The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1917-02-16
Romance at
Early Days In
the Middle West

Tomorrow he would be In exile, . wan
derer Of the woods. an escaped pris-
oner, under condemnation Of death,
never again safe within reach Of
French authority. Ay, but he should
not go alone; in the depths OF those
forests, beyond the arm OF the law. be-
yond eve the grasp OF the church. we
should go together. In u own hearts
love would Justify. Without a qualm
OF conscience, without even n lingering
doubt, l made the choice, the final
decision.
know not how long 1t took me to
| think this all out, until l had accepted
fate; but I do know the decision
brought happiness and courage. Food
was brought me by a strange Indian.
apparently unable to speak French;
nor would he even enter the room,
silently handing me the platter through
the open door. Two sentries stood just
without-soldiers Of De Baugis. /
guessed, as their features were unfa-
miliar. They gazed at me c%uriously.
as l stood in the doorway. but with
out changing their attitudes. Plainly
l was held prisoner also; NJ. Cassion,s
threat was being put into execution.
This knowledge merely served to
strengthen my decision, and | closed
and barred the door again. smiling as
/ did 90.
It grew dusk while I made almost
vain effort to eat. and. at last, push
Ing the pewter plate away. ! crossed
over, and cautiously opened the wood
en- shutter Of the window. The red
light OF the sunset still illumined the
western sky. and found glorious ref!ec-
ton along the surface Of the river
1t was a dizzy drop to the bed OF the
stream below, but Indians were on the
opposite bank. beyond rifle shot. in
considerable force. a half-do2en ca.
noes drawn up on the sandy shore, and
several fires burning. They were too
far away for me to judge their tribe.
yet a number among them sported wal
bonnets, and I had no doubt they were
IroQuois.
So far as I could perceive elsewhere.
there was no movement as my eyes
ira veled the half-circ}e. over q wide
vista Of hill and dale, green valley
and dark woods. although to the Nft
I could occasionally bear the sharp re
port Of a rife. in evidence that besieg.
ing 81 wages were still watchful Of the
| fort entrance. I could not lean out far
| enough to see in that direction. yet as
the night grew darker the vicious spits
OF FIRE became visible. Above me the
| solid log walls arose but a few feet
a tall man might stand upon the win
dow ledge. and ind grip Of the roof;
but below was the sheer drop to the
river-perchance two hundred feet be
meath. Already darkness shrouded
the water, as the broad valley faded
into the gloom Of the night.
There was naught for me to do but
sit and wait. The guard which NJ.
| Cassion had stationed at the door pre-
vented my leaving the room. but its
more probable purpose was to keep
others from communicating with me.
De Tonty had evidently resorted to
diplomacy, and instead Of quarreline
with the three officers when they ap.
preached him. had greeted them all SC
genially as to leave the impression that
he was disposed to permit matters to
take their natural course. He might
be watched OF course, vet was no
longer suspected as likely to help res
cue the prisoner. All their fear now
was centered upon me. and my pos.
| sible influence.
II I could be kept from any further
communication with either D'Artigny
or De Tonty. it was scarcely probable
that any OF the garrison would make
serious effort to interfere with their
plans. De Tonty's apparent indlffer.
ence, and his sudden friendliness with
De Baugis and Cassion, did not worry
me greatly. I realized his purpose in
thus diverting suspicion. His pledge
OF assistance had been given me. and
MS was the word OF q soldier and GEN
tienlan. In some mnxner, and soon
before midnight certainly would re.
celve message from Boisrondet.
Yet my heart failed me more than
once as waited. How long the time
seemed, and how deadly silent was the
night. Crouched close beside the door.
! could barely hear the muttered con-
hversation Of the soldiers on guard;
n when | crossed to the D win
dow ! looked out upon a black void.
utterly soundless.
Not even the distant crack OF a rife
now broke the solemn stiffness. and
the only spot Of color visible was the
U red glow Of Z campfire on the op-
posite bank Of the river. I had no way
or computing time. and the tagging
hours seemed centuries long, as terri.
Tying doubts assailed me.
Every new thought became an aeopy
OF suspense. Had the plans failedi
Had Eoisrondet discovered the prfD-
oner so closely guarded rs TO make res.
u impossible? Had his nerve, his
daring. vanished before the real dan
ger Of the venture? Had D'Artigny
refused to accept the chance? What
had happened; what was Happenings
out there in the mystery?
(To BE CONTINUED.l