The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1907-03-07
CHAPTER I.

W0ter-W0rn pTCnOntorleS yuLLlnS out luto
the sea, daring the tenpestuous fury OF
the waves, which dashed furiously in
sheets of seething foam against the iron
rocks. Two of these hcadlands ran out
(or a considerable distance, and at the
base of each ragged cruel-looking rocks
stretched still further out INTO the ocean
until they entirely disappeared beneath
the heaving waste of waters. Suddenly
on ehe red waters there appeared black
speck, rising and falling with the restless
waves, and ever drawing nearer and near
s9 to the gloomy cliffs and sandy beach.
When within q quarter nf mile of the
shore the specK resolved itself into a boat,
mere shallop, painted a dingy white,
and much battered by the waves as 1t
tossed lightly on the crimson waters. 1t
had one mast and small sail all torn and
patched. In this frail craft were two
men, one Of whom was kneeling in the
PROV of the boat shading his eyes from
the sunlight with his hands and gazing
eagerly at the cliffs, while the other sat
In the center with bowed head, in an at
titude of resignation, holding the straining
sail by stout rope twisted round his
FIRM. Neither of them spoke word till
within a short distance of the beach, when
| the man at the lookout arose, tall and
gaunt, and stretched out his hands to the
lnhospitabie-looking coast with a harsh
sxRting laugh.
"At last" he cried, in hoarse, strain
ed voice, and in foreign tongue; free
dom at last"
The other man made no comment on
this outburst of his companion, but kept
his eyes steadfastly on the bottom Of the
boat, where lay small barrel and bag
Of mouldy biscuits.
There was a strong contrast between
these two waits of the sea which the ocean
had Just thrown up on the desolate coast.
One was a tall, slightly built young fell
low, apparently about thirty years of age,
with leonine masses of reddish colored
hair, and a short, stubby beard of the
same tint. His face, pale and attenu-
ated by famine, looked sharp and clever !;
and his eyes were quite black, with thin,
delicately drawn eyebrows above them.
They scintillated with a peculiar light
which gave any one looking at him an
uncomfortable feeling of insecurity. The
young mans hands, though hardened and
discolored, were yet finely formed, while
even the coarse, heavy boots he wore
could not disguise the delicacy of his feet.
He was dressed in rough blue suit OF
clothes, all torn and much stained by sea
water, and his head was covered with a
red cap of woodwork which rested lightly
on his tangled masses of hair. The man
ut his feet was rough, heavy-looking
fellow, squarely and massively built, with
black hair and a heavy beard of the same
somber hue. His hands were long and
sinewy; His feet large and ungainly; and
his whole appearance was that of man
In low station of life. No one could
have told the color of his eyes, for he
looked obstinately at the ground; and the
expression of his face was sullen and for
bidding. His companion eyed him for a
short time in cool, calculating manner,
and then rose painfully to his feet.
$780," he said rapidly in Frenchfi wav-
Ing his hand toward the frowning cliffs,
$50, my Pierre, we are in the land Of
promise; though l must confess it GER
tainly does not look very promising; still,
we are on dry land, and that is something
after tossing about so long in that stupid
boat, with only a plank between us and
death. Bah !'-with another impressive
shrug-"why should / call it stupid? 1t
carried US all the way from New Gale
donia and landed us safely in what may
turn out Paradise. We must not be un-
grateful to the bridge that carried US over
--eh, my friend"
The man addressed as Pierre nodded an
assent, then pointed toward the boat !;
the other looked up and saw that the tide
had risen, and that the boat was drifting
slowly away from the land.
at goes" he said coolly, back again
to its proper owner, | suppose. Well, let
It. We have no further need of it. We
are no longer convicts from French
prison, my friend, but shipwrecked sail
crs you hear ?"-with sudden scintilla-
don from his black -"shipwrecked
sailors; and I will tell the story of the
wreck. Luckily, / can depend on your
discretion, as you have not even tongue
TO contradict, which you wouldn't do if
n you had"
The dumb man rose slowly to his feet
and pointed to the cliffs frowning above
them. The other answered his thoughts
with careless shrug of the shoulders.
I'VE must climb" he said lightly, "and
1T US hope the top will prove less in
hospieable than Bthis place. Where we
are ! Son't know, except that this Is Aus
tralia there is gold here, my friend, and
We mat get our share of 1t. We will
match our Gallo wit against these Eng
lish fo Is, and see who comes off best. You
have q sength, have brains; so we will
DO 81 ut things; but"--laying his hand
imp. lively on the others breast--''no
Quaiil, no yielding, you seep'
Ry rept along the narrow ledge and
sers f'ed with great difficulty into a
ny !, bove, holding on by the weeds and
q n grasses which grew out of the
M \ 4 of the barren crag. Followed by
y st panion, he went steadily mp, cling
{ projecting rocks--iorg trails Of