Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-12-27

with . shuddsr. This 10 such = nor
rid place"
"The way before 40 iooks seaFess4
better" I answered. vainly endsavors
Ing to locate Sam. ''Friend Shrunk
evidently L. not eager for cnllerA
Where 10 that fcllowf"
| somewhere over In that thicke& y
think. At least his voice sounoe4
from there. You discovered nothing
In the boatf"
"Only rag and some fishing tackle
Come; Wen have to plunge In sofn0s
| where"
She followed closely as I pushed =
passage through the obstructing uns
derbrush, finally locating Sam at the
edge OF a small opening. where the
| light was sufficiently strong to enable
us to distinguish marks Of llttle-used
| trail leading along the bottom OF .
| shallow gully bisecting the sldehill.
| At the crossing of a small stream we
noticed the imprint Of several feet In
the soft mud Of the shore One plainly
| enough was small and narrow, beyond
| all question that OF a woman. but tha
others were all mems, one being clad
In moccasins. Sam, still ahead, start
ed to Chamber across the trunk Of Q
fallen tree, but came to sudden hnlt,
staring downward at something cons
cealed from our view on the other
side.
"Good Lord o. mercy" he exclaimed
excitedly, whats datf"
was close beside him by this time
and saw the thing also--the body Of
man lying on the ground.
"wait where you are. Renew I exs
claimed, waving her back. There Is
man lying here beyond the log.
Come, Sam; we will see what he looks
| like"
He was slow in following. hanging
back as l approached closer to the
motionless form, and could hear the
mutterIng OF his lips. UnquestionAbly
the man was dead; Of this l was as.
| sured before / even knelt beside him.
| He lay on his face In q litter Of dead
| leaves. and almost the first thing I
| noticed was the death wound back OF
| his ear. where large-callber bullet
had pierced the brain. His exposed
hands proved him a negro, and 1t was
with feeling of unusual repugnance
that I touched his body, turning It
over sufficiently to SEQ the face. All
ut once knew him. unable wholly to
repress q cry of startled surprise as
stared down into the upturned
| face-the dead man evidently MUIR
dered. shot treacherously from behind
was Free Pete. I sprang to my feet,
gazing about bllndly into the dim
woods. my mind for the instant dazed
by the Importance Of this discovery.
| What could 1t mean7 How could Il
| have happened? BY what Means had
he reached this spot In advance Of us.
and ut whose hand had he fallen2 He
could have been there only for one
purpose. surely-in an attempt to
| guide Eloise Beaucaire and the quad
room Della. Then what had become
OF the women? Where were they
now?
I stumbled backward to the support
| of the log, unable to answer any one
Of these questions, remembering only
| In that moment that must tell Rene
the truth.
"Tell me-please." she begged. us
the man dead? Who Is he, do you
| know?"
yes" replied desperately. HE Is
| dead. and recognized his face. he
is the negro Pete and has been killed,
shot from behind
pete" she echoed. grasplng at the
log to keep erect, her eyes on that
dlmly revealed figure In the leaves.
Free Pete, Cartons Peter How
could he have got here? Then-then
the others must have been with him.
What has become of themF'
at is all mystery; the only way to
solve II Is for us to go on. 1t can do
no one any good to stand here, staring
at this dead body. When we reach
the cabin we may learn what has oc-
Cured Go on ahead, Sam. and we
will follow-don't be afraid. boy; IL
Is not the dead who hurt u.s."
She clung tightly to me. shrinking
past the motionless figure. She was
not sobbing; her eyes were dry. yet
every movement, each glance exhibit
ed her depth of horror. l drew her
closer, thoughtless of what she was,
my heart yearning to speak words or
comfort, yet realizing there was moth
ing left me to say.
"Do not mind me-" she said. paus~
ing before the utterance of each word
to steady her voice. II am not
going to break down. TIT Is the
suddenness-the shock. II shall ba
strong again in a minute"
"You must be-" / whispered, TOE
their lives may depend on u.s.
1t was short path before us and
became more clearly defined as we adj
vanced A sharp turn brought us into
full view of the cabin. which stood
In a small opening, built against the
sidehlll, and so overhung with trees
as to be invisible. except from the di.
rectlon of our approach. We could see
only the side wall, which contained
one open window, and was one-room
affair." low and hat-roofed, built OF
logs. Its outward appearance was
peaceful enough. and the swift beat OF
my pulse Quieted as took rapid sur
vey of the surroundings.
SAM" I commanded, "you are I'd
remain here with Rene, while ! learn
the truth yonder. Yes" to her quick