The Elk Mountain pilot., 1922-10-12
SYNOPSIS

CHAPTER 1.-The time IL the late 'e0s
or early '70s and the scene . steamboat
on the Mississippi river. All the types
ine pa psiscs Is dstinsuisSed S asf o BY merriment s
customary drinking and gambling also.
on his way south on a mission Of revenge.
person Of one Liberty shottle, who is
sSancs They sT1ans form snsul.r s comp.c
CHAPTER u.-Drace gets his mind on
In which he exhibits an unusual athletic
prowess. Liberty 6hottle Is again un.
lucky at cards and attempts z financial
Ing an opportunity to use Shottle, con-
ddes to him that his mission 10 to nnd
S certain tai % Sn-guerrills, stepho Ia vttts:
bis determination announced to his new
chun. to hang La vitte as high as
Of . mysterious beauty % % aboard the boat T.
CHAPTER uL-The steamer reaches
New New Orleans; Orleans; at that time d9 in the some ne
Two tickets r Tor the 0iSUs French bali. great
accom- sccompany % him to to tie Ssi affsir. The The young
men attend and Drace Unexpectedly meets
the girl who had fired his heart aboard
the steamer. She is accompanied by ono
Boyce, whose proprietary interest indi-
Gates that he 10 her fance. Through
stratagem Shottle learns that the name
of the girl Is Nadine la vitte and that
her companion of the evening is the man
who is seeking to marry her.
CHAPTER Iv,-Drace passes an uneasy
is the daughter of old Stepho la vitte,
now an admitted outlaw. Now, more
than ever. is he resolved to find where
the girl lives and to find Stepho. Drace
and shottle begin search Of the city.
In one of their nocturnal pilgrimages
they come upon mob inteIx upon hang
ing a poor wretch from the limb of a
tree. It is a typical carpetbag execution
and aroused the resentment of an oppos-
in the fight which starts and is instru-
mental in preventing the execution. From
window opposite the scene. he catches
q glimpse Of one he is sure is Nadine
CHAPTER v.-The escapade, the night,
the Interference with the execution get
the authorities but instead of punish
board steamer bound north. Returning
slimpsed the girl. Drace nnds the place
abandoned. Through Colonel Josh. an
enissary. employed At the suggestion OF
covery that q certain Frenchman. . wine
dealer, 10 reported to Be an intimate Of
s shs S.o.. @ ns rnsus e Of o my
the Frenchman. Tho lAtter II too keen
to be inveigled into giving up any iAfor-
nation, but shottle, spying around among
the casks and bottles, especially the ar
ticles made up for shipment. makes an
important discovery. So a. not to arouse
the suspicionA Of the Ffsnchman, he
casually draws Drace away from the
place and onto the steamer. On board
he Informs Drace that one of the cases
was addressed to Stepho In vitte at Far
NUNS Landing. Mississippi. IT II the next
stop below Bethpage's Landing and Col
CHAPTER W.-Drace and shottls are
received with genuine hospitality by
Colonel Bethpage and ind the planta-
tion and its environs delightful. After
q brief stay and a characteristic financial
transaction with the colonel. Shottle goes
away ostensibly on a business trip to
vicksburg. but in reality to seek his
favorite form of amusement Drace
makes the plantation his headquarters
and from pieces of informal tion gathered
from various sources. becomes convinced
that La vitte has a haunt in q great
wood of cypress and a tangle of salt
cedar, a sort of everglades, marsh with
hundreds of knoll islands rising here and
there among the bayouss A shrewd old
negro had told him that the outlaw lived
in house built Of periwinkle shells;
Day after day Drace takes . canoe and
goes farther and farther into the moss
hanging wilds At his feet lies a rope. one
end of 1t hangman's moose.