Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1917-08-09


vine his object Then st. Clair took
the jewels to lie MoyRe. whom he
found with several Of his guests, and
told him where he had found them.
lie Moyne colored and stammered that
some Of the house servants must have
stolen them and temporarily hidden
them in st. Glars room.
you lie." said st. Clair Il saw you
come 10 my room and place the box in
my drawer"
lie Moyne raised his cane and struck
his accuscr st. Clair attempted to
strike back, but the others interfered.
At that time I'm the south such an
affair must be settled under the code
ducllo. The accusation against lie
MOyne could only be wiped out in
blood He knew that il could not be
wiped out M all There was not one
Of his guests but would believe the
word Of 81. Clair IN preference to his
own.
With the dogged spirit that pos
scsscd him lie Moyne proposed that
they should settle The affair at once.
St Clair was agreeable, and though
the others present advised delay, the
two principals were too hot for 1t.
Rapiers were the weapons most used,
and there was sufficient space In the
room where they were. The adver-
saries, in shirt and trousers, faced each
other. swords were handed them and
they began to fence
lie Moyne, true to the instincts OF
his race, was cool Not even the truth
Of the charge could unnerve him. st.
Clair, on the contrary, was so shocked.
so indignant at the base attempt to
put a stigma upon him and rob him of
the girl with whom he had just plight
ed his troth that he fought wild The
result was that In few minutes he
received sword wound in the side
which took him out OF the fight.
He was carried to his room and a
surgeon sent for, who pronounced him
in danger of his life. OF course, re-
moyal was out of the question.
The first Miss Arcnard heard Of the
matter was that her lover had been
stabbed by her host and was lying in
his chamber in n critical condition.
She flew upstairs and in another mo-
ment was bending over him.
why" she moaned, did we come
into this house? 1t is accursed."
At the moment an old negro woman
entered and heard the words.
mo, missy" she said, "de house amt
cused. Hits de people in it. Don
worry, honey. l had dream las
night | dreamed / saw a p'cession
| goin to a grave takin' a baby coffin.
An / saw EN- buryin' de coffin. Den
| when dey all go way saw de baby
rise out o de groun', an he was grow
Ied to be fine young man. An he
| said. Nanny my dear ole nanny"
He put his arm around my neck an
| said. Is come Of age today
II know wha' de dream meant Don
20 worry. honey. Hits all comm out
right"
The lovers well knew the supersti-
/ ton OF the colored race and thought
nothing of her words. But her predic
ton that ii would all come out right
proved true. II was n month before
St Clair could be moved. and during
this period Miss Archard came every
dag to nurse him. though never once
did she deign TO notice lie Moyne. One
day. shortly before the surgeon gave
| permission for his removal, the negro
who had told her dream came into the
room in which st. Clair was lyir6
Miss Archard sitting beside him. The
old woman locked the door and APP
preached the bed with her finger on
| her lips.
rs it de fir Oh Augusta" she asked.
Yes, aunty."
'Iis'en. I 60. n secret I'm gwine to
tell yo'. | promise missy nebber tell
twill dis day. cos dis de day yo', Mars
Julian
Julian. I'm not Julian. I'm Proc
tor. Something is the matter with
you, aunty. You're gone daft"
Jus yo' wait, honey. Mars Julian.
yo' twenty -one years ole dis berry day
Reckon ought to know. I'm 20
nanny"
BY this time she had caught their
attention.
"Yo ma, she lib heah, an Mars lie
Moyne. Mars Tom lie MoyHe's father,
he come in 10 run de plantation
Missy 'fraid her baby git poisoned so
Mars lie Moyne 'ud own de prop'ty.
Yo. de baby, git sick. Missy t'ink
Mars lie Moyne poison " So she
p'etend yo' daid. She git /, coffin, an
she fill it with stones, an she said to
me- In heah is de proofs dat my boy
IS not in &c coffin Yo'll know all
about him, an on de IF ob August,
IS. yo' tell him who he is. Den he
kin claim de plantation his ownself.' I"
When the old woman finished, the
lovers. whose eyes had been opening
wider with every word. looked at each
other in establishment
And this is the mystery that has
been hanging over NE al my life"
said Julian.
And | believe it's all true" added
the girl, claSping her hands and draw
ing long breath.
We'll, aunty, or, rather, my dear
nanny. you've kept the secret so
long; keep it longer"
Dat | Will honey"
| IL was more than q month later