Mexico Missouri message., 1917-02-01
"save yourself" she murmured faint

was no time to lose: he lifted her limp
form upon his shoulders and ran stag
gerlngly in the direction of the troops.
He could never overtake them-the
marching column and the slow-moving
wagons must be a mile away by now.
He stumbled on with desperate exer-
ton. He reached the winding creek
again, laid down his unconscious bur-
den and dashed the icy water in Toi-
nette's face. Her great blue eyes,
shadowed by dark circles of exhaus-
ton, opened slowly, looked at him
blaDkly. Father, help mew she cried.
He shook her by the shoulders.
"Stand upl Tryi" The light of con-
sciousness came back into her eyes;
she rose tremblingly and tried to walk.
They found a place where the water
gurgled over a stony bar, ankle-deep;
crossed it and struggled up the bank
on the farther side. AS they reached
the top there came to their ears the
dreadful exultant yells Of the Indians,
three hundred yards behind. David put
his arms around the girls shoulders
and they ran on with palsied limbs.
They seemed to be struggling on in
that nightmare where the feet are
leaden and the pursuers feet. Nearer
and nearer came the fierce yelping.
At last David and Toinette stood
still and looked at each other. David
drew his knife. She nodded, silently
praying him to deliver her with that
swift death from the tortures OF the
savages. "Oh, God, not yet ~ he cried ;
and drew her on In blind haste. Twice
he shouted, with all the strength of
his gasping lungs. Was 1t an echo,
or an answering shout that came
back? And then there came q burst
of the sweetest music In the world:
the cheers of a score of Harrison's
men, crashing through the woods
hundred yards away.
The chase was suddenly reversed. At
the first shout of the backwoodsmen,
the baffied Indians turned and fled.
The rescuing party pursued them but
q little way, firing vainly at the fleeing
forms lodging among the tree trunks.
Young George Croghan, Harrison's
aid, was in command Of the little
squad. They had heard Girty's shot,
fired at David, and little later, Da-
vid's shot; and had come back from
the troops with all speed. Toinette
had sunk to the ground, laughing and
sobbing; they gathered around her
with wild hurrahs, torrent Of eager
questions.
They bore her on their shoulders
back to the marching men. How the
cheering ran along the line as the men
caught sight of her General Harrison
and his staff galloped up one by one
and shouted like boys. Old "Wash"
Johnston leaned over and kissed her
face, stained with happy tears. 'Tm
old enough, my DEAR" he said.
And the men cheered again.
A dozen times she was obliged to
tell the story of her captivity; dozen
times the men lifted David on their
shoulders and cheered him to the echo.
But through all the rejoicing and the
thanksgiving, David's heart remained
heavy; for the breach still seemed Inn
possible to bridge. She, too, suffered
tormented by debt of gratitude due
one whose treason to his country must
forever bar him from her love.
Treason? Why was 1t, then, that Da-
vid seemed such hero to all his com
rades among the militiamen? Why
had all Of them received him into their
hearts like brother? Toinette strug.
gled all through the day with the
secret which she thought so horrible
Little by little, she came to the con
clusion that David had managed In
some way to win a pardon from Gov
ernor Harrison, before the trip to the
Prophets camp had been begun.
She went back over the cIrcum
stances of that tragic meeting In Cory
don, when she and Ike had confronted
David and found the proofs Of treach
cry upon him. What had happened
after she had left that scene? Per
hal had prevailed on David to re
nounc> Nis allegiance to England. Per
haps, then, he had interceded witt
Governor Harrison In his friends be
half. She pictured the stern younl
governor as saying that David's life
must depend on his faithful service Il
the territory in the future. Ike hai
never spoken one word to her abou
David from that day on. Little by lit
tie, as she went over each point in hel
\ heart, sense that she had beer
tricked out of her love grew on her, {
sense that somehow she had cheated
e herself. In the sleepless hours of tn,
K night that followed, she felt her eye
d smarttng with tears. What could sh,
e do? What could she do7 The whole
e world seemed against herl
She could not bring herself to voic,
her inward trouble to anyone, least O
q all to David. She watched him stridinI
n along, among his comrades, jestinj
S with them as only men who hav,
u passed through death together car
jest, and her torment almost mad
g dened her. What a sorry tangle sh
= had got herself into What little foo