Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-11-25
CHAPTER xlV-Continued.

ion Of his face proving his dissatisfac'
tion with the prospect.
"O' course, I'm a goin' long with
yer, cap" he acknowledged, 'dryly. u
never wus no gutter, but this. yere
trip don't look so id easy ter
me, fer all thet. III wake up thet
Clark gurl an then saddle the hosses." ;"
I watched him round the corner OF
the cabin, not wholly at ease in my
own mind, then gathered up the mar
and replaced it in my pocket, aware
that EloiSe had not moved from hel
position on the grass.
SIS he right?" she questioned, look
\ ing up at me. is there any real dan
ger of Indians?"
"Some, perhaps; 1t Is all Indian
country, north and east Of here-oI
has been. I am not denying that, but
this danger does not compare, in my
mind, with the peril which cenfrOnts
us in every direction. I am trying to
choose the least. Our greatest diff
Guilty will be the lack of food-we
possess no guns with which to kill
game, only pistols, and an exceedingly
small stock Of ammunition. That is
what troubles Tim; that, and his
eagerness to get back down the river,
He fails to realize what it would mean
- to you to fall again into Kirbys
hands,"
"Do you realize?"
"Do I? It Is the one memory which
controls me. Tell me, am not right
You despise the fellow; you are will
ing to face any hardship so as to es'
cape him"e
II would rather die than have him
touch me. Surely you cannot deem ii
possible that I could ever forgiven"
"No; that would be hard to con-
ceive; and yet I wished to hear the
words from your own lips. Will you
answer me one thing more-why did
you first assume the character of
Rene, and why did you repose such
instant trust in me?"
81 think myself hardly knew" she
admitted timidly. 1T all happened,
was born of impulse, rather than
through any plan. Perhaps it was just
the woman in me. After my father
died, Della thought it best to tell us
the story Of Rene's birth. Thls--this
was such terrible tale, and later we
Sought all through private papers
hoping he had taken some acton TO
set those two free. There was no
proof that he had, no mention, indeed,
except a memorandum Of intention to
refer the matter to Lawyer Haines at
the Landing. This merely served to
confirm what Della had told US, and,
as Haines had gone to st. Louis, we
were unable to see him. We were all
Of us nearly crazed. So suggested that
we run away, and drew money out Of
my private account for that purpose.
Ny only thought was to take steam
er up the Ohio, to some place where
we were not known, and begin life
over again. Oh, you cannot under
stand-I had no mind left; only
blind impulse to save them"
caught her hand in mine and held
it firmly.
perhaps I do understand. 1t was
my knowledge Of this very condition
which first brought me to you"
"You heard about US on the boat
the Warrior? Did father tell you?"
"No; it was Kirby. He was actual
ly proud of what he had done-boast-
ed to me of his success. have never
known q man so heartlessly conceited.
Eloise, listen. You may have thought
this was largely an accident. 1t wa!
not; it was deliberately planned
cold-blooded plot. tell you that Jof
Kirby is Of the devils own breed; he
is not human. Rene's father tod him
first of the peculiar conditions at Beau
caire."
"Rene's father! Does-does he still
live?"
mo; but he did live for years after
he disappeared, supporting himself by
gambling on the lower river. At one
time he and Kirby were together. Al
ter he died Kirby investigated his
story in st. Louis and found that 1t
was true. Then he laid this plot to
gain control of everything, including
both Of you girls. The man dreamed
of owning Beaucaire, Of possessing all
it contained. He was willing to risk
everything to carry out his h2ll-born
scheme, and to ruin everyone who IN
terfered with him. ! am telling you
all this, Eloise, because it is now time
you should know. Will you not tell
me just how it all came to you?"
Her hands clung to me, as though
she dare not let go, her eyes were
filed with q mingling Of wonGerment
and pCin.
"Why, of course. We thought it
best not to go until after we could see
the lawyer. l could not believe my
father had neglected to set those two
free-he-he loved them both. Della
and Rene had gone down to the Land
ing that night to see if he had re-
turned. We were both Of US afraid to
leave Rene alone-she was so dcSpon-