The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-04-21
CHAPTER XIII.
In the Woods.

In the Woods.
"You must get into the canoe, Rene,
l said shortly. Come. we have NO
time to lose."
81 monsieur"
Yes, you; / am not going to leave
you here for Hamilton to wreak his
rage on. There is no time to argue
now"
Never mind that; will you go as
say?"
There was a silvery CLEAN of star on
her upturned face, and could see her
eyes. startled, puzzled, half frightened.
gazing up into mine. Then the long
lashes dropped over them.
Yes, monsieur" she said, her lips
trembling. Il will go with YOU"
The dawn found me with the paddle.
but Rene still wide awake. There was
a thin, gray fog over the river, which
turned to purple as the light strength
ened, and we were at the apex OF a
great bend, the course of the stream
ahead leading into the northwest. That
was not our direction, and besides I
felt il there was pursuit 1t would be
safer far ashore. Just as the sun
broke through the mist we came unex-
pectedly to the mouth of small
stream leading into the main river
from the south. So thoroughly was it
concealed by thick growth of bushes.
that we would have slipped by, had
not been skirting the shore closely.
seeking some such opening. l headed
the canoe straight in, pressing aside
the branches to gain passage, and
found beyond a narrow creek, up which
we managed to paddle for several hun
dred yards. Then l stepped over
board, and dragged the light craft still
higher, until l discovered a place Of
concealment behind a huge rotting
log.
Here we left it, Rene and / bearing
with us the guns and our small store
of provisions. l had cut cane for
Brady, and, with it's help, he managed
to get along slowly although sight of
his face made my heart ache. Thus in
single file we waded up the tiny
stream, until we attained ledge of
rocks where our feet would leave no
trail. Over these we toiled, helping
each other, until we came to the up
land, into an open forest, carpeted
with autumn leaves. By this time
Brady was too exhausted to 60 further.
sinking helplessly on the ground. Rene
also looked worn and heavy-eyed, and
/ had no heart to urge them on. We
ate sparsely of what food we had, but
Brady barely touched his portion.
wrapped him in our only blanket, and
the three of us slept.
It was the gray dawn when mademoi-
selle awoke me, shaking me soundly
ere l could be aroused. That some
thing was wrong l perceived instantly
from the expression of her face, and
sat up, glancing hastily about, expect
ing the approach of savages.
What is it?"
"He is gone, monsieur! Monsieur
Brady is gone"
Gone! You mean left camp Why
that is impossible; he could barely
walk
''But he is not here, monsieur" she
insisted. See; it was there he lay.
| will tell you all know. l woke up in
| the night and thought of him, of how
hard it was for SO strong man to be
so weak and ill., Then / got up and
went over quietly to be sure he was
all right. But he was awake, mon
| sieur, staring up at the sky with eyes
| wide open. He saw me, and said he
was nervous and could not sleep. No,
| he told me he was not in pain, but
complained of being cold / spread
more leaves over him. and he said that
was better. Then-then he took my
| hand and kissed it, and begged me to
| go back and-and lie down. He was
very nice and gentle, and smiled at
| me. So / went back, and crept into
my leaves, and tried to sleep. He did
not move, yet / lay there long while
| thinking. think / cried a little, mon
sieur, for I felt SO sorry. At last /
| slept again. 1t was just little light
| when awoke once more, and my first
memory was of him went over there
and-and he was gone. l could see
where he had rested in the leaves, and
the blanket on the ground, but-but he
was not there. l sought for him, but
there was no trace-nothing. So
came and woke YOU"
l was on my feet, feeling of dread
tugging at my heart. l felt that l al
| ready knew what had happened, yet
!, could not tell her-not now, not until
| was sure.
| He could not have gone far, Rene,
| I said hastily. Perhaps to the river
| for drink Come, we will see.'
The ground about the camp had
been so trampled by our feet that, al
| first, l could not pick up the trail
Finally, taking wider circle, l came
| upon softer soil and the imprint of his
moccasins. I knew they were his be
cause of one foot dragging, and the
| imnression of his cane They led dow