cape ere the
factor or some of his minions arrived upon the scene, attracted by the
sound of the scuffle.

He struggled desperately, but Owen still clung to him like a leech, bent
upon holding him until help came, for he believed this wretch should be
punished for his vile attempt to kidnap the sweet child.

Finding that he was having more trouble to break away than he had
expected the man resorted to other means of influencing the boy besides
brute strength.

"Let go of me, you fool! I am that child's father, Angus Ferguson, d'ye
hear? Is it a crime for me to want to see my own? Let go, or by heaven
I'll murder you, boy. I know you--I heard the men talking about you,
Owen Dugdale, and ye should be the last to try and hold me for that
devil, Alexander Gregory. Let go, I say! Do ye not hear them coming?
Shall I kill ye here and now?" he cried, hoarsely, as he put forth all
his great power to break the other's hold.

Yes, Owen did hear them coming, men on the run, men who were calling
out to each other and to the factor to hasten; and he was more than ever
determined that this wretch should not escape.

What if he were the father of little Jessie, she and her mother had long
ago repudiated him, and his mission here could not but menace the child
with evil.

No matter who he was, he must remain to give an account of his
intentions to the czar of the region around the Saskatchewan.

So Owen continued to hang on, harkening not to the grumbled threats of
the desperate man with whom he wrestled.

All the other now considered was escape, and to that end he was exerting
every atom of strength he possessed; twice had he brought his clenched
fist into contact with the boy's head; but at such close quarters the
blow was not nearly so effective as it would have otherwise been, and at
any rate, it only caused him to clench his hands the more rigidly, until
it seemed that, like the grip of the bulldog, only death could make him
let go.

And it was thus they were found when several men belonging to the
company rushed in at the door, headed by the factor himself.

They precipitated themselves upon the struggling couple immediately and
tore them apart, the factor staring hard first at Owen and then at the
other, who was breathing hard from his exertions, yet glaring in rage at
the grizzled Scotchman.

One look Gregory took at the figure of little Jessie on the floor and he
seemed to comprehend the whole of the man's iniquit