The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1865-07-19

direction; his soul newly filled with hope and the ole
appetite Of cupidty earnest ever; he bent his
footsteps downward passing from the Cherokee borders
in direct course for the Atlantic seaboard. Bu
even as he began this journey-even the sun was
shining brightly in glorious rise the great chestnut
oaks along the ridges all gtterng gaily his smiles
he had fearful vision, which, for moment led him
ominously, to apprehend that the Fates were still re-
! solved not to suffer him to obtain the treasure.
The vision was no other than the spectre of the girl
| of PamIco Nancy Hutton, whom he had so cruelty
murdered now more than three years before She
stood confronting him beneath the shadow of the trees
and in the narrow path that he was pursuing. She
looked precisely she had done in the moment when
he struck the fatal blow There the same diabocal
grin upon her vsage. There the same face of de-
ance and her eyes were like two rcd fires that seemed
to shoot out into his very soul. And
her hands waved him back, as in equal mockery and
! command!
| The wonder was, not so much that he behed tile
spectre now, that it had not appeared to him be-
fore Nancys ghost had been thus far singularly for
/ bearing.
Mathew Hornsby was bold villain not apt to feel
terror at the sight of or devil But, for the mo
ment the appartion unnamed him. He rccoled
from the fearful presence and she then advanced upon
him. 1t was in absolute desperation that he rushed
upon her with terrible shrek, striking wild, for he
had closed his eyes in his terors When he felt moth
ing ia his way, he opened bis eyes, and the spectre
wa longer present
"IIa hal" he shouted, as if he felt himself con-
oucror and the echoes mocked him.
"Ha! ha!' and he sank down, all in heap feeble III
every limb as an infant, while clammy cold sweat
covered all his body
For more than an hour he lay thus incapable, slIud
derng and looking around him expecting the horrld
visitor to reappear, and acnylng he heard whispers IN
the wood He recovered his strength slowly, rose to
his feet and feeby totercd forward upon his path
But all dav the memory Of that vision haunted him
like a real presence and he ianced, every now and
then, that be behcld gancng form in the thickets
and saw two red piercing eyes darting out upon him
from between the leaves
He made but little progress that day. by reason OF
the antness of his heart and the eebencss OF all his
limbs But, with nights sleep, he somewhat recov-
cred The EcXt day he resumed his journey with more
strength and courage; and day by day, he went Tor
ward-toward his Fatel We will not linger for details
Enough that though he had baied the pursuit 81 q that
he could not escape that of God. 1t VAST lie cot
he should not obtain the treasure, denosit Rrieay
had almost reached the place offe was fond one hot
then, IN very sight oi sng at length beside little
afternoon IN U!EHer he had crawed in search Of
"ater-coGTScas Knocked by by the bright streamlet
Water,5d. 1t was salt!
hf.Sat! salt The sea' ......... .
The treasure nothing to him in that bitter mo-
ment. lie found raging with delrium and rapidly
succumbing under the most fatal of all the types of
malarious feveri Even he tasted of the stream he
heard bitter laugh; and, looking forward, he beheld
the edge of the wood the opposite OF the stream
the figure once more of the murdered Nancy Hutton.
He was picked up insensible, and carried to the
dwelling Of planter, whose fields were in sight Here
he received due attention, properly nnrsed ply
seian was called in and every means employed, within
the powers of the ordinary medical science of that day
to relieve his suferings. They were all unayaillng.-
The poor wretch was beyond the reach of mortal sue
cor lie continued delirous during most of the term
of his sickness having lucid intervals only towards the
close of the struggle. In his delirum he diVugled
most of his secrets; the crimes which hung upon
his soGI-the spectres that haunted his vison-the
miserable hopes which possessed him still, OF earthly
gain even in death agonieS; all made known to
those about him But, brokcnIy-imperfe
modic revelations which only odthem that he had been
pirate a amurderer-a wretch whose hands had shared
in every species of crime The secret of the buried
hoard he revealed also; and the greedy ears of the
planter and his two sons, i'll whose house he found
shelter drank in with wild expectations the story OF
the hidden treasure Some CLEANS of the strange his
tory reached the senses OF the attending physician
hut he heard not ythe OF what was heard by Others
The islet which contained the hoard-the gudemarks
which conducted directly to ital these particulars be-
came known to the planter but SO imperfeety, dev-
cred in such language, with such pauses betweensO
broken-that all incohereut! There seemed to be
doggere direction for finding the place, which was
caught up with difficulty, and with still more difficulty
systcmatsed paper, by the planter and his sons
Having got clue to the secret, they never left his
bedsde and every word that seemed to promise inlor
nation was set down as soon as uttered.
''Yes," said the dying man. in his delirium. at is
mine at last! Here is the sea! Salt salt' and he
with sudden terror. "Away' he cried,
''you cannot keep away from it now! Aye you
NAV wave me off-you may shake your head and grin
but fear you not tell you the treasure is mine!
mnel am the last living creature of the crew. ] |
am heir to all the rest. Backbeard's heads off! |
saw it-thirty-two slan--all the rest hung Hung! |
and but one, and Nancy-and she-ahl she's therc |
h,pt tbr I,,,r -
ear to earl Aye, you may grim but that's all You'll
never wag tongue again at mel tell you | am the |
last. and will have it! All! all! There's the seal
Salt! salt And there's the island! 1t only needs
boat and a mattock. And then! aye! aye! Them" |
and here he hummed again the rude sort of rhyme
which embodied all his clues Of search
'sFirst pine and then pine and again pine,
Take the three with a cord, and put 'em in line
Pay out the cord for thirty feet,
Till the pines with the crooked cedars meet
Round the first cedar, then strike for the west,
There's palm tree stands on a sandy crest;
In front OF this, let the two ends rest
Forty nine feet to either line
Then look that an arm Of the centre pine,
Points to the angle made by the tie,
With the palm trees standing sentinelby,
Thirteen feet, midway between,
Brother of the Coast send the mattock in!'
The pirate had memorscd the doggereI long before
"a performance of which poor Nancy Hutton was not
capable. She had tried a thousand times In vaIn.-
Every effort ended only in confusion. She kept the
ioggerel in written memorandum. OF this memo
randum Mathew Hdrnsby had possession, and, strange
to say he had been careful and able to preserve it
safely amidst all his vicissitudes of travel when
IN captivity among the red men. But, as We have
seem he did not rely upon the written record He
had indeby registered the lines in his memory, aud
he chaunted them in his deIiriun Our planter care
fully recorded every syllable from his lips. In a
ribe fit of screaming agony, the miserable soul of the
pirate passed away. 1t shocking scene There
was fanced struggle between the dying main and the
fend in the shape of Nancy Hutton; and in his writh
ngs with throat stuffed with execrations, Horpsby
threw himself out of the bed struck out right and left
-grappled with the imaginary enemy-and fell chpked,
stranglcd sprawed out upon the foor stiening he
fell, with arms and legs stretched wide and his fingers
pread and contracted like the claws Of the eagle that