St. Landry democrat., 1878-02-09

an instant's pause in the precipitate course
of the beast, but in that instapt the stranger
became aware ofsanother presence By the
touch Of clammy object against his hand.
Raising his head above the neck of the
charger, he saw dimly outlined upon the
waving and shimmering surface dark and
undeinable object. The next moment the
desperate plunges of the beast hau obstruct'
ed his vision, when, with the self-command
of Ole accustomed and nerved to the hard
ship of athleti sports and soldiers dan.
ger, he swung his leg over the back of his
animal and gathered himself into his sad
die.
Reaching out hand, he was about to seize
the object of his horror, when it exposed the
ghastly features of woman.
For an instant only he hesitated; then, re-"
covering from the thrill, he grasped the head
firmly by the loose, flowing, tangled mass Of
raven tresses, and raised it above the water,
upon the pommel of his saddle.
Turning his head again up stream, he re-
newed the combat with the tide. Twice it
seemed as though Iuan, woman and beast
must all succumb and twice the noble strug-
giles of the animal cheated the turgid grave
of its victims.
Finally, the hoofs once more crunched the
| firm bottom of the stream, and ten PAGES
brought the party safely to the shore.
Feeling the forehead, he found it cold the
hands were also chilled, but he thought he
felt slight futter of the pulse. Tearing
| 10 ho AGAINST
the heart and found it still warm.
His efforts to resuscitate her were soon re-
warded, and, after few moments, the woman
made an attempt to speak, which resulted,
however, only in a moaning cry.
At this point he began to look for other
assistance, when he observed light upon
the hill above the creek. Once more raising
the body to the pommel of his saddle and
mounting behind it, he sought the road.
One stepped around to receive the wom-
an, and another entered the house to pro-
cure the stimulant-
whats this Z" said the one who was
assisting the traveller in dismounting the
woman.
"Send for the nearest physician, at once
They lifted the motionless but reviying
form into the house, and deposited it upon
a sofa.
The stimulant was soon brought, and, upon
small portion OF it being administered, the
woman indicated an increased vitality by a
broken gurgle. This, after while, gave way
to clearer articulation, in which, however.
only syllables were emitted. These were in
turn succeeded by one or two sharp cries Of
pain, which gradually subsidized into moan
ing chatter of wailing, incoherent sentences
At this point the stranger, in raising his
hand to her head to brush the tangled hair
from her brow, noticed clot of blood upon
the wet skin of his finger; rubbing it off, be
found no trace of wound.
"She must be bleeding!" he calculated !;
"see if there is a cut anywhere"
An examination soon revealed CHASTITY
wound, an ugly, gaping abrasion upon the
left side of the head, above the ear, and just
behind the temple The locks were matted
over it, end the blood still oozed slowly from
its mouth.
: Pending the arrival of doctor, the stran'
ger clipped the hair from around the wound,
and, after bathing it with feminine tender
LESS, he gave the patient over to the charge
of the ladies OF the house, who were in at.
tendance.
"I presume you are the host, sir" said
he, at once, addressing the elder of the two.
"If you will be kind enough to let me have
bed, until l can rest for an hour or SO and
dry my clothing, shall resume my journey
under great obligation to you. Matters OF
| importance urge me to lose no time, and l
shall only delay until my horse can recruit
for the balance of my ride. In fact, but for
the incident of finding the unfortunate lady
in the creek, should have continued on
the road without consulting my comfort so
far"
"Will you tell me how you happened upon
the adventure, and how you account for the
lady's wound and present condition?'
The traveller gave brief account of the
events, without, however, throwing any
light upon his own identity or business.
.May ask your name, sir % inquired the
host, whom we will introduce tc the reader
as Mr.. Thornton, or Squire Thorton, as ne
was dubbed by his neighbors in honor of his
being justice of the peace.
"I beg pardon for the misconstruction
Nv name is Gaspard Durer, a short while
since soldier in the French service. Dc
YOU see anything in my appearance or any
thing else about this case which justities you
in interroga ting me officially"
"UntiI one who is found with body thai
has been murdered or dangerously assaulted
has accounted satisfactorily for bis presence
there, there is legal suspicion fixed upor
him."
, "lf / must be detained to satisfy the law
I yield to the annoyance with as little impa
tience as possible, where the officer of th'
law exercises his duties so courteously.",
After few more remarks were passed, thu
squire bade his son Eddie conduct the gen
tleman to his room and see him well FRO
. yided for the night.
After the traveller had left, the vagran
I L. hat acp1r ht1
mechanically, he seemed to resume con
yersation which had probably been inter
rupted by the strangers exit from the sta
BILE.
"'Pears'to me, now"--an expression Whicl
indicated the result of some mighty rehec
ton for his calibre -"'Pears to me as h
] amt tellin' the truth. He amt named Gas
Der Deray, because he'd a said SO fust. Pear
, to me he looks like old Raoul Dupuy, ant
CASTOR afore him; and, if amt mistaken
he's been in these parts afore."
"Who's the woman, Randy%
CT have been lookin' at her, but pears t
) me | never seen her afore-leastways, sh
don't come from about here"
"The resemblance of Durer to the Dupuy
is striking, and thought at first he was tn
4 son of CASTOR, who has been absent so long
f What think you, my son 2"
"Can't say, father, but his resemblance t
L Mr.. Dupuy at the manor would be notice
t by any one"
"Prehaps," suggested the vagrant, "he
a son of Dupuy himself, if half they brin
a from furrin parts about him is Greet; pear
. to me he must have more'n one.
"And your friend Raoul amt too good TO
> a fraud or lie," chirped the vagrant.
"We will dispense with your comment
on the characters of my friends" retorte
the squire.
a "No offence, squire, but 'spense or n