honestly. "What will happen?" he abruptly asked.

"What neither you nor I should try to prevent, m'sieu'," was Pierre's
reply.

"Magor will do the man injury?"

"What would you have? Put the matter on your own hearthstone, eh? . . .
Pardon, if I say these things bluntly." Pierre still lightly rocked the
cradle with one foot.

"But vengeance is in God's hands."

"M'sieu'," said the half-breed, "vengeance also is man's, else why did we
ten men from Fort Cypress track down the Indians who murdered your
brother, the good priest, and kill them one by one?"

Father Halen caught his sister as she swayed, and helped her to a chair,
then turned a sad face on Pierre. "Were you--were you one of that ten?"
he asked, overcome; and he held out his hand.

The two river-driving camps joined at Mud Cat Point, where was the crush
of great timber. The two men did not at first come face to face, but it
was noticed by Pierre, who smoked on the bank while the others worked,
that the old man watched his enemy closely. The work of undoing the great
twist of logs was exciting, and they fell on each other with a great
sound as they were pried off, and went sliding, grinding, into the water.
At one spot they were piled together, massive and high. These were left
to the last.