shivered. "I kept clear of my place."

"Guess you wasn't disturbed none at Laval's," sneered Jude and he gave
an unpleasant laugh.

"'Twas blasted cold, and I had the devil's time getting enough at night
to keep me going by day; but I learned a heap, and I struck your gold
mine all right, sonny."

"What you mean? Spit it out."

Billy crouched closer, and his breath came thick and fast.

"He's--left her!"

"Gaston?" An ugly oath escaped Jude.

"Gaston. But not for what you think. Jude, he's after you." Jared paused
for effect.

"After me?" The ugliness gave place to a dull fear.

"You, my son. He wants you to free Joyce." Evidently this announcement
failed to reach Jude's intelligence.

"Free her? Me? What's got you, old man? Didn't she cut, herself?"

"You don't catch on, Jude. He wants to do the big, white thing by the
girl--marry her out of hand clean and particular, and he wants to get
your word that you won't make any trouble."

A silence followed this. Jude was struggling to digest it; but the
result was simple.

"Well, by thunder! Won't he have to pay high for it?"

There was excitement and feverish energy in Jude's voice now.

"Maybe he'll fling a bone to you--but don't you see, son, you can hold
off and make him pay, and pay and pay?

"Now tell me, so true as you live, what was _you_ going down to St. Ange
for?"

"I was going down to"--Jude hesitated. "Well, I was tired of being
hounded, and having to hide and starve. I was going down to get--what--I
could--and no questions asked." A foolish laugh followed. Beside Jared's
subtlety, Jude seemed a babbling infant with feeble aims.

Jared was contemptuous.

"Gosh darn it, Jude! It's good I fell across your path again. You might
have thrown away the one, great, shining opportunity of your life.
Listen to _my_ plans. You better stay where you are, and let me run this
here show. I got the tracks all laid out. I'm sort o' inspired where it
comes to plotting for them I love. I'm going to write a touching letter
to her. It's going to state that Gaston is laid up from an accident in a
hut, further up to the north. A lumberman is going to write the
letter--catch on? and she's wanted up to Gaston's dying bedside. The
lumberman is going to meet her at Laval's. When she's caught safe and
sure, Jock Filmer--he's the go-between in all this--will get that
information, or the part about her going away, to Gaston; then the
game's in our hands. If Gaston me