Show THE WIFE SHIP WOMAN THE GIRL SYNOPSIS nc by canoe en the on ahti way to in the early days of the of louisiana ft lellam Brar opton apy known to indian and ellera et lera as the white indian sees a hatches indian a declaration 0 war th french for his own he hastens to to f carry the new to french to vernor CHAPTER II 11 continued ah but bleur de 1 your friend with by all the saints that you kaew him I 1 after you went up the ai river tb last time 40 of lilse excel lucyb soldiers deserted running away to carolina and he vowed he would hang yon if he ever caught you for enticing them away this was disturbing news I 1 could trust joe labrador old companion in many a venture to speak naught but the truth then I 1 became angry as a man will who Is wrongfully accused there was much could have arraigned me for I 1 might even have deduced educed bis soldiers from their allegiance had it appealed to me as being feasible so I 1 became incensed now X waa charged with something I 1 was innocent of doubly resentful because I 1 had not had the wit to think of it labrador mistook my silence for hes It atlon and earnestly baldt tou must turn baal at once before any of monsieur du pratz s people see and recognize you I 1 will goi with you as far as fort rosalie perhaps barther I 1 will forget my new wife I 1 will go beyond chartres dan I 1 there will be women enough for all of us bleur de Is in a temper how france and spain have had a peace amole he Is like a bear with a sore head for years he has begged to ibave the seat of government changed to la nouvelle orleans he has been i denied pardieu what will the im bealles in france have Is to make the lilies grow in the valley yea he Is to send the immigrants on their way as far as the missouri ana the yazoo to be sure but behold nothing but jailbirds jail birds worn out jalcs and women of the street have been sent over and even these so fast he cannot have time to send them to the plantations thank the good god ome decent women will be corn sang along bowl Is a bad ann to have against one ws during labradors adors outburst I 1 had bad time to cool off I 1 remembered the yard I 1 had to play and could not believe the governor would deal harshly vl was innocent of decaying decoying deco ying away they had not need ed my urging to make them deserters and small wonder that any were left for garrison duty now it had become necessary for the governor to quarter them among the indians where they dressed rather undressed and themselves like savages and learned ways of idleness which un fitted them cpr routine work la the governor I 1 asked at sew it he has not been swarmed of your coming you have every chance to get away it Is your lucky star that sent you by this cut off in stead of down to fa nouvelle orleans for he has spoken III of you there and every cabin Is ready to gobble you up lie Is unjust he wrongs roe cee him ho man on earth can send roe running to cover when I 1 am innocent I 1 declared feeling very ous because I 1 was innocent of the crime charged he eyed me admiringly yet pityingly you know you are english be reminded me runaway english I 1 gruffly cor there are runaway just as there are runaway french iiren I 1 ve lived on the river tor three jt suits roe stay ma toll yes you 11 etayl he gr abed and you you go back to or lejins he hesitated ats soul struggling be i friendship tear and hopes of matrimony adne of the last two won lor a time and he muttered 1 I return to bayou st jenn ahen the ship comes in borne of the women are to be sent at once to la buvell ou vell orleans I 1 shall be there waiting I 1 shall marry a byod girl if she turns out bad I 1 can always go deep into the rest could not blame him for avoiding nv dangerous company when pres cre could ol 01 ie none he avas one of ceniada and like e majority of the born or bred biad dinall liking fur the french born just as the latter looked with on the children 0 the new world he showed his native astuteness in avoiding the governors displeasure bv keeping biear of me for the time I 1 liev that when it came to a pinch he would cheerfully male any sacrifice to ald inc for there was a small matter ean us born of the dangers of the illinois country an affair of my aiding him to escape the stake and he believed he was indebted to me he reasoned that just now he could help me none by accompanying me to more than likely such an with the white indian as I 1 was called became bec aue of my forest place him under on ana lastly evere noi new wives coming 0 o la nouvelle orleans and those on the spot would have first choke haa M by hugh author of kings of the missour Mis soun pay cravat A virginia scout etc y huh f my friend he softly called as his light canoe moved off a few rods to ward the st jean shore it you the path rough I 1 shall know it the river la all ears and a treat gossip my ear Is to the gronna I 1 shall hear if the worst comes the river path to the north shall be opened and we will follow it and fand plenty of room to ahe our lives in the good gods coun try up there you are runaway eng elih I 1 will kiss my wife goodby and be runaway french coo jour et bon voyage bienville had he knew the importance of a river port he had fretted much because the government had ignored bis preference for bew orleans it was he one spot on the river in close proximity to the gulf that would answer for a permanent settlement I 1 think he would have won his point if not for a rise in the air inundating the little settlement and biloxi was ngien chosen I 1 ike a shuttlecock shuttle cock the seat of government had shifted back and forth between biloxi and mobile if any one could seal the mississippi valley for france it would be blen valle with his bulldog determination and his even though under he tremendous burden of trash for colonists and the corn banys frantic orders for the discovery of mines or anything else which bohld be immediately realized upon as an asset he believed he could win out if permitted to develop new and other river ports to control the destiny of the valley from the gulf was impractical one might as well try to goern it from pensacola as from mobile or bullox and I 1 was to complete my journey and meet this cool headed sagacious executive with but one card to play against his belief that I 1 was something more than a renegade englishman for the rest of the trip across the lake I 1 saw no one except a choctaw after birds and was opposite the mouth of the river of pearls when two frenchmen in a clumsy sailing packet came along and went into the wind and gaped at me in amazement the white indian 1 one of them exclaimed while the sail napped am patiently against the stub of a mast 1 I was beginning to think you bad lost your tongues I 1 replied 1 I am bound for can you ghe me a tow they exchanged quick glances and the elder of the two bowed most gra bously and insisted better than that monsieur the pirogue will annoy you make it fast for a tow then come aboard and take your pleasure decently the byplay of their eyes had not escaped me nor did I 1 doubt they had been ordered to watch for my corn ing it mattered nothing however so long aa I 1 wished to make biloxi the boat would be more comfortable and it they were secretly delighted to serve their master I 1 too could rejoice at being relieved from the exertion of paddling the heavy pirogue the full distance so we set on contented and gay the two of them snatches of chansons ch ansons which invariably reflected some amorous sentiment between these bits of sentiment they asked me polite questions about the upper aher it was plain that word had been passed along the aher to watch for and report my presence joe labrador had said the ery huts at bew orleans were ready to gobble me up the nearer I 1 drew to biloxi alie more set would I 1 find this disposition to be what Is the latest news my friends I 1 finally managed to aak as cluttering queries slowed down A wife ship comes to biloxi we hurry home said the younger man with a snicker silence baille sternly rebuked the other monsieur the white in dlan we are jules and baille mattor father and son what the boy says Is true a wife ship comes it Is bad for man to ahe alone and be fetched a deep sigh ahe company of the indies has listened to his weemes advice and wilt send no more cantons wantons acasa the ocean babbled the young man silence child commanded the father les monsieur the white monsieur matter I 1 am william brampton I 1 broke in monsieur brampton I 1 am more glad to meet you than you can know As the boy says this wife ship will be filled with honest women women one can oe and cherish and take pride to to ones friends good cooks good but what of the news I 1 inter erupted mattor pere drew a long face and mournfully replied the last trade law goes bad with aa for that all our trade laws are bad to get supplies we must go to mobile pensacola or massacre island alie old name for island BO railed from the mounds of human bonas found there tor delivery at la nouvelle orleans we must pay five per cent extra twice that if delivered at larchez Nar chez and 13 per cent ah mon dieul how that extra premium does climb up at the yazoo I 1 suppressed a smile to hear how foolishly the company of the indies was playing into hands it would be hard enough or them to hold their trade without penalizing their customers the directors of the company could never comprehend that to succeed it must encourage the colo nests to work for themselves work for us was their motto matter ran on nt that Is not the worst monsieur Rr ampton if we w trade we must send our products to la nouvelle orleans ship island or mobile and first grade tobacco can bring only 25 alvres the hundred rice 20 llorea the hundred the best wheat flour 15 chres and a lavre for a deerskin it Is hard to be n planter biere I 1 ow in carolina but I 1 can jot return there e understand monsie urs very sensible emotion montleur cannot return there said jues ills expression and bearing were simplicity his words contained a veiled threat ball who cares I 1 cried not I 1 1 ahne lived in the woods so long I 1 am known as the bilte indian I 1 will libeer be cooped up in a settlement again even if free to come and go as I 1 pleased all I 1 wish now Is to find bleur de bienville then you will go to ship island for his excellency went there this morning to await the coming of the said jules I 1 rolled my robes in a pillow and stretched out in the bow and fell asleep almost at once lien I 1 awoke it was to see the stars overhead I 1 slept again and on my second awakening found we were behind ship island and making for the anchorage on the north side where the masts of a ship were silhouetted against the morning sky As I 1 surveyed the bay of the never mind who 1 am laava the woman alono islands and the main I 1 could not blame bienville for his impatience with the government tor insisting on a gulf port shorling shoaling Sho aling of the port on dau phane had driven the seat of govern ment from mobile to but those who dwelt in learned that the reflection from the macd was evil to en dure and that boats left unused were soon destroyed by the worms however it was the unloading of the cargo ships that supplied the last word in waste and inefficiency vessels from france mast stop at ship island nearly 15 miles from the settlement the cargoes transferred to packet boats which were met by small boats two or three miles from shore or aoa this the end of landing the goods for the knull boats in turn took line sand a musket shot from shore and their loida were brought an by men or by carts on high wheels all this fuss and bother was enough to drive a practical mind to frenzy when immigrants are substituted for barrels and bales one can easily imagine the confusion and dismay of the newcom ers I 1 biad seen them cuddled together without shelter without food homesick starving and dvong while blen worked most desperately to distribute them up and down the river at that time I 1 stood in high feather ath the governor having accompanied him and his irmen the previous winter to new orleans Or lenns lut I 1 had never been on ship island when immigrants were arriving As it was part of my busl ness to learn the kind of men and women as well as the number the company was sending over I 1 was glad the governor was at the island as oth I 1 might not have been allowed to go there A priest at kaskaskia Kas kaskla had told me on the down trip that the reckless shipping of convicts and fallen women had been ordered stopped and that a more desirable class of homemakers home makers were coming to the valley the more desirable they were the more aroused the atlantic provinces would become 1 I have some hard money for you monsieur matter I 1 remarked as I 1 sat upright god hear me I 1 but hard money Is a fairy hard to eaten now that mon seigneur las ha comred the world with hla paper money 1 exclaimed the father ESte saJe island alere at ship se e choked the matters called francoise Franc olse there was twenty feet 0 water As we drew nearer we saw the fahn merchandise was discharging ale ln and women were roa about in all directions receiving their first impressions of the new word land me near the ship ni the governor afoot beald e ran into a cove near the ahle and I 1 tossed jules some silver piece alch he kissed enthusiastically and then hid in his clothes its the malre cried baille his eyes lighting with boyish interest I 1 saw her last season when s ln to dauphine lne with the warsh p aarl calne they were bringing blacks from the guinea coast faugh A sweet smelling ship for the lad eal and they are ladles 1 cried tules j I 1 see one in black who walks like a 1 queen wives for some of us first come first served 1 and with that he leaped ahead or me and ricca up the beach in his haste to present baille with a stepmother it was not until clear of the malre which the immigrants seemed to shun that I 1 sensed the confusion of the scene and observed the amazement and of the newcomers A sergeant tanned as dark as a guinea black wa unusually active in pulling and push ing the immigrants about in disgust I 1 watched this fellow his dirty paws making too free with the women and then had my ire aroused by beholding him seize a woman in black by the arm the one matter said walked like a queen and give her a spin that sent her reeling across tb sand to fall at my feet tonnerre Ton nerre de aleal I 1 found myself houting as I 1 sprang between the brute and the poor thing are these people here for punishment or to build a new world ten million devils who aro you to interfere with sergeant suarez twenty years in the marines when he Is doing his duty never mind who I 1 am leave the woman alone he crouched for a spring his eyes glaring like a tree cats and I 1 was ready for him when to my the rage died out of his face ills dark countenance began twisting up like old parchment god Is good I 1 he whispered exultingly that brown beard that big nose I 1 broil me and loll 1011 me it it the white indian 1 he hoi the white indian yes what of it you nimbi eack no no be softly cried 1 I ahall not be drawn into a quarrel with monsieur lie Is game for my betters ah t but this rare news I 1 leave you to console the wench monsieur while I 1 go to tell his excellency and off the rascal ran J turned to help the woman to her feet but she was already erect a allm figure in black the somber tone of her attire being accented by the mass of yellow hair and the clear ivory pallor of her features and as I 1 fixed I 1 found myself thinking that tha hard ships of the voyage had left her all aies several women attracted by the scene laughed raucously and a glance told me insistence that decent women bonfy be sent had not been heeded I 1 would have turned away if not for the unspoken appeal in the oval face of the sergeant a victim 1 I bae not thanked you monsieur she whispered isor shall you I 1 did nothing but you are |