The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1894-02-01

TIE road What was l IL do?
II started back to think it over, hut,
as / did so, the moon that had heen
hidden behind cloud, came out all ut
once and threw my shallow dire fly
across the path. Jube uttered an excla-
nation, ind sprang forward and seized
my arm. | tried in vain TO wrest it
from him, bnt he held il last, calling
on Lie to fetch him cord.
The girl lesped down the mouutain
side to where her clothes line stretched
across the path, and pulling this down
brought it to bind me- am II strong
man. hut Jube's muces h9d b en-
hardened almost into iron by bis open
air lie, and with Lize's assistance, he
bound me securely,
"Come along now, Mr. 0r6 or,' he
said grinning in the moonlight You
uns air pretty cute, but you unS has
come ter the end Of you uns row
But III keep you uns well big UGlS"
comes and shoots you uns himself I'd
claim that privilege for maxim 1--we
ter my Lie here, but Big Ugly"
lows that's his hare, fer you una come
mession' with he uns' business an
the tother were leetle outside mattcr.
| reckon weuns will hev ter let Bill
Dickson go this turn, fer | s'pose it's
all up you uns lesdin' ter the spot
where big Ugly" is at his DEVILS
trade'-anc the scamp laughed loudly
rs he quoted his own words-'an' the
Sheriff knows me too we'll ter follow
me an inch in these hyar mountings.
~ was hauled into the second room
that the cabin contained, and thrown
nnceremoniously on the floor after
lube had looked again to my bindings
and he set off for the spot where Big
Ugly and bis friend waited for my
coming with the Sheriff. Lie sat
down at her spinning wheel, and from
where l lay in the dark l could look
into the other room and see the fire
light falling on her rich complexion
and black hair as glossy and dark as
blackbird's wing. The noise of her
wheel had home like sound, and she
looked verv sweet and womauly as she
spun, but knew that not a man on
the mountain would have less mercy
on me. l lsyrehecting on my stupid
ity in allowing myself to be drawn
into go apparent q !rap. when all at
once voice that was little more than
q breath, said in my ear:
"If you uns will roll II lettle nearer
the door l will cut you uns loose
~ obeyed and my hands were sawn
apart by hand in the darkness.
Then the knife was given into my
own grasp and | freed my feet. Then
there was pause and as Lie raised
her voice in grooming song, keeping
time To the whirring of the wheel, the
door opened softly and ] caught a
glimpse through it OF the stars l
needed no second hint, but shot of it
like an arrow. There was sudden
slap 10 the wheel and looking back ]
saw Lie run to the other door open
ing out into the yard and throw up to
her shoulder agun.
"Ping ping
"a bullet wh.stled past my ear, but
l sped on, and heard half in d dream a
cry of pain and horror in Jauie's voice
ard following it a scream of My God
my God jamie, speak to Lie, an say
she amt killed her little sister,
81 tore on and on, down to where
Dickson, the Sheriff, and bis men still
waited for me, and told them breath
lessly what had happened, and of the
: ambush prepared for them. Dickson
turned 20 his posse and said, simply
Boys, We'll have to give it up for thi;
h1ne. That old devil, big Ugly, "anG
his imps, are prepared for us, and oul
only chance was to take them by sur
prise
II rode with them-one of the mer
, accommodating me with a seat behinC
him-to where the road branched of
, for Greenvile and then walked or
down to that town, where took the
J train for Washington, for [ knew tina
l my usefulness as far as the Hellfrt
district was concerned was at an end
Dickson, in answer to my inquiries, af
terward wrote me that Lie Clayton
had indeed killed her sister that nigh
! in firing after me, and that, while sh'
married Jpbe Cornwall soon afterward
she was broken and changed woman
in her ways. Yes, it was quite 70
d nance if you like, although | Away
have believed that what jamie Clayton
= did for me was more from a natural,
gentle, compassionate spirit that from
any fancy she may have had for th
= young professor, to whom she ha,
: never addressed dozen sentences
! Philadelphia Times.