The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1898-02-04


justing the straps to more comforta-
BILE length. There, how is that?'
THAT looks better. Now, shall we
try Il little gallop?"
"If you please. I'll do anything you
tell me to-"
They swept along the level road a an
easy canter, and Ringbrand profited by
Hester's suggestions as well as he could
in the short intervals which his furtive
admiration of her graceful carriage and
radiant beauty spared him from a
consideration of his own shortcom-
ings. The road led them finally
to the western brow of the noun
tain. and they pulled up at the
edge of the cliff to enjoy the view
spread out before them.
Your surroundings are a perpetual
inspiration. Miss Hester" said Ring
brand. feasting his eyes with the keen
appreciation of an artist upon the mag
nificent panorama of the mountains
and valleys and forests stretching away
to the westward.
IL am glad you like Tennessee" re-
piled the girl, with touch of pathos in
her voice. so many people-especial-
ly northerners-seemt to think it an un-
profitable wilderness"
who could be SO unappreciative as to
say that?"
Miss Bradfern, for one. She is from
Boston, and she visited friends in Dun
bar last summer. She was continually
pining for New England in general and
Boston in particular. I'm sure can't
understand how she will be able to live
here"
"ls she coming here to live?"
Yes; as the wife of our rector in
Tregarthen. tell him he's setting a
bad example by going so far from
home"
Then presume he is southerner?"
HE is; he's Georgian; but believe
he was educated in the north"
Am | to understand that you think
one ought not to marry out of his sec
tion? he asked, making the rector's
case possible opportunity for ascer-
tanning his own standing.
"Oh! | wouldn't say anything so
radical as that" she replied. stroking
her horses name; "only, it seems to
me. there are many reasons against it.
You don't understand-you can't I'M
derstand-how much sectional feeling
there is in the south"
81 know there used to be, but ]
thought it was thing of the past,
since the war"
ut is. in some senses, suppose, and
in others think it is as strong as ever
My father fought for the south; and if
you could know how strongly my SYM
pathies are enlisted upon the side of
some of the things which you think are
dead issues, there would be only one
word in your vocabulary that would fit
mean ugly little word of five letters"
II hope am broad enough not to ap-
ply it, Miss Latimer. | think can put
myself in your place sufficiently to un-
derstand that there may be many and
honest differences of opinion
ITS right kind of you to say that
especially as your side has the better of
the argument; though I'm not so sure
about that, either. It's one thing to
starve people into submission and quite
/ another to subjugate them"
VI believe | can appreciate that, too"
! Neither of them spoke again for
few moments, and then Hester called
his attention to a jutting crag project
j ing far out from the cliff-line at their
feet. do you see that point over yonder
to the right?" she asked.
"Yes; and | was going to ask you if
it has name."
ut has; it is called Toms Jump
It's not a very poetic name, and it could
hardly be called a Lovers Leap al
though the story is dreadful enough"
"Tell me about it,"
"It's short and quite prosaic. There
used to be a moonshner's still some-
where in this neighborhood, and one of
the men was young Tom Cragin, the son
of the mountaineer who owned the still.
One day the revenue men were trying to
arrest the party, and they chased young
Cragin out into this road. He ran
down that way, and two more officers
came out into the road ahead of him.
When he saw he was surrounded, he
climbed out to the point of that rock
and flung himself down."
Ringbrand looked surprised. II didn't
know the penalties were severe enough
to warrant man in doing that" he
said,
I'm not sure that they are" replied
the girl, though a long term in the
penitentiary is hard enough after the
free life of the mountain. But in Cra-
gins case | think there were other
things; there was long story of blood
shed and violence leading up to the
tragedy, and perhaps he had reason to
fear something worse than prison.
You don't know anything about the saw
age history of these mountains, Mr..
Ringbrand." she added, turning her
horses head homeward. Nearly
every family in the neighborhood is or
has been mixed up in some dreadful
trouble; even our own has not escaped"
She did not offer any further explana-
tions as they rode back to "The
I.aurels." and Ringbrand felt instinct
lively that it was u matter about which
he could not ask questions. What she
had said. however. made him thought
ful, and he resolved 70 ask Ludlow if he
knew the story.
When they reached the house Hester
asked Ringbrand to stay to tea, and
after the meal they sat together on the
veranda while the colonel and his son
rode to Tregarthen. Since they were
well beyond the period of acquaintance
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