Middletown transcript., 1916-11-04

heap on the grass. and | dragged my
self to him on my knees. l heard oaths
a shuffiing of feet. a rush Of bodies. 8
voice I did not recognize shouting
some order-then the sharp crack Of {
rife, and silence. / cared not wha
had occurred; had D'ArtiGny's heat
in my arms, and bis eyes opened ant
smiled up at me full of courage.
"YOu are badly hurt?"
"No, I think not; the thrust was toC
high. Lift me, and I breathe better
The man must have been mad"
Surely yes, monsieur; think you he
had hope Of escape?"
"'Tis likely he thought only Of re
venge. All, you are here also, De
Tonty."
Eyes, lad; there is small use for me
yonder. You are not seriously struck p
81 bleed freely, but the thrust was in
the shoulder. could stand, think
with your aid"
On his feet he leaned heavily on us
both, yet would not be led away, until
La Forest Joined us. He held in bis
hand some papers, yet neither Of us
questioned him.
'Monsieur de Tonty," he said, 81
would have private word with you"
when help D'Artigny to his bed.
and have look at his wound Yet is it
not matter of interest to these as
welI?"
81 take 1t So"
"TheE speak your message-M. Cas-
sion is dead"
''The sentry's bullet found his heart.
monsieur"
81 saw him fall. Those papers werL
upon him-are they of value?"
"That I know not; they possess no
meaning to me, but they were ad-
dressed to the man killed at St. Ig-
nace."
Hugo Chevet" 1 exclaimed. "My
uncle; may not see them. monsieur"
De Tonty placed them in my hands
letter from a lawyer in Quebec, with
a form of petition to the king, and a
report of his search of the archives Of
New France. The other document was
the sworn affidavit of. Jules BeaubaOu,
a clerk of records, that he had seen
and read paper purporting to be
restoration from the king to the heirs
of Captain la Chesnayne. 1t was
signed and sealed. looked up at the
faces surrounding me: startled and
frightened at this witness from the
dead.
"They are papers belonging to Che
vet?' asked De Tonty.
"Yes, monsieur-see. He must have
known, suspected the truth before our
departure, yet had no thought such
villainy was the work of NJ. Cassion.
He sought evidence"
"That is the whole story. no doubt.
La Barre learned of his search. for he
would have spies in plenty, and wrote
his letter of warning to Cassion. The
latter, fearing the worst, and desperate,
did not even hesitate at murder to
gain possession of these documents.
Fate served him well, and gave him
D'Artigny as a victim. wonder only
that he did not long ago destroy the
papers"
'"There is always some weakness in
crime" commented La Forest, "and
the man has paid penalty for his. 1t
would be my guess he desired to place
them in La Barre's hands in proof Of
his loyalty. But, messieurs, D'Artigny
needs to have his wound dressed. We
can discuss all this later"
It was two days later, and the bright
sunshine rested on Fort st. Louis.
fecking the sides Of the great rock with
gold, and bridging the broad valley
below. D'Artigny, yet too weak to
rise unaided. sat in a chair Barbeau
had made beside the open window,
and to his call 1 Joined him, my arm
on his shoulder as l also gazed down
upon the scene below. It was one Of
peace now, the silvery Illinois wind
ing hither and yon among its green
islands, the shadowy woods darken-
ing one bank, and the vast meadows
stretching northward from the other.
Below the bend an Indian village. al
ready rebuilt and occupied, slept in
the sun, and l could see children and
dogs playing before the tepees.
Down the sharp trail from the fort
a line of Indian packers were toiling
slowly, their backs supporting heavy
burdens, which they bore to two ca
noes resting against the bank. About
these were grouped a little party Of
white men, and when at last the sup
plies were all aboard, several took
their places at the paddles, and pushed |
off into the stream.
There was waving of hands. and |
one among them-even at that distance |
I could tell La Forest-looked up at |
our window, and raised his hat In
gesture of farewell. l watched until |
they rounded the rock and disappeared |
on their long journey to Quebec. until |
the others-exiles Of the wilderness
turned away and began to climb up
ward to the fort gates. D'Artigny's i
hand closed softly over mine.
"You are sad, sweetheart; you long
too for New France"
mo, dear one," answered. and he
read the truth in my eyes. "Wher
ever you are is my home. On this rock
in the great valley we will serve each
France"