rick, don't you think? And inasmuch as Superintendent Tavish is
about the biggest man in the Service, and Porter is his son-in-law, and
Miss Tavish was saved along with us--why, they reckoned something ought
to be done about it."

Breault did not look up. With, exasperating slowness he added fuel to
the fire.

"And so--"

He rose and stood before them again.

"And so--they assigned me to the very unpleasant duty of running you
down with a pardon, McKay--a pardon forgiving you for all your sins,
forever and ever, Amen. And here it is!"

He had drawn an official-looking envelope from inside his coat, and
held it out now--not to McKay--but to Nada.

Neither reached for it. Standing there with the cynical smile still on
his lips, his strange eyes gimleting them with a cold sort of laughter,
it was as if Breault tortured them with a last horrible joke. Then,
suddenly, Nada seized the envelope and tore it open, while McKay stared
at Breault, believing, and yet not daring to speak.

It was Nada's cry, a cry wild and sobbing and filled with gladness,
that told him the truth, and with the precious paper clutched in her
hand she smothered her face against McKay's breast, while Breault came
up grinning behind them, and Jolly Roger heard the click of his key in
the handcuffs.

"I am also loaded down with a number of foolish messages for you," he
said, attending to the fire again. "For instance, that red-headed
good-for-nothing, Cassidy, says to tell you he is building a four-room
bungalow for you in their clearing, and that it will be finished by the
time you arrive. Also, a squaw named Yellow Bird, and a redskin who
calls himself Slim Buck, sent word that you will always be welcome in
their hunting grounds. And a pretty little thing named Sun Cloud sent
as many kisses as there are leaves on the trees--"

[Illustration: "--a squaw named Yellow Bird send word that you would
be welcome."]

He paused, chuckling, and did not look up to see the wide, glorious
eyes of the girl upon him.

"But the funniest thing of all is the baby," he went on, preparing to
slice bacon. "They're going to have one pretty soon--Cassidy's wife, I
mean. They've given it a name already. If it's a boy it's Roger--if
it's a girl it's Nada. They wanted me to tell you that. Silly bunch,
aren't they? A couple of young fools--"

Just then something new happened in the weirdly adventurous life of
Francois Breault. Without warning he was suddenly smoth