Monmouth weekly herald. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1854-1860, 1858-05-13

amen Ill INV AiSiC - $500
bank Won. Mr.. Fairfax, in behalf Of my fai
There will, perhaps" he purr
,ued. F" be no great danger, so long as you
seep in the current; but your watch must
,ot be neglected for a single moment, either
nieht or day .sSxd 90 not, | most solemnly
,harae and warn yon. upder any circum
or GU any pretence whatsoever, suf-
for Yourselves To be decoyed to either shore!'
II hone We understand onr duty better,
CnloneI said one Of tie men, respectfully.
!" doubt it not, replied the commander
Of the Point; IL believe you are all faithful
and true men. or you would not have been
nv the agent Of Colonel Bertrand,
for taking down more precious freight than
YOU ever carried before bat still the wlsesl
and best of men have lost their lives by CIV
ing ear to the most earnest appeals OF M
mnnifv. You understand what | mean?
white men, apparently in the greatest dis
tress. will hail your boat, represent them
selves as having just escaped from the lndi
ans. and beg Of you, for the love OF God, in
he most piteous tones, to come to their re-
lief. but turn a deaf ear to them-to each
and all of them-even should you know the
pleaders tie be of your own kin; for in such
a case YOUR W brother might deceive you
wilfully and voluntarily perhaps-but
because of being goaded on by the savages,
themselves coAeealed. Yes, such things have
been known al one friend being thus used to
lure akiotgA DESTRUCTION; and so be
cautious, vfHgilaMt, brave and true, and may
the good God keep you all from HARM
AS he finished speaking, Blanche proceeded
to take an affectionate leave of all, receiving
many a tender message for her parents from
those who heldthem in love and generation;
and the boat swung out, and began to float
down with the current, now fairly entered
upon the most dangerous portion of a long
and ~perilous journey.
The father of Blanche, Colonel Philip
Bertrand, was a native Of Virginia, and a
descendant Of one of the Huguenot refugees,
who had fed from their native land after the
revocation Of the edict Of Nantz in 1865
He had been an officer Of som note during
the Revolution-a warm political and per
sonal friend of the author of the Declaration
of Independence-and a gentleman who had
always stood high in the esteem Of his asso-
ciates and contemporaries.
Though at one time a man of wealth, Col
Bertrand had lost much, and suffered much,
through British invasion and when, shortly
after the close Of the war, he had met with
a few more serious reyerses, he had been fain
to accept a grant Of land, near the Falls of
the Ohie, now Louisville, rendered him by
Virginia, which then held jurisdiction over
the entire territory now constituting the State
of Kentucky.
The grant had decided the Colonel upon
seeking his new possessions and building up
a new home in the then Far West, and as
his wife had insisted upon accompanying him
on his first tour, he had assented to her de-
sire, on condition that Blanche should be left
among her friends, till such time as a place
could be prepared which might i. some de
gree be considered a fit abode for one sc
carefully and tenderly reared
Blanche would gladly have gone with hel
parents but on this point her father ha(
been MISUNDERSTANDING that she would
have to remain at the East till he should see
proper to send for her and as he was a mar
of positive character, and a rigid discipline
rian, the matter had been settled withou.
argument,
W ISn@OSt 0SSl II tAlR lNtl4SsN 4 ~ Nlt fFESl
eEugeAe lai&saxlas We have seen, accontpa
MED him and coming Of age shortly after
be had accepted the liberal offer of his noble
benefactor, to remain with him in the capa
city of private secretary and confidential
agent. On taking possession of his grant, the
Colonel had almost Immediately erected
fort, and offered such inducements to settlers
as to speedily collect around him quitea little
community-of which, as a matter of course
he became the head and chief; and to supply
the wants Of his own family and others. and
increase his gains in a legitimate way, he had
opened d store, and filled it with goods from
the Eastern marts, which goods were irons
ported by land over the mountains to the
Kanawha, and thence by water 10 the Falls
of the Ohio, whence their removal to Fort
Bertrand became an easy matter. To pur-
chase and ship these goods, and deliver a
package Of letters to friends in the East,
Eugene had been thrice despatched-his
third commission also extending TO the es-
corting Of the beautiful heiress, with her ser
wants, to ker'neN~home. This last commits
sion had been so far executed at the time
chosen for the opening OF cur story, as to
bring the different parties to the mouth of
the great Kauawha, whence the reader has
seen them slowly floating off upon the still,
CLASSY bosom of " the belle of rivers
The day, which was an suspicious one,
passed without anything worthy Of note oe-
curing, until near four o'clock, when, as
Blanche was standing on the fore part Of the
deck gazing at the lovely scene which sur
rounded her, she saw a seemingly flying body
suddenly leave a limb Of a gigantic tree,
(whose mighty branches extended far over
the river, and near which the boat was then
swayed by the action of the CURRENT and
alight with a crash upon the deck of the boat,
not more than eight feet from her. One
glance suficed to show her what the object
was, and to freeze the blood in her VEINS
The glowing eyes Of a huge panther met her
gaze. The suddenness Of the shock which
this discovery gave her was overpoWering.
With a deafening Shrek she fell upon her
knees and, clasped her hands before her
breast. sThS aarcrouched for his deadly
leap, but ere he sprang, the hunting knife of
Eugene Fairfax (Yho, with the steersman,
was the only person on deck besides Blanche),
was buried to the hilt in his side, infiicting a
severe but not a fatal wound. The Infatuated
beast at once turned upon Eugene, and q
deadly struggle ensued. Bnt it was a short
ore. The polished blade Of the knife played
back and forth like lightning flashes, and at
every plunge it was buried to the hilt in the
panther's body, who soon fell to the deck,
dragging the dauntless Eugene with him
On seeing her protector fall, Blanche uttered
a Shrek and rushed to his aid; but assistance
from stouter arms was at hand. The boatmen
gathered around, and the savage monster was
literally hacked to pieces with their knives