Middletown transcript., 1876-05-20
apparel left behind in her recent fight.

that she did not fear them She could
enter the old house through the kitchen.
in the rear. find the garment without a
light, and return safely to her friends.
The path she had often traversed was
barely discernable but she made good
headway, and reached home without in-
cident. The silence Of the grave hung
about the forsaken place, and the lift
ing of the latch sent chill of terror
to the young girls heart. Through b the
kitchen, across the deserted parlor, and
up the stairs, she crept to the room
where she had left the object of her
nocturnal quest. The drawer of the old
bureau yielded without noise, and Alice
was drawing forth the garment when
the voices Of men fell upon her ears.
She started, dropped her prize. and
with her heart in her throat crept to
the window that overlooked the porch
in front Of the house.
She could see nothing, for the night
was too dark; but the voices Of men,
mingled with the champing Of bits,
continued to salute her ears.
"This is old Beauchampe's house, :"
said one. ut has been deserted for
several days. The daughter. frightened
by the manner in which we treated the
father, has fed somewhere for protec-
ton"
These words drove every vestige of
color from the listeners face; they told
her who the. men below were. though
she could not see even the outlines of
their persons. One week prior to her
visit, her father, one of the Kings
Mountain heroes, was found dead in
palmetto grove, ,and the words Of Fergu-
sons Avengers lay on his breast. Then
she had deserted her home, knowing
that the hand that had struck her
father would not spare the daughter.
Well might the lone girl tremble
when she found herself so near the
dreaded scourges of the country. and
she did not move until she heard the
front door opened by kick and heavily
booted feet in the room below.
Then calm thought Of her situation
drove fear from her heart, and Alice
Beauchampe prepared to perform one
of the most daring deeds of the Revo-
lutionary war.
The noise in the house increased, and
oaths and rude jests preceded and fol-
lowed the lighting Of fire on the
hearth.
Alice. who had longed for sight of
the dreaded six, crept to spot near
the bureau where there was crack 10
the floor. Then applying her eye to
the peek hole she saw six wild looking
men directly beneath her.
They were, beyond doubt, the Aven-
gers Of Ferguson's death, for several
masks lay on the table, along with
three or four bottles Of wine which
they had taken from some patriot 8
cellar. Tall, rough, devil-may- -care-
looking fellows they were, armed with
pistols, carbines. and sabres, the kind
Of men who never court the smiles Of
mercy or listen to the pleading Of inno-
cence. Just such fellows as they were,
Alice had supposed them to be. for she
had seen many of the prisoners taken
at Kings Mountain, and she longed
for the presence of band Of patriots.
There were true men in South Caro-
lima ut that time who would have given
their right arms for a chance to exter-
inmate the Avengers, and Alice knew
where little party Of patriots lay. but
alas! they we're not very near.
"We'll rest here and finish that
wine!" said one of the leaders of the
band, whose face told already he had
imbibed freely "Bring in the poultry.
and on old Beaucbampe's hearth we'll
prepare feast"
At his command, one of the men
left the house, but soon returned, bear
ing with him duck and several chickens,
from whose freshly wrung necks the
warm blood was dripping.
"How's the horses" asked one Of
the Avengers, as the man flung the
poultry on the table.
Standing like rocks, was the reply.
"Such horses as they are don't need
watching, and, beside, there isn't a
rebel within ten miles of this accursed
place"
"Why, there's the widow Hartzell. .
Il didn't think of her. was the reply
"How bitterly old Hartzell hated us,
but we caught him at last"
"And presented him with breast
pin! Ha! ha!
And the laugh went round the room
Alice Beauchampe did not wait until
the laugh was ended; while yet it filled
the house with its dsvilish echoes, she
plided across the room to a window
that looked-out upon the dark palmetto
grove behind the building
There was no sash in the window
and the cool winds Of the night kissed
the paid cheek Of the partisan's daugh
ter For a moment she tried to pierce
the darkness beneath the window; but
failing 10 her endeavors, she crept ovel
the sill, resolved to trust to fortune fol
success
The distance to the ground was no,
great, and the daring girl aligbtet
without injury.
Now she was free to make her escap'
to the friends she had lately left bu
immediate flight in that direction wa
not her intention.
..Heaven aid me-" she murmured
as she glided around the old house ant
approached the horses which the toriel
had left tethered to the small trees
few yards from the door.
A glance into the room revealed th
forms of the Avengers discussing th
wine with oath and jest, or watching
the roasting of the fowls. They dit
not fear danger, for their horrible deed
had completely terrorized the country
and under the sway of their lawlessnes
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