eds of Foss River.
Lablache had too long swayed their destinies with his ruthless hand of
extortion. All the pent-up hatred, stored in the back cells of memory,
was now let loose. For all these years in Foss River they had been
forced to look to Lablache as the ruler of their destinies. Was he not
the great--the wealthy man of the place? When he held up his finger they
must work--and his wage was the wage of a dog. When money was scarce
among them, would he not drive them starving from his great store? When
their children and women were sick, would he not refuse them
drugs--food--nourishment of any sort, unless the money was down? They
had not even the privilege of men who owned land. There was no credit
for the Breeds--outcasts. Baptiste and his fellows remembered all these
things. Their time had come. They would pay Lablache--and their score of
interest should be heavy.

On their way from the shed to the muskeg Lablache had seen the
reflection of the fire at his store in the sky. Gautier had taken
devilish satisfaction in telling the wretched man of what had been
done--mouthing the details in the manner of one who finds joy in
cruelty. He remembered past injuries, and reveled in the money-lender's
agony.

After a toilsome journey the Breeds halted at the point where the path
divided into three. Jacky and Bill sat on their horses and watched the
scene. Then, slowly, something of Baptiste's intention was borne in upon
them.

Jacky reached out and touched her lover's arm.

"Bill, what are they going to do?"

She asked the question. But the answer was already with her. Her
companion remained silent. She did not repeat her question.

Then she heard Baptiste's raucous tones as he issued his commands.

"Loose his hands!"

Jacky watched Lablache's face in the dim starlight. It was ghastly. The
whole figure of the man seemed to have shrunk. The wretched man stood
free, and yet more surely a prisoner than any criminal in a condemned
cell.

The uncertain light of the stars showed only the dark expanse of the
mire upon all sides. In the distance, ahead, the mountains were vaguely
outlined against the sky; behind and around, nothing but that awful
death-trap. Jacky had lived all her life beside the muskeg, but never,
until that moment, had she realized the awful terror of its presence.

Now Baptiste again commanded.

"Prepare for death."

It seemed to the listening girl that a devilish tone of exultation rang
in h