Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1914-05-28
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@~ RANDALL PARRISH
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ILLUSTRATED 81 D. J.LAVN
ANDAILP PARRISH
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the fellow was French. and the murder
the end Of some private feud. His
| only desire then would be to get away
| safely, to escape unseen. Brady would
| learn all this, and he would be back
presently.
do not know how long a time
passed, only l had circled the house
twice, skirting the edge OF the woods
in my rounds, keeping well In the
| blacker shadows, and moving noise
lessly, every nerve alert. Back OF the
house | discovered a mound of earth,
heaped as a roof, over an opening IN
the ground, evidently a cellar of some
kind. So far as | could discover, by
| cropping in the darkness, there was
nothing concealed within, but the en-
trance offered a good hiding place, and
| sat down there where l could see IN
every direction, with my rifle across
my knees. The stars yielded a spec
trail light, and no n could move
across the clearing unobserved. ! sat
there for ten minutes, seeing and hear
ing nothing, gradually growing drowsy
in the silence, my head sinking back
| against the earth mound. Yet / re-
manned awake and watchful. although
when | first perceived a figure fitting
out OF the black fringe of woods, l half
believed it a dream. But 1t was no
| dream, and I sat up suddenly, my
heart beating like a triphammer, and
stared. l could see little, not enough
to determine whether the intruder was
savage or white, merely perceiving an
indistinct form, crouching low, yet ad.
vancing directly toward me. There
was no hesitancy, no evidence OF fear,
but merely the natural caution Of one
| travelling alone in the wilderness. At
first / believed it to be Brady return
ing, yet hesitated to step boldly forth,
for the figure appeared small and I'M
natural, barely perceptible against the
darker background Of earth.
To render myself more secure l drew
cautiously back a step within the eel
lar entrance, and waited breathlessly,
bracing myself to meet either friend
or foe. l could no longer see the in
truder, and the caution of his ap-
proach made me certain the man must
be an enemy. Surely Brady, even
while exercising every precaution,
would never hesitate like this, and
grope his way forward inch by inch.
I felt the hot blood leap in my veins;
then the fellow, still crouching low.
but with rife barrel advanced, ap-
peared around the edge Of the pile OF
earth, scarcely two yards distant. All
/ saw clearly was a hat with a feather
in it, an indistinct outline of form,
and the black rife barrel. My rife
came up to the shoulder. and I slipped
into the open.
stop where you are!" / ordered
sharply. Drop your gun, and stand
up"
/ heard a quick breath Of surprise,
almost an exclamation; the stock of
the rife sank to the ground, but the
hands still chung to the barrel, as the
startled figure Strengthened up. |
could not distinguish the face, only
the white outline Swallowed by the
hat, yet the short, slender form was
that of a boy. The relief at this dis
covery brought a laugh to my lips.
What does this mean. lad?' l
asked. Have children gone to war?
Come, answer me; you are no saw
age"
"'Tis not a lad with whom you
deal, Monsieur Hayward" replied a
soft voice, trembling a bit neverthe-
less, though attempting holiness.
You know me now"
She flung the %concealing hat into
the grass, the silvery light Of the
stars on her face.
You here! you" l exclaimed in
swift surprise at this unexpected de-
movement, and feeling the hot blood
flush my face. You came with
Girty?"
She ~ventured to laugh lightly at
my tone and nner
I'VE travelled together-yes. What
Of that, monsieur? The wilderness
Is not a parlor where we can choose
associates. Did l not warn you l
would come with him when you re-
fused me? An you think l did what
was wrong?"
"I?" puzzled by her direct question.
What is 1t to me, mademoiselle? You
would not care what I think. Yet
were you sister Of mine would speak
plainly enough; we all know what ST.
mon Girty is."
"Oh, no, monsieur, the Americans
do not" and her voice rung with
earnestness. He Is to them an en-.
envy, a fend. He wars on the other
side, and as the Indians make war.
Why not? He has lived in our wig
vans, and sat at our council fires. He
belongs with us, a for the birth
mark of a white skin. To me he is
not enemy. but friend. have known
him always, from childhood; there
is no fear in my heart; did he desire,
he would not dare harm mel am a
Wyandot."
The swift words were a defiance, a
challenge.
Have 1t as you WILL" ! said coldly,
but nothing you may say will ever
make me think well Of that
gade."
"You!" she exclaimed passionately.
why do you say that, Joseph Hay
ward? Why do you keep up this
masquerade with me? We are no
longer at Fort Harmar where It was
safer for you to guard your speech.