The Raymer enterprise., 1920-04-08
psains above to carry away the

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I had found during the night q fair
supply Of hard bread In my saddle-bag.
and now, with this additional gift Of
Providence, felt assured. at least. Of
one sufhcient meal.
TT d all right Tim. there is no one
here. An old Indian camp with moth
Ing but a hunk Of jerked deer meat left
behind. Elsie, gather up some Of that
old wood yonder and build q fire.
Kennedy and will look after Miss
Beaucaire."
It was bright day BY this time. the
red Of the rising sun In the sky. and !
could trace the radius Of swamp land
stretching about % on every hand. q
grim, desolate scene even In the beauty
Of that clear dawn. We had been for
tunate enough to approach the spot
along the only available pathway which
led to this little oasis, and a more e.
cure hiding place II would be dinicult
to find. ! felt almost at ease for the
present and satisfied to rest here for
several hours.
Tim assisted me IN unstrapping
Eloise. and lifting her from the sad
die, and, ~ she made no effort to help
herself. the two Of rs carried her to Z
warm, sunny spot beside the wall Of
the hut. Her cramped limbs refused
to support her body. and her eyes. then
open. yet retained that vacant look 90
noticeable from the first. The only
change was In the puzzled way with
which she stared into our faces, a.
though memory might be struggling
back. and she was vaguely endeavor.
Ing to understand.
Tim led the horses away and staked
them out where they could crop the
rich. dewy grass. After removing the
saddles he followed the mulatto girl
into the hut. and I could hear the mur.
mur Of their voices / endeavored to
address Elolse, seeking thus to awaken
her to some sense Of my presence. but
she merely smiled meaninglessly,
leaned her head YEARLY back against
the poles and closed her eyes.
It was q poor meal enough. although
II suficed to dull hunger and yield %
some strength. Eloise succeeded In
choking down few morsels, but drank
thirstily. It was pitiful to watch her.
and to mark the constant effort she
was making to force the return Of
memory. I had Elsie bathe her face
with water and while, no DOUBT this
refreshed her somewhat she only
rested her head back on my coat which
! had folded for . pillow. and again
closed her heavy eyes. The negren
appeared % tired bade her lie down
and sleep. and soon after Tim also dis
appeared. ! remained there alone,
guarding the woman loved.
How were We to escape. burdened BY
this helpless girl, from pursuit. which
perhaps had already started from Yel-
low Banksi At al hazards I must now
prevent this dased, stupened woman
from ever again falling into the power
Of Joe Kirby. That was the one fact
l knew. ! would rather kill her with
my own hand. for was convinced the
fellow actually possessed q legal right,
which could not hope to overthrow.
However 1t 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
] might bring to bear would save her
now from this contamination. It would
all be useless, thing for laughter. Her
signature-of which Kirby had boasted
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; outdlstancing our pursuers; find.
Ing a route to safety through the
wilderness which they would never
suspect.
] must ind an unknown path, an un-
travelled trail. Our only hope lay In
banning pursuit. In getting far be.
yong Kirby's grip. ! dragged the map