The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-04-30
CHAPTER XVII,

enough Dut aftef ne had Travelled q mile
or SO he found himself growing faint
and weal. He was not only an old man,
but the exciting scenes through which
he had passed in the last few hours, to-
gether with the physical pain he had
endured, were quite sufficient to tax his
strength to the utmost. Ho fought
against the feeling until at length the
rocks and trees seemed to be whirling
round and round and the frozen high
way to be sliding from under his feet,
and then he dropped to the earth and
gasped:
80 Lawd, doan' let it cum Jest yit!
Give de ole man strength 'nuif to reach
dem Yankees, an den yo' kin tako him
away! dun can't stop yere, 0 Lawd!
I'ze got to keep trabblin till finds Mars
Custer an tells him dat Miss Sunshine
wants him.
After a rest Of three or four minutes
he rose up and moved on. He slipped
and staggered as ne advanced but he
shut his teeth hard and would not yield
to the weakness seeking to pull him
down. Two events happened to brace
him up and restore a portion Of his
strength. He had gone a distance Of
about two miles and was just passing
the cabin Of a 'poor white which had
boen deserted for the last month when
Mrs. Baxter suddenly appeared. She
had Travelled twomiles toward the Yam
kee lines after leaving Rest Haven in
stead Of going the ether way, but it was
to strike pass leading over the range
into the Shenandoah She had been
waiting there in hopes to hear from Ike,
who had told her that he would return
for his revenge. Uncle Ben was no
doubt possessed Of the information she
longed for and though realizing his
feelings toward her she made bold to
step out and accost him.
What, yo' yere" shouted the old
man at the top Of his voice as soon as be
set eyes on her. "Fo' do Lawd. wom-
an, but if l eber git hands ON yo' III
kill 70 fur shOre,'
Had Ike cum when yo' left tbe
place. she asked, pretending not touu-
tics his outbutst Of anger, but at the
same time preserving a respectful dis
tance between them.
"Yo' ole cat, Yo' ole she debbil!'
he exclaimed as he rushed at her. "lo'
am de one who brung all dis trubhle
10 Miss Sunshine, an I'll broke eOCry
bone in yo'r body!"
She retreated before him and held up
her hand as caution to him 10 listen.
The soldiers and guerrillas had begun
firing on the camp. The distance was
two miles or more, but the morning
wind was blowing from the south, and
the reports Of the muskets came plainly
to their ears. Both realized at once
what was going on. The woman
laughed as she observed:
Ike @ goin to git 'em fur shore, Ike
Cill be an ossifer now and ride the best
tri,ter in the company. Reckon yo'
must "a bin hidin out when Ike got
thar, or yo' wouldn't be yore now. He
was goin to burn yo' uu alive.
The reports Of the guns told Uncle
Ben that the two men in camp had been
attacked, and that he had not a mo-
ment 10 waste with the woman. All his
strength and resolution had returned,
and without needing her words ho start
ed off at stout pace. She felt certain
Of his mission, and she was determined
to detain him if possible. Mrs Baxter
was not only fearless woman under
all circumstances, but in such n crisis
as this she was desperate. If Uncle Ben
brought help, all that had been gained
would bo lost, and Ike might be killed
or captured with tho rest Of the gang.
She stepped aside to let the old slave
pass and then followed at his heels,
threatening taunting and commanding
by turns and almost daring to lay hands
on him. II she had been armed with
knife or pistol, she would have attacked
him at once. AS she was not she con-
tinued to follow him in hopes Of en-
If white man, and she cried odt to
him that the black had dared to raise
his hand against her, Uncle Ben would
be seized, If not shot down in his tracks.
Aggravated and annoyed by the pain
Of the blows inflicted by Ike Baxter,
maddened by the woman's words and
her continued presence and rendered
desperate by the danger Of the general
situation, il was no wonder the old man
suddenly turned at bay with the glare
Of hunted wolf in his eyes. She was
too close to him to escape. Springing
forward, he seized her by the shoulders,
lifted her from tho ground, and with
a mighty effort he flung her clear Of the
road. At that point the ground sloped
sharply away toward a rayine, and as
the woman struck the earth with stun
ming force she rolled over and over un-
til she finally brought up against bush
90 feet away.
De Lawd furgive me, but couldn't
dun help it!' groaned Uncle Ben as he
continued his way. "Dey's arter Miss
Sunshine, an dey's arter me, an dey s
arter Mars Kenton, an de good ole mis-
sus am lyin dead in de house, an what's
gwine to becum Of us all dunno!"
With eyes fastened on tho pathway,
with teeth hard shut, with words Of
prayer rising to his lips and a constant
struggle against the feeling of despair
seeking lodgment in his heart, the
faithful old slave pressed on, mile
after mile, and suddenly found himself
confronted by party of horsemen in
blue uniforms. The goal had been won,
and as he realized it up went went his
arms, and he sank down on the icy road.
Runaway darky, but he isn't pur-
sued that can see, observed the cap
tain of the troop as no ordered Il halt.
Some of you men liven him up with
sip of whisky.
A sergeant dismounted and put a
FASH IN ITncla Bpnis Inns an1 foroad