Show t an ahe wife ship h ap 0 woman U U ilk it I 1 by HUGH author of kings of the Misso missouri url pay gravel A virginia scout etc coache by br hsih P dexta ills tiia bervina 1 1 MORE mone MYSTERY traveling by br canoe cano on the be on his way to in the estly early days day of 0 the bettle of boull n willmarn Will farn brampton english spy known to indians ians and lettieri lett leri alls k the white indian sees eee a natchez natch ind indian a 1 post poat a declaration of war against t the french vor for his hi own pur purposes popes he hastens to biloxi to carry the no newa to toi french go ao governor vernor orn or brampton rampton fi most aeeti an all old eriv friend nd joe I 1 labrador ll 11 brador indian balt breed who warns warn him ItI enville has threatened threatt nod to hang him as a a spy py brampton refuses be to turn back ack he falls falli in with jules and bitable M a ator on their wily way to to secure alcure wives from a alp ship 11 the ualle bringing women from foni f oni france at biloxi nr Br ampton pro toot ti iti a woman from a ants ant brutI tIlty she tells ai 11 bilm m rho nhe lg Is claire pi picked up in a raid in parts evidently well wall bred and educated she he in I 1 it a to ta brampton I 1 lie he intervenes to prevent a man En gilAh known as old six rin kern gerl following ollow liiK her to now or lonn leonti A frenchman francois Brano ola narbonne demented by stories he ha han heard board of ahn r eh on of he 6 now new world intro 1 I ur 3 himself arouses br nr brampton ampton m p ton of treachery tren chery but the latter secures ft a respite from death by revealing tha N natchee a doclar declaration atlon of war ile he lm li to abnit the arrival ot of a former comp comparison Arilon demonn the fox who M v III exonerate or condemn him I 1 has documents docu mente proving brampton an YIn glish spy brampton received receive it a message from claire begging him to help lier reach tile the settle to 0 n is brampton trusts narbonne with a note to clair a ing to meat her at new orleans ile ho plans ills his after it struggle brampton ampton nr wrests tile papers from dmd id ow ares from biloxi lie meets the mastors and they RO go to new orleans in it a pac and lt rt at A n t the HB landing place Ilium plon joo joe whom ho he me bonda ads to bring claire to him CHAPT VI continued 8 alie throe three OrI llant brothers can f r trust thein hem two ur anre here now they are loyal to prance france was the discouraging IT 1 theia I lien there in no one I 1 anti cnn tip ap bronc h under tile the seal sea of secrecy no one monsieur I 1 must do your errand who Is tho the man you wish word taken to you anre to fand mademoiselle but just arrived from III lox no one la Is to know you yet come 6 to orid lier her you will say guy to her tile the three words vorda tile the white then leml tier her liete lashe if sv Is still inclined to RO go with tile ine A itoman from the wife ship one of those women I 1 he gron groaned fied irod of the white man annl I 1 but you will make mak 0 faces through a noose with a price on your head 1 I seq I 1 must do my own errand I 1 broke in when my friend bel believes loves evil of nie ine be does docs evil in doing my bu bausless busl nesa ue de still my friend you annoy mel inel I 1 will find this woman with the name I 1 will speak tile tho words if she Is tool fool enough to come wath me I 1 will bring her here to this bend village ll lne sh rhe will come remember the need of secrecy she had heit best wander to the lie edge of tile the settlement before you iolj lier her thero there are those who would milo folio her kven even now there Is one there here perhaps a man with two fingers gone hal the squat beast 1 lie has been to the he bayou and one francois narbonne tiel net ther lie ho nor anyone must know of the girls departure now rood good luck and much speed as art the morning must see sec us for far on our way holy saints I 1 it la Is ilke the white to break bank ills neck to help a french ench he could find no woman to help in till nil hla his ye yea araon riton the river until now very good god in his sees fit it to let monsieur play tile tool fool why should I 1 try to stop you I 1 go anil and lie had faded into tile th darkness before I 1 could give him a fitting reply of there was somi something thing of mail mad nesa neisa in my project from the cana deans s unenlightened point of view I 1 was wa reluctant to admit to myself 4 ven oven this much but after reviewing the happenings of the last few days and remembering how low few words nords I 1 had spoken to mademoiselle and how entirely ignorant I 1 was of her antice aniece denta unless I 1 retain my mi first estl diate binate based on tier her soft hands and ob bows poverty I 1 agreed tint that my old friend had cause to be di displeased ed with me but what could I 1 do after she had written that the she surely would die un less I 1 could help her make the coast T refuse because she had bad made mistakes then how many of us would mould he be licensed to ask for heir heit pass paa her by because very possibly she had been beca trail frail in ho her virtues ualle living in n ka an environment alett virtue would find it most difficult to thrive then what manito would be lenient enough s to anten to poor mortals agonizing agoni Eing pleas strumpet or virgin she ebe was n as entitled to her chance and ana I 1 would do 40 my ay bert beat for her ri in it you ou monsieur labrador anxious voice roused mii m from my though ta it to IA I 1 L where Is ID the glair girl A 4 bodi your r elbow mr Bran ipton ll 11 coroa the answer in ex excellent cellen Enil lob aud and a soft hand touched mine those men outside the cabin with lights I 1 are they looking for mer ni wo ino mademoiselle dut but lt will well we were going lead the way joe but you are traveling away rom the river monsieur I 1 she he protested dropp dropping ing back into Vr french brench ench only to back into it a few leagues above here bero if you are to come with we me you must trust to my judgment absolutely I 1 will say ay I 1 thick you ore are foolish to come but not foolish to trust to you yon monsieur she murmured murmur edL good heavens no nol 1 if you have the slightest doubt about your perfect safety with me except we fall victims to a common danger go back to your cabin at once 1 I have no doubts you tire are saving nio me from destroying myself monsieur she mile whispered and confounded me by beginning to sob betray both of us before we tire a league from tills spot I 1 worried say your prayers prayer sl 1 ke dowat do mot bething to hush your weeping weep 1 faster joel the hie good fellow quickened lila ills price pace and I 1 took the girls hand in mine and wo e fairly ran for it until we came to the hidden en canoes noes then labrador said r will go I 1 if you hear a night bird call twice you will know I 1 ilive mot met deager and then lion you must hide ly by the shore sliomo until tho the bird calls int but once inclining tho the trail Is open ag agillia illik with this he drew some 11 stance ahead and led tile the way down donn tho the bayou lii rii the ilin girl crouched low in anthe tho pirogue behind me ve lye moved slowly along the black water filter und and between lazy thrusts of the puddle I 1 tried to talk with her hy must you go to tile the settlements have you friends there 1 I lime have no friends anywhere ex except capt mat you qu be my lay friend fric iid she whispered but why to virginia or the caro linns instead of canada Ca barint rint this country it I 1 ll 11 I 1 terr terrible abl e monsieur she rely evasively you did not tell de that you were picked up in a dyald raid I 1 thought sho she did not intend to nn but after a long pause the she slowly sald said what would be the good an and now she was speaking english with only the faintest of accent I 1 begun began to believe she was bilingual and used either cither tongue without being con of shifting hut if you ou could prove to big excellency 1 I can broye nothing she bhe i i abely hissed 1 I have told you I 1 have no ino friends shout the name of dalila guarde gaarde from one end of prance france to the he other and none would be interested ested pardon no one except your people 1 I nm am alone an an bt orphan hut but your friends at least those with whom you worked my bly voice olce became confused I 1 felt her h or soft hand band rest tor for a moment on tay my hand as I 1 held the paddle motionless no lt it Is not he hand of a girl who has worked I 1 sorrowfully admitted with a jeering little laugh she said Alons monsieur leur brampton would prefer doing good deed for the good you are re in trouble I 1 wish you well for your own sake I 1 will help you it I 1 can dut but one cannot help without wishing to know something I 1 1 could help you more intelligently if I 1 could understand something of the nature of your trouble ib there Is nothing to learn 1 I came over on the immigrant ship I 1 am claire as homeless and friendless as it if I 1 had dropped from another planet tell we me this did you protest when the police seized you and bundled you aboard the malre she astounded mo me by sadly confessing 11 1 I wanted to come I 1 lied when I 1 told you I 1 was waa taken in a raid I 1 went alone to the ship just juht before it was to sall sail and asked to be taken good heavens I 1 if you only bid had known 1 I should do exactly tile tho same if it were to be lived through again tomorrow monsieur you must either set get me ashore to make my own way or accept roe me as you find we me nameless friendless a walf wait wily why nameless when she was claere Dahis gaarde I 1 asked myself but I 1 did not ask her 1 I will not think evil of you yon I 1 wrote you from when it was doubtful it I 1 could even save myself that I 1 would take you to the seaboard I 1 only hope your troubles will end when you get there that was nicely said bald she ma murmured pausing between the words as it if fighting to control herself her solf if we get to the english towns I 1 will w ili fand thim tome some work I 1 will be a t arty bindi I 1 thought of her soft oft handal hands I 1 al air ready appreciated the refinement of 0 her manner idof I 1 did not beelike belike her troubles would be etlee when ab the e reached andi and ilie bhe would vituld be forced faced to make her oava own way our servants er vanti were supplied from the blacks or ot neer do wells chipped to the from england an aa ft a air servant a nj she must in abide with her bell class claps abd her very softness and her mental make mak her fier an object of seem among her notes mates between dips of the paddle I 1 wondered it if she ais would not have fared better to have remained in tho the valley valle yand a nd accepted a husband from among the women hungry this alternative was abhorrent to we me almost as boon as I 1 had considered it I 1 had bad told myself on the sands mands at biloxi that slie she was entitled to her chance and certainly a lonely y cabin in some miserable lagoon with a shaggy creature who lacked even the stability of on an indian hunter for a mate constituted no chance yet tor for the life of me I 1 could see only a squalid an bok for tier ber did we win across the eastern mountains the whole business discouraged analysts analysis and when labrador gave gate his bighill from the darkness ahead find and repeated it I 1 found my mental reaction to be refreshing it meant danger but that was bhore more or less tangible with a thrust of tb the e paddle I 1 land the pirogue snugly under the willows and wits was nang my passenger to bo be very quiet tonnerre Tonn Ton nerre errel I 1 dut but who tire are you to treat me ino like tills this loudly demanded labradors adors voice take your dirty hands frow from my face to see bee it you know me arid and who the black devil are you 7 this time I 1 heard the murmur of a and labrador called out no more the peril was obvious again I 1 warned the girl to make no sound we were kneeling on tile ground and my mv hand hancq held the pl from rustling firstling against the roods reeds if the newcomers passed gassed close enough to agitate it with their paddle kiracs stroH ca now the they Y were sending little ripples 1 into the swamp gross grass and by ear car alone I 1 told when the first craft passed ou D position from tile the number of paddles I 1 judged it to be a long pirogue pl rogue now it was above us and I 1 was preparing to embark when there came a sound of other paddles two of them when directly opposite me a man spoke and had I 1 ia my musket by my side I 1 should kave have been tempted to shoot at him through the dir darkness kness for ther ewas ho he mistaking the voice of damean the pox fox CHAPTER VII up thelver so bo wi the chase had turned from east to west and the fox was hot on my trail I 1 thanked my medicine I 1 had lost no time in meeting the girl until the fox could reach new orleans and make sure IW ians jas not hiding there the pursuit would bo be indirect taking the girl by tile the arm I 1 assisted her into the pirogue and pushed oft off we barely more than drifted with the sluggish current until I 1 heard lie he soft dip of a paddle ahead then I 1 allowed my own blade to betray me ind and labradors adors voice was colling calling good evening Blessi messieurs eurs it Is lo 10 I 1 I 1 whispered as the pirogue grated against tola his canoe 1 I saw them them and him I 1 lie ile held a pistol to tiny my throat while lie he pawed over my face nee with his dirty paw to see if it was wait you but my talk satisfied him I 1 knew nothing lie ile goes boes to la in nouvelle orleans lie ile thinks I 1 am there did he say anything to show how sure he Is nothing except to tell ills his piro pirogue gue choctaws Chocta wg that the trail would be picked tip up when they left the bayou Il hell lell find no trail I 1 said e find a woman Is missing and there will be some borne signs left lefar declared joe now using the choctow trade jargon that the girl might not understand rut but I 1 did not fear any such results there was as nothing knownly known la new orleans to connett connect me with the girls disappearance the settlers would testify ahat hat the girt girl was very sod and that sh she stepped out of a cabin aud and did not return it would be believed that she had wandered away mid fallen into the lie river or become lost As for find finding lilg any signs of our passing to and from the indian village the bances chances were his bis choctaws Choc tawa would destroy any traces in tracking back handforth and forth during the night hut but the long river road was the logical one for an escaping english spy to take once it was known he had riot not made for pensacola and I 1 believed the fox would make haste to cut me off from gaining the mouth of the ohio the close air of the bayou bayon was being freshened by a breeze from the lake it was like emerging from a he hot tunnel labrador labradors Lab adors canoe slithered among the brakes and came to a stop and as aa I 1 drew abreast of him he announce dl ill 41 1 return to la nouvelle Orlea oj my frie niter V i in the choctaw jar jarzob lie he added IV U they go north I 1 shall trail tran them they will go north I 1 assured him witia with that departed we parted be jo to paddle up it fi a istrol while alil into 09 lall whatever bangert dan gert rate kite bad bid stored op for ds n once once yrea es quit the for or 3 p L y 1 I could dot let e t used to mademoiselle if she bad impressed me as a being slight light and trail frail of physique on ship island bland she he now seemed little more than a child for she had followed my advice and md bad shifted from her funereal I real black gown to a garb wore boore suitable for rough travel Iad larj crone she be lad purchased sam boot leggings a short skirt of fiber bark stained white and red etl the 06 i colors colora of the and completed her attire with a |