The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1919-12-11
ere, Knox, what is all this to youf

was DCNuSuiKS a 1IlSIlU VI yOuISS
II can hardly claim that" I admit
ted. 1--WE never met ~-til I came
aboard this steamer. All I am inter-
ested In is justice to Others"
ITO others? Oh, l suppose you mean
those girls-you know them them"
II have never wen seen them" I
said.
II see; a self-appointed squire Of
danes; actuated merely by a romantic
desire to serve beauty in distress. Elk
tremely interesting, my dear boy. But,
see here, Knox," and his tone changed
to seriousness. LET the romance 60,
and talk sense a minute. You are not
going to get very far fighting me alone.
You haven't even got the law with you.
Even If I cheated Beaucaire, which l
do not for a moment admit, there is
no proof. The money is mine, and so
IL the land and the niggers. You can
be ugly, Of course, but you cannot
overturn the facts. Now, you acknowl-
edge that what has occurred is per-
sonally nothing to you; Beaucaire was
no special friend, and you don't ven
know the two girls-all right then,
drop the whole matter. I hold no
grudge on account of your striking me.
and am even willing to share up with
you to avoid trouble"
sand if I refuse?"
'Then, of course, we shall be COM
PEELED to shut your mouth for you.
Self-preservation is the first law"
l looked about at them both, scarce
~ able to distinguish clearly ven
their outlines in the dense gloom. The
seriousness of the situation, coupled
with my helplessness, and inability to
achieve the object proposed, a very
evident. 1t might, under the circum-
stances, have been the part of wisdom
for me to have sought some means of
compromise, but I was young, and hot,
fiery blood swept through my veins.
The words of Kirby stung me with
their breath Of insult-his sneering, in
solent offer to pay me to remain still.
"You must rank me as one Of your
W kind" I burst forth. "Now you
listen to a plain word from me. If
that was intended as an offer, I refuse
it. You, and your confederate, have
coOlly robbed Beaucaire, and propose
to get away with the spoils. Perhaps
you will, but that end will not be &C.
complished through any assistance of
mine. At first I only felt a slight in
terest in the affair, but from now on I
am going to fight you fellows with
every weapon I possess"
Kirby chuckled, apparently greatly
amused.
"Quite glad, I am sure, for the dec
laration of war. Fighting has always
agreed with me. Might I ask the ma
ture Of those weapons?"
"That remains for you to discover"
I calculated sharply, exasperated by
his evident contempt. Carver, take
your dirty hands off Of me-"
In spite Of the fact of their threat,
the ready pistol pressing against my
ribs, the grip of Carver's fingers at my
throat, I did not anticipate any actual
assault. That either would really dare
fnjure me seemed preposterous. In
deed my impression was, that Kirby
felt such Indifference toward my at
tempt to block his plan, that he would
permit me to pass without opposition
certainly without the slightest resort
to violence. The action of the two was
so swift, so concerted, as though at
some secret signal, that, almost before
l realized their purpose, they held me
helplessly struggling, and had forced
me back against the low rail. Here
I endeavored to break away, to shout
an alarm, but was already too late.
Carver's hands closed remorselessly
on my throat, and, when I managed to
strike out madly with one free fist, the
butt Of Kirby's pistol descended on my
head, so la~cerating my scalp the drip
ping blood blinded my eyes. The blow
partially stunned me, and I half fell,
clutching at the rail, yet dimly con-
scious that the two straining men
were uplifting my useless body, Carver
swearing ~viciously as he helped to
thrust me outward over the wooden
bar. The next instant I fell, the sneer-
A"6 NoNnAS Va 4AAAOJ - laugh VI lAluIllpu
echoing in my ears until drowned In
the splash. as I struck the black water
below.
/ came back to the surface dazed
and weakened, yet sufficiently con-
scious to make an intelligent struggle
for life. The over-hang of the rapidly
passing boat still concealed me from
the observation of those above on the
deck, and the advantage of permitting
them to believe that the blow on my
head had resulted in drowning, to-
gether with the knowledge that I must
swiftly get beyond the stroke of that
deadly wheel, flashed instantly through
my brain. 1t was like a tonic, reviving
every energy. Waiting only to inhale
n deep breath of air, l plunged back
once into the depths, and swan
strongly under water. The effort
proved successful, for when I again
ventured to emerge, gasping and ex-
hausted, the little Warrior had swept
past, and become merely a shapeless