CONTENTS

PAR

ATURAL

ONE : THE N

M AN

P GE

EL P !
THE G I L
G ET A J
T
HELL CAM P R
TOPP Y O
A CON E ATI ON
NI CE B O Y !
C EE D
TH SNOW BU NE
TOPP Y WO
AFEHSAT
THE D UEL B E GI N
H ELL C AM P CO U T
FI T MO E
T
R EI E
RE PL I E
JO E A N D D E U C E W I L D
TH W AY OF T HE SNOW BU NE
h SC EW TIGH TEN
T LL Y W A NI N G
NA TU E
C ANNY
THE FIGHT
W AY
T
T HE E ND OF THE B

II

III

IV

O PPY

"

VII
VIII
I!

16

OB

21

EIVE Rs

3I

vE RHE ARs

VI

V RS

39

"

R S

44

51
62

R! S

67

T R

XII
XIII
XIV

"

OP PY S

XVII
XVIII
XIX

IE

'

"

BY

77

RS

V RS

74

94
Too
1 06
115

I 39

'

OPPY s

oss

2 1 8 1 87 3

31

1 45
I

so

1 62

1 65

C ont ent s
PART TWO THE SUPER M AN
:

CHAPTER

P GE

N
OF T HE RI E
XXII THE C
XXIII THE G I L W HO W N AF AID
XXIV THE W OM AN W AY
XXV G OL D !
THE L OO I N A WOM AN E YE
XXVII O T HE T A L OF FO T UNE
BU NE H U N T
XXVIII T HE SNOW
XXIX THE W HI TE M AN W ILL
A N Y M E AN TO AN E ND
THE S! UAW M A N
XXXII T HE SCO N OF A P U E W OM N
XXXIII SH AN TY M OI
XXXIV THE BA G I N
XXXV T HE TE T OF THE B OTTLE
THE SNOW BU NE B E GI N T O WE A E N
XXXVII I N TO THE JAW OF THE B E A
XXXVII I M ACG E GO R
XXXIX J AM M ACG E GO STO Y
TH W H TE M A N
SEN T I MEN T
! L I
SHAN TY M O I TE M P E A N CE A D OC ATE
XL II THE SNOW BU NE WO
Tw
XL III THE PEN AL TY OF A W H I E M AN M I ND
XL IV T HE M ADNE OF HELL CAM P R
A SU P ISE
SH A N TY M OI
XL VI A FIGHT T HA T W A FIG HT
XL VI I THE SNOW BU NE PAY
RE ATI

V R

AS

1 83

OT

1 93
20:

R I

212

2 19

2 29

2 33
238

2 41

245

7S

25 1

R A

2 56

261

R S

R! S FOR

SS

R R

FOR

AS

"

30 1

2 93

2 83

R-

2 77

OY

ES

2 65

E I VE Rs

305
"

3 09
316
3 20

327

PA R T O N E: T H E

N AT U R A L M A N

C HA PTER
!

HELP 1

H E br i sk November sunrise breaking over the

dark j ack pines lighted up th e dozen snow
covered frame buildings comprising the so called town
and presentl y reached in through the
o f Rai l Head
uncurtained windows o f the Northern Light saloon
where it shone upon the cur l y head o f young Toppy
Treplin as pillowed on his crossed forearms it lay
in repose on one o f the saloon tables
It was a sad strange place to nd Toppy Trep l in
o ne time All American hal fback but for the last four
years al l around mone y ed l oa fer and waster Rai l
Head was far from the beaten path It lay at the
end o f sixty miles o f narrow gauge track that ram
bled westward into the B ig Woods from the I ron
Range Railroad line and it consisted mainly o f a
box car depot an alleged hotel and six saloons
none o f the latter being in any too good repute w ith
the better element round about
The existence o f the sal oons might have exp l ained
T o pp y s presence in Rail Head had their character
and wares been o f a nature to attract one o f his
critical tastes ; but in realit y Topp y was there be cause
the Iron Range Limited bearing Harve y Duncombe s
private hunting car had stopped for a moment the
,

The Snow Bu rner

-

10

night be fore out where the narrow gauge met the

I ron Range Railroad tra cks
Toppy at that fated moment was out on the o h
serv ation plat form alone There had been a row and
Toppy had rushed out in a black rage Within the
ca r reeked with the ming l ed odours o f cigarette smoke
and spilled champagn e Out o f doors the rst snow
fall o f the season faint l y tinted by a newly risen
moon lay unmarked u nd el ed
A girlsmal l youn g brisk and business l ike
alighted from the car ahead and walked sw i ftl y across
the station plat form to the narrow gauge train that
stood waiting The anger and champagne raging in
him had moved Topp y to one o f those wild pranks
which had made his name among his fellows syn o ny
mous w ith irresponsibi l ity
He wou l d get away f rom it a l l away from Harve y
Duncombe and his champagne and al l that sort o f
thing He would S how them !
Toppy had stepped o ff
The L i mited sudden ly
glided away
Toppy l urched over to the narrow
gauge and that was the last thing he had remembered
o f that memorabl e night
As the su n now revealed him M r Robert Lovej o y
Treplin in spite o f his deplorable condition w as a
gure to win attention o f a not entirel y un favourable
sort Still clad in mackinaw and hunting clothes his
t w o hundred pounds o f bone and muscle and j ust
a little too much fat were sprawle d picturesque ly over
the chair and table the Six foot grace fulness o f him
being obvious despite his rough appare l and awkward
position
H is cap had fal l en o ff and the sun glinted on a
head o f boyish brown curls It was onl y in the l az y
good natured face p u y and l oose lipped that one
might read how re ck l ess l y Toppy Treplin had l ived
-

H e lp l

11

in ce a chie v ing his f ootb al l honours f our years be

:ore
The sun crept up and found his eyes and Toppy
sti rred
S l owly even pain full y he raised his head
from the table and looked around him The crude
ness o f his surroundings made him sit up with a start
He looked first o u t o f the w indow at the snow covered

street
Across the way he saw a small unpainted

building bearing a scragg ly S ign Hotel

Be y ond
this the j ack pines l oomed in a so l id wall
Toppy S huddered He turned his face toward the
man behind the bar who had been regarding him
for some time with a look o f mingled surprise and
amusement Toppy shuddered again
The man was a hal f breed and he wore a red woo l
len S hirt Worse there was not a S i gn o f a mirror
behind the bar It was distressing

Good morning brother said Toppy concealing

his repugnance
M ight I ask you for a litt l e in forma

t ion this pl easant morning ?

The hal f breed grinned appreciatively but s c eptic
ally

Litt l e d rink I guess you mean don t y ou ? said

he
Go head
Toppy bowed courteous l y

Thank you brother thank you

I am sorel y
puzzled about t w o litt l e matterswhere am I anyway

and i f so how did I get here ?

The grin on the hal f breed s f ace broadened He
pointed at the table i n front o f Toppy

You been s l eeping there s ince bout midnight l as

night he exclaimed
Toppy waved his le ft hand to indi cate his d isp leas
ure at the inadequacy o f the bartender s reply

Obvious my dear Watson obvious he said

I
know that I m at this tab l e because here I am ; and
.

Th
e Snow Bu rne r

12

I know I v e been sleeping here because I j ust woke

up
Let s broaden the range o f our information
What town is this i f it is a town and i f it is how

?
did I happen to come here may I ask
The hal f breed s grin disappeared gradua ll y to gi v e
place to an expression o f amazement

You mean to say you come to this town and don t

know what town it is

he demanded
Then w hy

?
?
you come
What you do here
To pp y s b row corrugated in an expression of deep
puzzlement

That s another thing that s rather puzzling too

brother he repl ied

Wh y d id I come ? I d like
to know that too Like very very much to know that
Where am I how did I come here and w hy ? Three

questions I d l ike v ery v ery much to have answered

He sat for a moment in deep thought then turned
toward the bartender with the p l eased l ook o f a man
who has found an inspiration

I tel l you what y ou do brothery ou answer the

rst two questions and in the light o f that in formation

I ll see i f I can t ponder out the third

The ha l f breed l eaned heavi ly across the S ingle
p l ank bar and watched Topp y closely

This town is Rail Head he said S low l y as i f

speaking to some one o f whose mental capacit y he had

great doubts
You come here by last night s train
You bring the train crew over to have a drink ; then
you fal l asleep You been S leeping ever S in c e No w

you remember ?

Ah
The puzzled look went ou t o f T o ppy s eyes

Now I remembe r Row with Harve y Duncombe

Wanted me to drink two to his one Stepped out
side Saw litt l e train Saw little gir l Stepped o ff

H elp l

13

big train got on l itt l e train and here I am Fine

little business

You went to S l eep in the train coming up the

conductor told me volunteered the hal f breed

You
told them you wanted to go as far as y ou could so
they took you up here to the end o f the l ine You

P
remember now eh why you come here

Only too well brothe r replied Toppy weari l y

I I j ust came to see your beauti fu l l ittle c ity
The bartender l aughed bitter l y

You come to a ne place D idn t you ever hear

P
bout Rail Head he asked I gu ess not or you
wou l dn t have come
This town s the j umping o ff
p l ace that s what she is It s the most God forsaken
hopeless excuse for a town in the whole North Coun
try There s only two kind o f business hereshipping
men o ut to Hell Camp and skinning them when the y
come back That s all What y ou think o f that for

P
a fine town you ve l anded in eh

Fine said Toppy

I see y o u l ove it dearly in

deed
The ha l f
breed nodded grim l y

Anybod y
I t s all right for me ; I o w n this place
else is sucker to come here though You ain t a
Bohunk fool so I don t think you c ome t o hire out

for He ll Camp You j ust go t too d r unk eh ?

I suppose so said Toppy yawning

Wha t s t his

Hell Camp thing ? P l easant l itt l e name

An pleasant little p l ace

supplemented the man

mockingly
Ain t you never heard bout H ell C amp ?

Bout its boss Re iversthe Snow Burner ? Huh !

P
P erhaps you want hire out there for j ob

P erhaps
agreed Toppy
What is it P

Oh it ain t nothing so much Just big l og camp

run by man named Reiversthat s al l Indians call
him S now Burner Twent y ve thirty mi l es out in
,

The Snow Bu rner

14

the bush at Cameron Dam That s al l Ver y big

camp Everybody w ho comes to this town is going

out there to work or else hiding out

P
I see But why the name

Hell Camp P The bartender s grin appeared again ;

then as i f a second thought on the matter had o c
curred to him he assumed a noncommitta l expression

and yawned
Oh that s j ust nickname the bo y s
give it You see the boys from camp come to town
here in the Spring Then sometimes the y raise
That s W hy some people cal l it Hell Camp That s

a l l Cameron D am Camp is the ri ght name

I see Toppy w as wondering w hy the man shou l d

take th e trouble t o l i e to him O f course he was
l y ing Even Toppy with his bl eared e y es could see
that the man had started to berate Hell Camp even as
he had berated Rai l Head and had suddenly switched
and said nothing It hurt Top py s head It wasn t

fair to puzzle him thi s morning

I see Justj ust

a nickname

That s al l said the bartender B r isk l y c han gi ng

the subj ect he said : Wel l how bout it stranger ?

You going to have eye -opener this morning P

I suppose so said Toppy absently He again

turned his attention to the v iew f rom the w indow
On the l o w stairs o f the hotel were seated hal f a
dozen men whose at o x l ike f aces and foreign cloth
ing marked them for immigrants new ly arrived o f
the S l avi c type Some sat on wooden trunks oddl y
marked others stood w ith bundles beneath their arms
They waited stolid l y blank l y with their e y es on the
hote l door as oxen wait for the coming o f the man
who is going to f eed them Toppy l ooked on with
idle interest

I didn t think you c ou l d see anything l ike that this

H e lp !

f ar

IS

away f rom El l is Is l and he said

W
hat are

those fellows brother P

B ohunks said the bartender with a co ntemp t u

ous j erk o f the head

They waiting to hire o ut for
the Cameron Dam Camp The agent he c omes to the

P
hotel Wel l what you going to have

Bring me a whisky sour said Toppy without

taking his eyes o ff the group across the street The
hal f breed grinned and pla c ed be fore him a bott l e o f
whisky and a gl ass Toppy frowned

A whisky sour I said he protested

When you get this far in the woods l aughed the

man they al l come ou t o f o ne bottl e D rink up

Once more Toppy shuddered He w as bored by
this time

Your j okes up here are worse than your booze he

sai d wearily
He poured out a scant drink and sat with the glass
in his hand while hi s eyes were upon the group across
the street H e was about to drink when a stir amon g
the men drew h is attention The door o f the hotel
opened briskly Toppy sudden l y set down hi s glass
The gir l who had got on the narrow gauge out at
the j unction the night be fore had come out and w as
standing on the stairs looking about her w ith an ex
pression whi ch to Toppy seemed p l ain l y to spe l l

He l p

C HA PTER

II

GI RL

TH E

O PP Y sat and stared across the street at her

w ith a feeling much like awe The girl w as
standing forth in the ful l morning sunlight and
T o pp y s rst impulse was to cross the street to her his
second t o hide his face She was smal l and young
the gi rl and beauti ful S he was a blonde such a
blonde as is found only in the North The sun l ighted
up the aureole of l ight hair surrounding her head
so that even Toppy behind the windows o f the North
ern Light ca ught a vision o f its neness Her cheeks
bore the red o f per fect health showing through a per
f e ct fai r comp l exion and even the thick red mackinaw
which she wore di d not hide the t rimn ess o f the gure
beneath

What in the dickens is S he doing here ? gasped

Toppy
She doesn t belong in a place like this
But i f this were true the gir l apparently w as en
Among that group o f o x like
t ir el y unconscious o f it
S lavs she stood with her little chin in the air as
much at home apparently as i f those men were all
her good friends On l y she l ooked about her now
and then as i f anxiously seeking a w ay o ut o f a
dilemma

What can she be doing here P mused Toppy

A
l itt l e pretty thing l ike her ! She ought to be back
home with mother and father and brother and sister

going to dancing school and all the rest of it

.

16

The Snow Bu rner

18

Treplin o f o l d bent upon making a touchdown Into

the group he wal ked head up shouldering and e l bow
ing carelessly Toppy caught the young speaker by
both shou l ders and hurled him bodily back among hi s
fe ll ows For an instant they faced Toppy snarling
their hands cautiously S l iding toward hidden kni v es
Then they grove ll ed cringing instinctively be fore the
better breed
Toppy turned to the gir l and remov ed his cap
She had not cried o ut nor moved and now she l ooked
Toppy squarely in the eye Toppy prompt l y hung his
head He had been thinking o f her as something
o f a chi l d No w he saw hi s mi stake S he was y oun g
it is true l ittle over twenty perhap sbut there w as
an air o f se l f reliance and seriousness about her as
i f she had known responsibilities beyond her y ears
And her eyes were b l ue Toppy saw the perf e ct bl ue
that went with her f ai r c omp l exion

I beg pardon stammered Toppy

I j ust hap
pened to see it l ooked as i f they were getting f resh
so I thought I d come across andand see i f there w as

anythinganything I cou l d do

Thank you sai d the gi r l a l itt l e brea thlessly

A r e are you the agent P

Toppy shook his head
The l ook o f pe rplexity
instantly returned to the gir l s face

I m sorry ; I W ish I w as said Toppy

I f y ou ll
tel l me w ho the agent is and so o n
he in cluded
most o f the town o f Rai l H ead in a comprehensive

glance
I l l probab l y be ab l e t o nd him in a hurry

Oh I couldn t think o f troubling you Thank

you ever so mu ch though she said hastily

They
told me in the hote l that he w as outside here some

p l ace I ll nd him mysel f thank y ou

She steppe d o ff the stairs into the snow o f the
street e v ery in ch and l ine o f her f rom her so l id tan
.

,
.

The G i r l
boo ts to her
re l iance and

19

sensi bl e tasse l cap expressing the sel f

independence o f the gir l w ho is ac cus
t o med and ab l e to take c are o f herse l f under trying
c ircumstances
The bright sun smote her eyes and she blinked
squinting delicious l y She paused f or a moment threw
back her head and lled her l ungs to the fu l l with
gr eat dra fts o f the invigorating N ovember ai r Her
ma ckinaw rose and fe l l as she breathed deeply and
more colour came rushing into the roses o f her cheeks
A pparentl y she had forgotten the existence o f the
S lavs
wh
o sti ll stood gl owering at her and Toppy

Isn t it g l orious P she said l ooking up at Toppy

w ith her eyes puckered prettil y f rom the sun D oesn t

it j ust make you gl ad you re a l ive P

Y o u bet it does l said Toppy eager l y

He saw his
opportunity to continue the c onv ersation and hastened

to take advantage
I never knew air cou l d be as
exciting as this I never fe l t anythi ng l ike it It s
my rst experience up here in the woods ; I m an utter

stranger around here

Having v o lu nteer ed this in formation he wait ed
eager l y The gi r l mere ly nodded

O f course
Anybody cou l d see that she said
,

sirnpl y

Toppy f e l t s l ight l y ab ashed

Then you you re not a stranger around here P he

asked
She shook her head the tassels o f her cap and her
aureo l e of l ight hair tossing glorious ly

I m a st r anger here in this town S he said but

I ve l ived up here in the woods as you call it a ll m y
l i fe except the two years I w as awa y at schoo l Not
right i n the woods o f c ourse but in s ma ll towns
around My father w as a ti m ber-estimator be f ore
.

"

20

The Snow Bu rner

and natural ly w had to live l ose
-

e
he was hu rt
to the
c

woods

Naturally agreed Toppy though he knew noth

ing about it H e tried to imagine any o f the girls
he knew back East accepting a stranger as a man and
a brother who c ould be trusted at rst hand and he
failed

I say he sai d as she stepped away

Just a
moment please About this agent thing W on t y ou

please l et me go and l ook for him P H e waved

You see there aren t

his hands at t he six sa l oons
many places here that a l ady c an go l ooking for a

man in
She hes itated frowning at the l ow l y groggeries that
constituted
the maj or part o f Ra il H ead s bui l dings

That s so she said with a smi l e

O f c ourse it i s said Toppy eagerl y

And the
chances are that your man i s in o ne o f them no matter
wh
o he is
because t hat s about the only place he
can be here Y o u te ll me w ho he is or what he is

and I l l go hunt him up

That s very kind o f you

She hesitated f or a
moment then accepted his o ffer without further

par l ey
It s the employment agent of the Cameron
Dam C ompany that I m looking for I am to meet h im
here a c cording to a l etter they sent me and he is to

furnish a team and driver to take me out to the Dam

Then she added calmly I m going to keep boo ks

out there this Winter

,

C H A P TER
TOP PY

G ET S A

III
J OB

O P P Y gasped
In the rst p l ace he had not

been thinking o f her as a working gi r l

None
o f the gir l s that he knew be l onged to that cl ass The
notion that she w ith the childish dimp l e in her chin
and the roses in her cheeks was a girl who ma de her
e
o w n l iving w as hard t o assimilate ; the i dea that sh
o u t to Hell
w as going out to a camp in the w o ods
to work was absolutely i mpossible !
C amp

Do they
Keep books P said Toppy bewildered

keep books in ain a logging camp P

It w as her turn to l ook surpri sed

Do you know anything about C ameron Dam ?

she asked

I t s a l ogging-camp
Nothi ng admitted Toppy

though isn t it ?

Rather more than that as I understand it she

replied
They are bui l ding a town out there accord
ing to my letter There are over two hundred peop l e
there now At present they re doing nothing but l og
say the y ve found
ing
and
bui
l
ding
the
dam
but
they
;
g
o r e out there and in the Spring the railroad i s coming
and the town wi ll open up

Andand you re going to keep books there this

W inter P

She nodded
They pay we l l They re paying me

seventy ve dollars a month and my board

And you don t know anything about the p l ac e P

21

The Snow Bu rner

22

me

Except what they ve written in the l etter engaging

And

thereto

stil l you re going out

work P

O f course she said cheer fu l ly

Seventy ve
dollar j obs aren t to be picked up every day around

here

I see said Toppy H e remembered Harvey Dun

combe s champagne bi ll o f the night be fore and grew
thought fu l H e himsel f had shuddered a short whi l e
be fore at waking in a bar where there was no mirror
and he had planned to wire Harv e y for ve hundred
to take him back to civilisation And here w as th is
de l icate little girlas de l icate to l ook upon as an y o f
the petted and pampered girls he knew back East
cheer fully e v en eagerly setting her face toward the
wilderness because therein l ay a j ob paying the colossa l
su m o f seventy ve do ll ars a mon t h !
A nd she was
going a l one !
A re ckless impul se swayed Toppy He de c ided not
to wire Harvey

I see he said thought f u ll y

I ll go nd this

agent You d better wait inside the hotel

H e c rossed the street and systematical l y began to
search through the S ix saloons In the third place he
f ound hi s man shaking dice with an Indian The agent
o wore thi ck
w as a l ean l ong nosed individua l w h
glasses and tal ked through his nose

Yes I m the Cameron Dam agent he draw l ed

cu rious l y eying Toppy from head to toe

S immons i s

my name What can I do for you P

I want a j o b said Toppy

A
j ob out at Hell

Camp
The agent l aughed S hort l y at the name

?
You re w ise are you
he said
And still y ou
want a j ob out there ? Wel l I m sorry That load o f
Bohunks across the street ll s me up I can t use

23
Topp y Ge t s a Job
any more rough l abou r j ust at present I m l ook ing
f or a bla cksmith s he l per but I guess that ain t y o u
That s me said Toppy reso l ute l y
That s the
j ob I want
bl acksmith s he l per That s my j ob
The agent l ooked him over with the criti c a l e y e

of

a man skil fully appraising bone and muscle

You re big enough that s sure

he drawled

You ve got the shoulders and arms t oo butl et s

see your hands

Toppy held up his hands huge in size b ut enti re ly
innocent o f cal louses o r other signs o f wear The
agent grinn ed

So ft as a woman s he sai d scorn f u lly

When
did you ever do any blacksmithing ? Lo ng time ago

?
wasn t it
Be fore you were born I guess
T o pp y s right hand shot out and fel l upon the
agent s thin arm Slowly and steadil y he squeezed
unti l the man writhed and grimaced with pain

Wow ! Leggo ! The agent peered over his thick

gl asses with something like admiration in his e y es

Say you re there with the grip all right big fel l ow

Where d you get it P

Swinging a sledge l ied Toppy solemnly

A nd

I ve come here to get that j ob

Simmons shook his head

I c an t do it he protested
I f I should send you
o u t and you shou l dn t make good
Reivers wou l d be
sore ?

Who s thi s man Reivers P

The agent s eyes over his glasses expressed surpri se

I thought you were wise to Hel l Camp P he said

Oh I m wise enough said Toppy impatient l y

I

P
know what it is But W ho s this Reivers

H e s the boss
D y ou
said S immons short l y
mean to say you ne v er heard about Hel l C amp Reivers

P
the S now Bd r ner
.

!The Snow Bu rner

hav en t rep l ied Toppy impatient l y

24

No I
But
that doesn t make any di ff erence Y o u send me out

there ; I l l make good don t worry

He paused and

s ized hi s man up
Come over here S immons he
sa id with a si gn i c ant w ink leading the w ay toward

the door
I want that j ob ; I want it badly
Toppy
Tw o bills c ame t o l ight
d ived into h is po ckets
He slipped them casually into S immons
t w o twenties

hand
That s how bad I want it No w how about
,

it P

The fashion i n wh ich S immons t hin ngers c l osed

upon the money told Toppy that he w as not mistaken
in the agent s character

You l l be taking your o w n chances warned S im

mons care fu ll y pocket ing the money

I f you don t
make go odwe l l you ll have to explain to Rei v ers
that s al l You mus t have an aw ful good reason f or

wanting t o go out

I have

H iding f rom something mebbe P suggested S im

mons

May be said Toppy

And saythere s a young
l ady ove r at the hotel who s looking for y ou Said
you were t o furnish her with a s l eigh to get out t o

Cameron D am
An evi l smile broke over the agent s thin face as he
moved toward the door

The new bookkeeper I suppose he said winking

at Toppy
Aha ! Now I understand why you
Toppy caught him t w o steps from the door H is
ngers sank into the man s withered biceps

N o yo u don t understand
he h issed grim l y

Ge t that ? Y ou don t understand anything about it

All right snapped the cowed man

Leggo m y
arm I w as j ust j oshing You can take a j oke can t
you ? Wel l then come a l ong A s l ong as you re

"

The Snow Bu rner

26

suit case Toppy sprang out and took it from her

hand

You people are going to be together on a l on g

drive so I d better introduce y ou

said S immons

Miss P earson Mr

Treplin said Toppy honest l y

Treplin conc l uded S immons

New bookkeeper
new bl acksmith s he l per Get i n the back seat Miss
P earson
Co v er yourse lf well up with those robes

n
Bund l e i
that s right Pu t the suitcase under your

feet That s right Al l right Jerry he draw l ed t o

the driver
You d better keep going pretty steady

to make it be fore dark

Don t nobody need to te ll me my business sai d

the surly hunchback tightening the lines ; and w ithout
any more ado they were o ff the snow ying from
the heels o f the mett l esome bay s
For the rst few miles the horses fresh f rom the
stable and exhilarated to the dancing point by the sun
ai r and snow provided ex citement which prevented
any attempt at conversation Then when their danc
ing and shying had ceased and the y had settled down
to a steady l ong legged j og that placed mile a fter
mile o f the white road behind them wi t h the regulari t y
o f a machine Toppy turned his eyes toward the gi r l
in the back seat
He quick l y turned them to the front again Miss
Pearson snuggl ed down to her chin in the thick s l eigh
robes her eyes squinting delici ousl y beneath the sharp
sun was studying him with a frankness that was d is
concerting and Toppy probabl y for the rst time in
his li fe fe l t himsel f gripped by a great sh y ness and
con fusion There was wonderment in the girl s e y es
and suspicion

She s wi se thought Toppy sadly

S he knows
I ve been hitting it up and she knows I made up m y
.

Topp y Get s a Jo b

27

m ind to come out here a fter I talked w ith her A

ne O pinion she must have o f me ! We ll I deserv e
it But j ust the same I ve got to see the thing through
now I ca n t stand for her going o ut a ll a l one to a
p l ace with a reputation l ike Hel l Ca mp I m a dead
o ne with her al l right ; but I ll sti c k around and see

that she gets a square deal

Consequent l y the drive which Toppy had hoped
would l ead to more conversation and a c l oser ac
quain tance with the girl reso l ved itsel f into a si l ent
monotonous a ffai r which made h im distinct ly uncom
f o r t a bl e H e l ooked back at her again This time a l so
he caught her eyes fu l l upon him but this time a f ter
an instant s s c rutiny she l ooked awa y with a trace o f
hardness about her l ips

I m in bad at the start w ith her sure groaned

Toppy inward l y
She doesn t want a thing to do

w ith me and quite right at that

Hi s tentati v e e fforts at opening a conversation with
th
e driver met instant and convincing failure

I hear they v e got quite a p l ace out here began

Toppy casua l ly

N one o f my bus iness i f they have grunted the

driver
Toppy l aughed

You re a sociable b rute ! W hy don t you bark

P
and be done w ith it
The d rive r vici ous l y pul l ed the team to a dead stop
and turned upon Toppy w ith a l ook that c ou l d come
on l y from a spirit o f comp l ete malevolence

D on t try to tal k t o me youn g feller he snapped

showing o ld yel l ow teeth

My j o b i s to hau l y ou out
there and that s a ll I don t talk D on t waste your

time trying to make me Giddap !

H e cut v i ciously at the horses w ith his whip pu ll ed
his head into the co l lar o f his fur coa t with the motion
.

The Snow Bu rner

turt l e reti r ing into its S hell and f or

28

of a
the rest o f
the drive spo ke onl y to the horses
Toppy snubbed b y the driver an d feeling him se l f
shunned perhaps even despised by M iss P earson now
had p l enty o f time to think over the situation calmly
The crisp November air whipping his face as the
S leigh sped steadi ly a l ong drov e f rom hi s brain the r e
mainin g fumes o f Harvey Duncombe s champ agn
He saw the whole a ffair clear l y no w and he promptl y
cal l ed himse l f a gr eat f oo l
What business w as it o f his i f a gi r l wanted to go
out to work in a p l ace like Hel l Camp ? P robab l y
it w as a ll right P robably there w as no necessit y
no ex cu se for his having made a fool o f himsel f b y
going w ith her
Why had he done it an y how ?
Getting interested in anything because o f a girl w as
strange condu ct for him He cou l dn t cal l to mind
a singl e tangibl e reason for his actions
He had
acted on the impu l se as he had done scores o f times
be fore ; and as he had a l so done s c ore s o f times be
fore he f elt that he had made a foo l o f hi msel f
He tried to catch the girl s eyes once more to read
in them some S ign o f re l enting some excuse for open
ing a c onversation But as he turned his head M iss
P earson a l so turned and looked away with unco m
promis ing severity Toppy studied the puri t y o f her
prole the innocence o f the bab y dimple in her chi n
And as he turned and
o u t o f the c orner o f hi s eye
glanced at the evi l face o f the hun chback driver he
sett l ed himse l f w ith a sigh and thought

Ne v e r the l ess and notwithstanding the f a ct that

I v e been a foo l I am gl ad that I m here

At noon the road plunged o u t o f the s cant j a ck
pine forest into the g l oo m o f a hem l ock swamp Toppy
shuddered as he contemp l ated what the fate o f a man
might be w ho shou l d be un f ort unate enough to get
,

Topp y Ge t s a Job
l ost

29

in that swamp A mile in the swamp o n a s l ight

knol l they came to a tiny cabin guarding a gate across
the road An old bearded woodsman came o ut o f the
ca bin and opened the gate and the hunchback pul l ed
up and proceeded to feed his team

D inner s waiting insi de

called the gate tender

C ome in and eat missand you too ; I suppose

P
you re hungry he added to Toppy

And hu rry up too grow l ed the hunchback

I

give you twenty minutes

Thank you v ery much said the gir l diving into

her suitcase
I ve brought my own l u nch
She brought out some sandwiches and proceeded
to nibb l e at them w ithout moving from the sleigh
Toppy tumbled into the cabin in company w ith the
hunchback driver A rough mea l was on the tab l e
and they fe ll t o without a word Toppy noticed that
the o ld woodsman sat on a bench near the door where
he could keep an eye on the road Above the bench
hung a pair o f el d gl asses a repeating shotgun and a
high power Winchester ri fle

Any hunting aroun d here P asked Toppy cheeril y

Sometimes said the o l d watcher with a smi l e that

made Toppy wonder
He did not pursue the subj ec t f o r there w as some
thing abo ut the l one l y cabin the b earded o ld man
and the rie on the wal l that suggested something much
more grim than sport
The driver soon bo l ted his mea l and went back to
the sleigh
Toppy followed and twenty minutes
a fter pulling up they were on the road again With
each mile that they passed now the swamp grew wi l der
and the gl oom o f the w i l derness more oppressive To
right and l e ft among the trees Toppy made out
s tret c hes o f open water great springs and l itt l e c reeks
,

The Snow Bu rner

0
3

which never f roze and which made the swamp even

in Winter a treacherous morass
Toward the end o f the short afternoon the swam p
suddenly gave way t o a rough untimbered ridge Red
rocks which Toppy later learned contained iron ore
poked their way l ike j agged teeth through the snow
The sleigh mounted the ridge the runners grating on
bare rock and dirt dipped down i nto a ravine between

two ridges swung o a l most at right angles in a c l e ft

in the hillsand be fore Toppy realised that the end
o f the drive had come the y were in fu l l view o f a
l arge group o f l og buildings on the edge o f a dense
pine forest and were l istening to the roar o f the waters
o f C ameron Dam
.

C H A PTER

HELL CAM P
-

IV
R

EIV ERS

N the fac e o f thing s there was nothing ab out the

place to suggest that it deserved the title O f Hel l
Camp The Cameron Dam Camp as Toppy saw it
now consisted o f seven neat l og buildings O f these
the rst six were l ocated on the road which led into
the camp three on each side These buildings were
twice as l arge as the ordinary log buildings which
Toppy had seen i n the woods ; but the y were thor
oughl y dwar fed and overshadowed b y the seventh
whi ch lay beyond them and into the enormous door
way o f whi ch the road seemed to disappear This
building was larger than the other S ix combinedwas
built o f huge logs ap parently fteen feet high ; and
its wall which stretched across the road seemed to
have no windows or O penings o f any kind save a great
double door
Toppy had no time f or a care fu l scrutin y o f the
place as the hunchback swi ftly pulled up be fore the
r st bui l ding o f the camp a well
built doub l e l og a ff ai r

with large front windows and a smal l S i gn O fce and

Store
D irectly across the road from this building

was one bearing the S i gn B lacksmith Shop and

Toppy gazed with keen curi osit y at a short man with
white hair and broad shoulders w ho with a black
smith s hammer in his hand came to the door o f
the S hop as they dro v e up P robab l y this w as the man
for whom he was to work
,

3:

The Snow Bu rner

Hey Jerry greeted the bl acksmith with
in his speech that l abel l ed him unmistakabl y a
Hey Scotty replied the hun c hba ck
D id ye bring me a he l per P

2
3

Yes

a burr
3 Sc ot

grunted Jerry

Good 1 sai d the b l acksmith and returned to hi s

anvil
The hunchback turned to the gir l as soon as the
team had come to a standsti l l

This i s where you go he said i ndicating the

o f ce w ith a nod
You he grunted to Toppy sit

right where you are ti ll w e go see the boss

An Indian squaw nearl y as broad as she w as tal l
came waddling out o f the store as Miss Pearson
stepped st ity from t he sleigh Toppy wished for
courage t o get o ut and carry the girl s suitcase but
he f eared that his action wou l d be m isinterpreted ;
so he sat stil l eager l y watching o ut o f the co r ner
o f his eyes

I carry um said the squaw as the gir l dragged

f orth her baggage You go in

Then the sleigh drove abrupt ly ahead toward the
great bui lding at the end o f the road and To pp y s
na l view o f the scene w as M iss P earson st umping
st il y into the o f ce bui l ding with the squaw the suit
case held in her arms waddling behind M iss Pearson
d id not l ook in his direction
And now Toppy had his rst sho ck For he saw
that the bui l ding toward which they were hurrying was
n o t a building at all but merely a sto ckade wall which
seemed to surround a ll o f the camp except the six
bui l dings whi ch were outside What he had thou ght a
huge doorway w as i n realit y a great gate
This gate swung open at thei r approach and Toppy s
second shock came when he saw that the two hard
faced men w ho O pened it carried in the crooks o f thei r
.

The Snow Bu rner

34

Reivers b rought from him a start and he sat staring

comp l ete l y fascinated by the Manager s presen ce
It was not the S ize o f Reivers that held him for
,

Toppy at rst glance j udged correctly that Reivers

and hi mse l f might have co me f rom the same mo l d so
far as height and weight were concerned Neither w as
it the terrib l e physica l power which f airly reeked
f rom the man ; f or though Rei v ers rough clothin g
seemed merely l ight d raperies o n the huge muscl es
that l ay beneath Toppy had p l ayed with stron g men
pro fessionals and amateurs enough to be blas in the
face o f a physi ca l Co l ossus It w as the calm ghastly
brutality o f the man the complete brutalit y o f an
anima l dominated by a human inte ll igence that held
Toppy spe ll bound
Rei v ers as he stood there a l one gl owering at the
poor wretches w ho c owered f rom him l ike pygm ies
w as l ike a tiger preparing to spring and care full y ca l
cu l at ing where his claws and fangs might sink in w ith
most damage t o his vi ctims H e stood with his f eet
Close together hi s thumbs hooked care l essly in his
trou sers po ckets hi s he ad thrust f ar forw ard To ppy
had a g l impse o f a l ong thi n nose thin l ips parted
i n a sneer heav i l y browed e yes and beneath the
back-thru st cap a mass o f curl y l ight hairhair as
light as the gir l s ! Then Reivers spoke

Rosky ! he said in a v oice that w as half snarl

hal f be ll ow
There w as a troubl ed movement amon g the dozen
men hudd l ed agai nst the wa ll but there came no
answer

Rosky ! S tep out ! commanded Reivers in a tone

whose studied ferocity made Toppy shudder
In respon se a t al l b ro ad shouldered Slav the o l d
e st and largest man in the group stepped sullenl y out
and stood a yard in f ront o f his f el lows He had
.

,
.

H e ll C a mp
-

R e iv ers

35

taken O ff his cap and held it tight l y in his cl en ched

right hand and the expression on his at face as
he stood with hanging head and scow l ed at Reiver s
was one hal f o f fear and ha l f o f deance

You no can hi t me he muttered dogged l y

I

c itizen ; I got rst papers

Reiver s s manner underwent a change

P
Hit you
he repeated so ftly
Who wants to
hit you ? I j ust want to talk w ith y ou I hea r y ou re
thinking o f quitting I hear yo u ve p l anned to take
these fel l ows with you when you go How about it

Rosky P

I got papers said the man su ll enl y

I c itiz en ; I

quit j ob when I want

Yes P said Reivers gently It w as l ike a ti ger

p l aying with a hedgehog and Toppy sickened

But

you S ign ed t o stay here six months didn t y ou P

The gentleness o f the Manager had dece ived the
thick witted Slav and he grew bold

I d runk when I sign he said l oud ly

A ll these
fal l ow drunk when they S i gn I qui t The y quit You

no can keep us here i f we no want sta y

?
I can t
Stil l Reivers saw t t o p l ay with his
vi ctim

An d you no dare hit us agai n

N
said the man

no

No ? pu rred Rei v e r s so ft l y
N O c ertain ly not ; I
wouldn t hit you Y ou re quite ri ght Rosky I won t

hit y ou ; no
He was standing at l east seven f eet f rom his man
hi s feet close together his thumbs sti ll hooked in
his trousers pocket s Suddenly and so swi ft ly th at
Rosky did not have time to move Reivers took a step
forward and shot out his right foot H is boot seemed
bar e to touch the shin bone o f Ro sky s ri ght l eg but
Toppy heard the bone snap as t he Slav wi t h a shriek
,


Snow E

The

6
3
of

u r ner

pain and te r ror fell face downward prone in the

trampled snow at Reivers feet
And Reivers did not look at him H e was standing
as be fore as i f noth ing had happened as i f he had not
moved His eyes were upon the other men who
appalled at thei r l eader s fate hudd l ed more closel y
against the l og wal l

P
Well how about it demanded Reivers icil y a fter

a l ong silence
Any more o f you f el l ows think y ou

?
want to quit
Hal f o f the dozen cried out in terror :

No no ! We no quit Pl ease boss ; we no q uit

A smi l e o f complete contempt curled Reivers thin
upper l ip

You poor s cum o f course you ain t going to quit

he sneered
You ll stay here and slave awa y until I m
through with you And don t you even dare think
Rosky thought he d kept his p l ans mighty
o f q uitting
secretthought I wou l dn t know what he w as plan
ning You see what happened to him

I know ever y thing that s going on in this camp

I f you don t believe it try it out and see Now pick
this thing up
he stirred the groaning Rosk y con

t em p t uo u sly with his foot and carry him into his

bunk I ll be around and set his leg when I get read y
Then get back t o the rock pile and make up f or the

time it s taken to teach y ou this l esson

The b rutality o f the thing had frozen Toppy mo
At the same time
t io nless where he sat in the s l eigh
he was conscious O f a thrill o f admiration for the
dominant creature who had so contemptuously cripp l ed
a fellow man A brute Reivers certain ly was and well
he deserv ed the name o f He l l Camp Reivers ; but a
born captain he was too though his dominance was
o f a primordial sort
Turning instantly from his V ictim as from a piece of
,

H e ll C am p
-

R e iv ers

37

business that is nished Reivers l ooked around and

came toward the s l eigh
Some primitive instinct
prompted Toppy t o step out and stretch himsel f l ei
sure l y h is long arms above his head hi s b ig chest
inated t o the l imit At the sight o f him a change
came o v er Reivers face The brutal ity and contempt
went out o f it like a ash H is eyes lighted up with
p l easure at the sight o f T o pp y s magnicent propor
tions and he smiled a quick smile o f comradeship such
as one smiles when he meets a fel l ow and equal and
h el d out his hand to Toppy

University man I ll wager he said in the eas y

voice o f a man o f culture

Glad t o see you ; more
than gl ad ! These beasts are palling on me The y re
so cursed physi ca lno mind no spi ri t in them Noth
ing but so many poun ds o f meat and bone Old Camp
bell my blacksmith is the onl y other intelligent being
in camp and he s S cotch and believes in predestina
tion and origi na l sin so his conversation s rather try

ing for a steady diet

Toppy shook hands amazed be y ond expression Ex

cept for his shaggy e yebrows brows that somehow

reminded Toppy o f the head o f a bear he had once
S hotReivers no w w as the sort o f man one would
expe ct to meet in the Universit y Cl ub rather than in
a logging ca mp The brute had v anished the gent l e
man had appeared ; and Toppy w as f orced to smile
in answer to Reivers genial smile o f greeting And
yet somewhere back i n Reivers b l ue eyes Toppy saw

lurking something which said I am your master

doubt it i f you dare

I hired out as blacksmith s he l per he exp l ained

My name s Treplin
He di d not take his e y es f rom Reivers
S omehow
he had the sensation that Reivers wil l and hi s own
had l eaped to a grapple
,

8
3

The Snow Bu rner

l aughed aloud in friend ly fashion
-

Rei v ers

P
Blacksmith s helper eh
he said
That s goo d ;
that s aw fully good ! Well old man I don t care what
you hired out for o r what y our right name is ; y ou re
a deve l oped human be ing and you ll be somebod y to

talk to when these brutes grow too tiresome

He

turned to Jerry the driver

We l l ? he said cu rt ly

She s in the o fce now he said

Al l right Reivers tu rned and went bri sk l y toward

the gate
Turn Mr Treplin over to C ampbe l l You ll

live with C ampbel l Trep l in

he called over h is

shoulder as he went thro ugh the gate

And you hit

the back trai l Jerry right away

As Jerry swung the team around Toppy saw that
R eivers w as going toward the o i ce w ith long eager
strides
.

CHA PT ER V

T O PP Y

O VE RHEA RS A C ON VERSA T I O N

C ampbel l the bl acksmith had knocked o ff

O from the day s work when a few minutes l ater
Toppy stepped from the s l eigh be fore the door o f the
L D

shop

through the shop to that room in the back

said Jerry
You l l nd him i n there A nd he drove
off without another word
Toppy walked in and knocked at a door in a parti
tion across the rear of the S hop

Come in spluttered a moist chee r y v oi ce and

Toppy entered The old blacksmith naked t o the
waist and soaped from shoulders to ears l ooked u p
from the steaming tub in which h e was care fu l l y r e
moving eve ry trace o f the day s smut He peered
sharply at Toppy and at the sight o f the young man s
good natured face he smiled warm l y through the suds

Come in come in Shut the door he cried plung

ing back into the hot water

I tak it that you re my
new he l per ? Well
he wiped the suds from h is eyes

and looked Toppy over though it s plain y e never

did a day s blacksmith ing in your li fe I bid y e wel
c ome neverthe l ess Ye look l ike an educated man
Well twil l be a p l easure and an honour f or me to teach
ye something more important than a ll ye v e l earned be
f ore
and that i s how t o w ork

I see ye cam w itho o t baggage o f any kind Go

ye now across to the store be fore i t cl oses and draw
r sel f two b l ankets for yer bunk
e
By
the
time
you
re
y
Go

39

The Snow Bu rner

0
4

back I ll have our supper started and then we ll pro

cee d to get a cq u a nt ed

Tell me ! exploded Toppy who could hol d in

no l onger
What kind o f a man or beast is this
Reivers ? Why I j ust saw him deliberatel y break a
man s leg out there in the yard ! What kind o f a place

is this an y how a penal colon y P

Campbell turned away and picked up a towel be
fore reply ing

Reivers is a great man w ho worships a f ter strange

gods he sai d solemnly

But y ou l l have plenty o f
time t o learn about that later Go y e over to the store
n o w W ithout further waiting
Ye ll nd them cl osed
i f ye dally longer ; and then y e ll have a cold night
for there s no blankets here for y our bunk Hustl e

lad ; we ll talk about thin g s a fter supper

Toppy obeyed cheer fully
It was growing dark
now and as he stepped out o f the shop he saw the
s q uaw lighting the l amps in the building across the
street Toppy crossed over and found the door open
Inside there was a small hallwa y with two doors one

l abelled Store the other O fce Toppy w as about

to enter the store when he heard Miss P earson s voice
in the of ce and her rst words which came plainl y
through the partition made him pause

Mr Reivers she w as say i ng in tones that she

struggl ed to make rm y ou know that i f I had

known you were running this cam p I would never have
come here You deceived me You signed the name
o f S immons to your letter You knew that i f y ou
had S i gned your o w n name I wou l d not b e here Y o u
tricked me

And you promi sed solemnl y last S ummer when I

told you I never could ca re for y ou that y o u wou l d
?
never trouble me again How could y ou do thi s
You ve got the reputation among men o f never break

T he Snow Bu rner

2
4

I had mu ch rather you wou l d acce pt it f rom me as

a l oan o n a simple business basis ; but as you won t
thi s is the next best thing And y ou mustn t feel
that you are accepting an y favour from me On the
contrary you w ill i f you stay be so l ving a big prob
lem for me I simply can not handle accounts A
strange bookkeeper could rob me and the company
blind and I d never know it I know you won t
do that ; and I know that y ou re e f cient

That s the s ituation I am keeping my word ; I w il l

not trouble you I f you decide to accept go in and
take o ff your hat and coat and tel l Tilly to prepare
supper f or you She w il l obey your orders blindl y ;
I hav e to l d her to I f you deci de that y ou don t
want to stay say the word and I wil l have one o f the
work teams hooked up and you can go back to Rail
Head to night

But whichever you do Hel en please remember

that I hav e not b rokenand ne v er w il l break my

promise to you
Be fore Re ivers had begun to speak Toppy had hated
the man as a contemptible sneak guilty o f lying to get
the gir l at his mercy The end o f the Manager s speech
l e ft him bewildered One cou l dn t help wanting to
believe e v ery word that Reivers said there were so
mu c h manliness and sincerit y in his tone On the
other hand Toppy had seen his face when he w as
hand l ing the un fortunate Rosk y and the unashamed
brute that had showed itsel f then did not t with th is
remarkab le speech Then Toppy heard Rei v ers com
ing toward the door

I wil l l eave you ; you can make up your mind

a l one he said
I ve got to attend to one o f the men
I f you decide t o go back to Rai l
wh
o has been hurt
H ead te ll Tilly and she l l hunt me up and I ll send a

team o v er right away

C onv ersa t i on

43

He stepped b risk l y out in the hall way and saw

Toppy standing with his hand on the door o f t he store

Oh hel l o there ! he called out cheeri ly

Camp
be l l tel l you to draw your blankets ? That s the rst
step in the process o f becoming a guest at Hel l Camp

Get a pair o f ! ! ; they re the warmest

H e passed swi ftly out o f the bui l ding

I say Treplin he call ed back f rom a distan c e

P
did you ever set a broken l eg

Never said Toppy

I l l give you Davis on Fractures to read up on

said Reivers with a l augh

I think I ll appoint you

H ow would
M D to this camp
Doctor Trep l in

that be P
H is care l ess l aughter came oating b a ck as he made
hi s w ay swi ftly to the stockade
For a moment Toppy stood irreso l ute Then he
did something that required more courage f rom him
than anything he had done be fore in his l i fe He
stepped bo l dly across the hallway and entered the
o fce cl os ing the door behind him
.

CHA P TER VI

N IC E

B OY

A R S ON l Toppy spoke as he crossed

the thresho l d ; then he stopped short
The girl w a S itting in a big chair b fore a desk

I SS P E

in the farther corner o f the room She was dressed

just as she had been on the drive ; she had not removed
cap coat or gloves since arriving Her hands lay
palms up in her lap her square little shoulders sagged
and her face was pal e and troubled A tin y crease o f
worry had come between her wonder ful blue e y es and
her gaze wandered uncertainl y as i f seeking help in
the face o f a problem that had proved too hard for her
to handle alone At the sight o f Toppy instead o f
giving way to a l ook o f relie f her t roubled expression
deepened She started She seemed even to S hrink
from him The words froze in T o ppy s mouth and he
stood stock still

P lease don t look

he groaned boyishly
at me like that M iss P earson ! II m not that sort
I want to help youi f you need it I heard what
Reivers j ust said I
What do y ou take me for
any how ? A mucker w ho wou l d force himse l f upon

a lad y P
The anguish in his tone and in his honest good
natured countenance was too real to be mistaken He
had cried out from the depths o f a clean heart which
had been stirred strangely and the woman in the gi rl
responded with quick sympathy She looked at him
.

'

44

N i c e Bo y l

45

with a l ook that wou l d hav e aroused the l atent man

C
a
d
hood in a
which Toppy w as notand Toppy in
his eagerness found that he could l ook back

Why did you come out here P She asked p l ainti v e l y

Why did you decide to follow me a fter y o u had

heard that I was coming here ? I know yo u did that ;
you hadn t intended coming here until you heard

What made you do it P

Because you came here said Toppy honest l y

But whywhy
Toppy had regained contro l o f hi mse l f

Why do you think I did it M iss P earson ? he

asked quiet ly

I I don t want to think what I think

sh
e sta m
mered

And that i s that I m a cad the sort o f a mucker

who forces his attentions upon women who are alone

We ll
sh
e l ooked up with a cha l lenge in her eyes

- you had been drinking

hadn t you ? Cou l d y ou

blame me i f I did ?

Not a bit said Toppy

I m the o ne whose to
blame I m the goat I don t suppose I had a right
to butt i n O f course I didn t I m a big f ool ; a l ways
have been II j ust couldn t stand for seeing you
start o u t for thi s Hel l C amp a l one ; that s a ll It s
no reason I know butthere you are I d heard
something o f the p l ace in the morning and I had a

notion it was a pretty tough p l ace You y ou d idn t

o f th
e sort
l ook as i f you were used to anything

We l l he wound up desperatel y it didn t look right

your going o ff a l one among all these roughne ck s and

and that s why I butted in

She made no rep l y and Toppy c ontinued :

I didn t have any right t o do it I know I deserv e

to be s uspected
,

46

The Snow Bu rner

l aughed P l ease M r Trepl in !
-

No l she
That

w as horrid o f me

W hy w as it P he demanded abruptly Especially

a f ter you knewa fter this morning Buthere s the
situation : I thought you might need a S ide kicker
t o see you through and I appointed myse l f to the j ob
You won t believe that I suppo se but that s be cause

you don t know how foo l ish I can be

He stopped cl umsily abashed by the wondering
scrutiny to which she was subj ecting him She arose
S l ow l y from the chair and cametoward him

I believe you M r Treplin She said

I be l ieve
you re a decent so rt o f boy I want to thank y ou ;

but why why shou l d you think this necessary ?

S he l ooked at him smiling a littl e and Toppy w inc
ing f rom her bo y grew ust er ed

We l l you re not sorry I came P he stammered

Toppy took a long
Fo r rep l y she shook her head
breath

Thanks ! he said with su c h genuine re l ie f that she

w as forced to smi l e

B ut I m a per fect stranger to you she said uh

certainl y
I can t understand w hy you shou l d fee l

prompted to sacri ce yourse l f so to he l p me

Sacrice ! c ried Toppy

Why I m the one
H e stopped H e didn t know j ust what he had intended
to say Something that he had no business sa y ing

probab l y
Anybody wou l d have done itanybody
You can t have an y u se
wh
o wasn t a mucker I mean
f o r me o f course knowing what kind of a dub I ve
been but i f you ll j ust look o n me as somebo d y y ou
c an trust and fa l l back on in ca se o f need and who ll
do any t hing you want or need II ll be more th an

paid

I do trust you M r Trep l in she said and he l d out

N i c e Bo y l

47

her hand
B ut do I l ook as i f I needed a chap

eron P
Toppy trembl ed at the rm grip o f the sma ll gl o v ed
n gers

I to l d you I d heard what Reivers said he said

hastily
I didn t mean to ; I was j ust coming in t o
get some bl ankets I don t suppose you re going to

stay here now are you P

She began t o draw o ff her gl oves

Yes S he sai d quiet l y M r Reivers i s a gent

l
e

man and can be depended upon to keep his word

Toppy winced once more She had called him a

decent b oy ; she spoke o f Reivers as a gent l eman

Butgo od gracious M iss P earson ! Three hun

i f that s al l
dred do l lars
H e stopped for her l itt l e j aw had set w ith some
thing l ike a click

Are you going to spoi l things b y o ff ering to l end

P
e asked
sh
D idn t yo u hear
me that much money
that M r Reivers had o ff ered to d o it ? And M r

Reivers isn t a comp l ete strange r to m e as you are

She p l aced her gloves in a po cket and proceeded to
unbutton her mackinaw

I don t think you cou l d mean anything wrong by

it she continued
But please don t mention it again

P
Y o u don t w ish to humiliate me do y ou

M iss P earson ! stammered Toppy miserabl e

Don t please don t she said

It s all right

Her natural high spirits were return ing Everything s

a ll right Mr R eivers never breaks his word and

he s promised you heard him you say ? And you ve

promised to be my what did y ou ca l l it P side

kicker so everyt hing s ne Except
a l ook o f dis

gust passed o v er her eye s

your drinking Oh S he
cried as she saw the shame are into T oppy s f ace

The Snow Bu rner

48

I di d n t mean to hu rt you but how can nice bo y s

like you throw themselves awa y P

N ice boy ! Toppy l ooked at his toes f or a l ong time
SO that was what she thought o f him ! N ice bo y !

D o you know much abo ut Reivers P he asked at

l ast as i f he had forgotten her

words
Or don t y ou

want to tel l me about him P He had sensed that he

was innite l y Reivers inferior in her estimation and
i t hurt

Certainly I do she said M r Rei v ers w as a fore

man for the company that m y father w as estimator
for When father was hurt last S ummer M r Reivers
ca me to see him o n compan y business It s father s
spine ; he couldn t move ; Reivers had to come to him
H e saw me and two hours a fter our meeting he
he asked me to marr y him He asked me again a
week l ater and once a fter that Then I told him that
I neve r could care for him and he went awa y and
promised he d never t roub l e me again Y o u heard
I hadn t seen or heard o f him
o u r conversation
S ince unti l he walk ed into this room That s al l I
know about him ex c ept that peop l e say he never breaks

his word
Toppy winced as he caught the note o f condence
in her voice and thought o f the sudden deadl y t r ea ch
e ry o f Reivers in dealing w i t h Rosky The gir l with
a lithe movement threw o ff her mackinaw

By Jove ! Toppy exploded in boy ish admi ration

You re the bravest l itt l e sou l I ever saw in my l i fe !

Going against a game l ike this j ust to help your

father !

?
W e ll why shoul dn t I she asked
I m the
on l y o ne father has got We re all alone father and
I ; and father is too proud to take he l p from an y o ne

e l se ; and and
e conc l uded rm ly
As
so am I
sh

The Snow Bu rner

0
5

Toppy l ooked a fter her dum foun ded

H uh! he said to himse l f

I ll bet two to one
that Rei v ers knows al l about what we said be fore
morning I suppose that wil l mean something doing

pretty qui ck W ell the qui cker the better

.

C HA PTE R

VII

SNO W BU RNER S C REED

TH E

H EN Toppy returned to the room in the rear

o f the blacksmith shOp he found Campbell
waiting impatiently

Eh lad bu t y ou re the s l ow one ! greeted the

gru ff old S cot as Toppy entered

You re set a record
i n this camp ; no man yet has been able to consume so
much time getting a pair o f blankets f rom the wanni
gan Dump em in y on bunk in the corner and set

the tab l e I l l have supper in a wink and a hal f

Toppy obediently tossed his blankets into the bunk
indicated and turned to help to the best o f his abilit y
The place now was lighted generously by two l arge
r e ect o r lamps hung on the wal l s and Toppy had his
rst good view o f the room that was to be his home
H e was surprised at its neatness and com fort It
was a l arge room though a l itt l e l ow under the roo f
as rooms hav e a habit o f being i n the N orth In the
farthest corne r were two bunks the s l eeping quarters
Across the room from this a c orner was l led with
wel l l l ed bookshe l ves a table w ith a reading lamp
and two easy chai rs giving the ai r o f a tin y library
In the corne r fart hest from this was the cook stove
and in the fourth corner stood an oilcl oth covered
tabl e w ith a shel f lled w ith dishes hung above it
Though the rough edges o f hewn l ogs shown here and
there through the p l aster o f the walls the room was as
S pick and spam as i f un der the charge o f a n icky
housewi fe O l d Campbel l himse l f bending O ver the
-

,
.

5I

The Snow Bu rner

2
5

cook stove was as astonishing in his own w ay as the

room H e had remove d all trace o f the day s smithing
and fairly shone with cleanliness H is snow white
hair was carefully combed back from his w ide fore
head his bush y chin whiskers l ikewise S howed sign s
o f water and comb and he was garbed f rom throat to
ankles i n a white cook s apron He w as cheerfull y
humming a di rge l ike tune and so occupied was he
with his cookery that he s carce l y so much as gl ance d
at Toppy

Now then l ad ; are yo u read y P he asked presentl y

All ready I guess said Toppy gi v ing a na l

look at the table

You ve forgot the bread said Campbe ll a l so l ook

ing
You l l nd it in yo u tin bo x on the she l f Lively

now
And be fore Toppy ha d dished out a loa f from
the bread box the old man had a huge p l atter o f steak
and twin b ow l s o f potatoes and turnips steaming o n
the tabl e

We wil l no w say grace said C amp be ll sea ti ng

himsel f a fter removing the big apron and Toppy sat
silent and amazed as the o l d man bowed his head and
in his deep voice so l emn l y uttered thanks for the mea l
be fore him

NOW then he said b r i sk l y raising his head and

reaching for a fork as he ended fall t o

The mea l w as eaten without an y more conversati on
than w as necessa r y W hen it w as over the black
smith pushed his chai r l eisure ly b ack from the tab l e
and l ooked across at Toppy wi th a quizzica l smile

We l l l ad he ru mbled what woul d ye say w as

the next thing t o be done by ourse l s P

Wash the dishes said Toppy prompt l y taking his

cue f rom the conspi cuous c l ean l iness o f the room

And as I cook the

Aye said C amp be ll nodding
mea l
,

The Snow Bu rner s C reed

-

53

I m e l ected dish washer l aughed Toppy S pring

ing up and taking a l arge dish pan from the wal l H e
had o f ten done his share o f kitchen work on hunting
trips and soon he had the f ew dishes washed and dried
and back on the she lf again C ampbe ll watched crit

ical ly

We ll enough he said with an approving j erk o f

his head when the task w as comp l eted

Your con~
science shoul d be easier now l ad ; you ve done some ~
thing t o pay for the mea l you ve eaten which I ll war

rant is something you ve not o ften done

No l aughed Toppy it j ust happens that I haven t

had to

Haven t had to !
snorted Campbell in disgust

I s that a ll the j usti cation you have ? Where s y our

pride ? Are you a he l p l ess in fant that y ou re not
ashamed to l et other peop l e stu ff food into y our mouth
without doing anyth ing for it ? I suppose you ve got
money And where came your mone y from ? Your
father ? Your mother ? No matter Whoever it came
from they re the peop l e who ve been feeding you
but by the great smoked herring ! I f you stay w i
David Campbel l you ll hav e a change l ad
Aye
you l l l earn what it i s to earn y our bread in the sweat
o f your brow And you ll bless the day you come
hereno matter what the reason that made you come

and which I do not want to hear

Toppy bowed co u rteous l y

I ve got no come
back to that line o f c onversation

M r Campbell he said good naturedly

Whenever
anybody accuses me o f being a burn with money I
throw up my hands and p l ead gui l ty ; you can t get

an argum ent out o f me with a corkscrew

O l d Campbe l l s grim face cracked in a genial smile
as he rose and l ed the w ay t o the corner containing
the bookshe lv es

The Snow Bu rner

w i ll now step into the l ibra ry

54

We
he chu ck l ed

S it ye down
He pushed one o f the easy chairs toward Topp y and
from a cupbo ard un der the reading table drew a bottle
o f S cotch whisky o f a celebrated brand
To pp y s
whole being suddenl y cried out for a drink as his e y es
fel l on the familiar four stars

Say when lad said Campbell pouring i nto a

generous glass
Well ? He l ooked at Toppy i n su r
prise as the glass lled up Something had smitten

Toppy like a blow between the e y es

How can

nice boys like you th row themse l ves away P And the
pity o f the gi r l as S he had sai d it was la rge be fore
him

Thanks said Toppy seating himsel f but I m

o n the wagon
The o l d smith l ooked up at him shrewd ly from the
corners o f his eyes

Oh aye ! he grunted
I see Well by the p uff s
under your eyes ye have overdone i t ; and for eeing
the temptations o f the world I know o f no better
place ye cou l d go to than this For it s certain neither
temptations nor l uxuries wi l l be f oun d in Hel l Camp

while the Snow Burner s boss

Now you interest me said Toppy grim l y

The

Snow Burner Hell Camp Reivers M r Reiversthe

boss What kind o f a human being is he i f he is

human P
Camp be ll c are fu ll y mixed his whisky with hot
water

You saw him manhandle Rosky P he asked seat

ing himse lf opposite Toppy

Yes ; but it wasn t manhandling ; it w as brute

handling beast handling

Aye said the Scot sipping hi s drink

S o think
I t oo But do you know what Reivers calls it ? An

The Snow Bu rner s C reed

55
en l ightened man S howing a human c l od the error o f his
ways Oh ay e ; the Indians were smart when the y
named him the S now Burner He does things that
-

aren t natural

But who is he o r what i s he ? He s an educated

man obviously way above what a l ogging
boss

ought to be What do you know about him P

Litt l e enough was the reply

Four year ago I
were smithing in Elk L ake Camp over east o f here
when Reivers came walking into camp That w as
the rst any white men had seen o f him around these
w oo ds though a fterward we learned he d lived long
enough wi t h the Indians t o earn the name o f the Snow
Burner

It were January and two feet o f snow on the l evel

and fty below Reivers came walking int o camp
and the nearest human habitation were fort y mile

away
Red Pat Haney were foremana man ki l ler
w ith the devi l s own temper ; and him Reive rs dee
A week a fter his
l iber at ely set himsel f to arouse
coming this same Reivers had eve r y man in camp
looking up to him except Red Pat

And Reivers drove P at hal f mad w ith that c on

t emp t u o u s smi l e o f h is and Pat pulled a gun ; and

Reivers says That s what I was waiting for and

broke P at s bones w ith his bare hands and laid him up

Then says he This camp is going on j ust the same as

i f nothing had happened and I m going to be boss
That w as al l there w as to it ; he s been a bo ss e v er

since

And you don t know where he came from ? Or

anything else about him P

Oh he s from Englandan Ox ford man f or that

m atter said Campbell

He admitted that much once
when w e were argu fying He l l be here soon ; he

c omes to quarre l with me every evening

.

The Snow Bu rner

56

Why does an Ox ford man want to be way ou t here

bossing a loggi ng camp P grumbled Toppy

Campbel l nodded

Ay e I asked that o f him once he said

Though

it s none o f your business say s he I ll tell yo u I got

tired o f l iving where peop l e snivel about laws concern

ing ri ght an d wrong says he instead o f ackno w l

edging that there is on l y one law ruling l i fethat the
strong can master the weak
That is M r Reivers
reli gi on H e w as only worshipping his strange gods
when he broke Ro sky s l eg for he considers Rosky a
weaker man than himsel f and there fore tis his dut y

t o break him to his own will

A ne religion ! snapped
Toppy
An d ho w

about his dealings with you P

The S cot smi led grimly

I m the best smith he ever had he r eplied and

I ve warn ed him that I d consider it a duty under m y
religion to shoot him through the head did he eve r

attempt to f orce hi s creed upon me

He paused and

held up a nger
H ist l ad That s him comin g
noo H e s come f or h is regu l ar e v ening s m o ut hf u

o f conversation
Toppy found him se l f sitting up and gripping th e
a rm s o f his chai r as Reivers came swinging in He
eagerly searched the foreman s ooun t enance for a S i gn
to i ndicate whether Till y the squaw had communi
cat e d the conversation S he had heard between Topp y
and M iss P earson but i f she had there was nothing to
indicate it in Reivers expression or manner H is se l f
mastery awoke a sullen rage in Toppy He f e l t him
sel f to be a bo y beside Reivers

Go od evening gentlemen greeted Reivers l ightly

pu l ling a chair up to the reading table

It is a pleas
u re to nd intelligent society a fter having S pent the
last hour handling the b roken l eg o f a miserabl e brute
-

The Snow Bu rner

j ust dropped infrom al most

58

land
I ve
another

world you might say

In a vain attempt to escape taking sides in what w as
evidentl y an old argument he hurriedly rattl ed o ff the
story o f his coming to Rail Head and thence to Hel l
Camp omitting to mention however that it w as M i ss
P earson who was responsible for the l atter part o f hi s
j ourney Reivers smote hi s huge st upon the tabl e
as Toppy nished

That s the kind o f a man f or me ! he l au ghed

Got tired o f l iving the l i fe o f his cl ass and j ust

stepped out o f it N o explanations ; no acknowledge
ment o f obli gations to anybody Master o f his own
so ul To
w ith the niceties o f civi li sation ! Trep
l in you re a man a fter my ow n scheme o f l i f e ; I d id
the same thing onceonly I w as sobe r

But let s get back to o ur subj e ct Here s the situa

t ion : This camp i s o n a natura l town site There s
water power o r e and timber To u se the water
power
we must bui l d a dam ; to u se the timbe r we m ust get it
to the saws That takes l abour l ots o f it
m u sc l e an d
bone l abour Labour is s carce up here It is t oo far
from the pigsties o f towns Men wou l d c ome work a
few day s and go away The purpose o f the p l ace
wou l d be de featedunl ess the men are kept here at
work

That s what I do I keep them here To do it I

keep them l ocked up at night l ike the catt l e the y are
By day I have them guarded b y armed man killers
every one o f my guards is a fugitive f rom man s sill y

l aws principall y f rom the one whi ch says Thou shal t

not kill

But my best gua rd i s Fearby whi c h I ru l e alike

my guards and the poor brutes w ho are ne cessary to
my purpose There y ou are : a hundred and f ty o f
t hem fea ring and hating me and I m m aking them do
.

The Snow Bu rner s C reed

p l ease No foolishness about l aws about
-

59

as I
order
about right o r wrong Just a h undr ed and fty hal f
beasts and mysel f out here in the woods As a man
?
w ith a trained mind d o you think I can keep it up
Or do you think there is menta l energy enough in
that mess o f human protoplasm to muster up nerve
enough t o put out my l ight as S cotty puts it ? It s a

problem that furnishes interesting mental gymnastics

He propounded the problem with absolutely no trace
To j udge b y h is manner the mat
o f personal interest
ter o f his l i fe or death meant nothing to him It was
merely an interesting question o n which to expend the
energy ful minating i n his mind In his light blue e y es
there seemed to gleam the same i mpersonal brutality
which had shown o ut when he so c asuall y c rippled
Rosky

Oh it s an imposs ib l e proposition Reivers ! ex

p l o d ed Toppy with the pi cture o f the writhin g Slav
in his mind s eye
You ve got to c onsider right and
wrong when deal ing with human beings
I t isn t

natura l ; Nature won t stand it

Ah ! Reivers eyes l ighted up with inte ll ectual de ~

l ight That s an idea ! S cotty you hear ? You ve

been ta l king a bout my perishing by the sword but
you haven t given any reason w hy Treplin does
He says Nature wi ll revolt because my system is u n

natural
He threw b ack his head and l aughed co l dl y

Rot Trepl in silly e ffeminate bookish rot ! he

roared
Nature has respect only f or the st r o ng It
creates the weaker species mere l y to give the stronger

food to remain strong on

O l d Scotty had been ro ck ing f urious l y Now he
stopped suddenly and broke out into a furious B iblical
denunciation o f Reivers system When he stopped
for breath a fter his rst outbreak Reivers with a
f ew wo r ds and a co l d smi l e egged him on Toppy
,

The Snow Bu rner

60

glad l y kept hi s mouth shut A fter an hour he yawned

and arose from h is chair

I f you l l excuse me I ll turn in he said

Im

too sleepy to l isten or talk

W ithout looking at him Reivers drew a book from
his pocket and tossed it toward him

Davis on
he grunted
Cram up on
it to morrow There wi l l be need o f y our help be fore
long Go on Scotty ; you were saying that a j ust

retribution was Nature s law Go on

And Topp y rolled into his bun k to l ie w ide awake
l istening to the argu ment marvelling at the character
o f Reivers and pondering over the strange situation
he had fal l en into
H e scarcel y thought o f what
Harvey Dun combe and the bun ch would be thinking
about hi s disappearance His thoughts were mainl y
occupied w ith wondering why o f all the women he
had seen a S lender l itt l e gi r l with golden hair shou l d
suddenl y mean so much to him Nothing o f the sort
ever had happened to him be f ore It was rather an
noying Cou l d she ever have a good O pini on o f him ?
P robab l y not
And even i f she could what about
Re ivers ? Toppy was rm l y convinced that th e speech
which Reivers had made to Miss P earson was a fal se
one Reivers might have a great reputation for al
ways keeping his word but Toppy after what he had
seen and heard would no more trust to his morals than
those o f a hungry bear I f Till y the squaw to l d
Reivers what she had heard what then ? Wel l in that
case they wou l d soon know whether Reivers meant
to keep his promise not to bother M iss P earson w ith
his attentions
Toppy set his j aw griml y at the
thought o f what might happ en then
The mere
thought o f Reivers seemed to make his sts clench
hard
He l ay awake f or a l on g t ime with Reivers voice
.

The Snow Bu rner s C reed

61
co ldly b anter ing C ampbe l l constantly in h is ears
When Reivers nal l y went awa y he fell asleep Be fore
his c l osed eyes was the picture o f the girl as i n the

morning she had kicked up the snow and looked up at

him with her eyes deliciously pu ckered from the sun ;
and in his memor y was the stinging reco ll ection that

sh
nice boy
e had ca ll ed him a
,

CHA P TER VIII

O Y W OR !

T PP

T day l i ght next morning began To ppy s initia

tion as a blacksmith s helper
For the next
fo u r day s b e literally earned his b read i n the S weat
o f his brow as Campbell had warned him he would
The dour Ol d Scot took it as his reli gi ous duty to g ive
his helper a sev ere introduction to the world o f man
ua l labour and circumstances aided him i n his aim
Two dozen huge wooden sleighs had come from

the wood butcher the camp carpenter shop to be

tted with cross rods brace irons and runners Out
i n the woods the ice roads care fully sprinkled each
night were alternately freezing and thawing gradu
ally approaching the solid condition which would mean
a sudden call for sleighs to haul the l ogs which l ay
mountain high at the rollways down t o the river
One cold night and day now and the cal l would
come and Davi d Campbel l was not the man to be

found wanting e v en i f handicapped by a helper with

hands as so ft as a woman s
Toppy had no know l edge or skill in the trade but
he had strength and quickness and the thoughts o f

Reivers master fulness and the nice bo y in the

mouth o f the girl spurred him to the l imit The
heavy Sl edgew o r k fell to his l ot as a matter o f course
A twent y pound sledge was a p l aything in Top py s
handfor the rst fteen minutes
A fter that the hammer seemed to increa se pr o

62

Topp y W ork s

63

in weight u nti l at the end o f the rst da y s

work Toppy wo ul d gladly have credited the statement
that i t weighed a ton Likewise the heavy runner
ir ons which he l ifted with ease on the anvi l in the
morning seemed to grow heavier as the day grew
o l der
Had Toppy been i n the spl endid condition
that had he l ped him to w in h is place on the All
Am erican e l even f our years be fore he might have
gone through the crue l period o f breaking in w ithout
fa l tering But f our years o f reck l ess living had taken
their to ll The same magnicent frame and muscles
were there ; the great hear t and grit and sand like
w ise But there was something else there too ; the
so ftening weakening traces o f decomposed alcohol
in organs and tissues and under the strain o f the
terric pace whi ch old Campbel l set for Toppy abused
organs bres and nerves began to c reak and groan

and nal l y ca l led o ut Halt !

It was only T op py s gritthe great heart that

had made him a championand the desire to prove
his strength be fore Reivers that kept him at work
a fter the rst day H is body had qui t c old H e had
never be fore undergone such expenditure o f muscular
energy not even in the ercest game o f his career
That was p l ay ; this was torture On the second morn
ing his body shrank involuntari l y from the spectacle
o f the torturing sledge a nvil and irons but pride and
grit drove him on with set j aw and hard e y es ! uit ?
Wel l hardly Reivers walked around t he camp and
smiled as he saw Toppy sweating and Toppy swore
and went on
On the third day o l d Ca mpbel l l ooked at him with
curiosity

P
Well lad have ye had enoug h
he asked smil

ing pityingly
Ye can get a j ob helping the cookee

i f y ou nd man s work too hard f or ye

gr essively

T he Snow Bu rner

64

Toppy between cl enched teeth swore sav age l y H e

was so ti red that he was sick The toxins o f fatigue
a ided and abetted by the e ff ects o f hard l i v ing had
poisoned him unti l his f eet and brain felt as heav y
as l ead It hurt him to move and it hurt him to
think He w as groggy al l but knocked out ; but some
thing w ithin him held him doggedly at the tasks which
were sure l y mastering him
That night he dragged himse lf to bed without wait
ing for supper I n the morning Campbel l was amazed
to see him tottering toward his accusto med place in
the shop ; for o ld Campbel l had set a pace that had
racked his own i ron work tried body and he had
allowed Toppy two days in whi ch to cry enough

Hold up a l ittle l ad he grumbled

We re away
ahead o f our j ob There s no need l aying yoursel f

up Take you a rest

You go to
e xp l oded the ov erwrought

Toppy
Take a rest yourse lf i f you need one ; I

don t
H e w as working o n his ne r ve now ogging his
W eary arms and bod y to do his bidding against their
pain ful protests ; and he worked like a madman fear
i ng that i f he came t o a hal t the run down machi nery
would re fuse to start a fresh
It was near evening when a teamster drove up w ith
a broken sleigh from which Campbe l l and the man
strove in vain to tear the twisted runner Reivers
from the steps o f the store l ooke d on sneering
Toppy his l ips drawn back with pain and wea riness
l aughed shrill y at the e fforts o f the pair

Yank it o ff ! he c ried contemptuous l y

Yank it

like this
o ff
He drove a pry iron under the runner and heaved
It re fused to budge Toppy gathered himsel f under
the pr y and j erked with every ounce o f energy in
,

The Snow B u rner

66

arm went under his head and a bowl containing some

thing savoury and hot was he l d against his lips

He l lo Tilly chuck l ed Toppy deliriously It w as

quite in keeping with things that Tilly the s q uaw
should be holding his head and feeding him in the
middle o f the night He drank w ith the avidit y o f
a man parched and starving and the hot broth pleas
ant ly soothed him as it ran down his throat

More ! he said and Tilly gave him more

Good fellow Ti l l y he murmured

Good medi

cine Who told y ou P

Snow Burner grunted Ti ll y l aying his head on

the pillow
He send me Sleep um now

Sure sighed Toppy and prompt l y fell back into

his moaning f e v erish s l umber
.

CHA P TER I X

A FRES H

T ART

H EN he awoke again t o c l ear consciousness

it w as morn ing
The sun which came in
through the east window shone in his eyes and l ighted
up the room Toppy l ay sti l l He was quite content
to lie so An inexplicable f eeling o f pea c e and com
fort ruled in every inch o f his being The bored
heavy feeling w ith which for a l ong time past he h
ad
been in the custom o f facing a new day w as absolute l y
gone His tongue w as coo l ; there was none o f the
old heavy blood pressure in his head ; h is nerves were
absolutely quiet Something had happened to him
Toppy was quite conscious o f the change though he
was too com fortable to do more than accept his peace
fu l condition as a fact

Ho hum ! I fee l l ike a new man he murmured

drowsil y
I wonder OW !
H e had stretched himsel f l eisure l y and thus be
came conscious that his l e ft ank l e w as bandaged and
sore H is cry brought ol d Campbel l into the room
Campbel l so l emnly arrayed in a l ong tailed suit
o f black white collar bl ack ti e S pick and span w ith
beard and hair care fully washed and combed

Hello ! gasped Toppy s l eepi l y

W
here you go

P
ing funeral

Tis the Sa bbath said Campbe ll reverently as

he came to the side of the b unk

A nd how do ye

fee l the day la d P

,

67

The Snow Bu rner

68

Fine ! said Toppy

Considering that I had my

ankle sprained l ast evening

The Scot eyed him closely

S o twas l ast evening ye b roke your ankle w as

it ? he asked cannil y

Why sure said Toppy

Yesterda y w as Sat
wasn t i t ? We were c l eaning up the week s
u r d ay
work W hy what are you l ooking at me l ike that

for ?

Aye said Campbel l his S unday so l emnity forbid

ding the smile that strove to break through

Yes
t er d ay was Saturday but twas not the Saturday y ou
sprained your leg A week ago Saturday that was
l ad and ye ve lain here in a fever out o f your head

ever since Do you mind naught o f the whol e week P

Toppy l ooked up at Campbel l in silence for a long
t ime

S cotty i f you have to p l ay j okes

Jokes ! spluttered Campbe ll aghast

Lo sh mon !
D idna I te l l ye twas the Sabbath ? No ti s no j oke
I assure you You did more than sprain your ank le
when ye t ripped that Saturda y You col l apsed com
L
ad
you
were
in
poor
condition
when
y
ou
l
e
t
e
l
y
p
came to camp and had I known it I would not have
broken you in so hard But you re a good man lad ;
the best m an I ever saw i f you keep in condition

And do you real l y f ee l good again P

Why I fee l like a new man said Toppy

I fee l

as i f I d had a course o f baths at Hot Spri ngs

Campbe l l nodded

The Snow Burner said ye would It s Till y he s

had doctoring ye She s been feeding you some In
dian concoction and keeping ye heated till your blan
kets were wet through Oh y ou ve had s candalous
good care l ad ; Reivers to set your ank l e Tilly to doc
tor ye Indi an wise and Miss Pearson and Reivers to
.

"

F resh S tart

69

drop in together now and anon to se e how ye were

standing the ga ff No wonder ye came through all

right !
The room seemed suddenl y t o grow d ark for Toppy
Reivers again Reivers dropping in t o l ook at him
as he lay there helpless on his back Reivers in the
position o f the master a gain ; and the gir l w i th him !
Toppy impatient ly threw O ff his covering

Gimme my clothes S cott y he d emanded swing

ing himse l f to the edge o f the bunk

I m tired o f

lying here o n my back

Campbel l silentl y handed over his cl othing Toppy
was weak but he succeeded in dressing himsel f and in
tottering over to a chai r

So M iss P earson came over here did she ? b e

asked thought fully

And w ith Reivers P

Aye said Scotty drily

With Reivers He has

a way with the women the Snow Burner has

Toppy debated a moment ; then he broke out and
told Campbe ll all about how Reivers had deceived
M iss P earson into coming to Hell Camp The O l d
man listened with tightly pursed lips As Topp y con
cluded he shook his head sorrow fully

P oor l ass she s got a hard path be fore her then

I f as yo u say S he does not w ish to care

he said

for Reivers

What do you mean P

Well said Campbel l S low l y ye l l be understand

ing b y this time that the Snow Burn er is no ordinar

P
man

He s a enda savage with an Oxford education !

exp l oded Toppy

He isthe Snow Burner said Campbell w ith

nal it y
You know what he is toward men Toward

women he s worse !

Good Heavens l
.

The Snow Bu rner

0
7

Nof tha t he i s a woman chaser

No ; tis not his

w ay
But yon man has the strongest w ill i n him
I v e e v er seen in mortal man and tis the will women

He pu ll ed his whiskers nerv ous ly and looked

bo w to

away
I ve known him f our year now and no
woman in that time that he has set his will upon but

in the end has has followed him like a S lave

To pp y s sts clenched and he j o y ed to nd that in
spite o f his i ll ness h is muscles went hard

Ye ve seen Tilly continued Scott y w ith averted

e y es
Ye ll not be so blind that ye ve not observed
that she s no ordinar s q uaw Well three years ago
Tilly was teacher in the Chippewa Indian Schoo lthin
and straighta Carlisle graduate and all S he met
Reivers and shun ned himat rst Reivers did not
chase her
Ti s not his way But he bent h is wi l l
upon her and the poor girl l e ft her l i fe behind her
and fo l lowed him and kept following him until ye
She would cut your throat or
e i s now
s ee her as sh
nurse ye as she did no matter which did he but
command her And she s not been the onl y one e ither

Nor have the rest o f them been red

The swine ! muttered Toppy

More wol f than swine l ad P erhaps more tiger

than wol f I don t think Reivers intends to break
his word t o you l ass But I suspect that he won t
have to No ; as it l ooks now he won t Given the
oppo rtunity to put his w il l upon her and she ll change

her mindl ike the others

He s a beast that s what he is ! said Toppy an

And
any
woman
who
wou
l
d
fall
for
him
il
r
g y
would get no more than S he deserves even i f she s
treated l ike Ti ll y Why anybod y can see that the
man s instincts are a ll wrong Right in an animal
perhaps but wrong in a human being The right

kind of women woul d shun h im l ike poison

F resh S t art

1
7

I dunno said Campbell rubbing his c hin

Yon
l ass over i n the o f ce is as sweet and woman ly a
little lass as I ve seen s in I was a l ad And yet

look y e but out o f the window lad !

Toppy l ooked out o f the window in the direction
in which Campbel l pointed The window commanded
a V iew o f the gate to the sto ckade Reivers w as stand
ing idly be fore the gate M iss P earson was coming
toward him A S she approached he carelessl y turned
his head and l ooked her over from head to foot From
where he sat Toppy could see her smile Then Reivers
calml y turn ed his back upon her and the smile on
the gi rl s face died out She stood irresolute for a
moment then turned and went S lowl y back toward
the o fce glancing occasionall y over her shoulder
toward the gate Reivers did not l ook but when she
was out o f sight he began to wa lk S lowl y toward the
b l a cksmith shop

Bah !
Toppy turned his eyes f rom the window
in mingled anger and disgust H e sat for a moment
with a multitude o f emotions working at his heart
Then he laughed bitterly

Well well well ! he mocked

You d expect that

from a squaw but not from a white woman

Mr Reivers is a remarkabl e man said Campbe l l

shaking his head

Sure said Toppy and it s a mistake to l ook f or

a remarkable woman up here in the woods

I dunno
The smith l ooked a little hurt
I
dunno about that l ad Yon l ass seems remarkably

sweet and ladylike to me

Sure sneered Toppy pointing his thumb toward

the gate
That l ooked like it didn t it P

As for that you ve heard what I ve told y ou about

the Snow Burner and women said Campbel l sorrow

fully
He has a master ful w ay with them

The Snow Bu rner

thing to be master fu l over a

2
7

A ne
little b l onde

fool like that !

Campbell scowled

Even though you have no respect for the l ass

he said curtl y I see no reason wh y you should put

it in words

?
Why not
Why shou l dn t I or an y one else put

it in words a fter that P

Toppy fairl y shouted the

words
She s made the thing public hersel f She
came creeping up to him right out where anybody ,
who was looking could se e her and there won t be a
man in camp to morrow but l l have heard that she s
fallen for Reivers Apparently she doesn t care ; so
why should I or you o r anybod y else ? Reivers has
got a master fu l way with women ! Ha ha ! L e t it

I t s none o f m y business that s a cinch

go at that

No agreed Campbel l ; not i f you talk that w ay

it s none o f your business ; that s sure

Toppy could have struck him f or the emphatic
manner in which he uttered the words But Toppy
was beginning t o learn t o control himse l f and he
merely gritted hi s teeth
The sudden stab which
he had felt in his heart at the S ight o f the girl and
Reivers had passed In one ash there had been over
thrown the ne structure which he had built about her
in his thoughts
He had placed her high above him
se l f For some unknown reason he had looked up
to her from the rst moment he had seen her H e
had not considered himsel f worthy o f her good opin
ion And here she w as aunt ing her subservience to
Reiversto a cold sneering brutebe fore the e y es
o f the whole camp !
The rage and pain at t he sight o f the pair had come
and gone and that was all over And now Toppy to
his surprise found that it didn t make much di fference
The girl and what she was what she thought o f him

CH A PTER X
TH E

DU EL B EGI NS

M feeling prett y good thank you

Reivers sai d
Toppy quietl y though the voice o f the man had
thrilled him with the challenge In it He turned his
head slowly and l ooked up from his chair at Reivers
with an expression o f great serenity The Big Game
had begun between them and Toppy w as an expert
at keeping his play hidden

Much obliged for strapping up my ank l e Reiv

ers he said
S illy thing to sprain an ankle ; but
thanks to your expert bandaging it l l be ready to

walk on soon

It wasn t a bad sprain said Reivers moving up

and standing in front o f him That w as Reivers al l
through Toppy was sitting ; Reivers was standing
l ooking down on him his favourite pose The black
anger boi l ed i n Top py s heart but by his expression
o ne cou l d read only that he was a grate ful young
man

No it wasn t a bad sprain continued Reivers

h is upper l ip li fting in its customar y smile o f scorn

but a man w ho attempts such heav y l i fts must

have no weak S pot in him

Toppy twisted himsel f into a more com fortable p o
sit io n in his chair and smiled

Attempts is hardly the right word there Re iv

ers P ardon me for diff ering w ith you he laughed

You may remember that the attempt was a su c

cess
,

74

A gl int

of

The D ue l B e gi ns
amusement in Reivers c o l d e y es

75

showed
that he appreciated that something more weighty than
a mere questi on o f words la y beneath that apparent ly
casua l remark Fo r an instant his e y es narrowed
as i f try ing to see be y ond Top py s smile and read what
l ay behind but To ppy s good poker face now stood
him in good stead and he l ooked blandl y back at
Reivers peering eyes and con t inued to smi l e Reivers
laughed
l
in ; ob l iged to you for correcting
! uite right Trep

me he said
A chap gets rusty out here where
none o f the l aws o f speech are O bserved I ll depend
upon you to bring me back to form againl ater on

P
I S your ankle really feeling strong
For answer Toppy rose and stood on it

Well well ! l aughed Reivers

Then M iss Pear
son s sympathy was al l wasted What s the matter
Treplin ? Aren t you glad to hear that charming young
lady is enough interested in you to hunt me up and

ask me to step in and see how y ou are this morning P

Not particularly replied Toppy although he was

forced to admit to himse l f a glow at thi s explanation
o f the girl s conversation with Reivers

What are you interested in P said Reivers su d

d enly

Toppy l ooked up at him shrewd l y

I tell you what I d like to do Reivers ; I d l ike

to lea rn the logging businesslearn how to run a

camp like thisrun it e fcient ly I mean

Worthy ambition came the instant rep l y and

you ve come to the right s choo l How fortunate for
you that you fel l into this camp ! You might have
got into one where the boss had foolish ideas You
might even have fal l en in with a humanitarian Then
you d never have l earned how to make men do things
.

6
7

The Snow Bu rner

for y ou and consequently y ou d never have l earned
to run a camp e f cientl y
Thank y our l uck y stars Treplin that y ou fell in
with me I ll rid y ou o f the sill y l ittle ideas about
-

right and wrong that books and false living have in

stilled in your head I believe you ve got a good
heada l most as good as mine I f for instance you
were in a situation where it was y our li fe or the other
fellow s y ou d survive That s the proo f o f a good
head Want to learn the logging business do y ou ?
Good ! Is your ankle strong enough for you to get

around on P
Toppy took an ax handle from the corner and u s
i ng it as a cane hobbled around the room

Yes it wil l stand up all right he said

What s

P
the idea

Come w ith me l aughed Reivers swinging to

ward the door

We re j ust in time for lesson number

o ne on h
o w to run a camp e fcientl y

CHA P TER XI

HELL CAM
-

C O U RT

Reivers l ed the way out o f the shop Toppy saw

that M iss Pearson was standing in the door o f
the o fce across the way He saw also that she was
looking at him He di d not respond to her look nor
volunteer a greeting but deliberatel y l ooked awa y
from her as he kept pace with Reivers who was se t
ting the w ay toward the gate o f the stockade
It was a morning such as the one when back in
Rail Head the girl had kicked up the snow and said

to him Isn t it glo r ious ?

But since then Toppy
felt bitterly that he had grown so much o l der so
disillusioned that never again would he be guilty
o f the tender feelings that the girl had evoked that
morning The sun was bright the crisp ai r invigo
rating and the blood bounded gloriously through his
young body But Topp y did not wax enthusi astic
He was grimly glad o f the mighty stream o f l i fe
that he felt surging within him ; he would have use
for all the might later on But no more The wor l d
was a harder a less pretty place than he i n his in
experience had fancied it be fore comin g to Hell
Camp

P
What s this l esson
he asked gruffly o f Reivers

What are you going to show me P

A little secret in the art o f keeping brute men sat

ised with the place in li fe which a superior mind

has a ll otted to them replied Reivers

What is the
5

77

The Snow Bu rner

78

rst need o f the brute ? Food o f course And the

second isght Give the l ower orders o f mankind
which is the kind to use i n running a camp e f ciently
p l enty o f food and ght and the problem of rest
lessness i s solved

T hat s history Treplin as you know I f these

foo l ish timid capitalists and l eaders o f men w ho are
search ing thei r petty souls for a remedy to combat
the ravages o f the modern disease cal led Socialism
only would read history intelligently the y would nd
the remedy made to order Fight ! War ! Give the
lower brutes war ; let em get o ut and S laughter one
another and the y d soon forget their piti ful clumsy
attempts to think for themselves Give them guns
with a litt l e sharp stee l on the end o f the barrel turn
them loose on each o t herany excuse would doand
they d soon be so busy driving said steel into one
another s thick bodies that the l eaders cou l d slip the
yoke back on thei r necks and get em under hand
again where they be l ong

And they d be happier too because a man brute

has got to have so much ghting or what he calls
his brain begi ns to trouble him ; and then he imagi nes
he has a soul and is otherwise unhappy I f there is
ghting o r the certain prospect o f ghting there s
no alleged thinking There s the solution o f all dif
O f course y ou ve no
cu l t ies with the lower orders
ticed how per fectly contented and happy the men in

this camp are P he l aughed turning suddenly on

T O PPY

Yes
sa i d Toppy
Espec i ally Rosky and 11 13

bunch
The Snow Burne r smiled appre ciativel y

Rosky poor c l od hadn t had an y ghting I d

over l ooked him Had I known that thoughts had be
gun t o troubl e his poor ha lf o x b rain I d ha v e gi v en
.

H e l l C amp
-

C ou rt

79

him some ghting and he d have been as content for

the next few weeks as a man w ho who s j ust been
through delirium tremens

He had no obj ect in l i fe you see I f he d had

a good enemy to hate and ght he wou l dn t have been
troubled by thoughts and consequentl y he wou l dn t
now be l ying in his bunk w ith hi s leg in S p l ints

There is the system in a nutshellgive a man an

enemy to hate and wish t o destro y and he won t be
any trouble to you during working hours or a fter
That s what I d o
pick o u t the ones who might get

restless and set them to hating each other A nd now

he concluded as they reached the ga te and passed

through you l l have a chance t o see how it works

out
The big gate opened f or them by two armed guards
swung S hut behind them and Toppy once more l ooked
around the enc l osure in which he had had hi s rst
glimpse o f the Snow Bu rner s s y stem of hand l ing the
men under him The p l ace this morning however
presented a di ff erent a more impressive scene It
w as all but l led with a mass o f rou gh c l ad rough
moving rough ta l king ma l e humanit y
P erhaps a hundred and fty men were waiting
i n the enc l osure
For the gr eater part they were
o f the dark thi ck and heavi l y clumsy type that Toppy
had learned t o include under the genera l title o f
Bohunk ; bu t here and there over the dark o x l ike
faces rose the fair head o f a tall man o f som e Nort h
e rn breed S l avs comprised the bu lk o f the gather

ing ; the Scandinavians Irish A meri cans the white

men
as they cal l ed t hemse l veswere conspicuous
onl y by contrast and by the manner i n which the y
isolated themselves from the S l avs
And between the tw o breeds there w as not much
room for choice Fo r whi l e the fac es o f the Slavs

The Snow Bu rner

80

were heavy w ith brute stupidity and mali gnity those

o f the North bred men reeked w ith er cene ss cruelt y
and crime The Slavs were at Hell Camp because they
were trick ed into coming and forced to remain under
shotgun rule ; the others were there mostl y because
sheri ff s found it unsa fe and unprotable to seek any
man whom the Snow Burner had in his camp The y

were hiding o u t
Criminal s the maj orit y o f them
they preyed o n the stupid Slavs as a matter o f course ;
and this situation Reivers had uti l ised as he put it

to keep his men content

Though there w as a gul f o f di ff erence between the
extreme types o f the crowd Topp y soon realised that
j ust now thei r expressions were strangel y alike They
were al l impatient and excited
The excitement
seemed to ru n in waves ; one man moved and others
moved with him One threw up his head and others
did l ikewise Thei r faces were expectant and cruel
It was like the milling o f excited cattle onl y worse

Come along Treplin said Re ivers and led the

wa y toward the centre o f the enclosure The noises
the talking the short laughter the
o f the crowd
shufing ceased instantly at his appearance
The
crowd parted be fore him as be fore some natural force
that brushed al l men aside It opened up even to
the centre o f the yard and then Toppy saw whither
Reivers w as leading
On the bare ground was roped o ff a square which
Toppy with practised e y e saw w as the regulation
twenty four foot prize ght r ing Rough unbarked
tamarack poles formed the corner posts o f the ring
and the ropes were heavy wire logging cable A yard
from o ne side o f the ring stood a table with a chai r

upon it Reivers with a careless Take a sea t o n

the table and keep your e y es O pen stepped easily

upon the table seated h imse l f in the chai r and l ooked
,

,
.

T he Snow Bu rner

82

that were pressing toward the ringside P rize ghts

he had witnessed by the score He had even par
t icip at ed in one or two for a lark and the brute lust
that springs into the eyes o f spectators w as no str anger
to him But never had he seen any thing l ike this
There w as none o f the restraint imposed upon the
human countenance b y ci vi l isation i n the erce faces
that gathered about this ring
Out o f the dul l eyes the primitive ki ll ing anima l
S howed unrestrained unashamed No di l ettante in
t er est in strength or ski l l here ; mere l y the bare blood
thirsty desi re to see a f e l low anima l ght and bl eed
Up above the sky w as c l ean and blue ; the rough
l og wal l s shut out the rest o f the worl d ; the breathing
o f a mob o f ex c it ed men w as the only sound upon
the quiet S unday air I t w as the o l d arena again ;
the mer c i l ess gore hungry c rowd ; the maddened
g l adiators ; and upon the chair o n the tab l e Reivers
lord o f it al l the king man to whom it w as a ll but

an idle moment 5 play

Reivers above it a ll untou ched by it a ll and yet
dire cti ng and swaying it a ll as his w il l l isted Laws
rules tea chings creedsa ll were discarded P rimi
ti ve force had for the nonce been gi ven back its rule
A nd over it and control l ing it as wel l as ea ch o f the
maddened eight score men aroun d the ri ngReive r s
A nd so thorough l y did Reivers dominate the whol e
a ff air that Toppy sitting care l ess l y on the edge o f
the table w as c ons cious o f it and knew that he too
f e l t instin ctive ly incl ined to d o as the men didto
l ook t o Rei v ers for a S ign be f ore daring to speak o r
make a move The Snow B urner w as i n the sadd l e
It wasn t natural b ut every phase o f the S ituation
emanated from his master man s w i ll It w as even
his wish that Toppy shou l d sit thus at his f eet and
look o n and hi s w ishw as grati ed
-

H e ll C a mp C ou rt
83
But it w as we ll t hat the v isor o f T ppy s cap hid
h is eye e l se Reiv e rs might hav e wondered at the
l ook that ashed up at him f rom them
Throw em i n l snappe d Rei v ers and the hand l ers
-

s,

th rust the three combatants stripped to the waists

but wearing ca lked l um berj ack shoes through the
ropes
A cry went up to the sky f rom a hundred and fty
throats around the ringside
a c ry that had close kin

ship with the j oyous merci l ess A u-r r

r u h o f a wo lf
about to make its ki ll Then an instant s silence as
the rudely hand l ed ghters came t o their feet and
f aced for action Then another hideous yelp rent
the stil l air ; the ghters had come together !

P
eer
r
i
ng
costumes
eh
Treplin
ca me Rei v ers
u
!

v oice mo ckingly Ou r o w n rules

; the f eet as we ll

as the hands Lord what oxen !

The two S lav s had sprung upon thei r despoi l er l ike
Sheedy rushing to meet them
t w o maddened cattle
head down swun g right and l e ft overhand ; and with
a mighty sma ck ing o f hard st on naked esh one
Torta rolled o n the ground while his brother stopped
in his tracks his a rm s pressed to his midd l e The
c rowd
be ll owed

said Reiv
Yes I knew S heedy had been a pug
ers j udicia ll y
Sheedy de l ib erate l y took aim and swung for the j aw
The Slav in
o f the man w h
o had not gone down
stin ctive l y ducked hi s head and the blow slashing
along his j awbone tore l oose his ear H al f stunned
he dropped to his knees and S heedy stepped back
to poise for a killing ki ck But now the man who
had been knocked down rst w as o n his f eet and
with the scream o f a wo unded anima l he hur l ed him
se l f through the air and went down his arms c l ose
l o cked around Sheedy s right l eg S heedy staggered
,

The Snow Bu rner

84

The r ing became a little hell o f distorted human speech

Sheedy bellowed horrible curses as he bea t to a pulp
the face that sought to bur y itsel f in h is thigh ; his
assailant screeched i n S lavish terror ; and the bull l ike
roa r o f his brother rising to his feet with c l eared
senses and springi ng into the battl e intermingled with
both Sheedy s red face w ent pal e
Around the ringside the faces o f the S l a v s shone
with relie f The ght w as going thei r w ay ; they
roared encouragement and glee in their o w n gu ttural
tongue The othersI rish Americans S candinavians
rooting f o r Sheedy on l y because he w as o f their
b reed
were S i l ent

Han g tough B i l l said o ne man quiet ly ; and then

i n a second the S light l y superior brains in Sheed y s
head had turned the battle Like a ash he dropped
at o n his back as his fresh assa ilant reached out t o
grip him The furious S lav fol l owed him help l essly
in the fall ; and a singl e gruff appreciative shout came

f rom the f ew white men

For they had seen even as the S l a v stumbl ed Bi ll
Sheedy s l e ft l eg shoot up like a catapult burying
the calke d shoe to the ankle in the man s so ft middle
and inging him to one S ide a shuddering sense l ess
wreck The man w ith his arms around Sheed y s l eg
l ooked up and saw H e was al one now alone against
the bi g man who had knocked him down with such
ease Toppy saw the man s mouth open and his fac e
go yellow

Na na na l he cried piteous l y as Sheedy s bl ows

a gain rained upon him

I giv e up gi ve up gi v e
up
H e tried t o b ury his face i n B ill s thi gh ; and B il l
mad w ith success strove to pound him loose

Kill him Bi l l ! said one o f the Irishmen quiet l y

You got him no w ; ki ll him

.

He ll Ca mp
-

Co u rt

85

Stop
Reivers did not ra ise his v oi c e
He
seemed scarce ly interested Yet the roars around the
ring died down Sheed y stopped a blow hal f dcliv
ered and dropped his arms The S l av re l eased his
claw l ike ho l d and ran sobbing toward h is prostrate
brother

A l l right B i ll ; you keep the moneyf or a ll

them said Reivers

Clear o ut the ring boys and

get that other pair i n there

The guards springing into the ring as i f under a
l ash pick ed up the senseless man and th rust him l ike
a sack o f grain through the ropes and o n to the groun d
at the feet o f a group o f his countrymen Toppy
The
saw these pick the man up and bear him away
man s hea d hung down limply and dragged on the
ground and a thin strea m o f blood ran steadily o u t
H is brother followed l oud l y
o f one side o f his mouth
calling him by name

Ve r y e f cacious that l e ft l eg o f B i ll s ; eh Trep

lin ? said Reivers l ightly

Bi l l was the superior
creature there H e had the w it and wi ll t o survive
in a crisis ; there fore he is entitled to the rewards
o f the supe rior over th e in ferior which in this case
means the ninety ei ght dollars which the Torta boy s
once had That s j usti ce natura l j ustice f o r you
Treplin ; and all the fumbling e fforts o f the l awmakers
who ve tried through the ages to reduce l i fe to a
pen
and paper basis ha v en t been abl e to change the
o l d ru l e one bit

I ll admit that court s and all the fakery that goes

w ith them have redu ced the thing to a battle o f brains
but a fter all it s the same old batt l e ; the stronger

And he c oncluded waving his hand

w in and hold

at the crowd you l l admit that Bil l and those Torta

boys wou l dn t be at thei r best in a c ontest o f intelli

gence

The Snow B u rner

re fused Rei v ers the p l easure o f

86

Toppy
seeing how
im
th
e bruta l ity o f the a ff air disgusted h

W hy don
t you fo l low the t hing out to its l ogi ca l

The thing isn t set

conc l usion P he said care l ess l y
t led as l ong as the Tort a boys can possibly make r e
l
c
To
be
a
onsistent
sa
v
age
you
d
have
to
l
et
r
i
sa
s
p
em go to it unti l one had killed the other But e v en

you don t dare to do that do you Rei v ers P

Reivers l aughed but the l ook that he bent on Top
py s bland face indicated that he w as a trie puzz l ed

Th en you wou l dn t be running the camp e fcient l y

Treplin he said
It wouldn t make any di fference
i f they were a ll To r tas ; but B il l s a val uable man
H e furnishes some one a b e ll y f u l o f hating and ght
ing every week No ; I wouldn t hav e Bil l ki ll ed f o r
l ess than t w o hundred dol l ars He s one o f my best
antidotes f or the di sease o f dis content
The gu ards now had pul led two other men up t o
the ropes and were searching and stripping them
Toppy stared at the disparity in the si z es o f the men
as the c l othes were pulled o ff them One stood up
strong and straight the muscles bulging b ig beneath
h is dark skin his neck short and heavy hi s head
cropped and round H e wore a sma ll upturned mous
tach e and carried himsel f w ith a ce rtain handy air
that indi cated hi s c l ose acquaintance with ring events
The other man was S hort and dark obvious ly an Ita l
ian ; the skin o f his body w as a sickly white his f ac e
o l ive green
He stood crouched and beneath his
ragged beard t w o teeth gl eamed like the f angs o f a
snarling dog

Antonio the Kni fe Expe rt and M ahmout the

Strangling Bu l garian announced Rei v ers l aughingl y

Tony tri ed t o sti ck M ahm ou t be cause o f a l itt l e l ady

back in Rai l Head and made such a poor j ob o f
it that Mahmou t has o ffered to meet him in the ring ;
.

H e ll C amp C o u rt
his kni f e Mahmout w ith his
-

87

Tony w i th
w r est l ing

tri cks S tart em off

The B ul garian w as under the ropes and upri ght in
the rin g be fore the Ita l ian had started He w as in
h is stocking-feet and despite the cl umsiness o f his
bui l d he moved wi t h a qui ckness and ease that to l d
o f the ne co
ordination o f the e ff ective athlete
When the Ita l ian entered the ring he he l d his right
hand behind his b ack and in the ha nd gl eamed the
six inch b l ade o f a wi cked l ooking sti l etto
A shiver ran a l ong Toppy s spine b ut he c ontinued
t o play the game

Evidently M ahm out isn t a v a l uabl e man ; you

don t care what happens to him he said

Not part icu l arly replied Reivers serious l y

He s
a good man on the ro ll way s nothing ext ra S ti ll I
hardly b e l ie v e Tony can kil l himnot this ti me at

l east
The f a ces aroun d th e ri ng grew er cer now
Grow l ed c urses and exclamations came through
cl enched teeth Here was the spectac l e that the bru te
spirit hun gered forthe bare l iving esh battling f or
l i fe against the merci l ess gleaming stee l
The big Bu l gari an moved neatly forward be nt o v er
at the waist his strong arm s extended hands open
be fore him in the practised wrest l er s guard and at
tack H is feet did not l eave the ground as he sid l ed
forward and his eyes never moved from the Italian s
right arm The l atter snarl ing and panting retreated
S light l y then began t o circle care full y his smal l eyes
searching for the opening through which he cou l d l eap
in and drive home his stee l
The Bul garian tu r ned with him his guard a l ways
be fore him as a bu ll tu rns its head to face the circling
wol f
Without a sound the kni fe man sudden l y
stopped and l unged a sweep ing s l ash at the mena ci n g
,

88

The Snow Bu rner

-

hands M ahmo u t grasping for a hold on hand or

wrist caught the tip o f the blade in his pal m and a
s l ow bel l ow o f rage shook him as he saw the blood
o w
But he did not l ower his guard nor take his
eyes from his opponent
The Italian retreated and ci rcl ed again A borri
ble sneer distorted his face and the kni fe ashed in
the sunlight as he S l ashed it to and fro be fore the
other s hands The crowd grow l ed its appreciation
Three times A ntonio l eaped forward slashed and
l eaped back again ; and each time the blood owed
from M ahm o u t s slashed ngers But the wrest l er s
guard never lowered nor did he falter in his set plan
o f batt l e He w as working t o get his man into a
corner
The Ital ian soon saw this and l eaping nimb l y side
wise l unged for M ahm o u t s ribs The right arm o f
the Bulgarian dropped in time to save his l i fe but
the kni f e d eect ed from it s fatal aim ripped through
the top muscl es o f his back for six inches The mob
roared at the fresh blood but M ahm o u t was work
ing s i l ent l y In h is spring the Italian had only l eaped
toward another corner o f the ring
A ntonio
M ahm ou t leaped suddenl y toward him
stabbing swi f t l y at the hands reached out for him
j umped back A c r y from a c ountryman in the crowd
warned him Swi ftl y he glanced over his shou l der
saw that he was cornered and with a low sweeping
swing o f the arm he threw the kni f e l ow at M ahmout s
abdomen
The blade gl inted as it ashed th rough the air ;
it thudded as i t struck home ; but the death cry which
the mob yelped out died S hort With the expert s
quickness M ahm ou t had ung hi s huge forearms be
f ore the speeding blade Now he held his l e ft ar m
.

The Snow Bu rner

0
9

pled for the rest o f thei r lives had no room in his

thoughts H e strode toward the gate as i f the yard
were empty and the crowd opened a wa y far be
fore him Outside the gate he l ed the wa y around
the stockade toward where the river roared and tum
bled through the chutes o f Cameron Dam
A cl i ff like ledge perhaps thirty feet in height
situated c l ose to one end o f the dam was Reivers
obj ective and he l ed Topp y around to the side fac
ing the river Here the di rt had been scraped away
on the face o f the ledge and a great ca ve torn in
the exposed rock The hole was probably fty feet
wide and ran from twelve to fteen feet under the
brow o f the l edge Toppy was surprised to see no
timbers upholding the rocky roo f which seemed at
any moment likely to drop great masses o f j agged
stone into the opening beneath

My l ittle rock pile

explained Reivers l ight ly

When my brutes aren t good I put em to work here

The rock goes into the dam out there Just at pres
ent Rosky s band o f would be malcontents are the
ones w ho are su ff ering for daring to be dissatised

ah
simplicity l et us say o f Hel l Camp
with the
H e laughed mirthlessly

I m going to put you in charge o f this quarry

Treplin You re to see that they get one hundred
wheelbarrows o f rock out o f here per hour You l l

be here at daylight to morrow

Toppy nodded quiet l y

What s the punishment here P he asked puz z l ed

It l ooks l ike nothing more than hard work to me

Reivers smiled the same smile t hat he had smi led
upon Rosky

Look at the roo f o f that pit Trep l in he said

You ve noticed that it isn t timbered up Oc casion
al ly a stone drops down S ometimes severa l stones
,

H e ll C am p
-

C ou rt

91

But one hundred barrows an hour have to come out

o f there j ust the same And those rocks up there

you l l notice are beauti fu ll y sharp and hea vy

Toppy felt Reivers eyes upon him watching to see
what e ff ect this explanation would hav e and couse
quently he no more betrayed h is feelings than he had

at the bruta l scenes o f the court

I see he said casuall y

I suppose this is w hy

you made me read up on fractures ?

P artly said Reiv ers

He looked up at the j agged

rocks in the roo f o f the pit and grinned

And some
times an accident here calls for a j ob for a pi ck and
shove l But I m j ust Trep l in ; on l y the malcontents

are put to work in here

That i s those w ho have dared to declare them

se l ves something besides your helpless s l aves

Or dared to think o f dec l aring themse l ves thus

agreed Reivers prompt ly

I see
Toppy was l ookin g b l and ly at the roo f
but his mind was working busily

Just w hy do you give me charge o f this hole

Rei v ersif you don t m ind my asking ? Isn t it rather
an unusua l honour f o r a green hand to be put over a

crew l ike this P

Unusua l ! Oh how beast l y bana l O f you Trep

Sure l y you didn t

lin ! l aughed Reivers care l essly
expe ct me to do the usual th ing did you ? Y o u say
you want to l earn how to handle a camp like t h is
You re an interesting sort o f creature an d I d l ike to
see you work out in the game o f handling men so I
ve
you
thi
s
chance
Oh
I
ll
do
great
things
for
you
i
g
Treplin be f ore I m done with you ! You can imag

ine a l l that I v e got in store for you

The smi l e vanished and he turned away H e w as
through w ith this incident too
Without another
word or l ook at Toppy he went back to the stockade
.

The Snow Bu rner

2
9

his mind a l ready busy with some other proj e ct

Toppy stood looking a fter him until Reivers broad
back disappeared around the corner o f the stockade

No you clever devil ! he muttered

I can t im ag
ine But whatever it is I promise I l l hand it back
to you with a l ittle interest o r furnish a j ob for a

pick and shove l

He walked S l owly back t o the bl acksmith shop He
was gl ad to be le ft alone Though he had permit
ted no S ign o f it to escape him Toppy had been e n
raged and sickened at what he had seen in the stock
ade H e admitted to h imsel f that it w as not the
fact that men had been disabl ed and crippled nor
the b rutal rules that had govern ed nor that men had
been exposed to death at the hands O f others be fore
his eyes that had sti rred him so It w asReivers
Re ivers sitting up there on the tabl e playing with
men s bodies and l i v es as w ith so man y cardsReiv
ers the dominant lord over his fe l lows
The v eins swelled i n T o ppy s big neck as he thought
and his hitherto good natured face took
o f Reivers
o n a scow l that might have become some ancestral
man -c aptain in the days o f mace and mai l but which
never be fore had f ound room o n T Oppy s countenance
not even when the opposing hal f backs were gu ilt y
But he w as p l aying another game now
o f s l ugging
an older o ne a er ce r o ne and o ne which called to
him as noth ing had called be fore It was the man
game now ; and out there i n the o l d stern forest
spurred by the chal l enge o f the man w ho w as his natu
ra l enemy the primitive ghting man in Toppy shook
e ducation and
o ff the restraint with which breeding
l iving had cumbered him and stood o u t in a fashion
that would hav e shocked To ppy s friends ba ck East
Near the shop he met Miss P earson B y her man
.

H e ll C amp
-

C ou rt

93

ner he saw that she had be en waiting for him but

Toppy merely raised his cap and made to pass on

M r Treplin !
There was astonishment at his
rudeness i n her exclamation

?
Well
said Toppy

P
Your ankle

Oh yes P ardon me for not expressing my thanks

be fore
It s al most wel lthanks t o you and M r

Reivers
She made a slight S hrink ing movement and stood
looking at him for a moment She opened her l ips
but no words came

Old S cotty to l d me about y our kindness in com

ing to see me you and Mr Reivers together said

Toppy
It was a relie f to l earn that your condence

i n Reivers was j ustied

She looked up quickly straight into his e y es A
troubled l ook swept over her face Then w ith a toss
o f the head she turned and crossed the road and
Toppy swung on his wa y to the room in the rear o f
the shop and c l osed the door behind him w ith a v i
c io u s s l am
,

CHA P TER XII

T O FFY S

FIR S T M O V E

EXT morning in th e cold stil l ness which pre

cedes the coming o f daylight in the North
Toppy stood leaning on his axe handle cane and
watched his crew o f a dozen men le out o f the stock
ade gate and tu rn toward the stone quarry The y
walked w ith the driven air o f prisoners going to pun
ish
m ent
In the darkness their squat shape l ess g
ures were scarce ly human Their heads hung their
steps were l ist l ess as i f they had j ust completed a
hard day s work instead o f having arisen from a
hearty break fast
The complete lack o f S piri t evin ced by the men irri
Was Reivers right a fter al l ? Were
t at ed Toppy
they nothing but c l ods undeserv ing o f fair and in
t el l igent treatment ?

Hey ! Wake up there ! You l ook l ike a bunch

O f corpses Show some l i fe ! cried Toppy in whom

the bitter morning ai r w as sending the red blood
tingl ing
The men did not raise their heads They quick
ened their stumbling steps a little as a heavy horse
S hambles forward a l ittle under the whip One or
two looked back beyond where Toppy w as walking
at the side o f the line Treplin with curiosit y fo l
l owed their gl ances A grim l ipped shotgu n guard
w ith a hideous hawk nose had emerged from the dark
ness and with his short barr e ll ed weapon in the c rook
,

94

To p p y

Fi rst M o v e

95

o f his arm w as follow i ng the l ine at a distance o f

fty or sixty feet Toppy hal ted abruptly SO did
the guard

What s the idea P demanded Toppy

Rei v ers
send you P

Y
es said the guard gr u fy

Does it take two o f us to make this gang work ?

Toppy was irritated Reivers he knew would have
handled the gang alone

The boss sent me sai d the guard with a na l it y

that i ndicated that f or h im that ended the d iscus
s ron
The day l ight now came wanly up the gap made
in the forest by the brawling river and the men stood
irreso l ute be fore the quarry and peered up anxi ousl y
at the roo f o f the pit

Grab you r too l s said Toppy

Get in there and

get to it
The men some o f them taking picks and crowbars
some wheelbarrows were soon ready to begin the
day s work But there was a hitch somewhere The y
stood at the entrance to the pit and did not go in
They l ooked up at the threatening roo f ; then the y
l ooked anxiously p l eadingly at Toppy But Topp y
w as thinking savagely o f how Reivers would have
handled the gang alone and he pai d no attention

Get in there ! he roared

Come o n ; get to

work !
Accustomed to bein g dri v en they responded at once
to his command Between two fears feaf o f the drop
ping rocks and f ear o f the man over them the y em
The guard
t er ed the quarry and began the day s work
took up a position on a slight eminence where he was
a l ways in plain S ight o f the men whether in the cave
or wheeling the rock out to the dam
He he l d hi s
n
u
co nstant ly in the ho ll ow o f his arm like a hunter
g
.

'

The Snow Bu rner

6
9

Ten minutes a fter the rst crowbar had c l anged

agai nst rock in the q uarry there was a rumbling sound
a crash a scream ; and the men came scrambl ing o u t
in terror Their rush stopped abruptl y j ust outside
the cave Toppy was standing direct ly be fore them ;
the man w ith the gun had noisily cocked his weapon
and brought the black barre l to bear on the heads
Hal f o f them s l unk at once ba ck into
o f the men
th e cave One o f the others he l d up a b l eeding hand
to Toppy

Ah p l eess bahss pleess he p l eaded Ro ck kil l

us next t ime Pl eess bahss
There was a moment o f si l en c e while Toppy l oo ked
at the men s terror stricken faces The shot gun guard
ratt l ed the s l ide o n his gun The men began to r e
treat into the cave thei r help l essness and hope l essness
writ la rge upon th eir at faces

Ho l d o n there ! said Toppy sudden l y A fter all

a f el l ow cou l dn t d o things l ike thatd rive help l ess
cattle l ike these t o certain inj ury e v en possibl e death
I ll take a look i n there
He hobbled and shou l dered his way through the men
and ente red the pit A few rocks had dropped from
the roo f l uckily falling in a far corner be y ond where
the men were working But Toppy saw at once how
serious this petty accident w as ; for the whole roo f
and as sure as the
o f the ca v e no w w as l oosened
men pounded and pried at the rocks beneath the y
wou l d bring a S hower o f stone down u p on their heads

Like rats i n a trap he thought

Hi ! he call ed

Get out o f here Get out !

D own near the dam he had noti ced a huge pi l e
o f o l d t imbers whi ch probabl y had been used for pil
ing whi l e the dam w as being put in Thither he now
led his men and shou l dering the l argest piece him
sel f he hobbl ed ba ck to the c av e f oll owed by the gang

The Snow Bu rner

8
9

f ai l ed

S l avs

he wou l d hav e dared to

use his gun ; they were his inferiors A gainst Toppy
he did not dare e v en SO much as to think o f the
weapon and without it he w as on l y a j ai l rat a f raid
o f men w ho l ooked him in the eye s

The boss sent me here he said Su ll enl y

Toppy l eaned forward unti l his face was cl ose to
the guard s The man shrank

Du ck ! said Toppy That w as all The guard

moved away with an alacrit y that showed how u nco m
f o r t abl e the spot had become to him

You ll hea r a bout thi s ! he whined f rom a di s~

tance
A nd Toppy l aughed l aughed care l essly and l oudl y
rampant w ith the sensation o f power The men scur
r y ing past with barrows o f rock
noted the retreat
o f the guard and smi l ed They l ooked up at Toppy
with s l avish admiration as l esser men look up to
the c hampion w ho has triumphed be fore their e y es
On e o r two o f the older men raised thei r hats as the y
passed him their O l d Wor l d ser f l ike w ay o f show
ing how they f e l t toward him

Jump ! ordered Toppy gru i y

Get a mo v e on

there ; make up that l ost time

Reivers had said that a hundred barrows an hour
must be dumped into the dam With a ha l f hour
l ost in shoring up the roo f there were f ty l oads to
be caught up during the day i f the average w as to
be maintained Care f ully timing each load and keep
ing ta ll y f or ha lf an hour Toppy saw that a hundred
loads per hour w as the l imit o f h is gang working
at a normal pac e To get out the hundred l oads they
must keep steadi l y at work with no time l ost because
o f the falling rocks from above
He began to see the method o f Reivers apparent
madness in p l acing him in charge o f the gang: W i th
Against the

To p p y

Fi rs t M o v e

99

the gang working in the dead terrori sed f a shion that

had characteri sed thei r movements be f ore the tim
bers were in p l ace Toppy knew that he wou l d have
fai l ed ; he c ould not have got out the hundred l oad s
pe r hour Reivers would hav e prov ed him to be his
inferior ; for Reivers with his inhumanity wou l d have
driven the gang as i f no l i v es nor l im b s hung o n the
tissue
Toppy s miled gri m l y as he l ooked at his wat ch and
marked new gu res on the tal l y S heet The men piti
f u l ly grate fu l for the protecting timbers had taken
hold o f their work w ith such new li fe that the ro ck
w as going into the dam at the rate o f one hundred and
twenty l oads an hour

Move numbe r one ! muttered Toppy snapping

S hut his wat ch I wonder what the Snow Burner s

come ba ck wi ll be when he knows H ey you rough

necks ! Keep moving there ; keep moving !

The men responded cheer ful l y t o his e v ery com
mand They c ould gladly obey his w i l l ; they were
sa fe under him ; he had taken care o f them the help
l ess ones That e v en ing when they led back into
the stockade under To ppy s watch ful eye one o f the
older men a swarthy old f el l ow with l arge brass rings
in his ears sank his hat low as he passed in

Buna nop te D omnul e he said humbly

W hat did he say ? demanded Toppy o f one o f

the young men w ho knew a l ittle English

w as the rep l y
P l ees bahss O l d man he Magyar

H e say Good night master

Toppy stood dum founded whi l e the line passed
through the gate

Well he said wi t h a grin what do you know

about that ?
,

CHA P TER XIII

R

EIVERS REP LI ES

EIVER S did not come to the shop that night for

his evening diversion nor did Topp y see him
at all during the next day But in the morning fol ~
lowing he saw that Reivers had taken cognizance in
his own peculiar w ay o f To ppy s action in driving
the shotgun guard away f rom the quarry A S the
line o f rock men l ed out o f the stockade in the chil l
hal f l ight Toppy saw that the best worker o f his gang
a cheer fu l stocky man called M ika l w as missing In
his place walking with the success fu l plug u gly s in
so l ent swagger was none other than B il l Sheed y the
appointed trouble maker o f Hell Camp ; and Topp y
knew that Rei v ers had made another mo v e i n hi s tan
t al ising game
He went hot despite the r aw c hi l liness at the thought
Reivers w as playing w ith him too p l aying even
o f it
as he had played with Rosky ! And Toppy knew that
l ike Rosky the Snow Burner had selected him too
to b e crushedto be marked as an in ferior to be
made t o acknowledge Reivers as hi s master
Reivers had read the challenge which was in To p
py s eyes and had with his cold smile o f complete
condence and c ontempt taken up the gauge The
substitut ion o f Bill Sheedy Reivers pet trouble
maker for an e ff ective workman was a denite move
toward To pp y s humiliation
There was nothing in Toppy s manner however

I OO

The Snow Bu rner

know it it s al l right !

1 02

Yah
he sp l uttered

I f it ain t I d
soon make it all right

Sure said Toppy and without looking toward

B il l he hurried into the quarry to see how the timbers
were standing the strain B ill stood puzzled He had
blu ffed the straw boss sure enough ; but still the thing
wasn t entirely satis f actory The boss didn t seem to
care whether he worked or whether he l oafed B il l
re fused to be treated w ith such l itt l e c onsideration
He was O f more importance than that

Hey you ! he called as Toppy emerged from the

pit
I m going to whee l r o ck down to the dam that s
what I m going tuh do Go ing to whee l it ; but yuh
ain t goin tuh make me go in there and dig it See ?

I m going t o wheel rock

N ow for the rst time Toppy seemed t o c onsider
B il l

What makes yo u think you are P he said quiet l y

H e was l ooking at his watch but Bil l noticed that
i n spite o f his sore ankle and cane the boss had man
aged t o move near t o him in un cannily swi f t fashion

You know you can t work here now Toppy con

tinned be f ore B i l l s thi ck wits had framed an answer

You won t go into the quarry so I can t use you

Bi ll stared as i f bere ft o f all o f hi s facu l ties The
He
bo sshad s l ipped h is wat ch ba ck into his po cket
had turned away

Can t u se mecan t
S ay ! Who says I can t
work here P roared Bi ll shaking his sts He w as
standing on the p l ank on which the wheelbarrows were
rolled out o f the ca v e b l o ck ing the w ay o f the men
with the rst l oads o f the day

Look out Bil l l said Toppy so ft l y turning around

Insti nctively Bil l threw up his guardt hrew it up
to guard his j aw Top py s l e ft drove into his solar
plexus so hard that B i ll seemed to be moulded o n to

R e iv ers R ep l i es

1 03

hung there unti l he dropped and ro ll ed back

ward o n the ground

Get a l ong there ! commanded Toppy to the whee l

bar r owmen
The way s clear Jump !
Gri nning and snatching glan c es o f ri dicu l e at the
prostrate Sheedy they hurried past They dumped
t heir l oads in the dam and ca me back with empty
barrows and sti ll Sheedy l ay there like a dumped
grain sack t o one side o f their path The at faces
o f the men cracked w ith grins as the y l ooked w o r
ip fu lly at Toppy
sh

Jump ! said he
Get a move on you rough

necks l
And they grinned more w idely in S heer de l ight at
hi s rough ordering
B ill Sheedy lay for a l ong time as he had fa l len
The b l ow he had stopped would have done for a pugi
l ist in good condition and Sheed y s midri ff w as so ft
and fat Final ly he raised h is head and looked around
Such surprise and wobegoneness S howed in hi s ex
pression that the grinning S l avs l aughed outright at
him Bi ll s l owly came to a s itting posture and drew
a hand across his puzz l ed brow while he looked du l ly
at the l aughing men and at Toppy Then he remem
bered and he dropped his eyes

Get on your way B i l l said Toppy c asua l ly

If
you re not abl e to walk I l l have hal f a dozen o f the

men he l p you You re through here

B il l lurched unsteadily to his feet and staggered
away a few steps That terric punch and the iron
ca l m manner o f the man w ho had dealt it had scared
him H is rst thought w as to get out o f reach ; his
S e c ond one of anger at the Bohunks w ho dared to
l augh at him B il l Sheedy the ghting man !
But the fashion in which the men laughed took the
ner v e out o f Bil l They were l aughing contemp t u
th
e st ,

The Snow Bu rner

1 04

o u sl y

at him ; they looked down upon him ; they were

no longer a fraid And there were a dozen o f them
and they laughed together ; and Bill Sheed y knew that
his days as camp bull y were over The straw boss
w a s looking at him coldly and Bil l moved farther
away Fi fteen minutes later the straw boss w ho had
apparently been oblivious o f hi s presence swung
around and said abruptl y :

What s the matt er B il l ? Why don t you go back

to Reivers P
B ill s grow l ed rep l y c ontained severa l indistin ct but
denitely pro fane characterisations of Reivers

I can t go back to him Sheedy said sullen ly

Why not P laughed Treplin

He s your friend
?
isn t he
He l et you keep the money you d sto l en

and a l l that

Keep
grow l ed S heedy
He s got that him
se l f Made me make him a present o f it o r or he d
turn me o v er f o r a li ttle trouble I had down in

Duluth
Toppy sti ff ened and l ooked at him care ful ly

Te l ling the tru th B ill ?

replied Sheedy
He don t make no
Ask him
bones about it ; he gets something on you and then

he gra fts o n you til l you re dr y

Toppy stood silent while he assimu l at ed this in
formation
Hi s scrutiny o f Sheed y told him that
the man w as telling the truth He felt grate fu l to
Sheedy ; through him he had got a new light o n
Reivers character light which he knew he could use
later o n

?
Through making an ass o f y oursel f here Bill he
asked briskly B il l s answer was to hang his head
in a way that showed how thoroughly all the ght
was taken out O f him

Al l ri ght then ; grab a whee l barrow and get into

.

C H A PT E R

XIV

O ! ER A ND DEU C ES WI LD

H EN Toppy went back to the shop that e v en

ing he found o l d Campbell cooking the evening

mea l with only his right hand in use the l e ft being
wrapped in a neat b andage

That s what comes o f l eaving me without a helper

gru mbled the S cot as Toppy looked enquiringly at the

inj ured hand

I maun have y e back l ad ; I wil l not
be knocking my hands t o pieces doing two men s work
to p l ease any man An d y et
he cocked his head

o n o ne S ide and l ooked fondly at the bandage

I
dunno but what twas worth it I m an au l d man and

it s l ong S in I had a prett y l ass make fuss over me

What P snapped Toppy

Oh go o n with ye lad teased S cotty holding the

bandage up for his admiration

Can not y ou see
that I m by nature a f av r it e with the l adies ? Yon
lass in the o f c e sewed this bandage on m y o ld meat
hook

D oes it hurt M r Campbe ll ? says She Not

as mu c h as something that s heavy on my mind l ass

P
M r Reivers and
says I
What s that she sa y s
you l ass says I ; and I to l d her as we ll as an o l d
man can te ll a l ass who s l itt l e more than a chi l d j ust

what the Snow Burn er is

I can t belie v e it sa y s

He s a gent l eman
More s the pity I say s
sh
e

That s what makes him dangerous

Were y ou not

Yes She says Tell

a f ra id o f h
im at rst P says I
,

I 06

Jok er and D eu c es Wi l d
as you woul d your w n father says

1 07

o
me honest
I are
you not a fraid o f him now P

With that She gave me a look like a l ittle fawn

that has sme l led the wol f circ l ing round it but she

wil l not answer

He can t be what you say he i s

S he says trembling Lass says I a week ago you

wou l d never have believed it possible that you d ever
w ish aught to do w ith him Now you wa l k with him
and ta l k with him and smi l e when he d oes
A nd
I told her o f Tilly

It s not so say s S he
It can t be so
Mr
Reivers is a gentleman not a b r ute H e s too strong

and ne says S he for such conduct

And the band
age being done I was dismissed w ith a toss o f the head
Aye aye l ad ; but twas ne to have her l itt le ngers
sewing away around my old hand Yon s a ne sweet
l ass ; but I f ear me Rei vers has set his wi ll to w in
her
Toppy made no reply Campbe ll s words aroused
onl y one emotion i n hima fresh are o f anger
against Rei v ers For it was Reivers and his strength
and dominance t hat was responsibl e Toppy a l read y
was sorry for the swi ft j udgment that he had passed
on the gi r l o n Sunday and f or the rudeness which
i n his anger he had displayed toward her He knew
now the power that lay in Reivers wi l l the calm
compe ll ing re that lurked i n his eyes
Men quailed be fore those e y es and did thei r bid
ding And a girl a l itt l e gir l who must naturall y
feel grate fu l toward him for her position c ou l d hardly
be expected t o resist the Snow Burner s undeniable
fascinations Why should she ? Reivers was eve ry
~
thing that women were drawn to in men
kingl ike in
his power o f mind and body striking in appearance
success fu l in whatever he sought to do
It w as inevi table that the gi rl shoul d fall under hi s
,

'

The Snow Bu rner

1 08

spe l l but the thought o f it sent a chi ll up To ppy s

spine as from the thought O f something monstrous
He raged inwardly as he remembered how cl earl y the
gir l had l et him see his own insignicance in her es
She had re fused
t im at io n c ompared with Reivers
to belie v e Campbel l ; Toppy knew that she would r e
fuse t o l isten to him i f he tried to w arn her against
Reivers
The fashion in which he S lammed the supper dishes
on the table brought a protest from S cott y

D inna be so strong with the dishes l ad ; they re not

iron sai d he

You tend to your c ooking grow l ed Toppy

I ll

set this tab l e

Campbel l paused with a S poon in midair and gaped
at him in astonishment
He opened his mouth to
speak but the black scow l o n To pp y s brow checked
his tongu e Si l ent l y he turned to his cooking He
had seen that he w as no l onger boss in the room be
hind the S hop
After supper C ampbe ll brought forth a deck o f
cards and began to play solitaire Toppy threw him
sel f upon his bunk and lay in the darkness w ith his
trou bl esome thoughts
An unmistakable step out
s ide the door brought him to his feet for he had an
instinctive dis l ike to meeting Reivers save face to
face and standing up Reivers came in without speak
ing and shut the door behind him He stood with
his hand o n the kno b and l ooked o v er at Toppy and
S hook
his head

Trep l in how c ou l d yo u disappoint me so ? he

asked mockingl y
A fter I had reposed such co n
dence in you too ! I m sorel y disappointed in you
I never l ooked f or you to be a vi ctim o f the teach

at

n
d

d
e
!
ings o f weak men and I n
gods
I
th
y

you re a humanitarian !

The Snow Bu rner

1 10

a drink Campbe ll with his back toward Reiver s

paused w ith a card i n his hand Topp y yawned and
dropped into a c hair from which he could watc h Camp
be ll s game

But that s none o f my b usiness he sai d as i f

dropping the subj e ct

There s a chance f or your

black queen S cotty

Reivers poured himse l f his tumbl er ful l o f Scotch
whiskey drew up a third chair to the tab l e and sat
down across from Toppy The l atter apparentl y was
absorbed in watching Campbell s solitaire
Reivers
took a l ong c ontented sip o f his ery tipp l e and
smiled p l easant l y

You turned l oose an i dea there Treplin he said

But can y ou make your premise stand argument ?

Are you sure that the Torta bo y s are the ones who
have a right to that ninety-eight dollars ? On what
grounds do you gi v e them the exclusive tit l e t o t he

mone y ?

It s thei rs Bil l sto l e it f rom them Y o u said he

did That s a ll I know about it said Toppy s c arcely

raising h is eyes from the cards

Why do you say i t was theirs Treplin P persisted

Rei v ers smilingl y

Merel y because the y had it in
thei r possession ! Isn t that so ? You don t know
ho w they c ame by it but because the y had it in their
possession you sp eak o f it as t heirs Very well B i ll
Sheedy took it away f rom them It was in hi s pos
session so f ol l owing your l ine o f l ogi c i t w as his
for a sho r t whi l e

I took it from B i ll It s in my possession now

There f ore i f your premise is S ound the money is
mine Why Trep l in I m real l y obliged to you f or
furnishing me such a cl ear title to my loot It w as

He
ah be gi nning t o trouble my cons c ien ce
.

'

l aughed

Jok er and D eu c es Wi l d
sudden l y pun ctuating his l aughter
,

111

w i th a

blow o f his st on the table

Al l rot Treplin ; al l S il l y sophist r y which weak

men have b ui l t up to prote ct themse l ves from the
strong ! The in fern al lie that because a man is in
possession o f a c ertain thing it is hi s to the exclusion
P roperty ri ghts ! I ll tell
o f the rest o f the world !
you the truthw hy this money is m ine w hy I m the
one who has the rea l tit l e t o it I was able to take
it and I am abl e to keep i t There s the natura l l aw
o f proper ty rights Trep l in
What d o you say to

that P

Fine ! l aughed Toppy throwing up hi s hands in

surrender
You bowl me over Reivers The money

i s yours ; and
he gl anced at the cards
and i f
you and I shou l d play a l ittle game o i_ poker j oker
and deuces wi l d and I should take it away f rom you

it would be mine ; and there you are

The words had slipped ou t o f him apparently with
o u t any aim ; but Toppy saw b y the sudden glance
w hich Reivers dropped to the cards that the gambling
hunger in the Snow Burner had been awakened

Joker and deuces w i l d be repeated as i f fasci

nat ed
Yes that ought to he l p make a two -handed

game fast
The who l e manner o f the man seemed for the mo
me nt changed For the rst time since Toppy had
met h im he seemed t o be seriously interested P r e
when he pla y ed w ith the l ives and bodies
vio u sly
hi s
o f men or devil l ed their minds with h is wiles
i nterest had never been deeper than that o f a man
wh
o plays to keep himsel f from being bored
He was
the master in a ll such a ff airs ; they could furnish
h im at thei r best but an id l e sort o f interest But
not even the S now Burner was master o f the inscr u t a
bl e l aws o f Chan c e Nor w as he master o f himse lf
.

The Snow Bu rner

were ippin g be fore his e y es

1 12

when cards
Toppy had
guessed right ; Reivers had a weakness and it was

to be card crazy

Get over there on that other tabl e with your so l i

taire Campbe l l ! he ordered H e reached into Camp

bell s l iquor cabinet and drew out a fresh pack o f

cards which he tossed to Toppy

You started some

thing M r Humanitarian he continued c l earing the

tabl e
Open the deck and cut for deal Then S how
me what you ve got to stack up against this ninety

eight do l lars
And he S l apped a w ad o f c rump l ed
b il l s on the tabl e
Toppy nonchalant l y rea ched into his po ckets Then
he grinned The two twent y dollar bills which he had
paid the agent b a ck in Rai l Head f or the privile ge
o f hi ring o u t to Hell C am p were a l l the money he
had with him H e w as broke H e debated with him
sel f a moment then unhooked his cost ly watch f rom
the chain and pushed it across to Reivers

You can sell that for ve hundred if you w in it

he said
I l l p lay it even against your ninety e ight
bucks Give me fort y-nine to start w ith I f y ou w in
them gi ve me fo rty nine more and the watch i s yours

Right P

Right said Reivers keeping the wat ch and d i

V i ding his ro ll with Top py Dol lar j ack pots tabl e

stakes Dea l em up
Toppy l ost ten dol l ars o n the rst hand a l most be
f ore he real ised that the game had begun He called
Reivers bet and had three f ours and noth in g e l se
in hi s hand
Reivers had two o f the wild deuces
and a king Toppy shook his head like a pugilist
c l earing his wits a fter a kno ckdown Wh y had he
cal l ed ? He knew his three fours weren t good H is
card sense had told him so H e had called against
h is j udgment Why ?
.

The Snow Bu rner

1 14

Your money now Treplin

laughed Rei v ers

Unti l somebody takes it away from you

But there was a new note in his laughter He had
been beaten and hi s i rritation showed in his l aughter
and in the manner in whi ch a fter he had taken an
other big drink o f whiskey he paused in the door
w ay as he made t o l eave

Great l u ck Treplin ; great l uck with ca rds you

have ! he said l aughingl y

Too bad your l uck ends
there i sn t it ? What s that paraphrase o f the o l d

?
Lu cky w ith cards un l ucky with women
saw

Good night Treplin

H e went o ut l aughing as a man l aughs when he
has a j oke o n the other f e l low

W hat did he mean by that ? asked Campbe ll

puzz l ed

I don t know sai d Toppy But he knew now that

T illy had to l d Reivers o f his ta l k with Miss P earson
the rst evening in camp and that Rei v ers had sav ed
it up against h im

CH A PT E R XV
TH E

OF

WA Y

TH E

SNO W BU RN ER
-

N the morning be fore the time for beginning the

day s work Toppy went t o the st o ckade ; and with
one o f his English spe aking Slavs acting an inter
preter hunted up the Torta brothers and returned to
them the sto l en mone y which he had won from Reiv
e rs
He did not consider it necessary t o go into
th
e f u ll details o f how the mone y came to be in
his po ssession or attempt to explain the prej udice
o f hi s kind against kee ing sto l en goods

eed y gave up the money and

Just tell them that
that it s thei rs again ; and the y d better hide it in

their shoes so they won t l ose it he dire cted the

interpreter
Whereat the l atter a ga r ru l ous young man w ho
had been tel l ing the camp a ll about the wonder fu l

new bahss in the quarrya bahss who saved

men s l iveswhenever he could get an y one to l isten
broke forth into a wonder fu l tale o f how the mone y

came t o be retu rned and o f the wonderfu l bahss

that stood be fore them whom they shou l d all take
o ff their caps to and worship

For this w as no ordinary man this bahss

No
he w as far above a ll other men It w as an honour
to work under him For instance as to this mone y :

the bahss had heard how the red haired oneSheedy

had stolen how he oppressed many poor men and
broke the noses o f those w ho dared to stand up against
him
,

1 15


Snow Bu rner

The

1 16

The bahss had the interests o f poor men at heart

What had he done ? He had struck the red haired one
su ch a m ighty bl o w in the stomach that the red haired
one had own high in the ai r and alighting on the
ground had been moved b y the fear o f death and dis
gorged the stolen money that hi s c onscien c e might be
easy
The story o f how Toppy had propped up the roo f
o f the stone quarry and saved the limbs and p o s
sibly lives o f hi s workmen ; how he had driven the
shotgun gu ard away and how he had smitten Sheedy
and laid him l ow be fore al l men had circu l ated
through the camp by this time Everybody knew that
the new straw boss though fully as big and stron g
as the Snow Burner himsel f was a man who co n
Sid er ed the men u nder him as something more than
catt l e and treated them accordingl y True he drove
men hard ; but they went willingly for him whereas
under the Snow Burner they hurried merel y because
o f the chill fear that h is e y es drove into their hearts
In short Toppy was j ust such a boss as all men wished
strong but j ust rm but not in
t o work under
human
Even Sheedy w as l oya l to him

H e l aid me out a l l right he grumb l ed to a group

white men
but give him credit for it he give
of
me a chanct to get up me guard There won t be
any breaking yer bones when y uh ain t lookin from
him And he wouldn t gr a ft on yuh ei ther H e s

right That other

he he ain t human
The fact that he had been humane eonu gh and
daring enough to prop up the roo f o f the quar r y

had no e ff ect o n the white men toward developing

a respect for Toppy They despised the S lavs t oo
thoroughly to be conscious o f an y brotherhood with
them But that he cou l d put Bi l l Sheedy away with

The Snow B u rne r

118

him o f a strange breeding the sense o f it was mu ch

the same as that he had known at school when a
sweater thrown across hi s huge shoulders he had
p l oughed his way through the groups o f worshipping
undergrads on to the gridiron
It was much the
same here Men l ooked up to him They nudged
one another as they passed l owered thei r voi ces when
he was near studied him appraisingly Toppy had
felt it be fore too o ften to be mistaken ; and the y outh
in his veins responded warmly The respect o f these
men was a harder thing to win than the other He
thought o f how he had arrived in camp shak y from
Harvey Duncombe s champagn e with no purpose in
l i fe no standing among men who were doing men s
work Grimly also he t hought o f how M iss Pearson

that rst evening had called him a nice bo y

Would
e call him that now he wondered
i f S he could see
sh
how t hese rough tried men l ooked up to him ? Would
Reivers treat him as a thing to experiment with a fter
this ?
Thus it was a considerably e l ated Toppy though
not a big headed one who led his men out o f the
stock ade to the quarryto the blow that Reivers
had waiting for him there H is rst hint that some
thing was wrong was when the foremost men w his
tling and tool laden made for the pit in the rst gr e y
l ight o f day and paused with exc l amations and curses
at its very mouth
Others crowded around them
They l ooked within Then with fal l en j aws the y

turned and l ooked to the bahss for an explanation

for he l p
Top y shou l dered his w ay through the press and
steppe inside Then he saw what had halted hi s
men and made their faces turn white To the last sti ck
the shoring timbers had been removed from the pit
and the roo f threatening and sharp edged hung read y
,

Way

he Snow Bu rner 1 1 9
workmen be l ow as it had b e f ore Toppy

The

of t

drop o n the
had wrought a change
The daylight came creeping up the river and a wind
be gan to blow S o still w as it there be fore the pit
mouth that Toppy was conscious o f these things as
he stepped outside The men were standing about
with thei r wheelbarrows and tools in thei r hands
They looked to him H is was the mind and will t o
determine what they should do They depended upon
h im ; they trusted h im ; they wou l d obey his word
c ondently
Toppy fe l t a co l d sweat breaking out on h is fore
head He wanted to take o ff his cap to bare hi s
head to the chil l morning wind to draw his hand
across h is eyes to do something to ease himse l f and
gather his wits H e did none o f these things The
instinct o f leadership arose strong w ith in him H e
c ould not S how these men who l ooked up to him as
thei r unquestioned leader that he had been dea l t a blow
that had taken the master y from him
For Toppy in that agonised second when he gl anced
up at the unsupported roo f and knew what those loose
rocks meant to an y men working beneath rea l ised
that he could not drive his men in there to certain
inj ury f or many possibl y death for some It wasn t
in him He wasn t bred that way The un feeling
brute had been removed fro m h is big body and spi rit
by generations o f men and women who had played
fai r with inferiors and by a l i fetime o f training and
education
H e understood plain l y the signicance o f the thing
R eivers had done it ; no o ne else would have dared
He had li fted Toppy up to a tiny elevation above the
other men in camp ; now he was knocking him down
It w as another way for Reivers to S how his mastery
The men who ha d be gu n to l ook up to Toppy wou l d
to

The Snow Bu rner

ea i l y the Snow Burner could show him

12 0

now see ho w s
sel f his superior M iss P earson would hear o f it

He would appear in the l ight o f a nice bo y whom

the Snow Burn er had play ed w ith
These thoughts ran through T opp y s mind as he
stood outside the pit with his white faced men look
ing up to him and groped for a wa y out o f his di
lemma Within he was sickened wi th the sense o f a
catastrophe ; outside he remained calm and condent
to the eye He stepped farther out to where he could
see the end o f the dam where he had secured the props
for the roo f It was as he had expected ; the big pile
o f timbers that had lain there was gone to the last
stick H e turn ed s l owl y back and then i n the grey
light o f coming day he looked into the play fully smil
i ng face o f Rei v ers w ho had emerged it seemed
from nowhere

Looking for your human itarian props Treplin P

l aughed the Snow Burne r Oh the y re gone ; they re

valuable ; they served a purpose whi ch nothing else
s
o
would ll
u
ite
convenientl y I used them for a
q
corduroy road in the swamp Between men and ti m

bers Treplin always save y our timbe rs

H is man
ner changed l ike a ash to one hurried and business

like
What re you waiting for P he snarl ed
Wh y
don t you get em i n there ? Mean to sa y y ou re wast
ing company mone y because one o f these cattle might

get a broken ba ck P
They looked each other f u l l in the eyes but Toppy
knew that f or the time being Reivers had the whip
hand

I mean t o S ay j ust that he sa i d evenly

I m not
sending any men in there until I get that roo f propped

up again

Bah !
Reivers disgust was genu i ne
I thought
-

The Snow Bu rne r

12 2

the s l ightest chance for success i f he essayed dean c e

at even the slightest disadvantage
Choking back as wel l as he cou l d the anger that
welled up within him he made his way swi ftl y to
the bla ck smith S hop
Campbel l bending over the
anvil greeted Toppy cheerily as he heard the hea vy
t read behind him

The Snow Burner promised he d send yo u here

and
Losh mon he gasped as he turned around

and saw Top py s face

What s come o er ye ? Y ou

l ook
l
ike you re ripe for murder

There l l probably be murder done i n this camp be

f ore the day s over but I won t do it replied Toppy

A s he threw o ff his mackinaw preparatory to sta rt
ing work he snapped out the story o f the situation at
the quarry Campbel l l eaning on his hammer grew
grim o f lips and eyes as he listened

Aye ; I thought at the time it were better f or you

had ye lost at poker l as t night he said slow ly

He s
taking revenge But the y wi ll put out hi s l ight f o r
h im Hum an esh and b l ood won t stand it The
S now Burner goes too far He l l
Hark ! Good

Heavens ! Hear that !

For a moment they stood near the open doo rwa y
o f th e shop staring at one another i n horried mute
questioning The crisp sti ll ness o f the morning rang
and echoed with the sharp roar o f a shotgun The
sound came from the directi on o f the quar r y Across
the street they heard the door o f the o fce buildin g
O pen sharply The gi rl without hat or coat her l i ght
hair ying about her head came running l ike a deer
t o the door o f the shop

M r Campbe ll M r Campbe ll ! she c al l ed trem

Then she saw Toppy
bl ingl y peering inside

Oh ! she gasped S he started b a ck a l itt l e There

.

The W a y

f th
e Snow B u rn e r

123

were surprise and re l ie f in her exc l amation in her

e yes
in her movement

I was a fraidI thought maybe

S
he drew

away f rom the door in con fusion

I onl y wanted

t o know
to know what that noise w as
But Toppy had stepped outside the shop and f ol
l owed cl osely a fter her

Wh at did you think it w as M iss P earson P he

asked
What were you a f raid o f when y ou heard
That something had happened between
t hat shot ?

P
R eivers
and mysel f

I I meant to wa r n you
great ly us
sh
e said

r
d
Til
l
y
told
me
al
l
about
te e
a lot o f things last
n ight S he told me that S he had told Reivers al l S he
heard you say to me that rst night here and that
he M r Reivers S he said was your enemy and that

he would wou l d sure l y hurt you

,

Y es ?

I didn t want to see you get hurt because I felt

it was because o f me that you came here II don t

want any one hurt because o f me

That s a l l ? he asked
She l ooked surpri sed

Why yes
Toppy nodded curt l y

Then Tilly told you that M r Rei v ers had a habit

o f hurting peop l e P
At this the red in her cheeks rose to a ush Her
bl ue eyes l ooked at hi m waveringly then dropped to
the ground

It isn t true ! I t can t be true ! she stammered

Di d Ti ll y tel l youabout herse l f ? he persisted

m erci l essly
The next instant he wished the words unsaid for
She l ooked v er y
e shrank as i f he had struck her
sh
,

The Snow Bu rner

12 4

smal l j ust then H er proud sel f reliant bearin g w as

gone She was ver y much all alone

Yes
The word was scarcel y more than a w his

per and she did n or look up

But itit can not be
so ; I know i t c an not
Toppy was no student o f f eminine psy chology but
he saw plainly that j ust then she was a woman who
d id not wish to believe there fore would not believe
anything ill o f the man who had fascinated her H e
saw that Reivers had fascinated her ; that in spite
o f hersel f She w as drawn toward him dominated b y
him He r mind told her that what she had heard o f
the man w as true but her heart re fused to l et her
believe Toppy S aw that She was v ery unhappy and
troubled and u nsel shl y he forgot himsel f and his
enmit y toward Reivers in a desire to help her

M iss P earson l M iss P earson ! he cried eagerl y

I s there anything I can do f or yo ua nything in

P
the world

Yes S he said slow l y

Te ll me that it i sn t so

what M r Campbel l and Ti ll y have said about M r

Reivers

I
He was about to say that he cou l d d o
nothing o f the sort but something made him halt

Has R eivers broken his word to youabout l eaving

you alone P

No no ! H e she s le ft me al one H e s s c arcel y

S po ken to me hal f a dozen times

Toppy l ooked down at her for several seconds

But you ve b egun to c are f or Reivers hav en t

yo u P he said
The girl looked up at him uncertain l y

I don t know Oh I don t know ! I don t seem

to have any w i ll o f my o w n toward him I seem
to see h im as a di fferent man I know I shou ldn t ;
but I can t he l p it I can help it ! H ehe looks at me
-

12 6

The Snow B u rner

-

A s they r ea ched th river bank

v oice quietly issuing orders

they heard Reivers

You gu ards pick those t w o fe ll ows up and carry

them to thei r bu nks Y o u s cum that s l e f t p i ck up
your tools and dig into that f all en rock Hust l e now !

Get right back to work !

The rst thing that Toppy saw as he turned the
shoulder o f the l edge w as that tw o o f the o l der
Slavs were ly ing groaning on the ground to one side
o f where the pit mouth had been Then he saw W hat
was le ft o f the pit The enti re side o f the l edge had
caved down and where the pit had been w as only a
j umbled p ile of j agged rock Reivers sto od in his
old position be fore the pi l e The hawk nosed S hot
gun guard sto o d up o n the litt l e rise his weapon
ready The remaining workmen were hudd l ed together
be fore the pile o f fallen stone The terror in their
faces was unspeakable They were l ike l ost dri ven
catt l e facing the bu t cher s hammer

Grab those too l s there ! Get at it ! The rock s

right i n front o f you now ! Ge t busy !

Reivers voice in no w ay admitted that anything
startling had occurred H e glared at the cowering men
and in terror the y began hastil y to resume their in ter
r u p t ed work lling their wheelbarrows from the pile
Reivers turned toward Toppy
o f stone be fore them

He ll o Dr
o had bent over the inj ured men
wh

T replin he l aughed l ight l y

A couple o f j obs there
for you t o experiment on Get em out o f heret o
their bunks ; they re in the w ay Patch em up i f you
can I f you can t the y re not much l oss an y how

They re rather o l der than I l ike em

The l ast words came care l ess ly over h is shou l der as
he turned back toward the men w ho were toi l ing at
the rock A string o f cu rses rol l ed co l d l y f rom his li p s
They l eaped to obey him He smi l ed contemptu ous ly

The W a y o f t he Snow Bu rner

12 7

Toppy w as relieved to see that the two men on the

ground were apparent l y not fatal l y hurt With the aid
o f Campbel l and two guards who had run up he
hurried to ha v e the men p l aced i n their bunks in the
stockade One o f the guards p roduced a surgeon s
ki t Toppy ro ll ed up his s l eeves It wasn t as bad as
he had feared it wou l d be apparent l y ; only two in
j u r ed where he had l ooked for some sure ly to be killed
One o f the men was growing faint from loss o f blood
from a wound in his right l eg Toppy tu rning hi s
attention to him rst swi ftly S l it open the trousers
leg and bared the inj ured l imb

?
Whatwhat the devil he cried aghast The
cal f o f the man s leg w as ha l f torn awa y and fro m
knee to ankle the esh was sprink l ed with buckshot
holes

P
They shot yo u he asked as he fashi oned a tour
.

n iq uet

Yes bahass S now Burner say Get t e ll in

there
R ocks fal l ; we no go in Snow Bu rner hold
up hand Man with gun shoot I fal l Other men
go in P retty soon rocks fa l l Other men come out

H e shoot me I no do anything ; he shoot me

Toppy choked back the curse that rose to his lips
dressed the man s wound to the best o f his slight abi l
ity and turned to the othe r who had been caught i n
the cave in o f the quarry roo f H is right l eg and arm
were broken and the S ide was crushed in a way that
suggested broken ribs
Toppy lled a hypodermi c
syringe and went to work to make the two as com fort
abl e as he knew how That was all he could pretend
Yet when he l e ft the stockade it was with a
t o do
fee l ing o f relie f that he l ooked back over the morn
ing The w orst had happened ; the danger to the men
w as over ; and so f ar as Toppy knew the couse
h
h
ad
n
were
represente
in
the
two
m
e
n
w
om
he
e
ces
u
d
q

The Snow Bu rner

w h so far as he cou l d see

12 8

t reated and
were sure to
o
live It hadn t turned o ut as ba dly as he w as a fraid
it would

A s he passed t h
wood
e carpenter shop he saw the

butcher sawing two boards to make a cover for a

long narrow box Toppy looked at him idl y trying
to thi nk O f what such a box could be used for around
the camp It was t oo narrow f or its length to be o f
ordinar y use as a bo x

What are yo u making there P asked Toppy care

l essly

The wood butcher l ooked up f rom his sawing

Didn t you ever see a logging camp co f n P he

asked
We a l ways keep a few ready This one is

for that Bohunk that s down there under the rocks

Under the rocks ! cried Toppy

You don t mean
to say there w as anybody under that cave in

I s yet
One o f em w as
w as the laconi c rep l y
caught way inside Whole roo f o n top o f him Won t

nd him til l the pit s emptied

Toppy struggl ed a moment to speak q uiet l y

Which one was it do you know P he asked

Oh it w as that o l d brown complected fellow

said the carpenter

That o l d Bohunk gu y with the

big rings in his ears

Reivers came to the shop at his customary time i n
the evening nothing in h is manner containing a hint
that anything unusual had happened during the day
H e found a solemn and S i l ent pair for Campbel l had
sought relief from the da y s tragedy in h is customar y
manner and sat in the l ight o f the student l amp steadi ly
r eading his B ib l e while Toppy in a dark corn er sat
w ith his great shou l ders hun ched forward his f o l ded
hands be fore h im and stared at the oor Rei v ers
paused i n the doorway his col d smi l e broadening as
he surv eyed the pair
,

The Snow Bu rner

1 30

man ? Consider the thing intelligentl y instead o f

sentimentally There w as so much rock to go into that
dam in a dayand incidentall y to day nished the
j ob That was a use ful necessary work

For that old man to continue in this li fe w as not

use ful or necessar y He was far down in the order
o f human development ; centuries below y ou and me
Do you think it made the slightest di fference whether
he return ed to the old cosmi c mud whence he came
and from whi ch he had not come far in t o day s
l ittle cave in or in a di rty bed say ten years from
now ?

He accomplished a tin y speck o f use fu l work

through my direction He has gone as the wood w ill
soon be gone that i s heating that stove There was no
spirit t here ; on l y a body that has ceased to stand u p
right And you grow mood y over it ! Well well !

I m more and more disappointed in y ou doctor

Toppy said nothing He was bi ding his time
.

CH A PT ER

! VI

C EW S T IG H T EN

TH E S R

HAT night came the heavy snow for which the

loggers had been waiting and a ru sh o f a cti v ity
followed in Hell Camp The logs which had lain in
the woods for want o f S l eighing now were accessib l e
Fol l owing the snow came hard freezing nights and
the main ice roads which Reivers had dri v en into the
t imber for miles became solid beds o f ice over which
a team could hau l l og loads to the extent o f a carload
weight
It was idea l l ogging weather and the big
camp began to hum
The maste r y o f Reivers once more showed itse lf in
the way i n which he dro v e his great crew at top speed
and beyond The feeling against him on the part o f
the men had risen to silent tight lipped heat as the
news went around o f how the o ld Magy ar with the
ear rings had met his death Each man in camp kn ew
that he might have been in the o l d man s shoes ; each
knew that Reivers anger might fal l o n him next In
th
e tota l o f a hundred and fty men in camp there w a s
probably not one who did not curse Reivers and ra ge
against his rule and there were few who i f the Op
n
i
o
r
t
u
t
had
o
ff
ered
wou
l
d
not
c
heer
fu
l
l
y
have
taken
y
p
his li fe
The fee l ing against h im had unied itse lf Be fore
the men had been spl it into various groups on the
subj ect o f the boss The y remained divided now but
o n o ne thing they were unanimous : the Snow -Burner
,

13 1

The Snow B u rn er

1 32

had gone too far to bear Men sat on the bunk ed ges
in the stockade and cursed as they thought o f the
boss and t he S hotgu n guards that rendered them hel p
less Reivers permitted no rearms o f any kind in
camp save those that were carried by his gunmen
The gunmen when not on guard kept to their q uar
ters in the building j ust outside o f the stockade gate
where Reivers also lived When armed the y were
ordered to permit no man to approach nearer than
ten feet to t hemthis to prevent a possible rushin g
and wresting the weapons from their hands
So
long as the guards were there in possession o f their
S hotgu ns the men knew that the y were helpless Dri v en
t o desperation now they pra y ed for the chance to get
those guns into thei r o w n hands A f ter that the y
promised themsel v es that the score o f bruta l it y wou l d
be made even
Then came the time f or rush work and under
w il l the outraged men carried
e lash o f Reivers
th
o ff their feet
were driven with a ferocit y that told
how complete l y Reivers i gnored the spirit o f re v o l t
whic hhe knew was fomenting against him He q uit
playing with them as he expressed it ; he be gan to
drive
Long be fore day l ight began t o grey the sk y above
the easte r n timbe r line the men were out at thei r posts
waiting for su fcient light to begin the day s work
Once the work began it went ahead with a fur y that
seemed to ca rry all men w ith it Reivers was every
where that a man dared to pause for a moment to
shirk his j ob He used his hands now for a broken
leg or rib laid a man up and he had use for the pres
ent for every man he could muster
H e scarce ly
l ooked at the men he hit breaking their faces with
a sudden treacherous blow cursing them coldl y until
despite t heir inj uries they leaped at their work then
-

'

The Snow Bu rner

1 34

bering poison ; his tissues tingled with l i fe and heal thi

ness
Day by day he did his share and more in the shop
work and instead o f the old feeling o f fatigue which
be fore had followed any pro l onged exertion felt his
muscles S pring with hardness and new l i fe at each
demand made upon them The o l d j oy o f a stron g
man in his strength came b ack in h im Stripped to
the wai st he stretched himse l f and l led his great lungs
with deep drafts h is arms like beams stretched out
and above his head Under the clean skin ros y and
moist from exertion the muscl es bunched and relaxed
tautened instantly to iron hardness or rippled so ftl y
as they were cal l ed upon i n the per fe ct co ordina
tion which results in great athletes Old Campbell
similar l y stripped stared at the marv e l o f a gi ant s
per fect torso beside which his own work wrou ght
body was ugly in its unequal deve l opment

Losh man ! But you re ful l grown ! he grow l ed

in admiration
I ve seen but one man w ho cou l d

stri p anywhere near to you

Who w as he P asked Toppy

The Snow Burner

D ay by day Toppy hammered and laboured at
Campbe ll s s ide holding his end up against the g rim
o l d smith and day by day he felt his m u scles g rowin g
toward that iron condition in which there is no tirin g
P resently t o S cotty s vexation he was doing more
than h is share ending the da y with a lau gh and wak
ing up in the morn ing as fresh as i f he had not taxed
h is energies the day be fore
At rst he continued to favour his inj ured ankle
l est a sudden strain del ay its recovery Each ni ght
he massaged and bandaged it scientica lly La ter on
when he felt that i t w as stronger he be gan to exercise
it s l ow l y raisin g and l owering himsel f on the balls
.

The S c rews T i ghten

In a coup l e o f weeks the o l d

1 35

hi s fee t
spring and
strength had largely come back and Campbel l snort ed
in disgu st at the antics indulged in by his helpe r when
the da y s work was done

Skipping a rope one twa hundred times ! What

P
brand 0 silliness do ye call that he g rumbled
Ha
ye nothing use ful to do w i them long legs o f y ou rn
t hat you have to make a j umping j ack o u t 0 y our

se l f P
A t which Toppy smiled grimly and continued hi s
t r aining
The rush o f work had its compensations Reivers
driving his force like mad had no time to waste either
i n bantering Toppy and Campbell in the evenin g o r in
paying attention to M iss P earson Al l the power that
was in the Snow Burner was concent r ated upon the
problem o f getting out every stick o f timbe r possible
wh ile the favourable weather continued
He spent
most o f his time in the timbe r up river where the
heaviest l ogging was going on
By da y he raged in the thick o f the men w ith on ly
one thought or aimto get out the l ogs as fast as
human and horse power cou l d do it At night the
road crews repairing with pick and shovel and s p rink
ling tanks the wear and tear o f the day s hauling
worked under Reivers compelling eyes A l l ni ght
long the sprinkling tanks went up and down the i ce
coated roads and the drivers freezing on the seats
were afrai d to stop or nod not knowing when the
Snow Burner might step out from the shadows and
catch them in the act
The number o f accidents a l ways too p l enti fu l in
logging camps multip l ied but Reivers pe rmitted noth
ing short o f broken bones to send a man to his b unk
Toppy besides his work in the shop cared as best he
could for the disabled Reivers had no time to waste

of

The Snow Bu rner

1 36

that way now The two men hu rt at the quarry wer e

recovering rapidl y One da y a tall lean white man

a Yankee top loader came hobbling out o f the woods
with h is foot dangling at the ankle and mumbl in g
curses th rough a smashed j aw

P
H ow did you get this asked Toppy as he dressed
the c ruell y crushed foot

P inched between two l ogs

mumbled the man

The y let one come down the S kids when I wasn t

lookin No fault o f mine ; I didn t have time to j ump
And then when I m standin ther e l ean in against a

tree that devil Reivers comes up and hands me this

He pointed to h is cracked j aw
He ll teach me to get
mysel f hu rt he says
That ain t no man ; he s
a devi l ! By
I know what I d ruther have
than the wages comin to me and that s a rie with one

good catt r id ge in it and that

standin a fore me
Yet that evening when Reivers came to the t o p
l oader s bunk and demanded how long he expected to
lie there eating his head o ff the man cri nged and whim
pered that he would be back on the j ob as soon as his
foot was t to stand on In Reivers presence the
men were afraid to cal l their though ts their own but
be hind his back the mumblings and grumblings o f
hatred were growing to a volume which inevitabl y s o on
must break o ut i n the hell yelp o f a mob ri pe f o r
murder
Reivers knew it better than any man in camp To
indicate how it a ff ected him he turned the screws on

tighter than ever Once at least the y had him dead

as the y admitted when he stood ankle deep in the
river w ith the saw logs thundering over the ro l lway s
to the brink o f the blu ff above his head One cunnin g
twist o f a peave y wou l d have sent a dozen logs tum
bling over the brink on his head Reivers sensed his
danger and looked up He smi l ed Then he t urn ed
.

The Snow Bu rner

grapp l e which must end with

138

meant a
one o f them
broken and helpless The un fortunate one might be
himse l f
In that case there would be no need to
think o f the future and it would be j ust as well not
to have S poken any more with the girl
It might be Reivers Then he would be guilt y in her
e y es o f having inj ured the man for whom the girl now
obviously had feelings which Toppy could construe in
but o ne way She cared for Reivers in spite o f her
sel f ; and she would not be inclined to friendliness
toward the man who had conquered him i f conq uered
he should be
The more Toppy thought it over the l ess enviable
to his notion became his standing w ith the girl He
ended by resolute l y determining to put her out o f
his thoughts A fter all he was no girl s man
He
had no bus iness trying to be For the present he saw
one task lai d out be fore him as inevitable as a revealed
fatet o prove himsel f with Reivers to get to grips
w ith the cold blooded master man who had made h im
feel with eve ry man in camp that the p l ace veritabl y
w a s a Hell Camp
Reivers brutal dominan ce l ay l ike a tangibl e wei ght
upon To pp y s S pirit He longed for onl y one thin g
for the opportunity to stand up eye to e y e with him
and learn who was the better man
Be y ond that
he did not see nor care He had given up any thought
that the gi r l might ever care for him
.

CHA PT ER XVI I
T

OVE M BE R

I LLY S WA R N I N G

passed and the rst hal f o f Decem

ber The shortest days o f the year were ap
r
i
n
h
o
a
c
p
g and sti l l the cold crisp weather ideal for
l ogging continued without a break Hell Camp con
t inu ed to hum w ith its abno rmal activit y
A thaw
which would spoil the S leighing and ice roads f or the
time being was l ong over due W ith the comin g o f
the thaw wou l d come a temporary l ull i n the work o f
the camp
The men pra yed for the thaw ; Reivers asked that
the cold weather continue
It had continued now
longer than he had expe cted or hoped and the output
o f the camp alread y was doubl e that o f what would
have been success fu l l ogging at that season
But
Reivers was not satised The record that he was
setting se rved only to S pur his ambition to desperation
The l onger the cold spel l hung on the harder he
drove Each day as he l ooked at the l ow grey sky
and saw that there were no S igns o f a br eak u p he
turned to and set the pace a little faster than the day
be fore The madness O f achievement the passion to
use his powers to accomplish the impossible the char
a ct er ist ics which had won him the name o f Snow
Burner were in possession He was doing the imp o s
s ible ; he was accomp l ishing what no other man could
do what all men said was impossible ; and the f eat on ly
created a hunger to do more
,

I S9

The Snow Bu rner

I 4O

The men were past grumbling now too ti red o f

body and too cru shed of mind to give expression to
their feelings SO long as the rush o f work continued
the y were as harmless as harnessed and driven cattle
incapable o f any thing more than keeping step in the
mad march that the Snow Burn er was leading But
all men knew that with the coming o f a thaw and the
cessation o f work wou l d come an explosion o f the
murderous hatred which Reivers tactics had driven
into the hearts o f the men Now and then a man
driven to a state o f desperation which excluded the
possibility o f fear stopped and rebelled One da y a
young swamper a gangling l ad o f twenty raging and
weeping threw himsel f upon Re ivers like a cat upon a
bear Reivers with a laugh thrust h im o ff and kicked
him out o f the way Another time a huge Slav sprang
at him with his razor edged ax u p raised and q uail
ing be fore Reivers calm l ook hurled the ax awa y
with a scream and ran blindl y away into the trackless
woods Three day s later starv ing and wi t h frozen
hands and feet he came stumbling up to the stock
ade and fe l l in a lump

Feed him up ordered Reivers smiling

I ve
got a little use for him when he s xed up so he can

fee l You see Treplin he continued to Toppy who

had been called to bring the man back to li fe I m not
all cruelty When I want to save a man to amuse m y
sel f w ith I m almost as much o f a humanitarian as

y ou are
He hurried on his way but be fore he w as o u t o f
hearing he ung ba ck

You remember how care f ully I had Til l y nurse y ou

P
don t youdoctor
It was only the guards that Reivers did not make
enemies o f
He knew that he had need o f their

loyal ty At night the white men sat o n the ed ges

,

The Snow B u rner

1 42

Ti lly ! Hold on !
She had alread y turned awa y
but she halted at his voice and came close to the win

?
dow
What is this Are you going away at once~

be cause the Snow Burner say s SO P

The squaw nodded stoicall y submissi v e

Snow Burner say go ; Tilly go S he said Snow

Burner say go be fore an y o ne see um me this m o m

ing I go now Must go ; Snow Burner sa y so

And M iss P earson P whispered Toppy frantica l l y

P
D id he say anything about her
Tilly nodded heavil y

Tell um me long go Tel l um me be fore M iss

P earson come
Tel l um me he going marry M iss
P earson for um Christmas present
Christmas Da y
come soon now Snow Burner no want Till y here

then Send Til l y wa y

The breath seemed to l eave To pp y s bod y for an
instant He swayed and caught at the window
frame

Marry her Christmas Day P he whispered hor

r ied

Yes He no te l l um M iss P earson y et He te l l me

no tel l um her no tell um anybody I tell y ou Now

go

! ,
o

Be fore Toppy had su fcientl y recovered his wi ts

to speak again he heard the c runch o f her moccasins
on the snow d y ing awa y in the darkness as the cast
o ff squaw stolidly started on her j ourne y into the
woods

Tilly ! ca ll ed Toppy desperate ly but there w as no

answer

What s matter ? mu rmured Campbel l disturbed

in his deep slumber and falling to sleep again be fore
he received a reply
Toppy stood for a l ong time with his f ace he l d
cl ose to the window through which he had heard Til ly s
start l ing news The sho ck had numbed him AI
.

T i ll y s W arn i n g

1 43

though he had been prepared to expect anything o f

Reivers he now realis ed that this w as someth ing more
than he had thought possib l e even f rom him The
Snow Burnermarry M iss P earsonf or a C hristmas
presentC hristmas Day ! He seemed to hear Ti lly
repeating the words over and over again A nd Reivers
had not even so much as told M iss P earson o f what
he intended to do H e had not even to l d her that
he intended to marry her So Till y said and Ti l l y
knew What did Re ivers intend to do then ? How
di d he know he was going to marry her ? How did
he know she would have him ?
Toppy shivered a l ittle as his wits began to work
more clear l y and the fu l l signicance o f the s ituation
began to grow clear to him H e understood now
Reivers had good reason for making his plans so con
d ent l y
H e had studied the gir l unti l he had seen
that his w ill had dominated hers ; that though she
might not love him might even fear him she had not
the will power against him to say nay to his wishes
He knew that she w as helplessl y fascinated that
H e had been too bus y to
sh
e was his for the taking
take her until now ; the serious duties o f his position
had allowed no time for dal l iance S o the gir l had
been sa fe and un molestedunti l now ! And now
Reivers was secretly preparing to make her his o wn !
A sudden thought struck Toppy and he tiptoed t o
the door and l ooked o u t Instead o f th e crisp cold
ness o f recent mornings there w as a warm muggi ness
in the ai r ; and Toppy bending down placed his hand
o n the snow and fe l t that it had begu n to so ften
The
thaw had come

I thought so he said to h imse lf

The work
w ill break up now and he s going to amuse himse l f
We l l he made a mistake when he to l d Ti lly She s
,

The Snow Bu rner

1 44

been civilised j ust enough to make her capable o f j eal

o u sy

He went back to his bunk and dressed

What are y ou stirring around so earl y for P

grumbled Campbell
Dinna y e get work enough dur

ing the day to be getting up in the dark P

The thaw s come said Toppy throwing on his

cap
There l l be something doing besides work now
He went out into the dark morning crossed the
road and so ftl y tried the door to the o ffi ce He felt
much better when he had assured himsel f that the door
was securel y locked on the inside Then he returned
to the shop and waited f o r the day l ight to appear
.

The Snow Bu rner

Campbe l l did not start nor in any

1 46

Old
w ay indicate
surprise

Aye ! he said quietly after a pause

I ha seen
from the rst it would have to be that in the end Ye

P
maun settle which i s best man But wh y to day

Because now that the thaw has spoiled the S leighing

Reivers w ill have time for deviltry

And Toppy went
o n and told a l l that he had heard from Till y s lips
that morning Campbell shook hi s head angri ly as
he heard

Many things has the Snow Burner done i ll he

said and his sins against men and women cr y for

punishment ; but thatto yon little lassgi n he d id
that that wou l d be worst o f a l l What are your p l ans

P
lad

No thing said Toppy

I wi ll go and nd him

and we ll hav e it out

Not so said Campbe l l swi ft l y

Gi n y ou did
that twould cost you your li fe did y ou chance to
w in o er him D o y ou think those devils with the
guns would not murder to win favour o f the Snow
Bu rner him holding the lives and libert y o f all o f
them in his hands as he does ? Na y lad ! Fight y e
must ; you re both too big and spi rited to meet with
out coming to grips ; but y ou have ay e the need o f an
old head on your side i f you re t o stand up w ith
Reivers on even terms

What think you he would fancy did you go to

?
him w ith a condent bol d chal l enge as you suggest
That you had a trick up your sleeve w ith the men
in on it perhaps ; and he d have the guards there
with their guns to see he won as sure as we re sitting
here talking No ; I ha seen for weeks twas coming
I ma y
o n and I ha been using this auld head 0 mine
even say I ha been doing more than th inking ; I ha
been talking
I have told Reivers that you were
.

C anny by N a tu re

1 47

becoming un bearab le in this S hop and that I cou l d

not stand you much l onger as my helper

Toppy looked across the table amazed and p ained

Whywhat s wrong S cott y P he stammered

Tush l ad ! snapped the o l d man

D inna think

I meant it I only told Reivers so for the e ff ect

Toppy was bewi l dered

I don t see what you re driving at S cott y

Listen then ; I ha to l d Reivers that you were get

ting the swel l head so bad there was no working y ou
I ha to l d him you were at heart nothing but a fresh
young whi ff et who needed taming and gi n he made
me keep you here I m y sel would do the taming with
an ax hand l e D O you begin to get my dri ft now

?
lad

I con fess I don t admitted Toppy

Well thenRe ivers said : That s how I sized

him up too But don t y ou do the taming Campbell

says he
I am saving him for
he say s
But

I will not put up w ith his lip l onger said I

Man
Reivers I sa y s he thinks he s a ghter and the other
day I S lammed him on h is back m y sel ; and g i n I

had my old wind I says I would have whipped him

then and there

Oh carried on strong l osing my temper and a l l

Five year ago I would ha broken his back the big

young fool ! I says

An he swaggers around me
and thinks he s a boss man because he l ic
ked that bloat

Sheedy Ah ! I says I ll stand it till he gives me lip

again ; then I ll lay him out with whatever I have in
my hands sa y s I

Don t do it says Reivers smiling to see me so

worked up and surmising as I intended he should
that I was angry only be cause I d di scovered that

you were a better man than m y sel

Save him for me

says he As soon as I have more time I wil l tend to

,

'

The Snow Bu rner

1 48

him In the meantime he says let him go on think

ing he is a good man

L ad he swallowed it all for it s four y ears since

he knew me rst and that was the r st lie I d told him

at all
I ll take him under my e y e soon as I have

more time says he

He l l not swagger a fter I ve
tamed him a little

But I don t j ust see

Dolt ! Dinna y ou see that noo he considers y ou as

an o ve r co nd ent young fool whom he s going to take
the conceit out o f ? D inna y e see that noo y ou re in
the same category as the other men he s broken down ?
He ll not think it worth whi l e to have h is shot gun
men hand y noo when he starts in to do his breaking
He ll start it ye understand ; not y ou
Twill be
proper so I wil l go this morning and tell him that
the end has come ; that I can not stand y ou longer
around me He l l give you something to d o under
h im Under him do y ou see ? Then y ou must e en
watch your chance andand happen I l l manage to

be around in case the guards should S how up

Better keep out o f it altogether

said Toppy

They won t use thei r guns in an even ght and y ou

couldn t do anything with your bare hands i f the y did

With my bare hands no said Campbe l l going

to his bunk
But I am not so bare handed as y ou

think l ad
H e dug under the blankets and held u p

a huge black revolver

Canny by nature ! he said ;
thru sting the grim weapon under his trousers band

I made no idle threat when I told Reivers I would

shoot his head o ff did he ever try to make a broken
man o u t o f me I have had thi s utensil hand y ever

S i nce

Scotty cried Toppy deepl y moved at the Old

man s staunch friendship when did you begi nto plan

this scheme P

CHA PTER XIX

TH E

FIG H T

past sunrise now ; the mugginess in the

air had ed be fore the unc l ouded sun and the da y
was plea santl y bright and warm The sunlight com
ing in through the eastern w indow ooded the room
Outs ide could be heard the steady d r ip d r i p from the
melting i cicles and the chirp o f the chickadees indus
t r io u sl y seeking a break fast around the door made
the morn ing cheer y
Topp y sat heaved f orward in his chair a fter Ca mp
bell had gone on hi s errand and looked out o f the
O pen door and waited From where he sat he coul d
P resentl y he saw Miss
see the o fce across the wa y
P earson come out stand for a moment in the doo r
w ay peering around in puzz l ed fashion and go in
again
Topp y di d not move He knew what that si gnied
that the gi rl was puzzled and perhaps frightened
over the absence o f the squaw Till y ; but he had no
impulse to cross the street and break the news to her
The gi rl T ill y s absence such things were to him
onl y incidentals now H e saw the girl as i f far awa y
as i f she were something t hat d id not greatl y con
cern him
Through his min d there ran recollections o f o ther
moments like thismoments o f waiting in the train
ing q uarters back at schoo l for the word o f the coach
to trot out on the eld The same case o f spirit a fter

T w as

1 5

The Fi ght
15 1
the tension o f weeks o f hard training ; the same sinking
o f all worry and ne rvousness in the knowledge that
now that the test was on he would do the best that was
in him and that beyond this there was nothing for
a man to think or worr y about
Back there at schoo l there had a l so been that sense
o f dissociation from all things not involved in the
contest be fore him The roaring stands the prett y
girls waving the bright hued banners the sound o f
his name shouted far down the el dhe had heard
them but the y had not a ff ected him For the time
be ing then as now he had become a wonder ful hu
man machine completel y concentrated as machines
must be upon the accomplishment o f one task Then
it had been to p l ay a game ; now it was to ght But
it was much the same a fter all ; it w as all in t he man
game
A feeling o f content was the on ly emotion that
Toppy was conscious o f in the long minutes during
which he waited for Campbell to return The d r ip
d r ip from the eaves and the chirp o f the chickadees
came as musi c to his ears The Snow Burner and
he were going to ght ; in that kn owledge there was
relief a fter the weeks o f tension
Heavy crunching steps sounded on the snow out
side and Campbell s broad S houlders lled the door
way
Toppy bent over and care fully tightened a
sh o e l ace

It s al l set said Campbell rapidly

He says send
you to him at once You re in luck H e s in the
stockade Get you up and go to hi m There is only
one guard at the ga te I l l follow and be hand y in

case he should inter fere

That was al l Toppy rose up and strode o u t with
out a word He made his wa y to the stockade gate
with a carelessness o f manner that belied his purpose
,

The Snow Bu rner

15 2

He noted that the gu ard stood on the outside o f the

s squashy under
w
a
ate
and
that
the
snow
already
g
foot The gate open ed and admitted him and c losed
behind him Then he was walking across the yard
toward Reivers who stood waiting be fore the camp
kitchen at the far end o f the yard
Here and there Toppy saw men in the bunkhouses
perhaps ft y in all and realised that the sudden thaw
had at once en forced a period o f idleness for some
He nodded lightly in response to the
o f the men
greeting from one o f the men whom he had doctored ;
then he was standing be fore Reivers and Reivers was
looking at h im as he had l ooked at Rosk y the day
when he broke the Bohunk s l eg Toppy looked back
u nmoved
For a moment the two stood S ilent e y e
measuring e y e
Then He iver s spoke savagel y en
raged at nding a w ill that braved his own

What kind o f a game are you trying to play Trep

P
l in

Game P repeated Toppy innocently

Co me come ! Re ivers brows were d rawing down

over his eyes and agai n Toppy for some reason was
reminded o f a bear
You don t suppo se I m as in
nocent as Campbell do you ? You ve been raising
in the S hop I hear You re doing that with an obj ect
You re trying some gam e I don t care what it is ;
it doesn t go There doesn t anybody try any games

i n this p l ace except mysel f

P
suggested Topp y
How about poker games
quietly
A man hidden in the darkness o f the bunkhouse be
hind Reivers snickered audibl y ; for Campbell had told
the story o f how Toppy had bested the boss at poker
and the man understood Toppy s thrust
Reivers
eyes ashed and his j aw shot out but in an instant
he had hi s anger under control again He smiled

The Snow Bu rner

in the S i l ence And now Toppy

15 4

sounded l oud
saw the
wol f cra ft c r eeping to its own far back in Reivers
eyes and without moving he stood tensed for sudden
ashlike action

P
S o that s it
said Reivers smil ing ; and then he
struck with serpent tongu e swi ftness And w ith that
blow Topp y knew how desperate would be the battle ;
for ski lled boxer and on the alert as he was he had
t ime only to snap his j aw to one side far enoug h to
save himsel f from certain knockout wh ile the iron
l ike st tore the skin O ff his cheek as it shot past
Reivers had not thrown his bod y behind the blow
He stood upright and ready He was a little surprised
that his man did not go down Toppy recovering
like a ash likewise was prepared A tin y instant the y
faced each other Then with simu l taneous gr owls
they hurled themselves breast to breast and the ght
w a s on
Toppy had yielded to the impulse to answer in kind
the challenge that had ared in Reivers e y es
It
wasn t science ; it wasn t sense
It was the blind
primitive impulse to come into shock with a foe to
stop him to force him back to make him break ground
Breast upon breast Reivers and Topp y came to gether
and stopped short two bodies o f equal force suddenl y
meeting
Neither gave ground ; neither made a pretense at
guarding Toe to toe the y stood head to head and
drove their sts against one another s iron strong
bodies w ith a rapidity and a force that only giants
like themselves could have withstood for a moment
It was madness it was murder and the group o f men
who were watching he l d their breaths and waited for
one or the other to wi lt and go down the l i fe knocked
out o f him by those pile driver blows
Then as suddenly as they had come together the
.

The Fi ght

15 5

pair l eaped apart rushed together again gripped into

a clinch struggled in Titan fashion w ith futi l e heav
ing and tripping ew apart once more then volle yed
each other with vicious punchesa kaleidoscope o f
springi ng l egs rushing bo dies and st ity driven arms
It was a battle that drove the fear o f Reivers from
the heart o f the men who w itnessed and dragged them
forth to form a ring around the two ghters It w as
a batt l e to make men roar with frenzy ; but not a sound
came from the ring that expanded and closed as the
battle raged here and there The men were at rst too
shocked to cry o u t at the sight o f an y one daring to
give the Snow Burner ght ; and a fter the shock had
worn away they were too wary to give a S i gn that
might bring the gu ards S i l entl y and tight lipped the
ring formed ; and each pair o f e y es that watched shot
nothing but hatred f o r Reiver s
Toppy was the rst to recover from the initia l
f r ensied impulse to strive to annihilate in one rush
his hated enem y He shook his head as he was wont
to do a fter a hard s crimmage on the gridi ron and his
ght ing wits were cl ear again
So far he knew he
had held hi s o w n but only he l d it P erhaps he out
bulked Re ivers slightly i n bod y and was a trie q uicker
on his feet but Reivers blows were enough heavier
than his to even up this advantage
He had driven his st ush home o n his foreman s
neck under the ear and the neck had not y ielded
any more than a column o f wood
He had felt
Reivers st drive home fu l l on his cheekbone and it
seemed that he had been struck by a hand ful o f iron
When the y had strained breast against breast in the
rst clash the fact that they were o f equal strengt h
had been apparent to both E q ual ly matched and
both equally determined to win Toppy knew that the
ght would be l ong ; and he be gan to circl e scient ic
,

The Snow Bu rner

a l ly striking and guarding with al l hi s cunning av
ing himsel f while he watched for a S lip or an open
15 6

ing that might o ff er an advantage

Suddenly the opening came as Reivers for a second
paused deceived by T o ppy s tactics Like a bullet
to the mark T o pp y s right shot home o n the exposed
chin ; but Reivers felled to hi s knees as i f S hot w as
up like a ash staggering Toppy w ith a l e ft on the
mouth and rushing him around and around in fur y
at the knockdown An added grimness to To ppy s
expression to l d how he appreciated the S ignicance of
this incident He had put all his force from toes to
knuckles into that blow ; and Reivers had merel y been
staggered Again Toppy began circling de l iberately
saving himse l f for a drawn out battle which now to
him seemed uphil l
The ring o f watchers around the pai r grew more
c l ose more eager Al l o f the men present in the
bunkhouses had rushed out to see the ght As Toppy
circled he saw in the foremost ranks the T orta bo y s
and most o f the gang that had worked under him i n
the quarry ; and by the looks in thei r e y es he knew
that he was ghting in the presence o f friends In the
next second their l ooks had turned to disma y as Reiv
ers swi ft l y feinting with his l e ft drove home the right
against To pp y s j aw and knocked him to his haunches
But Toppy rising s l owly caught Reivers as he closed
in to follow up his advantage and with a heavy swing
to the e y e stopped him in his tracks A low cr y escaped
the tight lips around the ring The bl ood was spurt
ing from a clean cut in Reivers brow and a few men
called

Fi rst blood !
Then Toppy spat out the bl ood he had he l d in a f ter
Reivers blow The feel o f the blood running down
his face turned Reivers to a fury He rushed with an
.

The Snow Bu rner

savage fury ared in Reivers e y es and he lunged for
ward like a maddened bull
Alway s however he
15 8

recovered himsel f and resumed the ght with brains

as well as brawn
Topp y never lost his head a fter the rst wild spasm
He realised that the y were so evenl y matched that
the l oser would lose by a slip o f the mind by l e tting
some weak spot in his characte r: master him ; and he
held himself in with an iron will
Reivers blows
goaded and tempted him to rush in madl y but he held
back The men about the ring thought he was l osing
and thei r voices rose in growled encouragement
Toppy was not l osing As he saw Reivers be come
more and more furious his hopes began to rise At
each opportunity he reached Reivers face cutting open
his other eye bringing the blood from his nose sting
ing him into added furies Toppy was knocked down
several times in the rushes that invariably followed
such blows but each time he recovered himsel f be
f ore Reivers could rush upon him Suddenl y his ght
ing instinct telegraphed him that Reivers was about to
try something new H e drew back a little Reivers
following closely Suddenl y it came Without warn
ing Reivers kicked The blow took Topp y in the
groin and he stumbled backward from its force A cry
But Toppy
o f rage went up from the watch ing men
sprung e rect in an instant

A ll right ! he cal l ed It didn t hurt me Shut

up you foo l s
Thanks to his training his hard muscles had turned
the ki ck and saved him from be ing disabled

P
What s the matter Reivers he taunted as he cir

c l ed care fully
Losing condence in y ou r sts ? Got
to use your feet eh ? Lost y our kick too haven t
you ? Well we l l ! Then you certainl y are in for a ne
trimmi ng
.

The Fi ght
A gain

15 9

Reivers kicked this time aiming low at the

shin bone ; but Toppy avoided it ea sil y and danced
back with a l augh

Can t even l and it any more ! Trep l in c hu ck l ed

Show us some more tri cks Reivers

Reivers had thrown o ff all restraint now He fought
with l owered head and Toppy once more as he saw
the eyes watching him through the thick brows
thought o f a bear The savager y at the root o f Re iv
er s character w as coming to the top
It was master
ing choking down his intelligence He struck and
kicked and gnashed his teeth ; and curses rolled i n a
steady stream from his lips
One kick l anded on
T o p py s thigh with a thud

Here bahass l screamed a voice to Toppy and

from somewhere in the crowd an ax was pitched at
hi s feet
La ughingly Toppy kicked the weapon to one sid e
and though in deep pain from the last kick continued
ghting as i f nothing had happened
The savage now dominating Reivers had seen and
been caught by the sight o f the ashing steel A
gleam o f animal cunning showed in the depths o f his
ferocious eyes To cripple to ki l l to destro y w ith
one terrible strokethat was h is single passion The
ax e O pen the way
Cra ftil y he began rushing systematicall y Little
by l ittle he drove Toppy back Closer and closer he
came to the spot where the axe lay on the ground
Once more To pp y s instinct warned him that Reivers
was a fter a terrible c o up and once more his who l e
mind and body respo nded with extra vigilance
AS he circled presentl y he felt the axe under his
feet and understood H e saw that Reivers was sys
t em at i ca l ly working toward the weapon though ap
p a r ent l y unconscious o f its existence
,

The Snow Bu rner

1 60

I t w as in To ppy s mind to dance awa y to call out

t o th
e men to remove the axe ; but be fore he could
do so so mething had whispered to him to hold his
tongue He continued to retreat slowly ghting ba ck
at every inch
Now he had stepped be y ond the axe
Now it lay between him and Reivers
Now it la y beneath Reivers feet and now as
Reivers stooped to pick it up Topp y like a tiger
ung himsel f forward It was what he had foreseen
what had made him hold his tongue
The S avage in Reivers had made him reach for the
weapon ; the calmly reasoning brain in To ppy s head
had foreseen that in that lay his advantage It w as
for only an instant a few e y e
winks that Reivers
paused and bent over for the axe ; but as Toppy had
ung himsel f forward at the ps y cho l ogi ca l moment
it w a s enough Reivers was be nt over w ith his hand
o n the axe and for a ash he had le ft the spot behind
his l e ft ear exposed
To p p y s st swung from far behind him struck the
spot with the sound o f a pistol crack Reivers stooped
as he w as rolled over and over and la y sti ll Topp y
rst picked up the axe and threw it far out o f reach
Then he turned to Reivers who was ri sing S l owl y a
string o f foul cu rses on his lips
Toppy set himse l f as the Snow Burner came f o r
ward H is le ft l i fted Reivers from his feet Even
while he was in the air T o pp y s right followed o n
the j aw The Snow Burner wavered Then Toppy
drawing a long breath called into play a ll the strengt h
he had been saving He struck and struck a gain so
rapidly that the e y e cou l d not fol l ow and each blow
found its mark ; and each was o f deadl y power
He drove Reivers backward He drove him as he
w il l ed He be at him til l he saw Reivers e y es grow

CHA PTER XX
T

O FFY S WAY

O PP Y stood and looked down at his vanquished

foe The convulsive ri se and fall o f his breast
as he panted for breath told how desperatel y and
savagely he had fought Now as he stood victori ous
and looked down upon the man he had conquered the
chivalry innate in him began to stir with respect and
even pity for the man whom he had beaten He looked
at Reivers bloody face as the head turned on one
side it lay nuzzled helpless l y against the soft ground
A wave o f revulsion the a ftermath o f his fury pa ssed
over him and he drew h is hand slowl y across his e y es
as i f to shut out the S i ght o f the havoc that his sts
had wrought
And now happened the inevitable Toppy had not
f oreseen it never had dreamed it possible But now
the men who had watched cried aloud thei r hatred o f
the big man who lay be fore them The king man
their master was down ! Upright the y would have
q uailed be fore h is mere look But now he was down !
T he man w ho had mastered them broken them
tortured them lay helpless there be fore them The
courage and hate o f slaves suddenl y in power over
their master amed through them This w as thei r
chance ; the y had him now

We got him ! Kill him ! Come o n ! Finish him

the y roared and threw themselves like a pack o f
wolves upon the prostrate man Even as the y rushed
Reivers raised his head in returning consciousness ;
.

I 62

To p p y

1 63

W ay

then he went down under a showe r o f heavi ly bo oted

feet
With a bellow o f command Toppy ung himsel f
forward
He knew q uite well that th is was what
Reivers deserved ; he had even at times ho p ed that the
men some time would have the O pportunit y for such
revenge
But now he discovered that he couldn t
stand b y and se e it done It wasn t in him Reivers
was down fairly beaten in a hard ght He was
helpless To ppy s rage suddenly swerved from Reivers
to the men who were tr y ing to kick the li fe out o f him

Back ! Ge t back there I say ! he ordered

He reached in and threw men right and le ft H e
knocked others down One he pi cked up and u sed
as a battering ram and so he fought his wa y in and
cleared the rabble awa y from Reivers Reivers with
more than human tenaciousness had retained a glim
mer o f consciousness He saw Topp y standing astride
And in that beaten
o f him ghting for h is li fe
desperate moment Reivers laughed once more

You re a
fool Treplin said he
You d

better let them nish the j ob

Toppy dragged him to his feet A gleam o f mas
t e r y ashed over the Snow Burner as he felt him
sel f standing upright He swung to face the men

Out o f the way there y ou scum ! he ordered in

his Ol d manner The men laughed in reply The
spell had be en broken The men had seen the Snow
Burner knocked down and beaten The y had seen that
Topp y was his master The y had kicked h im ; the y
had had him u nder them No lon ger did he stand
apart and above them The y cursed him and swarmed
in striking ki cking hauling and dragged him to the
ground

Give him to u s bahss ! the y cried

L et us kil l

him bahss !
.

The Snow Bu rner

Some o f them hung back The y did not wish to r u n

1 64

contrary to the wishes o f Toppy their bahss and

champion Toppy once more got Reivers on his feet
and dragged him toward the gate A kni fe or t wo
gl eamed in the crowd

Run for the gate ! cried Toppy

Rei vers tot
Over him Toppy stormed
t er ed a few steps and fell
fought commanded but the mob pressed constantly
c l oser Then suddenly they stopped striking They
began to break Toppy looking around for the rea
so n saw Campbell and a guard running toward them
Campbell w ith h is big revolver the guard w ith his
gun at a rea dy With a l ast tremendous e ff ort he
picked Reivers up in hi s arms and ran to meet them
H e heard the guard re once heard Campbell ordering
the men to stand back ; then he staggered out o f the
stockade and dropped hi s he av y burden on the gr ound
Behind him Campbell and the guard slammed shut
the gate and within the cri es and curses o f the m en
rose in one aw ful wail the cry o f a blood mob cheated
o f its prey
Reivers rose slow ly rst to his hands and knees
then to his feet H e looked at Toppy and the onl y
expression upon hi s face was a sneer

You
fool ! he laughed
You poor weak
sister ! You ll be sorry be fore morning that y ou didn t

l et the men n ish that j ob !

He tu rned and without another word went stag
gering away to the bui l ding where he and the guards
l ived

The Snow Bu rner

The Snow Burner will tr y any thing i f his mind s
Even forc Hold still w i y our chi n You

1 66

set
e
licked him fair lad Twas a great ght You re be st
man But I m glad I have m y shooting utensil hand y
for i f I m an y j udge Hell Camp wi ll a y e deserve its

name to night

What do you think w ill happen P

Tis hard to say But tis sure Reivers means to
do something desperate and as I know the man tis
something that concerns the lass Then there are the
men They have tasted blood The y have seen the
Snow Burner beaten H is grip has been torn o ff them
The y re no l onger a fraid When the working gangs
come in this noon and hear the stor y there l l be noth
ing can hold them from doing what the y please You
know what that will be The y re wild to break l oose
Gi n they lay hands o n Reivers the y ll tear him and
the camp to pieces A y e there ll be things stirring

here be fore evening or I m a dolt

Tru e to Campbell s prediction the stockade S hook
w ith cheers roars and curses that noon when the
working men came in and heard the tale o f the Snow
Burner s down fall The discipline o f the camp van
The men were no longer
ishe d with those shouts
cowed They were free and una fraid A fter the y had
eaten the straw bosses and guards prepared to lead
them back to their work
The men laughed The bosses j oined them The
guards threatened The men j eered
Reiver s the
only force that had kept them cowed was ly in g beaten
and helpless in his bunk and not even the shotgun s
o f the guards could cow the erce S pirit that had
broken l oose in the men when the y heard this news

Shoot
you shoot ! the y j eered at the guards
The guards faltered The whole camp was in revolt
and they knew that as sure as o ne shot w as red the

The E nd o f t he Boss

1 67

men wou l d rush at no matter ho w great the cost

to themselves There were a hundred and ft y mad
d ened desperate men in the camp now instead o f a
hundred and fty cattle ; and the guards minus Reiv
ers leadership retreated to their quarters and l ocked
the door
The men di d not go back t o work Not an axe pea
v ey o r cant hook was touched ; not a team was hitched
up The men swaggered and shouted for Re ivers
to come o ut and boss them They begged him to come
o ut
They wanted to talk w ith h im The y had a lot
to tell him The y wouldn t hurt himno the y would
onl y give him a little o f his own medicine !
However they gave the guards house a wide be rth
o n account o f the deadl y S hotguns
The short a fter
noon passed quickl y and t he darkness came on
Toppy and Campbell were sitting down to supper
when they noti ced that it was unusual l y l ight in the
direction o f the stockade P resentl y there was a roar
ing crackling ; then a chorus o f cr ies demonlike in
thei r ferocity Toppy sprang to the w indow and stag
ger ed ba ck at the si ght that met his e y es

Great Scot Campbell ! Look l ook ! he cri ed

The y ve red the cam p !

Together the y rushed to the door From the farther
end o f the stockade a billow o f red pitchy ame was
sweeping up into the night and the roar and crackle
o f the dried pine logs burning was drowned in the
c ries o f the men as they cheered the results o f their
handiwork
Toppy and Campbell ran toward the stockade gate
The gate had been chopped to pieces but the guards
from the shelter o f their building were shooti ng at the
opening and preventing the men from rushin g out
The ames at the far end o f the stockade rose higher
and er cer as they began to get thei r ho l d on the pitchy
.

The Snow Bu rner

w o od The smo ke bi ll owing low came
into the faces o f Campbell and Toppy
1 68

dri v in g ba ck

They ve done it up brown now ! swore Campbell

The W ind s this w ay The who l e camp wil l go unl ess

h
r
n
s
c
ecked
o
e
y
Over the front o f the stockade somet hin g ew
through the darkness its parabola marked by a string
o f sparks that sp l uttered behind it It fel l near one
side o f the guards quarters A second l ater i t ex
l
with
a
noise
and
sho
c
k
that
shook
the
who
l
e
o
d
e
d
p
camp

Dynamite
said S co tty
The men hav e b een
stealing it and saving it f or this occasion Gi n one
O f those sti cks l ands o n that building there ll be dead

men inside
But the men i nside evident ly had no mind t o wai t
f o r such a catastrophe
The y came rushing o ut in
th e darkness s l ipping quick l y o ut o f sight yet rin g
at the gate as they went One o f them rushed pas t
Toppy in the di rection o f the o f ce Toppy sca rcel y
noticed him
On second thought something about
the man s great S ize his broad S houlders the hang o f
his arms attracted him He turned to look ; the man
had vanished in the dark A vague uneasiness took
possession o f Toppy For a moment he stood puzzled

My
he cried sudden ly
That was Reivers

and he w as going to her !

He started in pursuit Reivers was pounding on
the door o f the o fce when Toppy reached him The
door w as l o cked

Open up ; O pen up at once ! he ordered Be y ond

the door Toppy heard the v oice o f the girl

Oh please please Mr Reivers ! I m a fraid !

Reivers tone changed

Nothing to be a fraid o f M iss P earson he said

The Snow Bu rner

swayed and fe l l sidewise

1 70

his throat
as the who l e
wor l d turned black
He opened his eyes soon and saw by the light o f the
ris ing ames that Campbe l l was ru nning toward him
In the doorway o f the o f ce stood the gi rl her l eft
hand over her eyes Campbel l s bi g black rev olver in
her right
Down the road w ith strange drunken
steps Reivers was running toward the river Behind
him ran half a dozen men armed with axes screaming
his name in rage but Reivers despite his queer gait
was distancing his pursuers It was some time be fore
Topp y grasped th e si gnicance o f these sights Then
he remembered

You you saved me he said c l umsi ly ri sing to

hi s f eet The gir l dropped the revo l ver and burst into
a t O f sobbing
Twas aye handy I thought o f giving her the gun

and telling her to keep the door l ocked said Ca mp

bel l
D o you go in lassie All s we l l G O in

P
?
Eh
What s this
he cried for in spite o f her
sobbing S he drew sharply awa y from his sheltering
arm as he tried to usher her indoors
The smoke from the re swept down into their
f aces in a choking c l oud Topp y looked toward the
stockade By this time the whole end o f the great
bui l ding was in ames The men in pursuit o f Reivers
were howling as they gained on thei r quarry and
Toppy lur ched a fter them

Bob ! M r Trep l in !
Toppy stopped

I meanM r Trepl inyoud on t go down there

you re hurtp l ease !

?
it
Toppy moved toward her Was it true
Was
really there the note in her voice that he yearned
to hear ?
on

What

The E nd o f t he Boss
did you say
p l ease P he stammered

17 1

And now it was her tu rn to be confused The sobs

came back to her Toppy took a l ong breath and
nerved himsel f to desperation

Helen ! he said hoarse ly

Bob ! Oh Bob ! she whispered

D
o n t l eave

medon t leave me alone

Once more Toppy lled hi s l ungs w ith ai r and
ground his teeth in desperate reso l ution
He tried
to speak but only a gurgling sound came from his
throat ; so he held out his big arms in mute appeal
and suddenl y he found himsel f whispering incoherently
at a litt l e b l onde head whi ch l ay snuggl ed in great
content against his bosom
A maddened y ell came from the men w ho were
a f ter Reivers But Toppy and the girl might have
been a thousand miles away for all the attention the y
paid One end o f the stockade fell in w ith a great
roar and a shower o f ame and sparks ; but the twain
did not hear

A ye a ye !
O l d Campbell moved swi ft l y away

H e s a grown man now and so he s a right to have

his woman Aye A real man he had to be to take

her away from the Snow Bu rner

Down by the river the pursuing men gave tongue
to a cr y with the note o f the wol f in it
Campbell tu rned from the y oung coup l e and stared
with gleaming eyes in the direction whence came the
cry

Ah Reivers he mu rmured
Ye great man gone
wrong ! H ow goes it with ye now Reivers ? Can ye

Can y e ? I wonderI wonder !

w in through ?
And as Topp y and He l en holding c l ose l y to o ne
another entered the o f ce building the Old man has
tened to j oin the throng by the river where the f ate o f
the Snow Bu rner w as being spun
.

'

PA R T TWO :

T H E S UPE RM A N

C H A PT E R
TH E

XXI I

C HEA TI N G OF

TH E

IV ER

TS

got him ! The river s got him

He s

drowned !
Hel l Camp Reivers he s gone

H e s done f o r
The Snow Burner is dead dead

dead !

Like wo l ves in revo l t the men o f He l l Camp l ined

the bank o f the rushing ice choked river and cursed
and roared into the blackness o f the night Behind
them the buildings o f the camp scene o f the Snow
Burner s inhuman b rutalit y and dominance over the
lives o f men were going up in seas o f ame which the y
had started
Be fore them the tumu l tuous river the waters bat
tling the ice which strove to cover it tossed black and
white under the red glow o f tumbling re And some
w here out in th e murderous current whirled and
suck ed do w n by the rushing water bu ff eted and
crushed by the grinding ice a bullet hole throu gh hi s
shou l der was all that w as l e ft o f the man whose l i fe
the y had cried for
The river had cheated them Like panting wo l ves
their hands outstretched c l aw
like to clutch and ki l l
they had pursued him closely to the river s edge A
cry o f rage short S harp unreasoning had leaped

,
,

I 7S

The Snow Bu rner

1 76

from thei r throats as Reivers staggering from hi s

wound had leape d unhe sitatingly out on to the beav
ing cakes o f ice
Spell bound open mouthed and s i l ent the y had sto o d
and watched as their erstwh ile oppressor ran zigzag
ging l eaping f rom cake to cake o u t toward the bl ack
slip o f open water whi ch ran s ilent ly swi ftl y in the
river s middle And then the y had cried out a gain
For the open water had caught him Straight into
i t w ithout pausing or swerv ing Reivers had run on
And the b l ack water had taken him home Like a
stone dropped into its midst it had taken him p l um p
a irt o f spray a gurgle Then the waters rushed
o n as be f ore silent dead l y un c on c erne d
And so the men o f He l l Camp d runk w ith the spirit
and success o f thei r revolt cried o u t in triumph Thei r
c r y rose over the roar o f ame
It rang above the
rumble o f crunching i ce It reached p man l ike up
through the star l led northe rn nighta cr y o f Vic
tory o f gratication the o l d te rrible cry o f the kill
For the Snow Burner was gone Wo l f like he had
harried them and wol f like he had died No man not
even Hell Camp Reivers the y knew could live a min
ute in that black water The y had seen the waters
close above him ; a oe o f i ce swept serene ly over
the spot where he had gone down He was gone The
world w as rid o f him
And so the men o f Cameron D am Camp whi l e thei r
cry stil l e choed in the timbe r turned to carr y the news
o f the Snow Burner s end back to the men who were
m i ll ing about the burning camp The Snow Bu rner
w as dead !
Out in the dead l y river He ll Ca mp R eivers sta y ed
under water until he knew that the men on the bank
counted him drowned He had sought the open water
del iberately h is gi ant l ungs lling themselves with air
,

178

The Snow Bu rner

-

must yield him air or death he threw his bo dy u p

ward against the i ce felt it slip to one side thrust hi s
upturned face out o f the water caught a n ger hold
o n another o e that strove to thrust him down gasped
c l awed andlaughed
He was a dead man and he l ived Men had dri v en
him into the j aws o f death and death had en gul fed
and apparently swallowed him
Men counted him
now as one w ho had gone hence Far and w ide the
word wou l d be ung in a hurry : the Snow Burn er
w as no more ; Hel l Camp Reivers had passed away
The face o f the Snow
Burner as it rode barel y above
the icy l apping waters bore but one single expression
a sardonic appreciation o f the j oke he had play ed
upon men and Death The l oss o f Cameron Camp
o f his position o f al l that he cal l ed his o w n did not
troub l e him
As the c urrent swept him down there he w as a
beaten man stripped o f all the things that men st ruggle
for to have and to hold and with but a s l ippery nger
hold on li fe itsel f Yet he was victorious triumphant
He had placed himsel f within t he clamm y ngers
The ngers had closed upon him
o f the River Death
and he had torn them apart had thrust death awa y
had clutched l i fe as it eet ed from him and had drawn
it back to hold for the time being And Reivers
laughed contemptuously tauntingly at the sucking
waters cheated o f their prey

Not yet N ick old boy he muttered

I t doesn t

p l ease me to boss your stokers j ust y et

The current tore the ice from his precarious grip
and he was forced to swim for it In the darkness he
struck the grinding iceel d o n the far side o f the open
water and like the claws o f a bear his sti ffening ngers
sought for and found a crevice to a fford a secure hol d
A pu l l a heave and a wriggle and he l ay f a c e

The C hea t i n g o f t he Riv er 1 7 9

down on the jagged i ceheart lungs and brain cry ing
for the cold air which he sucked in avidl y The ice
,

cakes parted beneath his weight Once more he fought

through the water to a resting place on the ice ; once
more the treacherous i ce parted and dropped him into
the water
Swimming c raw l ing wriggl ing his w ay he fought
on At l ast an outstretched hand gr oped to a ho l d on a
snow covered root on the far bank o f the river

About time he said and slow ly drawing himsel f

up onto the bank he rolled over in the snow and l a y
w ith his face turned back toward Cameron Cam p
The re which the men had star te d in th e long
bunk house when the y had revo l ted against the in
humanity o f Reivers now had gained full headwa y
In pitchy red b illows o f ame the dried l og walls
were roaring upward into the night Like the yipp ing
o f maddened demons the bellowing shouts o f the men
came back to him as they danced and l eaped around
the re in celebration o f the passing o f Reivers and
o f the camp for which his treatment o f men had j ust l y
ea rned the title o f Hell Camp
But l ouder and more poignant even than the roar o f
ame and the shouts o f j ubilant men there came to
Reivers ears a sound which prompted him to drag
himse lf to an e l bow to l isten Som ew h r e out in the
timber near the camp a man w as crying for merc y A
rie cracked ; the pleading stopped Reivers smi l ed
contemptuous l y

One o f the guards ; they got him

he mused

The foo l ! That s what he get s f or b eing S i ll y enough

to be faith fu l to me

But the fate of the guard one o f the shot gun

art ists who had served him faith fu l l y and brutall y in

e camp helpless
e task o f keeping the men o f th
th
roused Rei v ers to the need o f qui ck
u nder his heel
.

The Snow Bu rner

1 80

action I f the guards had escaped into the woods

and were being hunted down by the maddened crew
the hunt might easily lead across the dam and up the
bank to where he lay Once l et it be known tha t he
had not perished in the river and the whole ca mp
would come swarming across the dam each man s
hand against him reso l ved to take his trai l and hunt
him down no matter where the trai l might l ead or
how long the hunt might take
The ght through the river i ce w as but the pre
liminary to his ight for sa fety Man y miles o f cold
trai l between h im and the burning camp were his most
urgent present needs and with a curse he staggered
to his feet and stood for a moment l owering back
across the water to the scene o f his ov erthrow
To a l esser mano r a better manthere wou l d have
Reive r s s
been deep humiliation in the situation
mind ashed back over the incidents o f the l ast few
hours
Over there across the river he had been
beaten for the rst time in his li fe in a fair stand u p
st ght
He had unde r estimated young Treplin
and Trep l in had beaten him
Following his de feat had come t he revo l t o f the men
Following that had come ight The power and l ead
ip o f the camp had been wrested from his hands
e r sh
by a better man ; he himse l f had been driven out
helpless beaten yet Reivers only laughed as he stood
now and l ooked back across the river For in the
river the Snow Bu rner had died
The past was dead A new l i f e w as beginn ing
for him It had to be so for i f word went back
that the Snow Burner was stil l alive the men o f Cam
eron Dam Camp would come clamouri ng to the hunt
To die and yet to live ; to s l ough one li fe as an old
coat and to take up another not having the slight
est notion o f what it might ho l d that was the great
.

The Snow B u rne r

1 82

Su ffer Body he muttered su ffer all y ou p l ease

You ve nothing to say about this Your j ob for the
present is mere l y to serve li fe by keeping it going
La ter on you may grow who l e again I shall need

you
He buttoned his mackinaw with di fculty and n d
ing an open space turned and took his bearings Far
behind him a dull red glow on the sky marked the
location o f Cameron Dam Camp
From this he
turned care fully scanning the heavens unti l abo ve the
top o f the timber he c aught the weird glint o f the
northern l ights That way lay his course
The white man s country stopped with the timber
in which he stood Beyond was Indian country the
bleak barren Dead Lands a wilderness too bare o f
timber to tempt th e l ogger a l and o f ridge upon ridge
o f ragged rock
unexplored by white man save f or
a rare mining prospector and uninhabited save f or the
hal f starv ed camp o f the people o f Tillie the Chip
pewa Reivers slave by the power o f the l ove S he
bore him
W hite men shunned the white wastes o f the Dead
Lands as in warmer climes the y shun the unwatered
sands o f the desert That was wh y Reivers sought
it Out there in the camp of Til l ie s people he cou l d
lie sa fe well fed well nursed unti l his wound healed
and the strength o f his body came back to him And
then

Cheer up Body ! he chuck l ed as he started north

ward
We l l make the wor l d pay bitterl y for al l o f
th is when we re in shape again
For the present
we re going north going north going north You
can t stop Body ; you can t la y down
Groan al l
you want to You re going to be dragged j ust as far

to night as i f you weren t shot up at a ll

CHA PTER

XXIII

GI RL W HO WA S

TH E

N OT

AFRAID

RE A K o f day in Winter time comes to the Dead

Lands slowly and without enthusiasm as i f the
rosy morn ing sun wearied at the hopeless landscape
wh ich its rays must illumine A imless rock formation
was a drug on the crea tion s market the day that the
Bad Lands were made Gigantic b oulders b ox like
blu ffs ragged rock spires c l i ffs and p l ateaus o f bare
rock were i n oversupply
Nature so a glimpse o f the place suggests had
resolved to get rid o f a vast su rplus o f ugly useless
stone and with one cast o f its hands ung them so l idly
down and made the Dead Lands There the y l ie
hog back ri dge gu lly and ravine hopeless ly and aim
l essly j umbled and tumb l ed a scene o f desolate grey
ness by Summer ; b y Winter the raw bleak ridges and
spires t hru sting themselves through the covering o f
snow like unto the bones o f a hal f concealed skeleton
Daylight crept wearily over the timber belt and
S pread itsel f s l owl y over the barrenness and struck the
h ighest rise o f ground running crosswise through

the barrens whi ch men called Hog Back Ridge

Little by l itt l e it lighted up the bl eak peaks and tops
o f ridge and rock S pi re
A wind came with it a bl eak mornin g W inter W ind
which whined as it whipped the dry snow from high
places and sent it y ing across coule e and v al l ey in
the grey l ight o f dawn Nothing stirre d wi th the
,

'

1 83

The Snow B u rn er
coming o f daylight No nocturna l animal warne d
o f the day s coming slunk awa y to its cave ; no beast
or bird o f day l ight greeted the morning wi th move
ment or song The grey hal f l ight revealed no living
1 84

thing o f li fe upon the exposed hump o f the ridge

The su n came a bal l o f du l l red ri sing over the
timber line It touched the topmost spires o f rock
sought to gild them rosi l y gave up as thei r sullen
sides re fused t o take the colour and turned its rays
along the eastern slope Then something moved A
s ingle spe ck o f l i fe stirred in the v ast scene o f deso
l ation
On the bare ground i n the l ea o f a bou l der a man
sat with h is back to the stone and slept
Hi s f ace w as
hollow and l ined The corners o f hi s mouth were
drawn down as i f a weight were hung on each o f them
and the th in cheeks hugging the bones so tight l y that
the teeth showed through told that the man had driven
himsel f too far on an empty stomach Yet even in
sleep there was a hint o f a sardoni c smile o n the m is
S hapen lips a smile that condemned and made naught
the pain and cru elt y o f his fate
The sun crept down the S lope o f Hog Back Ridge
and found him It reached his e y es Its ra y s had
no more warm th than the rays o f the cold Winter
moon but its l ight pierced through the tightly drawn
lids They twitched and nall y parted Reivers awoke
w ithout yawning or moving and looked around
It was the second morn ing a fter his ight f rom
Ca meron Dam Camp and he had y et to reach the
Winter camp o f the p eop le o f Tillie t he squaw So me
where to the west it l ay He would reach it and rea ch
it in good time he swore ; but he had not had a bite
o f food in his mouth for two day s and the fever o f
his wound had sapped heavil y his strength

he grow l ed as w ith the return

B e still Body
.

'

The Snow Bu rner

1 86

detai l o f the two specks that moved so steadi ly to

ward him
I t was a four dog team travelling rapid l y and t he
man on snow shoes trave l led beside his team and
p l ied hi s w hip as he strode Reivers brows drew
down in puzzled fashion The s l edge whi ch whirled
behind the running dogs seemed at and unloaded ;
the dogs ran in a fashion that told the y were strong
and fresh Why didn t the man ride ?
Reivers drew back to take stock o f the situati on
The man might be a stranger travelling hu rried l y
through the Dead La nds or he might be o ne o f the
men from Ca meron Dam C amp I f the former f ood
might be had for a mere hai l and the asking ; i f the
l atterReive r s s nostri l s w idened and he smiled
Yet a third possi bi l ity e xi sted
The man w as
travelling in strange fashion running b eside an appar
ent l y empty s l ed and whipping his dogs along S o
did men trave l when they were eein g f rom v ar ious
reasons and men eeing thus do not go unarmed nor
take kindly to having the trai l o f their ight wit
Thus
nessed by casual though starving strangers
there was one chance that a hail and plea for food
would be met with a friendly response ; two c hances
that they wou l d be met w ith lead or stee l
Reivers not being a careless man l ooked about f or
ways and means to p l ace the odds in his f avour A
hundred yards to the north o f him the v a l le y narrowed
into a mere s l it between two straight wall s o f ro ck
Through this gap the trave ll er must pass
When Reivers had crawled t o a position on the ro ck
directly above the narrow opening he l ay at down
and grinned in peace He was securely h idden and
the dog driver wou l d pass unsuspe ct ingl y unready
thirty feet beneath where he l ay Things were l ook
ing we ll
.

Th
e G i r l W ho W as No t A f ra i d

1 87

The dri v er and team came on at a steady pace

Even at a great distance h is stride betrayed his race

and Reivers muttered White man and pushed to

the edge o f the b l u ff a huge j agged piece o f rock
The man might not l isten to reason and Reivers
was taking no chan c es o f allowing an opportunity to
f eed to slip by
The s l eigh sti ll puzz l ed him As it c ame nearer
and nearer he saw that it w as not empty Something
l ong and at lay upon it Reivers ceased to watch
the driver and turned his scrutiny entirely to the
bundle upon the sleigh
M inute a fter minute he
watched the sleigh to the exc l usion o f everyt hing else
H e made out eventually that the bundle was the
size and form o f a human body Soon he saw that
it moved now and then as i f struggl ing to ri se
The s l eigh came nearer came into a space where
the sun l ight streaming through a gap in the ridge
lighted it up brightly and Reivers who l e bod y su d
d enly sti ff ened upon the ground and his teeth snapped
shut bare l y in time to cut S hort an ej aculation o f
surpri se
The bund l e on the S l eigh was a womana white
woman ! And S he w as bound around from ankle to
forehead w ith thongs passed under the sl eigh

F o o dand a womana white woman he mused

The new li fe becomes interesting Body get read y

He he l d the rock balanced on the edge o f the cli ff
ready to hurl it down with one supreme e ff ort o f his
waning strength Hugging the cli ff he l a y h is head
bare l y raised su f ci ently to watch hi s approaching
quarry He could make out the face o f the man by
this time a square face mostl y covered with hai r with
the square cut hair o f the head hanging down below
the ears Two fang like teeth glistened in the su n
li ght when the man opened his mouth to curse at
.

The Snow Bu rner

he turned at t imes to l eer

1 88

the dogs and

back at the
helpless burden o n the sleigh
A S he approa ched the narrow dele where the rock
walls h id a man and what he might do from the
e y es o f all but the sky above the man turned to look
more fre q uently more l eeringly at hi s victim Reivers
saw that the woman was gagged as well as bo und
The driver shouted a command at his dogs and
their lope became a walk and even as Re ivers up
on the cliff arched his back to hurl his stone the
outt came to a halt directly be neath where he la y
Reivers waited He had no c ompunction about dis
abling or killing the man below ; a cry ing be lly knows
no conscience But he would wait and see what w as
to develop
The man swi ftly j erked his team back in the traces
and turned toward his victim Reivers turnin g hi s
e y es from the man to the woman received a shock
which caused him t o hug closer to the c l i ff
The
woman lay helpless on the sleigh face up A c l oth
gag covered her face up to the nose and a cap d rawn
down over the forehead l e ft onl y the eyes and nose
v isible And the eyes were wide openvery wide
O pena nd they were l ooking quite calmly and u m
a fraid up at Reivers
The dri ver came back and tore the gag from the
woman s l ips

I l l give you a chance he exploded and Rei v e rs

up o n the cli ff caught the passion choked note in

vo i ce and again he l d the stone ready

I m stea li ng
you for the chi e ffor Shanty Moir the man who s
got your fathe r s mine and who s determined to put
S hame on you Red M acGr ego r s daughter I m tak
ing you there to himin his camp You know what
that means

Wel l I ve ch anged my mind II l l give you a

,

The Snow B u rner

1 90

venison and he looked no farther Down in the

snow at the side o f the help l ess woman he squatted
and proceeded to eat Onl y when the pang in hi s
stomach had been appeased did he l ook at the woman
Then for a time he forgot about eating
It was not a woman b ut a gir l Her face w as fai r
and her hai r go l den red Her big eyes were l ooking
at him appraisingly There was no f ear in them no
apprehension She noted the hol l owness o f his cheeks
the fever in his e y es Reivers almost dropped his
meat in amazement The gir l actual l y w as pitying
him !
He stood up thrust the meat back into the grub bag
and stood swaying and towering over her The gir l s
eyes l ooked back unwaveringly

you ! growled Reivers as he bent down and

l oosed the thongs

What do you mean ? Why aren t

y ou a fraid P

M acG r ego r Roy was my father she said quiet ly

I am not a fraid
She sat up as the bonds f el l from

her and looked at the still gure in the snow

He

is dead I suppose ?

sneered Reivers
A S dead as he tried to make me
A look o f anno y ance crossed her face

Then you have spoiled it all she broke out l eap

ing from the sledge

Spoiled the ne chance I had
to nd the cave o f S hanty Moir murderer o f m y

father
Reivers j aw dropped in ama z ement and ho t anger
surged to his tongue Many women o f many kinds
he had l ooked in the eyes and this was the rst o ne

Spoi l ed it you red haired tru ll ! What do you

mean ? D idn t I save you from our bearded friend
yonder
his thin l ips cur l ed into their o l d
Or

~ perhaps you a r e
contemptuous smi l e
r
perhaps
o
.

The G i r l W ho W as No t

A f ra i d

191

one o f those to whom such attentions are not dis

taste ful
The sudden are and ash o f her anger breaking
l ike lightning out o f a Wi nter s sky checked his words
The contempt o f his smi l e gave place to a grin o f ad
Tottering and wav ering o n hi s feet he
mir at io n
did not stir o r raise his arms thou gh the thin bladed
kni fe which seemed to spring into her hands as c l aws
protrude from a maddened cat s paws slipped through
his mackinaw and pri cked the skin above his heart
be fore her hand stopped

Trull am I ? The daughter o f M acGr ego r Roy

i s a he l pless squaw who takes kind ly to su ch w o r d s
from any man on the trail ? Blood 0 my father !

Pra y you c owardly skulker ! P ray !

H is grin grew broa der

P retty very pretty ! he draw l ed

But you can t
make it good can you ? You thought y ou could
Your l ittle are O f temper made y ou fee l big You
were sure you were going to stick me
But you
couldn t do it You re a woman See ; y our ash o f
bigness i s dying out You re growing tame That s
one o f my special tiestaming sp it r es like y ou Oh
you needn t draw back Have no fear I never did

have an y taste for red hair

A painter wou l d have raved about t he d au ght er o f
M acG r ego r Ro y as she now stood back facing her tor
mentor The fair skin o f her face was ushed red
the thin sharp l ines o f mouth and nostril were t r em u
lous w ith rage and her wid e gre y e y es burned Her
head was thrown back in scorn her cap was o ff ; the
gl orious red golden hair o f her head seemed alive
with fury With one foot advanced the kni fe held
behind her her breath coming in an gry gasps S he
stood a gure passionately terribl y alive in the dead
waste o f the snows
.

The Snow Bu rner

1 92

Oh what a coward you are she panted

You
knew I couldn t avenge m y sel f on a sick man Y ou

c oward !
Reivers l aughed drunken l y The fever was bl urring
his sight dulling his brain and ll ing him with an
i rresistible desire to lie down

Yes I knew it he mumbled

I saw it in your
eye You couldn t do i tbecause I didn t want y ou
to I want youI want you to x me up
hole in

the shoulder fever understand P

I understand that when Duncan Roy my f ather s

brother catches up with us he wi ll save me the t rou

ble by putting a hole through y our head

P l enty o f time for that later on

Reivers fought
o ff the stupor and held his senses c lear for a moment

Have you got my whisky P

And what i f I have P

Answer me ! he sai d i ci l y
Have you ?

Duncan Roy has whisky she replied reluctant l y

H e will be on our trail now

How long how long be fore he l l get here ?

sh
Yon be ast
e nodded her head toward the still
gure in the sno w raided our camp struck me down
and stole me away with m y team two hours be fore
sundown yest er e en Duncan Ro y w as out meat
hunting and wou l d be back b y dark He ll be two

hours behind us and hi s dogs trave l even with these

Two hours ? T 00 long

groaned Reivers and
pit ched head l ong into the snow

"

The Snow Bu rner

1 94

t rail here in the North ? Tis the law o f Nature that

such die !

P
And do you think that law will be followed here
demanded the girl

Were I alone it would retort ed the man

Our
task is to nd the place o f Shant y Moir and do him

j ustice

A nd the hospita l ity o f the M acGr ego r s ? Is it

like Duncan Ro y to see beast or man needing or want

ing help without stret ch ing his hand to help it ?

The man was S ilent

Do you think any good could c ome to you or me

i f we turned our hearts to stones and let a sick man

perish a fter he had fallen help l ess on our hands P

I tell you what I think Hattie M ac Gr ego r broke

I think there is trouble travelling

o u t the big voice
as tra il fellow with thi s man I see trouble in the
cut o f h is j aw and the lines o f his mouth There
is a fate written there ; he s a fated man and no else
and nothing would please me better than to hav e him
a thousand days mushing away from me and never to
Trouble and trouble ! It s w ritten
see him again
on him p l ain

Who is he ? W hence came he ? Wh y is he alone

dogless food l ess weaponless here i n these Dead
Lands ! Tis uncanny Blood 0 the de il ! He might
be dropped down from somewhere or more like shot
up from somewherefrom the b l ack pit for instance
I t s no proper for mere human being to be found in
his condition out this far on the barrens w ith no sign

P
o f how he came or wh y

Have no fear Unc l e Du n can l aughed the girl

H e s on l y a common man
Reivers opened his eyes chuck l ing feveri shl y

You l l pay for that common you S pitre when

I ve tamed you he mumbled

.

The Wo m an s W a y
common man Unc l e Duncan

1 95

On l y a
repeated

the girl stead fastly and I ve a bone to pick with him

when he s on his feet no l onger he l p l ess and pitiabl e

as he is now
Again Reivers l aughed through the haze o f f ever
He did not hav e the strengt h to hold his eyes O pen
but his mind worked o n

Help l ess ! D id you notice the in c ident o f the

ro ck P he babbled
Bare primitive t w o handed m an

against a man with a gun Who w o n P

Aye said the man seriously we owe you thanks

For a help l ess man you deal stout knocks

f o r that

And speak big words snapped the gir l

N OW
around with the teams Uncle Duncan an_d back to
camp There s been talk enough We must take him
in and shelter and care for him s ince he has fallen
helpless and pitiabl e on ou r hands We o w e him no
thanks Can you not l a y his head easierthe boast
ing foo l ! There ; that s better Now al l that the
dogs can stand Uncle for I misdoubt we l l be hard
pressed to keep the l i fe in him til l w e get him back to

camp
Reivers heard and strove t o reply But the p ar aly
sis o f fever and weakness was upon him and al l that
came from his l ips w as an incoherent babbling In
the last vapoury stages o f consciousness he realised
that he was being placed more co m f o r thbly upon the
s l edge that h is head was being l i f ted and that blankets
were be ing strapped about him
H e felt the S ledge being turned heard the runners
grate on the snow ; then ensued an easy sliding move
ment through space as the rested dogs sta rted their
l ope back through the valley The movement soothed
him
It l ulled him to a sensation O f sa fety and
c om fort
The phant as magori a o f f ev er pounde d at his b rain

The Snow Bu rner

1 96

his eyes and ears but the steady swishing rush o f the
s l eigh drove them away He slept and awoke when
a halt w as called and more whisky f orced down his
throat Then he slept again
There were several halts On ce he realised that
he was being f ed thin soup made from cooked v eni
That w as the l ast impression
so n and snow water
made on remaining consciousness
A fter that the
thread snapped
The sledges went on
They le ft th e va ll e y
Through the j umbled ridges o f the Dead La nds they
hurried The y reached a stretch o f stunted r and
stil l they continued to go
At lengt h they pul l ed
up before a solid little cabin bui l t in a cle ft o f rocks
The Snow Burner w as ca rried in and put to bed
A fter a rest Dun can Roy and the fresher o f the dog
teams took the tra i l again They came back a fter
a day and a night bringing w ith them a certain P r e
Batiste skilled in treating f evers and wounds o f the
body as well as o f the sou l The good cur gasped at
e torso which revealed itsel f to his gaze as he stripped
th
o ff the clothes to work at the wound

I f l e ban D i eu made him as well inside as outside

this is a very good man he said s imp l y ; and Dun can

M acG r ego r smiled grimly

Godo r the de ilmade him to dea l stout kno cks

that s sure he grunted

Tis a rare anima l we ha v e

stripped be fore us

A rare human beinga sou l reproved Father

Batiste
And i t is l e bon D ieu w ho makes us all

But the de i l gets ho l d o f some very young in

sisted the S cotchman
Father Batiste stayed in the ca bin f or two days

He w as not me ant to die this time he said late r

It wi ll be long
weeks perhapsbe fore he will be
He wi ll need care
strong enough to take the trai l
,

The Snow Bu rner

1 98

a considerabl e interest and appreciation

S itting
crouched over on a low stone bench with the light
o f the re and O f the su n upon him M ac Gr egor r e
sembled nothing so much as an old red haired bear
He was short o f leg and bow legged but his torso
and head were enormous His arms folded across
the knees were bear like in length and size and his
hai r and beard amed golden red
There was no friendliness in the small grey eyes
whi ch regarded Reivers so steadily Duncan Mac
Gregor was no man to hide his tru e feelings Reivers
looked en q uiringl y around

She s stepped outs i d e to feed the dogs said Mac

Gregor interpreting the l ook

You ll have t o put up

with my poor company for the time being

I accept your apology said Reivers and turned

c om fortably toward the wal l
A deep chesty chuckle came f rom the reside

Man whoever are y ou or W hatever are y ou to

take it that Duncan Mac G r ego r feels an y need to

apolo gi se to you ?
The words were further balm to Reiver s s new
f ound
feeling o f comfort and content

Say that again please he re q uested drowsily

L aughingly the giant by the re repeated his que r y

Good ! murmured Reivers

I j ust wanted to be
sure that you didn t know who I amo r rather who

I w as P

So
B l ood 0 the de il ! l aughed the Scotchman
it s that i s it ? Tel l me how much reward i s there
O ffered for you dead or alive ? I m a thri ft y man
lad and you hardly look l ike a man who d have a

small price on his head

Wrong quite wrong my suspicious f riend said

Re ivers
I see you ve the simple mind o f the man
W ho s spent much time in l one p l aces You j ump at
.

The Wo m an s W ay

1 99

natura l c oncl usion W hen you know me better

you ll know that that won t apply to me

Well
drawled the Scotchman good natured l y

I do not say that it l ooks suspi cious t o be found

a two days march out i n the Dead Lands w ithout
food dog o r weapons W ith an empty belly and a
ho l e through the shou l der but there are people w ho
might draw the conclusion that a man so xed was
travelling because some place behind him was mighty
bad for his health B ri t I have no doubt y ou have an
?
explanation
No doubt tis quite the w ay you pre f er

to travel ?

Under certain ci rcumstances it i s said Reivers

Aye ; under certain circ u mstances

Such as an

a ffair with a Redcoat for instance

Wrong again my simple minded friend You re

quite welcome to brin g the whole Mounted P olice here
to look me over I m not on thei r l ists or the lists

o f any authority in the world as wanted

For that insu l tt hat I m o f the kind that bears

ta l es to the policeI ll have an accounting w ith you

l ater on said M acGr ego r sharply For the rest

you l l admit that you re under some small obliga
tion to u swill y ou be kind enough to explain what
l ay behind you that y ou shou l d be out on the barr ens
in your condition ? I ll have y ou know that I am no
man to ask pay for succouring the s ick or wounded
Neither am I the man to l et an y wel l man be near
speaking with my ward and niece Hattie M ac Gr ego r

W ithout I know W hat s the straight o f him

Reivers turned l uxurious l y in his bunk and r e
garded his in q uisitor with a smile

P oor dainty helpless l ittle l ady !

h e mocked

So weak and frail that she needs a protector Never

carries anything more than an eight inch kni fe up
her sleeve You do right M acGr ego r ; your niece
th
e

The Snow Bu rner

certain l y needs l ooking a fter S he certa inly
2 00

doesn t

know how to take care o f hersel f

But about O bligations I don t quite agree with

you D idn t you owe me a l ittle something for that
turn w ith the bearded fellow ? Not that I did it

to save the girl he continued l oudl y as he heard

the door open behind him and knew that Hattie Mac

Gregor had entered

What was she to me ? Noth
ing ! But I was hungry I needed food But for
that our black be arded friend might now have been
wandering care free over the snows a red haired
woman still strapped to his sledge his taste seeming

to run to that colour which mine does not

Hattie M ac G r ego r stilled her uncle s retort with a
S hake of her golden red head crossed to the replace
and took up a bowl that was simmering there and
approached the bed Reivers l ooked at her closel y
striving to catch her e y e but she seated hersel f beside
him without apparently paying the slightest attention
She spoke no word made no S ign to welcome him
back from his unconsciousness but merel y held a
spoon fu l o f the steaming broth up to his lips
There was a certain dexterit y in her movements
which told that she had per formed this action man y
many times be fore and there was nothing in her man
ner to indicate her sensibilit y o f the change in his
condition Reivers opened his mouth to l au gh and
the gir l dexterously ti l ted the contents o f the spoo n
down his throat

You fool he sputtered hal f strangl ing

H e strove to rise but her round warm arm he l d
him down Over by the repl ace Duncan M acG r ego r
slapped his thigh and chuckled deep down in his hai ry
throat but on the face o f hi s niece there w as only
the determined patience o f the nurse dealing with a
patient not yet enti re l y responsible for his behav iour
.

'

C H A PTER

XXV

EXT morning when she came to f eed him

Rei v ers angrily reached for the bow l H e w as
stronger than the da y be fore and he held his hands
f orth
without trembling

There s no need o f your f eeding me b y hand any

l onger said he I assure y ou I l l enj oy my food

much better alone than I do with you feeding me

The girl seated herse l f at the bunk side holding
the bowl o ut o f his reach and l ooked him quietly
in the e y es I t was the rst time she had appeared
to notice his return to consciousness and Reivers
smiled quizzical l y at her scrutiny She di d not smile
in return mere l y studied him as i f he were an in
t er est ing subj ect
In the grey light o f morning Reivers f or the rst
time saw her with eyes cleared o f the fever blur
H is smile v anished for he saw that thi s woman to
him was di ff erent from an y woman he ever had
known be fore And he had known many
In her W ide grey e y es there rode a sorrow that
reached out and held the observer despite her evident
e fforts to keep i t hidden But the mouth be l ied the
eyes I t was set w ith an expression O f determ ination
almost superhuman almost savage It was as i f this

girl j ust roun di ng hei twenties had tu rned herse l f

into a f or c e f or the a ccomplishment o f an o bj ect The

2 02

Go l d !

2 03

mouth was harsh a l most l ip l ess i n its set Yet be

neath al l this the woman in Hattie M ac Gr egor w as
obvious so ft yearning

Many women had had a part in Reivers l i f e f ar

too many None o f them had he l d his interests l onger
than for a f ew months ; none o f them had he failed
to tame and break And none o f them had reached
below the hard husk o f him and touched the better
man as Hattie M acGr ego r did at this moment H is
past experiences his past att it u t e toward women his
past manner o f l i fe ashed through his mind each
picture bringing with It a stab o f remorse
Remorse ! The Snow Burner remorse ful ! H e
l aughed his o l d l augh o f contempt and deance o f
al l the world but t hdugh he re fused to acknowledge
it to himsel f the old invincible se l f assured ring was
not in it Thi s gir l was not to him what other women
had been and he saw that he cou l d not tame her as
he had tamed them
Strange thoughts rose in his mind He wished that
the past had been di fferent
He actuall y felt u n
worthy Well the past was past It had died wi t h
him i n the river H e was beginning a new li fe a
new name a new man Wh y couldn t he ? He drove
the weak thoughts awa y What nonsense ! H e
Hel l Camp Rei v ersgetting so ft over a woman ?
P ooh !

I said I could f eed m y sel f he snarled

Give

me that bow l I don t want you around

For repl y she dipped the spoon into the f ood and
held it read y

Li e down quietly please she said cold ly

This
is no time for keeping up your play o f being a big

man

Give me that bo wl he commanded

Un cl e she ca l led quiet l y

.

The Snow B u rne r

kinsman c ame l urching in from

2 04

Her big
the other
room o f the cabin

Aye l ass P said he

It l ooks as i f we would have to obe y Father

Batiste s directions and feed him b y force said the

gir l quietl y
He has come out o f the fever but he
hasn t got his senses back
He thinks o f feeding
himse l f Do you get the straps Uncle You r eco l

l ect Father Batiste s orders

Duncan M ac Gr ego r scratched his hairy head in
puzzled fashion

P
How now stranger
he gr owled
Can you no

take your food in peace P

I can take it W ithout an ybod y s help

insisted
Reive rs He knew that the S ituation was ridiculous
but he saw no w ay o f getting the whip hand

It was the word o f the good Father without

whom you would now be resting out in the snow with
a cairn o f rock over you that y ou shou l d be fed so
much and so little for some day s a fter y our senses

come ba ck said M acG r ego r slowl y

I do not ken
the right o f i t quite but the lass does The lass
S he l l have her way
I suspect I can do naught but

obe y her orders

commanded the gir l curtly

Ge t the straps
Reivers glared at her but she looked back without
the least losing her sel f possession or determi nation

You l l pay for thi s ! he sno rted

Wil l you take your food without the straps P said

she
For a minute thei r e y es met in conict

Oh don t be ridicu l ous snapped Reivers

Have

your S illy wa y

Good That s a good boy S he said so ftl y ; and

D uncan
Ro y ran from the r o o r choking

You see She continued as he swallowed the rst

.

The Snow Bu rner

Never mind said Rei v ers l ight l y. A pparentl y
sh
e doesn t know any better
S peaking to you S ir
I am nobody I m as much nobod y as a child bo rn

2 06

yesterday My li fe
as far as you re concerned
began up there o n the rocks in the Dead Lands

I died j ust a f ew da y s be fore thatd ied as e f

f ect ively as i f a dozen preachers had read the se r v ice
over me You don t understand that You ve got a
simp l e mind But I te ll y ou I m beginning a new
l i fe as compl etely as i f there w as no li fe behind me
and as you know a ll that s happened in this new l i fe
you see there s nothing for me to tell you about my

se l f

You died repeated the o l d man s l ow l y

I ll war

rant you had a good reason

A fair o ne I wanted to l ive I died to save my

l i f e

S peak p l ain ! grow l ed M acGr ego r

Y o u were
not eeing from the l aw ?

Noas I told you yesterday The on l y l aw I was

eeing f rom was the good old one that cheap men

make when they become a mob

I tak it they had a fai r reason for becoming a

mob ?

The best in the wor l d agreed Reivers

They
wanted to kil l me Now why they wanted to do that
is something that belongs to my other li feW ith the
other manhas nothing at al l to do with this man
with me and there fore I am not going to te l l you
anything about it except this : I didn t come awa y
with any thing that belonged to them except possibly

my l i fe
M acGr ego r nodded sage l y as Reivers ended

And his own bare l i f e a man has a right to get

away with i f he can e v en though it s property f or
.

Go l d I

2 07

others he said
I suppose you have or

P
had a name

I did I haven t now ; I haven t thought O f o ne

that would p l ease me

P
H OW would the Woman Tamer suit you
asked

the gi rl without pausing in her sewing

You t e
member you to l d me o ne o f your specialties w as

taming sp it r es like me ?
Reivers smi l ed

I am glad to see that you v e be come su f cientl y in

t er est ed in me Miss M acG r ego r to select me a name

Interested ! she ared ; then subsided and bent

over her sewing

I wil l speak no more Unc l e she
said meekly

Good ! sneered Reivers

Your manners are im
proving And now M r M acG r ego r what about y our
selves and your brother and a mine and a man

?
named Moir that I ve heard you speak o f
Duncan M acG r ego r tossed a fresh bi rch chunk into
the re and care fully poked the coals around it Ou t
side the dogs burrowing in the snow sent up to
the sk y thei r weird night cry a cry o f prayer and
protest protest against the darkness and m y stery
o f night prayer for the return o f the l ight o f day
A W ind sprang up and whipped dry snow against the
cabin window and to the sound o f i ts swishing wai l
Duncan M acGr ego r began to speak

Little as you ve seen t to te l l about yourse lf

stranger he said
tis plain from y our behaviour
out on the rocks that you re no man o f that foul Welsh
cutthroat and thie f Shant y Moir For the manne r
in which you dealt w ith y o u man w e owe you a

debt

We owe him nothing

i nterrupted the niece

Had he not interfered I wou l d hav e f ound the w ay

to Shanty Moir

f e it ed t o

The Snow Bu rner

2 08

But as how P

What matter as how ? What matter W hat hap

pens to me i f I could nd W hat has become o f m y

f ather and bring j ustice to the head o f Shant y Moir P

M ac Gr ego r shook his head

We owe you a debt he continued speaking to

Reivers and can not re f use to tel l y ou how it i s

with us It is no pleasant s ituation we are in as
you may have j udged My brother father of Hattie
i so r w as we do not know whichJames Mac

Gregor Red MacG r ego r so called in this land there

fore M acG r ego r Ro y as i s all our breed You would
have heard o f him did you be l ong in this countr y

Ten year ago w e built this cabin he and I and

sett l ed down to trap the count r y for the fur here
is good Five year ago a Cree ha l f breed gave James
a sliver o f rock to weight a net with and the rock
curs e it forever was over hal f gold
The breed
could not recal l where the rock had come from save
that he had chucked it into his canoe some place up
north

James M acG r ego r stopped trapping then He be

gan to l ook for the spot where the gilt y rock came
from Three years he looked and did not nd it
Two years ago Shant y Moi r came down th e river and
bided here and Moir w as a prospector among other
things
Together they found it a fter nearl y two
years l ooking together ; f or James took this Moir into
as the un l ucky day o f his
artnership
and
hat
t
w
p

l i fe
M acGr ego r k icked savage l y at the re and sat si l ent
f or several minutes

he continued
Six months gone they found it

dully in the Summer time The y came in for p r o

v isionsfor p rovisions for a ll Winter A d ep o srt
.

The Snow Bu rner

2 10

I ve a good notion to go hunting this Moi r and

b ring him to you j ust to see i f y ou could make those

words good said he

W i th your own hand eh ?
You d fail o f c ourse at the l ast moment being a
woman but it would almost be worth W hi l e getting
this Moir for you to see what y ou d do Yes it would

be an interesting experiment
It was the girl s turn to l augh now her l aughter
mocking his
Twou l d be interesting to see what you wou l d do

sh
e
d id you stand face to face with Shant y Moir

sneered
Yes twould be an interesting experiment
to see how you d craw l For this can be said o f the
v il lain Shanty Moi r that he does not r u n from men
You bring Shant y Moir in !
t o get he l p from women

How would you do itwith your mouth P

On second thought it would be crue l and unusual

punishm ent t o make any man listen to your tongue

c oncl uded Reivers solemnl y
MacG r ego r growled and shook his head

There s no doubt that Shant y Moir o f the black

heart is a hard grown experienced man said he

Henchmen o f histhree o f them Welshmen all

came through here whi l e James and he were hunt
ing the mine and he treated t hem like dogs and they
him like a C hie ftai n
Twas one o f them you s l ew
with the rock out yon and the matter is very plain :
S hanty Moir has got word to them and they have
c ome to the mine and overpowered m y brother James
You may j udge o f the strong hand he ho l ds over
his men when a s ingle one o f them dares to raid m y
c amp in my absence and stea l the daughter o f James

M acGr ego r for his chie ftain a strong big man

Twi l l make it a ll the sweeter when w e get him He

w ill die hard

.

Go l d !

Al s being
o

2 11

o f a thri fty breed you won t fee l

sorry at getting ho l d o f whatever gold he s taken out

suggested Reivers

That s understood said M acG r ego r and put a

fresh chunk on the re for the night

CH A P TER X XVI
TH E

LOO !

A W O MA N S EYES

IN

EXT morning Hattie M acGr ego r a fter she had

fed him hi s morning s meal said casua l ly
t o Reivers :

You have about six days more to pump my uncle

and get all he knows abo ut my father s mine In
s ix days you should be strong enough to trave l
and

so long and no l onger do I keep you

S ix days P repeated Reivers

I ma y take it into

m y head to start be fore

And that s all the good that wou l d d o you She

replied promptly
You don t go from here until
you are rm on your feet and that w ill be six days

about

Your interest att e r s me he mocked

Interest !
Her laugh was bitter
NO stray
wounded cur even goes from this camp till he s t
to rustle a living on the trail I could do no less even

for you

P
And i f I shou l d make up my mind and go

I would shoot you i f necessary to keep you here

till my duty by y ou is done !

You S pit re ! laughed Reivers hiding the admi

ration that l eaped into his eyes

And what makes
you think I m going hunting for this alleged min e

when ! depart from your too warm hospitality P

Tis easy enough to see that you re that

P ooh !
kindyou with your l ong hungry nose ! I w as watch
,

2 12

!The Snow B u rner

and stay S ooner o l ater S hanty M oir wi ll c ome
there t o throw my father s go l d over the bars and
to worse It may be a mon th a yearit doesn t make
any di fference But I suppose a great man l ik e you
has a qui cker and surer way o f doing it P

2 14

I have said Reivers

No doubt I cou l d see your eyes grow greedy

when you heard my uncle tel l o f gold

Oh no ; not especially taunted Reivers

The
go l d i s an incident S hanty M oir i s what interests
me
He seems to be a gent l eman o f parts
Im
going to get him I m going to bring you face to
face with him I want to see i f y ou cou l d make
good the strong talk you ve been dealing out as to
what y o u wou l d do You interest me that w ay M iss
M acGr egor and that w ay on l y
It will be an in

t er est ing experiment to get you Shanty Moi r

Thank Heaven ! she said grim l y

We l l soon
be rid o f you and your big talk Then I can forget
that any man gave me the name you gav e me and

l ived to brag about it a fterward

He l aughed as one laughs at a petulant ch i l d

You will never forget me he said

You kno w
that you w il l not forget me i f you live a thousand

years

I hav e f orgotten b etter men than you she said

and went out S lamming the door
That evening Reivers sat up by the re and further
p l ied o l d M acG r egor w ith questions concerning the
m i ne

You say that your brother cl aimed the mine l ay to

the north he said

I suppose you have searched

the north rst o f all ?

For a month I have done nothing e l se w as the

reply
I have not gone far enough north
My
brother James said it lay north f rom here ; and twas
.

The L oo k In a W om an s E y es 2 1 5
north he and S hanty Moir went when they started o n
thei r l ast trip together from which my b rother did

not retu rn or send word

Dumont s Camp and Fi fty Mi l e where Moi r s

been on sprees l ay to the west

Northwest aye Four day s hard mushing to Fi f ty

Mi l e Dumont s he l l
hole s a da y beyond

?
And you think the mine l ies to the nort h o f that

Aye More l ike in a direct l ine north o f here

f or twas so they went when they l e ft here

Reivers hid the smi l e o f triumph that st r uggl ed
The Dead Lands were strange country
o n his l ips
to him but in the l and north o f Fi ft y Mi l e he was at
home In his wanderings he had spent months in
that country in company with many other deluded
men who thought to dig gold out of the bare frozen
tundra He had found no go l d there and neither
had any o ne e l se There w as no go l d up there coul d
be none there and what was more important t o him
j ust now there was no rock formation nothing but
muskeg and tundra The mine could not be up north
It must however b e W ithin easy mushing distance
o f Fi fty M ile an d Dumont s Camp say two o r three
days e l se Shant y Moir wou l d not have hied himsel f
to these settlements when the need for rio t and wassai l
overcame him

You know the ground between here and Fi f ty

P
M ile I suppose
he said sudden l y

Tis my trapping ground replied M acGr ego r

SO the mine cou l dn t be east o f the settlements
It
w as to the west or the south

Your brother was particu l ar l y care fu l to keep the

location O f his nd secret even from y ou P

Aye said M acGr ego r sorrow ful ly

It had gone
to his head he had searched so long and the nd
w as so big
He took no chances that I might know
.

'

The Snow Bu rner

2 16

it or his daughter Hattie ; only the thie f Shant y

Moir
And he said that the mine l ay to the north That
might mean that it lay to the southwest or south
o f the settlements there his search would l ie I t was
new country to him and as M ac G r egor wel l knew
be fore he gave him his condence a man not know
ing the land might wander aimlessl y for y ears with
out covering those vast broken reaches But Mac
Gregor did not know o f the Chippewa squaw Tillie
and her people

And now I suppose you will be abl e to nd i t

soon
snapped Hattie M ac G r ego r
now that you

have pumped my uncle dry P

I w ill said Reivers

I ll be there waiting for

you when you come a l ong

And Duncan M acG r ego r
chuck l ed deeply
For the remainder o f his sta y at the cabin Reivers
maintained a sullen S ilence toward the girl Had she
been di fferent had She a ffected him di fferently he
wou l d have cursed her for daring to disturb him even
to this slight extent But he knew that i f she had
been diff erent she would not have disturbed him at
all
Wel l he would soon be awa y and then he
would forget her
He had an obj ect again
His nature was such
that he craved power and dominance over men as ah
other man craves food He would not live at al l
unless he had power He had used this power too
ruth l essly at Cameron Dam Camp and it had been
wrested from h im For the time being he w as down
among the herd But not for long
Shanty Moi r had a mine some p l ace south or west
o f the settlements and the mine yielded go l d nuggets
and gold dust for Shanty Moir to ing across the
bars Go l d spe l ls power Given gol d Reivers would
,

The Snow Bu rner

rest himse l f and draw breath

2 18

he paused to
and as he
stood there Hattie M ac G r ego r and her dog team swept
at right angles across his trail
She was riding bo y fashion hal f sitting hal f l y ing
driving the dogs furiousl y for
o n the empty s l edge
their daily exercise She did not speak She merely
l ooked up at him as she went past Then she was
gone in a urry o f snow and Reivers went forth on his
q uest o f power with a curse on his lips and in his
heart the determination that no weakening memories
of a gi r l s w istfu l eyes should interfere with his aim
,

CHA P TER XXVII

AI L O F O RT U NE

ON T H E T R

EIVER S travelled steadi l y for an hour at the

best pace that was in him It was not a good
pace for he was far from being in h is old ph y si cal
condition and the li ft and swing o f a snowshoe will
cramp the cal ves and ankle tendons o f a man grown
so ft from l ong bed l ying no matter how cunning
may be h is stride
He swore a l ittle at rst over his s l ow progress
He w as like a wol f sudden ly released from a trap
w ho desi res to travel far swi ft ly and instantly and
w ho nds that the trap has made him l ame
Reivers wanted to put the M a cG r ego r cabin and
the scenes about it which might remind h im o f Hattie
behind him w ith a rush But the rush he soon found
threatened to cripple him so he must per force give
it up The trai l that he had se t out t o make was
not one that an y man l east o f all one recently con
val escent
cou l d hope t o cover in a single burst o f
S peed
He w as going t o the Winter camp o f the people
o f Tillie
the squaw The camp la y somewhere in
the northwest How far away he did not know ; and
it was no part o f h is plans to arri ve at the camp o f
the Chippewas depleted in ener gy and resource The
r Ol e he had set out to play now called for the char
acter o f the Snow Burner at his bestd ominant u n
conquerabl e There fore when he found that his rst

2 19

The Snow Bu rner

220

e ff orts at Speed threatened to cripple him with the

treacherous snow shoe cramp he resigned himsel f to a
pace which would have shamed him had he be en in
good condition It was poor snow shoeing but at the
end o f an hour he had placed between himsel f and
all possibl e sight of Hattie M acG r ego r the rst ragged
rock ramparts o f the Dead Lands and he w as con
tent
On the weste rn S l ope o f a l ow ridge he unstrapped
his snow shoes and sat down on a bare bou l der for a
rest H is heart throbbed nervousl y from his exer
tion and his l ungs gasped weakl y But with each
breath o f th e crisp ai r h is strengt h was coming back
to him and in his head the brains o f the Snow
Burner
worked as o f old He smiled with great sel f satis
faction H e was not considering his condition w as
not counting the di fculties that la y in his path H e
was merely picturing w ith lightning l ike play o f that
powerfu l mental machinery o f hi s the desperate
nature o f the adventure toward which he was travel
l ing
I t w as desperate enough even to thril l Hell Ca mp
Reivers For probably never did born adventurer se t
forth o f his own free will on a more deadl y more
hopeless looking trail As he sat on the rock there
in the Dead Lands Reivers was in better condition
than on his ight from Cameron Dam Camp to thi s
extent : the bullet hole i n his shoulder was healed and
he had recuperated from the fever brought on by
expo sure and exhaustion That w as al l
He was
stil l the bare man with empty hands H e possessed
nothing in the world but the clothes he stood in the
food on his back and the gi ft snow shoes on his feet
He had not even a kni fe that might be called a
weapon for the case kni fe that old M acG r ego r had
given him upon parti ng could scarcel y be reck oned
-

The Snow Bu rner

the ro ck s and ridges gave wa y to the at tundra
w ith smal l clumps o f stunted w i l lows dotting the
atness like tin y islands in a s o f snow
Reivers q uickened his pace Out on the tundra he

222

'

ea

hurried straight to the nearest bunch o f willows Even

at a distance o f several rods the chewed white b r anches
o f the wil l ows told him their story and he gave vent
to a S hout o f relie f The caribou had been feeding
there The Chippewas lived on the caribou in Win
ter H e had only to f ollow the trai l O f the a nimals
and he would soon run across the moccasin tracks
o f his friends the Indians
Luck favoured him more than he hoped f or A t
his shout there was a crash in a clump o f wil l ows a
hundred yards ahead and a bull caribou l umbered
clumsily into the open
At the S ight o f him the
beast snorted loud ly and turned and ran From right
and le ft came other crashes and in the gathering
dusk the herd which had been stripping the willows
ed in the wake o f the sentinel bull their ungainly gait
whipping them o u t O f s ight and hearing in uncann y
fashion
Reivers smi l ed The camp o f Til l ie s people wou l d
not be far from the feeding ground o f the caribou
He ate hi s cold supper crawled into the shelter o f the
wil l ows and went to s l eep
Dry dri fting snow hal f hid the tracks o f the ca r i
bou during the night and in the morning he was
forced to wait f or the late coming dayl ight be fore
picking up the trail The herd had gone straight
westward and Reivers followed the signs his e y es
constant l y scanning the snow for m occasin tracks
or other evidence o f human beings
In the midd l e o f the forenoon in a birch and wil
low swamp he j umped the animal s again
Th ey
caught his scent at a mi l e s distance and Reivers
.

'

On t he

Tra i l o f F ort une

c rou ched
f rom the

223

down and watched avid l y as they streaked

swamp to securit y
To the north o f the swamp l ay the o p en sno w
where even the kni fe l ike f ore hoo f
c overed tundra
o f the caribou would have hard time to dig out a l iving
in the dead o f Winter To the south la y clumps
o f brush and stunted trees ideal shelter and feed
The animals went north Reivers nodded i n great
satis faction There were wolves or Indians to the
south probably the l atter
Accordingl y he turn ed
southward Toward noon he found his rst moccasi n
track evidently the trail o f a single hunter who had
come northward but not quite far enough on a hunt
f o r caribou
The track l ooped back southward and Reivers
trailed it
Soon a set o f snow shoe tracks j oined
the moccasins and Reivers a fter a close scrutin y had
revea l ed the Chippewa pattern in the snow knew that
he was o n the right track The tracks dropped down
o n t o the bed o f a solidly f rozen river and continued
o n to the south
Other tracks became visibl e W hen they gathered
together and made a hard packed trail down the middle
Reivers knew that a camp w as not far
o f the river
away and grew cautious
He found the camp as th e swi ft Wi nter darkness
came on a group o f hal f a dozen tepees set snugl y
i n a be nd o f the river one large tepee in the middle
easil y recognisabl e as that o f T illie the squaw chief
o f the band
Reivers sat down t o wait P resentl y he heard the
camp dogs growling and ghting over their evening
meal and knew that the y would be too occupied to
notice and announce the approach o f a stranger A l so
at this time the peop l e o f the camp would be in their
tepees suppin g heav i ly i f the hunter s god had been
.

The Snow Bu rner

-

224

favou rably inclined and gnawing the cold bones o f

yesterday i f that irrational deit y had been unkind
By the whining no te in the growls o f the dogs
Reivers j udged that the latter was the case this even
ing ; and when he moved forward and stood listening
outside the ap o f the big tepee he knew that it was so
Within an old s q uaw s treble rose faintl y in a whining
chant o f which Reivers caught the despairing moti f :
,

Bl a ck i s t he f ac e o f the sun, AhW O !

A h w o , ah w o l
T he t i me has c o m e f o r t he o l d t o d ie
Ah w o !
T h e r e is m e at o nl y t o k e e p a l i ve t he ou ng
We w ho ar e Ol d mu st d ie AhWO ! Ah WO ! Ah w o !
.

Any

ot her wh ite m an but Reivers would have

shuddered at the terribl e primitive story which the
wai l told Reivers smiled H is old luck w as w ith
him The camp was short o f meat and the hunters
had given up hopes o f making a kil l
With de ft experienced n gers he unl oosed the ap
o f the tepee There was no noi se Suddenl y the old
s q uaw s wail ceased ; those in the tepee looked up from
their scanty supper The Snow Burn er was stand
ing inside the tepee the ap closed behind him
There were six people i n the tepee the old s q uaw
an old man two young hunters a young girl and
Til l ie They were gathered around the r e stone i n
the centre making a scant meal o f frozen sh Tillie
by v irtue o f her position had the warmest place and
the most sh
No one spoke a word as they became aware o f
h is presence On l y on Tillie s face there came a look
in which the traces o f hunger vanished Reivers stood
l ooking down at the group f or a moment in silence
Then he strode forward thrust Tillie to one side and
sat down in her p lace For Rei v ers k new Indians
,

'

The Snow Bu rner

226

Oh L itt l e Bear c hanted the hunter great w as

your father the hunter ; great were you as a hunter
in you r young days W as there ever a Winter be

f ore when the caribou were not f ound here in plenty P

The o l d man shook hi s head

Oh Snow Bu rner said the hunter these are

the words o f Litt l e Bear whose age no one knows
Always the caribou have been p l enty here a l ong this
ri v er in the Winter Longer than any o ld man s tales
reach back have they f ed upon the w illows They
a re not here this Winter The gods are angr y with us
We hunt We hunt til l we l ie at on the snow We
nd no signs There are men stil l here S now Burner

but the cari bou have gone

Have gone have gone have gone

Ah w o l
chanted
the o l d squaw

W
here do you hunt P asked Reivers terse l y

Where we have alwa y s hunted ; where ou r f athers

hunted be f ore us w as the rep l y

A l ong the ri v er in
the muskeg and bush to the south we hunt The cari
bou are not there They are nowhere The gods
hav e taken them away We must die and go where

they are

W e must go wai l ed the o l d squaw The gods

re f use us meat We must go
Her chant of despair was heard beyond the tepee
In the smaller tents other voi ces took up the wail The
women were singing the death song thei r primitive
protest and acquiescence to what they considered the
irrevocabl e pleasure o f their dark gods
Reivers waited unti l the l ast squaw had whined
hersel f into silence Even then he did not speak at
once He knew that these simple people who f o r
his deeds had given him the expressive name o f Snow
Burner were waiting for him to speak and he knew
the va l ue o f si l ence upon their primitive soul s H e

e Tra i l o f F ort une

On th

22 7

w ith f olded arms l ooking a bo v e the heads o f the

two hunters

You have done we ll he said nodding impres

You
sive l y but not l ooking at the two young men
have hunted as men who have the true hunter s heart
But w hat can man do when the g ods are against him ?
The gods ar e against you The y are not against me

To morrow I slay you your ll o f caribou

S now Burner whispered one o f the hunters in

the awe stricken si l ence that fo ll owed th is announce

ment there are no ca ri bou here A re yo u greater

than the gods P

Reivers l ooked at him and at the l ight in his e yes
the young man drew back i n f ri ght

To morrow I give you your ll o f meat he said

slow l y
Not on l y enough for one day but enou gh
for al l W inter Each tepee shal l be pi l ed high w ith
meat E v en the dogs shall eat til l they want no more
I have promised I a l one Do y ou
he pointed

at the hunters
bring me to night the two best ries
in the camp I f they do not shoot true to morrow do
not l et me nd you here when I return f rom the hunt
And now the rest o f youall o f yougo f rom here

Go I wil l be alone
They rose and went out obedient l y ex cept Til l ie
wh
o watched Reiver s s f a c e with avid e y es as the
young gir l l e ft the tepee Then she crawled forward
and touched her f orehead to his hand for Reivers
had not bestowed upon the girl a glance
P resentl y the hunters came back and placed their
Winchesters at his feet He examined each weapon
care fully found them i n p er f ect order and ful ly
loaded and dismissed the men with a wave o f his arm
Ti l lie sat with bowed h ead humbly waiting his p leas
ure but Reivers rolled himse lf in his bl ank et and l a y
down a l one b y the re
sat

228

The Snow Bu rner

-

I w ish to sleep warm he said

S ee that
re does not go out till the night i s hal f gone Be
ready to go with me in the hour be fore dayl ight Have
the swi ftest and strongest team o f dogs and the l arg
est sledge hitched and waiting to bear us to the hunt

GO ! Now I S leep

The Snow Bu rner

his c ourse t o right angl es straight toward the north
An d now mush !
y ou ! Mush for al l that s
in you ! he cried plying the W hip
You ve g t man y
mi l es t o cov er be fore day light Mush mush !
He held straight northward unti l he l e ft the bush

2 30

and reached the open tundra at the spot where the

ca ribou the day be fore had swung away farther north
He kn ew that the herd being in a country undisturbed
by man would not trave l far from the willows where
he had j umped them the da y be fore and he held cau
ti o u sly on thei r trai l unti l the rst grey o f daylight
showed a rise in the l and ahead Here he ha l ted
the dogs and crept forward on foot
It was as he expected The caribou had ha l ted
o n the other side o f the height o f l and
feeling se cure
in that region where no man ever came Below him
he could see them mov ing and he realised that he must
act at once be f ore they began their trave l s o f the da y

Til l ie he whispered coming back to the s l edge

as soon as you can see the snow on the kno ll ahead

do you drive the dogs around there to the right and
swing to the l e ft along the other side o f the knol l
D rive fast and shout loud Shout as i f the wolves
had you There are caribou over the knol l When
the dogs see them l et them go straight for the herd

But wait til l the snow shows white in the daylight

Snatching both ries from their covers he ran
around the le f t shoulder o f the kno ll and ambushed in
a triing hol l ow
H e waited patiently one rie
c ocked and i n hi s hand the other l y ing ready at his
side The l ight grew broader ; the herd j ust out o f
sa fe rie S hot began milling rest l essly
S uddenly from around the right o f the knoll ca me
the sharp yelp o f a dog as Tillie s l eader rounding
the ridge caught scent and sight o f l iving meat ahead
The caribou stopped dead Then bed l am broke l oose
.

T he Snow Bu rner H unt s

231

as the dogs saw what w as b e f ore them A nd the

caribou trembling at the wo l f ye l ls o f the dogs broke
into their swi ft l umbe ring run and came streaking
straight past Reivers at fty yards distance
Reivers waited unti l the maddened beasts were run
ning four deep be fore him Then the s l aughter be
gan N 0 need to watch the sights here The crash o f
shot upon shot f o l lowed as quick l y as he cou l d pum p
the l ever There were ten shots in each rie and he
red them a ll be fore the herd was out o f range
Then onl y the hideous yelps o f the maddened dogs
tore the morn ing quiet A dozen caribou some dead
some ki cking some trying t o craw l away were scat
ter ed over the snow and Reivers nodded and knew
that his hol d on Til l ie s peop l e was comp l ete
The dogs were on the rst caribou now snarl ing
yelping ghting eating for the time being as W ild
and savage as any o f their wo l f forebears Ti l l ie
spi l led from the sledge in the rst mad rush o f the
team came waddling up to Reivers and bowed down
be fore him humbly

Snow Bu rner I know you are on ly a man be cause

I al one o f my peop l e have seen you among other

white men she said

Yet y ou are more than other
men Snow Burner I have l ived among w hite people
and know that the ta l k o f spirits i s onl y for children

?
But how knew you that the caribou were here

The meat is there said Reivers pointing at his

kil l
Your work is t o take care o f it The axe is on
the s l edge Cut O ff as many saddles and hind quarters
as the dogs can drag back to camp The rest we w il l

cache here To your work Do not ask questions

He reloaded and put the wounded animal s out o f
their misery each with a shot through the head and
sat down and watched her as she slaved at her but cher s
task Ti ll ie had l ived among white peop l e had been
.

The Snow Bu rner

2 32
to the white man s school even but Reivers knew
he would slacken his hol d on her i f he demeaned him
sel f by assisting her in her toi l
W hen the dogs had stayed their hunger he leaped
-

into thei r midst with clubbe d rie and kn ocked them

yelping away from their prey When the y turn ed and
attacked him he coolly stru ck and kicked till the y had
enough Then with the driving whip he beat them
till they l ay at in the snow and whined for mercy
By the time Til l ie had the sledge l oaded and the
rest o f the ki ll cached under a huge heap o f snow
it w as noon and the dogs started back with their
heavy load open mouthed and panting thei r excite
ment divided between fear o f the man w ho had mas
te r ed them and the odour o f fresh bl ood that reeked
in their a v id nostri l s
.

The Snow Bu rner

2 34

White

men have been here o ften to seek f or go l d

The great Snow Burner once was o ne o f them The y
have digged hol es i n the ground The y have taken the
sand fromcreek bottoms D id the Snow Burner who
n ds caribou where there are none nd an y gold here ?

No It is an o l d story There is no gold here

Reivers l eaned fo r ward and s p oke harshl y

Listen Little Bear ; l isten all you peop l e T here

is gold within three days march from here Much
gold Another man digs it You w ill nd it for me

I have spoken
S ilence fel l on the tepee The Indians looked at
o ne another
Littl e Bear nally spoke with bowed
head

We do the Snow Burner s wi ll

Nawa the youngest and strongest o f the hunters
tu rned to Reivers respect fu ll y

Oh Snow Burne r Nawa serv es you with the

strength of his leg and the keenness o f his e y es Nawa
knows that the Snow Burner sees things that are hid
den to us Our oldest men say there is no gold here
Other white men say there is no gold here The Snow
Burn er says there is gold near here

The Snow Burner sees what is h idden to others

Nawa does not doubt Nawa waits onl y the Snow
Bu rner s commands But Nawa has been to the set
He has
t l em ent s at Fi fty Mile and Dumont s Camp
heard the white men talk The y talk there o f a man
who carries go l d like gu npowder and go l d l ike bullets
i nstead O f the white man s money

Nawa has talked with Indians who have seen

this man The y call him Iron Hair because his hair
is black and sti ff l ike the quills o f a porcu pine Oh
Snow Burner Nawa knows nothing He merel y tells
what he has heard Is th is the man the S now Bu rn er

too has hear d o f !

The W h i t e M an s Wi ll

2 35

Reivers looked around the circ l e o f smoke b l a ckened

faces about the re N 0 expression betrayed wh at was
going on behind those wood like masks but Reivers
knew Indians and sensed that they were all waiting
excitedly for his answer

That i s the man he said and by the comp l ete

s ilence that fol l owed he knew that his reply had
caused a sensation that would have made white men

swear
What know y ou o f Iron Hair Nawa P

Oh Snow Burner sai d Nawa dole fu l l y our tribe

knows o f Iron Hair to its sorrow Two moons ago
the big man with the hair l ike a porcupine was at
Fi fty M ile for whisky and food He hired Smal l E y es
and Broken Wing o f our tribe to haul the f ood to
his camp a day s travelling each way so he said The
pay w as to be big Smal l Eyes and B roken Wing
went S o much people know Nothing more The
sledges did not come back Smal l E yes and B roken
W ing di d not come back So much do we know o f
I ron Hai r Nawa has spoken

Once there were men in these tepees said Reivers

l ooking high above Nawa s head Once there were

men w ho wou l d have gone from their tepees to follow
to the end the trai l o f their brothers who go and d o
not come back Now there are no men The y sit in
the tepees with the women and keep warm P erhaps
Small Eyes and B roken Wing were men and did not
c are to come back to people who sit by thei r res
and do not seek to n d thei r brothers who disappear

We have sought oh Snow Burner said Nawa

hopelessly
Do not think we have on l y sat b y our
res We sought to fo ll ow the trail o f Iron Hair
o u t o f Fi f ty Mile

?
How ran the trail
interrupted Reivers

Between the north and the west We went to

hunt our b rothers But a storm had bl otted ou t the
-

The Snow Bu rner

2 36

trai l Iron Hair had gone out in the storm Who can

P
fol l ow when there i s no trai l to see

Once resumed Reivers in the tone o f contempt

there were strong dog drivers and sharp eyes here

They wou l d have found the camp o f Iron Hair i n

those day s

Our dogs stil l are strong our young men driv e

well our e y es are S harp even now Snow Burner

came Nawa s wear y reply

We searched Even as
we searched for the caribou we searched for the cam p
o f Iron Hair We found no cam p There is no
white man s camp in this country There is no cam p
at all We searched till nothin g the S ize o f a man s
cap could be hidden The white men from Dumont s
Camp and Fi fty M ile have searched for the go l d which
W hite men are mad f o r They found
noth ing At

the settlements the white men sa y This man must be

the devi l himsel f and go to hell for his gold be cause
his camp certainl y is not in this wor l d where men can
s e e it with thei r e y es

And the caribou were not in this wor l d either ?

mocked Reivers
Nawa shook his head

White men too have looked for the camp o f

Iron Hair

Many white men supplemented o l d Litt l e Bear

White men always look when the y hear of gol d

They nd gold i f it is to be found The earth gives
up its secrets to them Snow Burner the y could not

nd the place where Iron Hair digs his gold

Nawa and hi s hunters could not nd the caribou

said Reivers
There was no reply He had driven his will home

Oh Snow Burner said Nawa at l ast as Little

Bear has said we do y our will

Go od Reivers rose and towered over them

My
.

C HA PTER
A NY

M EA N S TO

XXX
A N E ND

his b l ankets and

cursed himsel f for his weakness What had hap
pened to him ? Was he getting t o be like other men
that he wou l d l et the memory o f an impudent red
hai red girl inter fere with his plans o r pleasures ? Had
he not sworn t o f orget ? And y et here came the
memory o f herthe wide grey eyes the su ff erin g
mouth the purity o f the look o f herrising be f ore his
eyes l ike a vision to shame him
To shame him ! To shame the S now Burner ! He
understood the signi cance o f the look she had given
him and which had stood between him and Tillie
Womanhood pure nob l e womanhood w as appealing
to his better sel f
Hi s better se l f ! Rei v ers l aughed a l augh so ghastly
that it might have come from a bare skull H is better
se l f ! I f a man be l ieved in things l ike that he had to
believe in the human racehad to believe in g ood
ness and badness virtue and sin right and wron g and
all that S illy e ff eminate rot Reivers didn t believe in
that stuff He knew only one life law that o f stren gth
over weakness and that w as the law he wou l d live
and die with and M iss Hattie MacGr ego r coul d not
inter f ere
With his terrible wi ll -power he erased the memory
o f her f rom h is mind He did not erase the resent

N the big tepee Reivers ro ll ed

on
.

2 38

A ny

M eans

to

An

E nd

2 39

ment at his o w n weak ness

On the confr ar y the
resentm ent grew H e wou l d re v enge h imse lf for that
moment o f weakness
There were two ways o f nding Moir and the mys
Onethe way he had rst p l anned t o
t er io u s mine
f o ll oww as t o S catter his Indians and as many
others as he c ou l d bribe with caribo u meat over the
country l ying to the south o f Fi ft y M ile where he
knew the mine must be Moi r o r h is men must show
themselves sooner o r l ater In time the Indians woul d
nd Moir s camp
But there w as a l so a shorter and surer w aya
shame fu l way Moir by the talk he had heard o f him
came to Fi fty Mi l e and Dumont s Camp for such
wh isky and feminine company as might be found H e
had even sent one o f his henchmen to stea l Hattie
M acG r egor
Su ch a move proved that Moir was
desperate and by t hi s time b y the non appearance o f
the wou l d be kidnap pe r the chie f would know that hi s
man w as e ither killed or captured and that no hope
for a woman l ay in that q uarter Moir s next move
would be to come t o Fi fty M i l e and Dumont s o r
to send a man there to procure the means o f salving
his disappointment And Reivers had two attractive
women at his disposal Ti ll ie and the young gi r l w ho
Thus did Reivers o vercome h is
w as nearly beauti ful
momentary weakness The black shame fu l ness o f his
scheme he l aughed at Then he went to sleep
He gave his orders to Ti l lie early next mornin g

Have this tepee and another one l oaded on one

s l edge he directed
Have a second s l edge l oaded
w ith caribou meat D o you and the young gi rl pre
pare to come with me We are going on a l on g

j ourney You will both take your brightest clothes

He waited w ith set j aws while his orders were
obeyed No weakness any more There was onl y
.

The Snow Bu rner

2 40

one l aw the strong over the weak and he was the

strong one
A ca l l from Tillie apprised him that a ll w as rea d y
and he strode forth to nd Nawa the young hunter
wait ing with the two women read y for the trail

Did I say aught about

H o w so P he demanded

Nawa ?

Oh Snow Burner whispered Tillie Neo p a is

t o be Nawa s s q uaw with the coming o f Spring The y

w ish to go together

And I do not wish them to go together said

Reivers harshl y
Give me that rie
He took the

weapon from Nawa s hands

Do y ou stay here and
eat caribou meat and grow fat against the coming o f

Spring Nawa

Snow Burner said Nawa a ash o f w il l lighting

his eyes for the moment does Neo p a come back to

P
me

said Reivers cocking the rie

But i f
P erhaps
you try to follow you w il l never come back I s it

P
understood
Nawa bowed his head and tu rned awa y Neo p a
made as i f to run to him but Reivers caught her
brutally and threw her upon the lead sledge
He
had resolved to trave l the w ay o f shame no matter
what the cost to others

Mush ! Ge t on ! he roared at the dogs and with

the rie ready and with a backward glance at Nawa
he dro v e away for Fi fty M i l e and Dumont s Camp
,

The Snow Bu rner

l eaning on the packing case
-

2 42

Jack R a f tery
that served

as bar in his l ogcabin saloon

Yes men he ce r tainly
is bumped in the bean and l ocoed in his arms Gim
me that c hunk 0 meat there for a bottle 0 hoo ch
Bout fty pounds it ll weigh I d give im a gallon

but he grins foolish and sa y s : Bottle One bott l e

Drag your meat in say s I Well gents w ill you

N o sir ; para ly sed in the
b lieve he couldn t make it
arms or something

That yo ung squaw 0 his did the toting A beaut ?

Gents there ne v er w as anything put up in a brown
hide to touch it An that locoed o l bum running
round l oose with i t
Tempting providence that s
what he is when he comes paradin g round rea l men
f olks with ski rts like them Shouldn t wonder i f
ing d happen to him o ne 0 these cold days
so m eth
Looks l ike he might a been an aw fu l good man in
h is day too
Well bui l t
Reckon he s been used
mighty rough to be l ocoed and cripp l ed up the w ay

he is

I reck ong draw l ed B l ack P ete w ho ran the

games at Ra f ter y s when there w as an y mone y i n

sight
I reck o ng too mebbe he get handle more
rough some tam e f he s hang round l on g w id dem
Tha smal l squaw s t oo ch i c she to
t w o squaw

b long to 01 bum l ak heem

The assembled gents l aughed Had they seen the

at that moment their l aughter wou l d have

o l bu rn
b een cut short Reivers in a gu l ly out o f S ight o f the
sett l ement had thrown away his hooch pitched camp
tethered the dogs and made a ll secure with a swi ftness
and e fciency that be l ied the characterisation B l ack
H e had the two tepees set
P ete had app l ied to him
u p f ar apart the dogs tied between them and Tillie
and Neop a had one tepee and Reivers the other alone
Hav ing mad e camp R ei v ers knew what the boys
-

T he S q u aw M an

2 43

wou l d expect o f him i n his character o f sodden squaw

man Having resolved to use the most s hamefu l means
in the world t o achieve his end he played his base part
t o per fection

Do you take this chunk o f meat

he directed

T illi e an d go down t o the sa l oon and get another

bottle o f hooch Yes yes ; I know I have destro y ed
You are not to ask q uestions but to obey
o ne bottle
my commands Go down and trade the meat f or
hooch D o not stop t o speak to the white men C ome

back at once Go !
But down in Ra f t er y s the assembl age had no hint
o f these swi ft changes and they l aughed merri ly at
B l ack Pete s remarks

What d yo u reckon his l a y i s Jack P asked o ne

Booze rep l ied Ra ftery instantl y

Nothing e l se
W hen you see a man who s sure been as good a man
in h is day as this reli c trai l in g round with s q uaw
folks you can j est nacher l ly whitt l e a l ittle marker
f or him and paint on it Nother white man as the
hooch hez got
Sabbe ? I trace him o u t as some
prospector who s got cripp l ed up and been l aying o u t
mongst the Indians with a good supply o f the Ol
frost bite cure l ongside o f im Nothin to do but
tuh hit the j ug o ff en enough to keep from gettin sober
and remembering what he used to was Sabbe ? Been
l ayi n out suckin g the neck o f a j ug til l his 01 thi nker s
got twisted

I ve seen dozens o f em Y o u can t f oo l me when

I see o ne and I S aw h im when he w as comin through
the door Ran out 0 ho oc h and was a fraid he d get
sobe r so he comes down here to get soaked up some
more Brings his l oad 0 meat long to trade in an
these two brown dol l s to make sure in case the cari bou
have been down thi s way which the y ain t Bet the
d rinks against t w o bits that he ll be c hasin one o t h
e
.

The Snow Bu rner

down here f or another bottl e be f ore

2 44

squaws
an hour s

e
one
They
all
do
I
ve
seen
his
kind
be
for
g
Bla ck Pete took the bet

Because I m o nl u ck y m oi l atel y an I want t o l o se

th is bet he explained
Ra ftery l aughed homeri ca l ly

P
What s on you chest Jack demanded one o f his
f riends

I was j ust thinking gurgl ed the saloonist what

u d h appen in case this sti ff gent Iron Hair was to run

in bout this time

An I ron Hai r he s
By Gar ! laughed Pete

j ust bout due

At that moment Tillie came waddlin g in l aid down
her bundle o f meat be fore Ra ftery and said

One bottle

What d I te ll you P chuck l ed Ra ftery handing

o v er the liquor
B O SS h im get laid o u t eh P he said
to Tillie
But Til l ie did not pause for conversation
She
whipped the bottle under her blanket and waddled o u t
without a word

Well I m a so n o f a gun ! proclaimed Ra fter y

That 0 1 bum has got em well trained an yhow

Black P ete pu l led his beard r eect ivel y

Come to t heenk he mused aloud dere w as wan

rie o n those sledge I t heenk mebbe I no go v isee t
thees Ol bum he s camp tee l she s l eet l e better ac

quaint weeth moi

Th
e Snow B u rner

2 46

w ith nothing to brag about but a drink o f hooch and

a mouth ful o f talk with the squaw man

I don t quite follow that gent s cu rves summed

up Jack Ra ftery S peaking for the gang

He gets
enough hooch here to keep any human gent laid out
twenty six hours out o f the twenty four but somehow
whenever you come moseying ii p to h is camp he s on
his pins ready to give y ou a drink and a lot o f l ocoed
talk Yessir he sure is locoed until he needs a guard
ian but for one I don t go to do no rushing o f his
l ad y folks not while he s able to stand on his pins
and keep his eyes moving Gents there s been o ne
awful stiff man in his day and his condition goes t o
S how what boo z e ll do to the best o f em and ought to
be a warning to us al l Line up men ; b out third

drink time for me

There is so m et heeng about heem agreed Black

P ete
I don t know what tees but there is some

i sp air s to me Look out !

t heeng that w h
While Fi fty M ile thus debated his character Reivers
l ay in his tepee care fully playing the shame ful part he
had assumed H e knew that b y now the news o f his
arrival or rather the arrival o f Neo p a and Tillie had
been bruited far and wide around the settlements S oon
the news must come to the ears o f the man for whose
benet the scheme had been arranged
Shanty Moir being what he was would become
interested when he heard the descriptions o f Ne op a
and also because he was what he was he wou l d waste
no time falter at no risks stop at nothing when hi s
interest had been aroused Reivers had onl y to wait
Moir would come The on ly danger w as that Hattie
and her uncle might come be fore him
On the third day a fter the squaw
man s arrival
Fi fty M ile had a second sensation That morni n g
as Rei v ers staggering artisticall y c ame out o f Ra f
-

The S c orn o f a Pu re W o m an

2 47

house o f poison he al l but stumbled over a

Sledge be fore the door With hi s assumed grin o f
idiocy growing w ider he examined the s l edge care
full y next the team which was h itched to it then
li fted his eyes to the man and woman that stood be
s ide the outt At t he r st gl ance he had recognised
the sledge and he needed the time thus gained to t e
cover from the shock

Hello Mac 01 timer ! he bel l owed drunkenly at

D uncan M acGr ego r Come have a drink with me

M acG r ego r l ooked at him dour l y disgust and anger
is big red face
Hattie at his side looked awa y
on h
her l ips pres se d tightly together to control the anger
rising w ith in her She had gone deadly pa l e at the
rst s ight o f Reivers ; now the red O f shame w as
burning in her cheeks

I shook hands with you stranger when you l e ft

o u r roo f
said M acG r ego r gru ff l y
I do not do so

now I thought you were a man

I never did ! snapped Hattie sti ll l ooking away

I knew it w as not a man

Something l ike a so b
seemed to wrench itsel f from her chest in spite o f her

rm l ips
I knew it w asj ust what it is
Sudden ly she ared around on Reivers her fa c e w an
with min gled pain shame and anger

Now you are doing j ust what you are t for I ve

heard Living o n your squaws ! And y ou dared to
talk big to me to a decent woman B l ood o f my
father ! You dared to talk to me at all ! Drive on
Unc l e We l l go on to Dumont s We l l get away
from this thing ; it po l lutes the air H i yah Bones !

Mush mush mush !

Reivers leered and grinned foolishlyfor the bene
t f the onlooker s as the sledge went on out o f
S ig1p
t

P
S ee he said boast fully I used to know white
t er y

,
.

The Snow Bu rner

2 48

fo l ks once Yes sir ; used to know lot o f em Don t

no w
Only know Indian s S long bo y s ; go t t o go

home
All that day he sat a l one in his tepee Tillie came
to him at noon with food and he cursed her and
drove her away In the evening she came to him
again and again Reivers ordered her not to li ft
the ap on his tepee
Tillie by this time was fully convinced that the
Snow Burner had gone mad Else wh y had he r e
pulsed all her advances ? Wh y had he refused to look
at the young and attractive Neo p a ? And now he
even spurned food Yes the Snow Burner had gone
mad as white men sometimes go mad in the North ;
but she was stil l h is slave That was her fate
Reivers sat alone in his tepee once more ghtin g
to put away the face o f Hattie M acG r ego r as it rode
be fore his eyes a bu rning searing memory He w as
not faltering The shame for him because he was
a white man because she had o nce had him under her
roo f that Hattie M acGr ego r had su ff ered as S he saw
him now did not swerv e him in the least from the
wa y he was going
H e had decided to do it thi s way That w as settled
The shame and degradation o f his assumed position
he had reckoned and counted as naught in the game
he was playing Any means to an end These same
men who were despising him for a sodden squaw man
would bow their heads to him when the game was won
And he would win it the memor y o f the face o f Hattie
M acG r ego r would not halt him in the l east Rather it
would spur him on For when the game was won he
would laugh at herand forget
For the present it was a little hard to forget That
was wh y he sat alone in the tepee and swore at Tillie
when she timidly o ffered to brin g him food

'

The Snow Bu rner

25 0

song ended Ra f ter y s r oaming eye caught S ight o f

Reivers

Ah there he is ; here he i s Iron Hair There s

the man with the squaws I was telling you about

The man swung around and Reivers w as fac e to
face with the man he sought Shanty Moir

HA PTER XXXI I I
S

H A NT Y M OI R

tumultuous scheme o f l i fe o ften had l ed

him into situations where his l i fe had hung on his
ability to play artistica l ly the part he had assumed
But never had hi s se l f control been put to such a test
as now when he faced Shanty Moir
Had he not prepared himsel f for a shock hi s su r
prise must surely have betray ed him for even the
Snow Burner could not l ook upon Shanty M oir w ith
o u t amazement
To Reivers the rst impression that
came was that he w as l ooking at something as raw
and primitive as th e sources o f li fe itse l f
Shanty Moir had l ittle or nothing in common with
the other men in the room He was even shaped
di ff erent l y H e be l onged so it seemed to Reivers
to the age o f the saber tooth tiger the long haired
mammoth and a diet o f roots and raw esh
There w as about him the suggestion o f man j ust
risen to the dignity o f an upright position H is body
was enormouslonger wider denser than a man s
body should be ; the l egs beneath it short and bowed
There was no neck that could be seen H is arms
seemed to be gin close up to the ears and ran down
ward in curv es like giant cal ipers the hands even with
the knees
The head tted the body squat and enormous the
forehead running abrupt ly back from the brows and
the face so at and bony that the features seemed
RIVER S

25 1

The Snow Bu rner

252

mere ly to dent it The brow bones came down and

hal f hid the sma ll eyes ; the nose w as smal l but a
pair o f great nostri l s ran back in the skull ; the m o uth
w as huge yet it seemed small and there was more
o f the head below it than above
Iron Hai r w as well nicknamed H is hair was prob
ably three inches long and it stood out straight from
his headblack w i r y menacing Reivers with his
foolish grin growing l arger on h is face appraised
Moir with considerable admiration
Here w as the
real thing the pure unadu l terated man animal u n
weakened untouched by e ff eminising civilisa tion This
man knew no more law or conscience than the ancient
cave tiger whose only dictates sprang from appetite
Reivers had rej ected morals because it pleased him
to run contrary to all the rest o f the world ; this man
never knew that right o r wrong existed What his
appetites told him to take he took as a matter o f
course And it was written in his face that his ap
petites were as abnorm ally power ful as was he
Reivers had been a leader o f men because his mind
w as stronger than the minds o f the men with whom
he had dealt This man was a leader because o f the
b l ind unintelligent force that was in him And in
w a r d l y the ghting man i n Reivers glowed at the
prospects o f the Titanic clash that would come be
tween them
Shant y Moir as he l ooked from under his bon y brows
saw exactly what Reivers wi shed him to see : a drunken
broken s q uaw man so weak that he could not possibly
be the slightest source o f trouble Being primitive o f
mind he listed Reivers at once as helpless Having
done this nothing could alter his opinion ; and Reivers
had gained the vantage that he sought
Moir threw back his head and l aughed so ftl y
-

The Snow Bu rner

-

254

repeated Moir doubtingly

A rt a medi

P
cine man o l d so n
Reivers S hook his head loose l y

I t s some
Not me mister not me he chuckled
thing Indian that I don t sabbe But there s a couple
graves way up where we came from and they hold
what s l e ft o f a couple o f bad men w ho raided my
camp and stole m y kids I don t know how it hap
pened mister The kids c ome back to me the same
night and the two bad men were sti ff and bl ackas

black as y our hair mister a fter the rst kiss

The kiss o f Death chimed in B l ack P ete cross

ing himse l f
I have heard o f eet S acr ! I am the

l uck y dog moi

Shanty Moi r nodded H e too had heard o f the
method by which Indian women of the North o n rare
occasions revenge themselves upon the bruta l white
men who stea l them from their peop l e Having o ften
indu l ged in that thrilling sport himse l f Moir was we ll
versed in the obstacles and dangers to be met in its
pursuit
Being cra fty w ith the cra ft o f the ly nx
that eschews the poisoned deer carcass he had thus
far managed to select his vi ctims from the breed o f
squaws that do not serious l y obj ect to playing a Sabine
part ; and he had no intention o f decreasing h is cau
tion now although what men had spoken o f Neo p a
had red his bl ood

Ho ho ! I see how tis old so n he said with a

grin o f appreciation
Dost manage wel l for a

waster
H e sudden l y drew his hand f rom his mackinaw
pocket and held it out opened toward Reivers Two
j agged nuggets o f dul l gold the size o f big buckshot
j iggled on his pal m and Moi r l aughed uproariously
a s Reivers
at the sight o f them bent f orw ard r ub

Poison P

Shan ty M o i r

255

bing his hands together apparent l y f rantic with av ar

,

I ce

Ehhey ! draw l ed Moir c l osing his st as Reiv

ers ngers reached for the gold

I thought so Tis
tub gold thy wants eh old sonny ? Well do thee

bring me tuh cattle to look at and we l l tr y to bargain

Come up to my camp chattered Reivers e y ing

the st that contained the nuggets H e was anxious
to get out o f the bar He had no fear that the primi
tive Moi r would be ab l e to see any aw in his act
ing but Black P ete and Jack Ra fter y were l ess primi
tive and he knew that they had not quite accepted

him f or the weakling that he pretended to be

Come
and visit me Buy a bott l e o f hooch and w e go up

to my camp
Moir tossed o ne o f the nuggets across the bar to
Ra fte ry

P
Is t good for a round lad he laughed
Ra ftery cunning l y he fted the nugget and se t out
the bottles

Good for two he rep l ied

Moir tossed over the second nugget

Then that s good for four said he

Do ye boys
drink it up W hile I m away to tuh camp o f old sonny
here A bottle Ra ftery Now sonny do thee lead on
and i f I m not satised I ll w ring thy neck to let thee

know my disp l easure

.

CHA P TER XXXIV

TH E

B AR GAI N

EIVERS led the w ay to his tepee and bade Moir

wait a moment by the re while he spoke to

Tillie
Dress yoursel f and Neo pa in your newest

he commanded
Then do y ou both come in to me

bringing food for two men

P
What s wrong sonny
laughed Moir see i ng

Reivers come under the door ap a l one

Hast lost

the whip over th y cattle P

They re getting some grub ready replied Reivers

faw ningly
The y ll be here in a minute
Let s
have a drink out o f that bott l e mister That s the

stu ff
He t ipped the bottle to his lips and l owered the
burning liquor in a fashi on that made even Moir
open his eyes in admirati on

Takest a man sized nip for a broken waster

sonny he chuckled and measuring with his ngers

o n the bott l e a drink larger than Re ivers he tossed it
gurgling down his hairy throat
Reivers took the
bottle from his hand

I always take an eye opener be fore my real drink

said Reivers and measuring o ff twice the amount that
M oi r had taken he drank it O ff l ike so much water
The ercest l iquor made was to Rivers on ly a mild
stimulant On his abnorma l organisation it merel y
had the e ff ect o f intensi f y ing his characteristics When
o u t o f full si z ed
he wished to drink whisky he drank
,

'

256

The Snow Bu rner

258

L i sten ,

whispered Moir swi ftly in her own tongue

It is
t o Ti ll ie
w e will put his man out o f the way
easi l y done Then you wi ll go with me you and the
young one and you wi l l be rst in my tepee and the
young one your slave Speak quickly We w il l be

o n the trai l in an hour

S ti ll smiling invitingl y Ti ll ie shook her head

The Snow Burne r is the master she said seri

I wi ll s l ay the man w ho does h im harm I

ou sly
can not do what he does not w ish I can not go

away f rom h im

But when he is dead f ool he can have no wish

The smi l e went f rom Ti ll ie s f ul l l ips and S he took a
step toward the opening

S top l aughed M oir so ft l y

I mere l y wished to

know i f yo u are a true woman All right o l d sonny !

he ca ll ed
Come o n in

I takest o ff cap to you l ad he continued as Re iv

ers and Neop a r e entered H ast got thy squaws fair

bu ff a l oed
H is eyes ran o v er the shrinking Neo p a

in c ru e l appraisal
N o w old sonny out with it

What s thy idea o f tuh bargain P

R ei v ers l ooked l ongingl y toward the empty whisky
b ott l e

Said enough laughed Moir

Shal l hav e a ll tuh

hooch thy guts can hold

Rei v ers shook his head a i sly grin appearing o n
his l ips

Hooch is good said he but go l d is b etter

Go o n said Moir sullenly

You ve got go l d continued Reivers

I saw it
You ve got lots o f gol d ; I ve heard them talk about
you down at Ra f ter y s You want us to go with you

when yo u go back to your c amp don t you P

Moi r nodded angrily
.

The Bar ga i n

259

I want the women he said bruta ll y

I might

be ab l e to u se you too
Reivers cackled and rubbed his hands

You ve got to u se me i f you re going t o hav e the

women he chuck l ed
You know that by this time

?
don t you mister
Again Moir s black head nodded in grudging assent

What then P he demanded

I m a handy man around a camp mister whined

Reivers
You got to take me a l ong i f you take the
women but I can be a he l p

Canst cook ? snapped M oir sudden l y

Heh heh ! Can I cook ?

Reivers rubbed his

hands
I m an oldI used to be an old sour dough
mister Did you ever see o ne o f the o l d timers w ho

cou l dn t cook P

M ight use thee then said Moir

My f oo l o f a
cook has gone Sent him a fter a woman for me and
he hasn t come back Happen he got himsel f killed
tuh fool W i l t kil l him m y se lf i f he ever shows up
W ithout tuh woman We l l then i f that s sett l ed
W hat s tuh bargain P
Reivers appeared to struggl e with indecision In
rea l ity the situation was v ery clear to him Moir
had listed him as a weakling ; there fore he had no fear
o f taking him to the mine
Once there M oir wou l d
be condent o f wi nning the l oyalty o f the two women
from their apparent ly he l pless master
And as it
w as apparent that the man whom Reivers had s l ain
with a rock had been Moi r s cook it was probable
that he was sincere in hi s o ff er to u se Reivers in
that capacit y

In the Spring said Reivers in rep l y to Moir s

question me and m y two kids go north again b ack

among their own peop l e

In the Spring gro wl ed Moir c anst go to

The Snow Bu rner

2 60

for al l o f me I ll be travelling then myself Speak

out sonny How much ?

P lenty o f hooch for me all Winter Reivers

leered with drunken cunning

I said plenty retorted Moir

What else ?

Gold
said Reivers rubbing his hands
Gold

enough to buy me hooch for all next Summer

Moir smiled at the miserable request o f the man he
was dealing w ith Hi s eyes ran over the plump Tillie
over NeOp a the supple child woman

Done he laughed
And now old so n b reak
up thy camp while I load my sledge with hooch Be
ready to travel when I come back I ll bring plenty
o f liquor but none to be d r ink ed till we re on the trai l
Wilt travel fast and far to night I warn thee But
willst have a snug berth in my camp when we get

there Yes he laughed as he hurri e d o ut wilt not

be able to tear thysel f away

I ,

The Snow Bu rner

o n th e sledge ! he gr o wled

2 62

Get

ch ok e d w i th

anger
She did not stir He struck her cruelly Tillie
smiled That was lik e the Snow Burner o f old ; and
sh
e waddled to her appointed plac e w i thout further
questio n
Up the gulch f rom Ra f ter y s came Moi r quietly
leading h is dogs the sledge we l l l oaded with cases
o f liquor

Wilt hav e a kiss rst o f all he laughed excitedly

and catching Neop a in his arms tossed her in the ai r
kissed her loudly on her averted cheeks and set her

back o n the s l edge

Now old so n follow and fol
low quietly When I ron Ha i r travels he wants no
Fi f ty Mile gang o n his trail Say nothing but keep

me in sight H eyah mush mush !

Out o f the gully he led the way sw i ft l y and s ilently
to the o pen country beyond the settlement There
he circled in a con fusing way bearing northward
A fter an hour he began circling again doubling on his
trail to make it hard for any one to follow but nally
Re i vers k new by the stars that the course lay to the
south Another series o f false twists in the trail then
Moir struck o u t i n determ ined fashion on a straight
course east and a trie south from Fi fty Mile
Reivers silently guiding his dogs in the tracks made
by Moi r breathed hard as he read the stars By the
pace that Moir w as setting it seemed certain that
he now was mak i ng f or his camp in a direct l ine But
i f so i f this trail were held i t would take them back
toward the Dead Lands straight into the country that
w as Duncan M acG r ego r s trapping ground
C ould the
mine be in that region I f so how could i t hav e escaped
the notic e o f the o ld trapper ?
It was well past midnight when Re i vers saw the
team ahead disappear i n a d e pr e ss i on in the ground
.

The Test o f the Bo ttl e

Mo i r s voice l oudly call ing a ha l t

2 63

and heard
By the
time Reivers came up with his two sledges M oir had
unh itched his dogs on the at o f a frozen river bed
and was hurriedly draggi ng a bott l e f rom o ne o f the
cases on his sledge

Hell s re old son ; unh ook and camp The l iquor s

dying in me and I had j ust begun to feel good

I was wondering gasped Reivers in assumed ex

hau st io n I was wondering how much farther you

were going be fore you opened a bottle

Have your squaws get out tuh grub

ordered

Moir j amming down the cork

And now you n me

wilt see who drinks t other off his feet

For reply Reivers promptly gulped down a drink
that would have strangled most men

Good enough admitted Moir

Here s better
thoug
And he instantly improved on Reivers
record

The rst bottle was soon empt i ed a quart o f raw

ery hoochand a second instantly broached
The food was forgotten by Moir ; the women were
forgotten H is primitive mind was obsessed with th e
idea o f pouring more burning poison down his throat
than th is broken down waster w ho dared to drink
up to him Bolt upright he sat laughing and sing
ing never taking his eyes o ff Reivers while dr i nk
a fter drink disappeared down thei r throats
No movement o f Reivers escaped Moir s vi gilant
watch for signs o f weakness A s Reivers gave n o
apparent sign o f toppl ing over he grew enraged

Hell s re ! Wilt sit here till daylight i f thou wilt

he roared
Drink on there ! Tis thy turn
Tillie and Neo p a got food ready from the gru b
bag
and sat waiting patiently ; the dogs ceased movi ng
bedded down in the snow and went to sleep ; and sti ll
the contest went on
.

The Snow Bu rne r

2 64

Fi na ll y Reivers discerned the slight thickening o f

speech and the glassy stare in his oppon e nt s eyes
that he had been waiting f or T hen and not until
then did he begin to betray apparent signs o f failing

h e stutt e r e d
Shshsht r o ng liquor m m mishter

Aw ful shshsht r o ng
Moir cackled in drunken tr i umph
Tish bear s milk old shon
Tish made for men

D rink
ye drink again !
Reivers drank drank longer and heavie r than he
had yet done

There ; take the mate o f that mister and you ll

know you been drinking he stammered

Moir s throat by this time had been burned too raw
to taste and his sight was too dulled to measure quan
tities He tipped the bottle up and drained it The
dose would have killed a norma l man To Shanty
Moi r it brought only an inclination to s l umber H is
head fell forward on his breast
With a thick tongu ed snarl he sat up straight and
looked at Reivers
Reivers hiccoughed swayed in
h is seat and collapsed with a drunken clatter
Moi r smiled He winked in unobserved t riumph
Then the superhuman strength with which he had
f o u ght o ff the e ffects o f the liquor snapped like a
broken wire and he pitched forward on his face into
the snow

The Snow Bu r ner

2 66

thei r master l ay helplessly bound o n the sledge Then

at the mine a sudden surprise and probably a sec
o n d o f sharp work with th e rie on Moir s hench
men
Reivers stepped eagerly over t o where Mo i r s team
lay sleeping He swore so ftly when he saw them
Moi r had traded hi s tired team for a f resh outt
at Fi fty Mile and the new dogs were as strange to
this trail as Reivers himsel f
His triumph over Moir in the drinking bout had
been in vain There was no march t o be stolen even
with Moi r lying helpless on the snow He would have
to go through with it as he had planned Tillie and
Neop a must be the means by which he would obtain
his ends
He suddenly looked o v er to the sledge where the
two women were patiently waiting with the food
they had prepared Tillie squat and stol id w as sit
ting as impassive and content as a bronze gure at the
door o f the shelter tepee which she had erected but
Neo p a sat bowed o v er on the end o f the sledge her
head on her fo l ded arms her slim gure shaking w ith
silent sobs

P ut back the food and

go to your blankets he

commanded harshly
Stop that whining girl or

will
have
something
to
whine
for
o
u
y
He waited until his orders had been obeyed and the
women were in the tepee Then he unrolled his blan
ket and lay down on the snow
He did not sleep He knew that he would not
For al l through the day during h i s dealing with Moir
o n the night trail under the clean stars his mind had
be en ghting to shut out a picture that persisted in
running be fore his eyes Now alone i n the star lit
night w ith nothing to occupy him the picture rushed
i nto be ing vi v id and li v ing H e could not shut i t
.

B e gi ns

W eaken

to

2 67

could not escap e i t It was the picture o f

Hattie M acG r ego r as he had seen her that morning
with the pain and scorn upon her young ne f ace
Her voice rang in his ears the burn i ng w o rds as cle a r
as i f she stood by h is side :

I knew it w as not a man L i v i ng o n you r squaws !

And you dared to talk to mea decent woman !

Reivers cursed and lay looking straight up at th e
white stars From the tepee there came a soun d that
brought him up s i tting He l i stened amazed and
puzzled I t was Neo p a sobbing because she had been
torn from her young lover Nawa and in the plaint
o f her pain racked tones there w as something which
recalled w ith accursed clearness the rich voic e o f Hat
tie M acG r ego r
It was probably an hour a fter he had lain down that
Re i vers rose up and quiet ly hook ed his str o nge st dogs
to a sledge

Tillie ! Neop a ! C ome o u t " he whispered throw

i ng open the ap o f the little tepee
N eo p a came wet faced and haggard her W i de open
eyes showing plainly that there had been no sleep
for her that night Tillie was ru bbing her eyes sleep
ily protesting aga i nst be ing wakened from com fort
able slumber
Reivers po i nted n orthward up the ri ver bed

Up there o n this river o ne day s march away

i
s

the camp o f your people wh ich we came from h e

D o you bo th take thi s team and dr iv e

whispered
rapidly thither Hold to the river bed and keep away
from the black spots where the water shows through
the snow D o not stop t o rest or f eed You should
reach your people in the m i ddle o f the a fternoon
Then do you give Nawa this rie Tell him to shoot
any wh ite man w ho comes a f t er yo u
Now go

swi f tl y

o ut

He

The Snow Bu rne r

2 68

l ooked

at him with her fawn l ike eyes l arge

NeOpa
w ith i ncredibility and hope
Snow Burner ! Do yo u let m e go back to Nawa
she whispered

D o as I ve
Get o n the sledge he commanded

told you or you ll hear from me

A s emotion had all but paralysed the young girl
he forced her to a seat o n the sledge and thrust the
whip into her hand then turned to Tillie Tillie w as
making no move to approach the sledge

?
D id you hear what I said
he demanded
Tillie smil ed strangely

Has the Snow Burner become a fraid o f Iron

?
H air
sh
e asked

S o little a fraid that I no longer need you to help

me in this matter retorted Reivers

The shrewd squaw shook her head

How will the Snow Burner nd Iron Ha i r s go l d

now ?
Iron Hai r will not take the Snow Burner to
h is camp alone It is not the Snow Burn er that Iron
Hair wants It is a woman Has the Snow Burn er
given up the ght to get the gold which he wants
so much ?
He knows he can not reach Iron Hair s

cam p alone

Then I will not reach it at all Ge t on the sledge

Tillie smiled but did not move

The Snow Burner at last has become like othe r

white men He wishes t o do what is right

She

po inted at th e snoring Moi r

He would not be so

weak
Whi l e Reivers l ooked at her i n amazement the
squaw stepped f orward straightened out the dogs
kicked them viciously and sent the sledge bearing
N eo p a alone ying up the river bed

To send Ne 0pa back to Nawa i s well and good

sh
e said returning to R e i v ers
She would weep for
-

C HA PT ER
I N TO

TH E

XXXVI I

J Aw s

OF T H E BE A

HANTY MOI R stirred when the rst rays o f the

morning sun glancing o ff the snow struck his
eyes He rose like a musk o x li ftin g itsel f from its
snow wallow with mighty heaves and gru nts and
looked around
He w as blear eyed and pu ff ed o f f ace h i s throat
was raw and burning from the unbelieva ble amount
o f hooch he had swallowed in th e night but his abno r
mal organisation had thrown o ff the e ffects o f the
alcohol and he was cold sober H is rst mo ve was to
coo l his throat with hand fuls o f snow his second to
step over and regard the apparently paralysed Reivers
with a look o f mingled triumph and contempt

Eh old sonny ! Would a d r ink ed w ith Shanty

Moi r wouldst ee
he chuckled
Happen thee got
thy old soak s skin lled t o overow that time Get

up you waster ! he commanded stirring the prostrate

form with a heavy foot

U p with you !
Reivers did not stir but he put that touch o f the
foot down as something extra that Mo i r would have
He w as apparently lying steeped in the
t o pay f or
depths o f drunken slumber and he w ished to drive
the impression rmly into Shanty Moir s mind that he
had been dead to the world all night Hence he d id
not interrupt his snoring as Moir s foot touched him

La i d o u t st i ff ! l aughed Moir
H e r each ed d ow n l i fted R e iv e rs head f ro m the
,

2 70

he Jaws o f t he Bea r
271
i t f a ll heavi ly S till Re i vers made no

In t o

snow and let

sign o f awakening Moir looked at him for a moment
then slily tiptoed toward the shelter tepe e and threw
up the ap The next i nstant a bell o w o f rage shat
Lik e a maddened be ar Moir
t er ed the morning quiet
w as back at Re i vers cufng k i ck i ng cursing com
manding that he wake up
Reivers awoke only in degree
Not until Moir
had opened a new bottle o f hooch and poured a drink
down h i s throat did h e essay t o sit up and open his
eyes

Wha smatte r ? Can t a man shleep he protested

W
ha smatter with you ?

Matter ! bellowed Moir

P lenty o f matter you
Where s the young lass eh ? Where s th e
o ld waster
girl gone ? Lo ok in the tepee and se e what s the mat
ter You told me you had the trulls buff aloed What s

?
become o f the young girl
It was some time be fore Re i vers appeared to u n
Finally he stumbled to hi s feet and started
d er st and
toward the tent met Ti l l ie as she stepped out rub
bing her eyes and recoiled drunken l y

She
Neop a ? Where i s she ? muttered T il l i e

s l ept near the door Now she is gone

She had let her shiny black hair fall loosely over
her shoulders and now she threw it back looked
straight at Moir and smiled

N eo p a gone ? demanded Re iv ers th ickly

Sh e

can t be ; she wouldn t dare

?
Dare you foo l
Loo k there
Moir pointed to
th e hollows where the missing dog team had lain and
to the tracks that ran straight and true up the river

bed
She s run away
Been gone hal f a night

?
Well what have you got to say
Reivers turned with a scowl on Tillie b ut Tilli e
w as comfortably plaitin g her thi ck hair
.

The Snow Bu rner

2 72

NeOp a

h as run awayback to our people

s e

said with a smi le as she turned back into the tepee

Tillie does n o t run away she added as she dis

appeared
Moir sat down on a sledge and cursed Re i vers stead
ily for ve minutes but at every few words his eye s
would stray back t o the tepee which hid Tillie

We ll go a fter her said Reivers

W
e
l
l bring

her back

Go a fter her ! snorted M oir

S he has hal f a
night s start on us She ll reach her people be fore
Do you think I want hal f the
w e could get her

country following my trail

I ll go a fter her alone then ins i sted Reivers

Will yo u ?
Moi r s eyes narrowed to slits
I
think not Let me tell thee someth ing old son : he
o goes this far o n the home trail w ith Shanty M oir
wh
goes all the way Understand ? You ll come with me
or you ll be wol f meat out here on the sno w N o ;
there l l be no following o f that kid She s gone The
other one s here There i s no telling what tale the
ki d will spin when she meets people or who wi ll be
down here l ooking for our trail There for e w e are
going to travel and travel quick Have the squaw
get food i n a hurry Get your dogs together We ll

be on the trail in hal f an hour

Moir was master ful and dominant now It was
evident that he was more worried over the possibility
o f some one hearing o f his whereabouts through
He gav e
Neo p a than he was over the gi rl s escape
Reivers a second drink o f liquor since he seemed to
n eed it to fully awaken him and set about making
ready for the trail

Eat plenty he commanded when T il l y served

the cold meat and tea

Th e n ext mea l you have w i ll

be abo ut sundown
.

The Snow Bu rne r

i nstant Reivers was curs i ng h i msel f for

2 74

The next
a blind fool There was no trapping in the Dead
Lands There was no feed there Except for a stray
wol f cave fur bearing beasts would shun those bar
ren rocks as a desert and Duncan M ac Gr ego r being a
knowing trapper might trap around it twenty years
without venturing through a fter a rst fru i tless search
f or sign s
The mine was in the Dead Lands o f course It
w as as sa fely hidden there as i f with i n the bowels
And he Reivers had probably been
o f the earth
within shooting distance o f it during his t w o days
wandering i n that district The man whom he had
killed w ith the rock had undoubtedly been hurrying
w ith Hatt i e M acG r ego r straight to his chie f s fast
ness
It w as noon when the ragged ground o n the horizon
head told Reivers that h is surmises were correct and
that they were hurrying straight for the Dead La nds
An hour o f travel and the j agged formation o f t he
rock country was plainly distingu ishable a littl e over
a mile ahead Then Moir for the rst time that day
called a halt When Reivers caught up with him
he saw that Moir held i n each hand a small pouch like
contrivance o f buckskin pierced near the middle with
tiny holes and equipped w ith draw str i ngs at the
bottom

C ome here lass he b eckoned to T i ll i e Must

h ide that smiling mouth o f thine for the present
With a laugh he threw the pou ch over the squaw s
head pulled the bottom tightly around her neck and
tied the strings securely

The same with thee old son he sa i d and treated

Re i vers in the same summary manner

You see I do

not wish to have to put you away he explained

genially an d that I wou l d do if by chanc e thy eyes

.

2 75
h Jaws o f the Bea r
should see the way to S hanty Mo i r s m i ne One o r
two men have been un l ucky enough t o
i t They
w i ll never be able to tel l the tale
He skil fully
searched the pai r for hidden weapons but Re iv e rs had

In t o

t e

see

expected this and carried not so much as a kni fe

All
r i ght ! eep in my steps old son P resently t ho u l l
get wet Do not fea r Wilt not let ee come to harm
Ne i ther thee nor tuh squaw
I hav e use for you

both Come now ; I ll go slow

T he buckskin pouch pierced on l y by the tiny a i r
holes masked Reivers eyes i n a f ashion that pre
cluded any possible chance o f sight H e knew in
First the turn was
st inc t ivel y that Moir was tu rning
to the le ft Then back to the right Then i n a circle
and a f ter t hat stra i ght ahead
P resently the feel o f a sharp rock under f oot told
h im that they had entered the Dead Lands He stum
bled pu rposely to one side o f the trai l and bumped
squarely against a solid wall o f stone Next he tried
i t on the opposite s ide with th e same result Moi r
w as lead i ng th e way through a narrow dele in t h
e
rocks
Sudden l y there came to Re i vers ears the sound o f
runn i ng water the lazy mu rmur o f a small brook
Almost at the same i nstant came the sp l ash o f Mo i r
and h is dogs going into the stream and Moir s
l aughing
:

Wilt get a litt l e w et here old son But follow

.

on

Fumbling w i t h h i s feet Re i vers f ound the stream

and stepped in To his su r pri se the water was warm
Warm water ? Where had he seen warm water r e
c ent ly i n this country ?
His thoughts leaped back with
a snap There was only one open stream to be found
the rea bo uts an d that was t he brook that came f rom
.

The Snow Bu rner

2 76

th e warm spr i ngs by which he had camped on his w ay

to T illie s

Warm water ! l aughed Moir

Wilt nd all snu g

in my camp Aye as snug as in a well kept j ail

The stream was knee deep and by the pressure o f
the water against the back o f his legs Reivers knew
that they were going down stream P resently Moir
spoke again

Now i f you value the tops o f yo ur heads do you

duck as low as you can Duck now quick ; and do

you keep that position till I tell you to straighten up

Reivers and Tillie ducked obediently Suddenly the
tiny light that had come through the air holes o f
thei r masks w as shut out The darkness was com
Reivers thrust hi s hand above his bowed head
p l et e
and came in contact with cold clammy rock
No
wonder it had taken M acG r ego r and Moir two years
to nd the mine sinc e the way to it lay by a su b
terranean river !
The light reappeared but it was not the sunny light
that had come through the air holes be f q r e they had
entered the river tunnel It was grey and dead as
the light i n a room where the sunshine does not enter

Now you can l i ft your heads

laughed Moi r

C ome to the right Up the bank Here we are

H e j erked Reivers o ut o f the water roughly and
roughly pulled the sack from his head Reivers
blinked as the light struck his eyes
Moir treated
him to a generous kick

Welcome he hissed menacingly

W
e l com e to

the camp o f S h anty M o i r

!Th e Snow B u rn er
On the beach at the other s i de o f the creek a r e
burned beneath a great i ron pan the wood smoke ll
i ng the chasm with its pungent odour Behind the re
a series o f tunnels ran down i n th e sand under the
cli ffs From th tunnel immediately behind th e re
2 78

came a thin spiral o f sluggish smoke and Reivers

knew that thi s tunnel was being worked and that the
re w as being used to thaw the frozen earth
A man who resembled Moi r on a small scale was
at work at the thawing pan breaking the hard earth
w i th his ngers and tossing i t into a washing pan
at his sid e He stood now with a chunk o f frozen sand
in his hand and at sight o f Reivers and Tillie he
tossed th e sand recklessly into the air and whooped

Ha ! Hast done well this time Shanty he cried

i n an accent similar to the i rs Hast made tuh l i fe

endurable A new horse for me and a woman f or
ee
Tis high time S ince Blacky went o ff and did
not come back and tuh two Indians tried to ee we ve
had but one horse to do w ith Now wilt have two
Wilt clean up in a hurry now and live in tuh mean

w hile
Shanty Mo i r laughed harshly

How works tuh old Scot j ackass to day

he
called
The man across the creek shook his head

He s never tuh horse he w as when w e rst put

him in harness
he chuckled
Fell twi ce in his
tra cks to day he did and lay there till Joey gave him
an inch o f tuh prod Has been a good beastie the
Scot has Shanty but tis in my mind tuh climate does
not gree with him Scarce abl e t o pull his load In
tuh mines at home we knocked such worn beasti es i n

the head and sent them up 0 tuh pit

Moi r laughed again

Hast a quaint w ay 0 putting t hings Tammy h e

,

M ac G r ego r Ro y

2 79

sa i d
But I mind when ponies were sca rce we used
them till they crawled their knees raw
Tis plenty
0 time to knock o l d hors e esh i n tuh head when tuh

j ob s done
They l aughed together Evidently this w as a we ll
liked camp j oke

Ti s a well coupled animal ee have there Shanty

said the humourist across the water with a j erk o f

the head at Reivers

Big in tuh bone and solid
around tuh withers Yon squaw i s a solid piece t oo

Happen they re broke to pull double ?

U
nbroke stock Tammy drawled Mo i r leisurely

Gentleman squaw man waster But b reaking stock s

o u r specialty eh Tammy ?
A mufed shout oated up from the mouth o f the
smoking pit be fore Tammy could reply Instantly
there followed a dull moan o f pain : Moi r and Tommy
l aughed
knowingly

Here comes sample o f our work said Tammy

nodding toward the tunnel

P oor Joey ! Has to
u se tuh prod to start him with each load now
A grating sh ufing sound now came from the mouth
o f the tunnel Following it appeared the head o f a
man And Re i vers needed only one glance at the
emaciated countenance to know that he was looking
upo n the father o f Hattie M ac Gr ego r

Giddap S cotch j ackass ! roared Moir i n gr eat

good humour
P
ull i t o ut 0 ther e That s tuh

horse P ull !
The man came pai n fully an inch at a t i me o ut
o f the pit and looked across the creek at Shanty Moir
Beh ind him there dragged a rough wooden sledge
loaded with lumps o f earth The man was hitched
to this load by a harness o f straps that held his a rms
he l pless against his sides No strait j acket ever held
i ts v ictim mor e utterly helpless than th e contri v anc e

'

The Snow Bu rne r

2 80

which no w held James M ac Gr ego r in toils as a beast

o f burden A contrivance o f strap s about the ankles
held his legs close together
S o short were the traces by which the sled ge was
drawn that M acG r ego r could not have sto o d upright
w ithout having li fted the heavy load a foot or more
from the ground He made no attempt t o stand so
but hung hal f bowed against the harness hi s eyes
gleaming through the matted red hai r over h i s brows
straight at Shanty Moir
It was the eyes that drew and held Reivers atten
t i on to the face rather than to the man s terri ble
s ituation James M ac Gr ego r helpless beast of bur
den to hi s tormentors that he w as was not beaten
The same clean cut nose mouth and chin that Reivers
remembe red so wel l in the daughter were apparent
in the father s pain marked face The eyes gleamed
deance And they were wide and grey Reivers saw
the same as the eyes that haunted him i n memory s
pictures o f the girl who had not feared his glance

Shanty Moir spoke M ac G r ego r in a voice weak

but rm when the devi l made you he cursed his own

work H e cursed you as a misbegotten thing not t
for hell The gut eating wolverine is a brave beast
compared to you Skunks would run from your com
pany You think you have done big work You fool !
You cannot rob me o f what belongs to me and mine ;
you cannot kill me As sure as there i s a God in
Heaven He w ill let me or mine kill you w i th bare

hands
Moi r and h is man l aughed i n weary fashion as i f
this speech were old to them and Reivers was amazed
at an impulse within him to throw himsel f at Shanty
M oir s throat He j oined foolishly in the laughter
to hide his con fusion What had he to d o with such
i mpulses ? W h at bus i ness had h e havin g any feel
.

2 82

Th e Snow Bu rner
T i s tim e said Joey
Tuh S co ts j ackass ll
-

soon

drop in his tracks

Not unti l I ve paid you out in full you dev i ls

said M ac Gr ego r quietly

I ll give you an hour o f
l i ving hell for eve ry prod you ve given me you poo r

cur
Joey approached him and unhooked the trace s from
h i s harness w ith an air that told how wel l he w as
accustomed to such threats

Must call it a day Shanty he said loosening

the straps that bound M acG r ego r s hands so the fore
arms wer e f ree while the uppe r a rms remained bo und

tightly to his sides Old pit s full 0 smoke

In
bored sort o f fashion be ki cked M acGr ego r into th e

creek
To your stable j ackass Day s done
M acG r ego r tripped by the traps about h is ankl e s
fell full length i n the water o und er ed across and
crawled miserably out o f sight behind the skin front
Moir and his t w o henchmen
o f the smaller dugout
watched him j eering and laughing At a sign the
two on the other s ide o f the creek came across and
drew close to thei r chie f

A nd now old so n snarled

Moi r swinging around

Reivers
like
a
ash
now
you
sli
ck
waster
now
on

we ll attend to cc
.

CH APTER
J

XXXIX

AM ES MA CG REGOR S S T ORY

f orward

H E t h ree men moved

until they were

within arm s reach o f Reivers and stood regard
i ng him w i th open grins on thei r hai ry f aces Rei v ers
reading the import o f thei r grins knew that they
were bent upon enj oying themselves at h i s expense
an d tried swi ftly to guess what form thei r amuse
ment might take I f it were only horse play he wo u ld
be able t o continu e in the helpless character he had
assum ed I f it were to be rougher than that i f they
set out t o break h i m in real e arnest h e f ea red that h is
acting w as at an end
Even f or the sake o f the gold that h e w as a f ter
h e wou l d hardly be able to submit humbly and help
lessly as became a drunken squaw man to their e ff orts
to mak e a wreck o f him H e calculated hi s chances
o f com i ng through alive i f the situation developed to
this extreme and decided that the odds wer e a tri e
too heav y against him
The element o f su rprise woul d be o n his s i de but
h is right should e r still was weak f rom the old bullet
wound With hi s terrible ability to use his feet he
calculated that he could drop Moi r and Tammy with
broken bones as th ey rushed him To do that he
would have to drop to h is back and Joey the third
No i f
m an wore a long skinning kni fe on h is hip
he be gan to ght he would never get what he had come
a fter H e wiped h i s mouth fu rti v ely and swayed
from the knees up

2 33
0

The Snow Bu rne r

some hooch m i ster that s what

2 84

I want
I want

he whined shakily
You promised you d give me
a drink when we got here you know you did Haven t
had a drop since morning I wouldn t a come i f

I d known you were going to treat me like this

Then he did the best acting o f h is li fe He j umped
sideways and shuddered ; he frantically plucked ima
i
n
o
f
f
h
i
r
a
b
u
gs
s
coat
sleeve
he
stepped
high
as
i
f
;
g
y
stepping over something on the ground ; his eyes and
face muscles worked spasmodica lly

Gimme a drink he begged

P
lease
O ooh !

gimme a drink I gotta have it

The grins faded from the faces be fore him They
knew full well the s i gns o f incipient del i r i um tremens
Tammy laughed dryly

Hast brought home more than an o l d o x and a

cow Shanty he said

Hast brought a whole me
n age r ie
Yon st ick ll have tuh Wullies in a minute i f

he s not liquored
Reivers dropped to his knees shuddering his arm s
shielding his eyes from imaginary beasts o f the bottle

Take em away boys

he pleaded
! ill the

b i g ones let the little ones go

With a snarl Moir leaped to his sledge and knocked
the neck o ff a bottle o f hooch

D rink you scut ! he growled

I ll have dealings

w ith you when you re sobe red up

Reivers drank and began to doze
Moir k icked
h im upright

Get into the shed w i th t other j ackass he com

m and ed propelling him toward the dugout into which

And in tuh morning you

M acG r ego r had crawled
go to work e en though snakes b e crawling all o er
,

A fa i ntly

muttered curse greeted Reivers as he

crawled into the dugout
.

The Snow Bu r ne r

2 86

m ight be l i stening and it wouldn t do either o f us

any good i f they heard what we re saying

T rue sai d the old man more quietly

I m acting
l i ke an old woman But for three months I ve been
trapped like this and my head fairly swims when I
hear you speak o f Hattie H o w come you to know

o f her ?
Reivers related briey that he had been ill and had
been cared for at the M acG r ego r cabin

And my little Hattie i s well ? N o harm came to

her from the black devil they sent to steal her ? You
must know man they taunted me by sending

I know interrupted Reivers ; and he told how

he had d i sposed o f the kidnapper

You you did that ? M acG r egor c l utched Reiver s s

?
hand
You saved my l i ttle Hattie

None o f that snapped Re i vers snatch i ng away

his hand
I did nothing f or you r little H attie Why
should I ? What is your Hattie to me ? I simply
put that black beard out o f business be cause I needed

f ood
and he had it on the sledge

Yet you re not one o f the gang here

now ? Y ou

ar e no anything but a friend o f me and mine ?

?
A friend
sneered Reivers
I ll tell you Mac :

I m here as my own friend absolutely nothing else

But Hattieand my broth e r Duncanthey unde r

s tand
about me now

They know you re e i ther dead or worse w as th e

reply
A nd they re at Dumont s C amp now wait
ing for Moir to come there on a spre e when they ex

trail
him
back
to
this
camp
o
e
c
t
t
p
M acG r ego r nodded his head weakly

Aye Taken the trail for revenge No le ss could

be expected Pl eas e Heaven they ll soon w in here
A nd James MacGr ego r will not forget what he owes
strang
er
e help y o u gave his daughter
h
f
r
o
o
t
u
y

r
o
r
am
e
s
c
G
e
M
a
g
J

S t ory
w i th Mo i r

2 87

when the time o f reckoning comes

and h i s

po or curs
Reivers l aughed co l dly un der his br e ath

Y ou speak pretty condently old times f or a man

w h o s trussed up the way you are

Go d w ill na let th is dog o f a Moir have his w i ll

w i th me much l onger said the S cot rmly

It isna
.

sseebl e
o
p

This dog o f a Moir must be a better man than

you are
tau nted Re i vers
He fooled y o u and

trapped y ou as soon as you d found this mine

Did he ? Ma cG r ego r ared up

Shanty Moir a
better man than me ? Hoot no ! He f ooled me yes
f o r I didna know that he d got word to these three
hellions o f his that the mine was here I trusted him ;
he w as my pardner And when we retu rned w ith
p r oveesio ns for th e Winter the three devils were wait
ing for us j ust ins ide the wall where the cr e ek
comes through Shanty Moi r alone never could ha
done i t
The three o f them j umped on me from
above I had no chance Then they strapped me

They v e kept me strapped ever since I m dra ft

b east for them Twice a day they feed me And
between whiles Shanty Moi r taunts me by playing
be fore my eyes with the dust and nuggets th at are hal f

m i ne

Oh well it doesn t look t o me as i f there d be

enough gold here to bother about said Reivers cas

I t s noth i ng but a l ittle freak pocket by the

u al ly

looks o f it

So it is A f reak pocket It could be nothing else

i n th is district Twas only by chance we found it
exploring the creek in here out o f curiosity Twas in
the bowels o f the warm spring up yon where the
creek starts that the pocket was originally
The
spring boil e d i t o ut into th e creek and th e cre e k washed

The Snow Bu rne r

it down here i n its be d o f sand The sand lodged here
against th ese rock walls There s about a hundr ed
f ee t o f the sand ru nning d own under the cl i ffs and it
all p o cket Not a rich pocket as you say but Shanty

2 88

Moir is lthy with nuggets and dust now and there ll

be some more i n the sand that s le ft to work over

Not a bonanza man but a good

sized fortune
Twould be enough to send my Hattie t o school
Twould give her all the com forts o f the world
Twould make folk look up to her
And Shanty

Moir the devil s spawn has it in his keeping

And he ll probably see that i t continues in his keep

ing too yawned Reivers

Never ! swore M ac G r ego r rising t o the bait

Shanty Moir did me dirt too foul to prosper by it

and I m a better man than he i s besides The stu ff
w ill come into my hands where it belongs some way
I dinna see j ust how for the present But the stuff
and my revenge I will have E en shackled as I am I ll
hav e my revenge though it s only to bite the windpipe

out o f Shanty Moir s throat like a mad dog

Huh !
Reivers was lying face down o n some

b lankets apparently but little interested And su p

pose you do get Shanty Moi r ? What good will that
do you ? I ll bet Shanty s got the gold hid where
nobody could nd i t without getting directions from
him
Suppose you get him
Suppose you get all
three o f em Shanty Moir being dead the nuggets
and dust p r obabl y d be as completely lost as they were
be fore you t w o b oys f ound the pocket i n th e r st

p l ace
For a long t i me M acGr ego r sat i n his corner o f the
dugout w ithout replying Re i vers could see that at
times he raised his head even opened h is mouth as i f
to speak then sank back undecided A t l ast he h unched
,

Th e Snow Bu rne r
2 90
gold I came to w in over Mo i r and get th e gold awa y
f ro m him I sn t that s imple ?
S imp l e and S po ken well said M a G go calmly
Wi l l y o u answer me one quest i on : D id you serv e
not i c e o n m y b r o ther Dun can tha t y o u w e r e o ut on
th i s hunt ?
-

re

I did

Fai r enough aga i n A man h as a ri ght to t ak e t ra i l

and do what he can i f he speaks o u t fair I take i t

?
you hardly calcul ated to nd m e here alive

No I didn t think Mo i r w as such an amateur a s

t o take any chances

A h he needed a dra ft beast lad ; that s w hy I m

aliv e and no o ther r eason And nding me here alive

doe s i t alter your plans any ?

You see I d made up my mind t o

Only a trie
b r i ng Moir and your daughter Hattie face to f ace to
se e i f she could make go o d on her big talk o f taking
re v enge for putting you o ut o f business Now that I
see you re still alivewel l I won t let any l ittle f oo l
ishness l ik e th at int e r f er e with th e busin e ss I v e c o m e
.

on

I mean abo ut the go ld man ?

R e iv ers l ooked at h is questioner

in surpri s e

Abo ut the gold ? he repeated

Yes F i nding me the r i ght ful owner o f hal f o f the

gold here alive and hoping to win back w ith my share
t o my daughter H atti e d o e s i t mak e any ch an ge in

y our plans ?
Reivers chuckled so f tly

Not i n th e s l ightest he repl i e d

I cam e t o get
th e stu ff that s come out o f this mine Take a look
at me Do I look l ike a so f t f oo l who d let a nything

in ter fere with my plans ?

M ac Gr ego r looked and s h ook h is h e ad puzzled

I dinna und e rstan d y e mon h e s ai d

I canna
.

r
e
o
r
s
m
e
s
M
a
c
G
S
t
or
y
2
1
g
J
9
m ak e yo u o ut By the loo k f you I d be wish f ul to

strike hands with you as one goo d man to another ; but

your talk man i s all wrong all wrong Hal f o f the
stu ff that s been taken o u t o f this m i ne Shanty
Mo i r s hal fI have made up my mind shal l be yours
for the strong blow you dealt to save my Hattie from
black shame Will you na strike hands on a partner

ship like th a t between u s ?

Re i vers yawned

?
Why should I
You r e al l in
You can t help
me any I ll hav e t o do the j ob o f getting the gold
away from Moir I came here to get i t all I don t
want any help and I c e rta i nly w on t mak e an y u n

n e cessary spl i t

Man whispered MacGr ego r i n horror i s there

n aught but a piece o f ice where your heart should
be ? D o you not understand it s for a poor unprovided
gir l I m talking ? A man you might rob ; but have you
the coldn e ss i n your heart to rob my l ittle un f ortunate

Hattie ?

Little un fortunate Hattie !

mocked Reiv e rs

?
Cons i der her robbed already What then
A word to S hanty Moir and you re as good as
dead reto rted M acG r egor hotly
Reivers long right arm shot out and terribl e ngers
clutched MacG r ego r s throat The o l d man wriggled
and gasp ed and tri ed to cry o ut but R e i vers held him
v oi celess and helpless and smil ed

One word to S hanty Moi r andyou see ? he said

r eleasing his hold

Then your little un f ortunate

H attie
would be robbe d for sure

Man man wh at ar e you man or devil ? gaspe d

MacG r ego r

Dev i l i f i t s ui t s y o u said Reivers

But remem
be r I l l manage to be w ithin reach o f you when
Shanty M o i r s about an d I rather fancy Moir would

The Snow Bu rne r

2 92

be

glad t o have me put you o ut o f business No w

listen to m e I ve no obj ecti on to your getting out o f
here aliv e if you can I ve no obj ection to your get
ting y o ur revenge o n Moir i f you can provided that
n o ne o f this inter feres with my getting what I came
a fter You know now what I can and w ill do i f meces

sary Your li fe lies right there

He opened and

closed his right hand signicantly

Well I l l trade
you your li fe for a little in formation Where doe s

Shanty keep his gold ?

Mac G r egor ceased gasping
H e began to lau gh
H e l eaned ove r and l aughed H e rocked from side to
s i de

Man man ! Do you not know that ? That proves

you re only human ! he chuckled

You came out
here like a l amb led to slaughter to nd where Shanty
Mo i r keeps his gold You were o n the trail w i th
Shanty You had him where i t w as only one man
to one W ellwell the j oke is too good to keep :
Shanty Mo i r day and night wears a bi g buckskin
belt about the m i ddl e o f h im an d the goldthe gold

is in the bel t 1
.

Th e Snow Bu rne r
fangs ash i ng i n th e n i gh t Th e snar l d i e d i n a ch ok e
R eivers long arms ashed o t and his ngers caught
the dog by the throat so sw i ft l y and surely that not
another sound came f rom between i ts t e eth It w as
a bi g strong d g and i t died hard but out there on
the sand Reivers sat s ilently keep i ng his ho l d t i l l th e
l ast sign o f l i fe had gone f rom the b rute s body Not
a s o und rose to attract a tt e ntio n f rom th e l a rge r dug

2 94

out
When the anima l w as qu i t e dead R e iv e rs c ra w le d
f orward and untied th e cha i n that held i t to a rock
No i sel essly h e crawled f arther o n and noise l essl y
slipped th e ca rcass i nt o the b ro o k The br i sk current
caught i t and dragged it down Reivers waited until
he saw the thing d i sappear into the dark tunne l at
the l ow e r end o f the cavern then returned t o th e dug
o u t and quiet l y lay down on his blankets

God s blood l gasped M acGr ego r and sat s i lent

Well yawn e d R e iv e rs ou r f r i end M o i r i s sh o rt

o ne dog

You crazy f ool ! MacGr egor w as gri nd ing h i s

teeth
H a you no thought o f what Shanty Moir
w ill d o whe n h e nd s what yo u ve done to his watch
.

do

What I

hav e don e ? R e i vers l aughed his i diot i c

squaw man s laugh

D you suppose a poor o l d bum
l ike me could thr ottl e a man eater like that be ast ?
You ll be th e o n e to b e blamed for it Why should I
touch Moir s d og ? M o i r and I cam e her e t o ge th er

chummy as a coup le o f th i ev es

You would noty o u could not d o th at ? Y o u

could not put i t on me ? M an they d drop me i n

l
v
o
o
t
t
river
a
fter
the
b
e
ast
if
you
them
b
e
i
e
e it
e
th
g

Well ? sa id Re i vers gentl y

T h e S cot bi t h i s l ip and grew cra f ty
-

The Wh i te M an s Sen t i m e n t 2 95
W el l he sa i d there d be onl y yo u le f t then to
do the d i rt haul i ng fo r S hanty M o i r
Re iv ers nodded apprec i ati v ely
Y u d e serve something for that M ac
sa i d he
H e l ay si l ent f or a f ew minutes T hen he chuck l ed
suddenly as i f he had thought o f a good j oke
Watch me closely now Mac he ordered and i f
you ev e r f eel like speaking that word to M o i r I l l
hol l er at you wo r se than t his
H e rolled himsel f to the front f th e dugout and
suddenly there rang o ut i n the cave rn such a shriek o f
t e r ror as stopped the blood in the v eins o f al l w ho
heard T w i ce Reivers uttered his horri bl e cry Then
h e began to shout d runken l y
Take him ff take him away ! Oh o h oh ! B ig
dog coming out o f th e r i v er Take him away B ig
dog sw i mm i ng i n the ri v er Tak e h im awa y H e l p

help !

S hanty M o i r

got to the f ront o f the l i tt l e dug

o ut in advance o f the others H e came w ith a six
shooter i n hi s hand and th e gu n covered Rei v ers
huddled up on th e sand as steadi l y as i f held in a
v ise But Re i vers obse rved th at M o i r stopped w e ll
o ut o f reach

What tuh
roared M u i r as li e not e d th e
absence o f the watch -dog
What devil s work

The dog ! chatt ered R e ivers

Big dog ; bi g as a
hous e Ca me o ut o f th e riv er T ri ed to j ump on me
J umped back i nt o the r iv e r S w i mming s w i mming

o ut there
S hanty Moir sw ung th e muzzl e o f his s ix-sh oo ter till
H e did
it pointed st r aight at Reiver s s f orehead
n ot step fo rward but remained well out o f r e ach

Steady old son he sa i d q ui e tl y st e ad y or thi s ll

.

o o ff.

T he Snow Bu rne r
Unde r th e i nuence o f th e threat Re iv ers pretend ed
to c o me back to his senses
Gimme a drink mister h e p l eaded
I m ee ing
thi ngs I w s sure there w
a big dog out the re
I d a sw o rn I saw him j ump into the river Now
I see th ere i sn t but gimme a drinkq uick !
B ring t uh ld s w a cu p o f hooch Joey snapped
M oi r over his shoulder W i lt see about this H e
2 96

as

turned the weapon o n the cowering M acGr ego r

Speak quick S cotch j ackass or I pul l trigger W hat s

been done here ; where s Tige

Was it a real dog ? cri e d Re i vers be fore M ac

Gr e gor could reply

I saw someth i nghe w e nt

i nto the river

S peak
y
o
u
! s aid M o i r to the S cotchman
S
p eak

q u ick

He s t elling you straight replied M acGr ego r

w i th a nod toward Reivers

The dog went i nto the

ri v er I saw him go down out o f sight

Out o f s ight muttered Reivers swallowing the

drink which Joey had brought him

S o it was a real
dog w as i t ? H e j umped at me and then he j umped
back and I guess he broke his chain be cause he

went into the r i ver and never came out

Moir steppe d over and e xamined the r ock from
which Reivers had s l ipped the dog s chain

Tammy he said quietly Tammy came obedi

ently stopping a good t w o paces away from Moir

See that ? sa i d M oir pointing at the rock Tammy

nodded

Y o u t i e d T i g e o ut f o r tuh n i ght Tammy

Yes but

And you tied so wel l tuh beast g o t l oo se and

i nto tuh river and i s lost

S hant y I swear
.

The Snow Bu rner

2 98

b ecause my vocal organs never had made such a sound

be f ore and they protested I forced them to do it
.

The man with the superior mind can force his body
to d o anything Understand Mac ? It s the superior
m ind that counts I f you d had a m i nd superior to
Moir s you d be top dog here with Moir f etching
bones for you As it is you re doing the f etch ing
and Moir s gr owing fat And here I come along
with a mind superior to Moir s and I m going to be
top dog now and gobble the whole proceeds o f your
squabbling The mind Mac the grey stuff in the little
bone box at the top o f your neck that s all that counts
Nothing else And I ve got the best grey matter in
this camp and I m going to be top dog as a matter o f

course
M acGr ego r ared up hotly

You say that s all that counts ? he said

D yo n
mean t o tell me to my face that a fter I d struck hands
w ith a man to be my partner as I did with Shanty
Moir that I d turn on him and play him the scurvy
trick he played me j ust because I could ? Well i f
you say that mon you lie and I throw the word
smack i n your teeth Go back on my hand shake
j ust to be top dog and get the bones ! God s blood !
There s other things better than bones and there s
other things that count besides a superior mind How
many times do you suppose I could have shot Shanty

?
Moir a fter we d found this mine

No t once You didn t have it i n you You couldn t

do i t I f you could you d have been the superior

man and you re not

M acGr ego r thought it over

You re right mon I couldn t do it I thank God

I couldn t I d rather be the slave I am at present

than be able to d o things like that

Sent i ment Ma c ; f oo l ish , un reasonabl e sentiment

The Wh i t e M an s Sen t i men t

S ent i ment ! M cG g spoke hotly then

re

or

d enly

2 99
su d

subsided
Yes you re right lad he admitted

a fter awh i le
It s naught but sentiment I see now
It s the kind o f sentiment that whit e men die f or and
that makes them the bo ss men o f the world Well lad
I am sorry to hear you talk as i f twas only your
skin was white But I d o not see you top dog o f
this camp yet I ll warrant Shanty Mo i r didn t allow
you to slip a gun or kni fe into camp And did you

notice the little tool he had i n his hand ?

A six shooter said Reivers

A crude weapon

compared to a good mind M ac G r ego r

Aye ? I m glad to hear you say so lad f or I ve

only a mind such as i t is le ft me for a weapon and
I m quite sure I must overcome the six gun in Shanty s
hand ere I ever w in b ack t o lay eyes o n my daught e r

Hattie

Your daughter H attie ! Reivers sat up j arred out

o f his composure
You forget your daughter Hattie ;
you hear M ac Gr e go r ? And now shut up There s

been enough yawping to night ; I want to sleep

He rolled h imsel f tightly in hi s blankets
Mac
Gregor crawled m iserably to his corner and huddled
down to sleep as best he could i n his cruel shackles
The dugout grew as still as a tomb Faint sounds
came from th e place where Moir and his men were
living but as the night grew older these ceased and
a silence as complete and primitive as i t knew be fore
man bent his steps thith e r fell over th e isolated cavern
Reivers did not sleep
M acGr ego r s last words

had done the w o rk

My daught e r H attie
Hatti e
w ith the cl ean pur e face o f her Hatt i e with the
w ide grey eyes ; with the look o f pain upon her
C urse M acGr egor ! What business had he menti on
ing that name ? Reivers had forgotten or thought he
had H e w as h i m sel f a gain And then th is o l d f ool
.

The Snow Bu r ne r

00
3

curse him ! C urse the whole M acGr ego r tribe A nd

especially did he curse himsel f for be ing weak and
foolish enough to permit such t r ies to i nt e r fere wi th
his sleep
He dozed away toward daylight and dr eam ed that
Hattie M acGr ego r was looking at him The hard
look on her face had so ftened a little and she said she
w as glad he had sent N eop a back to her lover N aw a

you get out o f there !

In his hal f waking Reivers fancied i t was his o w n
voice driving the picture from hi s mind

Get out beasts and get out quick !

It was Shanty Moir s voice and he was cal l i ng to
M ac G r ego r and Reivers to get up
.

The Snow Bu rne r

2
0
3

by an impu l s e that was strange to him he took a smal l

drink and held o ut the cup to his companion As Mac
Gregor eagerly reached for it Moi r s gun c rash e d out
and the cup ew from Reiver s s hand

Tuh motto o f thi s camp is No treat i ng

chuck led

Moir
Hooch is good o n tuh trail We re o n tuh
j ob now You get liquor old son because tis medicine

t o yo u and any hooch d r i nk ed here I must prescribe

Across the creek Tammy at work building a re
under th e thawing pan heard his chi e f s words and
growled faintly

Yes and ee pr e sc ri b e t e rribl e smal l doses too

Shanty h e muttered
A go od thing can be over
played Hast no reason for re fusing Joey and me a

nip be fore starting work this morning

Mo i r moving like a so ft footed lyn x w as a c r o ss
the creek and behind Tammy be fore the latter r ealised
what w as coming
From hi s po sition Moi r now
dominated the whole camp and a s ickly smile ap
s mouth
p ear ed on Tammy

Aw Shanty ! he whined
D idst on l y mean i t for
a j oke C a n take a j ok e f rom an old chum can t cc

Shanty ?

Get i nto tuh p i t T ammy

said M o i r quietly
pointing with his gun t o the tunnel where sounds in
d icat ed that Joey already w as at work

A
w Shanty

Get i n !
Slack j awed with terror Tammy c rawled i nt o the
dark tunnel

Eh Joey ma son ! called Moir down the pit

mouth

Aye ? came back the answer

Dost ee too think e e shou l d have a drink th i s

morn

Ay e S h anty repli e d the un suspect ing J oe y

.

Shanty M o i r

H av e a hot one

0
3 3

then ! roared Shanty and kicked a

bl az in g log from Tammy s re into the pit
A m i ngl in g o f shr i eks and protests greet e d its ar
r iv al

Aw S hanty ! B loo d o f tuh dev i l ch i e f ! C anst not

t ak e a j ok e ?

Am taking i t now ma sons laughed Mo i r and

ki cked more bran ds down the tunnel
Gasping and chok i ng from th e smoke th at lled the
t i ny pit Joey and Tammy essayed to crawl out B ang !
went Moir s six shoote r and they hastily retreated
The tunnel was lled with smoke by this t i m e Do wn
at the bo ttom choking coughs and cries told th at the
two un fortunate men were b eing su ff ocated Moir
waited until the f aintn ess o f the sounds told how f ar
gon e the men were Then he moti oned to Rei v ers
w i th h is r e vo l v e r The smok e w as l ea v ing the pit
by th i s t i m e

Step down and drag em out o l d son h e sa i d

C ome now no hanging ba ck Tuh trigge r o n this

gun i s led down so she pulls v ery light

Rei v ers obeyed climbing into the pit as i f trembling
with f ear and toiling furious l y as he d r agged the un
conscious men ou t though h e cou l d have wa lk e d away
w ith one under each arm

Throw water on em S plash em good

T en minut e s lat e r Joey and Tammy were sitt i ng
up coughing and sneezing and tr ying the i r best to
make Mo i r believ e they had only been j oking

Good enough ma sons ; so w as I chuckled Moir

Now back to tuh j ob and i f ever you doubt who s top

man here you ll stay i n tuh pit til l you re browned

well enough to eat Dost hear me ?

Aye Shanty
said the t w o men humbl y and
hurr i ed ba ck to the i r ta sk s
,

The Snow Bu rner

3 04

And no w j ackass and o ld ox step o v er here and

get into tuh ha rness commanded M oi r

He continued t o hold the gun i n his han d and
motioned to the sledge near the th aw ing pan High
s ide boards had been placed o n the sledge maki ng it
capable o f holding twice its former load and a looped
rope supplemented the traces to which M acG r ego r w as
so ign ominiously hitched

Take hold o f the rope o l d son directed Moir

He did not approach as M ac G r ego r r esignedly l ed
the way to the sledge Tammy turned from his
thawing pan to hitch the S cotchman to his traces
and to strap down his hands Moir stood ba ck the
gun in his hand dominating all three

Now into tuh pit ; Joey s got a load waiting he

commanded
And one whine o u t o f you old o x and

you get the prod H i j ah ! G i ddap !

The Snow Bu rner

6
0
3

The rst hou r o f work that day con v inced Moir

and his henchmen that their original unattering es
timate of Re i vers was correct Even a clos e o bse r ver
regarding him during that period o f probat i o n would
have seen noth i ng to i ndicate that he w as anything
but what Shanty Moir had u d ged h i m t o be A miser
able broken down squaw man without a w i ll o f hi s
own and only one ambitiont o clamour for as much
li quor as possiblethat w as the character that Reivers
played per f e ctl y f o r th e be n e t o f Moir and h i s tw o
men
At rst they k ept an eye o n him watching to see
i f by any chance the old fool might be dangerous
They discovered that he would be dangerous i f turn ed
looseto their supply o f liquor Beyond t hat he had
apparently not a s ingle aim in the world Hi s physical
weakness they soon discovered w as exactly what was
to be expected o f a whisky bloat He was able to help
haul the sledge loads o f frozen earth up the incline o f
the sha ft and that w as all E v en that left him pu f ng
and tr embling

Is an o ld o x as ee said Shanty with even tuh

horns bu rnt o ff him by tuh hooch said Joey a fter

! eep a little 0 tuh liquor run

the rst f ew loads
ning down his throat each day and he ll be a good
dra ft beast to us Nothing to fear 0 h i m D idst

well when ee picked him out chie f

They stopped watch ing h i m
H e w as harmless
Which was exactly the f rame o f mind which Rei v ers
had worked t o create
M ac Gr ego r alone knew h ow c l everly Reivers w as
playing his part and he regarded his new companion
in misery with greater awe and swore beneath hi s
breath in unholy admiration He had excellent o p
to
appreciate
R
e ive r s s ability to play the
i
r
o
u
n
t
t
y
p
part o f a w eakling fo r th e Snow Burner when not
.

W orks f o r Two

0
3 7

obse rv ed caught his free hand i n M acG r ego r s traces

and pulled the full weight o f the heavy sledge as i f it
had been a bo y s plaything

Eh mon ! gasped the weakened S cotchman i n r e

lief
I begi n to comprehend now
Tis a surprise
you re planning for Shanty Moir Oh aye ! Tis
a braw j oke But you maun l ave me nish him man ;
tis my right And I thank you and will repay yo u
well for the f avour you are doing me i n my present

bunged up condition

Favour your eye ! snapped Re i v e rs

It s eas i er
to pul l the whole thing than to have you dragging on
it Don t th ink I m doing it for your sake You ll
ha ve a rude awakening my friend i f you re build

ing any hopes on me

I dinna understand you said M acGr ego r with a

shak e o f his head

You re di fferent from any man I
ever met But at all events you ve made the loads
lighter and I think I must have per i shed soon had y o u

not done so

Shut up ! h issed Re i vers i rr i tabl y

I tel l you

I m doing it because i t s easier for me

H is attitude toward the old man w as bru tally domi
neering when they were alone and openly abusive when
they were in the presenc e o f Moir o r t he others He
showered foul epithets upon him pretended to shoul
der the greater part o f the work on him and abused
him in a fashion t hat w on the approval o f the three
brutes over them

Make him do his share o ld sonny roared Moir

Wilt have tuh prod ? Joey give him tuh prod so he

can poke up tuh j ackass when he l ags back

Don t need no prod boasted Reivers

I can
hand l e him without any prod Come on pull up there

?
o u loa fer
Think
I
m
going
to
do
it
all
y
M acGr eg or o n such occas i ons woul d hold his head

The Snow Bu r ne r

0
8
3

low to h ide the gleam in his eyes and the gri n that
s trove for room on his tightly pressed lips
His har
ness was hanging slack ; Reivers took more o f th e lo ad
upon himsel f with every curse that he uttered
All through the day i t w as Reivers strength that
pulled the heavy sledge up the dirt incline o f the t un
nel and at night when the day s work was done and
M acG r ego r tottering feebly toward his bunk fell
helpless through the dugout s ap Reivers picked him
up laid him down gently and placed his own blanket
beneath his head

God bless you lad ! whispered M acGr ego r

Shut up ! hissed Reivers

I don t want any talk

like that
He looked down at the prostrate man f or a moment
Then w ith a muttered curse he unloosened the straps
that bound M ac G r ego r s arms to his sides and hurled
himsel f over to his own side o f the shack He was
very angry w ith himsel f P ity and succour for the
helpless had never be fore been a part o f his creed
Why should he trouble about M acG r egor ?

I ll have to strap you up again in the morning he

ung out suddenly but it won t hurt to have your

hands free for the night S hut up lay still ! I hear

somebo dy coming
.

The Snow Bu rn er

3 10

between him and the graticat i o n o f h i s des i res Yet

he hesitated

Is there more gold here than Iron Ha i r wears in

?
his belt asked Tillie
Reivers shook hi s head

Then why wait ? Her whisper was full o f amaze

ment
It is not like the Snow Burner Was there
ever a man who could make him do his will ? And
yet now the Snow Bu rner labours f or Iron Hair like

a woman

Like a woman ? H e repeated her bold words in

surprise while she sat humbly awaiting the careless
back hand blow which knocked her rolling on the sand

And w as that hand l i ke the hand o f a woman ? he

asked
Tillie picked hersel f up w ith a gleam o f hope in
her eyes It w as l o ng since th e Snow Burner had
struck her strongly

Oh S now Burner ! she whispered proudly as she

crawled back to his side

Why do we wait ? It is
al l ready Th e Snow Burner knows where the gold
is that he came for Tillie will do her share The
sleep medicine i s sewed in the corner o f my blanket
There is enough to kill this big pig Iron Hair and his
men three t imes over Will not the Snow Bu rner give
the sign f or Tillie to put the slee p med i cine in their
food ? Then they w ill sleep and not awaken and the
S now Burner and Tillie can go away w ith the go
l
d

Was i t not so that the Snow Burner wished to do ?

R eivers nodded That was what he wished
It was very simple Only a nod A fter that
the sleep medicine the tasteless Indian po i son the
secret o f which Tillie possessed and which she would
have used on a hundred men had Reivers gi v en the
word
Yes it w as very simp lee xcept that he coul d not
.

The Pena l ty
f orget

I
I
3

Hattie M ac Gr ego r The memory o f her each

hour had grown clearer more torturing Because o f
it he had taken the killing load o f work from her
father s shoulders ; because o f it he was growing weak
He swore mutteringly as he thought o f it He had per
m it t ed her memory to so ften him to make a boy o f
him But now he was himsel f again Tillie s words
had done their work He turned toward the squaw
and she saw by the look in his eyes that the Snow
Burner at last was going to give the fatal sign

To night she pleaded

Let it be to night It is
a bad camp here The ai r i s not good Iron Hair is a
pig Let me gi ve the sleep
medicine to night ; then

we go from here in the morningtogether

She crept closer to him slyly smiling up at him ; and
suddenly Reivers ung her away with a movement
o f loathing and sprang up tall and straight

No he said quietly not to n i ght

And Tillie
crouched at his feet

Snow Burner she whispered I hear Iron Hai r

and his men talk They go away soon They take
the gol d with them
Does not the Snow Burner

?
want the gold
Reivers looked down upon her He was standing
up sti ff and proud as he should stand but as he had
not stood since he had begun to play at being a drunken
squaw man

I do not want you to help me get the gold he

said slowly
I do not want you to give Iron Hai r the
sleep medicine to night or any night I will take the
gold from Iron Hai r without your help
I hav e

spoken
He stood look i ng down at her and Ti l lie looking up
at him once more was reminded that he was a white
man and that the vast gulf between them never might
be bri dged Wearily hopelessly she ros e to her fe et
.

2
1
3

The Snow Bu r ner

Burner has spoken ; I have
-

The S now
heard she
whispered and went humbly back into the large d ug
out
Reivers laughed a small laugh o f b i ttern e ss as he
heard the ap drop behind her H e threw his head
far back and gazed up at the slit o f starlit sky that
showed above the mouth o f the cavern and for once in
his li fe he felt the common insign icance o f hum an
kind alone ih the vast scheme o f Nature H e w as
weak ; he had thrown away the easy w ay to success ;
he had let the memory o f Hattie M acGr ego r s face
aring be fore his eyes in the instant that Tillie thrust
her lips up to his beat him
H e threw up his great arms and held them out
tense and hard as bars o f living steel He felt o f
h is shoulders his biceps his chest his l egs and he
laughed sardonically

Body you re j ust as superior to other men s b odies

a s you ever were he mused

Yes Body you re
j ust as t to rend and prey on others as ever But
you re handi capped now You re n o t permitted to do
things as you used to do them Body you re paying
the penalty o f being burdened with a white man s

mind
M acGr ego r looked up as Reivers r e entered th e dug
A tiny re in one cor
o u t bearing the evening food
ner lighted up the room and by its ickering ames
he saw Reivers face

Blood 0 God ! wh isp ered the old man in awe

What s come over you man ?

He rose on hi s elbow and peered more closely
Man man
you ha not overcome Shanty Moir ?
You have not nished him without letting me
Reivers laughed

?
What are you talkin g about
Do I look as i f

I d been ghting ?

The Snow Bu rne r

1
3 4

to make i t worth while to attempt t o ent i ce h i m i nto a

bout at drinking Moir was boss here boss o f him
sel f and others and h e a l ways had h i s six shooter
handy to prove it
Tammy and Joey wore k nives at the i r hips but no
guns Moi r s 3 0 L40 rie hung carelessly on a nail
near the door o f h is dugout This had puzzled Re i vers
at rst W ould a bad man l i ke Moi r be so simple as
to leave his r ie where any one might lay hands o n
it and carry a six shooter i n a manner to provoke
a gun ght ? When he was ordered to carry a pa i l o f
water to the dugout Reivers managed to take a care
ful l ook at the rie and the puzzle was explained
The breechblock had been taken o ut and the ne
weapon was no more deadly t han any club eight
pounds i n weight
H i s respect for Moir had i ncreased with this d i s

Ev i dently Moir w as not so thick headed

cover y
a fter all He took no chances The only e ff ective
shooting iron in camp was his six shooter and with
this he was thoroughly master o f the situation
In the rst hour Reivers had noticed that Mo i r had
a system o f guarding himsel f It w as the system o f
the primitive ghting man and i t consisted solely o f :
l et no man get at your back At no time whether in
the mine at the washing pans in th e open or in the
dugout did Moir permit any one to get behind him
He mad e no distinct i on In the pit he stood with
Joey be fore him At th e pans he worked behind
Tammy When the others grouped together he whirled
as smoothly as a lynx i f any o ne made to pass in his
rear E ven when he sat at ease in the dugout with
Tillie he placed his back against the b are stone wall
at the rear o f the room So much R e iv ers ha d seen
during his rst day in the camp
.

Th
e Pena l ty

Does he sleep soundly at night

d enly

1
3 5
?

he asked

su d

Who ? asked M acGr ego r

Moir o f course

Soundly
The Scotchman gritted his teeth Aye
as soundly as a lynx lying down by its kill in a wol f

country
R e i vers smiled a grim smi l e There was no chance
then o f ru sh i ng Shanty Moi r in his sleep It would
b e harder to get the gold and get away than he had
expected In fact the di fculties o f it presented quite
a problem H e liked problems did the Snow Burner
and his smile grew more gri m as he rolled himsel f
i n his blankets and lay down to wait dream tortured
by pictures o f Hattie M acG r ego r for the coming o f
daylight o f the day in which h e had resol v ed to forc e
e pro b lem t o solut i on
th

C HA P TE R XLI V
MAD NESS

TH E

0F

E L L CAM P R EI VE RS

the day be fore had O pened A

bellow from Shanty M oir and Reivers strapped
M acG r ego r into his harness again and they tumbled
Again Moir stoo d
o u t to thei r r u de morning meal
a d istance away the big six shooter balanced easily
i n his hand But this morning Joey and Tammy over
by the pit mouth also were awaiting the appearance
o f their two beasts o f burden and Reivers instantly
sensed something new and sini s ter a foot
At the
sight o f M acG r ego r s decrepitude as sti ff and tot
tering he made his way to his meal Joey and Tammy
strove vainly to conceal the w ol shgrins that appear e d
on their ugly faces

Aye Shanty art quite right I s worth hi s keep

no longer said Ta m my
Hast been a fair animal
for a S cotch j ack ass but does not thrive on his oats

no more
One fair day s work le ft in h im said Joey ap

praising M ac Gr ego r shrewdly

Will knock o ff a little
early eh Shanty so s t o have tuh light to see him

swim

Would not miss tuh sight o f that for a pound o f

dust replied Shanty and the three roared end ishly

toge ther

You poor misbegotten spawn said M acG r ego r

quietly beginning to eat eyeing them one a fter the

other
I ll l ive to spit on the shamed corpses o f the

lot o f you

H E day opened

as

3 16

The Snow Bu rn er

3 18

Tammy washing a pan o f sand in the brook threw

up bo th hands

Not a trace in the last load Shanty ! he shouted

All out ! came Moir s be llow as i f he had be en

waiting for the signal
Joey and Tammy threw down the i r tools and came
over and stoo d behind Re ivers and M acG r ego r who
came up dragging a loaded sledge behind them

Take that load down yonder ! ordered Moir

pointing to the black tunnel into which the creek dis
appeared in leaving the cavern
Tammy and Joey followed grinning two paces
behind the S ledge Moir gun in hand walked ten
feet be hind them

Whoa ! he laughed when Reivers and M acG r egor

had drawn up against the cli ff beside the stream s

ex i t
You can unhitch tuh o l d j ackass no w ma s ons

Then over with it quick

With a yelp Tammy and Joey tore loos e M acGr e
gor s traces They held him between them and in his
bound and Weakened condition he was un able to
struggle o r turn around
Be fore Reivers could mo v e they had hurled Mac
Gregor i nto the deep water in the tunnel He sank like
a stone and the current sucked him in

Good by M ac Gr ego r o f the big boasts ! laughed

Moir but he laughed a tr i e too soon
In the instant that the cu rrent bore M acG r ego r into
the darkness o f the tunnel his f ace bobbed up above
the waters He looked up and looked straight into
It was not a l oo k o f appeal ; it was
Reiver s s ey e s
the same look that had be en i n the eyes o f Hattie Mac
Gregor the day when Rei v ers had le ft her cabin
Then Hell Camp Reivers felt himsel f going mad
H e hit Tammy so hard and true t hat he ew throu gh
The ne xt instan t
e a ir an d str uck agai nst M oir
th
,

M adness o f

H e ll Cam p
-

Re i vers 3 1 9

Reivers was diving like a ash i nto the black water

groping for M acGr ego r whi l e th e current swept him
into the total darkness
He heard the bullet f rom M o irs revolver strike the
water behind h im in the instant that his hands found
M acG r ego r ; heard mocking laughter as he pulled the
old man s head above water ; then the current whirled
him and his burden away I t whisked him down
stream with a power i rresistible It threw him from
side to S ide against the ragged rock walls It sucked
him and the load he bore down in deep W hirlpools
and spewed them up again
He bumped hi s head against the stone roo f o f the
tunnel and swore The roo f was a scant foot above
the water He put his hand up The roo f was getting
closer to the water with every yard Soon there was
only room for thei r upturned faces above the water
Reivers laughed heartily S o this was to be the
end ! The j oke was on him A fter all he had gone
through he was to drown like a silly fool through a
fool s impulse
P resently roo f and water came together For a
moment Reivers fought with his vast strength holding
his own for an instant against the current hanging
on to the last few seconds o f l i fe with a fu r y o f eff ort
The current proved too strong It sucked t hem under ;
the water closed above them They were whirled and
bu ff eted t o the last breath o f li fe in them and then
suddenly their heads slipped above water and they
were looking straight up at the gray W int e r sky
,

CHA P TER
A

S U R PRI S E

F OR

X LV

S H A N TY MOI R

EI V ER S caught hold o f a spear o f rock the in

stant his head came out o f water and h e ld on He
did not try to think or understand at rst Su fcient
to know that he was alive and to pump his lungs full o f
the ai r they were crying for H e held M acGr ego r
under his le ft arm and he rather wondered that he
hadn t let him go in that moment when h e went under
Re iv ers
M acG r ego r w as be g i nn i ng t o re v ive t oo
looked around
There was not much to se e They were i n a tiny
opening in the rocks a yard or t w o in length It w as
a duplicate of Moi r s cavern on a miniature scale ex
cept that here the rock walls were not high or impo s
sible t o climb For th i s S pace the brook showed it
sel f once mor e to the sun then vanished again under
the cli ff s

I S i t H eav e n ? gasp ed M acG r ego r only hal f co n

scious

Nearer hel l laughed Re i vers

H e li fted himsel f and h is burden out o f the water to
a resting place on a shel f o f rock For a minute or
two he sat looking up at the rock walls and the grey
Sky above them He looked down at the water at
the spot where they had been spewed from death ba ck
into li fe And then he leaped upright and laughed
laughed so that the rocks rang with i t laughed s o
that M acG r ego r S senses cleared and he looked at his

32 0

The Snow Bu rne r

2
2
3

food o r weapons The nearest camp is two good

days mushing with good fresh dogs To o far I f
I could manage to stagger ve miles I d surprise my
sel f There is not so much as a dry match o n us
No I maun say lad my simple m i nd does n ot see the

solution o f the problem

Try again Mac urged Reiv e rs

Make your
mind work What do we need to make our condition
blessed among men ; what do men need to be well
tted on the Winter trail ? You can mak e your mind

do that su m can t you ?

We need replied M acGr ego r dogg e dly dogs

and food and re and weapons

C orrect And now what s the n ext thought that

your grey matter produces a fter that masterp iece ?

That the nearest place where w e may obtain these

things i s too far away for us to make unless happen

w e meet some one on the trail which is not l ikely

P essimism laughed Reivers To o much caution

stunts the poss ibility o f the mind Interesting demon

st r at io n o f the fact w i th your mind as an example

He turned and smote with the at o f his hand the stone

wall from under which they had j ust emerged What s

the other side o f those rocks Mac

Shanty Moir and his S ix shooter

And dogs and food and matches and cartridges

and gold everyth i ng everything to make us kings
Mac ! And they re ourso urs as
o f the country

surely as i f we had em in our hands now

I dinna see i t said MacGr ego r

P essimism aga i n How can Moir and h i s gang

ge t out o f their camp ?

Up stream by the creek o f course

?
A
ny other way

There s the way w e camebut they d o not know

th at
,

"

A Su r p r i se f o r Shan ty M o i r

Correct

2
3 3

and when we ve plugged up that S ingle

exit they can t get away f rom us Mac and then we v e

got em !
M acG r egor s eyes lighted up then h e grew dour
aga i n

We have got em i f w e plug up the river I see

he admitted but when we have got them what good

does it do us ? What are you going to do then ?

That s the surpri se Mac ; I won t tell even you

He looked swiftly for a w ay up the rock walls and

found o ne
The rst question is : Do you thi nk you

?
can c l imb a fter me up that crevice there

I could climb through hel l and back aga i n i f it

would help i n getting Shanty Moir

All right I can t quite gi ve you hell but I l l

give Shanty Moi r an i mitation o f it be fore he s much
older C ome on W e v e got some work to do be fore
it gets dar
He led th e w ay i nt o th e crev i ce he had marked
for the cl imb up from the ho l e and bo osted M acGr ego r
up be fore him It was S low hard work but M acG r e
gor s weak hold slipped o ften ,and he came slipp i ng
down upon Reivers shoulders In the end Reivers im
patiently pulled him down took him o n his back and
crawled up and with a laugh rolled h i msel f and his
burden in the snow o n to p o f the cli ff s A few rods
away smok e w as rising through the opening above
Moir s camp and at the si ght o f i t M acGr ego r S
numbed faculties came to l i fe

Le mme go man ! he pleaded as Reivers caught

him as he staggered toward the opening

It s my
chance man
I can k i ll the cu r with a ro ck f rom up

here

Save your st rength ; I ve got use f o r i t sa i d Reiv

er s
C an you walk ? A ll right
C
o
me on then and

don t try to get n ea r that gap

The Snow Bu rn er

2
3 4

Taking M acGr ego r by the hand he led the way

care fully around the big Opening till they came to the
op p osite s i de o f the mass o f rocks where the creek
entered th e tunnel by which Moir reached his camp
C rawling and slipping they made their w ay down
until they stood beside the bed o f the str eam

Now t o work Mac said Reivers and seizing

a rock bore it to the tun nel s mouth and dropped it
into the water

Aye aye ! chuckled M acGr ego r as he understood

the signicance o f this move We ll wall the curs i n

For hal f an hour they laboured Reivers ca rrie d
and rolled the heaviest rocks he could move i nto posi
t i on across the tunnel and M acG r ego r staggered be
neath smaller pieces to l l up the chinks When their
work was nished there was a rock wal l across the
mouth o f the tunnel which i t would have be en almost
impossible to tear down especially from th e inside
It was growing dark when the task w as comp l et e d
and Reivers nodded in great satis faction

That ll hold em long enough for my purpose and

he said
Now come o n
w e j ust made i t in ti me

up the mountain again and then for the su rpri se

The surp ri se man ? panted M acG r ego r as he toiled

?
up the rocks
What are you going to do
Tell

me what s in your head ?

Hush hush ! laughed Reivers pu l ling h i m up to

the top
Your position is that o f the onlooker It
would spo i l i t f o r you if you k new what w as go i ng to

happ e n

An onlook e rme when i t s a case o f gett i ng

Shanty Moir ? D on t say th at lad
Don t leave
me o ut H e s mine You know that by all the rights
G iv e m e
o f men and god s it s my r i ght to get him

my j ust share o f r ev enge

Shut up !
,

The Snow Bu rner

2
6
3

his di rty f o ot o n me Do you see w hy I m going t o

d o it by myse l f ?

P laced his f o ot on you ? God s bl ood ! W hat has

he done to me
robbed m e made an animal o f m e
stabbed me with a p rod ! W ho has the bett e r ri ght

to hi s f oul l i fe ?

It isn t a c a se o f ri ght but o f might M a c

chu ck l ed R e iv ers
I v e got the better might There
fore w il l you gi v e me your word th at you l l re frain
from i nterfering with my actions until I ve paid my
debt to M r Moir or must I go back a f te r the harn e ss

and strap yo u up ?

C
ruel

P
rom i se

I promise sai d M acGr ego r

But i t s wrong

sore wrong I protest

A ll right P rotest al l yo u want t o but do i t

silent l y No t a nother word or sound out o f you no w

unt i l the j o b s d o n e
Togethe r they c raw l ed back t o the br i nk abo v e
the large dugout a nd peered down i nt o the darken
ing cav e rn
In a ash Reivers had his mackinaw
and boo ts o ff The cooking r e w as deserted No
Moi r and his m e n an d Tillie were
o ne w as in sight
at supper i n the dugout and Reiver s s chance had come
H e swun g himsel f silently o v e r th e brink and hung
by a handhold o n th e rock

Don t inter fere Mac he sa i d w am ingly

Not

till I v e pa i d Shanty M o ir for the tou ch o f h i s f oo t

C HA PTER XLV I
I HT TH A T

A F G

W AS A

I HT

F G

ITH a tw i st o f his body he threw his stockinged

feet f orward and caught toe holds on the
rough surface o f the wall Next h e released his right
hand and fumbled downward till he found a solid
piece o f protruding rock H av ing tested it thoroughly
he let go his holds with both feet and le ft hand and
dropped h is full weight into the grip o f his right
Abo ve him M acGr ego r with hi s face gl ued to the
brink o f th e open i ng gasped twice once be cause he
w as sure Reivers was dropping straight to the bottom
and again when his right hand took the shock o f h i s
full weight w ithout loosening its grip
Reivers heard and looked up and smi l ed T hen he
swung his feet inward again secured another hold
lowered h i s ri ght hand t o another sure grip and so
made his startling way down th e inwardly slanting
cli ff
At the thi rd desperate drop M acG r egor drew back
unable to stand the strain o f watching Had Reivers
been able to see o n top o f the cli ff he would have
laughed for the S cotchman w as down on his knees i n
the snow earnestly praying
Finally M ac G r ego r summoned up courage to peer
down onc e more Then he knew his prayers had been
answered Reivers was hanging easily by hi s hands
directly above the front o f the large dugout and
his f e et w e re l ess than ten f eet above the bottom
-

32 7

Th
e

2
8
3

Snow Bu r n er
-

the ca v e M acGr egor gave a who op o f thank s

gi v ing and gather e d to him an arm ful o f stones
For a moment Reivers hung ther e looking down and
app r ai s ing the s i tuation He lo o sened his h o ld unti l
his wh o l e weight hung on the end s o f h i s ngers

C ome out and ght S hanty ! h e be llowed sud

d enly
C
o
me o ut you ch e ap cur and ght l i k e a

man !
Nothing loath Mo i r came respond ing l ik e a wil d
animal on the instant o f th e weird challenge from
above Like a wild man he came six shoote r in hand
teari n g the front o f the dugout away in his rush and
Re i vers dropped and struck h i m ne at l y the i nstant
he appeare d
It w as a ca r e fu l ly a i med drop Land i ng on M o i r s
ne ck Reiv e rs would hav e killed him H e had no
w i sh t o ki ll himyet H e landed on Mo i r s S houlders
and th e six shooter went ying away as the t w o
bod i e s crashed t o geth e r and dropped o n the sand with a
thud
Reivers w as up rst I t w as well that he w as
T ammy and Joey were only a step behind Moir Like
W ildcats they clawed at Reivers and like W ildcats they
ro ll ed on the ground when h i s sts met them Then
Moir w as up on his feet H is senses were a little dull
but he saw enough o f the situation to sat i s fy him Be
f ore him w as someth i ng to ght to rush to annihilate
An d he rush e d
Up o n the c l i ff the maddened M acGr ego r yelped
j oyously a stone i n each hand as Reivers l ea ped for
ward to meet the rush and struck S hanty Moir had
e xpect ed a grapple and Reivers st caught him full in
the mouth and threw h i m back on h is sh ou l d er s a
man s l engt h away
Wh e n Moir aros e th e n the l ower part o f h i s f ace
had the appearanc e o f crushed meat but h e growled
of

Th
e Snow-Bu r n er

330

light o f the re S he picked it up W i th a smi le o f

great contentment o n her face S h e cr ept noiselessly
toward the struggling men They were locked in a
clinch now and with the smile w idening she moved
around behind Moir s broad back The kni fe ashed
above her head Re ivers saw it With an e ff o rt be
wrenched an arm free and k nocked the kni f e away

! eep away ! he roared S pringing out o f the c l inch

Th i s is between I ron Hair and me

Up o n the cli ff M acGr ego r groaned In free i n g
himsel f Re ivers had hurled Moir to o ne side and
Moi r had dropped with h is outstretched hand s nearly
touching his six shooter where i t had fallen when
Reivers had dropped upon him Like the stab o f a
snak e his hand reached o u t and snapped it up

Your soul to the de vi l Shanty M o ir l shr i ek ed

M acGr ego r and hurled another stone
H is aim w as true this time The ston e st ru ck Moir
squar e ly on his big head and dro v e his f ace into the
sand H e never mo v ed after it
Re i vers looked up On the bri nk o f th e cli ff Mac
Gregor on his knees w as chanting his w ar cry his
thanks that v engean ce had no t been denied him
Reivers smiled

That s a good song Mac whatever it is ! he

l aughed when
the maddened S cotchman had grown

quieter
But the fact remains that y o u disobeyed

my orders and i nter f ered

Aye ! I i nter fered I hurled a stone and sent the

blac k soul o f Shanty Moir back to his brother the

devil ! chanted Mac Gr ego r

But lad I di d not in

unti
l
you
d
paid
him
i
n
f
ull
unti l you d paid
t er f er e
doublefor the kick he gave you Three o f them
there were and they were armed an d you with bare
sts ! God s blood ! Never since men stood up with
st t o st has th e r e bee n su ch ghting One disabled
.

A Fi ght Tha t W as a Fi ght

and

33 1

men dead ! Dead you are y o u poor pups !

And I can t e ll by the w ay you l iv ed wh ere you re
ro ast
i
ng now

Ah ah! I ha s ee n a man ght ; I ha s ee n what

I shall never forget and poor stick th at I am com
pared to him I ha e en had a hand in it myse l f Man
man ! W ould you grudge m e a l i ttle b ite a f t er y o ur

be l ly s f ull o f b attle ?
Re iv ers spoke qui e t ly and co l dly

Go down and tear out as much o f the stone wall

I ll take the heavy stones f rom this side

as you can

H e turned to T illie
Take the big belt from Iron
H air and give it to m e Then
make al l ready for the

trail We march to night

And Tillie as she harness e d the d o gs spat u pon I ro n
H a i r th e bea t en
tw o

C HA P TER XL V II
S NO W

TH E

-B U

R NER P AY S

He
ND now the Snow Burner has his gold
has robbed the great I ron Hair in his o w n
camp Great i s the Snow Burner ! No w he has the
gold which he longed for Now he i s r i ch The

white men will bo w down to h im Gr eat i s th e S now

Burner !
Tillie crouche d bes i d e Rei v e rs as an hour l ater he
stood on the edge o f the D ead Lands and triumphantly
crooned the saga o f his success The gold belt o f
S hanty Moi r h ung heav ily over h i s shoulder its great
weight constantly reminding him o f the fortune that it
contained The dogs were held in leash eager to be
quit o f the harsh rock chasms through which they had
j ust travelled and to strike the i r lop e o n a trail o v er
the open country beyond
M acG r ego r sat wearily on o ne S ide o f the S ledge
T he exertions and excitement o f the a fternoon had ex
He sat
hau st ed him i n his weakened condition
slumped together only hal f conscious o f what w as
going o n In a moment he would be sound asleep
And Reivers had the gold He had succeeded He
had the gold and he had a supply of food and a
strong fresh team o f dogs eage r for the trail Al l
that w as necessary w as to turn the do gs toward the
south Two three f our days travelling and he would
str i ke the railroad And the railroad ran to tide
water and on the water steamboats would carry him
away to th e w o r l d h e had plan ned t o retu rn to
.

332

Th
e
Snow
Bu
r
ne
r
334
h i t e woman then I f I had k now n
th ere i s one w
But R e iv ers w as whipp i ng an d curs i ng the d o gs and
h u rrying out o f hearing
MacG eg r c l ear headed f ro m the rest and f o od
but stil l weak li fted his head and l ooked around as
th e s l edge sped over the frozen snow
A new trail to me l ad he said
Whe re to
-

no w

a f ool s tra i l l aughed

dro v e on
Nex t m orn i n g MacGr egor

On

Re i vers

bi tterly

an d

recogni sed the land

ahead

Stra i ght f or D umont s C amp w e re h ead i ng lad

h e said
I s i t th er e w e go ?
.

T hey cam e

Dumont s Camp as ni ght f e ll Reiv

ers halted and made sundry enquir i es

In a shack hal f ways betw ee n h ere and F i f ty Mile

w as the substance o f th e repli e s

H i yah ! Mush mush up ! a nd they w e r e o n th e

t ra il again
A t dayl i ght th e next day f r o m a r i se i n the l and
h e saw th e S hack that had bee n des i gn ated Smoke
w as ris i ng f rom th e chimney a nd a small gu re that
he knew e v en at that d istanc e cam e ou t l l e d a p a i l
w i th snow and went i n aga i n
Re i vers stopped his dogs s o m e d i sta n c e f r o m th e
shack He threw M acGr egor gold belt and al l ov er
his shou l der and w e nt up to the door and knock e d
For a second o r two h e smiled tr i umphant l y as Hatt i e
M ac Gr egor opened the door and stood S peechless at
what she saw Then h e bo wed l ow la i d h i s bur de n
o n th e oor an d went out w i thout a word
T he d o gs shuddere d as they h ea rd h i m l augh co m
i ng back t o them
H i-yah m u sh

to

The Snow Bu r ne r Pay s

335

H e drov e them furiously i nto a gu lly th at shut o ut

th e sight o f the shack and sat down o n the sledge
The dogs wh i ned I t w as the time f or the morning
mea l and th e m ast e r w as making no preparat i ons to
e at
Still you curs
The whip fell merc i less l y among
them and they crou ched i n terror
.

The time went by The su n began to climb upward

i n the sky Still the man sat o n the Sl edge making no
preparations f or the morning meal The memory o f
the whip cu ts died in the dogs minds under the grow
i ng clamour
o f hung e r They began to wh i ne again

Still !
The master was on h i s f eet b ut the whip
h ad f allen from his hand
Down at the end o f the gu ll y a small gu r e w as
com i ng o v er the snow She w as runn i ng and her
red hai r owed back o v er h er shoulders and she
laughed al oud as S h e came up to h i m Th e pain w as
gone from Hattie M acG r ego r s lips and her whole
face beamed w i th a complete unr easoning happiness
but the pr i de o f h e r b re e d sh o n e i n her e y e s e ven
unto the end

Wel l wel l ! s nee r e d R e iv ers

A re n t yo u a fraid
to come so near anything that pollutes the air P
She laughed again She did not spe ak She only
l ooked at him and sm i led and by the Ev e wisdom in
the smile he knew that hi s secret was hers He felt
himsel f weakening but the Snow Burner d i ed hard
H e tried to laugh his o l d c o ld l augh b ut th e i ce had
been
thawed i n it

I m not a good
What do you want P he sne e red
en ough
man for you Why d i d you come out here P

Because I knew you would not go away again

sh
e sa i d
and because now I k now yo u a re a good

en ough m an f or m e
.

Th e Snow Bu r ne r
Y o u re d ha i red t r u ll !
H e ra ised his hand to
s t rik e he r
She did no t i n ch ; she mere l y sm i led up at him
c ondently contentedly Suddenly she caught his
clenched st i n her hands and kissed it W ith a curse
6
33

Reivers swung around o n his dogs

H i yah ! Mush mush ou t o f her e !

Out o f the gully i nto the open he kicked and drove
them H e did not loo k back H e k new that she was
following
She follow e d pat i e nt l y S h e k new th at there w as
nothing else f o r her to do S he had known it the
rst day she had l ook ed i nto h i s ey e s H e w as her
man and she must f ol l ow h i m
So she trudge d on be hind her ma n a s he f orced the
tired dogs t o mov e S he smiled as S he walked and
th e wisdom o f Ev e w as in her sm i l e She had reason
t o smile f or the Snow Burn er w as dr iv ing straight
toward th e littl e sha ck
.

T H E E ND