The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1883-08-30

ight. In seven or eight minutes from
he time we went over, SO quickly did it
I'll happen, was i'll my seat again ready
start.
My assailants, or assistants, which cvei
hey wcrN, made no opposition, and
ccmcd ol ~ anxious to get rid Of me-
hey dispatched me withort n word, and
[ was mile on my road before l fully
realized what had happened. As is al
ways the case in an accident, / could
only recall what took place immediately
before and immediately after, and for
that very reason the words uttered by
the men were more wildly impressed on
nv memory. What did they mean?
1t flashed into my mind like revela-
ton. They had been mislnd by the
shape of my trap; which, rs have said,
was square behind, and looked like a
mail cart, whilo tho darkness was too
great i'll their place of ambuscadc for
arrival was about that of the mail, had
not Jack Plovcr been obliged to turn
back; and the careful pace at which |
had come down the hill accorded very
we'll with tho steady movements Of
Jacks nag.
And the voice? I had heard it some
where tcly-thc man in the Angel bar
who asked, too, the time when the mail
eft. There was no doubt of the mons
purpose.
How to prevent i? How to warn
Jack i'll time? There was no road back
,ut the one by which had come, unless
made dctorr OF several miles. Neither
vas thCrc house near whence to get
assistance. [ pulled up and thought it
MT. A Drulsc on my right arm sug.
'"stcd something. / had fallen on my
left side, and this prusc was cau:cd by
the saddle tumbling after me. I made
mp my mind at ouce.
Turning i'll through tho first gate I
came to, L drove over the turf to n corner
1t the field where was q group Of trees.
Icre l took the marc ont put the trap
under the Gins and turned the cushions;
took off all the harness bat the bride
and snddled her. Luckily the bride hnd
no blinkcrs. I wound the long rcinS
round and round my arms, mounted
and, thanking Providence for my knowl
edge of the country, rode at the nearest
fence. There was faint moonlight t"
'lclp us, but it was terribly dark. NJ,
rrart was in my mouth as We went at the
rEcc, which was big outstanding one,
ut l knew there was no ditch on the
taking off side, and L gave the little
mare the word ut The right moment.
| She jumped clean from under me. aud
!anlcd me on The cruppcr. I never shall
forget that leap! If there had been an,
me to see it l could have sold her almost
'or her weight in gold.
We were halfway across the next field
before / had rCgaincd my scat properly,
md then the mad cxhilaratcn of th,
hing took possession of both of us.
| There was flight of hurdles next which
we took in our stride Then Il bank and
a closc-croppcd hcdgo that stood up,
hiHck as Ercbus, against the gray of the
| night which we jumped MS though II
we're twice its height Then flock OF
frightened sheep went scurrying away
into the darkness.
1t was all turf, and for the first time
[ blessed the poverty of the land, that
made it worthless to plow. A dozen
fences negotiated in the same mad
fashion brought us into n field that
Skirtcd the high road; and hero we were
| pounded. There was n big bull-fnch
into the road. with n deep drop. TO 90
on, parallel with the road, was impos
| Siblc, for there was madc,up bank with
Il cropped hedge, full Of stakes and II
deep drain, as l knew, ran on either side
| rode up and down by the bull-fnch
in despair. Was all my trouble to be in
vain?
At last T made up my mind, and rode,
not too fast, at tho great, towering,
Struggling hedge. / put my arm across
my face, shut my eyes, into it we went;
and ont of it, with scramble, and q
founder, we came-scparatcly The
| bull-fnch nearly brushed me out Of the
saddle, and the marc and ! dropped side
by side into the road, but both of us
were on our legs. Before I had time to
rcmont heard the sound of approach
ing wheels, and n man whiStling mcr-
rily.
"Pull up Jack q called out
Jacks whistle ceased, and n moro as
tOnishcd countcnance / never bchcld
than the one which looked down from
| the mail cart.
"What the dickens -" he began.
Then explained.
"Wcll," he said ut the end of it, with
ont word of commcndatiOn for me.
( "That is good pony of yours. What
shall we do?"
"Ill tell you," I said, for my blood
was up with excitement of the night.
"Drivc back toWorthington, get Rogers,
1
let them try again"
"Donc with yon," said Jack, turning
round. "You ride on ahead and fine
Rogers, and III wait for you by the ole
toll-bar."
II. half on hour the constable and
were seated very mcomfortably on the
back of the mail cart, and driving aIon2
as fast as Jacks pony could be induced
to 60 Our only fear was lest the fellows
should have got tired of waiting, for 1t
was quite an hour and n half later than
the time when the mail should have
passed them. Down the hill we went,
our hearts humping away with excite
mcnt, not to mention the difficulty OF
holding on, and Jack performing My
Pretty Jane" with exquisite variations.
Well, to cut my story short, we got
one Of them. The constable. in his ca
gcrncss, jumped down directly The first
man had seized the horses head, and the
two other fellows made off. We got the
right gentleman, though; the identical