Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-04-05
CHATTER MY

I-,.lt e 4, '
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 CHAPTER NlV.
 What w;:s tu be t!,nr: That was tho question, 2ud n tlrriulr question it w;ls. Behind us We had the in!l"spitahlr cuun- try, dark and drCary, the night wind sweeping over it. In front. whcro tho lights tWinklcl and the smokc of tho town went up, wo wvrO likc Ia meet with Il savage reception, And it was no time for weighing alternatives. The choice had to be madC-madC in A moment. l marvel to this day ut the quicknrss with which made il for good or i'll.
 We must ett into tho town!" I cried impyrativvly, and before tho alarm is given. IT is hupClcss to fly, Master BortiC, aui We cannot spend another night in the fields. Quick, madam" l continued to the duchess A~ she came up. I did not wait tu hear his opinion, for saw he was stunned hy tho catastrophe. "Wo havo hurt one of the town guard through a mistake. We must get through the gate bcforr it is liSCuvcrrd!'
 seized her rein and 1loggcd up her horso and gave her no time to ask Qucs tions, but urged on tho party at n hard gallop until the gate was reached. Tho attempt, l knew, was desperate, for tho
 
 straight for tho town. but I saw no other resource, and il seemed to mo to bo better to surrender pracrably, if that were pos siblr; than to expose the women to anoth- cr night of such cold and hunger us tho last And fortune so far favored us that when we reached the gate it was open. Probably. tho Yatrol having ridden through to get help, no one had thought fit to cloSr it. and, no ono withstanding Us, We spurr,d our snbbing horses under the archway and entered the street.
 It was curious entry, and n curious scene We canu upon. 1 remember now how strange it all looked. The houses, leaning forward in dozen quaint forms, clear cut against the pale evening sky, caused a dark ness as of a cavern in the narruw street below. Hero and thCro in thc midst of this darkness hung a lantern, which. making the gloom away from it seem l"rrrr lit up the things about it, throwing into llaring prominence somC barred window with a scared face pccring from it, some corner with puddle, n sinking dog. a broken flight of steps. Just within tic gate stood braZicr full of glowing coal. and beside it a halhrrt rest cd against the wall I divinCd that the watchman had run into tho town with the riders, and I drew rein in doubt, lis truing and luuking. l think if we had ridden straight on then all might havo been we'll, CT Ut least we might have been allowed tu give ourselves up
 But wr hrsitatrd a moment and wCro lost. No doubt, though we saw but ono | thrro were a score of people watching us, who took Us for four men, Master BCrtiU and being in front, and these, judging | from the huldnVSS of our entry that thCro were moro behind, concluded that this was l a furay upon the town. At any rate, they | took inst Lut advantage of our pause. With a swift whir an iron pot camo hur- tlin- lsaSt me, and missing the duchess Ivy | a hand breadth went clanking under the gairhouSc That served for signal In | a moment an Elarm uf hostile cries rosC all round us An arrow whi2zcd between l my hur>c s f,rt Half a dozen odd mis- silr> snatch,d up by nasty hands, came raining in vn us out of the gloom. The | town >vruvd tn hv rising as one man. A bell began tp ring, and q hundred wards l in front, where the street hranchrd Utf tC right and i,tt. the way seemed suddenly alive from wall to wall with lights and voices and braHo:ish,d d arms, the Slram ot steel and th, hAlvl of a furauS Cruwd-a | crnNd making down toward lis with q purpose We needed no German to inter | prrI
 II w:~ il h. rrlnln Ia,rnrnt, the moro i hulrila. ,hat l had net expected this fury and v.,~ unra r,vu d. v,ll as taken nhack l hy ll ErW mmnnG that had brought my cumIuniuro hyrr, and that two were women, ,Itr WAS child, l Iquail,ri. How could Trot"rt thrlm: There was no miS taking the stern meaning of those cries, O. that rage so much surpassing anything had feared, Though l did not know that the man we had struck down was { bridegroom, and that there werc those il the crowd in whose ears tho young wife piercing scream still rang, l yet quailet before their wells and curS,'s.
 As 1 glanced round for place of refuge my eyes lit on an open doorway close l. me. and ClO~r also tu the braZiCr and hal bert. IL WAS a low stone doorway, beCtl browCd, With cVat uf arms carved Ovo il. 1 saw ill an instant that it must lca' to the tower ahuvu us-the gatchousc- and spranG from my horse, fresh vel from the houses hailing the act. l say that. il We WrrV tn gain moment fO parlvying, We must takc refuge thcr".
 do Int know how l did it. but somehow made myself understood by the others am got the women off their horses and drag Er,i Mistress Aruc inside, where at ono ! Cr sl, i,S uf q spiral staircase. This hin drrtd the duchess, who was following and heard scuillo taking place bchin Us But ill that confined spaCr-tho stail case was very narruw-I could givr II hlp. l could ruly stumble upward, draS SinS the falntiug girl after inc, until w emerged through an open doorway at til top into room. What kind of room did not notice then, only that 1t wa empty. Notice! It was no time for tai ing notice. The bell was changing loudt and louder outside. Tho mob were yellin like hounds i'll sight of their quarry. TT shouts, the confused cries and threats an questions drafonrd mo. l turned to lear what was happening behind me. I'll other two had not come up.
 felt my way down again, one hand c
 the central pillar, my shoulder again
 the outside wall. The stair foot was fain
 ly lit by the glow from outside, and c
 the bottom step 1 cnmc on some one, hu . or dead, just dark mass at my feet.
 was Master Bprtie. l gave cry al
 leaped over his body. The duchess, bra' wife, was standing before him, the halbe - which she had snatched up presented : the doorway, and the bowling mob ou
 side
 } Fortunately the crowd had not y
 learned how few we were, nor saw, . think, that it was but a woman who co
 frUnted them. To rush into the low doc : way and storm the narrow winding stai
 case in tho face of unknown numbers W
 a task from which the bravest veteran
 might have flinched, and the townsfol
 furious as they were, hung back. I too
 advantage of the pause. 1 graSped t halbert myself and pushed the duche