Smyrna times., 1896-09-09
THE RAIDERS.
EXCHANGE.

majesty the mountains rose through
the purple air, but neither of the two
who stood on this outstretched arm of the
Blue Ridge noticed their beauty. The
dark head of the handsome young
lawyer was bent in expostulation, while
the golden head of the Southern girl
was proudly erect.
''Miss Edith, do not go! The reve-
nue. officers make raid tonight, and
you are apt to run upon a moOnshiner
any moment, pleaded he.
'They wouldn't hurt me; and, Mr..
Payne, 1 feel sorry for the mountain
eers; they believe themselves right,
and would rather die than yield to
the harsh measures of the govern
ment," said the girl.
"Then why do they not use their
corn for meal? Why persist in MAX
ing mOOnshine whiskey?"
Because they could not earn
enough to keep alive"
"They could not plant potatoes,
peas and such things either, I sup
pose?" he said sarcastically.
''NO," she replied; their lands is too
barren for such crops.
'You will tell me directly that to
give their children whiskey to drink
like water is right alsO," he said.
'No" she answered, with flashing
eyes; but 1 will tell you that they act
as they do in a spirit of bravadO, en-
gendered by the harsh measures which
the government considers necessarily.
AS is usual in such cases, the women
and children suffer most. I am a
Southerner; teach among them and
understand them; you are a Northerner,
and do not"
'Nonesense! We are both Ameri-
cans" he began, impatiently, but she
had left him.
Edith and Daffodil Wardlaw were
the children of an Englishman, who
had married in Georgia, and fought
and fallen in the war of the States.
The death of his wife soon after left
them both dependent on the exertions
of the elder, who, under the care of
the proprietress of the hotel there, had
taken a school near Narcoche Valley,
North Georgia.
Finding her school diminished by
the departure of several families whose
children she had taught, she deter
mined to solicit scholars from a family
near Stump House Mountain, three
miles distant, and some hours after
the conversation at the beginning of
the story the sisters returned from
their visit, which had proved success
full.
The mountains were heaving their
blue shoulders through the mist, and
the woods were so still that they could
hear the music of the pines surge away
into the lowlands.
''It is growing late, Daffodil," said
Edith. "Are you sure that this is the
path" "
'It seems to me to be the way Rudi-
cal Norwood showed us. Poor fellow!
They say his mother died when the
raiders put his father in prison"
"Yes, the moonshiner taken and his
property confscated; the wife and
children are left to the charity of
friends and relations scarcely less poor
than themselves.
"Why don't they sell their land?"
"ThOse who can do. My poor pupil,
young Rudicil, has been trying for
years to sell his; but even the Swiss
settlers who had land given them, are
grumbling and threatening to leave
soil they can do nothing with. But
we must hurry" Edith continued, has
tening on. "What will Mrs. Wilson
say?"
"Oh, she'll be disagreeable! She
has tried to make it unbearable for us
ever since Mr.. Payne began to like
you. 1 wish you had let me answer
her yesterday"
Nonsense, DaffOdil! Remember,
we never regret having refrained from
saying an unkind word"
"Oh, I'm not like you. The most
important letter in my alphabet is T."
81 think you wrong yourself, Daf-
fodil. But listen. Don't you hear
steps behind us?"
"And lights down yonderp' cried
Daffodil, pointing toward the ravine.
"Who goes there" were the words
that broke the stiffness, as the steps
came nearer.
As they turned firm hand grasped
Edith's shoulder, and bending over
her in the fading light she saw a tall
gray-haired mountaineer.
"What mout yer business be here?''
he asked.
81 have none. We have lost ou1
way" replied Edith, realizing that
they stumbled upon the secret of an
illicit still.
While speaking he conducted them
into the deep ravine, shut in on one
side by the mountains, while on the
other a cascade fell literally roofing it
with flowing veil of water-a phenom.
enon in roofs rarely seen-which,
from the outside, when lit within, had
a magnificent effect. 1t was easy to
see that by day the cave was completely
hidden.
Several roughly garbed men stood
near the entrance, and in the centre OF
the place thus enclosed burned brush
fire, where q younger man knelt, piline
on the wood.
To him their captor addressed him.
self, but series of grunts and squeals
from the hogs gathered around the
marsh thrown from the still prevented
the sisters from hearing what was said.
To Daffodil, the shadows creeping
from the rock and brush seemed to
stretch themselves uneasily in the fire.
light; like grotesque goblins they were
running past each other on the tram
pied ground, and climbed up and down
the high rock like enormous spiders,
as the wind blew. Night coming
swiftly on seemed only another great
shadow shutting them in tent, with
the strange scenes before her.
Suddenly over the mountains that