The Dolores star., 1920-01-16

| probably been his real purpose from
the start. He had followed Beaucaire
deliberately with this final end in view
| his daughter to yield herself.
And you actually mean that you
propose now to force Judge Beau
caire's daughter to marry you?"
well, hardly that, although l shall
use whatever means l possess. l iu-
| tend to win her If l can, fair means, or
foul"
l drew deep breath, comprehend
ing now the full iniquity Of his plot.
and bracing myself to fight It.
And what about the other girl,
Kirby? for there is another girl"
Yes" rather lndiferently, there Is
another"
"Of course you know who she iS?"
"Certainly-a niger, white mig
ger; the supposed lllegitimate daugh-
ter of Adelhert Beaucaire. and slave
woman. There is no reason why
should fret about her. is there? She
is my property already by law" He
laughed again. the same ugly sneerng
laugh of triumph. That was why
| WIS 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 frecd-either she. or her
mOther?"
Believe? know. I tell you never
play any gume with my eyes shut"
"And you actually intend toto
hold her as slaveF"
well, III look her over first before
l decide-she would be worth a pot
full of money down the river"
The contemptuous, utterly indiffer-
cnt manner in which he voiced his vii
lainous purpose, would have craZed
,, any r1an. To me this utterance was
the last straw, breaking down every
! restraint, and leaving me hot, and
furious with anger. l forgot the muZ-
zle of the pistol pressed against my
side, and the menacing threat In
kirby's low voice. The face of the
man was lndistinct, a 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 cllnched 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. 1 was suddenly
gripped from behind by pair of arms,
which closed about my throat like
wise, throttling me instantly into silent
helplessness. l struggled madly to
break free, straining with all the art
of 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
affray struck me Il cowardly blow In
the face, and swung his undischarged
pistol to a level with my eyes.
D you" 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 safer way than that to settle with
you. Have you got the skunk. Carver?"
"You can bet I have, Joe. I kin
choke the life out o. him-shall II"
"No; let up bit-just enough so he
can answer me first. l 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 friend of yours?"
! 81 can hardly claim that" / admit
ted. 1--WE never met until I came
aboard this steamer. All / am inter-
ested in is justice to Others"
ITO others? Oh, suppose you mean
those girls-you know them then?"
81 have never even seen them" /
said.
II see; self-appointed squire of
| danes; actuated merely by romantic
desire to serve beauty In distress. Ex-
| tremely interesting, my dear boy. But,
see here, knox," and his tone changed
to seriousness. LET the romance go,
and talk sense minute. You are not
going to get very far fighting me alone
You haven't even got the law with you.
Even If l cheated Beaucalre. which
do not for 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. I hold no
grudge on account of your striking me-
and am even willing to share up with
you to avoid trouble.n