Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1919-10-24
CHAPTER VI.
The Home Of Judae seaueaIre.

The Home of Judge Beaucaire.
The road we followed appeared to
be endless, and so rough that l soon
climbed down from my seat, an I'M
planned board, uncomfortable enough
under any conditions, in the swaying,
humping cart and stumbled bliudly
along behind, tripping over stumps in
The darkness, and wrenchng my
ankles painfully in deep ruts
1t 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 mule, a feat not
at all difficult of accomplishment, the
animals sides rising and falling as he
wheezed for breath, and came back
10 where I stood, staring about at the
dfmly perceived objects in the fore
ground.
"Out dar am de Beaucaire place"
ne announced, as soon as he could dis
1inguish my presence, waving his arm
to indicate the direction. can I
reckon we bettah not ride no further,
fer il Alick shud smell corn, he'd
natlarly raise dis Who'll neighborhood
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 house|
LIKELY bout a hundred yards Yer
see dat light out yOnder; well dat S it,
an reckon de ladies mus be up yet,
keepin' de lamp burnin'. Here's de
slave cabins long de edge oh 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 l wa& fairly up
against it, and yet there seemed only
one natural method of procedure.
must 20 at my unpleasant task bold
ly, 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 measure Of au'
thOrity And this fact, once estab
lished, 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 as
I knew it, concealing nothing, and add
ing no unnecessary word, outline my
plan of action, and then leave them tc
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, at
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 comnre
bend the necessity Of immediate flight
that there remained no other pos
Sible means of escape from hopeless
slavery. Desperate as the chance ap
peared, it was the only one.
It dawned upon me now with more
intense force than ever before, the po
sition in which | stood, and | shranF
from the ordeal A perfect stranger
not even a chance acquaintance OF
those directly involved in this tragedy
| would have to drag out from the
closet, where it had been hidden away
for years, this old Beaucaire skeleton
ard rattle the dried bones of diSnonol
before the Mortified understanding o
these two innocent, unsuspeCting girls
The conviction came to me tndt hal
best do this alone; that the presence
of the negro would hinder rather than
help the solution of the problem.
pete" | said measuring my words
my plan of action shaping itself ever
as | spoke. "What lies in there be
tween us and the house?'
"A truck patch mostly, wild a fence
round it. Den thar comes SOM fiowe
beds"
mo path?"
"Well, l done reckon us how tha
might be sorter path, sab, but you''
hardly find it in de dark. De hes
way'd be ter sorter feel long de
fence, I'll yer git sight O. de from
porch"
All right, then. am going to leave
you here while scout around. Keel
your eyes open, and have the null
ready 10 leave at any minute"