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THE SILVER HORDE
BY REX BEACH
Author of "The Auction Block" "The Spoilers" "The Iron Trail" etc.
BOOKS BY REX BEACH
TOO FAT TO FIGHT THE WINDS OF CHANCE LAUGHING BILL HYDE RAINBOW'S END THE CRIMSON GARDENIA AND OTHER TALES OF ADVENTURE HEART OF THE SUNSET THE AUCTION BLOCK THE IRON TRAIL THE NET THE NE'ER-DO-WELL THE SPOILERS THE BARRIER THE SILVER HORDE GOING SOME
CONTENTS
I. WHEREIN A SPIRITLESS MAN AND A ROGUE APPEAR II. IN WHICH THEY BREAK BREAD WITH A LONELY WOMAN III. IN WHICH CHERRY MALOTTE DISPLAYS A TEMPER IV. IN WHICH SHE GIVES HEART TO A HOPELESS MAN V. IN WHICH A COMPACT IS FORMED VI. WHEREIN BOREAS TAKES A HAND VII. AND NEPTUNE TAKES ANOTHER VIII. WHEREIN BOYD ADMITS HIS FAILURE IX. AND IS GRANTED A YEAR OF GRACE X. IN WHICH BIG GEORGE MEETS HIS ENEMY XI. WHEREIN BOYD EMERSON IS TWICE AMAZED XII. IN WHICH MISS WAYLAND IS OF TWO MINDS XIII. IN WHICH CHERRY MALOTTE BECOMES SUSPICIOUS XIV. IN WHICH THEY RECOGNIZE THE ENEMY XV. THE DOORS OF THE VAULT SWING SHUT XVI. WILLIS MARSH COMES OUT FROM COVER XVII. A NEW ENEMY APPEARSXVIII. WILLIS MARSH SPRINGS A TRAP XIX. IN WHICH A MUTINY IS THREATENED XX. WHEREIN "FINGERLESS" FRASER RETURNS XXI. A HAND IN THE DARK XXII. THE SILVER HORDEXXIII. IN WHICH MORE PLANS ARE LAID XXIV. WHEREIN "THE GRANDE DAME" ARRIVES, LADEN WITH DISAPPOINTMENTS XXV. THE CHASE XXVI. IN WHICH A SCORE IS SETTLEDXXVII. AND A DREAM COMES TRUE
ILLUSTRATIONS
THE GIRL STOOD BAREHEADED UNDER THE WINTRY SKY
OUT ACROSS THE LONESOME WASTE THEY JOURNEYED
MILDRED CEASED PLAYING AND SWUNG ABOUT—"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"
[Illustration: THE GIRL STOOD BAREHEADED UNDER THE WINTRY SKY]
THE SILVER HORDE
CHAPTER I
WHEREIN A SPIRITLESS MAN AND A ROGUE APPEAR
The trail to Kalvik leads down from the northward mountains over thetundra which flanks the tide flats, then creeps out upon the salt iceof the river and across to the village. It boasts no travel in summer,but by winter an occasional toil-worn traveller may be seen issuingforth from the Great Country beyond, bound for the open water; whileonce in thirty days the mail-team whirls out of the forest to thesouth, pauses one night to leave word of the world, and then isswallowed up in the silent hills. Kalvik, to be sure, is not much of aplace, being hidden away from the main-travelled routes to the interiorand wholly unknown except to those interested in the fisheries.
A Greek church, a Russian school with a cassocked priest presiding,and, about a hundred houses, beside the cannery buildings, make up thevillage. At first glance these canneries might convey the impression ofa considerable city, for there are ten plants, in all, scattered alongseveral miles of the river-bank; but in winter they stand empty andstill, their great roofs drummed upon by the fierce Arctic storms,their high stacks pointing skyward like long, frozen fingers black withfrost. There are the natives, of course, but they do not count,concealed as they are in burrows. No one knows their number, not eventhe priest who gathers tol