The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1898-08-03

The castle ard does not gnaW every rope
and break every chain, or if he does noc
break them, does not choke himself N
the attempt, then you may have liz!
for nouhing-he is worthless to NE.
The test was made, but it did not get
as far as choking, for before then the
count lost all interest III the obstinate
little beast. In vain they tried to win
! him, first by kindness, later by severity,
He bit every one who came near him,
refused his food, and, as a hunting dog
has not much flesh to lose, soon became
very thin. After few weeks Hopp gca
word that he might come for his ''cur. .
When, making use of his permission
without delay, he sought the dog in his
kennel, there was most joyful meet
ing. Kram bambuli lifted up his voice
with an unearthly howl, jumped on his
master, and, resting his paws on his
breast, licked the tears Of JOY which ran
down the old mans cheeks.
. At this time a gang of poachers car
S ried on their operations in bold man
ner not only in the counts forests, but
among the entire neighborhood. Their
leader was said to be disreputable fell
low, called the yellow One' by the
woodcutters, who sometimes found him
drinking brandy in saloons of evil re-
pute, and by the keepers, who now and
then came upon his tracks, but who
could never catch him, and also by the
spies, some of whom are to be found IN
every village.
He was of surety the boldest fellow
|. who ever gave trouble to honest hunt
ers, and must have been himself of their
trade or he would never have been able
to track the game with such success,
nor have avoided so skillfully every
trap laid to catch him. The loss in
wood aid game became so serious that
all the foresters were much excited.
This was the reason that those who
were discovered in some Insignificant
infringement of the forest laws suffered
a much harsher punishment than would
have been the case at any other time
and which was out of proportion to the
ofense. This caused much indignation
in the entire neighborhood, and the
head forester, who was the first to feel
this disafection, received a number Of
we'll meant warnings It was said that
the poachers had sworn to take eS-
emplary vengeance cn him at the first
opportunity. He was an active. brave
man, and, throwing all caution to the
winds, he let it he we'll known that he
had recommended the utmost severity
and that he would be responsible in case
Of any evil consequences. The district
|. ranger, Hopp, received orders oftener
than the others to keepa sharp lookout,
and occasionally he was reproached
with a lack of zeal, at which, however,
the old man only laughed, while hlram-
bambuli on such occasions returned the
notice which was condescendingly
shown him with loud and disdainful
yawn. His master and he we, e not to be
vexed by anything from the head for
ester.
One fine morning he met the head
forester as he was assisting to evlc5 some
trespassers. It was in the linden woods,
at the end of the lordly park which bor-
dered on the counts forest, and near the
nurseries which the head forester would
have liked TO surround with powder
mines. The lindens We're in full bloom,
and dozen small boys were busy
among them. They crawled out on the
boughs of the magnificent trees, break
ing off all the twigs within reach, and
throwing them to the ground. Two
women were hurriedly picking them up
and stufing them into baskets already
more than half full Of their fragrant
booty. The head forester was raging
about in furious anger. He made his
keepers shake the boys ont Of the trees,
careless of the height from which they
fell While they crawled at~hls feet,
whining and crying, one with bruised
face. the other with a spralned arm, and
the third with broken leg he was
beating the two women with his own
hands. With a shudder, Hopp recognlz-
ed one of these as the wanton girl whom
TUIuOT pOlutSu OQc Go eHO oN NO'AAS'>A0 W
the "Yellow One, and when the won-
ems baskets and shawls and the boys
hats were con6scated and Hopp was or
dered to take them to the justice, he
could not reDress a presentiment of evil.
The order which the head forester then
called out to him, raging like a devil
in hell and like one surrounded by weep
ing, tormented sinners, was the last
which the district ranger ever received
from him. a week later be came across
him once more in the linden wood
dead. Judging from the condition of
the body, it must have been dragged
there through marshes and over stones
in order to leave it at the very spot. The
head forester lay on a bier of cut
branches, his head bound with a thick
wreath of linden blossoms and another,
like a scarf, around his breast. His hat
lay beside him, filed with linden bios
SONS. The murderer had also left him
his game bag, first having taken out the
cartridges and filed it with the bios
SONS. His fine breechloader was gone,
and in its place was d miserable Old
tl,,,dorb,,cc WhaO LATER they fOunQ in