The Irish standard., 1896-03-14
esst md keeping the direction ~ the
red glow Of the sunset. e IS
q vALoRoUe COWARD.

"A vALOROUs COWARD.
The leader OF the unsuccessful party
Of searchers was just finishing hts sup
per, in the intervals Of which delayed
meal he had been giving his wife q de-
tailed narration Of the events Of the
day, And now I suppose I've got to
go and put in the night at the Nc
Nabb," he added. 'rhese raids have
got to be stopped. If"
Mrs. Ludlow held up warning fin
ger. :'I thought that was our gate"
she said, and presently they both heard
the quick nervous tread Of some one
coming up the graYeled walk. Then
there was step on the veranda, and
before either Of them could rise grimy
apparition appeared at the door OF the
e1ining-room Ludlow sprnng to his,
feet with an exclamation of glad sur
prise. saa5a't
''By Jove, old fellow, but you did give
me turn" he exclaimed, grasping the
apparition's hand and wringing it
heartily 81 thought it was your
ghost--I did. for a fact; and I believe
the small madam thinks SO yet.-Helen,
dear, wake up and allow me to intro
.duce Mr.. Ringbrand."
Mrs. Ludlow rose unsteadily and ran
up, laughing and crying in the same
breath. "You foolish mani" she said,
pushing her husband aside impetuous-
ly, 'can't you see that Hugh's nearly
dead ?-and you stand there making
your miserable jokes! Why don't You
run for the doctor. quick?'
In spite of the dreadful secret which
was weighing him down like a night
mare, Ringbrand dropped into the near
est chair, and laughed till the tears cut
little channels through the CRIME on
his cheeks. "You mustn't mind me,
he said, as soon as he could speak; Il
haven't laughed for three whole days,
and it sounds so good and homelile
to hear you talk again. I don't want
q doctor, Tom, Ludlow was edging
toward the hatrack-'I need soap and
water and something to eat. Mrs
Ludlow. I'm your guest. and I've lost
ten consecutive meals. Please have
Aunt Nina put the whole ten Of them
on the table, and FIJI devour them when
I've washed off little OF this war
paint" ~ r. =;
Mrs. Ludlow vanished in the direc-
ton of the kitchen. and Ringbrand
rose and grasped his friends arm.
"Tom, you come upstairs with nue. while
clean up bit, and I'll tell you what
l can. There's work cut out for both
of us tonight, with not any too much
time to spare.
Ludlow followed him upstairs, ask-
ing: ''shall turn Oh the water in the
bathroom for you?" ...
t'No; there isn't time for that; but
vou may open those valises and get
me a whole clean outft-the black suit
with the cutaway will do
~ He got out of his soiled clothing bur-
riedly, throwing the different articles
all about the trim room and hastily re-
counting the story of his capture, i'm,
prisonment and escape, and concluded
BY giving all outline of the plot against
the Latimers as set forth in the con-
versation between the two men in the
cave.
"Great heavens! but it's lucky you
overheard that talk" calculated Lud-
low, pausing in his aimless search
among the contents of the travelling.
bags. 81 a.... :.,~
Its something more than luck, Tom"
replied Ringbrand. sluicing his face
in the basin; ''it's Providence, or else
/ shouldn't be here to tell about it.
Have you thought of any plan to
checkmate the scohndrels?'
81 have, and it needs your help. AS
soon as I've had something to cat we'll
drive up to The Laurels,' and then you
can take the first opportunity that
offers to get the colonel by himself
while you tell him about it. He can
tell Henry quietly, and there'll be no
need of alarming Miss Hester. After
she has gone to bed we'll hold n council
Of war, put out the lights, and dispose
our forces so as to give the Bynums
a warm welcome when they come;
they'll not make the attempt much be-
fore midnight. and we will have plenty
of time to get ready for them"
= Hadn't we better take few of the
men with us-the Rynum boys'll fight
like devils when they find themselves
cornered." -.
II think it won't be necessary
can't you find that suit? You see,
.there'll be four of us, and if you, can
manage to capture the one who is to
hold the horses, think the colonel
and Henry and myself will he good
for the other two. had thought of
suggesting something like this: They
will leave the horses in the grove at tho
left of the avenue. and you can post
yourself where You can slip up and s'lr-
prise your man. Then the others will
proceed to fire the house-probably at
the front. retreating to the cover OF
the clump of laurels to await deve]op-
ments. For the sake of having clear
case Of arson against them, thonghtit
would be best to wait until they had act
ually started the fire. and while they are
doing this can get behind the laurels
and the colonel and Henry can prepare
to cover the men with their rifles as
they retreat. At the proper moment
can show myself and demand a surren-
der, and we'll have them pretty well
surrounded
Ludlow rose from his knees and pro-
ceeded to dump the contents of the
valiscs upon the bed, whistling softly
to himself as he did SO. The schemes
as clear as diluted daylight. and it's
worthy of a graduate of Scotland
Yard he said. There's only one
point that's a little misty; you've given