Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1920-02-24
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. EzEzEzEzEzEMMEE

DlsregardIng the captains look,
Hilary explained briefly the matter on
which he had come. All the while
he spoke Dupont continued cycling him.
Hilary began to feel uneasy. well.
is that clear?" he inquired.
"That much is clear" answered Du-
pont reluctantly.
"Well, what's the matter, then?" de-
manded Hilary sharply.
Suddenly he perceived that the old
mans face was twisted with passion.
His expression was so fanatical that
Hilary thought he was going TO attack
him.
But then the face resumed its mask
again. Without a word, Dupont
swung onto the ship and left him.
Baptiste's vessel was moored next
to the wharf. AS Dupont crossed it
to reach his own, Hilary saw Baptiste
on deck, bending over a tarpaulin.
The two men did not speak, and
Hilary, moved by a sudden impulse,
walked the length of the wharf and
accosted the little Frenchman.
''Baptiste," he said, ''some time ago
told you didn't know whether you
had any knowledge about the cutting
of my boom or not. 1 want to say I'm
sorry. l know that you had none, and
shouldn't have spoken as l did"
And he put out his hand.
Baptiste looked up. The little mans
face was like thundercloud. He
clenched and unclenched his fists
fiercely, muttering. Then he dashed
Hilary's hand aside with his.
Il don't shake hands with you" he
cried. and the tears began to stream
down his cheeks. You keep out of
my way, or I kill you"
And he rushed below, leaving Hilary
utterly nonplussed at his behavior.
When BrouSseau, driving furiously
homeward from the Chateau, reached
the cottage of Jules Dupont, he saw
the solitary figure of the girl Marie
seated outside the door. He let his
horse rest for breathing spell before
continuing up the hill, dotted his hat
and saluted her.
"Bonjour, Mademoiselle Dupont" he
called heartily.
"Bonjour, Monsieur Brousseau." she
answered mechanically.
Brousseau had never been able TO
force a smile from her lips. For a
long time he had dreaded this silent
girl, then he had ceased to think about
her; of late he had again begun to
hate the presence of that lonely figure
upon the porch, which was always
there whenever he drove into st. Boni-
face or back to his garish house by the
SeaShOre.
The cure had not told Hilary all that
related to the old captains history.
But the thread of madness that linked
him TO the past was spreading into a
web that strangIed the normal life, of
the man. Jules Dupont. never one of
many words, had been more sullen and
mOrOse than ever of late.
During the past week Marie had
been terrified at the way her father
looked at her. He had never meant
very much to her and now, when he
was about to pass out of her life. she
felt no regret.
Her mind went travelling back to her
earliest memory. She was on the sea-
shore with her mother, watching for
the return of the fishing fleet, and her
fathers boat, and on the shingle lay
the sailing boat of a young student
from Quebec whom she had seen often
at their cottage during her fathers
absence. The young man was laugh
ingly inviting her mother to go for a
sail. At last the girl consented
The sail was very long one. Little
Marie, who had fallen asleep, was
awakened by the sound of her moth
er's screaming and the young students
laughing prOtestations that it was too
late in the day to return now. She
did not understand all that was said.
and her next memory was of squalid
lodging in Quebec. and her mothers
tear-stained face. and sense of I'M
happiness.
Then she was back in the cottage.
OCoiuC btO Ol NhANA ACA
dying mother lay. and the sick woman,
gripping her hand fast in her burning
ones. was repeating q name over and
over. "Say if again. child" she was
whispering.
She reiterated this demand over and
over again.
"Say it," she muttered. Say it, and
never forget. And carry it with thee
through life, saying it in moments of
temptation, that thou mayest remem-
Der thy mother and understand. Now
swear by the Virgin TO say it morning
and night, and never forget!"
The frightened girl had sworn.
| catching the words from her mothers
| lips. She had said the name morn and