Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1919-11-14
CHAPTER vi.

The road we followed appeared to
be endless, and so rough that / soon
climbed down from my seat, an I'M
planed board, uncomfortable enough
under any conditions, in the swaying,
humping cart, and stumbled blindly
along behind, tripping over stumpS in
the darkness, and wrenching my
ankles painfully in deep ruts.
1t was considerably after ten
o'clock when we emerged upon an open
plateau, and a glimmer of stars over
head revealed to me afar off the silver
thread of the great river. Pete
stopped the straining mule, feat not
at all difficult of accomplishment, the
animals sides rising and falling as he
wheezed for breath, and came back
to where I stood, staring about at the
dimly perceived objects in the fore
ground.
"Out dar am de Beaucaire place"
he announced, as soon as he could dis
tinguish my presence, waving his arm
to indicate the direction. "An' l
reckon we bettah not ride no further,
fer If Alick shud smell corn, he'd
nat'larly raise dis who'll neighbOrhoOd
hes got a powerful voice, sah."
Equal to his appetite, no doubt"
"Yas, sab; that's mostly whut Alick
am"
"How far away is the .hOuseW
"Likely bout a hundred yards Yer
see dat light out yonder; well dat S it,
an I reckon de ladies mus be up yet,
keepin' de lamp burnin'. Here's de
slave cabins long de edge OBJ de
woods, but dey's all dark. What's yer
a goin' fer ter do now, Massa Knox?'
[ was conscious that my heart was
beating rapidly, and that my mind was
anything but clear. The problem front
ing me did not appear so easily
solved, now that l was fairly UP
against it, and yet there seemed only
one natural method of procedure.
must go at my unpleasant task bold
ly, and in this case only the truth
would serve. 1 was an officer in the
United States army, and had in my
pocket papers to prove my identity
These would vouch for me as gen
tleman, and yield me q measure of au
thority. And this fact, once estab
lished, ought to give me sufficient
standing in the eyes of those girls tC
compel from them a respectful hear
ing. I would tell the story exactly as
I knew it, concealing nothing, and add
ing no unnecessary word, outline my
plan of action, and then leave them tC
decide what they thought best to do
Strange, unbelievable as the situation
was, proof was not lacking. Della
could be compelled to acknowledge
that Rene was her child-she would
scarcely dare deny this truth in face
of my positive knowledge-and she, al
least, must know that Judge Beau
caire had never during his lifetime
given her her freedom. This fact
could be established beyond question
and then they must surely all compre-
bend the necessity of immediate flight
that there remained no other pos
sible means of escape from hopeless
slavery. Desperate as the chance APP
peared, it was the only one.
1t dawned upon me now with more
intense force than ever before, the pc
sition in which / stood, and l shrank
from the ordeal. A perfect stranger
not even a chance acquaintance OF
those directly involved in this tragedy
I would have to drag out from the
closet, where it had been hidden away
for years, this old Beaucaire skeleton
and rattle the dried bones of diShonor
before the Mortified understanding OF
these two innocent, unsuspecting girls
The conviction came to me that l had
best do this alone; that the presence
of the negro would hinder, rather than
helm the solution of the problem.
"Pete," 1 said, measuring my words
nv plan of action shaping itself even
as 1 spoke. "What lies in there be
tween us and the house?"
"a truck patch mostly, wild a fence
round 1t. Den thar comes SOM flower
beds"
mo path?"
"Well, / done reckon as how thar
might be a sorter path, sab, but you'd
hardly find it in de dark. De bes
way'd be ter sorter feel long dc
fence, It'll yer git sight O. de front
porch"
"All right, then. am going to leave
you here while scout around. Keep
your eyes open, and have the mule
ready to leave at any minute"