Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1910-04-22
CHAPTER XVI.

day when DR.. Fothergill had made her
startling statements about the loco root
found the case at standStiH. EaCn
side was waiting for the other, and FOR
half hour after court had opened
there was nothing doing save pother
among the attorneys.
Your honor" it spoke, IT am Fran
els Wayne, the brother Of the dead
woman whose death you are trying to
probe"
LIE Malheureux!" exclaimed John-
son and Larry Morris in a breath. The
figure bowed to them and turned again
to the judge.
If your honor please" said LIE NAL
heureux, with all apologies for my
hardness and for myself I would like
to tell my story. In this wallet are the
documents Of proof.
MY story is my fathers shame. HIS
name was John Francis Wayne. and
he was the son of Thomas james
Wayne, once bishop of the diocese or
| Georgia. Among the slaves my grand
father owned was fine fellow named
Ben, who had been stolen from the
| Gold Coast. He had son, also named
| Ben, and the father of the African Be
| noni that you have just thrown INTO
| jail, because he has kept silence out OF
respect for my infirmity. His son Ben
| and my father grew up In that rela-
| tionship that once existed in the South
| between boy master and boy-slaVe'
Ben's father had told his son how their
people were kings in mid-Africa, ana
Of the enormous wealth they held there
WI
black lad and the white one were ao-
| venturous youths, and planned from
| boyhood up to sail to Africa as soon
as they were grown to manhood. ben
| was to be restored to his ancestral
| power and my father was to be enrlcn-
| ed with half the wealth OF the KING
| dom and to return here to America TO
live. Father wanted to be a physician
so his parents sent him to Germany
and later to France to study. Ben the
slave went with him as his valet
| though they were more ike FOSTER
brothers, and with good reason as
Ben's mother had been my fathers wet
| nurse. Ben was bright, and to TIT MN
| self to rule over his people and to neao
| his dreams of a vast African colonial
| ton he studied side by side with my
| father. They saved their money, dld
these two boys, and when they were
matriculated made ready to go to At
RIGA. lowering around Paris before
| their departure my father met the
! beautiful twin daughters of Frencn-
man Of rank and wealth, the Mademoi-
selles Desiree and Marie De La RouX'
| They were like as two peas, ana OF eH-
ceptional grace and charm, and for
long while father did not know which
| to choose. He loved them Ooth' FL
nally he decided upon Desiree' pro-
! nosed. was accepted and married with
in a fortnight. AS the two sisters mad
newer been separated Marie accom-
nanied the newly welded pair to Al
rica Shortly after their arrival IN tne
ancient kingdom Of Ben's father'
tourney accomplished only after terri
h1e hardships, Ben married Tyoga, the
mother of Benont, and the foster moth
| err of Meta, now Benonfs wife. me
natives gave them short shrfft at first
Had not my fathers really marvellous
knowledge Of electricity and his clever
acouaintance with black art as it was
then practiced in some portions of Ger
| MANY stood them in good stead. their
| lives would not have been worth much.
| Az n was the barbarians considered
NV father a terrible sorcerer, and ex-
| a1ted him to be their ruler. Shortly
afterwards Ben and father quarreled
and father had the faithful slave exc
cuted with terrible torture, for the sight
| IF the wealth in this African kingdom,
| and IFS almost limitless diamond fields
had disclosed all the avaricious quail
ties Of nv fathers nature, and he felt
no affection except for the glittering
Jewels that his thousands of serfs piled
I'm at his feet. Tyoga remained staun III
to her lonely young mistress even after
! the fearful death of Ben, her husband.
"Then Benoni and were born-with-
| IN q month Of each other, when the
first wear of the sojourn on African soil
was barely ended. Tyoga consecrated
Renoni to my service at his birth, and
| he has been more faithful and loyal
than brother ever since. Within the
next year my sister Cer1sse was born.
In anpearance 1 was like my father,
but 1 had my mothers disposition.
| cerisse was the image of our mother
and of our Aunt Marie, but her nature
was that of our father. Intensely vain.
| selfish and OVoTDedTluS- CSflSSS WOuIQ
have been hated by all around the cas-
tie but for her exceptional beauty. She
was barely two years old when young
cantain in the French army, Raoul de
I,Enclose stationed in camp a few
| rods from our demesne, met my Aunt
| Marie They fell violently in love with
each other and despite my fathers OPP
nosition were married by the old
| French Cure who had accompanied The
marty on it's migration into the African
wilderness Father was wild with an
GER about the marriage He forbade
NV aunt and her husband the house,
| and returned to my Aunt Marie her
half of the joint fortune that she and
her sister had brought with them to
Africa, only because he feared that
Cant. de LEnclos might invoke an in
yestigation of the Wayne desmene by
the French government. My sunt was
nv now thoroughly enrapturad with
life in the tropics, which was but nat
| ural. as the De La RolSI had originally