Show 7 J THE R I 1 C E 9 1 OR THE CAUSE OF oy by EMERSON HOUGH copyright 1910 by einerson houge 01 V continued d SYNOPSIS josephine Josept tine countess st auban from froin washington by captain carlisle actins acting on government order Is with him on nil an ohio river stearn boat they aro are approached pro pron ached ched by barville wai War ville dunwody a mis mia sonol aate so senator the countess ui lp a note asks dunwody for aid she la Is posing as carlisles secret secretary detary ry carlisle plays cards with dunwody and others and loses ahti ilie two I 1 wo men inen play cards for custody of dunwody wins and carlisle loaves leaves tho boat Dun dunwody Nody confronts confront jose f the missourian infatuated with josephine declares lie he will take her to hla his home against tier liel will the boat Is boarded by a party of recaptured captured le slaves owned hy by judge clayton a passenger it lity lay somewhat remote 1 ironi tho the nearest city of consequence in II a region anvil tile wide acres of tile the owner awil el blended unused sed uncultivated 1 with vi th those still more inore wild as yet unclaimed under tiny private title yet in in assuredness su redness it might elt 1 1 have rivaled many ortho bf the old estates estat ds of IZen tucky tile the C carolinas or virinia vir inia so much did the ells custom rt till of older follow tbell better bred out oni ill inlo rolon it wi j j a days ridd to it courthouse two days to 11 i live henrs to get got geta a lostorto lot torto or broin the occasional bost oat the plantation itself wits a little idil doin find it ecly supplied its jovn awn wants mills dooni j all these wore vere purt part of the careless car clesa sy system sten la easy v abild plit chivil found support and galaid liin d roganue iii from n 1 I rich rk li ani gen boils brotis roils environment tho the old house it seir if it inight be 10 called old built billit as 18 it lud hatt been bearce thirty years before lily in ill tilt contor 1011 ter of a valley it at the cd of the hills the site hito waa choson 11 oll for foi its healthful liess and anlu 1 if beauty the road up tilt flip lower bourks froll tile the great mississippi mii pl shiell entered alon aloner flit ho bel bed or of tho little alro iiii ended at TaH Tal woods lwoods aarm beyond Itt yond it alon itliong the little river biver led bark back into tile re it wit war no ito moio inore than it a fioro inath hid liged 1 except axi li bylle ly lifa groes wi ry whites in hunting expedit expeditions lons back 1110 tho the illas whore the leer doer tile tho wild turkey tur keythe alie beat bear and the panther still roamed led in ill considerable numbers lit at lit no great reat distance from the home plantation plautila plau tilt foil corn swine all and cotton these made tile the wealth of the owner of Tal lwoods plantation and of the richer lands landa in ill hilj lie river bottoms bot tonis below these products brought tilt the owner ovner all the wealth lie needed here like ord lord master of all ariit him lie he had lived nil 1111 ills life lif and ni biad III as jo do till all created beings belil s taken on oil tile tho color lind and the savor of environment III about it him illch lie was iodeious ione ious stroll aprong L lie was merciful fill lie he N was ati arro galit used to ills own way lie was avas 1101 00 and cruel when crossed in ili eliat tit at way if 11 in ili Tali woods tile the owner 1111 might ailt do its as lie billed certainly lie had elected farst or of ili all to live somewhat its u 1 a I gentleman aleman the masslon mau slon house wits was modeled after ali tho somewhat stereotyped pattern of tho great country try places or of tle he Soll south tl originally planned led lo 10 con coll hist of the alie one olle lai 1111 ta oo 00 ge central edifice of a wing on well each side of I 1 U t had n yer abe b 1 e entirely I 1 1 t I 1 16 1 16 tol il ill only having been fill tho naji i f port loll of the house was of two sto rles gilem its immediate front by the inevitable facade with its tour four willbe pillars which rose roge from tile I 1 oa 01 bovo I 1 of I 1 alio llio lie ground to tilt the edge of tile tho roof shading the 1 front entrance to the middle rooms under this tall gallery rotor roof whose front showed high white alad striking all across tho the valley lay four windows s and tit at baeli side of the great donalo doors lay yet another two Ivin windows dows on oil either side of tile the pillars and lit in each story yet other two ad 1 I knitted alt od light to the great rooms and in the completed whig willell which lay 1111 nt lit ono one side aldo of the main building buil din deep deel i embrasures embra camo came down almost to the I 1 j level oi of tho ground well hidden aidlen by the grouped 11 shrubbery which grow graw k cose close to the walls the visitor approaching up hie file straight L gravel ravel walk might 11 not have noticed tile the heavy iron bars bals which covered these giving the wace place something the look of a jail or a fortress tradition tradition had it that the renson reason the building had never bee been n completed wits was that the old master would have been obliged lei to cut down a favorite elm in order to make room for it and lie ho fiad declared that since elul a ills his wife 1 had died aled bild till all ills his children bu but I 1 on one had follo followed wot I 1 her tile the house hous I 1 was Is large enough an 11 s it was wa S j straight through the mid body of tho the hou soran a w wide ide hill hall to the alie left beyond botond the existing wing win 1 lay the fenced vegetable gardens where grow grew rankly all manner alier of proven provender ler intended for the bounteous table whose I 1 boast IL etwas avas that stive save for sugar and coffee tothill no nothing thill 11 1 1 was used tit at which was not grown upon tipon its grounds it might ht hivo have ideen called matter of course that barville War ville dunwody should he be chosed to tile state legislature le gi slature so chosen lie had through sheer force of illi hit hi t comman dim IX na nature natura easily become a 1 I leader among won men inen not without strength and indi individuality vidu allty a self con coil tolled wali man who never lucked money ay wito who never lacked wit whose hand liandi ivas heavy whose tongue was keen whoso choso w was strong tro i aud and whose burse V wils was over open tile the state which lind produced a ben 1 ton was now building up a rival to benton eliat giant 1 11 alit then rounding out a history of thirty years continuous S service 01 vice in ill the senate of the united states unlike the men of this weaker lay day reserved the right to ills own honest and personal political belief lie ile steadily refused to counte countenance fiance the extending tending of slavery although h himself a holder of slaves and although lio lia ad bitted me legality and constitutional ity of tile the fai fugitive slave act he deplored that let act as much as any I 1 perhaps thirty or forty slaves were employed about Tal lwoods home hoine farm as it was called idle and shiftless rel relying ylli I 1 r on oil the frequent absence of the master and the ease of ga gaining illing ft a living livine ing 4 they worked no more than was necessary to keep up a semblance of routine but now another and most important matter for our note there was no comans womans s liand at Tal lwoods the care was that of servants of slaves when I 1 things 21 grew insupportable in ili their s shiftlessness the int master ister lashed out an all order and got what lie he demanded then soon matters sank back again to their old state CHAPTER VI free and thrall ir was to the remote and somewhat shi singular gular surroundings of tall woods house in missouri that thero approached on the evening of a bland autumn day along the winding road which followed the little stream tho great coach of the nit master ister of Tal lwoods drawn by four blooded carriage horses weary mud stal stained nelt anil and flecked with forim dunwody hini himself self sprang flown down from the drivers sent seat where lie he had boon been riding in ili order to give the occupants of the coach the myro inure room lie ile approached the window hat in hand my war har lady indy said lie tills this is the oil end or of our mir journey yonder is my home will you not look lit at it it was 11 pale and baill which greeted him hill the face of a wo woman un R 11 following page weary and even now hi tears dasti ly she sought to conceal evl loners of her distress it was the first time live he ind had seen her weeping hitherto lier her courage had kept her cold and def defiant lant else liot hot tind and full of re proofs tills this spectacle gave him concern his face took on oil it a troubled frown come now do not weep my dear garl irl anything but that 11 what thon then Is it you would say she lie demanded it makes little difference to me where you tire are taking me ile he threw open the coach door aud and extend etl a hand to ald aid her lit in alighting suppose we walk up from here lie he said paid 1 I know you tire are tired by the ride besides lie added with pride 1 I want to show you Tall Tal wooda lwoods 11 scarce touching his hand halid she stepped down dunwody motioned to tile the fief driver ver to advance and lit in spite of th the protests of tile maid joanne jeanne thus thua left I 1 alone bilone within the coach rolled on up the driveway ahead of them it was in fact a beautiful prospect which lily lay before the travelers thus thua arrived the sun suit was low lit in tile the west approaching the rim of the hilly hills and its level rays lighted tile the autumn foliage crossed tho groat great trees and brightened the tall white pillars the en folding forests gave it a look of protect i etin edneau ess to this secret place they left it a feeling not of discomfort but of shelter to a woman distracted and Nv wearied earled it should have offered some sort of rest to tier her who now gazed garni upon it the sight afforded only horror tills this then was the place here was to le be her trial this was MIK the lit tie ground the hills halh are beautiful the trees are beautiful and the sky slie she suid sold nt t leng length what und ini hu flone done here la is beautiful nut hut god si iti Is gone rage flage llred tilled hini him suddenly at any ally rate tills this is what I 1 have and till all I 1 have 11 he said like it II woman or hate it here you tire are and here you stay until until I 1 dle die ov or until god returns you are tit the only woman in it forme when yon step into that house there you tire are its mistress I 1 rulo rule liere here but what you want shall bo be yours tit at any lime alino you want it you can all think of nothing lit in the world that shall not bo be brought 7 to you when you ask for it my servants tire are yours choose from hem its as many it as you like slaves for your slave you arc full of kindness indeed but I 1 shall never be what you delicately call the alie mistress of Tal lwoods im going to have you its you or nothing for me antl im going to have you chloi your own title here then madani madam tills this is in your home or your prison soll as you like for it a moment Josep josephine liine paused looking around her ber lit at the surrounding hills he seemed to catch her thought and smiled sit at her twenty miles to the nearest that way andam none tit at all that other way every path known awl guarded by my people no paths at t all 1111 in these lulls hills out yonder wild aall animals in them little food lit in them for nian man or woman not lot used to living A wild you would be 10 helpless liol pless in one olle illy day if you tried to got out wed tind you before gone live miles dont attempt illy any foolishness about trying 0 o escape front from here yol youre lre mine mille I 1 say 1 I shall not let you go yet in ill spite of his savagery lils ills face sort softened enoa in the next moment if it could only oe de in the right way look lok at tile me look tit at you youre tio so very beautiful im so strong there is only one right way about it IL oil oh woman but cornel I 1 hate myself as much a as you hate me but its your fault your fault that you are us as you are that you set nie me mad lets try to forget it for tonight at least yol youre tired ed worn out im almost tired myself w with ith all this war between us slit she was silent its as they slowly aly advanced vill iced silent its as a prisoner facing pl prison noll doors boons but lie still went on oil arguing think of what you could 10 lo do 1 hero ter 01 liow how happy we could be here think of jit wo we could do together there ne re la 11 t illig I 1 try to do why I 1 I 1 i ho he approached the window hat in H hand a n d could do anything and id bring ereie thing I 1 sot got everything back to you ellid set it down at your feet and say 11 1 I brought you tills 1 what would I 1 care for it alone what does it mean to me what glory or success 4 do I 1 want without you what does docs all this world all my life mean to tile me after this I 1 know long ngo ago I 1 be happy but I 1 know why I 1 know now what I 1 wanted till all along 1 I 1 can call do something in the world I 1 can succeed I 1 can be somebody pow and now I 1 want to I 1 want to why I 1 an see it plainly enough now nil all straight out ahead of me ine all till tit straight raight ahead of us two kwof liow how ako it a you vou are she said slowly you ceic seak your own success although nf af though your path lies iles over it wp comans womans disgrace an and ruin I lavent you 3 ever thought of the other side of this at all cant it a woman ever tiling think of mercy marcy to a nian man cant she ever blame herself just juat for being ave for being behig the incarnate temptation that thal she la Is to any real nian man I 1 reckon its ruin for both of us yes it Is IH for both no ill not admit it lie he blazed out if ive been beell strong enough to pull you down im ill strong enough to carry you up again only dunt force the worst part aart of me to the he front till all the time A gentle wooer indeed and yet you blame blaine tile me eliat I 1 cannot see a maus mans tilde side in ill al a case like this hut but why should at a man see any but n R mans Is side of if W things dont go by reason after till all the world goes I 1 reckon because there Is a mans side to it Ally anyhow how I 1 am na as I 1 am whatever you do here whatever you are dont try to wheedle nn me nor ask me to see bour our side when there is only one side to this if tiny any nian man ever lifted hand or dr eye to you id L kill 1111 him ill riot not give up one jot of the right ive pot got in you little us as it Is ive taken tile the right to hold you here and talk to you I 1 rule here over free and thrall with rude strength and pride ho he swept nil an arm widely around him covering half the circle of the valley it is mine he said slowly fit for A a king it yes tit for a queen it is almost tit ot for you and now the chill of autumn lay in the twilight night was coming the time when nil all creatures save ravening ng night feeders feel apprehension crave shelter search out a haven for repose this woman was alone and weary much in need of some place to rest tier her lend head every liber fiber in her heart craved shelter comfort security protection dunwody Duin vody turned offered her a hand nil and led her bet to tho the wide vide double doors tobe to be continued |