Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-08-02
CHAPTER I.
THE TALL RoBBER AT LISTENS.

:
CHAPTER I.
THE TALL ROBBER AT IssTENaL
For a few seconds was totally at q
less to know why I was sitting in the
ditch with torn garments and bloody
hands. Then I remembered the skir-
mish with the robbers, the hot chase
and the stumble. That had ali happened
by starlight. It was bright morning
t. now.
The ditch in which l found myself
was one my fathers men had finished
digging few days before to drain of
the great swamp Of LISTENS. There was
enough water In the bottom Of it to
make the seat Of my riding breeches
decidedly damp and to completely cool
my spleen. crawled stiff1y out into
the grass, and there to my vast salts
faction found my sword l took 1t up.
wiped the innocent moisture Of dew
from the blade and turned to my left
toward the great house Of LISTENS.
Il was here in the same house and
courts that my ancestors had lived since
the very beginning Of the kingdom of
Wassmark.
All the land. meadow and swamp,
rock and forest. to the amount Of ten
square miles, had been given to one
Glare the LISTENS by the fret king Of the
country. The word LISTENS. learned
doctor once told me, stood in some crazy
and forgotten language for aworder or
swordsman.
Glare the LISTENS, with rock from his
own quarries, built the house. and from
that day to this wherein write his
descendants have lived in II.
I broke through a shaggy hedge Of fir
and went mp the wide avenue of beechea
Passing great gate. all ribbed with
en and pierced with musket holes, I
entered the courtyard. The main door
of the house stood before me ten PAGES
with three shields above IL.
The Oldest and least skillfully exc
cuted Of theee shields bore long un-
wieldly sword and underneath strange
letters and marks partly oblitsrated by
rain and sun. The next, which was
larger than either of the others and only
two centuries old. bore coat of eight
quaHterings with the old two handed
sword for crest Get up on my parents
wedding day. Its gold was hardly tar
niahed. and Its gules and azure blazed
bravely. 1t bore the arms Of my moth
sr's family. the great D'Artagans Of
Normandy.
Can you wonder that Harry, my eld-
e BROTHER, and were as proud as the
very dewitt
But have given the alp to my story,
telling all the arms and family history
With too much Of my native pride. Par
don; I am not yet old enough to be
modest.
Upon entering the dining hall I
found Harry. Viscount LISTENS, in my
fathers great chair with his head
swathed In bandages.
'.Hello. Dartl" he cried. speaking as
we'll as he could through the rags.
s.Half the household is out hunting for
you.
Iembraced him and sat down to a
meat pie that invited me from the
tabls.
"where have you been. old hot
headi" asked Harry.
~ spent the night in the ditch and
got ont Of 1t about 10 minutes age"
answered, hunting about fora decanter.
he laughed as loudly as he could
considering his headgear.
You made a longer run than did,
and 1t is pity you did not catch your
man. Fact is"-he sighed and rubbed
his head-ssone Of the rascals dubbed
me in the avenue.
lam not man to talk much when
am hungry, but paused with the wine-
glass half way to my lips and asked
what the clubbing amounted to. "Noth-
ing but a swollen head and loose
tooth, he answered.
There was silence after that until l
pushed my plate away and showed back
my chair.
I'VE will go out and see the prisoner
now he is down in the cellar, . said
my brother. / noticed my sword. and
as l always like to have it in my room
! put 1t under my arm, SO that might
take 1t up with me after inspecting the
captured robber. As we went along
Harry talked about the fight. He told
how our father had run one of them
through behind the stables; how old
Pierre had shot another; he wounded
one. and P56l and Red Harding caught
their leader
And the three you went after got
away" he said. grinned soberly at
this 1.-TWO of them are bagged sure
enough. my Lord Harry" / answered.
The f1rst is in the end Of the great
ditch. with sword cut to sleep with,
and the second got in the way of a
pistol ball at the end of the patch they
are blowing up in the swamp
Harry clapped me on my mud stained
back "You old fire eating cadetl" he
cried. his gray eyes dancing. We felt
very we'll satisfied with ourselves, for
these robbers were one of the cruelest
and boldest bands in the northern
mountains, but when we arrived at
thak part OF the cellar in which the
prisoner had been bound our joy turned
to chagrin. The man had gone-clean
- gray wolf out Of a pit.
Dart, this is frightful mess we
AZ In. " muttered the viscount. sfor
e sure a. death he will have his whole
tube on 10 hot foot.
Perhaps he is still near" ven
tured. ''Let us hunt for him. Twill
stay here while you get your sword
and pistols.''
He was used to being treated in thii
manner, and with grunt sped of tt
arm himself He had hardly left the
cellar when the tallest man ever saw
leaped at me over bundle Of fagots
] gave way sharply. for boy Of u
years is not as cool as soldier Of 81
2 Anln&a Ho ox.4 "a mo NTH q allah mad