A TALE OF THE GRAND JARDIN 



talk of the woods, and to be listening for 

 something. Breaking into an attempt 

 of mine at conversation, he asked 

 abruptly : 



"Did you ever hear about the disap- 

 pearance of Paul DucheneT' 



The name came back to me in a misty 

 way, and with some tragic association, 

 but the man himself I had never known. 

 Any sort of a yarn was welcome that 

 would take one's mind off the eeriness 

 and discomfort of our situation, and 



H required no urging. He spoke 



like a man who has a tale that must be 

 told, and I try to give you neither more 

 nor less than what he said : 



"Duchene was in camp with me years 

 ago, in fact it was he that brought me 

 into this country in the old days before 

 trails were cut, and when no one came 

 here but himself and his brothers, and 

 a few wandering Montagnais Indians. 

 The Duchenes were trappers, and they 

 guarded the secrets of the place very 



H8 



