Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1919-09-26
CHAPTER VI.

me Home OF Judge beaucdlTe.
The road we followed appeared to
be endless, and so rough that l soon
climbed down from my seat, an I'M
plnned board, uncomfortable enough
under any conditions, in the swaying,
humping cart, and stumbled blindly
along behind, tripping over stumps in
the darkness, and wrenehing my
ankles painfully in deep ruts.
II 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 mrle, feat not
at all difficult of accomplishment, the
knimars sides rising and falling as he
wheezed for breath. and came back
TO where stood. staring about at the
dimly perceived objects in the fore
ground.
"Out dar am de Beaucalre place"
he announced, as soon as he could dis
t5nguish my presence. waving his arm
to indicate the direction. SAN
reckon we bettnh not ride no further.
fer IL Alick shud smell corn. he'd
nat'lnrly raise dis whor nelghborhood
he's got a powerful voice. sah."
Equal to his appetite, no doubt"
'Yas. sab; that's mostly whut Alick
am"
"How far away Is the houseT
"Likely bout hundred yards Yer
see dat light out yonder; well dais 1t,
an 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 1 was fairly up
against It, and yet there seemed only
one natural method of procedure. I
must go at my unpleasant task bold
ly, and in this case only the truth
would serve. / was an officer in the
United States army, and had in my
pocket papers to prove my identity.
These would vouch for me as a gen.
tleman, and yield me a measure of au-
thority. And this fact, once estab-
llshed, ought to give me sufficient
standing in the eyes of those girls to
compel from them respectful hear
ing. would tell the story exactly as
j knew II, concealing nothing, and add
ing no unnecessary word, outline my
plan of action, and then leave them to
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 fac
could be established beyond question
and then they must surely all compre
hend the necessity of immediate figh
that there remained no other pos
sible means Of escape from hopeless!
slavery. Desperate as the chance ap
peared, 1t was the only one.
1t dawned upon me now with NOR,
intense force than ever before, the DC
sition In which l stood, and shranI
from the ordeal. A perfect stranger
not even a chance acquaintance o
those directly involved in this tragedy
j would have TO drag out from tn
closet, where 1t had been hidden ava
for years, this old Beaucaire skeleton
ard rattle the dried bones of dishono
before the Mortified understanding o
these two innocent, unsuspecting girl:
The conviction came 10 me that ha
best do this alone; that the presenc
of the negro would hinder, rather tina
help the solution of the problem.
"Pete," l said. measuring my words
my plan Of action shaping itself eve
as / spoke. "What lies in there bI
tween us and the house2"
"a truck patch mostly, wild fenc
round It. Den thar comes SOM flowe
beds"
"No pathT
swell, done reckon as how this
might be a sorter path, sab, but you
hardly find It in de darR. De be
way'd be ter sorter feel long {
fence. TIL yer git sight O. de frol
porch"
"All right, then. l am going to leaN
you here while scout around. KeC
your eyes open. and have the mu
ready to leave at any minute"
"'Bout how lon yer be gone, sab
II cannot tell you that. AS short
time as possible. 1t may require co
siderable explanation and urging
get those three women to trust m
However. all you have to do Is wa
and be sure that no one sees you.
you should be needed for anything
the house. I'll get word to you son
way; and II should send Della al
Rene out here alone. without beil
able to come with them myself, loi
them into the cart at once, and dri
TO the boat. I'll manage to join y,
somewhere. and the important thing
TO get them safely away. You undC
stand all thlsT"
"Yas, sab; leastways / reckon
does. Use ter take keer OBJ dem q
an let yer take keer o. yerself."
Exactly. because. you see, havei
the slightest idea what l am going
run up against. There may be othe
In the house, and | might not dare
leave Miss Eloise behind alone vii
out some protection. shan endeav
TO induce her to go to Haines at ono
Following some impulse sho
hands with him, and then plunged IN
the darkness, my only guidance at fl
that single ray of light streaml
through the unshaded window. AS
advanced cautiously along the fence
low structure built of rough rails, a