Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1916-08-18

.Then good night, messieurs." /
faced Cassion, meeting his eyes frank
~. 81 am greatly wearied, and would
rest; tomorrow | will speak with you,
monsieur. Permit to pass"
He stood aside, unable to affront
me, although the anger in his face was
evidence enough Of brewing trouble
No doubt he had boosted of me to DE
Baugis, and felt no desire now to nave
our true relations exposed thus pub
licly. | passed him, glancing at none
of the others, and followed the soldier
across the beaten parade. A moment
later l was safely hidden within q
two-roomed cabin.
A table and two chairs, rudely made
with ak and knife, comprised the en-
tire furniture, but q small mirror, IN
framed, hung suspended against the
farther wall. I glanced at my refec-
ton In the glass, surprised to learn
how little change the weeks had made
In my appearance. 1t was still the
face of q girl which gazed back at
me, with clear, wtde-open eyes, n
cheeks flushed in the freight. Strange
to say, the very sight of my youthful
ness was a disappointment, and
brought with 1t doubt. How could l
fight these men? How could I hope
to win against their schemes n
plans of vengeance?
l opened the single window, and
leaned out. grateful for the fresh air
blowing against my face, but unable
to perceive the scene below shrouded
in darkness. Far away, down the
valley, was the red glow of a fire, It's
fame rejecting ove the surface OF
the river. l knew 1 stared down into
a great void, but could hear no sound
except a faint gurgle Of water directly
beneath. 1 closed the window shutter,
and, urged by some impulse, crossed
over to the door leading to the other
apartment. 1t was a sleeping room,
scarcely more than a large closet, with
garments hanging on pegs against the
logs, and two rude hunks opposite the
door. But the thing which captured
my eyes was a bag Of brown leather
lying on the floor at the head of one
of the bunks-a shapeless bag, having
no distinctive mark about 1t, and yet
which I instantly recognized-since
we left Quebec 1t had been In our
boat.
As I stood staring at II, I remem-
bered the words of De Baugis, "your
husband has been my guest" Ay,
that was it-this had been Cassion's
quarters since his arrival, and this
was his bag, the one he Kept beside
him in the canoe, his private property.
My heart beat wildly in the excite
ment of discovery, yet there was no
hesitation; instantly l was upon my
knees Juggling at the straps. They
yielded easily, and l forced the
aside, gaining glimpse of the
contents.
1 discovered nothing but clothes at
hrst-moccasins and numerous under
garments-together with a uniform,
evidently new, and quite gorgeous.
The removal of these, however, re-
yealed a pocket In the leather side,
securely fastened, and on opening this
with trembling fingers, a number of
papers were disclosed.
Scarcely venturing to breathe, hard
~ knowing what l hoped to find, l
drew these forth, and glanced hastily
at them. Surely the man would bear
nothing unimportant with him on such
q journey; these must be papers of
value, for I had noted with what care
he had guarded the bag all the way.
Yet at first l discovered nothing to re-
ward my search-there was a package
of letters, carefully bound with a
strong cord, a commission from La