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Show Instead of turning north, however, Jacques kept the prow headed directly for Windmill Island. Louise noticed this and asked him why the boat was not pointed up the river. He uttered an un-i un-i intelligible reply about the current, i which did not reassure the maiden, and she. though inwardly frightened, insisted ! in firm tones that the wherry be directed ! north. Her companion, thiukiug all occasion oc-casion for secrecy past, sneeringly replied that he would run tho boat to suit him-: him-: self. Now thoroughly alarmed and see-i see-i ing the trap into which she had fallen, Louise sprang to her Ceet and screamed for aid. In those days the river wan i much used as a highway, and usually the evening jiir was enlivened by the dip of countless oars and the hum of animated conversation. To-night, however, the water was deserted, every one being in the center of the town seeking the latest tidings. No answer came to her cry for help, and before she could again, find i voice Jacques pulled her down beside I him, and, covering her month with his disengaged hand, bid the rowers make all speed to the island, whose hhadows would effectually hide them. With a frantic effort Louise WTested herself loose and scream after scream rang over the water, to be answered this time by a welcome cry from up the river. The conspirators turned their heads in alarm. A hundred yards distant was a light boat with two occupants bearing toward them, and propelled with such force as to very materially lessen the distance dis-tance between them before the abductors could realize the situation. "Row, men, row!" yelled Jacques. "It will be ball and chain for life if we are caught." "Stop!" came from the pursuers. "Stop or I fire!" Jacques muttered an oath, and, seizing seiz-ing a musket lying at his feet, took aim and fired at the speaker. No return firo came from the party in the second boat, and they had resolved apparently to do-lay do-lay action until they overtook the wherry. wher-ry. Making an almost superhuman effort, ef-fort, they shot the light skiff alongside tho heavier boat, when the island was not more than ten yards distant. Snatching Snatch-ing a pistol from his belt Jacques leveled it at the nearest occupant of the other boat, but as his finger trembled on tho trigger an oar quickly sweeping through the air fell upon his arm und the weapon was tossed into the water, while his right hand fell useless by his side. The boats by this time had drifted almost al-most to the shores of the island, and the cowardly boatmen, seeing their leader disabled, and with the horrors of Walnut Street prison in their minds, abandoned their oars and sprang ashore, followed by the piBtol shots of the second occupant occu-pant of the skiff, as well as by the curses of the maimed Jacques, who saw his scheme fail when at the point of success. Louise was lying in the bottom of the wherry senseless, and, seeing further resistance re-sistance useless, Jacques threw himself into the tide at the same instant the officer, offi-cer, fur so his uniform showed him to be, stopped into the boat. The rower of the skiff made strenuous efforts to reach the drowning man, but failed, and the dark waters of the Delaware closed over the abductor, who was unable to swiin"to the land with his uninjured arm. Meanwhile Mean-while the officer raised tho maiden in his arms, and at the first glance ejaculaWl: "Heavens, it is Louise!" Tho rescuer was no other than William Clark, her lover, whoso command had indeed been located iu the Liberties as stated by Jacques, and he was on his way to meet his sweetheart when the scream of Louise rang over the water. Jacques' story of Clark having been detailed for special duty was entirely false. Through a letter which had fallen into his hands he had learned of the meeting arranged between Clark and Louise, and having known the Acadian girl for years, he resolved upon the daring dar-ing plan of abducting and carrying her to New York, of course deserting to the British. Not until Louise revived and told her part of the story could Will understand un-derstand her presence in the boat, or until un-til thon did he know who was the abductor. ab-ductor. Louise reached home before her parents pa-rents had returned from the Minots', and in the disturbed condition of the city the tight on tho river and the sudden disappearance disap-pearance of Jacques created no comment. com-ment. Years after, when Louise had become the wife of Clark, she told the tale for the first time to her daughter, and it was one of her grandchildren who related the incident to the writer. Philadelphia Times. (OFF WINDMILL ISLAND. The lustrous light of a June moon hone over Philadelphia one night in the juar 177!). The summer air was full of the odor of roses and the streets were embowered in verdure, but sounds of martial music floating down from Chest-mut Chest-mut street brought homo to every heart the chilling remembrance that war was taging in the country aifi that the issue was aa yet in the balance. Faraway from tlu din, out in the open fields west of the Pine Street Presbyterian church, Htm a settlement in which but little bead was being paid to the uproar. Tho olony existing in the tiny cabins huddled hud-dled together had nothing in common Hath the Continental armies except a deep, unrelenting hatred of the English. This evening the strangers gathered in little knota and conversed in quiet, unfamiliar un-familiar accents, the men smoking their long pipes, and the women knitting in a slow, measured fashion. In a French patois they told the children torie of their over to be remcmliered land far in the north, the villages and farms, and the cruelty of the British in wresting from them their beloved Acadia, turning them adrift in a strange country coun-try separated from their kindred and very home tie. After all the years which had elapsed since their coming to tho City of Penn, the Acadians were ! simply sojourners, npt cituwns. Few of j , them had any acquaintance with the inhabitants of the city, and but a small number could speak the Erglish language. lan-guage. ' The industrious Quakers did Sot take kindly to the indolent habits of the refugees, hence it is not to be wondered won-dered at that the Acadians had no intercourse inter-course with their neighbors, and strenuously strenu-ously sought to deter thir children from making connections outeide of their own Ieople. , The young are apt to be jierverse, however, how-ever, and the French blood in their veins was too volatile to be easily controlled. In one of the cabins had a maiden gone ' to and fro through the long hours of the day now drawing to a close busied with j the house work, but with heart beating j high, for she had henrd that the troops were expected to arrive in the city during dur-ing the day, and thoughts of her brave Willie, with his blue and buff uniform end three cornered hat, had driven all other subjects from her mind. Little her parents guessed of her secret, and, although al-though they noticed her preoccupied manner, they did not attribnte it to the proper cause. Now that dusk had come she impatiently impa-tiently awaited the time when they should take their usual stroll to neighbor Minot's doorstep for ! the accustomed, chat. When at length the old folks were safely away, she tied a light shawl over lier head and sped along the path to Pine street, then down that thoroughfare to Third street, carefully avoiding the open door of St. Peter's, through which streamed a flood of light. In Third street she reduced her pace, and slowly walking under the trees she finally reached St. Joseph's church, looming up in the fast gathering darkness beside the humble dwellings of tho Quaker jor. She knew she had started too early to meet her lover, so she entered the sacred fldifice, and after spending a few minutes iu prayer, or rather in silence, for her feelings were too tumultuous to be calmed, again sought the open air. Third street was deserted, but a square below the pavements were crowded. News had come of a battle, and the pulse of the people was at fever heat. Louise cared not for the news of the war so long as her lover was safe, and now ehe waited anxiously at the trysting place. One or two persons hurried past, too eager to hear the latest tidings to notice her. A soldier released from his duties came down the street anxious to get home again. Sho drew back in the pbadow. Soon she heard the step of a vigorous man, and peering through the twilight saw tho glitter of another uniform. uni-form. The man came closer, and she perceived he was young and stalwart, with a bold, masculine face, which, though, in a measure attractive, had stamped upon it traces of sensualism and rough living, such as is noticeable in the countenances of soldiers who have been on a long campaign. - AH this the girl noticed by the dim light of the lamp fixed on the watchbox near by. The stranger was evidently in search of some one, as be constantly peered around him as he moved forward, but as he saw Louise all doubt vanished. Walking directly up to the maidon, he bade her good evening, calling her by her first name. The girl's countenance furpressed at once annoyance and surprise. sur-prise. The cause of the first is easily imagined, but tha manifestation of snr-x snr-x prise was only explained when she ejaculated ejacu-lated in French: , "You here, Jacques? We thought you had decided to stay in Opelousas. And why in this uniform?" i The soldier replied with a light laugh; '"It is hard to get rid of a bad penny, you know. I found the surroundings of our friends in the south not suited to my taste, and, having a chance to enter tho army, did so. But I came on an errand ito-night, and that is to carry a message from your lover." Although a smile accompanied his words, the expression of Jacques' eyes was. far from pleasant, but this Louise did not notice. She grasped his itrra in terror. ' "A message from Willie! What do you mean? Is he wounded?" "Ko, no, girl," tho man replied almost roughly, "but the fact is he was instructed instruct-ed to remain with his company. He does not wish to miss the chance of seeing your pretty face, howover, and so he naked me to meet and accompany you to a place near his post, where he can steal out for a few minutes and greet you. His command com-mand ifi stationed at the old barracks on Front street, and, if you are willing to go along. I will take you np and back in a boat lying below the dock, which I engaged en-gaged on my way." The maiden was greatly perturbed. Without any sense of . fear she would have readily gone alone to the encampment, encamp-ment, but the reputation of Jacques was not of the best and she hesitated to trust , hiici. It was now past the hour when her lover should have come, and ns J acques told a plausible enough story she decided, finally, to accompany him. The two proceeded to the river, where in answer to a low whistle given by Jacques a lik9 signal was returned, and guided . by tho sound they reached the side of a boat lying iu the shadow of a pile of cord wood. There were two men iu the boat, . which struck Louise ns rather odd, it being rarely the wherries were manned by more than ono person. She took a seat, and Jacques, loosening the painter, sprang into the steru. The rowers bent to thtir tank with a will, aud the craft hot put into the bright moonlight. |