St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1891-10-10

II forbid vou to finish that tunelea1
dogR'rel:" exclaimed Maj. Shelton,
with Is much dignity Is though he werc
King George himself.
"Egad, sir!'' replied the captain. ..the
beauty of my song is that each verse /,
complete in itself"
| II will have no more of the treasona.
! BILE stuff!''
"Shame!" cried dozen voices
perhaps" laughed the captain. s.our
British jailer would prefer the ballad
o. The Cock-ar Hoop and the CaRed
Eagle?'"
Shelton's eyes blazed with anger q
this mock allusiOn to their relative
positions; walking quickly to the bacl.
OF the captain, he dealt him such =
blow in the face that the sea dog was
knocked into his ncighbor's lap.
With loud cries of ''viliain!' and
''cowardw q dozen men spranr IN
avenge this unsoldierlike act But
Mariner was not the man 70 require
assistance in such matters.
pray return to your seats, gentle
men" he said; then, in tone of mock
reproof, he added: "What! attack with
your hands . poor fellow who has
nousht but sword and pistols where
with to defend himself! For shame,
boys-'
Turning to Shelton. who stood with
his hand on the hilt of his sabcr, he
said. in an undertone: 'FOr q prisoner
OF war to lay finger on his guard is, as
you well know, to incur the. penalty of
death; besides, you are armed and am
not; but shall repay you before many
days.
Il shall not avoid you-when you
are entitled to wear . sword.' retorted
the major, contemptuously; then, as
the company broke up, in disorder. he
stepped into the inn, TO pen q line to
the British general, asking for few
troops Ito prevent a certain unscrupu-
lous rebel, one Mariner, from breaking
his parole"
The captain. however, had no such in.
tcntion. Lazily lolling over the now
deserted table, he lit his pipe, and APP
pcared to be lost in peaceful musings
But he was never SO wide-awake as
when he appeared distracted A foxy
glance or two at the hosiery showed q
state of hustle therein; presently, upon
the blind of the tap-room, he saw the
shadow of the major and the innkeeper
in earnest conversation. Soon the
shadows disappeared, and Shelton
sauntered out for his evening walk. As
soon Is the wood screened him from
view. the captain raped sharply with
his mug, which brought Mrs Van Blu.
rem to the table.
THE old man has gone to the Eng
lish lines" said Mariner.
Lords mercy, captain, and what
makes you think so?''
1.-The horse has hoofs, and we are to
lew'rd. don't want to know his bust
ness; what desire to ask you is-are
you a daughter of iberty?"
''Why, really, captain, the master
hasn't decided"-
but You have" interrupted the cap
tain, land you wish the English were
at the bottom of the sea! You saw tia:
brig try to shoot away my topm'st?"
1T were a dirty trick, sir, If it's the
blow you mean"
The captain tore a leaf from his
pocketbook and wrote few lines upon
it
''Mrs. Van Buren," he said. ''can you
ride horse?"
Indeed, few better, sir; my own
horse, Black Ned, in the stable there
'cen. Putnam is in Brocklyn; this
slip of paper must be put into his hands
to-nightr'
Lords mcrcy!' cried the hostess.
"And are we going to have another
battlc?'
Il will read it,
my Dear General-Caa ycu have me ex-
changed. and 1t once. MARRINER'
The captain bestowed . significant
glance upon the lady, who took the bit |
of paper and thrust it in her bosom.
Then, running into the house. she re-
turned with . pint of the captains par
ticular porter. which he swallowed
babe her good night and set
out for the cottage ut which he was
lodged On his return, instead of re-
firing. rs he should have done under
the circumstances. Maj Shelton re-
paired to the bar. reclincd on one of 4
the settees. and to the infinite annoy
ance Of his hostess commenced to dis
cuss what he was pleased 70 term 1.-THE |
pitiful folly of these provinces in heark- |
eniny to such sordid wretches as Henry,
Jefferson. Washington and Paine"
The rumbling of distant thunder now |
added to the worthy lady's disgust
This delay would obligc her to take |
the shorter bride path through the /
woods. and she had a pardcnable dis
like to the proximity Of tall pine trees
in . thunder storm. So communicative
was the major that the anxious woman
feared lest he should conclude to sit up
for her husbands return: but a trc-
thunder crash right over the
inn seemed to bring him to sense of
The proprieties. for he lesped to his
Feet, looked 1T the brass timepiece on
the mantel (which was on the stroke
IF midnight) And hurried upstairs
Without the loss of . moment the
woman assumed her good mans cortiu-
-oy coat and, taking . lantern to the
stable, aroused and saddled Black Ned.
The rain was falling in torrents as she
ose to the saddle and cautiously di-
'ectcd the horse across the turf to the
opening in the woods Then, tying
he reins to the saddle. she ''shone"
he lantern over the animals head and
Urged him TO . gentle canter in the d.
ection of Brooklyn.
The sun was up when Van Buren,
who had prudently passed the night
q the British camp) returned to the
ross Keys, accompanied by an aide
A. n
cading the horses to the stable he was
a. E~I al