The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1920-01-29
TX.
The Trail Of the Raiders.

ne frau OF InC noSOCIS.
Shocked and unnamed as I was at
this discovery, to pause there staring
at those gruesome figures would have
only brought fresh alarm to the two
watching my every movement from
the edge of the clearing. Gripping my
nerves, / advanced over the first body,
watching for any sign of the presence
Of life within the cabin. There was
none-the work of the murder had
been completed, and the perpetrators
had fled. The dead man, with CHASTITY
c~Ountenance upturned to the roof raf-
,ers, and the snowy beard. was I'M
doubtedly the negro helper, Amos
Shrunk. Pete's description of the ap-
pearance of the mar left this identifi-
cation beyond all dispute. He had.
be en- stricken down by a savage blow,
which had literally crushed in o n
side of his head. Int his dead hands
YET gl1ppeu a rifle, as though he had
fallen fighting to the last.
The other man, the n lying acrOs
the threshold. had been shot, although
{ did not ascertain this fact until after
[ turned the body over sufficiently to
reveal the face. This was disiigured
by the wound and covered with blood,
so that the features could scarcely be
seen, yet I instantly recognized the
fellow-Carver. Surprised out of all
control by this unexpected discovery,
l steadied myself against the log wall,
fully aroused to the sinister meaning
of his presence. To a degree the com.
plete significance of this tragedy in
stantly gripped my mind. If this fel.
low Carver had been one of the assa:1
ants then it was absolutely certain
that Kirby must also have been pres
ent-the leader of the attack. This
inevitably meant that both men had
been aboard the steamer, and later
were pat ashore at the mouth of the
Illinois. And, now that I thought
about it, why not? 1T was no accident,
and / wondered that tie possibility
had never occurred to me before. The
gambler naturally knew ali the gossip
of the river, and beyond question he
would be aware of the reported eX-
istence of this underground station
for runaway slaves. It was common
talk as far down as st. Louis. and his
mind would instantly revert to the
possibility that the fleeing Rene might
seek escape through the assistance of
Shrunk. The mysterious vanishing Of
the boat would serve to increase that
suspicion. Even if this had not oc.
Cured to him at first, the steamer
would have brought news that no keel
boat had been seen on the lower river,
while the captain IF the John B.
Glover, or someone else on board,
would have been sure to have men,
toned the negro helper and, suggest
that he might have had a hand in the
affair. To follow that trail was, in
Iced, the most natural thing for Kir-
~ to do. He had not Overtaken Rene
had Unexpectedly come upon the other
ugitlves, and, even though the en-
.ounter had cost the life of his hench-
nan, Carver, it also resulted in the
leath of two men who had come be-
tween him and his prey-the negro
and the a%bolitionist. The scene
feared in my brain and became vivid
md real. I could almost picture in de-
tail each act of the grim tragedy. The
two revengeful trackers-if there were
only two engaged, for others might
have been recruited on the steamer
must have crept up to the hut In the
night or early morning. Possibly
Kirby had. learned Of some other
means of approach from the big river.
Anyway the fact that Shrunk had
been trapped within the cabin would
indicate the final attack vas a u r
prise. The, negro might have been
asleep outside and met his death in
an attempt at escape, but the old
white man, finding flight impossible,
had fought desperately to the last and
had killed one antagonist before re-
ceiving his death blow. This was all
plain enough, but what had become of
Kirby. Of the two women-Eloise and
the 0uadroOn mother?
Uncertain what to do or now To act,
! could only turn to the waiting girl
and the negro to tell them what I had
found.
They listened as though scarcely
comprehending, Sam utterfng little
means Of horror, and appearing help
less from fright. but Rene quiet, mere
" exhibiting her emotion IN the white
ness Of her face and quickened breath
Ing. Her eyes, wide open. questioning,
seemed to sense my uncertainty. AS I
ended the tale and concluded with my
theory as to what had occurred fol
lowing the deed Of blood, her quick
mind asserted itself.
s.Rut this must have happened very