The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1895-12-20
IT, COUNTY. MD. FRIDAY. DECEMBER 90 1885. No. Is.

said, with dry lips, raising the poor
head to his breast. "We are going away
together, he said, after a breath. 81
am glad of it. 1 had rather take you
with me even thus than to die knowing
that my thoughtlessness had left you
another mans property
A minute Jim lay still. Then he
dropped deliriously to earth, laid his
ear to the path and cried aloud:
"The hounGs! The houndsr'
"They viii find two dead men !"
Carroll said, thrusting his hand to his
side. 1t fell down blank and empty. He
had quite forgotten that he had no
weapon of any sort.
The poison was mercifully deadly.
Jim had sunk from raving to stupor.
His breath came quick and short Now
and again long shivers of agony went
through him. Afar out in the swamp a
whippoorwill was singing. Under the
cry Of it came the noise of hounds-the
savage, deep chorus that tells they are
hot on the scent. Carroll flung himself
beside the dying man and tried to real
ize how it would seem when they came
upon him.
Itcould not be long now-ten minutes
at most. Escape was out of the uues-
tion. A bullet, the halter even, was
merciful compared with smothering in
the ooze or starving there if by any
miracle he could keep footing. He was
surely fronting his death. At the thought
of -, l..
against those who had driven him to
this extremity of helplessness The fact
of death was as nothing compared with
it. If only he might sell his life as be-
came an Austin, he would meet his
doom blithely rs bridegroom.
The dogs We're coming at furious
rate. Their baying filled all the swamp.
1t pierced even through the veil of
death. Jim stirred, gave long, long
sigh, then lay inert And with the sight
there came to the watcher thought so
wild, so impossible, it took away his
breath. 1t meant life, but at what risk
He began to shake as though ague
stricken. Big, cold drops gathered on his
forehead, his hands clinched hard 1t
Nho Oil OfCl Will pun Clll. LII i've
minutes now the end must come The
dogs came as though winged. If-if he
dared that which he had Thought, there
was not second to lose.
Suddenly wild and clear above the
baying dogs he caught the yell of those
following. At once he dropped down be-
side the dead man and began to work
with fho ctro1,nfh Of l,o c.
ness of hurricane. In three minutes he
stood again upright, but breathless and
shuddering. The leapipg dogs came on
like SO many demons of the ooze, ready
to seize and rend their prey. He could
see the foremost couple, a moving black
blur between the great bolls, To his
sharpened delirious sense it seemed as
though their tan markings stood out as
bloody lines upon the shining black of
their 1.-the frames Far and faint behind
he caught the Pickering fare of torches.
Still he did not stir. He had caught up
a heavy knotted dead branch. With that
he would defend the dead man at his
feet from the fangs of his pursuers.
He caught the shine of the foremost
about his poor weapon, They made at
him, gathering as if to spring at his
throat, but all at once gave low joyful
bark and crouched fawning at his feet.
Shutting the dead man, they set up
weird bowling. All the pack echoedit.
At once the men behind ran forward.
"Why What's this?' the foremost
cried Jim, what ails your master?
He's asleep, see. Never mind We
know the way to wake him."
Tim afraid not, sir-uniess you are
the angel Gabriel the standing figure
answered low and thiekiy. AS the rest
came crowding in, some one flashed a
torch i'll the dead man s face. 1t was
purple and swollen out of all recogni-
tion, bnt ON one of the clinched hands
there cleaned duly the big intaglie
ruby that was known the county through
as the seal ring Of the Austin0
ICoNol.r = JED NEXT WEEK.
ASA