused,

ren Le Moyne, stood s

t sudden loss before this woman. She looked up into her fa

that held her quick tongue mute, a look as of great depth, of wondrous strength, and yet of fitful

ing expression and squirmed beneath its strangen

, her strong hand doubled and flecked with blood, with Loup at her feet,-and quick on the heel

audacity, for the maid was spoiled to recklessnes

tranger her own began to waver, to shift from o

aren Le Moyne, and all the pleasure had slipped

ad shining in the sun, her strong sho

east heaving with, anger, and there had the stranger made he

have it, there were the hewn logs that Bard McLellan had prepared a year back for his own new house when he should have married the pretty Lila of old McKenzie, who sickened suddenly in the

gentle, touched the sore spot, and

said wearily; "my pain m

new cabin w

so strong that it could afford to look carelessly on the acquisition of five good men and hardy trappers, and, beside, som

k or carried the shining pails full of water from the one deep well of the settlement, si

manhood; his head, covered with a thick growth of sun-coloured hair curling lightly at the ends, tossed ever back, ready to

fter five years among the hardships of the trade, he found himself factor of Fort de Seviere,-lord of his little world, even though that world were but one tiny f

for his twenties were not yet behind him

all world of his post a kingdom. And into it, with that travel-

e factory door among the women, singling out one who wore no brilliant

s if something held back the usual comment of

k after a short trip up the river; "yonder is the young woman of the strong arm. A high head,

hauled up the bucket from the well, hand over hand, with

here is, I would not be the one to awaken it and not be

mber, howe'er it went! But it is not like that you or I will be the one to wake it.