The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-11-10
CHAPTER XVI.
ESCAPEDl

| CdAfIEh AHI
As may readily be imagined, Dick
felt little like sleeping after the ex-
citing events of the past few hours.
He sat alone in the semi darkness of
the little room in which he was con-
fined, listening to the tramp of men
outside and now and then the sound
of voices.
Then these sounds died out, and he
seemed to be the only waking thing
left in existence.
Waking? He felt as if he could
never sleep again. Until he was left
by himself, and the confused hubbub
of angry and excited voices had been
smothered by his prison-walls, he had
been unable to think coherently. True,
he had had a vague sense of his dan
ger, but he had not realized it in all it's
terrible clearness.
But now, in the silence of the milk
house, it came home to him.
In the morning he was to be tried
for a crime the penalty of which was
death, in the settlers code of justice.
But would they find him guilty?
Taking the evidence against him into
consideration, could there be any doubt
of what the verdict would be? None
at all.
"But if they'll give me half chance,
I can prove my innocence, "he thought.
"I can prove where I was at the time
of the last theft. But T doubtif they'll
give me the chance. I can't explain
about the knife, and Bill Green's story
about seeing me making Inscriptions
on the cottonwood will tell against
me. I'm in hard luck. If I could
only get out of this!" he cried, start
ing up and looking about him, in sud-
den desperation. 81 can't stay here
to be taken out and hung like dog
who has been caught killing sheep"
He went to the window and looked
out into the murky gloom of night.
There was no chance of escape in
that direction.
He turned his attention to the d,or.
It was solid one, of oak.
ct am getting foolish" he aaid,
making his way back through the
darkness in the room to the block on
which he had been sitting. "If 7 could
get through the door, I couldn't get
away, because half dozen men are
watching outside. There's no use
trying to get away. Ihave got to wait
for the morning, and take the chances
of what may happen. I wonder what
Mamie thinks of it?"
Poor Mamie!
At that very moment she was wet
ting her pillow with remorseful tears.
"Oh, they'll hang him!" she kept
saying over and over to herself. 81
know they will And I know he is
innocent, and I shall never see him
again to tell him how sorry am for
using him as I have. Poor Dick!
Poor Dick! And did love him, after
all"
So Mamie, like other wrong-doers,
was obliged to suffer the pangs Of re-
morse and self-condemnation when
they were unavailing.
The long and lonesome hours of
that miserable night wore slowly
away.
"It must be one O'clock" thought
Dick, as he paced up and down the
puncheon floor of his prison.
A sound that seemed to come from
under his feet startled him.
1t was gentle knocking, so faint as
to be almost unnoticeable, but it was
repeated at regular intervals, and he
knew that behind that sound was some
agency which desired to attract his at
tention.
He got down on the floor and list
ened very attentively.
Tap, tap, tap, again.
He raped softly on the floor over
the spot from which the sound came.
Presently portion of the floor be-
gan to rise.
"a trap-door," thought Dick, with
wild hope of possible escape flashing
through his still bewildered and be-
logged brain. II must have some
friends yet, and it is evident that they
are trying to come to my aid"
The trap in the floor was tilted
enough by this time to allow head
to protrude through the opening
"Sh!" said voice, which he had no
difficulty inrecognizing as Samanthy's.
"Keep quiet. There's sharp ears out
side. Eff ye want to git out o. this
difficulty, ye've got to be awful still
about it.
"How did you contrive to get here?'
r whispered Dick.
"There's an underground way 'twixt
this an the house, that we use in
winter, from the suller," answered
Samanthy. II want goin' to say