The Raymer enterprise., 1920-02-05
CHAPTER VI.
The Homo Of Judge Beaueaire.

The Homo Of Judge Beaueaire.
The road we followed appeared t
be endless, and so rough that l sooI
climbed down from my seat. an un
planed board. uncomfortable enougl
under any conditions. In the swaying
humping cart, and stumbled blindl.
along behind, tripping over stumps II
the darkness. and wrenchlng IN.
ankles painfully In deep ruts.
It was considerably after tel
o'clock when we emerged upon an oper
plateau. and a glimmer Of stars over
head revealed to me afar OF the silvel
thread Of the great river. Pet,
stopped the strainIng mule, feat no
at all difficult of accomplishment, tn
animals sides rising and falling as h,
wheezed for breath, and came bacl
to where / stood. staring about at thu
dimly perceived objects In the fore
ground.
"Out dar am de Beaucaire place.
he announced. as soon as he could dis
tinguish my presence, waving his arm
to indicate the direction. "An'
reckon We bettah not ride no further
.er II Allck shud smell corn. he't
nat'larly raise DIS Who'll neIghborhood
he's got a powerful voice. sah."
Equal to his appetite. no doubt"
"Yas, sab; that's mostly whut Allch
am"
"How far away Is the house?"
Likely bout hundred yards Yel
see dat light out yonder; well dat $ 1t
an I reckon de Indies mus be. up yet
keepIn' de lamp burnin'. Here's dt
slave cabins long de edge OBJ de
woods. but dey's all dark. What's yel
Q goin' fer ter do now. Massa Knox7'
was conscious that my heart wa,
beating rapidly. and that my mind wa,
anything but clear. The problem front
ing me did not appear 80 easily
solved. now that ! was fairly W
against It, and yet there seemed onl,
one natural method Of procedure.
must 20 at my unpleasant task bold
ly. and in this case only the truth
would serve. I was an officer In thu
United States army, and had In m,
pocket papers to prove my Identity
These would vouch for me as a gen
tleman. and yield me measure Of au
thority. And this fact, once estab
lished ought to give me sufficlen
standing In the eyes Of those girls Il
compel from them respectful hear
ing. l would tell the story exactly q,
! knew 1t. conceallng nothing. and add
Ing no unnecessary word. outline my
plan Of action. and then leave them Il
decide what they thought best to do
Strange. unbelievable as the situation
was. proof was not lacking. Della
could be compelled to acknowledg,
that Rene was her chlld--she would
scarcely dare deny this truth In face
Of my positive knowledge-and she, al
least. must know that Judge Beau
calre had never during his lifetime
given her her freedom This faci
could be established beyond question
and then they must surely all compre
bend the necessity Of immediate flight
that there remained no other pos
sIble means Of escape from hopeless
slavery. Desperate as the chance up
peared. It was the only one.
It dawned upon me now with more
intense force than ever before, the 20
sition In which I stood, and shrank
from the ordeal. A perfect stranger
not even chance acquaintance Of
those directly involved In this tragedy
! would have to drag out from the
closet, where It had been hidden away
for years. this old BeaucaIre skeleton
and rattle the dried bones of dIshonor
before the horrlfied understanding OF
these two innocent. unsuspecting girls
The conviction came to me that had
best do this alone; that the presence
Of the negro would hinder. rather than
help the solution Of the problem.
"Pete." said, measuring my words
my plan Of action shaping itself even
~ I spoke. "What lies In there be-
tween us and the housei"
"A truck patch mostly, wid q fence
round It. Den thar comes SOM nower
beds."
mo pathr
swell, I done reckon as how thar
might b. q sorter path, sab. but you'd
hardly iind It In de darx. De bes'
way'd be ter sorter feel long de
fsnce. III yer git sight o. de front
Dorch."
.All right, then. ! am going to leave
guu here while scout around. Keep
yeur eyes open. and have the mule
ouslv b issvs ct any minute"