ound them.

By God, if he didn't feel himself getting big and hard to do it again.
Proudly he threw back the sheet and let her see what he had for her. She
smiled up at him, welcoming, her pale blue eyes shining in the
candlelight.

He could use her to help him forget a little longer about Pierre and his
redskin wife and son.

A sharp rapping at the bedroom door brought an end to his new surge of
desire.

Clarissa gasped and pulled away from Raoul, dragging the bedclothes
toward her.

Raoul put his finger to his lips and called out, "Who's there?"

"It's Eli," said a voice through the door.

Raoul's heart began hammering again, as hard as when he woke from his
nightmare.

"Oh, Lord, my paw," whispered Clarissa.

She sounded frightened--but only a _touch_ frightened, and Raoul eyed
her suspiciously. Her eyes were wide, like a child trying to deny
mischief after being caught red-handed. Could Eli and his daughter have
planned this?

Did Eli know that Clarissa was in here? Raoul had been too drunkenly
careless to worry about who was watching when he took her upstairs last
night.

Feeling a quaking in his stomach, Raoul walked over to the door. "What,
Eli?" He hoped his voice sounded strong. He no longer took pleasure and
pride in his nakedness.

"Thought you should know about something I heard over to the fur store,
Raoul."

"Who's minding the furs now?" The place was full of bundles of pelts,
beaver, badger, fox, raccoon, skunk. And valuable trade goods. Indian
bucks walking in and out all the time, this time of year. Raoul had been
happy to turn most of the fur trade work over to Eli. He couldn't
stomach dealing with Indians.

"I left Otto Wegner there. Raoul, there's Injuns out digging in your
lead mine."

At once Raoul forgot his fear of being caught with Clarissa. In its
place he felt a rage so powerful his body seemed to fill up with boiling
oil. Indians, more Indians! Worming their way into his family, and now
stealing from his mine.

"Came looking for lead, did they?" he growled. "We'll give them lead.
Round me up a couple of good marksmen and I'll meet you down in the
taproom."

He heard no sound for a moment, and wondered what Eli was doing and
thinking on the other side of the plank door.

Then Eli's voice came, "I'll be a-waiting for you, Raoul."

_That gets him away from here for now._

But if Eli and Clarissa were planning to try to push him into a
marriage, he knew he wouldn't g