The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1919-10-16

man striking me dumb. This then had
probably been his real purpose from
the start. He had followed Beauca1re
deliberately with this final end In view
of running him, and thus compelling
his daughter to yield herself.
"And you actually mean that you
propose now to force Judge Beau
CARES daughter to marry your"
swell, hardly that, although I shall
use whatever means l possess. / In
tend to win her If can, fair means, or
foul"
l drew a deep breath, comprehend
ing now the full iniquity Of his plot,
and bracing myself to fight 1t.
"And what about the other girl,
Kirby? for there Is another girl"
"Yes," rather indifferently. 'there is
another"
"Of course you know who she Isl"
"Certainly-a niger, white Mig
ger; the supposed illegitimate daugh-
ter Of Adelbert Beaucalre, and a slave
woman. There Is no reason why I
should fret about her, is there? She
Is my property already by law" He
| laughed again, the same ugly sneering
laugh Of triumph. THAT was why /
was so particular about the wording Of
that bill of sale-I would rather have
her than the whole bunch Of field
hands"
"You believe then the girl has never
| been freed-either she, or her
| mOtherw
Believe? I know. tell you never
play any game with my eyes shut"
"And you actually intend TOTO
hold her as a SLAYER"
"Well, I'll look her over first before
I decide-she would be worth q pot
full Of money down the river"
The contemptuous. utterly indiffer-
ent manner In which he voiced his viii
famous purpose, would have crazed
/, any man. To me this utterance was
the last straw, breaking down every
restraint, and leaving me hot, and
furious with anger. 1 forgot the muz-
side. and the menacing threat In
Kirby's low voice. The face of the
man was indistinct, mere outline,
but the swift impulse to strike at 1t
was irresistible, and let him have the
blOw-a straight-arm jab to the jaw.
MY clinched knuckles crunched against
the flesh, and he reeled back, kept
from falling only by the support Of
the deckhouse. There was no report
Of weapon, no outcry, yet, before /
could strike again, was suddenly
gripped from behind by pair Of arms,
which closed about my throat like a
wise, throttling me instantly into silent
helplessness. 1 struggled madly to
break free, straining with all the art
Of a wrestler, exerting every ounce Of
strength, but the grasp which held me
was unyielding, robbing me Of breath,
and defeating every effort to call for
help. Kirby, dazed yet by my sudden
blow, grew eager to take hand In the
ARRAY, struck me a cowardly blow In
the face, and swung his undlscharged
pistol to level with my eyes.
% you'll" he CALCULATED, and for
the first time his voice really ex-
hibited temper. "Td kill you with this,
but for the noise. No, by God there
is a safer way than that to settle with
you. Have you got the skunk, Carver?"
"You can bet I have, Joe. kin
choke the life out o. him-shall II"
mo; let up blt-just enough so he
can answer me first. 1 want to find
out what all this means. Now look
here, Knox, what is all this to you?
Why are you butting In on my game?
Was Beaucaire a friend Of yours2"
T can hardly claim that" / admit
ted. 1--WE never met until I came
aboard this steamer. All I am inter
ested In Is justice to others"
ITO others? Oh, suppose you mean
those girls-7you know them thenT
81 have never even seen Them"
said.
81 see; self-appointed squire of
danes; actuated merely by a romantic
desire to serve beauty In distress. Elk
tremely interesting, my dear boy. But,
see here, Knox," and his tone changed
to seriousness. LET the romance 60,
and talk sense q minute. You are not
going to get very far fighting me alone.
You haven't even got the law with you
Even II I cheated Beaucaire, which
do not for a moment admit, there Is
no proof. The money is mine, and SO
Is the land and the niggers. You can
be ugly, Of course, but you cannot
overturn the facts. Now, you acknowl.
edge that what has occurred Is per-
sonally nothing to you; Beaucaire was
no special friend, and you don't even
know the two girls-all right then
drop the whole matter. hold no
grudge on account of your striking me,
and am even willing to share up with
you to avoid trouble