etty women, and by some odd trick of fate he had
been sifted into the Northland. Mrs. Mallory had tolerated him rather
scornfully, but to-day she smiled upon him.

Propped up by pillows, she reclined luxuriously on a lounge. A thin
spiral of smoke rose like incense to the ceiling from her lips. The
slow, regular rise and fall of her breathing beneath the filmy lace
of her gown accented the perfect fullness of bust and throat.

Dustin helped himself to a cigarette and made himself comfortable.

She set herself to win him. He was immensely flattered at her awakened
interest. When she called him by his first name, he wagged all over like
a pleased puppy.

It came to him after a time that she was considering him for a
confidential mission. He assured her eagerly that there was no trouble
too great for him to take if he could be of any service to her. She
hesitated and doubted and at last as a special favor to him accepted his
offer. Their heads were close in whispered talk for a few minutes, at
the end of which Dustin left the room with his chin in the air. He was
a knight errant in the employ of the most attractive woman north of
fifty-three.

When Elliot took the down-river boat he found Oliver Dustin was a fellow
passenger. The little man smoked an occasional cigar with the land agent
and aired his views on politics and affairs social. He left the boat at
the big bend. Without giving him much of his thought Gordon was a little
surprised that the voluble remittance man had not told him where he was
going.

Not till a week later did Elliot return up the river. He was asleep at
the time the Sarah passed the big bend, but next morning he discovered
that Selfridge and Dustin had come aboard during the night. In the
afternoon he came upon a real surprise when he found Meteetse and her
little boy Colmac seated upon a box on the lower deck where freight for
local points was stored.

His guess was that they were local passengers, but wharf after wharf
slipped behind them and the two still remained on board. They appeared
to know nobody else on the Sarah, though once Gordon met Dustin just as
he was hurrying away from the Indian woman. The little remittance man
took the pains to explain to Elliot later that he was trying to find out
whether the Indians knew any English.

Meteetse transferred with the other Kusiak passengers at the river
junction. The field agent was not the only one on board who wondered
where she was go