Carnac's Folly, Volume 3_

mont. Tarboe pursued his work at the mills successfully; Junia saw nothing of Carnac, but she had a letter from h

, had not an appealing message come from her aunt, and at an

ion were vital questions. Voters knew as much of technical law-making as the average voter everywhere, but no more, and sometimes less. Yet there was in the mind of the French-Canadian an intuition, which was as valuable as

e spring, Carnac became suddenly

e, for every interest in the country. He had known a few politicians; though he had never yet met the most dominant figure in the Province-Barode Barouche, who had

idates met on the same platform and fought their fight out in the hearing of those whom they were wooing. One day Carnac read in a newspaper that Barode Barouche was to speak at

ldn't you like to go an

u know him-I me

ng ago," was the sc

t he? Wrong-headed, wrong-pur

wrong-purposed, it isn't eas

me when I hear him for the first time. I've got a feeling he's one of the biggest men of our day. Of course he isn't perfect. A man might want to save another's life, but he might choose

n a junction of the river and the wild woods, with Barode Barouche's fishing-camp near by. She shivered now as she thought of it. It was all so strange, and heart-breaking. For long years she had paid the price of her mistake. Sh

for duty's sake you wo

ly visited the place of her confinement every month of his life, sobered, chastened, at first hopeful, defiant. At the bottom of his heart Barode Barouche did not want

lement a stormy impulse gave-Carnac. Then the end came, instant and final; she bolted, barred and locked the door against Barode and he had made little effort to open it. So they had parted, and had never clasped hands or kissed again. To him she was a sin of which he never repented. He had watched the growth and development

she said at last, for

a political meeti

I like your b

icy, and there were little explosions of merriment at strokes of unconscious humour made by the speakers; and especially by one old farmer who made his jokes on the spot, and who now tried to embalm Barouche with praise. He drew attention to Barouche's leonine head and bea

y over the faces of his audience. Presently he saw Carnac and his mother. Mrs. Grier was conscious of a shock upon the mind of Barouche. She saw his eyes go misty with feeling. For him the world was suddenly shut out, and he only sa

ace of the boy, so like his own as he remembered it thirty years ago, stirred his veins. There before him was his own one unacknowledged child-the only child ever born to him. His heart throbbed. Then he began to speak. Never in all his life had he spoken as he did this day.

st began his speech. It was his duty to map out a policy for the future; to give t

d again Barouche made a gesture, or tossed his head, or swung upon his feet to right and left in harmony with Carnac's own mind. Carnac would say to himself: "Why, that's what I'd have

when Barouche declared it. To Carnac it seemed fatal to French Canada, though it was expoun

to great cheering, Carnac s

cy to down his. He's got no opponent. I'm

arnac-Carnac! You don't

he replied stoutly. "I'm out