The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1922-08-26

not yet distributed. .za-
Rising before daylight, Henry Gra-
mont and Hammond breakfasted early
and were off by six in the car. They
were we'll outside town and sweeping
on their way to Terrebonne parish
and the town Of Paradis before they
realized that the day was not going
to brighten appreciably. Instead, 1t
remained very cloudy and gloomy,
with a chill threat OF rain In the air.
=, Weather mattered little to Gramont.
When finally the excellent highway
was left behind, and they started on
the last lap of their seventy-mile ride,
they found the parish roads execrable
and the going slow. Thus. noon was
at hand when they at length pulled in
to Paradis, the town closest to Lucie
Ledanois' bayou land. The rain was
still holding Off @~ -. ~. =
''Too cold to rain" observed Ora
mont. Lets hit for the hotel and
get something to eat. I'll have to
locate the land, which is somewhere
near town." ....1,@..
They discovered the hotel to be an
ancient structure, and boasting prices
worthy Of LATTE and his buccaneers.
Az in many small towns Of Louisiana,
however, the food proved fit for a
king. After light luncheon of quail;
crayRsh bisque, and probably illegal
venison, Gramont sighed regret that
he could eat no more, and set about
inquirfng where tile Ledanois farm lay.
There was very little, indeed, to
Parailis, which lay on the bayou but
well away from the railroad. 1t was a
desolate spot, implanted and unkempt.
The parish seat of Houma had robbed
it of all life and growth on the one
hand; on the other, the new oil and
gas district had not yet touched it.
. Southwark: lay. the swamp-fully
forty miles Of it. merging by degrees
into the Gulf. Forty miles Of cypress
marsh and winding bayou, uncharted,
unexplored save by occasional hunters
or semi-occasionalz sherins. No man
knew who or what might be in those
swamps, and no one cared to know.
The man who brought in fish or
oysters in his skiff might be a bayou
fisherman, and he might be muir
derer wanted in ten states. Curiosity
was apt to prove extremely unhealthy.
Like the Atchafalaya, where chance
travellers find themselves abruptly or
dered elsewhere, the Terrebonne
swamps have their own secrets and
know how to keep them. -. 49,
Gramont had no difficulty In locat-
ing the Ledanois land, and he found
that it was by no means in the swamp.
A part of 1t, lying closer to Houma,
had been sold and was now included
in the new oil district; it was this por-
ton which Joseph Maillard had sold
off. - T.. - ~. -. -
The remainder, and the largest por-
ton, lay north Of Paradis and ran
along the west bank of the bayou for
half a mile. A long-abandoned farm.
it was high ground, with the timber
well cleared of and excellently To-
Gated; but tenants were hard to get
and shiftless when obtained; so that
the place had not been farmed for the
last five years or more. After getting
these facts, Gramont, consulted with
Hammond. III.
WED better buy some grub here in
town and arrange to stay couple OF
nights on the farm, If necessary" he
said. There are some buildings there,
30 we'll find shelter. Along the bayou
are summer cottages-I believe some
Of them rather pretentious places
and we ought to find the road pretty
decent. It's only three or four miles
out of town." -- ~. 5-z - -
With some provisions piled in the
car, they set forth. The road wound
along the bayou side, past ancient
'Cajun farms and the squat homes Of
fishermen. Here and there had been
placed camps and summer cottages,
nesting amid groups Of huge oaks and
cypress, whose fronds of sflver-gray
moss hung in dropping clusters like
pale and ghostly shrouds. fsi5.s,
Watching the road closely, Gramont
suddenly found the landmarks that
had been described to him, and or
dered Hammond to stop and turn in
about the party that was to be held
in that room during the Comus bali"
mo matter,.-a said Fell, coldly.
"Chief, this is an open and shut case;
the boy was bound to lie. That he
Killed his father was an accident, OF
course, but none the less 1t did take
place"
1.-The boys a wreck this minute
The chief held a match to his unlight-
ed cigar. But you say that he amt
the original MasquerY
"No!" Fell spoke quietly. 1.-THE
original Masquer was another person,
and had nothing to do with the pres
ent case. This information Is .confiden-
tial and between ourselves"
,"Oh,, of course" assented the chief.
"well, suppose got to pull Maillard,
but ] hate to do 1t. I got bunch
that he amt the right party"
= "virtuous man, Fell smiled thinly.
According to all the books, the chief
Of police is only too glad to fasten the
crime or, aDyhOd~-Ais-