Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 20, 1920)
NORTH PLATTE SEMT-WEEKTiY TRTDUNE, 3 -By VICTOR ROUSSEAU Illustrations by Irwin Myers (Copyright, 1019, by Clcorgo U. Doran Co.) S3 CHAPTER XVI. 12 Dupont Remembers. nrouHseuti was Routed In the library of tlie gaudy house when n tnll old man camo o' the door. He recon noitred, recognized Cnptnln Dupont, and ndinittcd Mm. Since the exposure Broussonu had hardly left his room. He sat. there, haggard, crushed, planning, scheming to get back that which seemed slipping Inexorably from his grasp. Consumed with furious hate of Hllary bo seemed Inhibited from action by the very ve hemence of his will. , "He's sailing for Quebec tomorrow ivenlng," said the captain. "I am to take blm with u schooner load of lum ber." "Askew?" queried Brousseau Rhnrp- ly. "Yes. monsieur. He came to me late this afternoon. Ills horse was all In a iwcat. He must have driven like the Bevll. Ho told me to sail tomorrow alght, whether the hold's full or mpty." Brousseau was staggered. If Hilary was going to Quebec Immediately, It must be to lay thoHC papers, which he had sought vainly In his desk, bofore the police. He saw the prison walls dosing about him. And to the great hate he bore Hilary was udded the lust tor liberty. He must bavo the papers. Lafe Donnell knew besides, but Lafe could be laughed at, once the papers were Ms own. Ills plan began to take shape. If Hilary were out of tho way and the flocumcnte destroyed he could yet win Madeleine, achieve his dream of be coming Seigneur, his life ambition. "Dupont," be Bald, "you and I hove not always been on good terms. You refused to break your contract with the St. Boniface company. But I guess fou see differently now." Dupont clenched bis lists. "I've worn to kill blm," he whispered. "I've held my peace. I talked with him face to face tonight, and ho never know the devil that was sitting In my throat, telling mo to make an end." ( "Can you keep that devil of ymirs llent till you bavo blm on board?" asked ,Brousscau. Dupont pulled at his tangled board and nodded. Brousseau, watching blm, knew that the madness which held him would carry blm to tho end. "Who are your crew?" he asked. "Drouln, Lachanco and Georges Martin." "Two men are enough. I have two Rood men for you In place of them. Llstoc carefully, Dupont." , Marie. Bleeping ftvorhead, heard her father drive up In a sleigh that night, and there wan whispering at the door. That frightened her. Another thing thnt alarmed her waB his way of en tering. Usually be would statnp Into the house, as If on board ; but now be came In furtively, and she could hard ly bear his stealthy movements below. 8he wondered w;hat was portending. Of late be had watched her more keen ly than over, and bad been more silent. She slept by starts, and awakened at dawn to bear a stealthy step out Ride her door. In tho dim light she aaw her father bending over her bed. She sat up, stretching out her arms as tf to ward off something. In her con tused condition between sleep and waking she had fancied for a moment tknt ho held something In bis band i Knife or a revolver. Rut she saw that ho held nothing. Ha Was Staring Into Her Eyes as If to Read Her Secret Thoughts. He was staring Into her eyes, ns If to rend her secret thoughts. "Tonight I go to Quebec," said Dupont. "I shall be aboard ull day. I may not return." He had said tho same thing be fore bis last voyage, and she had listened, unbelieving, but Indifferent If It were true. Now tho words terri fied her no less than his demeanor, nd for the first tlmo sho wondered whether ho knew of her Journey with Pierre. He would never bellove her story. It would bavo aroused all the & madness In blm, If be had known. But ke could not know. "You will rtiiuu back," she atutn- inered. "You will be back before the river closes. Then we shall bo to gether here through the winter. We shall bo happier than In the past. And we " "The name I" he cried, seizing her by the shoulders. "Tell me now I I wait no longer I" The old obstinate look cume on her fncc. Her remorse and pity Instantly died. She compressed her lips and was silent. "Tho name I Thou shalt tell me I 1 should hnve beaten thee when thou wast n child. But I shnll not heat thee now, for I can compel thee to tell me. The name I The numel" She remained silent and utterly qui escent. So strong had the Inhibition grown that she could not have told, hod she been willing to do so, suve under the Impulse of some overpow ering mcntnl shock. And, armed by the years, she grow calm as he grew violent, and her mind passed under the domination of the old habit. He let her go nnd stpod beside her, pulling at his gray beard and smiling. Marie bad never seen her father smile nt such a tlmo before. And there came Into her mind an Idea which had never seemed possible, that some day she might yield up her secret. The mental Inhibition of a lifetime was breaking under the stress. Dupont strode towurd the door, stopped there, and looked back. "I go now to the schooner," he said. "I shall bo aboard till we sail this eve ning. If thou come to me before I sail and tell me the name, I give thee his life, one life for another." "What life? What other?" cried the girl wildly. Ho glared Into her eyes, and the look in his own was that of a man devil-haunted. "Dost thou think I do not know," he cried, "of Monsieur Askew and thee, or that Mademoiselle has broken her betrothal with him because of thee?" He turned toward her with a menacing gesture. "The nnmel" ho thundered. She cowered under his words, and the name now trembled upon her Hps. But before she spoke It Dupont wus gone. , He was gone, nnd she was alone In the gray of the morning, watching tho gray sea heave under n brightening sky. as she had watched It all her life. And her father's appearance In her room seemed unreal as a dream. All day she watched him from the cottage, busy about his ship, piling the logs on deck. All day she waited, stunned, and Incapable of action, re- peatlng over and oyer In her mind hcrJ father's words, whoso meaning wns unintelligible to her. Yet St. Bonlfnco remained unchnnged In that ruin that had come upon her. Men laughed noisily as they strolled from their work nt noon, children shouted at play; the hum of the mill was a soft undertone accompanying the horror In her heart. It seemed Incredible that St. Boniface could know nothing, when the whole universe was crying out against her. It was late in the afternoon when she snw two llgures slouch toward the vessel. She recognized Pierre and Le blanc. And In a moment she under stood the meaning of their appearance. Murder wns being planned, against Hilary, who bad saved her. She wutched them go on board, paralyzed with fear. Then tho power of action, return lng, shattered the paralysis of will that held her. She ran bareheaded from the cottage, through the streets of St. Boniface, toward tho Chateau. She must get help there; her thoughts turned Instinctively thither, as St Boniface had always turned for aid toward Its Solgneur. Madeleine, seated In her room, with her memories of her dead, beard the door bell Jangle. She went down, to see Mario In tho hall. At the sight of the girl a feeling of repulsion, wild and unreasonable, stiffened her, but when she looked Into her face, she spoko gently. "What Ib It?" she asked "Mademoiselle," stammered the girl, "they are planning to kill him." "Whom?" .Monsieur Askew, who saved mo front Pierre that day. Mademoiselle, I havo only now learned what they say of him and me. It Is not true. And they are going to murder blm. I came to yon to save blm." "Whore Is he?" "Ho Is going on board tonight. Pep baps he Is there now. Pierre and Le blanc are waiting for him there " "Walt hero!" cried Madeleine. She ran back Into the Chateau, put on her cout und hat, and took Ja re volver which had lain for many years unused In a drawer of a cabinet. She hurried to the stable, harnessed the horse, and brought thc sleigh to the door. She motioned to Marie to enter, leaped In, and took tho reins, and the two girls started along the road through the forest. It wus a dllllcult Journey through thu deep snow. Often the horso floun dered knee-deep In tho drifts, and tho way seemed endless; but near the vll Inge thc snow was tramped hard, and the sleigh went like thc wind. Neither of tho girls spoke, but before the eyes of each was tho same dreadful picture. At last they emerged from the for est nnd crossed the bridge. The hum of the mill bad censed, and had been succeeded by another sound, well known to dwellers along the St. Law rence shores when winter arrives: The stirring of the Ice Hoes as the Impend ing storm drives them together to their long winter anchorage. The sleigh went madly along the wharf, which groaned and creaked as tho Ice battered It oti either side. Made leine sprnng from the sleigh nnd ran on board the schooner, which was al ready moving. As Mario descended to follow her she saw that It was too late. There wns an Increasing spuco between the wburf and the deck. She hesitated, and then It was Impossible to follow. I ''or a moment she thought she saw Madeleine threading, the narrow pas sage between the piles of lumber; then the darkness closed about her. The pulleys creaked. Tho mainsail. and foresail swung upward and bellied in tlie wind. The two gafftopsalls gleamed like white birds against the night. Then only tho sails remained. They turned nnd shifted, disappearing nnd And Hilary Opened His Eyes to Dis cover That the Vision Was Reality. appearing again eluslvely, until they blended with the fog and the darkness und vanished finally. x The horse, left uncontrolled, swung rntinfl nml rn11nrw,l liniTinu-ni-rl. trnll , tnc enmty sleigh behind him. Marie Rtnni, ahl1,,1irl,R, nt .... pn(1 r ,, stood shuddering at the end of Ihe wharf. For a while sho stared out in terror toward tho Invisible schooner, lost In the distance. She could see nothing, but she could still hear the roar of tho wind In the rigging and the Happing of the grcnt sails. Presently, with a low cry, she turned nnd begun running homeward. She staggered Into the cottage and sank down before the stove, crouching there. When Hilary reached the wharf It was already dnrk. lie had been rec ognized by no, one on the way. He went straight unouru tne scnooner, nnd found Dupont on deck. "When do you start?" he usked. "Immediately, monsieur," replied the captain quietly. Tho schooner contnlned n tiny cabin In the forecnstle. Iletween this nnd tho poop, In the open bottom, was piled the lumber, secured with chains, and stacked high above the sides. 'I'm going below," said Hilary, turn ing away. He did not want to look upon St. Boniface again. lie put his foot upon the top rung of the ladder that led down to tho forecnstle. As he did so ho felt a stunning blow upon the back of tho head. He staggered, slipped, nnd fell down the ladder Into tho little open space before the cabin. Half dnzed, ho was barely conscious of seeing the grinning faces of Pierre and Leblanc stare Into bis. His over coat was torn from his back, bis pock ets emptied, He waited for the knlfo thrust, but only kicks followed. He was lifted and thrown Into the cabin. Tho outlaws ran back to assist Du I)0nt in getting up tho sails. It was not Brousseau's plan to dispatch him within hearing of the shore. lie heard the sails being hoisted, und felt tho schooner moving from the wbnrf. Then ho heard u low cry and saw Mndelelne upon her knees before him. She bent her face to his. whispering that sho loved him. pleading for for giveness, und beseeching him to rise. And Hilary opened ills eyes to dis cover that the vision was reality. He staggered to his feet and stood swaying In the middle ot (he cabin, while she kept ner arms about nim. He hegnn to remember. Ho know where bo was now. Madeleine thrust the revolver Into his hand. "They hnve planned to murder you 1" she cried. "I learned of It and brought this. You must not die. Ml ary, now that we love each other." He broke the revolver. It was empty, and tho bore so eaten away with rust that to have bred It would have been more daugerous to the shooter than to his object of aim. He saw the horror on the girl's face as she made tho discovery. ' "I did not think about the car tridges," she cried. "I heard you were In danger and I seized It und came to you. What shall we do? I nm going to die with you." "We are not going to die," he an swered. But he felt n trickle of blood In his eyes. He pulled himself to-, gc-thcr to face the sltuntlon, thinking with nil the concentration of which his mind was capable. He beard the sails being run up. nnd the creak of tho cordage In the wind. Then the schooner, grinding her course through the drift Ice, begun to roll and pitch as the force of the gulf current struck her. And through the portholes Hllnry saw the lights of St. Boniface reel Into the enwrapping fog and vanish. With Madeleine's nrm about him ho thought with desperate concentration. Doubtless the rulllans had gone to as sist Dupont In taking the schooner out Into midstream, conlldent that their victim wus at their mercy. Once the vessel had passed the dangerous Ice and deadly sunken rocks Dupont alone could keep her on her course. And Dupont had planned bis death. He remembered the hate on the old man's face: but be could not Imagine the cause of It, for ho did not connect It with the story about Marie. They would return, they would dis cover thnt the revolver was useless; his life was worth about ten minutes' purchase, and of Madeleine's fnte he dnred not think. He must fight for her and live for ?ier. He got his shak ing limbs under control. "I'm nil right," be whispered. "I've got my plan now. Keep behind mo und be ready to help. The door's locked, I suppose?" A quick attempt to open It showed blm thnt It was. But be had a chance, If he could break down the door, for the sound might pass un heard In the gale, with the crashing of the. Ice against the sides of the schooner, enabling him to pass into the hold unsewi In the darkness. He hurled himself against the cabin door, lists, shoulders, body, with every muscle set tense. It broke upon its hinges, and Hilary fell, sprawling Into tho passage between tho piles of stacked lumber, which rose to n height of twenty feet on either side of him. running to within n few feet of tho cabin and the deck ladder. He crouched there for a few sec onds, hearing Madeleine behind blm, and looked upward. The wind was roaring through the rigging with a noise fnr louder than that made by tho falling door. No one hnd beard the crash. Above him swung the great mainsail, obscuring the gibbous moon that scurred like u pale ghost among the drifting clouds, haloed in the fog. Hil ary could Just discern the hazy fig ures of three men, hard at work to gain the middle channel, und the lan tern that bung from the mast above. faintly Illuminating them, lie had seen, but hnd not conscious iv observed, till the remembrance enmo to him then, thnt a pile of lum ber, pluced In the ship but not yet se cured, lay about tho center or tne open space In front of the cabin. It could not shift with the rolllpg of tho schooner, so ns to destroy her equi librium, on account ot the stacks on either side. It consisted of the last load of logs, which bud been dropped there from the eud of the flume. Hil ary raised two In bis arms and car ried them In front, of tho broken door. It was Impossible to make hls voice beard, for the ship was staggering through the clashing Ice lloes with a noise like thnt of artillery, but Made leine saw his purpose, and In an in stant wns at work helping him. They began swiftly building a bnrricade; and, as Madeleine depostted her logs by the side of Hilary's, Hilary wedged the ends ngalnst tlie dunned suicks on either side, so that the whole would fonn an Immovable barrier. He tolled furiously, for their scanty tlmo wns precious beyond value. Soon Made leine was behind the barricade, ad justing tho logs that Hilary brought, nnd It stood the height of ins waist. It was Improbable thnt either Du pont, Plerro or Leblanc cnrrled n re volver; but. even If they did. the nur rlcude was bullet-proof. Hilary for got his aching head, the retching nau sea. The barrier was shoulder-high. He clambered behind It nnd took his station there Just as the grinding of the lines censed, and the schooner caught the clear water. A ray of moonlight, strnggllng through the fog, disclosed old Duppnt at the wheel abovo the poop, and the great malnsnll sweeping over It and two forms that crept along the pas sage between tho lumber piles. They stnrted back In sudden consternation nt tho sight of tho unexpected barri cade, and Hilary's club, aimed at Plerro's bead, descended upon the out Inw's arm, which dropped limp nt his side. With n yell Plerro started back, hut Leblanc leaped forward, knlfo In hand. So sudden wns the attack thnt It drove within nn Inch of Hilary's throat. Madeleine screamed, ruhed forward, and pullwi Hllnry back As , Leblanc caught alght of her ho uttered nn exclnmntlon nnd followed Plerro back Into the darkness of the lumber plies. Silence followed. Thnt wait was tense nnd nerve-gripping. Hllnry tried to get Madeleine to return Into the cabin, but she kept her place at his side. Then, to Hilary's utter surprise, he heard Brousseau's voice, and dis cerned him moving out of the dark ness of the lumber. "Monsieur Askew, I want to speak to you!" he called. "I am coming to you. I can trust you." Hilary returned no answer, but Brousseau, apparently confident 'of Hllnry's honor, pushed forward and came up to the bnrricade. "Ah, mademoiselle, you hnve done a foolish thing 1" he said quietly to Mad eleine. "No harm was mennt to Mon sieur Askew. I want those papers that's all. I heard he was coming aboard and adopted this ruse to get them. They nro lies, written by a dis charged employee, and I can't afford to be lied about. I want to clear my honor In your eyes, mademoiselle." But as neither answered him he dropped his pose of blandncss and ad dressed Hllnry. "I've got more nt stake than the seigniory nnd the asbestos mine," he cried. "That's only a drop In the bucket. I admit It's been a fair fight Letween us nnd you've won. I didn't want the seigniory. I wanted the tight. I'm willing to drop It now nnd give you best. But I want those papers. "They ain't yours, Monsieur Askew. Morris forged them, but you kept them, nnd that's why I trapped you here. It was me stopped Dupont from killing you, because of bis daughter." Madeleine laughed contemptuously nt the He, and Brousseau suorted like n lashed horse. "I want those papers," he went on doggedly. "They ain't In your clothes, und they nln't In your bag. Give them to me and we'll cry quits, and I'll put you nnd Madeleine nshore nt Ste. Anne. I can trust you and you can trust mo. Are you going to agree?" "No!" shouted Hilary. He had hud the sense that Brous seau meditated some treachery, but he was not prepared for what followed. Madeleine cried to blm nnd pulled him back, just as Pierre and Leblanc leaped down from the forecastle roof, to which they had climbed during Brousseau's fictitious parleying. Ench hnd his knife ready, and they were upon Hllury together. There wns no room for maneuvering, mid Hilary never knew afterward bow he escaped. But. he thrust his club Into Leblnnc's face, and then, ns the man stumbled back, brought It down with full force upon Pierre's skull. All the strength of bis arms went Into the blow. Plerro never spok All the Strength of His Arms Went Into the Blow. Pierre Never Spoke Again. again. He went reeling ncross the deck like an innnlmnte thing, struck the bulwark, and, as the schooner lurched, toppled Into the sea. Ho was probably dead before ho disappeared beneath the waves. Leblanc rushed frantlcnlly toward the barricade. Hilary was upon blm when he saw Brousseau whip out n re volver and take deliberate aim at him. He felt tho bullet clip his cheek. Twice more Brousseau fired. At tho second shot Hilary stumbled nnd fell flat In the cabin entrance. At tho third. Le blanc, shot through tho brain, whirled round twice nnd collapsed In front of tho barrier. Madeleine dragged Hilary within the cabin. Blood was gushing from a wound In his breast. Frantically she began to tear away tho upper part of his clothing and to endeavor to stanch tho wound. Suddenly sho perceived the llttlo rusted revolver upon the floor. She snatched It up and ran to seo Brousseau In the act of crossing the barricade. Sho pushed It Into his face. Bronsseau cursed and dropped on tho fnr side; Madeleine heard blm running into the darkness. Sho had brought n temporary respite. She ran back to nilary. But It was almost dark In the cabin, and there wus hardly anything sho could do. lie was conscious, but bo seemed bleeding to death, nnd aha could only try to stanch the blood that never stopped flowing. Suddenly there came n terrific lurch of the vessel, which began to spin crazlly In the trough of the sea. And above the roaring of the wind enrna the wild cries of Dupont nnd the ex postulations of Brousseau. The cup tain's reason had deserted him ; he had abandoned the wheel to fight out lit qunrrcl with Hilary. Tho schooner, uncontrolled, ran sldewlse before the wind, nnd Brousseau. willing as he was to let Dupont go on bis errand of murder, was unable to steer her. He had handled ships before, but the swift cross-currents nt the juncture of river and gulf mnde the task Impos sible for one who did not know Inti mately that uncharted track, far from the tnnln channel, now Impassable with Ice. The schooner was rolling heavily, huge seas were sweeping over board, nnd sho turned successively half round the compass; the wind, catching her swinging sails, began to whirl her round nnd round; nnd steadily she drifted toward tho pack Ico along the shore of the Island. Madeleine, working over Hilary frantically In tho cabin, saw Dupont and Brousseau struggling on the poop deck. Dupont was trying to force his way between the lumber piles, while Brousseau urged him back to the wheel. Her mind worked rapidly. Was there any way of controlling the sltu ntlon? She could see none. The moon hnd risen high, and the mists were clearing away. Not far distant wns the nenring point of tho island, and the open Gulf lay beyond. Toward the Ice field the ship was hurrying with frightful speed. Madeleine saw the Ico fast on every side. The narrow passage behind, filled with black, foam-flecked water, was closing In. She did not hesitate, but caught at Hilary and urged him to his feet. He managed to rise, with her support, and stnggered at her side toward the bulwarks. She stopped, picked the fur "coat from the shoulders of the (lend out law, and placed It about blm. She pointed toward the Ice field. Brous seau was still struggling with Dupont near the wheel and Dupont was thrashing his. arms and howling his wild paean. With the last exercise of his strength Hilary managed to drop to the Ice. He lay there. Madeleine crouched over him under the bow of the vessel,, and her last hope went out. CHAPTER XVII. Father Lucien Arrives. Father Lucien had grown very fond of Hilary. Ho did not know whnt to do. Hllnry was in the woods now, nnd almost Inaccessible. The euro had not even Lafe to wrangle with, nis days passed In dejection. Moreover, the matter of Ste. Marie bothered him. Father Lucien had been jeered out of the village, and he know that if the blshp heard of It he would be trans ferred to another parish. Father Lu cien loved St. Boniface, where he had spent nil his life. He hnd sent to Quebec for n book on single-stick exercises, which he had seen advertised In nn old magazine. He bad. become Interested, and had fashioned a flue singlestick from a pllnnt hazel bough. Father Lucien followed the Instructions given In tho book with patient care, and with the best results. He was very thorough In all that he did. His muscles began to grow, bis physical health became excellent. Soon he beenme quite ex pert. It was a sight to seo tlie cure practicing lunges In the seclusion of his study, among the theological vol umes ; but nobody hnd seen him except his old housekeeper, and It took sev eral minutes to convince the old Indy that ber revered charge had not gono suddenly Insane. (TO BE CONTINUED.) Nell Gwynn. Unlike many of the favorites of kings, Nell Gwyn was not thrown out of balance by the attention of royalty. Even though her Illiteracy was of a pronounced character In those days, when mnny of a higher rank were un lettered. Nell, the orange seller of the Theater Royal, was received In the best London society, for ber anima tion, humor and kindly nature seemed to hnvo more than overbalanced her defects, nnd her many nets of charity gained her the lasting esteem nnd af fection of the people. According to Burnet and Evelyn, the last words of Charles II were for her: "Let tiot poor Nelly starve," was the dying sentence of the monarch of England. Earth Gives Light to Moon. Everything reflects light more or less. Sun's light shining on earth Is reflected to moon, exactly as sun's light shining on moon 1b reflected to enrth to produce moonshine. This "earth shine" can be observed on tho darker part of moon when conditions are favorable. Won't Sweeten Coffee. "Sweet are the uses of adversity," but we have no use for It. Boaton xranseripu r