Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1904-04-06


with terror and foamed at the mouth.
He stampeded the entire mass. There
was n wild howl. rush in the other
direction followed, and soon enough
the esplanade and all the space back to
the barricades and beyond were quite
deserted.
Alice was not aware that a serious
accident had happened. Naturally she
thought the great, rafting. crashing
noise of the explosion a mere part Of
the spectacular show. When the rush
followed, separating her and Beverley.
it was great relief to her in some
way. for a sudden recognition of the
boldness Of her action in the little scene
just ended came over her and Devil
dered her. An impulse sent her run
ming away from the spot where. it
derision The terrible noises all around
her were. she now fancied. but the
jeering and hooting of rude men who
had seen her unmaidenly forwarlness
With burning face she flew to the
postern and slipped out, once more talk
ing the course which had become so ia
miliar to her feet. She did not slacken
her speed until she reached the Hour-
cier cabin, where she had made her
home since the night when Hamlton's
pistol ball struck her. The little domi-
cile was quite empty of it's household,
but Alice entered and flung herself into
a chair, where she sat quiyerng and
breathless when Adrienne, also much
excited, came in, preceded by stream
Of patois that sparkled continuously.
''The fort is blown up'' she cried,
gesticulating in every direction at once,
her petite figure comically dilatcd with
the Importance of her statement a
hundred men are killed, and the pow
der is on tirer'
She pounced into Alice's arms, still
talking as fast as her tongue could vi
brate, changing from subject to sub
ject without rhyme or reason, her pratt
tie making its way by skips and SHES
until what was really uppermoSt in her
sweet little heart disclosed itself.
"And, 0 Alice, Rene has not come
YETI
She plunged her dusky face between
Alice's cheek and shoulder Alice hug
ged her sympathetically and said:
but Rene will come, | know he WILL
dear"
"Oh. but do you know it? Is it true?
Who told you? When will he come?
Where is he? Tell me about him.
Her head popped up from her friends
neck and she smiled brilliantly through
the tears that were still sparkling on
her long black lashes
Il didn't mean that had heard from
him, and l don't know where he is
But-but they always come back"
"You say that because your man-be-
cause Lieutenant Beverley has return
ed. 1t is always so. You have every
thing to make you happy, While I-I"-
Again her eyes spilled their shower
and she hid her face in her hands.
which Alice tried in vain to remove.
Don't cry, Adrienne. You didn't see
me crying
mo. of course not; you didn't have a
thing to cry about. Lieutenant Bev-
and just WHAT
But think, Adrienne, only. think Of
the awful story they told-that he was
killed. that Governor Hamilton had
paid Long Hair for killing him and
bringing back his scalp! Oh, dear, just
think! And thought it was true''
WELL Id be willing to think and be-
lieve anything in the world if Rene
would come back" said Adrienne, her
face, now uncovered, showing pitiful
lines Of suffering. "Oh, Alice, Alice,
and he never never will Gomez
Alice exhausted every device to cheer,
encourage and comfort her Adrienne
had been so good to her when she lay
recovering from the shock OF Hamil-
toms pistol bullet, which, although it
came near killing her. made no serious
wound-on]y bruise, in fact 1t was
one Of those fortunate accidents or
providentially ordered intcrferences
which once in awhile save life. The
stone disk worn by Alice CHANGED to lie
exactly in the missiles way, and,
while it was not broken, the ball, al
ready somewhat checked by passing
through several folds Of Father Beret's
garments. tlattened itself upon it with
shock which somehow struck Alice
senseless.
Here, again, history in the form of
an ancient family document "a letter
written in 1921 by Alice HERSELF gives
us the curious brace of incidents-to
w.t. the breaking Of the miniature on
Beverley's breast by British musket
ball and the stopping of Hamiltons