Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-02-17

,
You ought to be one of Them" (carelessly
peering in the barrel Is he spoke).
"Och, wirasthrue! wud yees say to me
that wuz Ribbonman ?" with sudden
howl Of horror.
aDon't bother, Kit. Pick up that cloth,
and stop whining. / know you're Orange
to the backbone. Like me-"
Kit stood by in silence while, his FUR
tive blue eyes steadily watching Tom,
under the light lashes.
~ suppose yees couldn't Lit one of2the
masther's guns, now s
81 can lift any one of them. Come and
See" saE. !.
Tom hung his pretty silver-mountsd
gun over his bed carefully, and then ran
down the steps leading to his fathers
chamber, closely followed by Kit. 1t was
. large room, with windows opening to
the ground. Over the fire-place hung
couple Of crossed swords, and fine gun,
which Mr.. Kelsoe used in the chase.
From under the pillow Tom drew pair
of pistols; the bed was high posted, with
heavy wooden curtains; from the tester,
or top, he took down q couple OF light
guns.
ais that all ?" said Kit, with touch of
contempt. Tom hesitated. An Irish gen.
tleman took as much pride in his weapons
as his horses, and Tom had no mind to
hear his father sneered at; still he re-
menbered that Kit belonged to the class
who were punished with death, If q gun
was found in their houses, and that they
were now in rebellion, burning and kill
ing, Mr.. Knapp said, all before them, to
gain possession of these very weapons.
"If show you the others, you'll never
breathe it now, Kit?" he said at last
"There's danger Of"
"Them rascally Ribbonmen. / know.
Och, yeez wouldn't be afeard of poor Kit,
now, Master Tomi"
So Tom pushed back the bed-curtains,
touched spring in the panel, and showed
secret closet, in which hung about .
dozen guns, most of them finely mounted.
"My father has a better collection than
Lord Roscommon," he said proudly, clos
ing the door. !,
"Troth, it's foine." But Kit turned
away with such dull, Indifferent face,
that Toms untasiness was dispelled. He
went down to supper. That was a very
different meal from the light dishes of
crackers and oysters and tea, which Tom
Waters calls suppers There was table
covered with fine linen, which Mrs. Kel-
soc and her maids had spun (there were
great presses full of it up-stairs), and on
It were roasted wild ducks, and noun.
tain of spiced beef, and dishes of game
and fish, and hare pasty, besides hot
caRes and tea, and an enormous bowl Of
punch, and high jugs of smoking toddy,
with the roasted apples bobbing up and
down. Some of the neighbors were there,
as. they were, indeed, for every meal.
TON slipped away after supper, and ran
out to the kitchen. There was as great
crowd there, and as heavy eating, as in
the hall. There was no counting the
hangers-on about the Kelsoe kitchen.
There were cooks, and maids. and grooms,
and the hen wife, and the goose wife. and
the wife who made the BARN (yeast), and
a dozen more, who "just held by the ia
mily" Yet Mr.. Kelsoe was not rich
man. He held large dairy-farms (on pep
percorn leases for ninety years., and
the many mouths ate up more than the
Harofits from year to year.
Tom liked to 90 down to the kitchen to
be flattered and joked with, and to hear
stories of fairies or banshees. But to-
night it was very dull down there; the
men, even Kit, had all gone to wake,
and the women were silent. So he went
to bed early, leaving candle burning,
with frightened look out at the slope Of
the hill and the woods beyond.
1t wasabout midnight when Tom awoke
with the sudden feeling of terrible dan
ger. The room was still rs death !; the
candle was gone, but the moonlight
Law in a square patch on the floor. He
got up and CROPPED about. Nothing.
He went to the window. What was
that dark, compact mass by the cOpse
yonder, where the fox found cover on
Monday What were those moving shad-
ows stealing slowly to the house, below
the trees? Suddenly wild cry broke
through the air. It was his mo.her's
voice. Tom sprang to the door, dashed
1t open, and found himself in the grasp of
vice-like hands, that, struggle as he might,
dealt with him as If he were nothing but
weak kitten. In moment he was
gagged, his hands and feet tied together,
and thrown on the landing.
There were dozen figures in the hall
below, struggling In the moonlight His
father fighting the robbers alone and un-
aided. Tom kicked and writhed fran
ticly, but to no purpose. Mr.. Kelsoe was
not strong man, but he fought like
An Irishman. 1t was in vain, though ;
the dark, silent figures swarmed out Of
every door, overpowered him, left him
tied and helpless. Yet Tom, through all
his fury, could not but notice that they
were oddly gentle with his father; did
not return one of his desperate blows.
The women they had locked, unframed,
into the dining room. When Mr.. Kelsoe
was conquered, there was . moments
quiet then the masked men went out and
returned, carrying the store of weapons
which Tom had discovered to Kit One
man, who seemed to be the leader, paused
q moment at the door, and, coming back,
laid two of the most costly guns beside
Mr.. Kelsoe, breaking the absolute ST.
lence which they had observed, by q
whisper" You must not miss the fox
hunts." saea i4
Then they disappeared; all but one
small, stealthy figure, that stole down,
q moment after, from Toms room, with
his fowling- piece in hand.
'"It's that scoundrcl, Kit Cassidy !" Tom
could have cried with rage.
When his mother had succeeded In free
ing herself and her husband, and Tom
had found . voice, his passion knew no
bounds. He shrieked out, " Croppies, lie
DOWN. from the door, after the retreating
fi1ures. az the most Offensive words he