Charlevoix county herald., 1920-02-13


gone.
He was gone, and she was alone In
the gray Of the morning, watching the
gray sea heave under Frightening
sky. as she had watched II all her life.
And her fathers appearance In her
room seemed unreal as dream.
All day she watched him from the
cottage. busy about his ship, piling the
logs on deck All day she waited.
stunned. and incapable of action. re-
peating over and over in her mind her
fathers words, whose meaning was
uninteligible to her. Yet st. Boniface
remained unchanged in that ruin that
had come upon her. Men laughed
noisily as they strolled from their
work nj noon. children shouted at
play; the hum of The mill was a soft
undertone accompanying the horror In
her heart. II seemed Incredible that
ST. Boniface could know nothing. when
the whole universe WAS crying Out
against her.
Ii was late in the afternoon when
she saw two figures sioucb toward the
vessel She recognized Pierre and Lee
blanc And IN Q moment she under.
stood the meaning Of their appearances.
Murder was being planned, against
Hilary, who had saved her. She
watched them go on hoard, paralyzed
with fear.
Then the power of action, return
ing, shattered the paralysis of will
that held her She ran bareheaded
from the cottage, through the streets
OF ST. BOniface, toward the Chateau.
She must get help there her thoughts
turned instinctively thither, as st.
Boniface had always turned for aid
toward its Seigneur.
Madeleine, seated in her room. with
her memories of her dead. heard the
door bell jangle. She went down. To
see Marie i'm the hall At the sight
of the girl feeling OF repulsion, wild
and unreasonable, stiffened her. hut
when she looked into her face, she
spoke gently.
'What is it?" she asked
"Mademoiselle," stammered the girl.
"they are planning TO kill him"
''Whom?"
Monsieur Askew. who saved me
from Pierre that day. Mademoiselle. I
have only now learned what they say
of him and me. II is not true. And
they are going to murder him. | came
TO you 10 save him."
"Where Is hep"
He is going on board tonight. Per.
blanc are waiting for him there"
Wait here!" cried Madeleine.
She ran back into the Chateau. put
on her coat and hat, and took n re-
vOlver which had lain for many years
unused I'm a drawer of cabinet She
hurried to the stable, harnessed the
horse, and brought the sleigh To the
door. She motioned to Marie TO enter
leaped in. and took the reins, and the
two girls started along the road
through the forest.
1t was a difficult journey through
the deep snow. Often the horse fioun-
dered knee-deep In the drifts, and the
way seemed endless; hut near the vii.
lnge the snow was tramped hard. and
the sleigh went like the wind Neither
of the girls spoke. but before the eyes
Of each was the same dreadful picture.
AT last they emerged from the for
est and crossed the bridge The hum
Of the mill had ceased and had been
succeeded by another sound well
known to dwellers along the ST. Law.
renee shores when winter arrives: The
stirring Of the ice foes as the impend.
ing storm drives them together to their
long winter anchorage.
The sleigh went madly along the
wharf which groaned and creaked as
the ice battered il on either side. Made
lcine Sprnng from the sleigh and ran
on hoard the schooner. which was al
ready moving.
As Marie descended to follow her
she saw that II was too late. There
was an increasing space between the
wharf and the deck She hesitated,
and then u was impossible 10 follow
For q moment she thought she saw
MiutItlue uiTtitlfDR ne nufTOW pas
sage between the piles Of lumber
then the darkness closed about her
The pulleys creaked. The mainsall
and foresail swung upward and bellied
in the wind The two gnfftOpsails
CLEANED like white birds against the
night
Then only the sails remained. They
turned and shifted. disappearing and
appearing again eliisively. until they
blended with the fog and the darkness
and vanished finally.
The horse. left uncontrolled, swung
round and galloped homeward. trail
ing the empty sleigh behind him. Marie
stood shuddering at the end OF the
wharf. For while she stared out In
terror toward the invisible schooner.
lost In the distance. She could see
nothing, but she could still hear the
roar Of the wind In the rigging and the
Tapping Of the great sails.
Presently. with low cry. she turned
and began running homeward. She
staggered into the cottage and sank
1nxun hnf hA prn,tphfnU