The Project Gutenberg EBook of Flower of the North, by James Oliver Curwood

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Title: Flower of the North

Author: James Oliver Curwood

Posting Date: September 6, 2009 [EBook #4703]
Release Date: December, 2003
First Posted: March 3, 2002

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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FLOWER OF THE NORTH

A MODERN ROMANCE

BY

JAMES OLIVER CURWOOD

AUTHOR OF THE DANGER TRAIL, PHILIP STEELS, ETC.

TO MY COMRADES OF THE GREAT NORTHERN WILDERNESS, THOSE FAITHFUL
COMPANIONS WITH WHOM I HAVE SHARED THE JOYS AND HARDSHIPS OF THE "LONG
SILENT TRAIL," AND ESPECIALLY TO THAT "JEANNE D'ARCAMBAL." WHO WILL
FIND IN HERSELF THE HEROINE OF THIS STORY, THE WRITER GRATEFULLY
DEDICATES THIS VOLUME.

DETROIT. MICHIGAN

JANUARY, 1912

FLOWER OF THE NORTH

I

"Such hair! Such eyes! Such color! Laugh if you will, Whittemore, but I
swear that she was the handsomest girl I've ever laid my eyes upon!"

There was an artist's enthusiasm in Gregson's girlishly sensitive face
as he looked across the table at Whittemore and lighted a cigarette.

"She wouldn't so much as give me a look when I stared," he added. "I
couldn't help it. Gad, I'm going to make a full-page 'cover' of her
to-morrow for Burke's. Burke dotes on pretty women for the cover of his
magazine. Why, demmit, man, what the deuce are you laughing at?"

"Not at this particular case, Tom," apologized Whittemore. "But--I'm
wondering--"

His eyes wandered ruminatively about the rough interior of the little
cabin, lighted by a single oil-lamp hanging from a cross-beam in the
ceiling, and he whistled softly.

"I'm wondering," he went on, "if you'll ever strike a place where you
won't see 'one of the most beautiful things on earth.' The last one was
at Rio Piedras, wasn't it, Tom? A Spanish girl, or was she a Creole? I
believe I've got your letter yet, and I'll read it to you to-morrow. I
wasn't surprised. There are pretty women down in Porto Rico. But I
didn't think you'd hav