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Show ALICE of OLD I VINCENNES By MAURICE THOMPSON ::: -. CopjrUht, 1900, by th DOWENMEKRILL COMPANY ' ......, -,--.- i i -r Tin CHA'PTKU IX 'lilt IKINOIIS Ol WAII GASPAHI) IIOUSSILLON wiik thoroughly ut-qiliilntuil Willi miviigo warfare mill lie knew nil tin? p.icllle menus so muc ct'sufiilly mill so long- mod by Frcndi missionaries mul trailers to control suv ngu character, but the emergency now upon him whs stnrtlhig It eoiifnMl li 1 tn- The fnt't thnt lie lnul taken a sol I'lnn oath of allegiance to the American government could lrnvo been pii-died aside lightly enough upon piesslng occasion, oc-casion, lint ho Knew that ceitain conil-lontl.ll conil-lontl.ll ngenlM left hi Vhicelines liy (lovernor Abbott hail, upon the arrival of Helm, gone to Detroit, anil of course tliey had curried thither a full report of all that happened lu the Chureh of St. Xuvlcr when Father Glballlt call ed tlie iieople together, and at the fort when the ltritlsli Hug was hauled down and la bannlero d' Alice Itmisslllou run up lu It plate. His op inslvo lumglim tloli did full credit to Itself in exaggerating exagger-ating the iii)M)rtaiu' of his part hi handing tho post over to the rebels. And what would Hamilton think of this? Would ho consider It treason? The question ccitiilnly boro a tragic suggestion. M. ltoussilloii lacked everything of being i coward, and treachery had no rightful plaeo In his nature lie was, however, so In the habit of lighting windmills and making mountains of molehills that ho could not at llrst glauio sec an sudden pieseiitnieut with a normal vision lie had no love for KnglMimi'ii, and he did like Americans, Amer-icans, but ho naturally thought that Helm's talk of fighting Hamilton was, as bis own would baVe been In n like case, talk and nothing more. The foit could not hold out an hour, be well knew Then what? Ah, ho but too well realized tho result. Iteslstanee would Inllamc thu Hngllsli soldiers and madden the Indians. There would bo a massacre, and the belts of savages would sag with bloody scalps Ho shrugged his shoulders and felt a chill ueeji up bis hack. The first tiling M ltoussilloii did was to see 1'atber Herot and take counsel of him, then bo hurried homo to dig a great pit under his kitchen lloor hi which he burled many boles of fur nnd nil his most valuable Things. He worked work-ed like a giant beavei all night long Meantime Puttier Iteret went about over the town quietly notlf lug tho Inhabitants In-habitants to remain In their houses until un-til after the fort should surrender, which, he was sure, would happen the next day "You will bo perfectly safe, my children," chil-dren," he said to them. "No harm can come to ou if you follow my direc tions." Itoljlng Implicitly upon him, they scrupulously obeyed In every particular particu-lar He did not think It necessary to call nt Ilousslllon place, having already given M ltoussilloii the best ndvleo ho could toiiimaud. Just nt the earliest break of day, while yet the gloom of night scarcely felt ttio sun's approach, a huge tig lire made haste along the u.iiiow streets In the northern part of the town. If any person had been looking out thiough the little holes called windows In tbosu elltnt and lavjess huts It would havo been eas to I'eognbe M. ltoussilloii by his statute mid his gait, dlml.v outlined ns he was. A thought which mimed to him an Invitation of genius linrt taken possession of him and was leading hlni as If hj the nose straight nvviu to Hamilton's Ham-ilton's lines He was tielgbti.l with el oqiience for the ear of that cominandci, nnd as be stiode along fating the cilsp morning air he was leheaislng under his hieath, emphasizing his peiiods In tragic whispers with sweeping gestures and liberal facial contoitlons So absorbed ab-sorbed was he In his oratorical soliloquy solilo-quy that he foigot due military incenu-tlou incenu-tlou and ran plump Into the face of a savage picket guard, who, without re spect for the great M. Itousslllon's dignity, dig-nity, sprang up before hlni, grunted cavernously, flourished a tomahawk nnd spoke hi excellent nnd exceedingly guttural Indian: "Wall, sill render!" It Is probable that no man ever compiled com-piled with u modest request In a more docile sphlt than did M. ltoussilloii upon that occasion. In fact, his promptness must have been admirable, for the savage grunted approval and stralghtw a v. conducted him to Hnmll ton's headipiarters on a batteau In the river Tho ltritlsli commander, n hale man of sandy complexion and probably un dor middle age, was In no very pleasant pleas-ant humor. Some of his oiders had been misunderstood by the chief of his Indian allies, so that n prematura exposure ex-posure of his approach had been niado to the enemy. "Well, sir, who nro jou?" ho grullly demanded when M. ltoussilloii loomed heforo him "I nm llnsp.ud ltoussilloii, the mayor of Vlncennes," wns the lofty reply "I hnvo come to announce to on otllclnlly that my peoplo greet you loynlly nnd thnt my town is tieoly nt your command." com-mand." Ho felt as Important ns If his statements luid been true. "Humph' That's It. Is It? Well, Mr. Mil or, ou have my congrntul.i tlons, hut I should prefer seeing tho military commander and accenting Ids i i I'lvri'i'i'i'i l'l"T1"'ll"I"llf. surrender. What account can ,vou give me of tho Auieilcan foices, their iitun her nnd condition?" M, ltoussilloii w hired, Inwardly at least, under Hamilton's very undefor-entlal undefor-entlal air and style of address. It piqued him cruell to be treated as n person w lthout the slightest claim to respect. He somehow foigot the rolling roll-ing nnd ihythmle eloquence prepared for the occasion "The American touimnuder natural 1 would not confide In me, M le Oou-verneiir; Oou-verneiir; not at all We are not very filendly. He ousted mo from ollice, ho olTendnl me"- He was coughing and stammering. "Oil, thunder! What do I care? Answer An-swer my questions, sir!" Hamilton grulll.v Intel nipted. "Tell me the number num-ber of American troops at the fort, sir." "I don't know exactly. I hav not had admittance to the fort. I might be deceived as to numbers. Hut they're strong, 1 Udleve. M le Cioiiverneur; at least they make n great show nnd niiuli noise." Hamilton eyed the huge bulk heforo him for a moment, then, tinning to n subaltern, said: "Place this fellow under guaid nnd see that he doesn't get nvvay. Send word immediately to Captain Turns worth that I wish to see him nt once." The Interv lew thereupon closed nh-ruptly nh-ruptly Hamilton's emissaries had given giv-en him a detailed account of M Itousslllon's Itous-slllon's shine In submitting Vlncenucs to lebel dominion, and ho was not In the least hit lined tow aid treating hlni graciously "I would suggest to you, M le Gou-verneur, Gou-verneur, that my olllclal position demands" de-mands" M ltoussilloii began. Hut ho was fastened upon by two guards, who roughly hustled hlni aft nnd hound hlni so ilgldly thnt he could scarcely move linger or toe Hamilton smiled coldly and turned to give some orders to a stalwart, ruddy rud-dy oting olllcer who in ii ennoo had just lowed alongside the batteau. "Captain rarnswoith," he said, acknowledging ac-knowledging tlie military salute, "you will take fifty men and make everything every-thing reaily for a recoiinolssance hi the direction of the fort Wo will move down tho river Immediate) and chooso a phue to laud. Move lively! Wo have no time to lose " In the meantime Hevcrley slipped nvvay fiom the fort and made a hurtled call upon Allco nt ltoussilloii pinto. Tleie was not much they could say to each other dm lug the fow moments nt command Alice showed very little excitement Her past expetleneo had fortified her against the alarms of frontier life Hut she understood nnd perfectly appreciated the situation. i "What are you going to do?" Hevcrley Hevcr-ley demanded in sheer despair Ho was ' not able to see any gleam of hope out of the blackness which had fnllen around him nnd Into his soul "What shall ou do?" he lepeated. "Tnke the chances of war," sho said, smiling ginvely "It will all come out well, no doubt." "I hope so, but but I fear not." His face was gray w 1th trouble. "Helm Is determined to fight, and thnt men ns" "flood!" she Interrupted, with spirit, i "I nm so glad of that. I wish I could go to help him. if I were a man IM love to light. I think It's Just delightful." delight-ful." "Hut It Is reckless bravado. It Is worse than foolishness," said Hoverley, not feeling her mood. "What can two j or thieo men do against nn army?" j "right nnd die Uko men," sho replied, her whole coiintcnnnce lighting up. I He heroic!" "Wo will do than of course. We I do not fear death, but you you" Ills voice choked him. A gunshot mug out clear lu the dls tance, and be did not ilfpdi speaking. "That's piobahly tho beginning," he nddisl In a moment, extending both hnnds to her. "Cioodb.v I must hurry to the foit Condi))." Sho dievv n quick hieath and turned so white thnt her look striitk'lihn like n sudden and haul blow. He stood for n second, his nrms nt full icnili, then: "My Cod, Alice, I cannot, cannot leave you!" he eiied, his voice again breaking huskily. Sho made a little movement as If to take hold of his hands, but In an In stunt she stepped back a p ice and said: "Don't fear about me. I can take care of myself I'm all right. You'd better return to tho fort ns quickly ns you can. It is your country, our Hag, not me, that you must think of now " She folded her nrms nnd stood boldly erect. Never before In nil his life had he felt such n rebuke Ho gave her n straight, strong look In the eyes "You mo light, Alice," he oiled, nnd rushed fiom the house to the fort. Sho held her ligld attitude for a llttlo while nfter sho heard him shut the front gate of tho yard so forcibly that It broke In pieces, then she Hung her nrms wide, ns If to clasp something, nnd ran to tho door, but Heveiley wns out of sight. Sho turned nnd dropped Into a chair Jrnn camo to her out f tho next room Ills queer llttlo fneo wns pnle nnd pinched, hut his Jaw was set with tho expression of ono who hns known danger nnd enn meet It spmo-how "Are thoy going to scalp us?" he half whispered presently, with a shuddering shudder-ing lift of his distorted shoulders. Hor face wns burled In her hnnds, nnd she did not nnswer Childlike ho turned from one question to another hi consequently ' Where did l'apa ltoussilloii go to?" he next Inquired. "Is he going to tight?" She shook her head. "The) II tear down the fort, won't they?" If she heard hlni she did not mako mi) sign "They'll kill the captain nnd lieutenant lieuten-ant and get the lino Hag that you set so high on the fort, won't they, Alice?" She lifted her head and gave the cowering hunchback such a stare that he shut his eyes and put up n hand ns If nfr.ild of her. Then she impulsively took his llttk misshapen form in her nrms and hugged It passionately Hoi bright hair fell all over hlni, almost hiding him Mine, ltoussilloii was ly log on a bed In an adjoining room morning diligently, at Intervals ban dllng her rosiry nnd repenting n prayer. pray-er. The whole town wns silent outside out-side "Why don't you go get the pretty Hag down and hide It befoie the) come"'" Jean imirmuied from within the silken meshes of Alice's hair In his small mind the gaudy banner was the most beautlrul of nil things. Hvery d.ij since it was set up ho had gone to ga?e at It as It fluttered against the sk) The men had ftequciitly said In his presence that the enemy would tnke It down If they cnptuied tlie fort. Alice beaid his Inquisitive voice, but It seemed to come from far off. His words woio a part of the strnnge, wild swirl In her bosom Heverley's look ns he turned and left her now shook every ev-ery ilioid of her being He hud gone to his death nt her command How I '71 'V I "H'cii, xurrcmhrl" i strong and true and bravo ho was! In her Imagination she saw the Hag above hlni, saw him die like a panther at bay, saw tho gay rag snatched down and torn to shreds by savage hands. It was the tinged) of a single moment enacted In a flashlight of anticipation. I She released Jean so suddenly that ho fell to the lloor. Sho remembered wbnt she had said to Hevcrley on the night of the dance when they weto standing under the flag. "You innde It and set It up," he light ly remmked. "You must seo thnt no enemy ever gets possession of It, espe-i espe-i hilly tho Hngllsh." "I'll tnke It down and hide It when there's danger of that," she s.ild In the same spirit And now she stood thcie, looking nt J enn without seeing hlni, and repented the woids under her breath. "I'll take It dovv n nnd hide It. They shan't huve It." Mine, ltoussilloii began to call from the other loom lu u loud, complaining voice, but Alice gnve no heed to her qiieiulous demands. "Stay here, Jean, nnd take cam of Mamma Kottsslllon,"sho presently Bold to the hunchback. "I am going out; I'll he hack soon, Don't ou daro leavo the houso -vtIiIIo I'm gone. Do you hear?" She did not wnlt for his answer, but, snatching n boodllke fur cap fiom u peg on the wall, she put It on and hastily left tho house. Down at the fort Helm and Hevcrley weio inakliig leadv to rosl-,t Hamilton's attack, which, tin) knew, would not he long defeued 'I he two heav lly c hinged camion weio planted so as to cover the space lu flout ol the gate, and some loaded muskets weie Hinged near by icady for use. 'We'll give them one good blast," growled the captain, "befoie the) overpower over-power us!" Heveiley made no iespon.e in words, hut ho was ptcpailug a lilt of Under on tho end of u stick with vv.ch to Hie the caution. Not far uway a little heap of logs was burning In the fort's area. The Itiltlsh olllcer, already mentioned as at tho head of the lino advancing diagonally di-agonally fiom the river's hank, halted his men nt a distance of itoo )aids fiom tho fort and seemed to bo taking a deliberately de-liberately ciieful suivey of what was before hlni. "Let 'em como a llttlo nearer, lieutenant," lieuten-ant," said Helm, his Jaw setting Itself liko n lion's "When we shoot we want to hit." lie stooped and squinted along bis gun. "When they got to that weedy spot out yonder," he added, "Just opposite the little rise hi the liver bank, we'll turn looso on 'cm " Hevcrley had anniiged his prhnltlvo match to suit his fancy nnd for probably proba-bly the twentieth tlmo looked critically to tho powder hi tho beveled toiichholo of his (ill cannon. Ho nnd Helm were facing the enemy, with their backs to tho inuln nron of tho stockade, when n well known volco nttincted their nt tentlon to the roar Continued on nth page "Any room for n feller o' my Rto.e In this here crowded place?" It dcninmlwl In n cracked but clinerftil tenor. "I'm kind o' ottten breath n-rrmiiln' to git here." Tliey turned nbout. It wns Onelo Jiikoii, with his long rifle on hi shctil-der shctil-der nnd wearing n very Importntit air. Ho npoko In HiigliMh, using tho back-wooila back-wooila lingo Willi the ease of long practice. prac-tice. "As I's n-cniuln' In Tom n-litintlii' I tuck notice 'nt soinepln' was up. 1 sen n lot o' boats on tho river an Home fellers fel-lers wT guns n-Hcontlti' around, so I Jes' slipped by 'em all nn' come In the back way. They's plenty of 'em, I tell you wluit! I can't shoot milch, but I tuck one chance at n litiek Indian out yin-.der yin-.der n it' jes" linppened to hit 'lm In the let' eye. He was one of the gang 'nt scalped me down ynntler In Knlntticl;." The greasy old sinner looked ns If he hud not been washed since he was horn. He glanced nbout with furtive, shifty eyes and grimaced and winked after thu manner of an animal Just waking from a lazy imp. "Where's the rest of the lighters?" ho demanded quizzically, lolling out his tongue and peeping past Helm so as to get it glimpse of the F.ngllsh lino. "Where's yer garrison? Have they all gone to breakfas'?" The last ipiestlon set Helm off cursing curs-ing and swearing In the most melodramatic melo-dramatic rage. Onele .Iiimiiii turned to lleverley and said In rapid French, "Surely the man's not going to light those fellows yonder?" yon-der?" lleverley nodded rather gloomily. "Well," added the old man, lingering Ids rifle's slock ami taking another glance through the gate, "I can't shoot wo'th n rent, belli' sort o' nervous like, but I'll slnn' by yo awhile Jes' for luck. I might accidentally lilt one o' 'em." When a limn Is truly bravo himself there Is nothing that touches him like an exhibition of absolutely unselfish gameness In another. A rush of admiration admi-ration for Undo Jazon mailo lievcrley feel like hugging him. Meantime the young British otllccr showed a flag of truce mid, with a lllu of men, separated himself from tho line, now stationary, and approached the stockade. At a hundred yards ho halted the llle nnd came on alone, wnv-' wnv-' lug the white clout. Mo boldly nd-vunccd nd-vunccd lo within easy speaking distance dis-tance and shouted: "I demand the surrender of this fort!" "Well, you'll not get It, young man!" roared Helm, bis profanity well mixed In with the words. "Not while there's a man of us left!" "Ye'd better use sof soap on 'lm, cap'n," said Undo Jazou In Kngllsh. "Uusslu' won't do no good." Whllo he spoke he rubbed thu doughty captain's arm and then patted It gently. Helm, who was not half as excited as ho protended to be, knew that Ouclo Jazou's remark was the very essence of wisdom, but ho wns not yet ready for the diplomatic language which the old trooper called "soft soap." "Are you the Itrltlsh commander?" he demanded. "No," said the olllcer, "but 1 speak for him." "Not to me, sir. Tell your commander command-er that 1 will hear what ho has to say from his own mouth. No understrapper will be recognized by me." That ended thu conference. The young iillicer, evidently indignant, tit rode back to his line, mid tin hour later Hamilton himself demnuded thu unconditional surrender of tho fort and garrison. "Fight for It!" Helm stormed forth. 'We are soldiers!" Hamilton held a confab with his officers, of-ficers, while his forces, under cover of tho town cabins, were dloylng so as to form ,i half circle about thc.Rtock-ade. thc.Rtock-ade. Some artillery appeared nnd wns planted directly opposite the gate, not three hundred yards distant. Out) blast-of blast-of that battery would, as Helm well .new, level a large part of the stockade. stock-ade. "S'posln' I hev" a cannon, too, seeln' It's the fashion." said undo Jtizon. "I can't shoot much, but I mlKht skecr 'em. This llttlo one 'II do mo." Me set his rifle against the wall nnd Mth Ileverley's help rolled one of thu nwlvels alongside the guns already in position. In a few minutes Hamilton returned under tho white ilag and shouted: "I'pon what terms will you surrender?" surren-der?" "All the honors of war," Helm llrmly replied. "It's that or light, and I don't care which!" Hamilton half turned away, as If done wllh thu parley, then facing the fort ngnlu he suld: "Very well, Blr. Haul down your flag." Helm was dtimfouudcd at this prompt ncccptancu of Ids terms. Indeed In-deed the Incident Is unique In history. As Hamilton spoke ho very naturally glanced up to wheru In liannlere d'AI- lco ltousHlflou waved brilliantly. Some one stood beside It on the dilapidated roof of the old blockhouse nnd was already al-ready taking It from Its place. Ills nld, Captain Farnsworth, snw this, nnd the vision made his heart draw In n strong, hot Hood. It was n girl In short skirts nnd moccasins, with a fur hood on her bend, her face, thrllllngly heniitiful, sot nround with (luffs of wind blown brown gold hulr. Fnrnswoi-th was too young to bu critical and too old to let his eyes deceive him. livery detiill of tho lino sketch, with Its steel blue background back-ground of sky, flushed Into his mind. Bhurp cut as u cnmeo Involuntarily he took off his hat. Alice had conio In by wny of the postern. She mounted to the roof unobserved un-observed and mudo her way to tlio ling Just ut the moment when Helm, glad nt heart to ncoept the easiest wny out of n tight plnce, nsked Onele .Inzon to lower It. Iteverley wns thinking of Alice, nnd when he looked tm h- could, scnreely realize thnt he snw her. Hut the wfiole situation wns plain the Instant sho snntched the stnff from Its plnce, for he, too, recollected wlmt she hml wild nt the river house. The memory nnd the present scene blended perfectly during tho fleeting Instn nt thnt sho wns visible. He snw that Alice was smiling somewhnt ns In her most mischievous mis-chievous moods, nnd when she Jerked the stuff from its fastening she lifted It high nnd waved It once, twice, thrice defiantly townrd the Itrltlsh lines, then fled down the ragged roof slope with It and dlsappenred. Tho vision remained re-mained In Ileverley's eyes forever afterward. aft-erward. The Kngllsh troops, thinking thnt tlte Hag was tnken down In token of surrender, broke Into a wild tumult of shouting. Onele .lazon Intuitively understood Just what Alice was doing, for he knew her nature and could rend her face. Ills blood effervesced In nn In-stunt. In-stunt. "Vive Zhoi7.li Vnslutoul Vive hi ban-nlcre ban-nlcre d'Allce Itousslllou!" he screamed, wnvlng his disreputable cap round his scnlpless bend. "Ilurrnh for George .Washington. Hurrah for Alice ltous-slllon's ltous-slllon's ilag!" It was nil over soon. Helm surrendered sur-rendered himself and lleverley with full honors. As for Uncle .Inzon, lie disappeared at the critical moment. It was not Just to his mind to be a prisoner pris-oner of war, especially under existing conditions, for Hamilton's Indian allies had some old warpath scores to settle with him tinting back to the days when he anil Simon Kenton were comrades com-rades In Kentucky. When Alice suntched the banner mid descended with It to the ground she ran swiftly out through the postern, ns she had once before done, nnd sped nlong under cover of the low bluff Of swell which, terracelike, bounded the flat "bottom" lands southward of the stockade. She kept on until she reach- She lifted It hlijh wul naval It. cd a point opposite Father Ileret's hut, to which sho then ran, the flag streaming stream-ing bravely behind her in the wind, her heart beating time to her steps. It was plainly a great surprise to Father Fa-ther Ilcrct, who looked up from his prayer when shu rushed In, making n startling clatter, the loose puncheons shaking together under her reckless feet. "Ob. father, here It Is! Hide, It; hide It, quick!" She thrust the (lug toward him. "They shnll not huve It! They shall never have It!" He opened wide his shrewd, kindly eyrs, but did not fairly comprehend her meaning. She was panting, half laughing, half crying. Her hair, wildly disheveled, hung In glorious musses over her shoulders. shoul-ders. Her face beamed triumphantly. "They are taking the fort," sho breathlessly breath-lessly added, again urging the ling upon him. "They're going in, but I got this nnd run nwny with It. Hide It, fnther; hide It, quick, quick, beforo they comet" The daring light In her eyes, the witching piny of her dimples, tho mnd-cap mnd-cap air Intensified by her attitude nnd the excitement of thu violent exerclsu Just ended, something compounded of all these mid more, tiffected tho good priest strangely. Involuntarily ho crossed himself, as If against a dangerous danger-ous chnrm. "Mou Mien, Father lteret!" she ex-clnlmed, ex-clnlmed, with Impatience. "Haven't yon u .grain of sense left 7 Tuke this ling ami hide II, I tell you! Don't stay there gnzlng and blinking. Here, quick! They paw me take It; they may be following fol-lowing me. Hurry, hide it somewhere!" Ho comprehended now, rising from his knees with a queer smile broadening broaden-ing on his face. She put the bnnner Into In-to bis bunds nnd guve him a gentle push. "Hide It. I tell you; hide It, you dear old goose!" Without speaking he turned the stair over and over in his hand until the ling was closely wrapped nround It; then, stooping, he lifted a puncheon mid with It covered tho guy roll from sight. Alice cuught him in her arms and kissed him vigorously on the cheek. Her warm lips made the spot tingle. "IVrt't you dare to let any person have it! It's tho flag of fieorge Washington." Wash-ington." She gave him n strong squeeze. He pushed her from him wllh both ltnnds nnd hnstlly crossed himself, but his eyes were Inughlng. "You ought to have seen me. I waved the ilag at them-nt tho Kngllsh-nnd ono young officer took oft bis hut to mc' Oh, Father lteret, it was like what Is in a novel. They'll get tho fort, but not tho bnnner, not the banner! I've snved It, I'vo saved It!" Her enthusiasm gavo n splendor to her countenance, heightening Its riches of color nnd somehow adding to Its nntnrnl girlish expression nn nudnclotis sweetness Thetrhimplmnt success of Ger undertaking lent tho (Ilgnlty'UT conscious power to her look, n dignity which nlwnys situ well upon a young nnd somewhat lmmnturely beautiful fnce. Fnther lteret could not resist her fervid fer-vid eloquence, nnd he could not run nwny from her or stop up Ids earn while she went on. So ho hnd to laugh when she snltl: "Ob, If you hnd seen It nil you would hnvo enjoyed It. There wns Onelo Ja-zon Ja-zon squatting behind tho llttlo swivel, nnd there were Cnptnln Helm nnd Lieu-tenant Lieu-tenant lleverley holding their burning sticks over tho big cannon rendy to shoot, nil of them so Intent thnt they didn't sis) me, and yonder canto tho English olllcer and his army against tho three. When they got close to tho gate the olllcer crletl out, 'Surrender!' nnd then Captain Helm yelled buck: 'Messed If I dot Come unother step and I'll blow you nil to hades In n second!' sec-ond!' 1 was mightily In hopes that they'd come on. I wanted to sisj a cannon ball bit that Kngllsb commander command-er right In the face, he looked so arrogant." arro-gant." Fnther lteret shook his bend nnd tried to look dlsupprovlug nnd solemn. Meantime down at the fort Hamilton was demanding the flag. He had seen Alice tuke It down nnd supposed that It was lowered olllclally anil would bo turned over to him. Now be wanted to handle It ns the best token of Ids bloodless but Importntit victory. "I didn't order the Hug down until nfter I hnd accepted your terms," said Helm, "and when my man stnrted to obey we saw a young lady snatch It and run nwny with It." "Who wns the girl?" "I do not Inform on women," Bald Helm. Hamilton smiled grimly, with it vexed look In his eyes, then turned to Cnptnln Farnsworth nnd ordered lilm to bring up M. Itousslllou, who when ho appeared still had his hands tied together. to-gether. "Tell me tho name of the young woman wo-man who curried nwny tho ling from tbe fort. You snw her; you know every ev-ery soul In this town. Who wnH It, sir?" It wns it hard question for M. Uous-Blllon Uous-Blllon to answer. Although his humiliating humili-ating captivity hnd somewhut cowed him, still bis love for Alice made It Impossible Im-possible for him to give tho information informa-tion demanded by Hamilton. He choked chok-ed nnd stammered, but llnully man-aged man-aged to say: "I assure you that I don't know I didn't look -I didn't see It was too far olT for me to I was somewhat ox-clted-1"- "Taku him away. Keep him securely secure-ly bound," said Ilnmlltou. "Conilno him. We'll seo how long It will tuke to refresh his mind. We'll puncture tho big wind ling." While this curt scene wns passing the flag of (.treat Itrltaln rose over tho fort to the lusty cheering of thu victorious victo-rious soldiers. Hamilton treated Helm nnd lleverley -with extreme courtesy. He was u soldier sol-dier gruff, unscrupulous and cruel to n degree, but he could not help admir-1 lug the during behavior of these two olllcers who hnd wrung from htm tho best terms of surrender. He gnvo them full liberty, on parole of honor not to attempt escape or to nld In any wny nn enemy uguinst him whllo they were prisoners, Nor wns It long beforo Helm's genial nnd soelnble dlsKsltIon won tlio Eug-Ushman'H Eug-Ushman'H respect nnd confidence to such an extent that the two beenmo nl-most nl-most Inseparable companions, playing curds, brewing toddles, telling stories nnd even shooting deer In the woods together, ns If they hud nlwnys been the best of friends. Hamilton did not permit his savage nllles to enter the town, nnd he Immediately Imme-diately required tbe French Inhabitants to swear alleglunco to flreut llrltnln. Which they did with apparent heartiness, hearti-ness, nil save M. Itousslllou, who was kept In close cuntlnement and bound llko a felon, dialing lugubriously nnd wenrlng the nlr of n martyr. His prls. on wns n little log pen In ono corner of the stockude, much open to tho weather, Its gaping cracks giving him n flreary view of the frozen landscnpo Ihrough which the Wubush flowed In a broad, steel gray current. Helm, who renlly liked htm, tried In vain to pro cure his release, but Hamilton was Inexorable In-exorable on account of what he regard-rd regard-rd ns duplicity in M. ItousslHoifs con-duet. con-duet. "No; I'll !.t him reflect." he said "There's nothing like a little tyranny to break up u d ease of self importance. impor-tance. He'll soon Unit out that ho has overrated himself." Continued Next Issue. |