Show AHTTB I LOUISIANA BY IjvfARY EEVEREUX WITH ILLUSTRATIONS By DON C WILSON t p b lifAo w 1 JCi C07fAJY C11 lligt RtJ < Y1fC 1 Avey CHAPTER VIII plain Stanley who had returned he ballroom wended his way gst tho dancers his progress 1m by some fair lady who greeted graciously often eagerly and d I him to pause for an Interchange ipld nothings Ho then visited he apartments open to guests Jhe was convinced that tho count kept his daughter at home for protection against further Inter I e with the handsome suitor ho rejected so sornfully that same noon English love Hko other loves love-s at tho barrIers a I stubborn par pay seek to Interpose and Count zeneaus decision was not calcu to discourage so strongwilled aDS a-DS Captain Edward Stanley I acceded to his I i had sweethearts fes by going In proper form to feather and tho matter having nated as tho lovers had feared ng was left but an elopement for b in view of tho counts probable I all tho plans had been arid ar-id vas shortly after midnight then man enveloped In a long cloak followed closely by a stalwart p who bore a sizable bundle upon oulders looked toward tho bril y lighted windows of Count de eaus house whoso Inmates were ntly celebrating after tho cus y fashion tho Now Years nd He paused a moment In front be rambling lowbuilt dwelling hen passed on muttering words were scarcely a benediction E Its owner lor a walk of some twenty mln the man and his silent follower bed the low wall that bounded the s domain and with tho night rustling tho denuded cotton about them struck off across road fields until they reached Jsdge of some woods that rose a boundary line at ono side of they the-y plantation fere they paused and looked tore to-re quite a distance away the KB of two hugo bonfires showed K fantastic figures those of thais tha-is who were like Irresponsible Iren celebrating after the manner pelr race tho brief respite from f accorded tnem by their exact blaster le baying of a hound from the K quarters was heard faint but r and tho suggestive notos appear b bring disquiet to tho mans dus lower for he began to move rest ly and glance about with manifest jehenslon while ho drew closer toaster to-aster who now wheeling about Bed on Into tho wood fe went forward with a confidence ping that ho was on not unfamiliar Ind and a few steps brought tho I to a small clearing where tho darkness was made a little more rful by a flickering of red lightIng light-Ing through ho chinks of tho d door ns well as from the un felned window of a small cabin Ifiro lit tho Interior which was fried save for a small raggedly i urchin of ton whoso black arms legs seemed to havo outgrown I scanty clothing where Is Zenoy1 Inquired tho of E after glancing about tho cabin o boy stared with fright at his loner looming so far above him PC firelight which struck gleam from tho breast of tho uniform o a slight parting of tho cloak revealed scarlet and gold jro you deaf you black monkey ire Is Zeney I say Captain Stan epeated Impatiently anny shes done gono t keep I Yars stammered tho Httlo p rising cautiously to his naked land hacking away from the of s stern oyes mo later now understood how Zo 1 havingalthough reluctantly f through tho Into afternoon such s was in her power to tho carry put of her young mistress plans Pn elopement had then betaken P If to the bonfires where appear B a Join In tho festivities of herm her-m slaves sho would ho less likely iI I under her masters suspicions m his daughters flight should bo vered But her robin was zt tho officers Ben Ice and this was of groat or importance than tho presenco of Zcney herself A rustling mado Captain Stanley turn quickly and a new light came to I his face as his eyes fell upon a shrouded shroud-ed girlish figure standing In the doorway door-way with a taller womans form be hind her Down upon the river hidden away under the overhanging bank amid the sedges and other water growth was a commodious boat that had been stored with all things needful for the flight The elopers and their servants were soon aboard and only the stars saw tho craft pulled cautiously upstream up-stream by the strong arms of Tate tho faithful slave with tho maid Barbe on tho seat behind him while in its farthest end were the two who for lovos sake had cast aside all former for-mer life and broken all ties For Roselle these were the ties of Stanley those of honor for he had filial love and duty and for Captain deserted his command and was flying to the wilderness farther north to for the time at leasthide with his newfound dream amongst the friendly friend-ly Choctaw Indians whero ho could I count upon reasonable security Irma pursuit I And the woman trusting him Implicitly Im-plicitly faced an unknown world faced It fearlessly and undoubtlngly seeing naught but the dawn of a perfect I per-fect and fulfilled love that yielded to this man Its uttermost depths of passion pas-sion As for him the loved one this was by no means his first experience of tho sort but he was honest at least In believing himself to bo in earnest I And so ho held her close as they sat side by side his cloak about them both and her head pillowed over his I heart while the slaves oars pulled the boat swiftly their rhythmic dip or the occasional cry of a loon being l I He held her close as they sat side by side tho only sounds besides the rippling water to break the silence 0 r r iOn i-On New Years day Laro left New Orleans for France and when seven months later ho sailed away from Toulon bound for the coast of Barbary Bar-bary with him were Jean and Pierre Lafitte The purposes of this story require but a general reference to Jean La flutes life during tho fifteen years which ensued after ho left the countrt of his birth and linked his fortunes into those of Laro He was then a lad of fifteen And until he arose above the consequences his heedless youth had imposed upon his better self his life was passed ashore and afloat as best served the Immediate interests at stake at times taken up by the cares and responsibilities re-sponsibilities of llgllimate business at times passed amid scenes of wildest adventure and deadly peril Ho while growing to manhood alternate between the countingroom and the quarterdeck associating now with men of probity and position and again with desperadoes and cutthroats cut-throats During this period Laroknown in Now Orleans as Don Morales do Cas trowac In connection with Count do Cazeneau and other moro or less prominent men engaged In various speculative schemes some of them he Ing within the law and others outside of It Tho former Included ventures In trading mining and timbercutting whilst among tho latter were smuggling smug-gling and slavetrading These operations opera-tions involved tho ownership of many vessels together with tho employment of many men and taken as a wholp they were very successful Smuggling and slavetrading hal always been within tho line of Laros occupations and they wero matter atten to which ho cave his personal voyages to im tion making ninny from tho French and African coasts Then latterly In addition to his other nefarious pursuits and undercover under-cover of letters of marque Issued bone b-one or another of the newly formed South American republics ho preyed whatever commerce lawlessly upon camo within his reach brigantine tho Black Ills own Petrol was of remarkable spec heavily armed ostensibly for Its own protection and carried a crow con all nations but talnlng outcasts from skilful sailors and bravo fighters If they captured n ship flying tho flag of a hostile country tho prlzo was according ac-cording to circumstances taken Into port for condemnation or destroyed at once But whatever might bo tle nationality of a richly laden vessel encountered en-countered by tho Black Petrel the colors It flow had but little effect In deciding Its fate or that of Its crew In all these various schemes Lafitto was an Interested party and In curlier cur-lier years ho had been an actual participant par-ticipant In prosecuting some of them his nbIllty and skill being such that whllo still under twenty he became Laros trusted lieutenant upon whom devolved all duties to which tho former for-mer was unable or Inadequate to give his personal nt ton Ion Tho tall handsome lad of Ianguo doc Paris and Toulon had developed Into a man posseslng rare gifts of person per-son and mind together with a store of energy and resource which would have won success In any avenue of lire Himself a stranger to personal fear he was quick to recognize bravery brav-ery In another and his chlvalious nature na-ture was never unresponsive to rip peals from his less fortunate fellows Such was Jean Lafitlo nt thirty and itch In brief had been his life during this period one so filled with events and adventures as to make his earlier years and the actors In them moro or less dim according as they had fixed themselves upon tho receptive clement of his nature Even Lara the bluff and picturesque sailor who had exerted so strong an influence upon the lad when they met at Lo Chien Heureux was hardly recognizable rec-ognizable In tho crafty and unscrupu ous adventurer with whom later ears had made him so familiar and with whom he was now forced to bon bo-n such close contact As for Bonaparte he had becomo Napoleon tho monarch to whom crowns were baubles and thrones were playthings who had recast the continent of Europe and opened anew now chapter In tho history of France Jean had received no word from him after tho letter delivered by the hands of Pero Huot and grievous lad been tho boys disappointment as ho months passed without bringing any sign of remembrance from the I man who was the ono greatest love of his life But his was a strong and healthful nature buoyant and vibrant and as ho tlmo went by tho acute edge of his grief had been worn away to bo succeeded by a fueling akin to apathy Wo had been forsaken by him whom he loved and accepting this as a fact ho had relinquished every hope of a future reunion I All this had Its natural effect and coupled as It was with a vague but unchanging determination to follow tho career of adventure which had been his boyish purpose In lIfo the personality of Bonaparte became less and less real until all that remained was a love which was In Itself largely large-ly an abstraction Margot was still a reality to him because be-cause of her representing so much of motherly care and by reason of her ever manifested love of which ho had found much to remind him in the unobtrusive un-obtrusive loyally and devotion of Pierre Tho latter was now time only tangible tangi-ble tie connecting Jean Lafltto with his boyhood bighearted bravo Pierre sluggish In thought but sound of Judgment and clear of purpose strong of arm and mighty In action who now as over stood at tho side of his foster brother He had some two years before be-fore abandoned his seafaring life and in partnership with Jean established estab-lished a large smithy at New Orleans where the firm of Lafitte Brothers had become well and favorably known through tho work turned out by their skilled slaves To bo continued |