The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-11-07
CHAPTER. TX

1t will be remembered that the night
was clear and starlit. There would be
no moon until near morning. and it was
SO new that the additional light was
not likely to be apprecable. There was
scarcely cloud in the sky, SO that it
was easy to distinguish objects at dis
lance of 10 OF 20 yards.
The gentle wind was crisp and pleas
ant, and l breathed deep drafts after MY
long confinement in the stufy room Of
the inn. The ozone, with the reawaken-
ing of hope, filled me with delicious Joy.
/ was strong and brave
Such was my mood when I was star
tied by the uhmistakable sound of q
football behind he. My first thought
was that Archie Hunter had joined his
parent i'll the search and was trying to
steal upon me from tho rear. wheeled,
revolver in hand, and faced tho new dan.
ger.
| l was looking over an undulating
meadow which sloped away in tho
gloom beyond sight. Neither on the
right nor left could It's boundary be de-
tected. 1t was at the rear Of tia inn,
aud therefore led away from tho main
/ road, which dared not travel, since the
/ indignant citizens, determined not to
DO baked of their prey, would scour the
! whole country for me, and it would be
impossible to throw them off my track.
Though had heard the stcalthy foot
fall, could not see anything to explain
it. So far as was able to judge, no
man was in sight and yet it was in.
credible that my ears should have de-
ceived me.
Scanning my surroundings, Iobserved
that the field upon whose margin was
standing was uncultivated, and little
to the left was what appeared to be
natural hummock. With no special OBJ
ject in mind. walked toward it, when,
to my establishment, it rose to its feet
with the question:
Hello, dat yo', Marse Hank?"
1t was short, stocky negro who
thus addressed mo- and without stop
ping to explain his blunder as to my
identity ] demanded:
"Who are you?"
Huh dean yo' know Rastus
Brown, Colonel Mansley's nigger?''
what are you doing here?"
The question seemed to strike the AZ
rican as excessively funny, for he hump.
cd his shoulders and chuckled.
"Who yo' s'pose sent me?''
II haven't any idea"
"Hsin't, Ell? Yah, yah! Why, Miss
Esther done sent me. !"
"What for?"
ovid her complerments and do
special obquest dat yo'll run like dc
debbil.'
"Did she say that"
"Doan' member do words obzactly.
but dat's what she meant. say, Marse
Hank, yo' glib 'em de slip mighty slick,
didn't yo'i'
"How do you know did"'
"Seed yo' dot"
"You saw me! Where were you at
tho time I came out the Window"
"Standin back and bossin do job"
"What brought you hero at this late
hour OF the nightF'
~ come wild Miss Esther. She warn't
afeard, but fought I'd better look
'fter her cause she am younger dan
me, yo' know
"And what made Miss Esther leave
her home ct so late an hour?'
"fo' zee, de Colone! coined home last
hight wild dc news dat de folks had yo'
ovked uu fur hoss stealth and dat dcy
vas gwine to hung 70 fir takin his
Jet animal. De col"lGl was awful
anparsgeous and twore he hoped dey
would hang 20 if it was yo' dat stole
10 chestnut hcss, fur dc COLONEL doun'
eem to hab much love fur boss t'ief."
"What did Miss Esther aay?'
ITO Be c0ntinued.)