The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-07-01
'TRI-WEEKLY EDITION

courage enough to war upon defenseless
women?"
The hermit, fairly wrlthing under the
treatment he had received, could only look
upon him III silence.
The excited crowd began to hoot him,
ana the confusion was becoming ominous
of danger to the trembling man, when the
avenger silcnced them with move of his
hand.
Then. drawing brace of heavy revolv.
ors, he extended them both toward the
other
''rake one," he said fcrcely. 81 sec
you are not armed;. but they arc loaded
alike, and you have nothing to fear from
| that score"
Without word the bewildercd victim,
mechanically took ono of the proffercd fire.
arms
Mid the applause of tho crowd, the duel
ISL LED the way to the door, and out into
the open air.
Jostlcd and pushed by tho excited spec
tators, the hermit slowly followed.
Once outside and tho young strangers
second began to measure off the ground for
the duel.
AS the prcliminaricsw were arranged, the
duelists took the positions assigned them.
The challenger emphatcally waited the
| slow movement Of his foe.
II call upon you to Witness" said the
recl'lse of Lone Cabin, addressing tho spec
tators, that this is no quarrel of mine.
But, after this treatment l have received
from this man, whom positively say l
never saw before, l am driven to this. If
L fall, please see that have proper burial.
AS last favor beg that you will not in
any way try to discover my identity. Will
you promise that2'
Receiving the hearty assent of the by
ISLANDERS, the man signfied that he was in
readiness for action.
There succeeded the ominolls ssonc, two,
three, fire, when the young stranger ran.
idly discharged his weapon and with such
accuracy that his antagonist rcalcd forward
ana fell to tho earth without making hos
tile movement.
Smiling grimly the slayer remained mo.
tlonlcss as thespccta,ors rushed to the side
of the fallen man.
els he dead2" cried one.
'Dcad as stonc!" exclaimed tall
Wcathcr-bcaten mountaincer who was bend
ing over the silent form.
"Thcn my work is done, and the wrongs
my poor sister suffered are avenged |" said
the younger stranger as he turned to Join
his companion.
Meanwhile some Of tho others began 30
make preparations for the burial of the un-
fortunate hermit.
while couple were in act of raising the
BODY to bear it away, they were surprised
to see the long, flowing beard worn by the
unknown person fall TO the ground, and
tace as white and smooth as maiden's
suddenly disclosed to their gaze.
A glance told them that it was false, aud
that Ihe Hermit of Lone Cabin was a
In the height of the excitement following
the discovery the stranger duclst reached
the spot. and as he haught sight of the fair
countenance he cried:
''My Godl it is my sister H. and fell sem
scless.
TO cut the story short, by the time the
speaker recovered his consciousness after
the fearful shock he had received, the
wounded one began to show signs Of re-
turning life.
1t was then found that though the shot
had barely escaped being fatal, it was not
likely to prove so.
a long sickness followed, however, and
it was months before the whole story was
known.
''rhe Hermit of Lone Cabin was in
deed the sister of him who had nearly be-
come her murderer. Years before she had
met and loved man by the name of War.
rcn Arnold, but on the day before that fix
cd for their wedding he had disappeared,
and she, nearly brokcn-hcartcd, was a few
days after abducted and borne away to the
mountain retreat Of q band of road agcnrs,
the leader Of whom was none other than
her false lover.
More gricf-slrickcn than ever she sue
cecdcd in escaping; but, somewhat craZed,
instead of returning to her friends, she had
sought life of loneliness. Her brother
Ralph, who had been away at school for
three years, learned of her misfortunes and
supposed death, and returned to his home
to begin search for the villain who had
been the cause of so much suffering.
Warren Arnold's true name was Loren
name, though his sister had never known
him by it.
Accompanied by his friend, Norman
Arlin, lie had sought far and wide for him,
but to make at last that wcll-nigh fatal
error i'll mistaking the "hermit' for his foe
As his sister had not seen him for eight
years, and at time there is most change
IN ones appearance she had not recognized
him.
When she was able, they all returned to
their homes happy company.
Later, Norman Arlin became her hus-
band, and new life dawncd for her.
The Lone Cabin still stands, a memento
of the past.
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