Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1876-07-12
when the voices of men fell upon her

4 ~e>s0s
She started, dropped her prize, and
with her heart in her throat crept tt
the window that overlooked the porch
in front of the house.
She could see nothing, for the nighl
was too dark ; but the voices of men,
mingling with the champing of bits
continued to salute her ears.
"This is old Beauchampe's house. y
said one. at has been deserted for
several days. The daughter frightened
by the manner in which we treated the
father, has fed somewhere for protec-
tion."
These words drove every vestige OF
color from the listeners face they told
her who the men below were, though
see could not see even the outlines OF
their persous. One week prior to her
visit, her father one Of the Kings Noun
tain heroes, was found dead in q pal
metto 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 the 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 a kick, and heav-
lily booted feet in the room below.
Then a calm thought of her siuation
drove fear from her heart, and Alice
Beauchampe prepared to perform one
of the most daring deeds of the Revo-
lutionary War.
The noise i'm the house increased, and
oaths and rude jests preceded and fol-
lowed the lighting of a fire on the
hearth.
Alice, who had longed for sight of
the dreaded six, crept to spot near the
bureau where there was crack in the
floor. Then applying her eye to the
peek-hole, she saw six Withholding
men directly beneath her.
They were, beyond doubt, the Aven-
kClS vi L EuSoh uCdthy AOI SCNCl al
masks lay on the table, along with
three or four bottles of wine which
they had taken from some patriots cell
lar. Tall, rough, devil-may-care-look-
ing fellows they were, armed with pis-
tolls, carbines, and sabres, the kind of
men who never cOurt the smiles of mer-
ey or listen to the pleading of innocence.
Just such fellows as they were, Alice
had supposed them to be, for che 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 Carolina
at that time who would have given their
right arms for chance to exterminate
the Avengers, and Alice knew where
little party of patriots lay, but alas |!
they were not very near.
"We'l rest here and finish that
wine ~ said one of the leaders of the
band, whose face told that already he
had imbibed freely. ''Bring in the
poultry, and On old Beauchampe's
hearth, We'll prepare feast"
At his command, one of them left the
house, but soon returned bearing 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 re-
bel within ten miles of this accursed
place.
"Why there's the Widow Hartzell."
81 didn't think of her." was the re-
ply. "How bitterly old Hartzen hated
US, but we caught him at last"
"And presented him with a 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 devilish echoes, she
glided 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 pallid cheek of the partisan IS daugh-
ter. For a moment she tried to pierce
the darkness below the window; but,
failing in her endeavors, she crept over
the sill, resolved to trust to fortune for
success.
The distance to the ground was not
great, and the daring girl alighted
without injury.
Now she was free to make her escape
to the friends she had lately left; but
immediate flight in that direction was
not her intention.
"Heaven aid mel" she murmured, as
she glided around the old house and
approached the horses which the tories
had left tethered to the small trees a
few yards from the door.
A glance into the room revealed the
forms of the Avengers discussing the
wine with oath and jest. or watching
the roasting of the fowls. They did
not fear danger, for their horrible deeds
had completely terrorized the country,
and under the sway Of their lawlessness
it was fast becoming desert.
Alice counted them before she touched
a single rein; and then in brief pc
riod of time she loosed the horses and
quietly led them into small copse not
far away. The steeds did not refuse to
obey her guidanceship, and when she
had reached the copse she struck them
with whip which she had found be-
meath a saddle. 1t was a smart blow
that she administered, and the horses
started forward and disappeared in an
instant.
Thus i'm few moments Ferguson's
Avengers had been deprived Of their