ok upon; this you have already confessed; here in this
wilderness I am alone, the only woman. He holds me his wife by law,
and yet knows he must still win me. There are months of loneliness
before us, and he will not look upon the face of another white woman
in all those leagues. Are there any French of my sex at Fort St.
Louis?"

"No."

"Nor at St. Ignace, Pere Allouez assures me. I shall have no rival
then in all this wilderness; you think me harmless, Monsieur? Look at
me, and say!"

"I do not need to look; you will have your game, I have no doubt,
although the final result may not prove what you desire."

"You fear the end?"

"It may be so; you play with fire, and although I know little of
women, yet I have felt the wild passions of men in lands where there
is no restraint of law. The wilderness sees many tragedies--fierce,
bitter, revengeful deeds--and 'tis best you use care. 'Tis my belief
this Francois Cassion might prove a devil, once his heart was tricked.
Have you thought of this?"

I had thought of it, but with no mercy in my heart, yet as De Artigny
spoke I felt the ugliness of my threat more acutely, and, for an
instant, stood before him white-lipped, and ashamed. Then before me
arose Cassion's face, sarcastic, supercilious, hateful, and I laughed
in scorn of the warning.

"Thought of it!" I exclaimed, "yes, but for that I care nothing. Why
should I, Monsieur? Has the man shown mercy to me, that I should feel
regret because he suffers? As to his revenge, death is not more to be
dreaded than a lifetime passed in his presence. But why do you make
plea on his behalf--the man is surely no friend of yours?"

"I make no plea for him," he answered, strangely sober, "and claim no
friendship. Any enemy to La Salle is an enemy to Rene de Artigny; but
I would front him as a man should. It is not my nature to do a deed of
treachery."

"You hold this treachery?"

"What else? You propose luring him to love you, that you may gain
confession from his lips. To attain this end you barter your honesty,
your womanhood; you take advantage of your beauty to enslave him; you
count as ally the loneliness of the wilderness; ay! and, if I
understand aright, you hope through me to awaken the man's jealousy.
Is this not true?"

I drew a quick breath, my eyes staring into his face, and my limbs
trembling. His words cut me like a knife, yet I would not yield, would
not even acknowledge their truth.

"You are unjust, un