ttle Tupper, putting apples on a string to
hang up in the hot sun to dry." The Judge turned impatiently on his
bench and shrugged his shoulders. The girl saw and her eyes blazed
angrily at him. Who was he to shrug his shoulders! Was it not
important, this story of her love and her tragedy! Thereafter the
Judge gave her the most rigid attention.

"Rafe Gadbeau came and sat down on the steps at my feet. I saw that he
was troubled. 'What is it, _mon Rafe_?' I asked. He groaned and said
one bad word. Then he told me that he had just had a message from
Rogers to meet him at the head of the rail with three men and six
horses. 'What to do, _mon Rafe_?' 'I do not know,' he said, 'though I
can guess. But I will not tell you, Cynthe.'

"'You will not go, _mon Rafe_. Promise me you will not go. Hide away,
and we will slip down to the Falls of St. Regis and be married--me, I
do not care for the grand wedding in the church here--and then we will
get away to Beaupre. Promise me.'

"'_Bien_, Cynthe, I promise. I will not go to him.'

"But it was a man's promise. I knew he would go in the end.

"I watched and followed. I did not know what I could do. But I
followed, hoping that somewhere I could get Rafe before they had done
what they intended and we could run away together with clean hands.

"When I saw that they had gone toward the railroad I turned aside and
climbed up to the Bald Mountain. I knew they would all come back
there together. I waited until it was dark and they came. They would
do nothing in the night. I waited for the morning. Then I would find
Rafe and bring him away. I was desperate. I was a wild girl that
night. If I could have found that Rogers and come near him I would
have killed him myself. I hated him, for he had made me much
suffering.

"In the morning I was in the woods near them. I saw Rafe. But that
Rogers kept him always near him.

"I saw Rogers go out of the wood a little to look. Rafe was a little
way from him and coming slowly toward me. I called to him. He did not
hear. I saw the look in his face. It was the look of one who has made
up his mind to kill. Again I called to him. But he did not hear.

"I saw Rogers go running along the edge of the wood. Now he came
running back toward Rafe. He stopped and turned.

"The young Whiting was on his knee with the rifle raised to shoot. I
looked to Rafe. The sound of his gun struck me as I turned my face.
The bullet struck Rogers in the back of the hea