Show XI continued 15 ills outburst broke the spell with insane howls the crowded in from all sides I 1 leaped toward the point I 1 had selected when the circle first formed and bowled over two men and was running toward my cabin where I 1 had left my musket with the squeal of a cornered rat the mur flegor attempted to follow me and he have used his knife to some profit for I 1 beard a death howl da moan was yelling for his choctaws to chase me but the bulk of them were back at the exit and the others were tard in taking up the pursuit As for the bumas they paused to tie six ringers hands behind his back by the time they were pounding after roe I 1 had secured roy musket and wag at the patch of vines behind the girls cabin while the entire mass of in furia ted savages were sweeping down on my cabin I 1 risked calling the girl s name the silence and the failure of labrador to an appearance sat me aliey were well on their way to the river I 1 cautiously worked in behind alie vines and found the hole scarcely large enough for my bulk to pas through thrusting my feet through I 1 was clear except my shoulders when the wild mob passed the cabin and sur rounded the one I 1 had occupied the women had snatched burning brands from the fires and these illuminated the scene through the mesh of vines I 1 saw six fingers being dragged be tween two warriors and as the ages came to a halt I 1 heard him scream good lack 1 this will be deith 1 pirate and murderer that he was I 1 could not help the wish that he might find a quick death rather than to roast slowly on the bed of torture utterly bad as he was he was born an englishman and if it had not been for narrowing the girls chances of es cape I 1 should have been tempted to bahoot him because once he had been an english lad the chiefs grandson bolder than the others ran forward with ax and torch and thrust his head the cabin turning back he shouted that I 1 was gone almost the same moment damean ran into the cabin in front of me and yelled to the red men that labrador and the woman were gone when he appeared in the torchlight he was insane with rage and catching a glimpse of six ringers writhing alg ure he screeched like a panther and fell upon him as if intending to tear mm to pieces with bis bare hinds 1 I can tell their plans screamed six fingers in english as damians Da moans fingers began ripping his face tell them tell or pick vou joint from joint 1 howled camoin bending over the craven his outstretched hands hooked like claws save me me gasped six fingers take me with you ill lead you to them I 1 speak 1 yelled dimyan bunching hunching hun ching ills shoulders and wriggling his long fingers before the murderer s bleed ing face they planned for labrador and the woman to get away while we was eating I 1 panted six ringers they planned hut now it was purely a question of ie girls safety and not of this snakes suffering and I 1 fired an ounce ball through his wicked skull and through the hole and ariy into the black forest CHAPTER XII the proud ones sister dies I 1 led the canse that night toward the east and so long as I 1 tr ivelez in that direction I 1 took occasional lj to betray my position ahls pro cedore gave the girl and labrador more time to escape for I 1 knew da monn would bend every endeavor to over tale me toward morning I 1 swung back in a wide circle to strike the mississippi near the tunica illge at the upper end of the portage of the cross there I 1 was sure to tand a canoe in which to push on after my friends night I 1 skirted the tunica all lage and stole some corn from an out iving village and w as fortunate enough to find a small canoe containing a fish net made of linden bark fiber and some lines equipped with hooks and fish bone I 1 made excellent progress that night nor did I 1 observe anything to my foes had discovered my return to the river it was not until I 1 reached the clifta of and was lie anuth of little river that I 1 made two important discoveries one brought great joy the other impelled me to paddle with desperate haste into the tributary ahead of me some ats bauce up little river was a pirogue ion two persons one of the coale looked like a boy and was not a paddle in the next moment I 1 had glimpsed a long pirogue turning a bend of he big river below me it liala at least n dozen indians and their six foot paddles were flashing I 1 did not believe I 1 had been fan as I 1 was disappearing into the tributary when alls strange craft its nose around the bend the canoe ahead now discovered me and the slim figure vanished by dropping flat and the other abandoned the paddle to pick up a musket I 1 waved my aup and labrador turned about nd began paddling to meet me 1 violently for him to go back and lu announced the peril me A ta hla pirogue t i ia by hugh author of kings of the missouri pay gravel A virginia scout etc copyright by hsih ua service about to head up stream again he must have told the girl or she reappeared and stretched out both hands to me we were w ithan three miles of white apple the principal town of the nat chez which in turn was within three miles of fort rosalie I 1 et us but get inside the village and I 1 would have no fear of either the french at the fort or of damean and the choctaws pursuing me the were on the eve of war with the french they were a ery haughty people there would bo no subtle evasion of their laws to please even it the red warriors post did not stand be tween them the three of us would hae full measure of protection from the great sun and his brother and war chief tattooed serpent bo my heart was light when I 1 drew up along side labrador s pirogue and was greet ed by his amiable grin and a tremulous handclasp from the girl they noticed the absence of six fingers and both began asking ques alons lie was shot and killed while es capling from the village I 1 said it As he swung his pirogue about to head upstream again he must have told the girl for she reap feared and stretched out her hands to me he had obeyed orders he could have escaped with me the girl s face was sober at hearing such violent news and yet I 1 fancied there wis relief in her bearing we dragged the canoes under some bushes and being in familiar country tobit the shortest cut to white apple sometimes called alte larth when we had all but come to the village we bieard a peculiar howl which startled I 1 arrador and me because we knew what it meant and which frightened the girl because she could imagine it to mean almost any thing unwholesome I 1 motioned for librador to make a detour but before we knew it we were through the bublies and in an opening close to the village and the girl was staring with wide eyes at the strange scene home of the atchel were rehearsing for a funell ceremony I 1 whispered as much to her and she became quiet and curlon sly watched the peculiar proceedings ce there were five victims three worn en and two men and forty the grim being eagerly sought because it ennobled all the executioners execution ers had their hands painted red and had red feathers fea theis thrust through the long braids of hair hang ing down the left side of the head the five victims had their hair paint ed red the girl saw no significance in the red hands the red hair the rope and red ax but the gestures ot the man with the weapon frightened her it Is all male belleve I 1 whispered trying to hurry her on we will go to the village if damean did not see me enter the river he will leam from the fort that none of us have passed so we walked toward the village and the rehearsal being finished the natchez came after us but such was their courtesy that they would not pass us and those who desired to reach the village quickly swung tar to one side as it taking an entirely different course labrador Lab was frowning heavily and in choctaw said friend there was no word bearer nor any medicine man among those to be sacrificed the dead must be a woman the three old women were her kinswoman kinswomen kins women the two men were aier servants it it was la GIorl euse there would be many more servants lie named a woman of noble rank called the proud by the french be cause of her aristocratic bearing her contempt tor commoners and her ig no rement of any frenchman unless he possessed rank it was known tint tattooed serpent wa emro ored of her but both being nobles marriage between them was impossible Is 0 the funeral procession was scarcely wor thy ot a woman who enjoyed the favor of head war chief as well as a brother of the great it Is not la GIorl euse I 1 said labrador sighed ah that grande darnel why it be herl that Is queer talk I 1 rebuked biow has the proud one ever harmed you it Is I 1 who harmed her as ache thinks I 1 married her sister she never forgave her sister tor marrying beneath her ever forgave me for looking so high I 1 we entered the village a collection of square huts made of timbers plas with mud moss and sand with the roofs of reeds and grass woven BO as to be weather proof the natchez were much from any indian tribe I 1 ever or heard of the practice of hu man sacrifices on the death of the elect smacked of ancient eastern chiv and the worship of the sun reminded one of the stories brought back from central and south amer lea and yet their language was linked up with the dialects of the choctaw s chickasaws and creeks I 1 accosted an ancient warrior so called to distinguish him from young warriors and apprentice warriors and referring to skill rather than to and aked if I 1 could secure an with the great bun ue told me the great sun was absent inspect ing the temple and sacred tire in a neighboring he believed I 1 could see tattooed serpent however I 1 told I 1 to take the girl to the edge of the village and wait while I 1 paid our respects to my old ac the war chief bhe was glad to do this nor did I 1 abrader regret escaping an audience with the great chief whose mistress sister he had and deserted I 1 went to the cabin next to the temple and informed an aged man the serpents word bearer that I 1 wished to ee the chief lie digap paired through the low doorway and very poon returned and motioned for me to enter As the door furnished the only light and as the room ans thirty feet square I 1 could not mike out the in perlor until alie sun gl ire left my eyes then I 1 saw alie serpent and la GIorl euse the proud As I 1 entered ache swept bi ma with birely i flicker of recognition in her cold face ola came forward and cordial li greeted me finding me a stool while he seated himself on the edge of his bed he clapped his hands and a brought a pipe which the chief lighted for me to smoke ceremoniously after he had done likewise he said alie phoud one la grieving for the dead woman she was the proud ones sister had the wild war whoop of he choctaw s filled the cabin I 1 could bot have been taken more by surprise then came dismay outside was la G or ieuse who had been when her sister had married a lesa frenchman and outside was simple joe labrador and the dainty french girl what a clash of eyes there would be should red meet white and the red behold her dead elstena careless spouse daring to return to white apple in company with a white woman moons since the mn white it Is many indian was here the serpent remarked eyeing roe sharply I 1 should have waited until I 1 could bring gifts for th great sun and his brother but choc taw dog have chased me up the river and I 1 come here to be among friends ahe choctaws hunt so far as this he cried his hand closing on a big war ax a gift from the french tho man cnown as dagnan the fox leads them I 1 replied he may cotee now i the whole choctaw nation cannot harm oj here my white brother la safe there Is a white woman with me neither english nor french but kin to the I 1 am taking her to the english towns far in the east bo yond the country ot the cherokees it Is well he said ly she will be safe here now came the hardest portion of my task I 1 said and there Is a white man with me a frenchman but my brother he la labrador the serpente 8 form elongated nl though he did not move from the bed and his head swung back and forth nervously lour friend took a natchez worn an as his wife he softly informed me that bomin Is dead ue will be heavy of heart to learn it he must prove himself worthy of mating with a noble a sister of the proud one undoubtedly I 1 promptly assured him frantic to get outside and have a talk with labador and agree upon some plan for immediate flight I 1 managed to close the interview without sacrificing ceremony and politeness lit eness and hastened to find my friends when I 1 came to the edge of the village my rowing gaze baited on a dramatic scene labrador sat on a log tearing at his long hair while la glorieuse and mademoiselle faced each other both declaiming in french I 1 heard la glorieuse jeering he was unworthy to marry a natchez woman yet you take him for a husband he Is not my husband 1 cried mademoiselle mon dieul what a terrible creature you are I 1 why do you talk to me I 1 would be alone have you no corn to pound no mans work to do lou will soon be alone so far as this french runaway Is to be count cd hissed the proud one throwing up her head and stalking away I 1 topped forward labrador groined lou know who the woman Is I 1 asked him in choctaw ahe furious one has told me mon dieu she says they wait for me to paint my hair and be strangled by four men at each end of the ropel speak in I 1 ranch and be careful I 1 warned observing that mademoiselle was about to break bounds her taste for battle whetted by her talk with the natchez woman in french I 1 remarked there Is to be a funeral tomorrow I 1 think we better skirt away before alien let us go aside and talk it over we shifted conr position to the ande of some trees ahe natchez watching us furtively they had the scene between the two women and they were curious of course ahey also knew that labra dors return was likely to lend new in to the funeral I 1 felt no con corn for my personal safety nor did the matter of the girls escine press for my immediate attention dors predicament however demanded prompt action in choctow I 1 told him they do not intend that you snail cape before he could reply the girl pas slona tely broke in with if I 1 am tc be trotted cs a child I 1 will withdraw I 1 was taught it was not courteous to corn erse in an tongue before a friend taking a sudden resolve I 1 told her lou speak with much sense lou are not a I 1 will not keep it from you the ancient custom of the natchez demands that when a noble dies the surviving hustind or wife shall die during the funeral ceremony our friend was the husband of the woman who Is to be burled tomorrow the de id woman was the sister of la glorieuse the woman you had words with clell hat a horrible people I 1 1 felt it in the clr that procession of painted men and aleu poor monsieur labrador behold the forest monsieur fa 1 hide yourself bowl volla and slie stamped a small moccasin imperiously and gestured tor him to run mademoiselle forgets it would oe hard tor our friend to hide ft om the savages except in the night e musi plan cunningly and not be I 1 told her there la plenty of time perhaps totne time during the daiy diy it not then during the night there is no danger for you or me 1 I was thinking only of him nho dully replied TO BE |