tinued to regard her with that subtle, burning, mocking look.
"Your kind can never know," she taunted.

"Mebbe," said Mrs. Nitschkan laconically, "but you're different from
Marthy. She's just mush. She'll be thinkin' now that she's cracked about
Jose. If it wasn't him it would be your father, and if there wasn't no
man up here at all, she'd hoist that crepe veil on her head, stick a red
or blue bow at her neck and go swingin' down to camp, tryin' to persuade
herself an' me that all she went for was a package of tea or some bacon.
But you're different, always a yellin' about bein' free and yet always a
tryin' to get tangled up."

Again Pearl laughed wickedly. "You tramp woman! Why would you rather
hunt bear or mountain lions than shoot squirrels? Because there's danger
in it." She laughed mirthlessly. "I guess it's for the same reason that
I got to hunt the biggest game there is--man, and he hunts me."

Mrs. Nitschkan relighted her pipe. "Bob Flick's your best bet," she
remarked impersonally.

"Talk about guns and fishing rods and dogs, something you know about,"
said Pearl scornfully, touching the dozing dog lightly with her foot. He
growled angrily, resenting the liberty.

"You better leave Flip alone," cautioned Mrs. Nitschkan; "he's liable to
bite anybody but me. Always be kind to dumb animals, 'specially cross
dogs. And, say, Pearl, I been running the cards this morning. It was
such a dandy day that I didn't know whether I'd do some assessment work
or spend the day fishin'; the cards decided in favor of fishin'. I had
to get some light so's I could tell how to go ahead. How any one can get
along without a pack of cards! It's sure a lamp to the feet. If you wait
a minute I'll run 'em for you."

She vanished inside and returned immediately with a board and a
well-worn pack of cards. These she shuffled and, after Pearl had cut
them several times, she began to lay them out in neat rows on the board
on her knee, uttering a strange, crooning sound the while and studying
each card as it fell with the most absorbed interest.

"Um-mmm!" with a heavy sigh and shaking her head forebodingly. "You
better go home, girl, as fast as you can and shut yourself up in the
cabin all day. Did you ever see anything like that?" pointing to the
cards. "Trouble, trouble, nothin' but trouble. If it ain't actual murder
an' death, it's too near it to be any joke. Look how them spades turns
up every whipstitch. How can folks doubt!"

Bu