The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1886-02-20
WHOLE No. 2,245

''''' "a \ ii'hN '''iiiN ioih"o NV III
! quick-tempered, but soon over it
There, the old lady'e got the supper
ready. Come, let us set to-.
! They drew up their chairs and fel
to work with hearty appetite, making
quick dispatch with the slices of ba-
con and eggs, wedges of corn pone
and steaming coffee.
SO busily engaged were they that
they failed to notice that their host
ess had suddenly disappeared. Yes,
poor Ma'am Harvey could bear the
suspense no longer. She must try
and do something toward saving her
son. SO, wrapping her long cloak
about her, she went forth into the
tempest
How the elements varied to-
gether, The wind swept down in
terrific blasts, overturning trees and
stripping off their proudest branches.
The rain poured down in torrents.
The pale, quivering lance of the
lightning darted here and there, fol-
lowed by the thunder's sullen roar.
Drenched to the skin, her face wet
with tears and rain, her white hair
tossed in wild confusion, the old wo-
man pushed her way upward, STUN
bling over stones and caught by
tangled bricrs. The steep, clayey
path was SO slippery that she could
hardlyproceed without falling. Once,
too, there was rustling near her
weary feet, and gray, Shiny length
gllded await was rattlesnake
five feet long!
'Lord' she cried, and the word
was not merely an exclamation-it
was a prayer.
On, on she went. If she only
knew where to go! But Ben had
never betrayed the slightest hint as
to the whereabouts of the still. She
had a dim suspicion that it was in
one OF the most impenetrable fast
ness OF the mountains. Occasionally
after day absense Ben had come
home, as usual, with the scent of IL
quor about his clothing, and he had
brought her some berries, which,
she knew, were to be found in only
one place-the widest and most I'M
trequented portion. Thither she
now forced her way. A half hours
severe eNertion and she reached it.
Amid the thick mass Of trees and
bushes she beheld the dim outlines
Of small building. A tiny light
twinkled in the gloom. There was
low murmur of voices.
"Benn she screamed; Ben But
amid the roar of the storm her voice
seemed to have no power.
She must get nearer, though this
looked impossible, for huge mass
boulders, and fallen trees, with their
dead. limbs twisted and woven into
an almost impenetrable barricade,
lay between. 1t was getting dark,
too, fot the tast-falling night added
to the gloom of the storm. But the
faint light twinkling before her was
a guiding stair. With the energy OF
despair she struggled on.
"Ben" she cried again, Ben, the
revenue men are arter We and I've
come'-the words ended in wild
scream, tumble and loud crash, for
the faithful old woman had fallen
into rocky chasm, which the moon
sinners had ingeniously concealed by
trees and vines, and which they had
intended to serve as trap for any
intruder.
At this minute Ben and his two
companions rushed from their little
hut. They had heard the warning
words, the despairing shrek and fatal
fall.
81 thought it sounded like wo-
mans voice, said one of the men.
st must be my mothern Ben ex-
claimed, his voice full of anguish
your mother. Poor thing! |
reckon she's about done fur peer
ing with grave face into the black
abyss. at was right smart of her to
come up here and tell us, now,
warn't ito
81 say, boys, broke in the other,
eagerly, "P'raps We d better git out
of this as soon as we kin! | heal
bosses hutfs down the mountain.
And then, seeing the contemptuous
wrath on Ben's white face, he added,
apologetically: eve kin come back
in hour or two and git the body out
1t won't make no difference to her,
| reckon, fur, as i'm says, she must
"a been killed outright by sech d
! fall
Stewards" Ben cried. Do We
think I'd risk having her poor old
body mangled by beasts? Go if ye
wanter-I'll stay here and git hel
out alone-somehow. 1t may be
she ha'n't dead yet'-with a little
CLEAN of hope.
The men hesitatcd, glancedat each
other and looked doubtingly into the
pit-then turned eye and ear down
the mountain. There certainly was
faint sound stealing upward amid
the tar-awav echoes of the now sub
dued tempest. 1t fastened their de-
cision. Safety in flight was an abso-
lutte necessity, aud SO, muttering a
few words OF sympathy and fresh
uorni,,1 tn Ben to which bp Mid