The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1919-10-16
CHAPTER vi.


Tho Home Of Judge Beaucaire.
The road we followed appeared to
DC endless, and so rough that l 0
climbed down from my seat. an IN
pianed board. uncomfortable enough
under any conditions. In the swaying,
humping cart, and stumbled blindly
etong behind. tripping over stumps In
the darkness. and wrenching 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 afaru off the silver
thread OF the great river. Pete
stopped the stralning mule. a feat not
at all difficult of accomplishment, the
animals sides rising aud failing as he
wheezed for breath, and came back
20 where I stood, staring about at the
dlmly perceived objects in the fore
ground.
"0ut sdar am lie Beaucaire place."
he announced, as soon as he could dis
tinguish my presence. waving his arm
20 indicate the direction. San /
reckon we bettah not ride no further,
fer IL Alick shud smell corn, he'd
nat'larly raise dis who'll neighbo-hood
hes cot a powerful voice, sah."
Equal to his appetite. no doubts
"Yas. sab; that's mostly whut Lick
am,
"How far away is the house?"
Likely bout q hundred yards Yer
zee dat light out yonder; well dat s 1t,
an I reckon de ladies' mus be up vet,
keepin' de lamp burnin'. Here's de
slave cabins long de edge OBJ de
woods. but dcy's all dark. What's yer
a goin' fer ter do now. Massa Knox? r.
[ was conscious that my heart was
beating rapidly. and that my mind was
anything but clear. The problem 'front.'
ing me did o appear so easily
solved. now that I was fairly up
against It. and yet there seemed only
a natural method Of procedure. /
must go at my unpleasant task bold
iy, and In this case only the truth
would serve. l 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 q measure Of au-
thorIty. And this fact, once estab-
tished, ought to give me SUFFICIENT
standing In the eyes of those girls to
compel from them a respectful hear
ing. l would tell the story exactly Is
4 knew 1t, 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 tn acknowledge
that Rene was her child-she would
scarcely dare deny this truth In face
oe my positive knowledge-and she, Mt
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 fight
that there remained no other pos
sIbie means Of escape from hopeless
slavery. Desperate as the chance APP
peared. II vas the only one.
II dawned upon me now with more
intense force than ever before, the po-
sltion In which / stood, and l shrank
IRON the ordeal. A perfect stranger,
not even q chance acquaintance of
those directly involved In this tragedy.
4 would have to drag out from the
closet, where 1t had been hidden away
for years. this old Beaucaire skeleton,
ard rattle the dried bones Of dishonor
before the horrified 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
help the solution Of the problem.
s'Pete." / said. measuring my words
my plan Of action shaping itself even
a. I spoke. "Whnt lies In there be
tween Us and the house7'
"A truck patch mostly, wild = fence
round II Den thar comes SOM 6cwe'
6ed8."
mo PATH"
~yVell, / done reckon as how thai
might BE- : sorter path. sab. but you'd
hardly ind Il In de dark. De hes
way'd b. ter sorter feel long d.
renee ~ yer git sIsht q d fron'
An rie1G. }hSn. / am going to leave
49, -~~..h ~~~..uA 49,