The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-10-06
CHAPTER VIII.

The next day was wet and rainy ant
not at all favorable for teamwork.
ct think I'll go hunting" Dick said
to Mr.. Boone. "Perhaps I can run on
q covey of patridges.
ga mess on 'em wouldn't 60 bad,
allow" said Mr.. Boone. eff I wa n:
so liable to r'eumatiz I'd go long, but
I don't keer to be laid up a week from
slashin' round through the wet, so ]
reckon I'd better stay to home. You
might ask Mr.. Wayne to go, ef you're
hankerin' a'ter comp'ny," he added,
with sly twinkle of his eye.
"Mr. Wayne and I can't hunt on the
same trail," answered Dick.
''I see that" said Mr.. Boone. $50
does ev'rybody. I've wanted to say
suthin' to ye about matters n things
fer quite spell, an I dunno but now's
as good chance as I sh'll be likely to
git. Iwant you to understand that
mother n I don't uphold Nancy in
what she's a-doin'. We've talked to
her about it, but-Lord!-it don't do
the least mite O. good to try an argy
Or reason with gal that's'.got foolish
idee in her head. I don't reckon she
keers an awful sight fer Wayne, but
she thinks she's doin' suthin' purity
smart, an opposin' her only makes her
all the more determined to hev her
own way. T don't want ye to blame
us. We don't like it, but, as I sed
afore, we can't help ourselves. She's
eighteen an can do as. she likes if she
sets about it. But T feel free to say
she's maxim fool of herself, an it's
my candid opinyun that Wayne's
maxim fool of her, too"
IT don't blame you in the least for
what has happened" answered Dick.
81 have blamed no one but Mamie and
Wayne, from the first. If she really
cares more for him than she ever did
for me, she's doing right in choosing
him instead of me. If she doesn't,
she's doing wrong, and I've told her
80. But it doesn't make much differ
ence with US about that now, for all is
ended between US. She told me no,
and when girl tells me that, I'm not
the fellow to go coaxing round her,
asking if she hadn't better think it
over and say yes. Itake it for granted
that she knows her own mind, and
means what she says"
"Wall, I'm desprit sorry anything's
happened" said Mr.. Boone, with a
sigh. "Mother'n' me both felt as ef
we'd like to hev a match of it atween
you an the girl, an we s'posed twas
the same as made. But it seems as eff
you couldn't he sartin O nothin' till it's
done"
Dick shouldered his gun and set off.
As he went around the corner of the
house he saw Mamie standing in the
kitchen-door, shaking the crumbs from
the table-cloth for the chickens to pick
up. She gave him one sidelong look,
and then turned her attention on the
poultry.
"Ah, you needn't look at me if you
don't want to-" said Dick, with resent
full feelings rising in his breast. "You
can't blame me for anything except the
embellishment of your charming Mr..
Wayne's face. I haven't tried to
prevent your intimacy with him, and I
don't intend to. But I'm not obliged
to like him because you do, Miss Nancy
Boone!"
It was somewhere near the middle
of the afternoon. when Dick started
toward home. Suddenly he caught
sight of the print of mans foot in
the soft, rain-moistened earth. he
bent down and examined it very care.
fully.
"Well," he said, as he scrutinized
the footprint, "this is rather q strange
thing to find here. Itmust be at least
three miles from Mr.. Porter's. can't
imagine what pleasure man would
find in a three-mile walk in these
woods, at the dead of night, among the
mosquitoes and gnats.
From which the reader will readily
understand that he believed the track
to have been made by Mr.. Wayne.
He got down on his knees and ex-
amined the footprint still more closely,
It was certainly made by foot that
wore boot from "down below" That
was evident from the narrow sole,
small heel and general shape.
"Nobody wears such boot but
Wayne" said Dick. wayne made
that track. 1t points toward the
swamp. I'm going to see where he
went to-.
He followed the track for, perhaps,
half an hour.
-Four miles from Porter's, or I'm
no Judge of distance" he said, as he
paused to take breath. 81 wonder
how much farther the singing-teachel
walks on moonlight nights, when
everybody else is supposed to be in
bed?"
He did not have to 60 much farther
before his question found an answer.
The footsteps led to large cotton.
wood-tree, and beyond that they did
not 60.
And then Dick made a discovery
that puzzled him. 1t was this:
The rough outside bark had been
cut away, down to the smooth white
inner lining, and on this was writer
in pencil the following words anc