Show tw lime U J gap aw 0 M a b V T vf 2 rh j armor or CV y pena PAY xa avam 01 UX nsf A VIRGINIA cart sy fw HUGH clr 1925 CHAPTER XII continued 18 our conference was not lending leading us anywhere except into despondency and I 1 was rell relieved eved to witness u bustling activity down the alio creek where a group of natchez men seemed vitally interested in something the group parted and I 1 was gazing nt the grandson of strong dow tile the alumn chief the young alumn carried a long calumet let which was decorated with atio abo feathers of a white eagle ranking making it n of pence tile word bearer took the ilia pipe from him and started with it toward the cahlan of tile serpent at that moment ln la Glori glorieuse cuse came on the veene barbaric find insolent and with a glance read tile tho situation tit the ilu mas mag allies of both the french and the gulf choctaws were sending a pence pipe to the natchez the woman questioned the giuma rapidly then swiftly ran lifter after the aged word bearer noth both labrador nail I 1 were con considering gider the same questions where was damohn Dan ioan what pipe would tattooed serpent return the minutes passed and I 1 wondered what part la Glori glorieuse cuse was waa playing in lie he drama inside tho the war chiefs cabin suddenly I 1 realized I 1 wits was doing wrong to 0 o remain aloof when I 1 knew tier her indu ence would be hostile to me and labrador with a few hurried words to my iny friends I 1 rose and made ande for tile serpents cabin As I 1 reached the door do or lie he word bearer came out importantly holding before him it a natchez Nat chess white pipe behind him walked tile the woman tier her dark face lively with triumph I 1 had hoped the serpent would return a pipe ablaze with flamingo feathers the serpent from lila its couch cordially invited me to enter you send peace to the gumns who nrc are nothing but red Choc choctaws Chocta tows wB and the friends of tile french I 1 said lie ile einred nt at me thoughtfully and utter a minute calmly replied 1 I do not ask white men what pipes I 1 shall send to red men I 1 was about to send back the flamingo pipe nut but lu la glorieuse opened my eyes why send a pipe to men of my own color who wont want only peace it would be foolish it Is time enough to send them a rod red fix ax when they begin to help tho the french davorin Da morin the fox sent the aluma with tho pipe can my red brother tell me where the fox Is IR lie ile Is my enemy ile he la Is near was the evasive nn an awer 1 I ave told him lie may come in safety that was the talk I 1 sent with the pipe its he la Is word bearer for the iron iland hand I 1 reminded and the serpent i filid excellent cause to remember nien blen file and ili ahli masterful ways and his law of an eye for an eye 1 I do not rear fear the iron hand because I 1 do not fear death and yet I 1 tell the white indian that this war against tho the french la Is riot not to my liking my broth brother ar the great sun wishes it I 1 love my brother and must as war chief take the path but I 1 do not like it the chickasaws promised the grent great sun ml much cli and made him film see things in a dream the man you call the fox sends a strong tolk talk through the bilte white pipe I 1 shall have him tell it t to the grent great sun tomorrow after the woman has been burled and it if ills his talk sounds good in the oars cara of the lie great sun still there will be no war var then the war sticks will be taken back from all our villages find and from the ChIcUri saws what if icho ithe iron hand demands my head ile he cannot hare it what if he woman be sent to ile he cannot have tier her she Is your woman r con iron have the man ln labrador b not nol it was explosive then nl arost tr ost gently although there wits no gentleness in ills his art eyes ills face will wili show no fear 1 I 1 interpreted his cryptic words to menn my friend would die ns as n part of the alie funeral ceremony I 1 retired and walked slowly about the village trying to straighten out rny my thoughts before rejoining my friends influence working through the chickasaws lind had brought on of tile tho threat of war against the french it would be most important newa to carry E east ast should the natchez Nat chey back away from their bargain more insistent was tile fact that Duin clau with all 11 II ills cunning would be free twenty four hours houra to walk I 1 aruin ai annd jol tile the village and ply hla his arts on th thereat Great sun although I 1 trusted implicitly the assur assurances ancee that the girt girl and I 1 liere here safe I 1 was most anxious to get troia from the village before tile the vat sim aim could be induced to recall the mur wala ticks from the chickasaws I 1 depended appended upon aliv th batters lat friend alap for the t help mt me along my journey to the english settlements battlements and their hatred for Di onville would sorely prejudice dlce them against my french friends especially tt if he be told them the ant lez refused to break away from their allegiance with the french in returning resuming to my friends my attention was attracted to a medicine man seated before lits hla cabin lie he was busy mixing vermilion as I 1 paused to give him greeting an tho the vermilion was not for war I 1 knew it roust must be for tile the funeral ceremony who Is to wear the new red I 1 asked after n respectful silence it Is to brighten tile the face of him who may be afraid to die ills ilia face shall show no fear lie he mumbled bending low over ills task enok as aa a hint he would talk no more with me the new paint was waa intended to cover anny pallor in labradors adors dark countenance te nance it was waa a custom of tile the natchez this painting a victims face so BO that none could kaay a cowards death disgraced the noble dead the girl had fallen asleep in the warm sun labrador ans bearing nt at tier lier most worshipfully without arousing her bar I 1 hurriedly informed him of the new paint whereat lie he made a grimace gil inace I 1 told him of the natchez strong inclination to take back their war pipe from the chickasaws and bury the ax they had promised to raise up tip against the french in detail I 1 spoke of escape and announced my preference for tho the overland trip from tile the bluffs to long town ile he readily agreed we did bettor better to trust to tile the chickasaws to aund between us and any pur pursuit sult provided they were not enraged by the withdrawal of the nat checko chez to a point where they must blied white blood the start must bo be tonight he whispered whisper eol anything to save mademoiselle mal selle ali ah that fox I 1 if I 1 could only meet him whon when ills his choctow are not at his back I 1 well the good god rony may send that halapy day before this Is finished I 1 have made my plan I 1 will go into tile tho village as if to visit the serpent and pass ansa on into the for est and keep on traveling I 1 will leave my musket you and take only my ax knife and pistol they will think I 1 am k oming back so long as apu two ore are here and ana they will wili never look for me to leave unless I 1 go down the way wo we came when it Is dark you and mademoiselle take tile the 1 the young huma carried a long calumet which was waa decorated with tho the feathers of a white eagle mak ino ing it a pipe of peace trail to fort Ito stalle keep clear 0 of the fort and make the river rive r north of it t there you ill tl find ph rogues you will ili also find me file waiting for you it 1 all I 1 I 1 goes well adieu I 1 without waiting to hear my iny opt opinion nion on his planning lie laid aside ills musket and strolled into the village lie had thought it out very wisely the natchez would not suspect labrador of 0 planning to escape in the daytime dayt liue and without ills his gun CHAPTER XIII farewell to the river labrador was waiting for us above fort Ito rosalie salle and we started on our long jourvey in ili a stolen pirogue we saw nothing of damroau and his men and as the days daa I 1 began to hope lie he had abandoned tile the pursuit so 80 with no dally daily crisis to keep us alert we three subsided and dwelt within Ith ln ourselves with danger left behind I 1 had bud mademoiselle to become buoyant and more girlish to the contrary site die teemed seemed to be mora alo mature ma ture more inora thoughtful at times I 1 almost thought she regretted regi caled leaving new orleans and tier her countrymen that she olie already felt the chill calli of our t vre uro rugged northern clime and was perhaps interpreting it as aa a sym bol of the welcome awaiting her beyond the appalachians ncr her bearl bearing tig was less lesi surprising than labradors Labrador adors ls lie he was preoccupied I 1 often depressed and eldam spoke un less one of us addressed him even answering the girl ho he first had to tear ills hta mind free from some gloomy obsession instead of tho the eme excellent ellent companions we had been to each other in tile stress of danger we wore were three taciturn solemn individuals each wrapped in a blanket of introspection one night labrador left our tire fire and walked to the river bank and star stared ed out over tile writer water mademoiselle timidly asked me those english will they look on me is as a queer woman they wl vill think you a most wonderful little woman but alone with two men and dressed like a savage sav they would think you mad to travel el up this river without men to protect you or it if you wore the flimsy gowns cowna of the old country yet they will not receive roe me as an equal we have some social distinctions I 1 admitted tile the landowner naturally lives on a different piano from the landless yet there Is nothing to prevent he first from degenerating to the lowest plane or the latter from climbing into the dignity of fill an estate of course this was false as there were certain types who never would be socially received no matter how much worldly gear they might nc fie cumulate I 1 after a few minutes of silence she said monsieur that other matter you mentioned na as a way to help me you understand how impossible that would be so long as you say any go BO it Is most impossible you yon should not trouble yourself by thinking of it the river makes one forget I 1 always think of it stretching around thee the world night I 1 dreamed I 1 was dead thai the three of us its here were dead and that we must forever work our way up this ferocious stream I 1 awoke and for a bit believed we three were dead I 1 tried to remember just when we died or were killed monsieur labrador Is no longer droll lie he thinks of a woman of the indian woman who died she softly explained I 1 cried she lifted fitted tier her head and stared at me icily as a well bred woman rebukes one guilty of an incivility I 1 was blundering around in the midst of when labrador returned to the ore fire ills forehead wore a frown lie did not seem to ece us old friend you fire held by little devils I 1 said eald of what aro anro you J thinking r r 1 I was thinking of a woman mon I 1 afleur 11 the girl glanced at me in haughty i triumph labrador brador Ln twisted ills his cup cap into smaller complies compass and sadly added of the notches natchez woman bho was very fond of me ile he had no more to and my respect for the girls reasoning suddenly became exaggerated it was the last explanation of labradors Labra adors does mood I 1 would have arrived it once I 1 knew it however here was waa nothing to be gained by meditating on lt it but the girls tolerance lefere to lu my offer of inar ringe was wag an entirely different matter that contained endless endle is room for speculation ula ul tion the next day opened with rain the storm blew down the river and was very disagreeable to face as the rain blurred the vision yet I 1 was ana determined to make the bluffs that day find and once for all have done with the mississippi when we landed nt chickasaw bluffs she gave voice to a fervent thank god I 1 from now on it will be overland nol travel mademoiselle I 1 told tier her you may find it hard at first although tile the trail Is good we will go slowly until you are used to it go fasti fast I 1 go fasti fast ill she urged the farther we draw from the alie river tile the mi miserable the better I 1 shall feel wo we gained the top of the bluffs and I 1 led the way into the ilic chickie saw trail I 1 explained to the girl how we must meat follow it for more than a hundred and sixty miles to reach long town labrador as if bidding rn rowel to the river forever went to the brink of a bluff and stared gloomily I 1 at the leaden waters below I 1 sa flaw him film lift ills his hands as it if in udlea then leave the gesture unfinished find and lean forward and peer intently downstream down stream I 1 called and after a hit bit oi at hesitation lie he turned and swaggered back bach to us ug ile he sullied at the girl find gave me a look that made me examine the flint in my sun gun forty foot pirogue coming upstream filled with indians indiana I 1 think there Is one white man in it lie he told me in choctaw with a flash of hta his white teeth the alie girl was not to be deceived by lils ills cheery manner and fiercely tier eel y demanded of a what it IBI Is whore where tire ore thear there Is a canoe down river heading tills this way we dont know who la Is in it there Is nothing to fear if will put her bar best bea foot forward for a few miles we will laugh tit at them remember there Is no danger we shall be fur far up the trail before they can even land I 1 beant tills this assurance urance only in part I 1 mademoiselle at tier her best could make but slow progress not used to forest travel and long confined to the pirogue she made me groan inwardly she believed slie she was doing famously and 1 jill 4 braced along at his side and when he alre he passed her to me as the choctaws would hunt us silently not daring to proclaim their presence by their liehr usual cries of discovery I 1 expected any minute to behold them bounding from the bushes bus hs labrador too was very uneasy and wished to tire drop bad id guard tile trull trail ifould I 1 would not il 0 0 ills proposition and mut under unde r ills hla breath tic be suddenly lil ight L il idt the girl up and ran with tier her site she protested and struggled but he paid no heed she quickly quieted when saw it was useless to resist I 1 raced along at ills his side and when lie he tired lie passed tier her to me and in this fashion we ran taking turns in carrying tier her and making excellent progress I 1 believed we were beyond all danger our awakening came when the girl happened to glance back she gave n shrill scream before she had finished labrador had tier her behind a tree and I 1 was under cover on the th other bid of tile the trail I 1 could we see nothing to cause alarm what was waa it mademoiselle I 1 asked my voice betraying my impatience I 1 fear A painted face close to the ground she huskily replied and pointing 4 trembling finger at a sycamore ball bait way down our field or vision you it I 1 told her as ai she walked beside me up the trail with Ln labrador brador bringing up the re ar 1 I tell you I 1 saw it itt I 1 A horrible face with white and yellow stripes stripe running up find and down with a low exclamation that was more a burk bark than any spoken word labrador swept the girl from my side and darted with tier her into a clump of oaks I 1 did not pause to look back but followed him A long arrow silt slithered heroo against a tree within a few I 1 indies of my head as I 1 joined m ma friends TO BE BB CONTINUED |