And it so happened, probably because saw-mills and
house-space were scarce, that the saloons accommodated the gambling
tables and the polished dance-house floors. And here, because he needs
must bend to custom, Corliss's adaptation went on rapidly. And as
Carthey, who appreciated him, soliloquized, "The best of it is he likes
it damn well, by damn!"
But any adjustment must have its painful periods, and while Corliss's
general change went on smoothly, in the particular case of Frona it was
different. She had a code of her own, quite unlike that of the
community, and perhaps believed woman might do things at which even the
saloon-inhabiting males would be shocked. And because of this, she and
Corliss had their first disagreeable disagreement.
Frona loved to run with the dogs through the biting frost, cheeks
tingling, blood bounding, body thrust forward, and limbs rising and
falling ceaselessly to the pace. And one November day, with the first
cold snap on and the spirit thermometer frigidly marking sixty-five
below, she got out the sled, harnessed her team of huskies, and flew
down the river trail. As soon as she cleared the town she was off and
running. And in such manner, running and riding by turns, she swept
through the Indian village below the bluff's, made an eight-mile circle
up Moosehide Creek and back, crossed the river on the ice, and several
hours later came flying up the west bank of the Yukon opposite the
town.
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