The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-11-02

Many a time have / been at your home
when you were a little fellow"
Ppm glad to hear this" said Hugh. but
do not r~scollect ever seeing you at our
house,
mo? Well. I remember you. You were
j bright little fellow. so active and full
''You must be mistaken, sir; for I was
never able to walk till father took me to
New Orleans and had my knee operated on
BY : surgeon. ! was a helpless cripple"
"Oh. so, 80 you were. 1t was your brother
was thinking Of" #
mo. sir; there is some mistake, l assure
bou; tor / never had q brother. or q sister
bither, for that NATTER"
The preacher face flushed; but he laughed
pleasantly.
.Donbtless Pm mixed up he said; you
know I travel SO much n make SO many
hcqunintances that I get things all tumbled
together in my memory Now / was sure
hat your father had a little boy who used
10 run like a turkey"
Hugh somehow began presently to suspect
hat this alert, facile, dark-fRced man was
not just what he pretended to be-. Some
hing in his air and in the way he
ooked out of the corner of his narrow,
Btrait-cut eyes limited of the devil may
pare and the lawless. You may trust q
bright, w~ide-awaks boy to catch quickly
nature, give him, half a chance. Hugh felt
hat this young preacher had some Interior
object in his familiarity that was not quite
honorable.
Suddenly, just before nightfall, it be-
pame plain that Foster desired to decoy
him away from the right road to Bay Saint
Louis. In his earlier boyhood Hugh had
been over the road with his father, and
now when they came to a place whore it
divided, he rsooilocted the spot we'll and
knew that the left-hand trail was the direct
way; but Foster insisted that they should
take the other. This Hugh kindly but
that his companion would, on this account,
hike lenye Of him on the spot, Foster, how-
aver, aftor some discussion said:
well, we'll 20 YOU way. and when We
find that you're wrong we'll come back here
hnd take the right road"
For some reason conversation nearly
ceased between them, and they rode along
listening to the believing of the alligators
IN the disnal swamps. Denser and denser
grew tho forests. Night began to fall over
the wilderness, and there was not a sight
or aound that suggested a human habita-
ton within miles of the silent, thoughtful
travellers.
At last il grew 80 dark that they could
scarcely follow the road, which here was u
moro trail. Foster was in front, and when
he reached 4 spot where a fine spring flowed
out at the foot Of n huge gum tree he halted
AHu proponuu SnAG tNey bbOp LOT We Aikiup..
BY this time Hugh had made ny his mind
that he was to be robbed and that this 30
called person Foster wns no Other, in real
ity, than John A.. Murrell, tho famous rob
be-. This conjecture was tho very truth:
Murrell, only three days before this. had
held up' a man who had just sold ten
negroes; now he was On his way to Honey
island, and 1t was his purpose to ROB Hugh
Of his horse and money and leave him to
finish his journey to Bay Saint Louis OH
foot. III
Our young friends wntch.ul3 eyes had do
tected a brace of heavy nnd superbly
mounted pistols in the saddle bags of Fos-
ter. OF course, in those wild days O
preacher might bear arna for self defense;
but Hugh %thouRhs these pistols in some
WAY looked Ms II they had been used n good
deal. II was a disturbing thought for 4
nero boy to more than suspect that he was
far away in the woods with the boldest
and most INSCRIPTIONS outlaw that ever
lived in America, but boys wers reared tc
danger in those times, and Hugh Was au
brave ~ o lion.
John A. Murrell never killed any one II
no could avoid IL and al The same tims &C.