Philip Steele of the Royal Northwest mounted Police by James Oliver Curwood
page 35 of 179 (19%)
page 35 of 179 (19%)
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an' plays with the kids, an' says he knows the doctor and that there
will be nothing to pay for all that he is done. Ah--she ees wan be-e-eautiful-l-l angel! An' this--this is w'at she tied around my hand." With new life Pierrot went to a covered box nailed against one of the log walls and a moment later placed in Philip's hands a long, white, silken neck-scarf. Once more there rose to his nostrils the sweet, faint scent of hyacinth, and with a sudden low cry Philip crushed the dainty fabric in a mass to his face. In that moment it seemed as though the sweetness of the woman herself was with him, stirring him at last to confess the truth--the thing which he had fought against so fiercely in those few hours at Lac Bain; and the knowledge that he had surrendered to himself, that in going from Lac Bain he was leaving all that the world held for him in the way of woman and love, drew his breath from him in another broken, stifled cry. When he lowered the scarf his face was white. Pierrot was staring at him. "It makes me think--of home," he explained lamely. "Sometimes I get lonely, too. There's a girl--down there--who wears a scarf like this, and what she wears smells like a flower, just as this does--" "Oui, I understand," said Pierrot softly. "It is the way I feel when my Iowla is gone." He replaced the scarf in the box, and when he returned to the stove Philip explained why he had come to his cabin. With Pierrot's promise to accompany him with dogs and sledge on his patrol the next day he |
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