Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1868-08-27

d tie Sautbb. -. = - -. .,...
36S. ?, :. 2
suspected the existence Of this admirable place
concealment 30 near at hand, nor foundan entranc
to it, save by the merest accident
Victor was not long in discovering the charscte
of the hiding place whittier he had been led. H
congratulated himself upon having found, in. til
nick of time, hiding place where the .enem,
would never stumble upon him. BE heard then
heavy tramp upon the piazza floor immedatel,
below him, and could hear their footsteps ane
voices in the parlor, and though he pitied the %
cupants of the house upon whom these intruders
had descended like fight of locusts, he congat
ulated himself at having been inducted into 80 se.
cure hiding place. t.....
At his first encounter With his fair conductor, be
was indeed taken by surprise, but never dreaming
that they had ever met before, he attributed the
interest which she manifested in his behalf to her
patriotism, and her kindly regard for oil who, like
himself were engaged in the service Of the county
He had been in his hiding place some ten min.
utes listening to the murmur of voices and the
tramp Of soldiers in the house, and every minute
seemed to him an age He had thought it was a
mere marauding party which, in their movements
around the country, had made temporary call at
the old mansion, but as time wore on and their
voices still continued to reach him in his place Of
retreat, an apprehension began to enter his mind
that they might permanently establish themselves
there for the night, and preven. him from return
ing to his regiment If they made it their outpost
he might be cut off from his regiment until de-
cisive battle should occur. The reflection cansed
him no little uneasiness, for knowing the superior
strength of the enemy, and anticipating renewal
of the fight on the morrow, he feared, the enemy
should succeed in driving back the small force in
their front, he might be enclosed in their lines and
placed in most critical situation. Hemight even
become prisoner, and as the authorities at Wash
ington had persistently refused an exchange of
prisoners, to fall into the hands Of the enemy was
tolanguish in the walls Of prison for many weary
months, subjected to every pnvation and indignity
which could make life burden Asyet, however,
the contingency of becoming prisoner seemed re-
mote, and he gave himself little thought about the
matter, only hoping that the stay of the enemy
might be brief SIS ,ga.
He had heard the heavy steps of his enemies as
they assembled the staircase, and made their way
to the room at the further end Of the building.
As the loft textended the whole length of the house,
the chamber in which the wounded officer lay, ad-
Joined the other extremity of the loft Peering
wistfully through the gloom, Victor saw geam
of light which made its way into the loft at the
further end, which evidently struggled in through
some creyice, from the room in which the light was
that had first attracted the attention of the scouts
to the house. The thought quickly suggested it.
self to the mind of Victor, that if he could make
his way unheard to the other end Of theloft, he
might be able to gain some information which
would be of service to him in the present emer-
gency He now had no fear of obtruding with
prying gaze upon some sacred privacy of the house
hold, for the enemy had thrust themselves into ey-
cry chamber Acting promptly upon the thought, !,
he made his way, silently; along towards the fur
ther end of the loft in which he was, concealed,
fse might oVsFdfS s5%s unsssd e obsds and pro
duce an unexpected noise which might attractsthe
attention of the enemy and lead to discovery Of
his hiding place. So slowly did he move, feeling
his way cautiously along with his feet that nearly
five minutes had elapsed before he reached the ap-
erture through which the light came. 1t was a
small knot hole, through the pannel work Of the
chamber, sufficiently large, however, to enable him
to get good view of the larger portion of the
chamber 1t was the same apartment into which
the reader has already been introduced. For some
time, however, Victor stood and gazed in vain,
without seeing anything to satisfy his awakened
curiosity Naught met his view but the ordinary
furniture of bedroom On the further side of
the chamber, to his right, was couch, and on the
left bed-stead, and on the mantel'board q lamp
which dispersed gentle and mellow light through
out the entire chamber. Lying on the bed was a
man, seemingly an invalid, upon whose face, as
lis head reposed on his pillow, the lamp-light fef
brightly. There was certainly little here to reward
his scrutiny or to throw any light upon the circum
stances that surrounded him.
He saw that the invalid was man of remark
ably handsome face and well formed head, in the
middle age of life. Victor observed that now and
tneQ he TalSeu HIS Icdu iIUu HiS puloW, dhu oSCiu
ed to listen with anxiety and apprehension to the
sounds that reached his ears from the chambers
below. L.
"On bis bold vlsage, middle age
Had slightly pressed its sgnet sage,
Yet had not quenchcd the open ruth
And fiery veheinence OF youth;
Forward and frollc giee was there,
The will 10 do the soul TO dare,
The sparkling glance, soon blown to fire,
OF hasty love or headlong re." ..-.. .
These lines rose spontaneously to the thoughtsl
of Victor, as he looked upon the noble soldierH
face of the invalid, on which fankness and daring
were indelIbly stamped. The invalid passed hisI
hand over his fevered brow and muttered aloud to
himself, ....-.. ...
"Would to Heaven, were not confined TO- this
weary bed at this time, when, of all others, my
sword would be so useful in the field. Rust, rust,
rust Better to die at once than lie here and
chafe under my helplessness," " murmured the in
valid with closed eyes, "Were but able to mount
my horse and head my regiment, would visit up-f
on the heads of our enemies double retribution
for their savage deeds" ;. -
'sAnd so you would try the fight again, Secesh,
would you?'
Colonel Danvers opened his eyes and stared with
supercilious surprise upon the speaker, who had
entered his chamber and stolen up to bis bedside
with the stealthy tread of cat It was the un-
calmly form and ill-omened face of Machael Walsh
that appeared before him. This ll-favored being
.. -..;tlo A.. ,.,,, ~, ,,rord huf O 1oofhorn holt