Show h The Ih wife wife- Wife Ship Woman By y HUGH PEN DEXTER Author of Kings of the Missouri Pay Gravel A Virginia Scout etc re PUI I t b br W B lImo o. o CHAPTER VIII VIII-Continued VIII Continued 11 b he muttered Monsieur I IIII Iem MAhl bl ih shocked hockel My If hundred thousand III em Si will never neer come bock back to me lIre flares I We must say Bay nothing to well Ab Writ b old rat below He Ie shall think the thelan th the lan lend Is still there and he ho shall go Eo with me yen Jon will go oar I J must And otter after nil there h are many things rS not known this country of ot the damned boot about Francois Narbonne may p Perhaps h ts I I. I fad n riches after all I If It not I I willbe will well off as at the start Ito IIo h be as ashot Ha hot hol Down flown bill hill there old rat I Are Arc you yon lost f fI 1 I 1 hear you yon lint Hut batten down your four latch batch or well we'll have bave a boarding party after itter our brandy A canoe onoe passed do downstream a 8 bit hit ago Too Ton dark to tomake tomake tomake make out their rl rigging but they spoke g foreign lingo IIno neither h French Trench nor good old English Wild I Indians Ive I've logged it it One of my enemy's canoes scout scout- lag Ing the back trail I whispered to t Ills His Choctaws Choctaws' must have my smoke and some of them are eat ut to locate It I must make malte the off cut at Point Coupe Coupee as ns quickly as tt possible It will take a day of ot hard I paddling lad If you are still minded to toI I help Mlp mn mademoiselle elle forget her fears fears- I I 1 would gladly paddle through hell to ease Isse mademoiselles mademoiselle's mind monsieur mon mon- he gravely Interrupted I waited for Six Fingers to come come com up the tie bank which he mounted with the agility of ot a monkey lIe He reeked of ot brandy and was In a beastly humor Cheer up I said with Ith malicious enjoyment There is gold goia ahead a geld mine Aye That's why the devil bites me me he grunted Theres two gold ml mines es ahead and I cant can't take both of ot them This I a crazy fool tool If It hed he'd told the yarn Id I'd laughed at nt It But Dut the second officer of ot the Ma Maire Ire believes belle It He lIe had talked with this who visited the land And the second 1 gold mine Dont you wish you OU knew my brave cock rock he mocked his brandy giving him os assurance e. e Hark ee eel ee I A man who helped sack St St. St Augustine and who has seen many a stout Ind some lad some women too try too try to walk on the ocean with 1 their eyes ees blindfolded lIed knows s how to 10 keep kelp his hatch closed He lie un 8 swung on ahead ohead of ot me and I knew the brandy had stirred up thoughts of the 01 old d days das for In n i 1 low voles voice he was whining something about Low II down n hull down Were We're oft off for tor O O Women and drink and the Isthmus stink link And our cap cap 1 very mellow O. He lie was as as all poisonous us a swamp Vamp swamp moccasin but age ae had drawn his hits fangs fang he was merely n a shell filled with wicked memories and evil long long- legs If It not for the danger of ot his babbling to I would have lune set him a adrift with his brandy with as little compunction as I would shoot an n alligator When I came rame to the tire the he girl and Narbonne were seated tide fIde by side BIlle before the dying bed of coals the ruddy light playing on their faces and giving me the Impre Impression slon she was more at ease In his company than In mine She asked Are re we 1 to move on tonight It II Is h best t. t If It we can travel till near daylight we cun Cain camp for tor the greater Part art of time the day dllY and und reach rench Point CouPee Coupee Cou Cou- Pee at twilight You can lIn sleep In th Pirogue while we travel tonight I was us not thinking of ot myself she reproached I was thinking of ot you leur who wlm must be so 80 weary And I 1 k know nil all this extra labor Is s because of ot nie me A man never takes amiss the pity and nd of a woman lie He mn mil may wide deride It und nud he lie allay may know he Is not deserving of tit It It but deep In his liis heart hear Ie he wor worships the time notion feels like Wing purring for far It Is I one a 0 caress i mumbled something intended tc to III make light of or it it she was foolish tolI h to Imagine ginI I resented her so so- whereas I was confused ell and appeared to be gruff to 10 10 loner er up tp my lay So 80 So 1 I ushered u lx l' l down the bank hanl and left let the Ihl e to 10 escort mademoiselle time the girl on the behind aue e I led 1111 the way after warning Narbonne Nur Nar- bonne wine un und and II Six Fingers to keep close said nu Indulge In no talking Six l Fingers U M nay Insistent on singing some of his Ms evil old sen snags and Narbonne was quick to 10 eUr curse e him hlo out ut for his Indiscretion Indis- Indis return i was n-as patiently explaining time dingers of ot ther carelessness when tile the g girl rl emitted n a shriek that could nave have bee heard for fr a long distance I III my puddle and nd stretched ou out a hand and to io urouse arouse Tier lier from train her bad tern hut as S I J touched her she lne seemed to 1 he be h h her 1 e crawling overboard and r olee ice Was suddenly U denly stilled Thor nonplused I 1 could not compel my mind to function until her stilled stifled voice olce out Sq O me I Englishman hman I IThen Then 1 I detected s something i In th the er alongside the pirogue which ha had o Business s there and my fingers rs on oaf a n bra brawny arm As I clutched me lite 1 flesh ten en lingers selz seized d my any rial ens th the Kin girl released d again gain The pirogue careened ns as the tile thing hing In the water sought to drag me overboard Clearing my mT ax ax I relieved the he strain by leaping over the side ride yelling ell Ing as I 1 went I ISit Sit still I l lAs As I struck the water the hand released re- re leased my wrist and two hands grabbed my ray throat thront Down we sank and nd down swung my ax as as we were going under I felt the ax register and nd the grip on my throat loosened I I kicked about and wrenched the ax free ree and satisfied myself the naked body was lax and limp and then shot shoto to o the surface Husli mademoiselle It Is all nil right I 1 softly told her before attempting to climb limb Into the pirogue Hush flush your our noise nole Le Ie bon Dieu I 1 she moaned Is s it Indeed thou monsieur No other All is wellAnd well And I washed the ax and stuck It In my belt and climbed aboard and began belan anxiously peering about to see from what craft my ns assailant had swum What Is It IU I heard Narbonne cry Stand by to r repel pel boarders I howled d Six Fingers Ah the devil I 1 How Itow blind I BID ami I 1 snapped and I heard his sword slithering against iron In your How flow does it taste cried Six Fingers Ingers God Go help us I They fight between themselves I faintly exclaimed the girl attacked I corrected sweeping the pirogue about and heading head head- Ing ng downstream where I could make out the vague shapes of two canoes some flome distance apart Witt W wim a wild war whoop we me canoe conoe of ot the enemy nemy began closing In on my two wo companions their lint first assailants being Ing Choctaws who thought to take them by surprise by swimming A flight of ot arrows hissed over Ofer my head and amid one or two stuck In the side sille of ot my pirogue I snatched matched my pistols up from the bottom of ot the pirogue and emptied them and then braced myself to use the musket ns as a club Narbonne Nar- Nar bonne fired two pistols and Six Fingers Fingers Fin Fin- gers ers let off ot a musket and the pirogue frantically retreated toward mid- mid channel and downstream Naked men In the water attacked us monsieur explained Narbonne I as our pirogues drifted together I 1 got one and the old rat another How Is mademoiselle Dieu I I think I shall live but I was dying of the time fright she phe whispered Red ned hands at my throat thront I IGan IGan Gan Qan I ever forget torget when they would dra drag me Into the river 1 l Hut they did not mademoiselle I sharply reminded her A danger clanger passed Is as M though It never happened Ile Be calm They have hafe all gone one There Is no more danger Narbonne asked what I purposed doln doing Mat Mn Mademoiselle Is nervous We will land and wait walt until she recovers her ber composure I 1 said Her ITer fingers closed on my arm and she whispered After all It was only Death that stalked me Death II Is clean It was Its coming while 1 I slept that unnerved me Monsieur you prefer to make muke a certain distance before daylight Pro Pro- Do not consider me I am myself myself my my- self now It Is la nothing After reloading my musket and pl pistols pistols pis pis- and seeing that Six Fingers did the same I again took the lend lead This Tills time there was no need to caution caution cau cau- tion my companions as to the value of ot silence Nor did we again glimpse the I Indians' Indians pirogue although we kept to the riser until well Into the gray morn mom Ing CHAPTER IX The Fight at the Bayou We 1 camped and rested and the remainder remainder re re- of ot the Journey to the big loop was finished late In n the afternoon Ruin with nothing o occurring to disturb ma ma- demoiselle The river talked to me It taunted me with threats of ambuscades along the silent brooding shore It whispered whispered whis whis- of the Pox Fox cunningly awaiting us at the big loop The Tile Influence Influence ence enee of the mighty waters rather worked on my nerves and when au an unusually large area of drift fIlst appeared ap ap- pearel around the next bend I paddled to the bank and leaped ashore to reconnoiter re- re It from a tree I was Bu suddenly suddenly sud sud- denly taken with the notion that we had been seen and that canoes canoes ca ca- noes were stealing upon us under cover of or the mass I hurriedly explained my purpose e to Narbonne I an and the girl and l had ad them come ashore and hide while I threw green boughs over oer the pirogues without without with with- out bothering to extricate Six Fingers from the bottom of ot his canoe Near lIr the bank I found a tall tree and climbed It tt until I had an excellent view of ot the river beyond the solid mass mats of ot drifting trees My lly fears tears were empty There was no sign of ot Da Da- moans moan's red hunters Ashamed of ot my panic yet greatly relieved I descended Only a n few tew feet from the tree I came upon the scene of ot a recent tragedy tragedy- a dead Indian A feathered shaft stuck atuck from between his naked nake shoulders and he had fallen while in the act of ot setting set let ting lug an arrow to bow The dead man was a Natchez lie He was In the country of ot the who were of ot Choctaw blood and Included In that confederacy As I reconstructed reconstruct reconstruct- ed the tragedy be had been shot ahot down from behind by a an and had bad run l I 1 f I As Aa He Leaped Erect I 1 Released the Arrow away and ond escaped discovery although ultimately dropping dead I took the bow of ot wood and the quiver pr of ot reed arrows The Time heads of ot the latter fashioned from bone were not barbed like the war arrows but were such ns liS were used In hunting deer and ond buffalo The dead man had not been heen on Oil the warpath Currying Carrying the bow and ond arrows arrows ar ar- rows I returned to my companions and to spare the girls girl's Irl's feelings explained explained ex ex- I had found the weapons In Inthe inthe n the wood Clearing the pirogues of ot brush I set Ret setoff setoff off with the girl with Narbonne I following following fol tol- lowing close e. e We worked hard for only n a short period of daylight remained re reo for us It was the bp beginning of du dusk k when we came to the tiny bayou haou I drove my any pirogue to the eastern eastern east enst ern side of the blockade and Jumped out to Investigate In By Hy carrying currying the tho pirogues a hundred feet we could take the open water again I aroused Six Fingers ers from hIs bis slumbers by th tb the simple process of taking him bins by the shoulders and Ind sousing him up and Ind down In to the river He Ue began bean a of ot fearful tearful curses cUffes but by thrusting bU his monkeys monkey's head under water I soon took the heart out of ot him Tossing him ashore I ordered him Mm to help Narbonne with one end of ot the pirogue white while I 1 took the other 1 I was elated at having leaving gained the off cut without having to fight my wa way I felt so 10 safe sate with that hundred feet teet of ot drift hiding biding me from th the river that I directed Narbonne slowly ly to t. t paddle my pirogue and the girl along the time bayou with Six l Fingers bringing up the other while 1 I tried my luck hunting I IlIg ng out a dead tree far tar ahead abend I told Narbonne to halt there and build ft A small tire fire taking care core to shield It with blankets Well camp long enough to rest reat and eat fat and then push on I told them It It win wilt save cave a full days day's paddling and anda a n possible encounter with and his Choctaws Then taking the bow and und arrows Vl an and my ax I scouted toward the main river In the hope bope of 01 finding some waterfowl Hut move moe ns as silently as 88 I would I could find no birds When I was about opposite the dead tree I decided It was vas growing too dark for tor hunting and began making for tor the time camp As All I 1 turned my back a rustling in the underbrush underbrush un un- behind me mo revived my hopes n and nd I glided behind a clump of bushes and ond slipped an on arrow from frolD the quiver The ground was clear of growth for i a afew afew few rod rods and as the sound lound was repeated repeat repeat- ed I fully tully expected to see a rabbit enter enter en en- ter the opening With the silence of ot a shadow a Choctaw Choctaw Choctaw Choc- Choc taw warrior emerged from the growth and und stood as ns If It listening Then h he be dropped on his knees and began examIning exam exam- Ining the ground I realized that h he had mad found my tracks and would know at the first glance that a white man had been there My next thought wa was the necessity of or preventing the fellow from reporting his ery As hi he b. leaped erect I released the time arrow orrow Ill His lII yell of ot discovery was a second ahead of ot the reed shaft and although h he went down with the arrow sticking through his neck he ha had bad done what I ILL LL L. L to 0 prevent That his companions were close at hand band was vas proved by the almost Immediate Immediate immediate Imme Imme- diate response to his wild cry then there came calDe the sound of ot men crashing recklessly through the growth Next they were pouring from cover In single file tile until I counted an even dozen and there were behind among amont the bushes The first warrior in the openIng opening open open- Ing came to the dead warrior and dropped beside him and examined the arrow Another was casting about for fora a trail What do you find spoke up a soft voice from the bushes It was wal the Fox speaking I he could receive his answer I sounded the shrill war-cry war of the Natchez and began discharging the arrows as fast as I could manipulate the tile bow v. With cries of ot alarm and rage rore the Choctaws swept back Into cover for tor the time moment believing the Natchez had taken the red path against the French and their allies alUes the Gulf Gult Indians As I loosed the tile last arrow arrow ar or row I turned and made toward the dead clead tree voice rose In a acry acry aery cry ery of ot triumph und and In Choctaw he shouted The White Indian I Its It's the man mn were we're after These are mare hunting arrows lie He plays tricks with the Natchez ar ar- rows He III Is malone alone After him I IMy IMy IMy My sole advantage was the waning light which made it t difficult to follow follow fol tol low my trail troll I ran on |