The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1892-02-26
after all! Fate is kinder to me than

ihe other returned his gaze.
swell" he said, sit was I, it appears
though never knew it, nor suspectc,.
it. And" he added simply, at has
been no ones fault"
'No ones faults"
"No, no ones. Mary Seldom liked
you, but she did not love you, and when
we met she found out her mistake.
You frightened her with your mad
humors. Without mentioning your
name she tcld me the whole story. You
could not make her happy, aud could;
that's the whole case. Do you blame
her?" -
"No," said Quixarvyn, thrustiug the
portrait back into his breast, "I don't.
But have sworn to be equal with tho
man who turned her mind against me
| will never believe he acted by fair
mcans--and am going to do it. De-
fend yourself; give you warning"
Both men sprang to their feet ut the
same instant. aud stood glaring at each
other. At that moment there was
heard outside the church the rattle of
drum.
Only the rattle of drum. But the
sound struck them motionless as figures
turned to stone. Nor was the effect on
their companions less remarkable. There
was Il moments silence in the church,
deep as the silence of the dead; then a
movement-a long Thrill of horror. That
summons meant that day was breaking,
and that their hour was come.
The guards set instantly to work to
prepare the first batch of prisoners to be
led out of the church. Dare and Quix.
arvyn were among the first seized. With
about dozen Others they were marched
into the open air. The gray dawn was
scarcely giving way to the first streaks
of sunrise as they passed out of the
churchyard gates; but the whole village
was wide awake aud in tumult of ex-
element; indeed, there had been little
sleep that night. Every window was
alive with terror stricken gazers as the
party Of doomed men, surrounded by a
band of soldiers, were hurried through
the narrow streets and out upon the
open moor.
At the border of the moor sat an
officer on horseback, surrounded by a
troop of soldiers. Here the party
halted and the guards salutcd. The
officer was man of about forty, whose
danditied appearance, which was as trim
rs that of a toy soldier newly painted,
showed eddy in the midst of soldiers
stained with battle. This was Lord
Fcvcrsham-a man in whose nature
vanity, callousncss and love of pleasure
were about equally combined. His face
was gay with pleasant expectation us the
rebels were drawn up before him.
"Good!' he remarked. "These were
all ringleadcrs, were thcy9 Sergeant
John, draw up your firing party aud
shoot down every man of them"
The order was instantly obeyed. The
tiring party was draw up; the prisoners
were ranged i'll line ut lew PAGES dis.
lance. At one extremity of the liue
David Dare and John Quixarvyn found
themselves once more sidcby side.
An officer who sat on horseback at
Fcversham' right hand observed them.
~ know those two," he said, point
ing to them with his finger. "Pity two
such fellows should be done for. One
of them is the best runner in the coun-
Try side, aud the other the best rider"
"Ehi What9" said Feversham, stand
ing up III his stirrups. "Hold there a
moment, Sergeant; spy chance of
gallant sport. What say you, Major7-
race between these two across the
moor, the one on foot, the other mount
cd. Will you back the runucr2"
The Major was man of some human
ity. He reflected for moment.
"Agrccd !" he said. "Aud to insure
that both shall do their best let the win
ner haYc the promise of his life."
Fevcrsham received this proposal with
by no means Il good grace, for to spare q
rebel hurt him to the soul. But the
delightful prospect of seeing two men
racing for their lives and of being able,
after all, to shoot the looscr, at length
rcconciled him to the scheme. He gave
his orders and the two prisoners were
led out of the line.
Out upon the moor, about n quarter
of mile away, stood u solitary tree.
This was selected as the starting point.
A double line of troopers was drawn W
stretched from the tree to the spot where
the General was stationed, leaving a
space between them like a racccourse
some yards wide. At the end Of the
course Fcversham and the Maicr sat op.
l"ositc each other. Whichever of the
two competitors should pass between
them first would be rewarded with his
life and liberty.
And what were the sensations of the
pair while these preparations were In
progrcssa
David Dare, standing before the mus.
kcts OF the firing rarty, had heard the
strange proposal with sudden thrill of
hope, SO keen that it was almost like a
pain. Then for moment his heart fell
again. lie knew his own speed of foot,
but he knew also that against fleet
horse urged by skillful rider spurrin9
for dear life his chance was likely to be
small. Still there was hope again and he
could do his best. More he could not
do, though success meant lifc-and life
with Mary Seldom.
In the meantime TROOPER had dis.
mounted, and Quixarvyn, armed with
whip anu spurs, having taken his place
in tho saddle, the horse was led by a
couple of soldiers to the starting point.