The Raymer enterprise., 1920-01-22

man striking me dumb. This then had
probably been his real purpose from
the start. He had followed Beaucaire
deliberately with this final end In view
of running him, and thus compelling
his daughter to yield herself.
"And you actually mean that you
propose now to force Judge Beau.
calre's daughter to marry you?"
swell, hardly that, although I shall
use whatever means l possess. l In.
tend 10 win her II can, fair means, OF
foul"
drew a deep breath, comprehend.
Ing now the full inIqulty Of his plot.
and bracing myself to fight II.
"And what about the other girl,
Kirby? for there Is another girl"
"Yes," rather lndlfrerently. "there is
another"
"0f course you know who she Isl"
"Certainly-a niger. a white mig.
ger; the supposed Legitimate daugh-
ter of Adelbert Beaueaire, and slave
woman. There Is no reason why |
should fret about her. is there? She
Is my property already by law" He
laughed again. the same ugly sneering
laugh Of triumph. That was why
was SO particular about the wording Of
that bill Of sale-I would rather have
her than the whole bunch Of field
hands,"
"You believe then the girl has never
been freea--elther she. or her
mother?"
Believer ! know. tell you never
play any game with my eyes shut"
"And you actually intend toto
hold her as slave?"
"Well. I'll look her over first before
decide-she would be worth a pot
full Of money down the river"
The eontemptuous, utterly indiffer.
ent manner In which he voiced his vii.
lainous purpose, would have crazed
any man. To me this utterance was
the last straw, breaking down every
restraint. and leaving me hot, and
furious with anger. / forgot the muz.
zle OF the pistol pressed against my
side, and the menaclng threat In
kirby's low voice. The face Of the
man was lndistinci. a mere outline,
but the swift impulse to strike at 1t
was irresistible, and let him have the
blow-a stralght-arm jab to the Jaw.
My clinched knuckles crunched against
the flesh, and he reeled back, kept
from falling only by the support of
the deckhouse. There was no report
Of a weapon, no outcry. yet. before
could strike again. l was suddenly
gripped from behind by pair Of arms,
which closed about my throat like a
wise, throttllng me instantly into silent
helplessness. | struggled madly to
break free. stralnlng with all the art
OF wrestler, exerting every ounce Of
strength, but the grasp which held me
was unyieldlng, robbing me OF breath,
and defeating every effort to call for
help. Kirby, dazed yet by my sudden
blow, grew eager to take hand in the
ARRAY, struck me a cowardly blow in
the face, and swung his undiseharged
pistol to level with my eyes.
D your he CALCULATED, and for
the first time his voice really ex-
hlblted temper. I'D kill you with this,
but for the noise. No. by God there
Is safer way than that to settle with
you. Have you got the skunk, CarverT
"You can bet | have, Joe. I kin
choke the life out o. hlm-shall IT,
"No; let up blt-just enough so he
can answer me first. l want to find
out what all this means. Now look
here. Knox. what Is all this to you?
Why are you butting In on my game?
Was Beaucalre friend of yoursT
II can hardly claim that" l admit
ted. "We never met until I came
aboard this steamer. All / am inter-
ested In Is Justice to Others"
ITO others? Oh, / suppose you mean
those girls-you know them thenT
II have never even seen them,"
said.
Il see; a self-appolnted squire of
danes; actuated merely by romantic
desire to serve beauty In distress. Ex-
tremely interesting. my dear boy. But,
see here, Knox," and his tone changed
to seriousness. "Let the romance 20,
and talk sense a minute. You are not
going to get very far fighting me alone.
You haven't even got the law with you.
Even II cheated Beaucaire, which
do not for moment admit. there Is
no proof. The money Is mine. and so
Is the land and the nlggers. You can
be ugly, Of course. but you cannot
overturn the facts. Now, you acknowi-
edge that what has occurred Is per-
sonally nothing to you; Beaucaire was
no special friend. and you don't even
know the two girls-all right then,
drop the whole matter. hold no
grudge on account Of your striking me.
and am even willing to ahara pp Yith
You to avoid trouble.S