Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1919-10-10

rallied, however, III nttfact1veneSS Sl1fs
ficient to keep me below, and as soon
as I had deposited my bag and i'm
dulged in somewhat captious scru-
tiny of the bedding very willingly re-
turned to the outside and clambered
up steep ladder to the upper deck.
Judge Beaucaire was standing at the
low rail. Our eyes met inquiringly,
and he bowed with all the ceremony
of the old school.
"A new passenger on board, / think,
pleasant impression. 'You must
have joined our company at Fort
Armstrong;"
Your superstition is correct" | an
swered. some peculiar constraint pre-
venting me from referring to my milf
have been about the island for few
weeks. | believe you are Judge Beau
caire of Missouri
He was a splendidly proportional
man, with deep chest, great breadth
of shoulders and strong individual
face, yet bearing unmistakaDle signs
of dissipation, together with numer-
Gus marks of both care and age.
81 feel the honor of your recognition.
sir" he said with dignity "Knox, /.
believe you said? OF the Knox family
at Cape Girardeau, may | inquirer
"No connection to my knowledge;
my home was at Wheeling"
'tAh! I have never been that far
east; indeed the extent Of my travels
along the beautiful Ohio has only been
to the Falls. The Beaucaires were
originally from Louisiana"
'You must have been among the ear
lier settlers of Missouri"
"Before the Americans came, SIR"
proudly. "My grandfather arrived at
Beaucaire Landing during the old
French regime; but doubtless you
know all this?''
mo, Judge" I answered, recognizing
the egotism of the man but believing
frankness to be the best policy. ''This
happens to be my first trip on the up
per river, and | merely CHANGED to
know your name because you had been
pointed out to me by Captain Throclz-
morton. / understood from him that
you represented one of the oldest
families in that section
There were but very few here be-
| fore u.s." he answered with undis-
guised pride. "My grandfather's grant
of land was from the king. Alphonse
de Beaucaire, sir, was the trusted
lieutenant Of DIberville-a soldier
and a gentleman"
I bowed in acknowledgment, the
family arrogance of the man interest
| ing RE deeply. So evident was this
pride that this might be all the man
| had left-tilis memory of the past
1.-THE history of those early days is
not altogether familiar to me- | adj
mitted regretfully. "But surely D'Iber-
vile must have ruled Louisiana more
than one hundred years ago?'
| The judge smiled.
Quite true. This grant of ours was
practically his last official act. AL
| phonse de Beaucaire took possession
in 1912. one hundred and twenty years
ago, sir. | was myself born at Beau
eaire siXty-eight years ago"
81 should have guessed Wv nc ten
/ years younger. And the estate still
| remains in it's original gras;t?"
The smile of condescension deserted
his eyes, and his thin lips pressed
| tightly together.
| Il regret not; many of the later
| years have proven disastrous in the
extreme" he admitted, hesitatingly.
/ "You will pardon me, sir, if | decline
| to discuss misfortune. All. Monsieur
Kirby! I have been awaiting you.
/ Have you met with this young man
who came aboard at Fort Armstrong?
| II am unable to recall the name"
Steven Knox
felt the firm, strong grip of the
others hand, and looked straight into
his dark eyes. They were like a mask.
The face was long, firm-jawed, slightly
sWarthy, a tightly clipped black mus
tache shadowing the upper lip. 1t was
reckless face, yet appeared carved
| from marble.
Exceedingly pleased to meet you,"
he said carelessly. Rather a dull lot