The Pearsall Leader (Pearsall, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, July 21, 1911 Page: 3 of 6
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Borderlands Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries.
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mid there be better
s she is be-e-e-utiful,
r like the top side of
with the sun shining
. great deal, Jean.”
irgin—and—it may be
vered the rope about
gs, and as he raised
Howland reached out
ds on his shoulders.
:hat way I love Me-
softly. “Jean, won’t
id? I don’t want to
t a coward. Won't
t your Mariane might
d to me? You would
if it were necessary,
for the girl back on
‘red to his feet and j
'orests through which j
the firelight, Jean. J
> . ing us? Why do |
1 me? If you would
chance to prove that
:—that I”—
■d out and took his
Id like to help you,”
I liked you that night
her from the fight on
liked you since. And
their place, I would
ugh I like you. It is
ill you. They did not
they tied you in the
i not do wrong when
you on the trail. But
>lemn oath to tell you
beyond this—that so
‘ with me and that
us your life is not in
Ml you nothing more,
m’seur?”
Howland.
few steps out into the
ess in his limbs fore-
st trees and saplings
rom falling. He was
roisset’s words and
urn ever at the half
i that his life was no
ite peril. To him this
leese had not only
was now playing an
eserving his life, and
Med to his perplexity.
! who a few hours be-
tely lured him among
vbo was now fighting
Fhe question held a
■ fur him than when
iiself this same thing
, and when Croisset
return to the camp-
st he touched once
rbidden subject,
want to hurt youi
i, seating himself on
I’ve got to get a few
system. I believe this
Is a bad woman.”
tolsset struck at the
nd threw out to him.
Me forward, a band
knife, his eyes fiash-
tarily the engineer
t animal-like crouch,
sge which was grow- j
in the half breed’s
:et spoke softly and
?nt, even while his j
rras were twitching i
id must
nd next
out Me-
ted still
iw of a
habasca
you for
not for
h Arp T
back!”
Ie look-
?. “I’m
slowly.
I love
\id. I
1 said
me.
“And I shall not hesitate to kill you
if I think that it is likely to happen
again. There are others who would
kill you knowing that it has happened
but once. But you must stop this talk,
rn’seur. If you persist I shall put the
rawhide over your mouth again.”
“And if 1 object-fight?”
“You have given me your word of
honor. Up here in the big snows the
keeping of that word is our first law.
If you break it I will kill you.”
“Good Lord, but you’re a cheerful
companion,” exclaimed Howland,
laughing in spite of himself. “Do
you know’, Croisset, this whole situ-
tion has a good deal of humor as
well as tragedy about it. I must be a
most important cuss, whoever I am.
Ask me who I am, Croisset'”
“And who are you, m’seur?”
“I don’t know, Jean. Fact, I don’t.
I used to think that 1 was a most am-
bitious young cub in a big engineering
establishment down in Chicago. But
I guess I was dre ruing. Funny dream,
wasn't it? Thought I came up here to
build a road somewhere through these
infernal—no, I mean these beautiful
snows—but my mind must have been
wandering again. Hello! Are you go-
ing to start so soon?”
“Right away, m'seur,” said Croisset,
who was stirring up the dogs. “Will
you walk and run or ride?”
“Walk and run, with your permis-
sion.”
“You have it, m’seur, but if you at-
tempt to escape I must shoot you. Run
on the right of the dogs, even with me.
I will take this side.”
Until Croisset stopped again in the
middle of the afternoon Howland
watched the backward trail for the
appearance of the second sledge, but
there was no sign of it. After their
second meal the journey was resumed,
and by referring occasionally to his
compass Howland observed that the
trail was swinging gradually to the
eastward. Long before dusk exhaus-
tion compelled him to ride once more
on the sledge. Croisset seemed tire-
less, and under the early glow of the
stars and the red moon he still led
on the Worn pack until at last it stop-
ped on the summit of a mountainous
ridge, with a vast plain stretching
into the north as far as the eye could
see through the white gloom. The
half breed came back to where How-
land was seated on the sledge.
"We are going but a little farther,
m’seur,” he said. “I must replace the
rawhide over your mouth and the
thongs about yopr wrists. I am sorry,
but I will leave your legs free.”
"Thanks,” said Howland. “But real-
ly it L unnecessary, Croisset. I am
properly subdued to the fact that fate
is determined to play out this interest-
ing game of ball with me, and, no long-
er knowing where I am, I promise you
to do nothing more exciting than
smoke my pipe if you will allow me to
go along peaceably at your side.”
Croisset hesitated.
“You will not attempt to escape and
you will hold your tongue?” he asked.
"Yes.”
Jean drew forth his revolver aud de-
liberately cocked it.
“Bear in mind, m’seur, that I will
kill you if you break your word. You
may go ahead.”
And he pointed down the side of the
mountain.
CHAPTER X.
THE HOUSE OF TTIE BED DEATH.
■v
\ LI’WAY down the ridge a
low word from Croisset
stopped the engineer. Jean
had toggled his team with a
mm
ita&Uii
wland.
ou tell
in the
kissed
A
,'4u
r
stout length of babeesh on the moun-
tain top, and he was looking back when
Howland turned toward him. The
sharp edge of the part of the moun-
tain from which they were descending
stood out in a clear cut line against the
sky, and on this edge the six dogs o?
the team sat squat on their haunches,
silent aud motionless, like strangely
carved gargoyles placed there to guard
tit limitless plains below. Howland
te'k hi pipe from his mouth as he
watched the staring interest of Crois-
Frotn the man he looked up again
the d as. There was something in
: ii .'ixiike attitude, in the move-
‘ reaching of their muzzles out into
: wonderful starlit mystery of the
Mill night, that filled him with an in-
tLfn able cense of awe. Then thero
came to his ears the sound that had
stopped Croisset — a low, moaning
whine which seemed to have neither
1 • ning nor end, but which was
b'c-ue In on his senses as though it
> -: * * a part of the soft movement of
• . ■ air he breathed—a note of infinite
hi h held him startled and
■ M movement, as It held Jean
« - t And just as he thought that
■ mg i l died away the wailing
• mm, rising higher and higher,
■ until at last there rose over him a
g howl that chilled the blood
ver\ marrow. It was like the
m\vl of that first night he had
1 on the wilderness, and yet un-
. In the first it had been the cry
f the civage. of hunger, of the unend-
-■mtt.oii of life that had thrilled
In this It was death. He stood
i ring ns Croisset came down to
; !. a th i face shining white in the
lit There was no other sound
> e\ ited beating of life in their
I own bodies when Jean spoke.
“M’seur, our dogs howl like that
m one is dead or about
h- v. hispered. “It was Woon-
i ; . fhe ery. lie has lived for
ir , :nd 1 have never known
uneasy gleam in his
i mu tie your bands, m’seur."
‘But I hive given you my word,
V-»ur hands, m'seur. There is al-
d< "th below us in the plaiu, or it
is to come very soon. I musftRTyour
hands.”
Howland thrust his wrists behind
him, and about them Jean twisted a
thong of babeesh.
“I believe I understand,” he spoke
softly, listening again for the chilling
wail from the mountain top. “You
are afraid that I will kill you.”
“It is a warning, m’seur. You might
try. But I should probably kill you.
As it is”—he shrugged his shoulders as
h i led the way down the ridge—“as it
s, there is small chance of Jean Crois-
sut answering the call.”
“May those saints of yours preserve
a e, Jean, but this is all very cheerful!”
g unfed Howland, half laughing in
: spite of himself. “Now that I’m tied
up again, who the devil is there to die
-but me?"
“That is a hard question, m’seur,”
replied the half breed, with grim seri-
ousness. “Perhaps it is your turn. I
half believe that it is.”
Scarcely were the words out of his
mouth wheu there came again the
moaning howl from the top of the
| ridge.
“Y’ou’re getting on my nerves, Jean
- —you and that accursed dog!”
| “Silence, m’seur!”
j Out of the grim loneliness at the
foot of the mountain there loomed a
shadow, which at first Howland took
to be a huge mass of rock. A few
steps farther and he saw that it was a
building. Croisset gripped him firmly
by the arm.
“Stay here,” he commanded. “I will
return soon.”
For a quarter of an hour Howland
waited. Twice in that interval the dog
how led above him. He was glad when
Croisset appeared out of the gloom.
“It is as I thought, m’seur. There is
death down here. Come with me.”
The shadow of' the big building
shrouded them as they approached.
Howland could make out that it was
built of massive logs and that there
.seemed to be neither door nor window
on their side.' And yet when Jean hesi-
tated for an Instant before a blotch of
gloom that was deeper than the others
he knew that they had come to an en-
trance.
Howland could feel the half breed’s
i hand clutch him nervously by the arm
| as they went step by step Into the
| black and silent mystery of the place.
! Soon there came a fumbling of Crois-
i set’s hand at a latch, and they passed
through a second door. Then Jean
struck a match.
Half a dozen steps away was a table
; and ou the table a lamp. Croisset
I lighted it and with a quiet laugh faced
1 the engineer. They were in a low,
dungeon-like chamber without a win-
dow and with but the one door
through which they had entered. The
: table, two chairs, a stove and a bunk
built against one of the log walls were
all that How’land could see. But it
; was not the barrenness of what he im-
agined was to be his new prison that
held his eyes in staring inquiry on
Croisset. It was the look in his com-
panion’s face, the yellow pallor of fear
—a horror—that had taken possession
of it. The half breed closed and bolted
the door and then sat down beside the
table, his thin face peering up through
the sickly lamp glow at the engineer.
“M’seur, it would be hard for you to
guess where you are.”
Howland waited.
“if you had lived in this country
long, m’seur, you would have heard
of la Maison de Mort Rouge—the house
of the Red Death, as you would call
it. That is where we are—in the dun-
geon room. It Is a Hudson Bay post,
abandoned almost since I can remem-
ber When I was a child the smallpox
plague came this way and killed all
the people. Nineteen years ago the
red plague came again, and not one
lived through it in this Poste de Mort
Rouge. Since then it has been left
to the weasels and the owls. It is
shunned by every living soul between
the Athabasca and the bay. That is
why you are safe here.”
“Ye gods!” breathed Howland. “Is
there anything more, Croisset? Safe
from what, man? Safe from what?”
“From those who wish to kill you,
m’seur. You would not go into the
south, so la belle Meleese has compel-
led you to go into the north. Compre-
nez vous? You would have died last
niglit, m’seur, had it not been for Me-
leese. You escaped from the coyote,
but you would not have escaped from
the other. That is all I can tell you.
But you will be safe here. Those who
seek your life will soon believe that
you are dead, and then we will let you
go back. Is that not a kind fate for
one who deserves to be cut into bits
and fed to the ravens?”
“You will tell me nothing more,
Jean?” the engineer asked.
“Nothing, except that while I would
like to kill you I have sympathy for
you. t That perhaps Is because I once
lived in the south. For six years 1
was with the company in Montreal,
whore I went to school."
Then he unbolted and opened the
door. Faintly there came to them, as
if from a great distance, the wailing
grief of NVoonga, the dog.
“You said there was death here,”
wh spered Howland, leaning close to
his shoulder.
“There is one who has lived here
Mine tiie last plague,” replied Croisset
under his breath. “He lost his wife
and children, and it drove him mad.
Vh: t is why we came down so quietly.
il“ lived in a little cabin out tbere on
■he edge of the clearing, and when I
went to It tonight there was a sapling
ove the house with n flag at the end
of it. When the plague comes to us
we hang out a red flag as a warning
to ethers. That is one of our laws.
Th< (lag is blown to tatters by the
w ■ Is ITe is dead."
Howland shuddered.
“Of the smallpox?”
i “Yes.”
For a few moments they stood in si-
lence. Then Croisset added, "You will
remain here, m’seur. until I return.”
He went out, closing and barring the
door from the other side, and How-
land seated himself again in the chair
beside the table. Fifteen minutes lat-
er the half breed returned, bearing
with him a good sized pack and a two
gallon jug.
“There Is wood back of the stove,
m’seur. Here are food and water for a
week and furs for your bed. Now 1
will cut those thongs about your
wrists.”
“Do you mean to say you’re going to
leave me here alone—in this wretched
prison?” cried Howland.
“Mon Dieu, is it not better than a
grave, m’seur? I will be back at the
end of a week.”
The door was partly open, and for
the last time there came to Howland’s
ears the mourning howl of the old dog
on the mountain top. Almost threaten-
ingly he gripped Croisset’s arm.
“Jean, if you don’t come back what
will happen?”
He heard the half breed chuckling.
“You will die, m’seur, pleasantly and
taking your own time at It, which is
much better than dying over a case of
dynamite. But I will come back,
m’seur. Goodby!”
Again the door was closed and bolt-
ed, and the sound of Croisset’s foot-
steps quickly died away beyond the
log walls. Many minutes passed be-
fore Howland thought of his pipe or a
fire. Then shiveringly he went to
seek the fuel which Jean had told him
was behind the stove. The old baj
stove was soon roaring with the fire
which he built, and as the soothing
‘The Lax-fos” If you had a
medicine containing a general sys-
temic tonic that would strengthen
the liver, kidneys and the stomach
and at the same time make you
strong, don’t you believe you
would soon be well ? It keeps the
whole insides right, that’s the Lax
fos way. Sold and guaranteed by
The Peoples Drug Store.
Worms interfere with the growth of
children. They become thin pale and
sickly Got rid of these parasites at
once if you would have healthy happy
cheerful children WHITE’S CREAM
VERMIFUE destroys worms and ben-
efits the whole system. Price 25c per
bottle. Sold by H. A. Mercer Drug Co.
NOTICE.
All livestock found in the Barnhart
pastures will hereafter be turned over
to the city authorities.
Richard Barnhart.
THE HADE BREED CLOSED AND BOLTED
THE DOOR.
fumes of bis pipe Impregnated the
damp air of the room he experienced
a sensation of comfort which was in
strange contrast to the exciting hap-
penings of the past few days.
He laughed aloud and began pacing
back and forth across the rotted floor
of his prison. And then a flush burned
in his face and his eyes glowed as
he thought of Meleese. In spite of
himself she had saved him from his
enemies', and he blessed Croisset for
having * *told him the meaning of this
flight into the north. Once again she
had betrayed him, hut this time it was
to save his life, and his heart leaped in
joyous faith at this proof of her love
for him. He believed that he under-
stood the whole scheme now. Even
his enemies would think him dead.
They would leave the Wekusko, and
after a time, when it was safe for him
to return, he would be given his free-
dom.
With the passing of the hours gloom-
ier thoughts shadowed these anticipa-
tions. In some mysterious way Me-
leese was closely associated with those
who sought his life, and if they disap-
peared she would disappear with
them. He was convinced of that.
And then—could he find her again?
Would she go into the south—to civi-
lization—or deeper Into the untraveled
wildernesses of the north? In answer
to his question there flashed through
his mind the words of Jean Croisset,
“M’seur, I know of a hundred men
between Athabasca and the bay who
would kill you for what you have
said.” Yes, she would go Into the
north. Somewhere in that vast deso-
lation of which Jean had spoken he
would find her, even though he spent
half of his life in the search!
It was past midnight when he spread
out the furs and undressed for bed.
With the breaking of day the hours
seemed of interminable length. For a
time he amused himself by searching
every corner and crevice of his prison
room, but he found nothing of interest
beyond what he had already discov-
ered. He examined the door which
Croisset had barred on him and gave
up all hope of escape in that direction.
He could barely thrust his arm
through the aperture that opened out
on the plague stricken cabin.
In no situation had he displayed the
white feather; at no time had he felt
a thrill of fear. His courage and reck-
lessness had terrified Meleese. had as-
tonished Croisset. And yet what had
he done? From the beginning, from
the moment he first placed hiS foot in
the Chinese enfe, his enemies had held
the whiphand. He had been com-
pelled to play a passive part Up to
the point, of the ambush on the We-
kusko trail he might have found some
vindication for himself. But this ex-
perienee with Jean Croisset—it was
enough to madden him, now that he
was alone, to think about It Why
had he not taken advantage of Jean,
as JnFkpine and the Frenchman had
taken advantage of him?
Right in your busiest seasons when
you have the least time to spare you
are most likely to take diarrhoea aud
lose several day’s time unless yon have
Chamberlain’s Colic Cholera ahd Di-
arrhoea Remedy at hand and take a
dose on the first appearance of the dis-
ease. For sale by all Dealers.
J. L BEALL, M.D.
Physician and Surgeon.
Office Peoples Drug Store.
Office Phone 65. Res. Phone 70.
Dr. E. G. Cochran
Residence Telephone No. 105
Office with Mercer Drag Coapujr
M. A. Wickware,
PHYSICIAN and SURGEON
Office at
Peoples Drug Store Res. Phone 143
DR. C. M. HOCH
PHYSICIAN and SURGEON
Office Mercer Drug Store
Phone 58
Davis Meat Market
Meat Delivered
Night and Morning
Highest Cash Price Paid For Hides
H. E. CARTER
CONTRACTOR & BUILDER
Allkindaf’gf repair work. Screen
work a specialty. Estimates
are cheerfully given.
Box 94 PEARSALL, TEXAS
CCONTINUED.]
The Starfish.
The whole of the underside of t
queer creature the starfish is endow
with a sense of smelL
Smith Brothers
WELL DRILLERS
We are in the well drilling bus-
iness and are prepared to
do the work.
All Work Done Promptly
PEARSALL, TEXAS
HUNT'S CURE
Is the guaranteed cure for skin dis-
eases. If you suffer from any such
trouble, get a box from your drug-
gist and be cured. Don’t suffer
Hie annoyance of scaly, itching,
burning or pimply diseases of the
skin when a 50 cent box of Hunt’s
Cure will relieve you. We guaran-
tee one box to cure any one case.
If it doesn’t, you get your money
back without question. But one
box WILL cure. Just you try it.
You can get ’it at your druggist.
It comes in the form of a salve and
is easily applied. Remember one
box is guaranteed to cure any one
case of
SKIN DISEASE
e that you get
under our pledge tnat yoi
your money back if it fails. Ask
your druggist. The price is 50
cents a box. Prepared by
A. B. RICHARDS MEDICINE CO.
ShcraMB, Texas
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Hudson, C. H. & Woodward, Roy. The Pearsall Leader (Pearsall, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, July 21, 1911, newspaper, July 21, 1911; Pearsall, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth974768/m1/3/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .