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

it. And" nc added simply, at hk
been no ones fault"
'No ones fault~
"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 told me the whole story. You
could not make her happy, aud could;
that's the whole case. DO you blame
hcr2"
"No," said Quixarvyn, thrustiug the
portrait back into his breast, "I don't.
But have sworn to bo equal with tho
| will never believe he acted by fair
means and | am going to do it. De-
icud yourscIf; | give you warming"
Both men sprang to their feet at the
same instant. aud stood glaring at each
other. AZ that moment there was
heard outside the church the rattle of
. drum.
only the rattle Of II drum. But tho
sound struck them motionlcss as figures
turned to stone. Nor was the effect on
their companions less remarkable. There
wa, II moments silence in tho church,
deep ~ the silence of tho dead; then
movcmcnt-a long thrill of horror. That
summons meant that day was breaking,
aud that their hour was come.
The guards set instantly to work to
prepare the first batch Of prisoners to bc
lcd out of the church. Dare and Quix.
arvyn were among the first seized. With
about dozen others they were marched
iutn fhr nnnp mir 'rh. urny II ,poo
scarcely giving way to the first strcaks
Of sunrise ~ they passed out Of the
churchyarl gates; but the whole village
was wide awake aud in II tumut of cx-
element; indeed, there had been little
sleep that night. Every window was
alive with terror. stricken .tazcrs as the
party Of doomed men, surrounded by
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 u
troop of soldiers. Here the party
halted and the guards salutcd. Tho
officer was Il man of about forty, whose
dandllicd appearance, which was rs trim
rs that of toy soldier newly painted,
showed oddly IN the midst of soldiers
stained with battle. This WIS Lord
Fcvcrsllam man in whose nature
vanity, callousucss and love of pleasure
were about equally combined. Ills face
was "ay with pleasant expectation us the
rebels were drawn up before him.
"Good" he remarked. "Thcsc were
Ill rin%lcadcrs, were they? Sergeant
John, draw up your firing party aud
shoot clown every man of them"
The order WAS instantly obcycd. The
ir'n:; party WAS draw up, the prisoners
were ranged in line ut II lew PAGES dis.
'nnrc. AZ one extremity of the liuc
David Dare and John Quixarvyn found
themselves once more sidc'by sidc.
An officer who sat on horseback ut
Fcvr,sham's right hand observed ,hcm.
~ know those two" he said, point
inG I" them with lis finger. "Pity two
such fellows should be- done for. One
If them is the best runner in tho coun-
ry side, and the other thc best rider"
"Eh? What?" said Fcvcrsham, stand
| ing MP ~ his stirrups. "lIold there a
moment, Sergeant; spy chance of
gallant sport. What say you, Major2-
l race between these two across the
moor, the one on foot, the other mount
rn. Will you back the runucr"
Tho Major was II man of some human
ity. He reflected for i moment.
"Agrccl ~ he sail. "And to insure
that both shall do their best let the win
ucr hay" the promise of his life"
Frvcrsham received this proposal with
10y no means II good grace, for to spare Il
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, ~ length
rccnncilcd him to the scheme. lie gave
his orders and the two prisoners were
led out of the line.
out upon the moor, about quarter
rt Il mile away, stood II solitary tree.
This was selected rs the starting point.
\ douhlc line of troopers was drawn up
stretched from the tree to the spot where
the General was stationed, leaving a
space between them like II racccourse
some yards wide. At the end Of the
course Fcvcrsham and the Majcr sat op.
I~ositc each other. Whichever of the
~" competitors sno"!! pass between
them irs, would be rewarded with his
life and liberty.
And what were the sensations of the
pair while these preparations were in
progress!
David Dare, standing before tho mus
krts "i the firing rarty, had heard the
strange proposal with II Sudden thrill of
hope, 50 keen that it was almost like a
PAIN. Then for Il moment his heart fell
again. He knew his own speed Of foot,
but he knew also that against Il fleet
horse urged by Il Skillful rider squirting
for dear life his chance was likely to be
small. Still there was hope again aud he
could do his best. More he could not
do. though success meant lifc--and life
with Mary seldom.
In tn" meantime Il trooper had dis.
mounted, and QuiXarvyn, armed with
whip ami spurs, having taken his place
III the saddle, the horse was led by a
couple of soldiers tn the starting point.
Unlike his rival, QuNarvyns face showed
"1 v'ation. For one moment, on hear
In@ the propo'al, a Glclm had come into
hlr eyes, but now he rode with down
hrnt head, ~ If lost in Thought. 4 SEN