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Show I ALICE of OLD I I VINCENNES ; t:::: By maurice Thompson - ffTtttY C.wrlW,JBMt bj IK. BOWEN-MERRILl COKFANr !-' ff f f ?j'f f f t f f Wt nTi4-444V. '- -"--- ii CII VPTEIl XV unit l A L0( KFT LON'G KAIIt sttood not upon con ninny In i-onvej lug to 1'everhy the luforuiatlon tluif be wim to run the gantlet The preparations prepara-tions were simple and ipiickly inaitc. UvmU limn iiltneU liliuself with u HtlcU three feet lonir and about three-quarters of an Inch In diameter Hough weapons they were, cut fiom boughs of serub o.il;, knotty and tough as hoin. I)iig Ilalr unbound his body down to the waist Then the lines formed, the Indians in each row staudliig about ns far apart as the width of tho space In which the prisoner was to tun This arrangement gave them fieo use- of their stliUs and plenty of room for full swing of their lithe bodies In teinovlng Beverley's clothes Long Hair found Alice's locket hanging over the joung man's heart lie tore It rudely off and grunted, glaring viciously vicious-ly llrst at It, then at Beverley. He beeined to be mightily w rotight upon. "White man thief!" lie glow led deep in his throat. "Stole from little girl'" lie put the locket In ids pouch and resumed bis stupidly ludiflcrcut expres slon. ! When everything was ready for the delightful entertainment to begin Long , Hair waved his tomahawk thiee times, over Beverley's head and. pointing down between the waiting lines, said, "I'gli, ruri"' But Beverley did not budge lie was ) standing erect, with his arms, deeply creased w hero the thongs had sunk, folded across his breast A rush of thoughts mid feelings had taken tumultuous tu-multuous possession of lilni, and he could not move or decide v bat to do. A mad desire to escape arose In bis heart the moment that he saw Long Hair tako the loeket. It wos as If Alice had cried to him and bidden him make a dash for liberty. "L'gb. run!" The otiler was accompanied with a push of such violence from Long Hair's left elbow that Beverley plunged and felt, for his limbs, after their long and painful cotillnement In the rawhide bonds, wete stiff nml almost useless Long Ilalr In no gentle voice bade him get up The shock of falling seemed to awaken bis dormant forces; a sudden resolve leaped Into his brain. He saw that the Indians had put aside their bows and guns, most of which weie leaning against tho boles of trees hero and yonder. What If be could knock Long Ilalr down and run nwny? This might possibly be easy, considering the Italian's broken arm. Ills heart Jumped Jump-ed at the possibility But the shrewd savage was nlert and saw the thought come Into his face. "Vou try glt 'way. kill dead:" he snarled, lifting his to hawk ready for u stroke. "Brains o'ltl" Beverley glanced do (be waiting and eager lines. Swiftly be speculated, wondering what would lie his chance for escape were be to tiieak through But be did not take Ids own condition Into account. "Ugh. run!" Again the elbow of Long Hair's hurt urm pushed him toward the expectant rows of Indians, who nourished their clubs and uttered impatient grunts. Beverley made a direct dash for the narrow lane between the braced and watchful lines. Lvery warrior lifted his club livery copper lace gleamed steadily, a mask behind which burned a strangely atrocious spirit, The two savages standing nt the end nearest Beverley struck at him the instant lie reached them, but they were taken quite by surprise when be cheeked himself him-self between them .and, leaping this way and that, swung out two powerful blows, left nnd right, stretching one of them tlat and sending the other reeling and staggering half n dozen paces backward with tho blood streaming from his nose. This done, Beverley turned to run away, tint his breath was already short and his strength rapidly going. Iong Ilalr, who was at his heels, leaped before him when he had gone but a few steps and once more nourished nour-ished the tomahawk. To struggle was useless save to Insist upon being brained outright, which Just then had no part In Beverley's considerations. Long Hair kicked his victim heavily, uttering laconic curses meanwhile, and led him b.ick again to the starting point The young man, who bad borne nil ho could, now turned upon him furiously furi-ously and struck straight from the shoulder, setting tho whole weight of his body Into tho blow. Long Hair stepped out of the way and quick as a flash brought the tlat side of his tomahawk toma-hawk with great force against Beverley's Bever-ley's heod This gave tho amusement a sudden and disappointing end, for the prisoner fell limp nnd senseless to the ground. No more running tho gantlet for him that day. Indeed It required protracted application of the best Indian In-dian skill to revive him so that ho could fairly bo called a living man. There had been no dangerous concussion, concus-sion, however, and on the following morning eninp was broken. Beverley, sore, haggard, forlornly disheveled, had his arms bound again and was mado to march upaeo with his nimble enemies, who set out swiftly eastward, tholr dlsoppolutment at bavin bav-in g their sport cut short, althomrli hit ' JJ ' ' 1 I I t t I I I I I I t I I I ! ter enough", not In the lens' Indicated by any faelm expression or spiteful net Was It really a strange thing, or was It not. that Beverley's mind now busied Itself uuceaslngl.v with the thought that Long Hair hud Alice's picture In bis pouch? One might Hud room for discussion dis-cussion of n cerebral problem like this, but our history cannot be delayed with nnnl.vscs and speculations It must run Its direct course unhindered to the end. Sutllco It to record that while tramping nt Long Hair's side and growing more and more desirous of seeing the picture again Beverley began trying to converse con-verse with his taciturn captor. He had n considerable smattering of several Indian dialects, which he turned upon Long Hair to the best of his ability, but apparently without effect Nevertheless Never-theless he babbled at Intervals, always upon the same subject nnd always en-denvorlng en-denvorlng to Influence that huge, stolid, stol-id, heartless savage in the direction of letting him see again the child face of the miniature When night came on again the bund camped under some trees beside a swoll- I I "7'i y ran 'ud, kill!" en stream. Theie was no rain falling, but almost the entire country lay under u Hood of wuter. KIrcs of logs were kooii burning brightly on the comparatively compara-tively dry bluff chosen by the Indians. The weather was chill, but not cold Long Hair took great pains, however, to dry Beverley's clothes nnd see that he had warm wraps and plenty to eat. Hamilton's large rewind would not be forthcoming should the prisoner die. Beverley was good property, well worth careful attention. To be sure, his scalp In tho worst event would command com-mand a sultlclent honorarium, but not tho greatest. Beverley thought of nil this while the big Indian was wrapping wrap-ping him snugly In skins and blankets for the night, nnd there was no comfort com-fort In It savo that possibly If he were returned to Hamilton ho might see Mice again before he died. At about the mldhour of the night Long Hair gently awoke his prisoner Iy drawing a hand across his face, then whispered In Ids ear: "Still!" Beverley tried to rise, uttering n lleopy ejaculation under his breath. "No talk!" hissed Long Hair. "Still!" There was something In his volet' that nut only swept lie hist Mini of sleep out of Beverley's brain, but made It perfectly clear to him that a very Important bit of craftiness was Iwlng performed, .lust whnt Its nature wos, however, he could not surmise. One thing was obvious. Long Hair did not wish the other Indians to know of the move he was making. Deftly lie lllpped the blankets fiom around Beverley Bev-erley mid cut the thongs tit his ankles "Still!" he whispered. "Come 'long." Under such circumstances u competent compe-tent mind acts with lightning celerity Bevet ley now understood that Long Hair was stealing him nway fiom the other savages mid that the big villain meant to cliovt them out of their part of the reward. Along with tills discovery discov-ery came a fresh gleam of hope. It would be far easier to escape from one Indian than from nearly n scoie. Already Al-ready he was planning or trying to plan some way by which he could kill Iuig Hair when they should reach a safe distance from the sleeping camp. But how could the thing be done? A man with his hands tied, though they aro In front of him, Is In no excellent condition to cope with a free and stalwart stal-wart savago armed to tho teeth. Still Beverley's spirits rose with every lod of distance that was added to their slow progress. Their course was nearly parallel with that of the stream, but slightly con verging wilh it, and after they had gone about ti furlong they reached tho bank. Here Long Hair stopped and, without a word, cut the thongs from Beverley's wrists. This was astound ing. The young man could scarcely realize re-alize It, nor was ho ready to act. "Swim water," Long Hair said In a guttural murmur barely audible. "Swim!" Again It was necessary for Beverley's Bever-ley's mind to act swiftly and with prudence. pru-dence. The camp was yet within balling ball-ing distance. A falso move now would bring the, whole nacl howling; to tho rescue: Something" told" him to do Tis Long Hair ordered, so with scarcely a perceptible hesitation he scrambled down the bushy bank nnd slipped into the water, followed bv Long Hair who seized him by one arm when he ' began to sw Im and strm k out with him Into the boiling and tumbling cm rent Beverley bad always thought himself a master swimmer, but Long Hair showed him his mistake. It was a long, cold struggle, and when at last the touched the sloping, low bank on the other side Long Hair had fairly to lift his chilled and exhausted prisoner to the top "Ugh, cold!" he grunted, licglntiltig to pound nnd rib Beverley's arms, legs and body "Make wnrin heap!" All this be did with his tight hand, holding the tomahawk In his left. It was a strange, bewildering experience expe-rience out of which the young man could not see In nny direction far enough to give him n bint upon which to net. In a few minutes Long Hair Jellied him to his feet and said. "Co." it was Just light enough to see that the oitler had a tomahawk to enforce It withal. Iing Hair Indicated the ill reotlon and drove Beverley onward ns fast as he could. "Try run 'way, kill!" he kept repeating, repeat-ing, while with his left band on tho young man's shoulder he guided him from behind dexterously through tho vvtxxl for some distance. They bad Just emerged from n thick et Into an open space where the ground was comparatively dry. Overhead the stars were shining In great clusters of silver and gold against a daik, cavern ous looking sky, hero and there overrun over-run w It Ii careering black clouds. Beverley Bev-erley shivered, not so much w Ith cold as on account of the stress of excite went which amounted to nervous rigor IiOtig Hair faced him and leaned town to-wn id him until his breathing was audible au-dible and his massive features were dluil) outlined A dragon of the dark est uge could not have been more repulsive re-pulsive "I gh. friend !" Beverley started when these words were followed by n sentence In mi Indian In-dian dialect somewhat familiar to him, a dialect In which he had tried to talk with Long Hair during the day's march The setitence, literally translated, trans-lated, was: "Long Hair Is friendly now Will white mail be friendly?" Beverley heard, but the speech seemed seem-ed to eomo out of vnstuess and hollow distance. He could not realize It fulrly. He felt as If hi a dream, far olT some where In loneliness, with a big, shad owy form looming before him Hu heard the chill wind In the thickets roundabout, and beyond Long Ilalr rose a wall of giant trees. "Ugh, not understand?" the savage presently demanded In his broken Eug-llsli Eug-llsli "Yes, yes," said Beverley, "I understand under-stand " "is the vvTdte man friendly now?" Long Hair then repeated In his own tongue with a certain Insistence of inanner and voice. "Yes, friendly." Long Hair fumbled in his pom Ii nnd took out Alice's locket, which he hnnd-cd hnnd-cd to Beverley "White man love little girl?" he Inquired In a tone that bordered bor-dered upon tenderness, again speaklm In Indian. Beverley clutched the disk ns soon as he saw It gleam In the starlight. "White man going to have llttlo girl for his squuw, eh?" "Yes, yes," cried Beverley without hearing his own voice. He was trying to open the locket, lint his hands were numb nml trembling. When at last he did open It he could not see the child face within, for now even ttie starlight was shut off by a scudding black cloud. "Little girl saved Long Hair's life. Long Hair save white wan lor for llttlo girl." A dignity which was almost noble accompanied ac-companied these simple sentences. Long Hnlr sTood proudly erect like a colossal statue in the dimness The great truth dawned upon Beverley Bever-ley that here was n chariicteiistlc act. He knew that an Indian rarely failed to repay a kindness or mi Injury, stroko i for stroke, w hen opportunity offered. "Wait hero a little while." Long Hair said, and, without lingering for reply, turned away and disappeared In til i wood. Beverley was fret' to run If lie wished to, and the thought did surge across his mind, but a lestr.ilnlng something like a hand laid upon him would not let his limbs move. Down deep In his heart a calm voice scorned to he repeating Long Hair's lndlaA sentence, sen-tence, "Walt here a little while." A few minutes later Long Ilalr returned re-turned beating two guns, Beverley's and his own, the latter a superb weapon weap-on given him by Hamilton. He after-wind after-wind explained tl',' he had brought these, with their millet pouches and powder horns, to a place of concealment conceal-ment near by before he awoke Beverley. Bever-ley. Delay could not be thought of. Long Hair explained brlelly that he thought Beverley must go to Kiiskaskla. Ho had come across the streiim In the direction di-rection of Vlncennes hi order to set his wnrrlors nt fault. The stream must bo recrossed, he said, farther down, and he would help Beverley u certain distance on his way, then leave him to shift for himself. Ho had n meager amount of parched corn and buffalo meat hi his pouch which would stay hunger until they could kill some game. Now they must go. They Hung miles behind them before day dawn, Inng Hair leading, Bovor-ley Bovor-ley pressing closo at his heels. Most of the way led over tlat prairies covered with water, and they therefore left no track by which they could be followed. Late hi the forenoon Long Hair killed n deer at the edge of a wood. Here they made n tiro and cooked a supply which would last them for a day or twoijind then on they went .ig'iln, But we cannot follow them step by step When Long Hnlr at lust took leave of Beverley the occasion had no ceremony. ceremo-ny. It wis an abrupt, unemotional parting. The stalwart Indian simply said In Ids own dialect, pointing westward west-ward "(in that way two days You will find your friends " Then without another look or word he turned about and stnlkisl eastward at a maivelously rapid gait. In his mind he had a good tale to tell his war rlor companions when he should llml them again how Beveiley escapi'J that night and how he followed him a long, long chase only to lose him at last under the very guns of the fort at Kaskaskl.i. But before he reached his band an Incident of some Importance changed his story to a considerable tie gree. It chanced that he came upon Lieutenant Barlow, who In pursuit of game had lost his bearings and, far from his companions, was beating around ipilte bewildered in a watery solitude, tntig Hair promptly amir dered the poor fellow and scalped him with ns little compunction us be would have skinned a rabbit, for be had a clever scheme In his head, a very inula I clous and outrageous scheme, by which ho purposed to recoup to some extent the damages sustained by letting Bev- I erley go. Therefore when he rejoined lib, some i what disheartened mid demoralized band he showed them the scalp and gave them an eloiitieut account of how ho tore It from Beverley's head after a long chase and a bloody hand to hand fight They listened, bellovetl and wem satisfied. Continued Next Issue. |