Activate Javascript or update your browser for the full Digital Library experience.
Next Page
OCR
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY IN THE YEAR
L L G s ) P G G ) o 10w S ) 0 10 0 10 8 1
1A JUEN Willett, the
deputy game-
warden, with
Bob Manson running the
launch, made his last
trip through the Bara-
tacia marshes in June,
he ‘heard warnings.
Pierre, it seemed, had
boasted that he would
“‘get even’” for his arrest
. Willett’s hands. Ile
had had to sell his lugger
to meet the heavy fi
that had been imposed
on himself and his sons,
and he had reminded
Antoine Perrin, the
storekeeper at Barataria
village, of the old law-
less days when more
than one game-warden
had been found floating
in the black water of the
bayou.
Willett laughed at the
plume-hunter’s threats.
«Next thing, I’ll stop
old Pierre from killing
deer in season and out
of season, doe, buck and
fawn. Bob, I’'m going
off to-day to see the
chief, who’s come down
to Lake Salvador to
consult me, and Il
run the launch alone.
You and the captain can
work at that survey and
pick up a turtle or two
till T get back.””
. Bob smiled. Ile had proposed the rough
charting of all the shoals and cut-offs of the
bayous, for no one knew them better than
their gnide, “*014 Man Captain’® Johnson.
“unséquenuy, Bob was well satisfied to remain
in the palmetto shack and discuss the drawings
with the captain. -~ In the evening the guide
went off on a turtle track while Bob washed
the dishes down under the mangrove fringe by
the water. Tle was thus engaged when a
movement behind the little shack drew his
attention. Turning carelessly, he saw a man
peering into the hut. The next instant he
recognized the tall Mexican hat; it belonged
to old Pierre!
“Manson rose angrily. Ie did not dream
that the swampers would dare to attempt
violence. |
‘“IIi, Pierre!”” he shouted. ‘‘What do you |
want?”” |
Pierre turned and covered Manson with his |
shotgun. At his shout in the “‘cajun’’ dialect
of the coast, two other men came from the
cane-brake — Etienne, and the elder brother,
Robert; between them was Old Man Johnson.
““M’sien’,”” said Pierre, with his crafty grin,
f‘dis our turn now. Yo’ go sit against dat
tree.””
Bob hesitated. The old guide called softly |
from the scrubby oak. ¢ Better come on, Bob!
Reckon they got us this trip. Pierre’s ugly.””
“Pierre! We’ll send him to the pen if he
touches a thing in this camp!”’
Pierre bent' his grizzled head suavely.
‘‘Mebbe, m’sieu’. - First catch dat ol’ Pierre!l
Neve’ no mo’ catch dis ol’ Pierre!” Ile
laughed, and turned to his sons, who were
searching Willett’s camp outfit in the hut.
‘“Burn all dat stuff we don’t want, boys.”’
The two younger men were carrying out all |
the portable goods,—canned stuff and bacon
and flour,—and kicking the blankets and bars
back under the thatch. = Etienne exclaimed
with triumph when he found Bob’s belt and’
revolver. Ile seized also ‘on the shotgun.
Then the cajuns began flinging pots and pans
and dishes into the bayou, while Pierre stood
lazily- guarding the prisoners. Bob’s wrath
boiled over. Ile heaped abuse on the trio,
but Old Man Johnson shook his head. “*An |
old reb soldier like me ain’t afraid of any
swampers,’” he muttered, ‘‘but I know when
a man’s-got the best of me! Now just stand,
Bob, and take your medicine. We’ll make
’em howl for tearin’ up our camp.”’
The destruction of the camp, indeed, seemed
about all that Pierre could accomplish. But
as the two younger creoles heaped the com-
bustible articles under the thatch to burn
them, Etienne suddenly gave a cry of delight.
1Te had found Willett’s khaki coat, unused in
_the hot weather, and out of the pocket he drew
a pair of handcuffs. The other outlaw was
interested. They drew together, and examined
the blue steel bracelets.. Etienne was eager to |
|
P
ORAWN BY THORNTON D. SKIOMORE
HE HAD CHAINED THE
TALES OF A
5
see how the cuffs worked,
and after trying in vain to
put them on Pierre and on |
Robert, he slipped to Manson’s side and
clapped the steel cuff on the engineer’s wrist. |
Then, with a laugh, Etienne seized Old Man
Johnson’s arm and drew him close. The
creole was a powerful fellow, and the old
Confederate soldier was like a child in his
grasp.
‘“Bien!” bawled Etiemnne, and the other
cuff snapped. Ife had chained the prisoners
together, with Bob’s right hand to the guide’s
left. '
IIe stood back, laughing, while his father
angrily scolded him. Ile continued to laugh,
as he helped his brother fan the flame in the
palm thatch. Presently the smoke poured
from under the roof of the hut.
““Reckon yo’ don’t come down Barataria no
mo’ !’ shouted. Etienne. ‘‘Papa, now dey
wakl home like brothers !’
Pierre was impatient at the fooling. Ile
ordered Robert to dump the plunder into their
two pirogues. Then he bade Etienne follow.
Keeping his shotgun on the two prisoners |
under the oak, he himself went last. ITe was |
in the boat when Old Man Johnson shouted
after them, ‘‘Pierre, you ain’t goin’ to leave
us locked together here in the swamp !>’
““Yo’ is so wise as to catch old Pierre, reckon
y0’s wise enough to unlock dat leetle ting!”’
Pierre was paddling away. “Bon soir,
m’sien’! Yo’ tell M’sien’ Willett we called to
collect a leetle fo’ dat fine money he took.””
The prisoners stood silent, watching the |
| one
damp thatch slowly curl in the flame. Behind
it the pathless prairie .cane stretched for |
miles, a wilderness that none could traverse |
except by the winding waterways.. Above |
the treacherous marshes the deadly mosquitoes |
were already humming; they made a roar that |
sounded like a high-keyed machine. |
¢ Johnson,”” eried Bob, *‘they don’t dare do |
this! It’s death for us!’’
‘“They did it, dare or no dare. Let’s try
to kick that fire out of our stuff. No use to
fool with these cuffs. Willett’s got the keys.””
““The bars!. That’s right —and there are
some crackers.”” . Bob dashed at the burning
hut. The sides were too green to ignite, and
the engineer, dragging the guide after him,
threw his strong shoulder against it. *‘Push
it down!”” he cried. *It’Il smother the fire!””
They worked and kicked awkwardly at the
frail supports of the shelter. Bob caved in
JULY 31, 1913,
OMPANION
“2-IN FICTION FACT AND COMMENT
Copyright, 1913, by Perry Mason Company, Boston, Mass.
5 s I 0 U5 W 5, D, O Y
i Ut .
L I
Y A A S S G A
PRISONERS TOGETHER.
CAME-WARDEN
Charles Tényney]ackson
Il. THE VENGEANCE OF PIERRE.
it fell
burning heap of their camp
wall; into the
possessions. Then, choking
in the dense smoke, still manacled, with their
wrists already aching from the strain, they
jumped on the margins of the fire, and beat
it and kicked at it.
“‘Get out of it!”” Old Man Johnson gasped.
““My clothes are afire!””
Manson beat out the blaze as they struggled
to windward. Then they sat down, perspiring.
The sky was brilliant with stars. The silence
was unbroken except for the humming of the
mosquitoes. To escape them, the prisoners
crawled round under the smudge, and sat
fanning themselves.
The manacles were exasperating. Bob raised
his hand, and looked at the single steel link
that bound the two cuffs. *‘They took the
ax,”” he exclaimed, despairingly, “‘and every-
thing else that we might have broken the
chain with! If we only had a boat!””
““We need more than a boat,”” said the cap-
tain. ‘‘Let’s throw off the thatch—I reckon
|all our bars aren’t burned. The mosquitoes
And water—we’ve |
will kill us without them.
got to get water!””
Together they rose and went to the palm
roof, raised it off the pile, and, to their joy,
found that much of the stuff was unburned.
One of the bobbinet mosquito bars was good,
except for a hole that was easily tied up; and
in what had been the cracker-box cupboard
were nine dried biscuit. But the water demi-
john was overturned. Bob righted it with a
cry of alarm. .
““There’s only a little, captain!
mouthful! We’ll go crazy without fresh
water and no shade when the heat comes to-
morrow I””
The scrubby oak would offer little shelter.
01d Man Johnson looked off across the starlit
salt marsh.
“‘We might wait for Willett,”” he muttered
| —‘‘and again—’" Tle broke off eagerly. *‘Bob,
remember that old dugout we found and pulled
into the grass down the bayou? If we could
get to it—if we had it, we might float’”” —
Then he stared despairingly to the south. I
don’t know, maybe to one of the shrimp camps
on St. De or maybe some of the turtlers
would find If they don’t,”’—he shook his
head, —**boy, sun and starvation—and skeeters
—they’d fix us pretty soon !*”
Bob drew the bar up, and wrapped it about
his arm. - “*Well, we can’t stay here until
Just. a|
TWO DOLLARS AYEAR * FIVE CENTS A COPY
T 5 R TR 9 R O R T S A 000 W T8
.
T A T Y G A YU A N AU
S
Willett eomes — it may»
be a day or three days.
And with no water —*”
Ilis hand closed about
0Old Man Captain’s be-
low the steel cuff. **Cap-
tain, we must find help
before another sunset!””
“It’s a mile down to
that pirogue!”” muttered
the old man. . *‘ Come on,
Bob— wind that _bar
about your head, and
ke on. I have the
biscuit and the water-
pail.”” They had emp-
tied the precious fluid
into a tin-covered
bucket.
Then they began a
h that they have
VY since cared to
think of. Manson,
ahead, broke the bushes
along the bank, while
the old man ducked and
crept after him. They
took the bar off their
heads; rather than tear
it, they preferred to
fight the mosquitoes. At
times the bushes gave
place to stiff green cane,
and through it they
trampled, sometimes
sinking waist-deep in the
muddy water, and drag-
ging on each other until
their arms ‘were stiff
and their wrists cut.
For the last half-mile
Bob almost carried Johnson. The old man
wanted to rest, but Manson feared to lose
time.
At last, after what seemed hours, they
reached the tiny run, exhausted and muddy,
and found the old pirogué bottom side up.
Manacled as they were, they found it no easy
task to Jaunch the slender craft and to get in
and work it. The old man got in first, and
erouched sidewise so that Bob could use the
short paddle. They were thankful to escape
from the mosquito-infested marsh, although
! the pests followed them in clouds. As Manson
{could not fight them and paddle at the same
time, the guide draped the bar about both
their heads. Then they set off on the slow
tide in the dark starlight.
Somehow, they must escape the deadly sun
| and thirst of the next day. Old Man Johnson
kept speculating where they would run across
some of the seine companies or fishers. All
the established platform camps were too far
away to be reached in a day’s paddling
by the two men, handicapped as they were.
| Meanwhile, Manson, with his right arm
stretched painfully before him to meet his
comrade’s left, paddled on. At times the
guide relieved him, but he sat too far forward
to be of much service, and they could not
change places. About them the sharks and
giant gars leaped and splashed after the
jumping mullet. Shadowy masses of water-
hyacinths floated past, and now and then the
pirogue became jammed in these obstructions.
““The -wind’s risin’ 1"’ muttered the guide.
““Only it’s against us, Bob. But it’ll keep
the skeeters down. And it may blow the lilies
away. They’re getting mighty thick!””
| The old man was continually obliged to
| reach down and tear the bulbous plants from
the bow. h time, Bob had to stop paddling
and lean far forward. The wind up the
bayou, which had broadened out to a quarter
of a mile, seemed to be sending the lilies
‘against them. After a time Old Man Captain
made a disheartening discovery. *‘They’re
| going back,”” he said. “‘The tide’s turned on
us. It must be after midnight.””
Bob ceased paddling, and stared at the dim
shore of the marsh; the wind was piling the
lilies against it. Yes, the wind and the tide
were against them. The drifting mas of
roots and bulbs would bother even a skilful
pirogue ‘‘runner’’; to Bob, shackled to his
comrade so that every awkward stroke hurt
them both, the lilies offered an almost impas-
sable barrier, Only by twisting the paddle
under his arm as he leaned outward with each
stroke was he able to get the peculiar steering
““kick’” with which the pirogue is held on a
course.
““We’ll never make it!”” muttered the old
man. ‘‘Bob, we don’t want sunrise to catch
us drifting unprotected and tied together like
this. Maybe no one’d pass this way in a
8 U0ty Lry 2061
