The Fur Bringers Part 71

"She said she saw him go after Watusk, and heard him make Watusk tell the Indians not to be foolish, but go back to the teepees until morning. But Watusk spoke to them half-heartedly and they did not listen. It was Myengeen, Nesis said, who urged them to go across the river, and break into the store.

"Nesis did not see what happened at the boat. The crowd was too great for her to get near. But next morning when they came back she heard Myengeen say to Watusk that Gordon Strange had sent word that they must tie Ambrose Doane up and carry him away.

"She said it was soon known throughout the tribe that if the police came everybody was to say that Ambrose Doane made all the trouble. She said he was tied up and carried away on a horse.

"When they all got to the Kakisa River a week later she found that he was imprisoned in Gordon Strange's house, and watched day and night."

So far the power of Colina's story had carried her hearers along breathlessly with her. Not until she reached this point did a very obvious question occur to the judge.

"One moment, Miss Gaviller," he said. "I presume you understand that this story would have more weight as evidence if the girl Nesis was produced in court. Can she be brought here?"

Once more Colina faltered--and steeled herself. Her eyes became misty, but she looked directly at the judge. "My Lord," she said simply, "she is dead."

CHAPTER XLII.

THE AVENGING OF NESIS.

His lords.h.i.+p started back thoroughly discomposed. "Really! Really!"

he murmured helplessly. The prisoner hid his face in his arms again.

An audible wave of compa.s.sion traveled over the room.

"Should I tell about that?" Colina asked quietly. The judge signified his a.s.sent.

"On the third morning on the prairie," Colina continued, "the Indians found us again. They had tracked us all the way from the Kakisa. They did not attack us, but followed about a quarter of a mile behind.

"There were about fifty of them. Whenever we stopped to rest or eat, they rode around us in a big circle yelling and firing their guns in the air--trying to break our nerve."

A gasp escaped her hearers at the picture she evoked--three women on the wide prairie, and a horde of yelling savages!

"I did not mind them so much," Colina went on simply, "for I was sure they were too cowardly to attack us. But our food was all gone by this time, and I could not leave the others to hunt for game. The horses were completely played out.

"At night we suffered from the cold. We could not make a fire because the light of it blinded us and showed us to the Indians. On the fourth night as we were trying to push on in the hope of losing them in the dark, the horse that Nesis was riding fell down and died in his tracks.

After that we took turns walking.

"Next day they easily found us again. It was very cold, and we could scarcely keep going. In the afternoon we came to the edge of the bench of the Spirit River. It was a long way down to the bank.

"When we got there we saw that heavy ice was running in the river. We had to travel another mile along the bank before we saw enough dead timber in one place to make a raft. I was afraid we wouldn't have strength enough to move it. We hadn't eaten for two days.

"It was still daylight, and we made a fire there. The Indians came and watched us from a little knoll, less than a quarter of a mile back.

"Cora took one of the remaining horses away and killed it, and brought back meat to the fire and we ate a little. I thought if we slept a little while we would be better able to start the raft. So Cora and I lay down while Nesis kept watch."

Colina's voice was shaking. She paused to steady it. "I was careful to choose a place out in the open," she went on. "We were in a gra.s.sy bottom beside the river.

"The nearest cover was a poplar bluff about three hundred yards back.

He--he must have crawled down to that. I was awakened by a shot. They had got her!"

Colina's clenched hands were pressed close together, her head was down.

The quiet voice broke out a little wildly.

"Ah! I have never, never ceased to blame myself! I should not have slept! I ought not to have let her watch! But I never thought they would dare shoot!"

Colina went on in a schooled voice more affecting than an outcry.

"Nesis was shot through the breast. I had nothing to give her. I stanched the wound the best way I could.

"I saw at once that she could not live. Indeed, I prayed that she would not linger--in such pain. She lived throughout the night. She was conscious most of the time--and smiling. She died at daybreak.

"I do not know what happened after that. I gave out. It was Cora who saw the launch coming down the river, and signaled it with her petticoat. They landed and carried us aboard. I remember that.

"I wanted them to turn back and take us up to the crossing. But it was impossible to go against the current on account of the ice. They took us down to Fort Enterprise. We took Nesis. She is buried there.

"At Fort Enterprise we had to wait until the ice packed in the river, and enough snow fell to make a winter trail. Then we started with dog teams. I brought Captain Stinson and my servant, Cora Thomas, for additional witnesses. It is seven hundred miles. That is why we were so long."

Mr. Pascoe rose. His erstwhile ruddy cheeks showed an odd pallor under the purple veins, and he looked thoroughly disconcerted. "My Lord," he said, "this is a very affecting tale. It is, however, my painful duty to protest against its admission as evidence."

Colina interrupted him. "I beg your pardon," she said quickly. She produced a little book from inside her dress. "May I explain further?"

she asked the judge eagerly.

"One moment, please, Mr. Pascoe," said his lords.h.i.+p. He signed to Colina to proceed.

"I meant, of course, to bring Nesis here," Colina continued. "When I saw that--that I never would, while I didn't know anything about courts or evidence, I felt that it would be safer to have a written statement.

"This book is my diary that I always carry with me. That night I wrote in the blank pages what Nesis had told me, and later when she was conscious I read it to her, and she affirmed it sentence by sentence.

She understood how important it was.

"You may know that she comprehended what she was doing because she made me make changes--you will find them here. At the end I wrote her name and she made a cross. Cora Thomas heard me read it to her, and saw her make her mark."

The judge held out his hand for the book.

Once more Mr. Pascoe rose. "My Lord," he said, "it must be clear to you that the ends of justice have been defeated by the dramatic power of this tale. It would be farcical to ask this jury to deliver an impartial verdict now. This new evidence must be weighed and sifted with calm minds. I request that you declare a mistrial, and that--"

A still more dramatic surprise awaited Mr. Pascoe and the court.

Toward the end of the telling of Colina's painful tale Gordon Strange had been forgotten by all in the room except the policeman detailed to watch him. This man suddenly made a spring toward the half-breed, where he sat huddled beside his table. He was too late. The court was electrified by the m.u.f.fled sound of a shot. Strange fell forward on the table. A revolver clattered to the floor from under his coat.

CHAPTER XLIII.

NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS.

The following is taken from the Prince George _Star_, January 19, 19--.

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