Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1891-12-02


"Who be comin'?" asks the elder wo.
man. in haste.
9Th gov'ment Spies"
sCuss thet Bozsl It s-wuz him es did
et."
She stops and listens intently.
From the rocks below comes the COM
msnd, but family sounding on the night
air.
"They abe after Dave" says the young.
er one. "They abe after my Dsve-your
Dave, our Dave"
The thin old lips compress, and the yel.
low face is in an instant as hard as flint.
She moves quickly to the candle and
blows it out.
s'How dye know3''
"They. cum t. our csbin fer water, n I
heerd 'em talkin ZEN runned up the short
way"
"ListenT'
"Disnount. We foot it from hare"
"Mag, kin ye warn 'em mp ct the still?''
81 be a.feerd, Miss Jenkins"
"A-feerd? ?-afeerd? en- you a-wantin' to
be Davies woman? Suke Thomas wud
ago"
Il be a-goin'. Waltz
And the younger woman throws shawl
VvoA AoA hooA oAu oe0Po Oub lubO tu0
On, on she goes over the rocks like q
frightened deer.
"The q. moon be a.with us," mutters the
old woman, as she watches the other.
A cloud rolls away; momeutary CLEAN
of moonlight; figure in bold relief stand.
ing upon } rock.
Whing-r-r-r-r.r.!!! A bullet speeds its
way.
A scream.
A poor tottering form.
A second.
And the girls lifeless body rolls down
the Redeemed rocks.
Unmoved, like steel statue, stands the
old woman IN the door. She is watching
the smoke curling upward, beyond. Thin
ner it grows and thinner.
1t is gone.
mag be ded," she mutters; zen Dave'll
be Almighty lonesum. But they's warned. /"
She listens.
Not sound. len minutes, half an hour,
an hour-two-and no sound.
'Cuss 'em, they's fooled agin."
Then from around the house, silently,
like ghosts, come the forms of dozen men; !;
and between two of them, shackled hand
and foot is
Dave!
She utterS no sound.
"They've a. got me, Man," he says. 81
a, be the only one tuck. They a.wuddent a.
a. got me unly a.went t. see Mag, you a..
kno' she loved me; On, en-"
His throat closed, and tear splashed at
his feet.
'Dave," she says, ''you've railways bin
ust to the mountain, son, hain't ye? Eu
they abe goin' to take you to Jail. Ha'n't
ye, spies?"
Eyes; he's good for life sentence, for
the officer in charge.
"Then a-good-by, Davie. Kiss MAN."
The bony arms are about his neck, the
thin lips press his own.
"March!" commands the officer.
"A-wait minnit. I've got sumthin'
inside fer Davie t. take along"
''HaltI"
She turns and reaches inside the door.
Like flash the rifle is levelled, and in an
instant 1t cracks.
"Motherp'
And Dave, with a convulsive clutch at
the air, falls dead at her feet.
Like rock she stands.
"You kin a have my Davie now. A.take
him an CO."
Mortified, unnamed, the officers stand.
"RIght about ce-forward-march!I'
She stands and watches them disappear,
and when the last sound has died away she
sinks beside him.
"Don't abe mad at Nam, honey. Don't
stare at anne like a-that. / abe your
Nam. en- a nussed ye, en- ust to a-give
you goards en- a sich t. play with;en when
yed cut yer tnger I'd attic it up fer ye.
Oh, Davie, Dayie, don't a. be mad with me.
Dye a-mind, baby, when ye a-stumped yer
toe, tied bacon on it fer ye. Ye never
cud a-lived thar, son, en- that place, never"
From the cabin skulks the dog.
Her head is upon the dead mans breast,
and she is aroused by the FLAP, lap. lap"
as the hungry brute ticks up the warm
blood.
"Cuss ye! Es wuz a.youI' she shrieks.
And, with superhuman strength, che
grabs the dog by the hind legs aud dashes
him to death.
Morning came, and with 1t the govern.
ment officers.
That evening, when the sun sank behind
the rugged rocks, it's last rays tipped three
rock covered graves.
For they had found her dead beside the
body Of her Dave.