He killed a Corp'ral o' Hamilton's an'
tuck ter the woods a month or two ago. Hamilton offered a lot o'
money for 'im or 'is scalp, an' Long-Hair went in fer gittin' it.
Now ye knows the whole racket. An' ye lets that Injun go. An' thet
same Injun he mighty nigh kicked my ribs inter my stomach!"
Oncle Jazon's feelings were visible and audible; but Clark could
not resent the contempt of the old man's looks and words. He felt
that he deserved far more than he was receiving. Nor was Oncle
Jazon wrong. Rene de Ronville never came back to little Adrienne
Bourcier, although, being kept entirely ignorant of her lover's
fate, she waited and dreamed and hoped throughout more than two
years, after which there is no further record of her life.
Clark, Beverley and Oncle Jazon consulted together and agreed
among themselves that they would hold profoundly secret the story
of the scalp. To have made it public would have exasperated the
creoles and set them violently against Clark, a thing heavy with
disaster for all his future plans. As it was, the release of Long-
Hair caused a great deal of dissatisfaction and mutinous talk.
Even Beverley now felt that the execution ordered by the commander
ought to have been sternly carried out.
A day or two later, however, the whole dark affair was closed
forever by a bit of confidence on the part of Oncle Jazon when
Beverley dropped into his hut one evening to have a smoke with
him.
Pages:
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433