The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1910-08-11
CHAPTER VIZ. Continued,

CHAPTER VIZ. (Continued.)
But AZ l looked 1t him. / coul
scarcely believe that this was tn
bloodthirsty ruffian whose voice
had listened to. He stood leaning Of
his musket. staring toward the chat
cal. and q beam Of light falling full
upon his face, revealed a mere youth
with features finely chiseled and tn
dreamy eyes OF a poet. His hal
X clustered about his face In little curls
his lips were curved n sensitive al
any woman's. l stared at him amaz'
"a: then. suddenly. | understood. Thii
was one Of those who fought for al
tideal. who fancied hat the era OF uni
,yersal brotherhood was at hand and tina
Athe revolution was TO make 1t possible
one to whom liberty. equality. frater'
nifty was not a mere phrase, but q
vision to be realized. l had heard OF
such, but never until that moment had
I believed in their existence. Gould
e be that. after all. the revolution had
In Il q germ of good. u possibility OF
tfghtf
shook the thought away-it was alb
aurd to suppose that good could spring
from murder and outrage. that light
could come from a darkness so re-
voting. This was not u moment for
theories, but for deeds. l must go; l
must make q dash for liz. | should fall,
OF course: he could scarcely miss me
In that clear light. But the shot would
alarm the house. would give it's occu-
pants at least q m to prepare for
their defense. That, at any rate, l could
accomplish.
gathered myself for the spring-just
ahead of ME lay a strip OF moonlit
lRwn-it was there that the peril lay
~ xsro fhnra hn unpl1 hiring mo down
And the shot would precipitate the at
tack.
paused. IL there was 10 alarm, at
least 20 minutes would be required to
post the sentries and to make sure
there was no break in the chain. Per-
l1Aps there4was another and a better
way. perhaps ! cotAd leap upon the
sentry and bear hisn down before he
could give the alarm.
raised my head cautiously n
looked at him again, measuring the dis
lance. He was humming the Marseil-
taise, his thoughts, evidently, far away,
for his eyes were lifted n he was
staring absently up at the clear heav-
ems. Had l d dagger, / could have
struck him. but j had no Weapon, and
even q there been a dagger in my
hand, l doubt If 1 could nave nerved
my arm to the blow, SO pure, so youth
.ful did he appear at that moment
younger thar l, and somehow l under
,Stood that there in the sky he saw a
lace smiling down at him.
shook myself savegely and called
emyself a fool. Since he had e~spoused
the cause OF murderers. he must suf-
fer like any other-thiS was nc time to
hesitate. Again ] measured the dis
-tance and noted his abstraction. L
would be upon him ut q single bound,
and my fingers once at his throat, |
s2-A-s thaN Ia. xrD..l t,A V.s n..t
Suddenly. in the shadow back of him.
4 fancied i saw "A deeper shadow now
I strained my eyes; yes. there IL was
another sentinel. perhaps. My heart
.6oll. And yet. why did he advance so
Nlowly. why did he crouch SO near the
Aarthf Was 1t man or beast?
Breathlessly l watched 1t, vague, in
Ohoatas scare discernible, but the mem
Gee Of its attitude the meaning Of that
slow advance, was unmistakable. A
q Undoubtedly. since in Pc'tou no
such bloodthirsty beast Of prey existed.
But who-whO? / glanced again at the
Sentry's unconscious face. so pure. SO
Innocent. Should | warn him; should
-
The shadow stood suddenly erect, a
knife flashed In the air, and the sentry
fell forward upon the grass, coughing
softly. The shadow bent Owe the pros
trate figure. the knife flashed again and
the coughing ceased.
Chilled with horror as I was, I never
theless had self-control enough to see
that the moment for escape had ar
rived. / slid from the seat and crept
forward toward the house. across that
staring disk OF moonlit lawn, where 1t
seemed that the light Of all the suns in
heaven was beating down upon me;
then. with a deep breath of thankful
mess. into the shadow of the shrubbery
again. There I stood erect and softly
sbut rapidly pressed forward. / gained
the walk; before me vas the open
window; a moment more
Then I became conscious Of swift,
soft steps behind me, and a chill of
terror ran up my spine and seemed to
stlffen the hair upon my head, for l
knew that the slayer of the sentry was
pursuing me. knife In handled. drip
ping knife I'm hand! Numb with fear,
I n0rved myself for the struggle, but
wen as l turned. a powerful and cruel
hand IVA laid roughly on my shoulder.
@ on, monsieur" whispered a
hoarse voice In my ear. Go on. I
will 60 with YOU"