The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1920-04-29

! Remained There Alone, Guarding the
Woman ! Loved.
However it had been accomplished,
through what villainy, made no odds
she was his wife, and could only be re.
leased through process of law. He
could claim her, hold her in spite of
me, in spite Of herself. No influence
l might bring to bear would save her
now from this contamination. 1t would
all be useless, a thing for laughter. He
s~ignature-of which Kirby had boosted
and the certificate signed by the
dead Gaskins, would offset any pos
sible efforts l might put forth. There
remained no hope except through
flight understanding our pursuers ; find
ing a route to safety through the
wilderness which they would never
suspect.
must find an unknown path, an un-
travelled trail. Our only hope lay in
battling pursuit, in getting far 'be-
yong Kirby's grip. l dragged the map
out from it's silk wrapping and spread
it forth on the ground between my
knees. 1t was the latest government
survey, given me when I first departed
for the North, and I already knew
every line and stream by heart.
1 became so interested in the prob
lem as to entirely forget her presence,
but, when I finally lifted my head, our
eyes met, and I instantly read in the
depths Of hers the dawning of recog-
milton.
"Who are your she breathed in
creduously, lifting herself upon one
hand. "Oh, surely I know-Lieutenant
Knox! Why, where am I? What has
happened? Oh, God! you do not need
to tell me that! But you; I cannot un
.derstand about you. They-they said
you died."
"They must have said much to de-
ceive you" and I bent forward to touch
her hand. "See, I am very much alive.
Let me tell you-that will be the quick
est way to understand. In the first
place 1 did not drown when the boat
was smashed, but was rendered help
less and borne away on the water. The
Adventurer rescued me about daylight
the next morning, and I was no sooner
on board than I was told how the keel
boat had been run down below on the
river during the night and hat your
party had all been saved-two white
men and two. negress slaves. OF course,
I knew you must be one of them"
"Then-then we were actually to-
gether, on the same boat, all the way
up here?"
Eyes; I tried hard to find where you
were concealed on board, but failed.
Kirby guarded you with great care
from all observation. Do you know
why?"
Yes" she answered, as though fore
ing herself to speak. II do know now.
J. thought I knew then, but was mis-
taken. l supposed it might be because
l looked so little like a negress, but
now | realize it was his own con-
science. He knew | was a white wom-
an; he had become convinced that l
was Eloise Beaucaire. Did you know
that, also?"
II learned the truth on the boat,
from the same source where Kirby OBJ
tanned his information. Elsie Clark
told me-"
Elsie Clark! Who is she? How
did she knowy'
"A free negress, who had been en-
ployed by Amos Shrunk. She was the
other prisoner on the keelboat when
you were captured, kept locked below
in the cabin"
SLOW could she know who I wasp
"She did not. Only she was positive
that you could not be Rene Beaucaire,
because she knew that Rene, in com.
pany with her mother, had departed
from Shrunk's cabin before those raid
ers came. The two had already started
for Beardstown."
She sat upright, all 1assitude gone
from her body, leaning eagerly toward
me, her eyes alight with interest.
Gone! Rene escaped them" she
exclaimed, her voice choking. ooh, tell
me that again. Was the girl sure?'
Quite sure. She saw and spoke
with both the women before they left
in q wagon. They were on the Under
ground, bound for Canada, and safety"
i am so glad-so glad" she said
simply. "Now I am strong enough to
hear the rest, Lieutenant Knox. You
must tell me-
There is not SO much to tell, that /
am cock-sure about" / began slowly.
Kirby had you securely hidden away
somewhere on the second deck, while
this Clark girl had been locked into a
stateroom above. / possessed such a
growth Of beard and was altogether so
disreputable looking as to be mistaken
for q %roustabout by the boats officers.
who set me at work to earn my pass
age. IN this way I managed to talk
with Elsie, but failed to locate your
quarters. The only glimpse ! gained