The Raymer enterprise., 1920-03-04


mltted this crime. and the sole sur
vivor disappear so completely with the
prisoners. I had turned each detail
over and over In my thought. while
l worked. yet to but little purpose.
The only present solution of the prob
lem seemed to be our return to that
hidden basin where our boat lay. and
then remaining there In concealment
until the darkness Of another night
rendered ii safe to once more venture
the river.
spoke Of this to her. as l finally
approached where she rested on the
stump eager and glad to escape from
all memories Of that somber cabin I
had just left.
"You-you are no longer 20 conf.
dent" she said; "your plan has
faIledf
II am afraid It has" I admitted.
"for 1t was based altogether on the
assistance OF Amos Shrunk. He is no
longer alive. and l do not know where
to turn for guidance. There would
seem to be danger In every direction: :
the only question is-in which way lies
the leastf"
you begin to regret your attempt
to aid mef'
"No," impulsively. $50 far as that
goes / would do It all over again, Your
safety means more to me now than
ever before-you must believe that"
why should II All l have brought
you Is trouble. I can read In your
face how discouraged you are. You
must not think / do not understand.
l do understand-perfectly. What you
have done has been only q response
to impulse: merely undertaken
through spirit Of adventure. Then
then why not let 1t end here. and
Sam and l can 60 on toto whatever
Is before us7 II Is nothing to you"
"You actually believe l would con-
sent to that7" I asked In startled sur
prise at the vehemence Of her words.
THAT I could prove such a curt"
"But why notf 1t would not be
cowardly act at all. ! could not
blame you. for I have no claim on
your service-never have had. You
have done thousand times too much
already; you have risked honor. repu-
tation. and neglected duty to aid my
escape; and-and I am nothing to you
can be nothing"
"Nothing to mer
Certainly not. Why speak like
that? Have you forgotten again that
am a slave negressf Think.
Lieutenant Knox, what II would mean
to you to be caught In my company !;
to be overtaken while attempting to
assist me in escaping from my master.
Now no one dreams Of such q thing,
and no one ever need dream. You
have had your adventure; let It end
here. shall be grateful to you al.
ways. but-but l cannot bear to drag
you deeper into this mire."
"You order me to leave your"
II cannot order; am a slave. Ny
only privilege is to request. urge. i'm
plore. / can merely insist that It will
be best-best for us both-for you to
80. Surely you also must realize that
this is true7"
"You have been brooding over all
this" I said gently. sitting here alone,
and thinking while we worked. / am
not going to answer you now. There
Is no need. Nothing can be done until
night, whatever We decide upon. You
will 90 back with Us to the boatr'
"Yes; simply cannot stay here
her eyes wandering toward the cabin.
took the lead on the return, fnd-
Ing the path easy enough to follow In
the full light of day. The sincere hon.
esty Of her plea-the knowledge that
she actually meant lt-only served to
draw me closer, to strengthen my de-
termination not to desert. Her face
was ever before me as I advanced-a
bravely pathetic face. wonderfully
womanly in Its girlIsh contour-ap-
pealing to every impulse Of my man
hood. l admitted the truth Of what
she said-it had been largely love Of
adventure. the rash recklessness Of
youth, which had brought me here.
But this was my inspiration no longer.
had begun to realize this something
deeper, more worthy. now held me to
the task. What this was I made no
attempt to analyze-possibly l did not
dare-but. nevertheless. the mere con-
ception Of deserting her In the midst
Of this wilderness was too utterly re-
pugnant for expression. No, not that ;
whatever happened It would never be
that.
The last few rods Of our journey
lay through thick underbrush. and be-
meath the spreading branches of inter-
lacing trees. Suddenly l emerged
upon the bank Of the creek. with the
rude log wharf directly before me.
stopped transfxed, staring at the wa.
ter-nothing else greeted my eyes
both the boats were gone.
This unexpected discovery came to
me like a blow; the very breath
seemed to desert my lungs, as ]
stared down at the vacant stream. We
had been outgeneraled, tricked. and all
our theories as to what had occurred