lose sight of her even if he had to work his fingers to the bone in the service of Louis, and went away in a raging temper.

Once a year, for eight years, John O’Dell tried to get Sherwood away from the Balengers and French River but always in vain. Sherwood worked for Louis and according to Louis’ own methods; and as he was always the goat he was frequently on the run from the wardens of the game laws.

Down at O’Dell’s Point life went on evenly and honestly and yet with a fine dash of romance. Captain John O’Dell wooed and wed Flora McAllister and Jim McAllister was jilted by a girl at Hood’s Ferry and several elderly people died peacefully. Up on French River, Delphine Balenger ran away with a lumberman from the States after Dick Sherwood had spent ten years in slavery and disgrace for love of her; and Sherwood set out on the lumberman’s track with murder in his heart. He lost his way and was found and brought home by Delphine’s younger sister. Then Sherwood quarreled with Louis Balenger and Louis shot him twice, left the Englishman for dead and vanished from French River forever. Julie Balenger nursed poor Sherwood back to life and strength and, soon after, married him.

This is what Uncle Jim told young Ben O’Dell of the Sherwoods of French River.

 CHAPTER IITHE DRIFTING FIRE 

CHAPTER II

THE DRIFTING FIRE

When the little Sherwood girl first saw the library she did not believe her eyes. It was not a large room, and there were not more than six hundred volumes on the shelves; but Marion had to pull out and examine a score of the books before she believed that the rest were real. She had not known that there was so much printed paper in the whole world. She had seen only three books before this discovery of the O’Dell library, the three from which her father had taught her to read. He had told her of others and she had pictured the book wealth of the world on one shelf three feet long.

Ben O’Dell looked into the library through one of the open windows.

“Have you read ‘Coral Island’?” he asked.

Marion shook her head.

“It’s good,” continued Ben. “But ‘Treasure Island’ is better. They are both on my shelves, farther along. ‘Midshipman Easy’ is fine, too—but perhaps it’s too old for you. Have you read many books?”

 Prev. P 11/90 next