Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1904-03-18

yonder in perfect safety while you
shoot the Indian. Shame on you. Colo
mel Clark! Shame on you if you do it."
Alice stood looking at the stalwart
commander while Beverley was pour
ing forth his torrent of scathing refer
ence to Hamilton. and she quickly saw
that Clark was moved. The moment
was ripe for the finishing stroke. They
say 1T is genius that avails itself of OPP
portunity. Beverley knew the fight
was won when he saw what followed
Alice suddenly left Long Hair and ran
TO Colonel Clark. who felt her warm.
strong arms loop around him for sin
gle point of time never to be effaced
from his memory; then he saw her
kneeling ut his feet, her hands up
stretched, her face glorious prayer,
while she pleaded the Indians cause
and won it.
Doubtless, while we all rather feel
that Clark was weak to he thus sway
ed by a girl, we cannot quite blame
him. Alice's flag was over him. He
had heard her history from Beverley's
cunning lips. He actually believed that
Hamilton was the real culprit, and be
sides he felt not little nauseated with
executing Indians. A good excuse to
have an end of it all did not go beg
ging.
But Long Hair was barely gone over
the horizon from the fort, as free and
as villainOus n savage as ever trod the
earth, when discovery made by Oncle
Jazon caused Clark to hate himself for
what he had done.
The old scout picked up the scalp
which Long Hair had flung at Hamil-
ton and examined it with odious curl
osity. He had fingered on the spot
with no other purpose than to get pos
session of that CHASTITY relic. Since los
ing his own scalp the subject of crown
locks had grown upon his mind until
its fascination was irresistible. He
studied the hair Of every person he saw
as a physiognomist studies faces He
held the grewsome thing up before him,
scrutinizing it with the expression of
connoisseur who has discovered on a
grimy canvas the signature of an old
master.
Sac bleu" he presently broke forth.
"Well. I'll be Look'ee yer, George
Clark! Come yer an look. Ye've been
sold agin. Take a squint, eff We pleasew
Colonel Clark, with his hands crossed
behind him, his face thoughtfully con-
tracted was walking slowly to and fro
little way off. He turned about when
Oncle Jazon spoke.
What now, JazonW
"a mighty heap right now, that's
what. Come yer an let me show We.
Yer fine sort O. eejit now, amt ye?"
The two men walked toward each
other and met Oncle Jazon held up
the scalp with one hand, pointing at 1t
with the index finger of the other
This here scalp come off'n Rene de
Ronville's head"
"And who is he?"
"Who's he? Ye may we'll ak tibet.
He wuz a Frenchman. He WIZ a fine
young Teller O. this town. He killed a
corpral O. Hamilton's an tuck ter the
woods month or two ago. Hamilton
offered lot O. money for i'm or is
scalp, an Long Hair went in fer gittin'
it. Now We knows the whole racket
An We let's that Injun go! An tibet
same Injun he mighty nigh kicked my
ribs inter my stomach!'
Oncle Jazon's feelings were visible
and audible, but Clark could not resent
the contempt of the old mans looks
and words. He felt that he deserved
far more than he was receiving. MOI
was Oncle Jazon wrong. Rene dc
Ronville never came back to little Adri
enne Bourcier, although, being kept
entirely ignorant of her lovers fate
she waited and dreamed and hoped
throughout more than two years, after
which there Is no further record Of heI
life.
Clark, Beverley and Onele Jazon con.
suited together and agreed among
themselves that they would hold pro
foundry secret the story of the scalp
To have made 1t public would have ex'
asperated the creoles and set them VIC
lently against Clark, thing heavy witt
disaster for all his future plans. AS il
was, the relasse of Long Hair caused a
great deal OF dissatisfaction and mutt
nous talk. Even Beverley now felt
that the execution ordered by the com
mander ought to have been sternly car
ried out.
A day or two later, however the
whole dark affair was closed forever by
a bit of confidence on the part of Onclt
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