Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-07-17
blue gums gum and hall covered with cree,

blue gums, andhal covered with creep
ers and tropical flowers. After that
we saw little Of the so well known
/ Marie La Cour. Occasionally, st long
intervals, they would invite a few
bachelor friends myself included ito
witness their bliss, and on such even
ings the great bull frogs which invaded
the garden OF the CASTS, az their place
was rightly named, would hush their
vile croaking as sylvester swife thrilled
forth some gay hansonette to the ac-
compartment Of the Bro atwood which
Dirk specially imported for her from
Europe; or sometimes the happy pair
| would ride over to . picnic on the
banks of the meandering Mod der river,
and Mrs. Sylvester would deign to as
tonish us with the feats of markslnan-
ship which shewould accomplish with
the pretty revolver-iyoryh handled and
chased with gold-which Dirk had
| given her. r....;..sf .'@--. j.
One night as Istrolled into the Albert
saloon for a game of billiards, I found
a hiot Of diggers gathered around a
new ARRIVAL Handsome little French
mas, who had come to the. Fields to
look after some claims in which a Pari-
sian firm had invested. Hewas laugh
ing conceitedly, and stroking his care
fully waxed imperial with self-satis-
fed air, when Dirk came in, and was
Immediately hailed by aman who was
no friend OF his--the manager of some
ground which was always tu1nbling in
| RI olo l., -
gear. @-6s =. -.
did not hear exactly what he said,
but my attention was suddenly arrest
ed by seeing Dirk make bound at the
| F'renchman, and seize him by the
throat, while his eyes fairly blazed with
passion. The F'renchman tried to elude
his grasp, but in a moment Dirk had
dashed lim to the floor and was stand
ing over him, raging with fury.
"You miserable liar and scoundrel,"
he said, 'sif ever hear ofyou mention
ing my vife's name again, kill you!"
Then hestrode out OF the saloon.
A silence fell on the company stand
ing around the fallen Frenchman, and
as he staggered to his feet and skunk
away into a side room, where the rat
tie Of dice went on all day long and far
into the night, no one found so much
as g. word to throw after him.
! l met Dick on several occasions af-
ter this curious episode, but, as if by
mutual consent, we avoided the sub
ject. One night, however, when the
moon WIS sailing ma estically over
head and lighting up the dusty road
between the Pan and Kimberley with
81 food o. lambert light, Twas riding
slowly into camp when I heard the
pattering Of a horse behind me, and
turning in ,he saddle confronted Dirk.
He was a9tated and angry, and with
out a word Of greeting plunged into the
subject uppermost in his mind.
do youknow, old fellow" he said.
GIVE justsIbeen told by a. digger at
Hallis's that /. that rascally little
F'renchmaT has been repeating his lies
about being intimate with my wife in
Paris befors shescame out. here. Not
only that, but he says he has a minia-
ture of herwhich she gave him, set in
gold. The lnmitigated liar! If | find
time I shall canter over to his cabin
the other side Of the mine to might, and
if he can't produce that souvenir it
will be hand for him. II he does, it
won't be in his possession long
| ''Don't do thing rash, Dirk" I
said. Remember, there is another to
think OF beside yourself.'s i.
'That's what it. is that bothers me,
old fellow lie replied; and then, rein
ing in his horses, and jogging along by
my side, he told me his trouble 1t
appears tina, his wife denied any
intimacy with the, Frenchman, but
stated that aer' father tried TO force
his attention, on her in the old days
when he was a half-starved ballet mas
ter, and sheiastruggling aspirant at a
Paris THEATRE The, miniature. was a
new feature inthestory, and Dirk firm
| ly believed it to- be q myth, but was
bent on fndingoutswhether it was so
After awhile lie grew calmer, and
paid more attention. to my entreaties
to him to proceed with caution.
On parting hsshook me by the hand,
and his last words, shouted to me as
he galloped of at the turning for the
! Oasis, were s'.:.
II shan't trouble the little French
man tonight, but let him keep out OF
my way" " r." "a: fs:.S:. ..,
The next mornng,th body of Jules
Lacroix was found lying on the floor
of his cabin with an ugly hole in the
left temple. In one hand he grasped
tightly part of a1goH chain, and the
swivel of a miniature. There was the
fresh spoor of a horsenot far from the
door, and the bullet found in the brain
fitted Dirk's revolver TO a nicely.
1t was not longbefore Dirk was in
custody, and the case looked black
against him. His threat to shoot the
FrenchmaHwas we'll remembered; his
excited demeanor in Hallis's bar at
the Pan, when the news OF the French
man s reiterated assertion of a. former
intimacy with his wife was brought to
him, was commented upon, and the
circumstantial evidence was strong. ~
AS for Dirk himself, heutterly denied
! going near the F'renchman's cabin on
! The night ofthe murder, and he &C.
counted for the fact that he did not
reach home for nearly an hour after
4 having me by saying that, feeling hot
Land excited, he went for q scamper
fover the veldt, and the beauty OF the
moonlit night caused him to stay out
longer than he intended!s 49, +
! He pressed met tell all I knew about
the matter, and / reluctantly did SO,
making the most ofshis expressed de
termination on leaving me not to visit
the Frenchman thateyening. a
The trial dragged On until latein the
night, and at II o'clock the juryrame
into the court with a verdict OF
"Guilty." - d i A. .-..
! Ishall never forget the look Of mute
| agony. on his wife face; as Dirk stood