The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1917-04-26

MS raise tongue. NOW you can tel
him the truth"
81 shall do that. but even my word
fear. will not clear D'Artigny Of the
charge. l believe the man to be limo
cent; In my heart there Is no doubt,
yet there is so little to be proven"
"Cassion speaks bitterly: he Is an
enemy"
Monsieur Cassion Is my husband
I said regretfully.
"Your pardon, madame. All. I un-
derstand II all now. You were sup
posed to have beer drowned in the
great lake, but were saved by DAT
tigny. Twill be a surprise for mon
sieur, but In this land. we witness
come yonder; tbs Bolsrondet and his
men"
They approached In silence. mere
shadowy figures, whose numbers |
could not count, but those I'm advance
bore a helpless body in their arms.
and my heart seemed to stop Its beat
ing. until | heard D'Artigny's voice I'm
cheerful greeting.
what still here, madame, and the
gate beyond open" He took my hand
and lifted 1t to his lips. "My congrat-
ulations; your work was well done,
and our lives thank you. Madame
Cassion, this Is my comrade, Francois
B~oisrondet, whose voice | was never
more glad to hear than this night. I
commend him to your mercy"
Bolsrondet, n mere shadow In the
night, swept the earth with his hat.
81 mind me the time" he said cour-
teously, when Rene did me equal
service"
THE savages have fed?"
"'Twas short and sweet, madame.
and those who failed to fly are lying
yonder."
yet some among you are hurt?"
"Barbeau hath an ugly wOund-ay.
bear him along, lads, and have the cut
looked to-but as for the rest OF us,
there is no serious harm done"
l was gazing at D'Artigny. and
marked how he held one hand to his
side.
Aud you, monsieur; you are un
scathed?"
Except for n small wound here.
and n head which rings yet from saw
age blows-no more than a nights
rest will remedy. Come, madame. it's
time we were within. and the gates
closed"
rs there still danger, then? Surely
now that we are under protection
there will be no attack"
mot from those we have passed,
but It's told me there are more than q
thousand Iroquois warriors in the val
ley, and the garrison has less than
fifty men, all told. 1t was luck we got
through so easily. Ay, Boisrondet. we
are ready"
That was my first glimpse Of the
interior of a frontier fort, and. al
though l saw only the little open space
lighted by a few waving torches, the
memory abides with distinctness. A
body Of men met us at the gate. dim,
indistinct figures, a few among them
evidently soldiers from there dress.
but the majority clothed In the ordi-
nary garb Of the wilderness. Save for
visible, nor did I recognize a familiar
face. as the fellows. each man bear,
ing a rifle, surged about us In noisy
welcome, eagerly questioning those
who had gone forth to u rescue. Yet
we were scarcely within. and the
gates closed, when a man pressed his
way forward through the throng. In
voice Of authority bidding them stand
aside. A blazing torch cast its red
light over him. revealing a slender fg-
ure attired In frontier garb. a dark
face. made alive by q pair Of dense
brown eyes, which met mine In a stare
Of surprise.
Back safe, Boisrondet," he ex.
claimed sharply. land have brought In
a woman. IT'S a strange sight N this
land. Were any of u lads hurt?'
None worth reporting, monsieur.
The man they carried was a soldier OF
NJ. de la Durantaye. He was struck
down before we reached the party.
There Is an old comrade here"
IAN old comrade! Lift the torch.
Jacques. Faith. there are 50 few left
would not miss the sight Of sach a
face"
He stared about at Us. for an In
slant uncertain; then took a quick
step forward. his hand outstretched.
"Rene d'Artignyw he cried. his Joy
finding expression In his face. LAY.
an old comrade, indeed. and only less
welcome than NJ. de la Sale himself.
Twas a bold trick you played tonight,
but not unlike many another have
seen you venture. You bring me mes
sage from m~onsieurg"
"Only that he has sailed safely for
France to have audience with Louis.
saw him aboard ship. and was bid
den to tell you to hide here In patience
and seek no quarrel with De Baugis."
Easy enough to say: but In all
truth I need not seek Quarrel-it
comes my way without seeking. De