The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-11-07

W NAsAS AllN DNlZS VI
earth into this last refuge. Before II
had grown quite dark | mad b~arricaded
Jacqueline and myself within a place
the size Of a hall bedroom inclosed
upon three sides with rock.
And there | waited for the end.
l sat beside J~acqueline, holding her
hand with one Of mine, and my re.
volver in the other. There was a faint
ilutter at her wrist. | fancied that il
had grown stronger during the Fest
half hour.
But L was unprepared 10 hear her
whisper to me, ana when she spoke
vas alert in a moment.
Paul !" she said family.
"Jacqueline 7"
paul! Bend down. | want tn
speak to you. Do you know / have
been conscious for a long time. nv
dear? l have been thinking. Are you
distressed because Of me?"
my dearl" l said and that was all
that | could say. l clasped her cold
little hand tightly I'm mine.
you must leave me, Paul, because
because of what is between US. You
must go to Leroux and tell him so.
You love me, Paul?"
always, Jacqueline," / whispered
She put her arms about my neck.
II love you, Paul. she said. at
seems so easy to say IL in the dark.
and 1T used to be SO hard. Do you
know what l admired and loved you
for, even when you thought my mind
unstable and empty? How true you
were! 1t was that, dear. 1t was your
honor, Paul.
THAT was why, when I remembered
everything that dreadful night in the
snow, the revulsiOn was SO terrible. l
ran away in horror. l could not believe
that 1t was true-and yet l knew Ii
was true.
"And Leroux was waiting there and
found me 1 did 10 want to leave
you, but he told me there was Pere
Antoine's cabin close by, and that you
would come to no harm. And he made
me believe-you had stolen my money
as well. But I never believed that,
and / only tainted you with it to drive
you away for your own sake"
She drew me weakly toward her and
went on:
"Now that we are to part forever,
and perhaps 1 am to die, 1 can speak
to You from my heart and tell you,
dear. Kiss meas though I were your
wife, Paul.
$50 you will go to Leroux," she
added presently.
us that your will. Jacqueline"
"Yes, DEAR" she said. Because we
have fought, and now we are beaten,
/ bowed my head. l knew that she
spoke the truth. l knew at last that
I was vanquished. For, now that
lay there so weak, so help
less, and thinking all our past was
but a dream, there was nothing but to
yield. l could not fight any more.
So / left her and climbed cross the
bags and went down toward the
stream.
But before / had reached 1t a dark
figure slipped from among the shad-
0ws of the rocks and came toward
me-; and by the faint starlight l saw
the face of Pierre Caribou!
He stopped me and held m" ~ 3oj
shoulders, and he drew me into RI,
Of the rocks and bent his
wizened old face forward toward mine.
"Ah, monsieur. so you did not obey
old Pierre Caribou and stay in the
cave" he said.
"Pierre, / did not know that you
would return" I answered.
"Never mind" the Indian answered.
looking at me strangely. "All finish
now. Diable take Leroux. His time
come. Diable show mel"
"HOwT i answered. startled.
"All finish" said Pierre i~nexorably.
and, as / watched him a superstitious
fear crept over me. He, who had
cringed, even when he gave the COM
mand, now cringed no longer. and
there was q look In his old face that
I had only seen on n mans before
my fathers the night he died.
"Pierre, where Is LerouxY' / whis-
pered. "Shall / surrender to him or
shall ! fight"
"No matter" he said once again.
"M'sieur, suppose you 60 back to
and soon Simon come. His
diable lead him to you. His diable tell
you what to say. All finish now!'
He walked past me noiselessly, a
tenuous shadow, and his bearing was
as proud as that Of his race had been
in the long ago. when they were lords
where now their white masters ruled
(TO BE CONTINUED.)