{"product_id":"2940013750685","title":"Luck","description":"Ohlsen lay in one, a great bulk under the Hudson Bay Company blankets,\u003cbr\u003ebreathing like a bull; in the next was Forbes, with eyes as quick as a\u003cbr\u003emink's, and now red rimmed from snow blindness, twinkling from time to\u003cbr\u003etime over his yellowish furs. Nearest the door was Lajeune, singing in\u003cbr\u003ehis sleep. In one corner an old Indian cowered, as little regarded as\u003cbr\u003ethe rags and skins in which he was hidden; and Desmond sat by the\u003cbr\u003estove, drinking to his luck, fingering it and folding it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was all there in a bag--raw gold, pure gold, the food of joy. At\u003cbr\u003ethe weight of it in his rough palm, Desmond chattered and chuckled\u003cbr\u003ewith delight. He had sat there talking and laughing for hours, while\u003cbr\u003ethe glow of the stove grew darker and the cold crept in. Little blots\u003cbr\u003eof snow from the snow-shoes, first melting, had turned again to dark\u003cbr\u003eice on the floor; the red light clung to them until each little circle\u003cbr\u003eseemed to be one of blood. Outside the world trembled under the shafts\u003cbr\u003eof the bitter stars; but Desmond, with the very fuel of life in his\u003cbr\u003ehand, was warm.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDreams ran in his brain like a tide and dripped off his tongue in\u003cbr\u003ewords. They were strangely innocent dreams of innocent things;\u003cbr\u003esunlight on an old wall, honey, a girl with sandy eyebrows, and yellow\u003cbr\u003educklings.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"And maybe there'll be a garden, with fruit you pick off the bushes.\u003cbr\u003e'Twas under a thorn-bush she used to stand, with the wind snapping her\u003cbr\u003eprint gown. Or maybe I'll see more of the world first in an easy\u003cbr\u003efashion, never a drink scarce, and no man my better at it. I know how\u003cbr\u003ea gentleman should behave. Are you hearing me, boys?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOhlsen breathed as slowly and deeply as a bull, Forbes blinked a\u003cbr\u003emoment over the greasy furs and said, \"I'm hearing you.\" Lajeune gave\u003cbr\u003ea sudden little call in his sleep, like a bird.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"They're all asleep, like so many hogs,\" said Desmond, with a maudlin\u003cbr\u003ewonder; \"they don't care. Two years we've struggled and starved\u003cbr\u003etogether in this here freezing hell, and now my luck's come, and they\u003cbr\u003edon't care. Well, well.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe stared resentfully at the bunks. He could see nothing of Ohlsen but\u003cbr\u003eblanket, yet Ohlsen helped him to a new outfit when he lost everything\u003cbr\u003ein a snow-slide. Forbes was only an unheeding head of grimy fur, yet\u003cbr\u003eonce he had pulled Desmond out of a log-jam. And Lajeune had nursed\u003cbr\u003ehim laughingly when he hurt his foot with a pick. Yet now Lajeune\u003cbr\u003ecared nothing; he was asleep, his head flung back, showing his smooth,\u003cbr\u003elean throat and a scar that ran across it, white on brown. Desmond\u003cbr\u003efelt hurt. He took another drink, strode over to the bunk, and shook\u003cbr\u003ehim petulantly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Don't ye hear when a friends talks t'ye?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLajeune did not move, yet he was instantly awake. His eyes, so black\u003cbr\u003ethat they showed no pupil, stared suddenly into Desmond's muddled blue\u003cbr\u003eones. His right hand gripped and grew rigid.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDesmond, leaning over him, was sobered by something in the breathless\u003cbr\u003estrain of that stare. He laughed uneasily.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It's only me, Jooney. Was you asleep? I'm sorry.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe backed off bewildered, but young Lajeune smiled and yawned, showing\u003cbr\u003ehis red tongue curled like a wolf's.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Still the gold, my friend?\" he asked, drowsily.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I--I can't seem to get used to it, like,\" explained Desmond; \"I have\u003cbr\u003eto talk of it. I know I'm a fool, but a man's luck takes him all ways.\u003cbr\u003eYou go to sleep, young Jooney. I won't talk to you no more.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Nor before your old savage in the corner, hein?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDesmond glanced at the heap of rags in the corner.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Him? What's the matter? Think he'll steal it? Why, there's four of\u003cbr\u003eus, and even an Injun can have a corner of my shack for an hour or two\u003cbr\u003eto-night. I reckon,\" finished Desmond, with a kind of gravity, \"as my\u003cbr\u003eluck is making me soft. It takes a man all ways.\"","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47167670386928,"sku":"2940013750685","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013750685_p0.jpg?v=1763589782","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013750685","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}