Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1917-01-19
CHAPTER XXlli-Continued.

"''i ~ Wv kllbA 'hN'lh' vi Ait t'rH
fort. | understood his thoughts, his
desire 10 MD his comrades; but. for q
moment, my mind was a blank.
could not let him 90 alone TO almost
certain death. No, o would he aban
don me on such a mission! Was there
no other way by which we could serve
Suddculy a thought crept into my
mind.
Monsieur" I asked breathlessly
"wherc do you suppose those Him In.
dians to bcY'
Back from the river, In n glen of
caves and rocks"
How far from hcrei"
-Four or five miles. there Is a trail
from the mouth Of the creek"
"And you know the way2 and there
might be many warriors there? they
will remember you, and obey your or
dcrsi"
He Strengthened up, aroused as the
full meaning Of my questioning oc-
Cured 10 him.
"Ay, there Il n chance there, II we
IND t'cm In time, and in force enough
d. make foray. Sacrc! | know not
why such thought has not come to me
before. Could we but fall on those
devils from the rear In surprise, even
with n third Of their number, they
would run like cats. Mon Dicu. |
thank you for the thought"
We plunged into the forest, no longer
endeayorlng to advance silently, but
inspired with n desire TO achieve our
goal as soon as possible, At the mouth
OF n stream entering the river, DAT.
tigny picked me up in his arms and
wadcd across. On the opposite bank
he sought eagerly on hands and knees
for the old trace he dimly remembered.
AT last he stood erect,
"Ay, lass, It's here to be easily fol
lowed. What hour do you make It
now"
About three"
$50 would have said; and It's not
daylight until after five. We can scarce
make ii, yet we will try"
II was not MS dark here away from
the gloom OF the Rock; the forest was
open. and yet ! will never know how
nArtigny succeeded In following that
dim trail Mt 50 rapid n gait. As for
me, | could zee nothing of any path,
and merely followed him bllndly, not
even certain of the nature of the
ground und1' my feet. Again and
again | trippcd owe some ohstacle-a
root, n turf Of grassland continually |
unnotcd branches tapped against my
face. Once | fell prone, yet SO noise
lcsSly that Rene passed beyond view
before he realized my misfortune, and
returned to help me regain my feet.
Not until then, I think, did he com
prehcnd the rapidity of his movements.
"Your pardon, dear girl" and his lips
brushed my hair, rs he held me in his
arms, 81 forgot all but our comrades
yondcr. The night is dark to your
eyes"
81 can soc nothing" I confessed re-
%gretfully, "yet you have no difficulty"
""Tis n w%oodsman's training. | have
followed many a dim trail In dark for
ests, and this is so plain | could keep
TO 1t on n run II necessary. All! the
fort is awake and vigilant-that was
rife fire"
had not only heard the sharp re
ports but seen the flash Of fire cleavlng
the darkness.
"The discharges came from the
woods yonder-they were Indian guns.
monsieur. See, those two last were
from the %stockade; | could perceive the
logs In the fare
"Ay, and that Is ell; the lads will
waste no ammunition in the gloom, ex-
Cept to tell the savages they are awake
and ready"
How far have we Travelled, mon.
"A mile, perhaps. At the crooked
oak yonder we leave the stream. You
met with no harm when you fell?"
mo more than a bruise. l can so
On now"
We turned to the right. and plunged
Into the thicket, the way now so black
that | grasped his jacket In fear of
becoming lost. We were clambering up
slight hill, careless Of everything but
)ur footing, when there was a sudden
'ustling OF the low branches on either
Tide u path. D'Artigny stopped,
Trusting me back, while at that very
instant indistinct forms seemed to leap
'orth from the covert, 1t occurred so
so silently, that before I even
called danger, he was struggling
nadly with the assailants. l heard the
OF blows, an oath OF surprise, a
exclamation, a groan Of pain. ,
Hands gripped me savagely; l felt
Iaked bodies, struggled wildly to {
scape, but was flung helplessly to the
a hand g%rasping my hair. l $
ould see nothing, only a confused mass !
( legs and arms, but D'Artigny was {
dill on his feet, struggling desperately. I
rom some hand he had grabbed a
ne, and swung 1t crashing into the 2
lees Of those graphing him. Back c