The Man in the Twilight   By: Ridgwell Cullum (1867-1943)

by

RIDGWELL CULLUM

G.P. Putnam's Sons New York and London The Knickerbocker Press

1922

BY RIDGWELL CULLUM

THE DEVIL'S KEG THE HOUND FROM THE NORTH THE BROODING WILD THE NIGHT RIDERS THE WATCHERS OF THE PLAINS THE COMPACT THE TRAIL OF THE AXE THE ONE WAY TRAIL THE SHERIFF OF DYKE HOLE TWINS OF SUFFERING CREEK THE GOLDEN WOMAN THE WAY OF THE STRONG THE LAW BREAKERS THE SON OF HIS FATHER THE MEN WHO WROUGHT THE PURCHASE PRICE THE TRIUMPH OF JOHN KARS THE LAW OF THE GUN THE HEART OF UNAGA

TO MY NEPHEW GEOFFREY FREDERICK BURGHARD THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED

THE AUTHOR TO THE READER

The story of the Sachigo wood pulp mills, told in this book, is entirely a work of imagination. But as I have had to draw very largely on my knowledge of the wood pulp trade of Eastern Canada, and the conditions under which it is carried on, I desire it to be clearly understood that this story contains no portraiture of any person or persons, living or dead, and contains no representation of any business organisation connected with the trade.

CONTENTS

PART ONE

I. THE CRISIS II. THE MAN WITH THE MAIL III. IDEPSKI IV. THE "YELLOW STREAK" V. NANCY MCDONALD VI. NATHANIEL HELLBEAM

PART TWO

EIGHT YEARS LATER

I. BULL STERNFORD II. FATHER ADAM III. BULL LEARNS CONDITIONS IV. DRAWING THE NET V. THE PROGRESS OF NANCY VI. THE LONELY FIGURE VII. THE SKANDINAVIA MOVES VIII. AN AFFAIR OF OUTPOSTS IX. ON THE OPEN SEA X. IN QUEBEC XI. DRAWN SWORDS XII. AT THE CHATEAU XIII. DEEPENING WATERS XIV. THE PLANNING OF CAMPAIGN XV. THE SAILING OF THE Empress XVI. ON BOARD THE Empress XVII. THE LONELY FIGURE AGAIN XVIII. BULL STERNFORD'S VISION OF SUCCESS XIX. THE HOLD UP XX. ON THE HOME TRAIL XXI. THE MAN IN THE TWILIGHT XXII. DAWN XXIII. NANCY XXIV. THE COMING OF SPRING XXV. NANCY'S DECISION XXVI. THE MESSAGE XXVII. LOST IN THE TWILIGHT

THE MAN IN THE TWILIGHT

PART I

CHAPTER I

THE CRISIS

They sat squarely gazing into each other's eyes. Bat Marker had only one mood to express. It was a mood that suggested determination to fight to a finish, to fight with the last ounce of strength, the last gasp of breath. He was sitting at the desk, opposite his friend and employer, Leslie Standing, and his small grey eyes were shining coldly under his shaggy, black brows. His broad shoulders were squared aggressively.

There was far less display in the eyes of Leslie Standing. They were wide with a deep pre occupation. But then Standing was of very different type. His pale face, his longish black hair, brushed straight back from an abnormally high forehead, suggested the face of a student, even a priest. Harker was something of the roused bull dog, strong, rugged, furious; a product of earth's rough places.

"Give us that last bit again."

Bat's tone matched his attitude. It was abrupt, forceful, and he thrust out a hand pointing at the letter from which the other had been reading.

Standing's eyes lit with a shadow of a smile as he turned again to the letter.

"There's just one thing more. It's less pleasant, so I've kept it till the last. Hellbeam is in Quebec. So is his agent the man Idepski. My informant tells me he saw the latter leaving the steam packet office. It suggests things are on the move your way again. However, my man is keeping tab. I'll get warning through at the first sign of danger."

Standing looked up. His half smile had gone. There was doubt in his eyes, and the hand grasping the letter was not quite steady. But when he spoke his tone was a flat denial of the physical sign that Bat had been quick to observe.