The state herald., 1917-02-02

| AAoV AtOm WUCu Ok OIuoEus ana NO
view had Of It
D'Artigny had fallen. huddled in .
heap on the grass, and I dragged my.
self to him on my knees. heard oaths.
a shufiiing Of feet, rush Of bodies, q
voice I did not recognize shouting
some order-then the sharp crack Of q
rifle, and silence. cared not what
had occurred; had D'Artigny's head
In my arms, and his eyes opened and
smiled up at me full Of courage.
"You are badly hurt?"
mo, think not; the thrust was too
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 # ~
venge. All. you are here also. De
Tonty."
Eyes, lad; there Is small use for me
yonder. You are not seriously struck y
II bleed freely. but the thrust was In
the shoulder. could stand, 1 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 his
hand some papers. yet neither of US
questioned him.
Monsieur de Tonty," he said, "
would have private word with you"
when help D'Artigny to his bed.
and have look at his wound. Yet Is II
not matter Of interest to these as
well?"
II take 1t 80"
"Then speak your message-M. Gas
sion is dead?"
"The sentry's bullet found his heart
monsieur"
II saw him fall. Those papers wers
upon him-are they Of valueT"
THAT I know not; they possess no
meaning to me. but they were ad.
dressed to the man killed at st. Ig.
mace"
Hugo Chevet?" exclaimed my
uncle; may not see them. MONSIEUR
De Tonty placed them in my hands
a letter from 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 a
restoration from the king to the heirs
Of Captain Ia Chesnayne. It was
signed and sealed. looked up Mt the
faces surrounding me: startled and
frightened at this witness from the
dead.
"They are papers belonging to Che
vet?" asked De Tonty.
Eyes. monsieur-see. He must have
known. suspected the truth before our
departure. yet had no thought such
villainy was the work of N. 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 victim. wonder only
that he did not long ago destroy the
papers,"
There 10 always some weakness In
crime" commented In Forest. "and
the man has paid penalty for his. II
would be my guess he desired to place
them In La Bnrre's hands In proof Of
his loyalty. But, mcssieurs. D'Artigny
needs to have his wound dressed. We
can discuss all this later"
It was two days later. and the brigh.
sunshine rested on Fort st. Louis
tiecklng 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 Joined him. my arm
on his shoulder ms I also gnzed down
upon the scene below. II was one OF
peace now. the silvcry Illinois wind
islands, the shadowy woods darkcn.
ing one bank. and the vast meadows
stretching northwnrd from the other.
Below the bend an Indian village. al
ready rebuilt and occupied. slept In
the sun. and could see children and
dogs playing before the tepees.
Down the sharp trail from the fort
line Of Indian packers were toillns
slowly. their backs supporting heavy
burdens. which they bore to two en-.
noes resting against the bank. About
these were grouped little pnrty Of
white men. and when Mt inst the sup.
piles were NIL abonrd. several took
their places at the paddles, and puahed
OF into the stream.
There was waving Of hands. and
one among them-evcn Mt that distance
I could tell In Forcst-looked IN at
our window. and raised his hat In
gesture Of farewell. I watched until
they rounded the rock and disappeared
on their long journey TO Quebec. until
the others-cxiles OF the wilderness-
turned AWAY and began to climb up.