Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-11-28

had received her conversion from an
English speaking Protestant mission
airy. She prayed with Alice, thus keep
ing in the child's mind a perfect men,
Dry Of the Lords prayer.
WELL" said Beverley at last, "you
are more of mystery to me the Ion
ger know you"
"Then must grow every day more
distasteful to you"
mo: I love mystery"
He went away feeling a new web Of
interest binding him to this inscrutable
maiden whose life seemed to him at
once so full Of idyllic happiness and so
| enshrouded in tantalizing doubt At
| the first opportunity he frankly ques-
toned NJ. Roussillon, with no helpful
| result. The big Frenchman told the
same meager story. The woman was
dying in the time of a great epidemic
which killed most of her tribe. She
gave Alice to NJ. Roussillon, but told
him not word about her ancestry or
| previous life. That was all.
A wise old man when he finds him
self in blind alley no sooner touches
the terminal wall than he faces about
| and goes back the way he came. IN
der like circumstances a young man
must needs try to batter the wall down
| with his head. In Beverley's case the
clash was profoundly disturbing. And
now he clutched the thought that Alice
| was not mere child Of the woods, but a
daughter of an old family Of cavaliers!
With coat buttoned close against the
| driving wind he strobe toward the fort
| in one of those melodramatic moods
| to which youth in all climes and times
| is subject. 1t was like slap in the
face when Captain Helm met him at
| the stockade gate and said:
"Well, sir, you are good at hiding"
"Hiding! What do you mean. Cap
tain Heinz? he demanded, not in the
mildest tone.
II mean, sir, that I've been hunting
| for you for an hour and more over the
| whole of this town. The English and
| Indians are upon us, and there's no
time for fooling. Where are all the
men?"
Beverley comprehended the situation
| in a second. Helms face was longest
| ed with excitement Some scouts had
come in with the news that Governor
| Hamilton, at the head Of 500 or 600
| four miles up the river.
| "Where are air the men?" Helm re-
peated.
Buffalo hunting, most of Them" said
Beverley.
what in thunder are they off hunt
ing buffaloes for?" ragged the excited
captain.
"You might 60 to thunder and see,"
Beverley said, and they both laughed
in sheer masculine contempt Of pre-
dicament too grave for anything but
grim mirth.
What could they do? Even Oncle ia
zon and Rene de Ronville were off with
the hunters. Helm sent for M. Rous-
sillon in the desperate hope that he
could suggest something, but he lost
his head and hustled off to hide his
money and valuables. Indeed the
French people all felt that, so far as
they were concerned, the. chief thing
was to save what they had. They well
knew that it mattered little which Of
the two masters held over them-they
must shift for themselves. In their
| hearts they were true to France and
| America; but France and America
could not now protect them against
| Hamilton, therefore it would be like
suicide to magnify patriotism or any
other sentiment Objectionable to the
English. So they acted upon M. Rous-
sillon's advice and offered no resistance
when the new army approached.
/ my poor people are not disloyal to
your flag and your cause" said good
Father Beret next morning to Captain
Helm, "but they are powerless. Win
ter is upon us. What would you have
us do? This rickety fort is not availa-
Bile for defense. The men are nearly all
far away on the plains. Isn't it the
part of prudence and common sense to
make the best of desperate situation?
Should we resist, the British and their
savage allies would destroy the town