The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1920-11-03

And Hilary Opened His Eyes to Dis
cover That the Vision Was Reality.
with rust that to have fred it would
have been more dangerous to the
shooter than to his object of aim. He
saw the horror on the girls face as
she made the discovery.
II did not think about the car
tridges." she cried. II heard you were
i'm danger and seized IL and came to
you. What shall we do? / am going
to die with YOU"
I'VE are not going to die" he an
swered. But he felt a trickle of blood
in his eyes, He pulled himself to-
gether to face the situation, thinking
with all the concentration OF which
his mind was capable.
He heard the sails being run up. and
the creak of the cordage In the wind.
Then the schooner. grinding her
course through the drift Ice. began to
roll and pitch as the force of the gulf
current struck her. And through the
portfolios Hilary saw the lights Of st.
Boniface reel into the enwrapping fog
and vanish.
With Madeleine's arm about him he
thought with desperate concentration.
Doubtless the ruffians had gone to as
sist Dupont In taking the schooner out
into midstream. confident that their
victim was at their mercy. Once the
vessel Ind passed the dangerous Ice
and deadly sunken rocks Dupont
done could keep her on her course.
And Dupont had planned his death.
He remembered the hate on the old
mans face; but he could not imagine
the cause Of il. for he did not connect
II with the STORY about Marie.
They would return. they would dis
cover that the revolver was useless !;
his life was worth about ten minutes
purchase and of Madeleine's fate he
dared not think. He must fight for
her and live for-her. He got his shak-
ing limbs under. control.
'I'm. an right he whispered. i've
got my plan, now. Keep behind me
and be ready to help. The doors
locked, l SUPPOSED
8 a quick attempt to open IL showed
him that Ii was. But he had
chance. If he could break down the
door. for the sound might pass un-
heard In the gale. with the crashing
of the ice against the sides of the
schooner. enabling him to pass into
the hold unseen In the darkness.
He hurled himself against the cabin
door, fists, shoulders, body, with every
muscle set tense 1t broke upon it's
hinges. aud Hilary fell. spfawling into
the passage between the piles OF
stacked lumber. which rose to height
OF twenty feet on either side of him.
running to within few feet Of the
cabin and the dec5Sladder
He crouched there for a few Sec
onds. hearing Madeleine behind him.
and looked upward. The wind was
roaring through the rigging with a
noise far louder than that made by the
failing door. No one had heard the
erashaU Above him swung the great
linainsail, obscpripg, the. ,gibbous moon
that scurred like pale ghost among the
drifting Clouds hal6ed inpthe fog. Hill
larry could just discern the hazy fig-
lures Of three men. hard at work to
gain the middle ,chanpel, and the Ian
tern tfiat hung from the mast above,
ifaintly Illuminating them.
& He had seen hut had not conscious
ay observed, till the remembrance
came to him then, that pile of lum-
her. placed in the ship but not yet Sc
kcured. lay about the center Of the
Hopen space In frontrof the cabin. II
could not shit witH the ,I rolling q
E'as ~ afs's$ l sss s's on
fieither Side. II consisted or the last
load Of logs. which had been dropped
There from the end ~ the fipme. Hill
larry raised two In his arms and car
iried them In front Of the broken door.
IT was impossible TO make his voice
heard. for the ship was staggering
through the cinshing Ice foes with q
noise like that OF artillery. but Made
leine saw his purpose, and In an In
slant was at work helping him. They