The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1897-03-05
'T am not without horses. saws I. ]

Auou anu yOu IonOWeu oue ludl cdu
! tell you of-do you see what 1 meanT'
| says I.
"By heavensy' says he. "An' we come
through with it the king shall reward
| you fittingly. But tits more like to end
in your DEATH" he says, and shakes his
I head.
"Pll take-my chance of that" says 1.
'Come, is it settled between usT'
"Are you a married man?" says he.
''Have you wife and children?
Neither the one nor the other"
says 1.
"a mother, then?" says he.
'In the churchyard, two miles away"
says 1.
He nodded and once more looked me
up and down, ending with long stare
into my face.
Il take your offer, FRIEND" says he,
and he held out his hand. "My name is
Eustace Blunt"
milne is Stephen Manu." says l, with
my hand in his.
mo better man in Englandw says he,
with laugh at his own wit "Come, 1
am in your hands, Stephen. What do
we do first?"
First, shall set out, leading my
horse across the paddock to the front
gate, thence to ride along the high road.
Give me good ten minutes start ere
you set forth yourself. When your
time is up follow the high road for half
a mile, and then turn to your right. You
will find yourself in grass lane. You
will follow 1t for good three mile ere
you come to sign post, but when you
come to that you are on the straight
road to York again. And SO farewell" )"
says 1.
Before I had ridden a quarter of a
mile along the road l heard the steady
pounding of their horses feet behind
me. turned in the saddle and looked
back-they came over a slight rise in
the road, riding abreast. There was
that in the steadiness of their pace that
gave me a notion Of their resolution in
the matter.
l might have been half way between
the end Of the lane where Blunt was to
turn off, according to my directions, and
the first stretch of the common when a
sudden thought caused me to clap my
hand to the pocket of my coat. The sur
prise that came to me as my fingers
closed on the dispatch that should have
been in Blunt's care and not in mine
made me pull up the horse. There /
was in possession of his majestys dis
patch, thing of the strictest import
ance, and behind ne rode three round
head troopers that were anxious enough
to lay fingers on it. As for Blunt, that
should have had it in keeping, he was
by that time riding in the narrow lane
a mile in the rear.
The common suddenly widened out
before me. saw Dick Pritt,s granary
roof shine white in the moonlight, for
all that We were good mile and
half from it.
The three of them, still riding close to-
gether, were within 200 yards of me-
The moonlight struck the polished steel
of their breast pieces.
There were four square miles of COM
mon and twas as tricky bit of land
as man might find in a days march,
There was a ditch here and a marsh
there, and both well hidden by the long,
rank grass that grew thick all over the
place. A man that did not know the
lay Of the ground and rode his horse
across it with loose rein was more
likely to come to grief than not; nay, if
he came within measurable distance
of Butter-Bum hole he was like to leave
horse, saddle and bride in its black
depths, and think himself lucky if he
escaped with his own life.
Ere had ridden twenty yards into
the rank grass the three men gave a
sudden shout and dashed across the
common to intercept me. l could have
laughed with glee-they had not gone
a dozen strides before the foremost
horse went knee-deep in a ditch and
flung its rider over its head. was in
hopes the horse had broken a leg, poor
beast, but in trice the trooper had
picked himself up and remounted.
Butter-Bum hole was in front. must
rid myself of one If not two of them in
its black depths. If all three would but
ride into it and sink fifty fathoms deep
there would be less need for all the
bother that foresaw ere his majestys
dispatch left my hands.
When l had suffered them to come
within thirty yeards of me the moon
suddenly disappeared behind a bank of
clouds. But she suddenly peeps out
through little rift, and on the instant
heard sharp report and caught the
whistle of bullet as it few past my
head.
1 went on slowly, holding my horse
back, and at the same time calling loud
ly on him to hasten.
There was not a yard between them
as them came to the hole, and each rode
at rattling pace. You would have
thought they were clearing the whole
thing, but the man on the left seemed
suddenly to drop to the earth, and over
him rolled the fellow in the middle.
The man on the right, following the
path that / had taken, pulled up his
beast, with jerk that threw it on its
launches and 1 saw him turn to gaze
at the men and horses rolling and wal
lowing in the mud.
farewell, my mastersP' said 1, and
laughed long and loud as cantered off
But was reckoning bit too soon, for
he sent another bullet whistling after
me that took off my hat
Looking over my shoulder 1 saw that
the man who had escaped the marsh
was following me with determination.
He had evidently seized the situation
and made up his mind to follow nv
plans. So in and out we wound, over
a ditch here and through a cluster of
gorZe bushes there, and he made no