The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1933-11-25
Chapter u
THE OLD FORT

THE OLD FORT
"dTHILE.the Oossacks were drink.
Wing heavily" said Sonya, "the
eighty surviving Klosohees massa-
cred them all. burned their bodies
in one huge pyre; and their old
shaman laid the dread Thunder
Curse on the place. Only the priest
was left alive.
ut was Q summer night like to-
night" Sonya added. Eight men
who escaped the first rush, barri-
caded themselves in one Of the
rooms, but the Klosohees chopped
the door or its hinges and killed
them. I imagined I could still see
the dark stains on the walls of that
ROOM"
Curt thought that the Indians he
had seen on the landing that after
noon were q pretty mild set to be
descendants Of tn fiery tribe who
had battled the Cossacks to a stand
still, returning massacre for extor.
ton. They've certainly come down
q NOTCH" he remarked. They're as
peaceful as coast Siwash now"
"0h, you're mistaken; the Indians
around here aren't Klosohees," she
corrected him. They're descendants
OF another band that used to live
down toward Tellacet. The Kloso-
hees fied back into the mountains
after that massacre, and they've
stayed there ever since. They're an
almost unknown band. They live up
north IN the Lilluar headwaters. and
keep themselves isolated from other
tribes, and they won't let white peo-
pie come into their territory at ALL"
/ Curt recalled q time when he had
sat on the pier at Fort McMurray
with Inspector Jameson Of the In
dian Bureau. and Jameson had told
him about lost" tribe In the Lii
luar Mountains. These Klosohees
might be the tribe Jameson meant.
According to Jamieson's account
they were a wild and unapproach-
able clan. but not treacherous like
the nomads Of the Sikanni and Ma
hanni countries. He had so far per-.
suaded the indian Bureau to let
them alone because they minded
aheir own business and clutched
their freedom 90 pathetically.
Gliding ashore. he beached the
breeds canoe and started. MP the
path with his companion. AS he
watched her moccasins play In and
out OF the yellow circle Of light that
he directed at the trail. he thought
what small things they were
smaller even than Regina Du-
eharme's.
Once when her head hobbed close
TO his he caught the faint odor OF
thyme perfume. and It put him in
mind OF the thyme-scented kerchief
which had unlocked that Spanish
consul case for him In Montreal. But
what a difference between that soft
paid woman and this ciean.limbed
vital girl at his sidei
The touch Of her hand on his arm,
as he guided her pas root-snags and
shielded her from brush dipping
back. was an experience such as be
had never known with Rosalie Mar.
lin. Although he had been acauaint-
ed with her so short a time. he felt
the impact OF her personality, a very
positive and cogent force.
THE fort doomed up iust ahead
4 Startlingly near. the owl sounded
sits weird call again. Curt reached
down for q stone anf sent It clatter.
Ing against the old building. A soft
winged shadow passed over them
and they heard the angry clicking
OF the hlrd's bin.
At the door he dipped the light on
the massive rock walls and the
broad parapet twenty-five feet high
where soldiers once paced sentry,go
lat night. A eIuup OF DEVILS club
nearly schoked the entrance. He
pushed q way through the clump.
and they stepped into the gloomy
hallway that led dswn the center.
There were six rooms on the
ground noor. but the second story
was one biz room. probably the Cos.
sacks assembly place The roof had
partly fallen In; the floor above had
rotted. leaving only the thick beams:
the dust Of many generations GOV.
cred everything: but otherwise the
ruin lay there as Il had been left
on the night Of he massacre. one
hundred and twenty years ago.
Down the dusty hallway led a
fresh moeeasln track. small and
dainty. Curt knew Il was Sonya.s.
on some previous expedition. She
certainly had nerve to visit that
place alonel
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