Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1899-11-18
Copyright, 1899, by Florence Warden.
CHAPTER ".

hills. There was Il pause, and his heart
began to fail him again. for fear that
he should get no reply.
Then above him on his left hand he
heard a mans voice calling:
Hello! Hello"
He made out the direction whence
the voice proceeded. 4 point almost i'm
mediately above him. He paused again,
but hearing nothing more. and fearing
that this chance Of meeting fellow
human being might escape him. he
leaped across the little stream and be-
gan Il vigorous attempt to ascend the
hill.
This was comparatively easy. for in
stead of the stones and cragS Of the
last mountain he had climbed his feet
reached down through the snow to a
spongy surface of dry heather. slippery
in places, but less treacherous than the
rolling stones. He shouted once more
on his way up. but got no reply.
Resolved not TO let this opportunity
Of human companionship escape him,
Mason then went on quietly and as
quickly as he could. without uttering
any further sound. From the tones Of
the voice he heard-tones Of acute suf-
fering-he judged that the man who
had uttered them had come TO grief on
his way among the mountains and had
wondered whether it was Coch Tai
who. in escaping from himself. had
mot with an accident.
AS usual among the mountains. Mas
son climbed for a much longer time
than he had bargained for before he
came to anything but little tablelands,
with more hills beyond. Again and
again he thought he must have reach
ed the very summit, and again and
again on arriving at what he had sup
posed to be the last point he found an
other point to be scaled beyond.
Then at last lie found himself face
to face with a man.
Not the redheaded peasant. but a
creature as unlike him as possible-a
small. 1.-the. black eyed man. with O
keen. hawklike face and Il wiry little
frame, real son of the Silurcs. who
stopped short in his hurried walk up
and down the ledge of the mountain
he occupied and glared at the intruder
with fierce eyes.
"Who are you? Who are you! What
are you doing hcre?" he asked in good
English, but with the sharp Welsh
accent very strongly marked.
Although his words contained no
welcome, and although the look in his
face was as uncompromisng us his
words themselves, Mason was so
much relieved by the sight Of another
human being that he answered buoy
antly enough:
81 am stranger in these parts. I've
lost my way. should be thankful for
a nights shelter can't get back to
Trecoed tonight"
AS he spoke Reginald Mason eXs.m.
ined the mans features, in which lie
found traces Of no mean intelligence,
and his dress, by which he guessed
him to be Il small farmer, Il man of
higher class than COch Tai.
And in the pause which succeeded
his words MasSon noted also that he
had reached the very point toward
which he had meant to make his way.
for on a mountain ledge Il little higher
than the one Oh which they stood lie
saw the gray walls which had attract
ed him from the neighboring mountain
and ruined arch. lofty and pointed,
which had once been the east window
Of an abbey church.
Even in the first brief glance through
the still falling snow and in the gath
ering darkness he diSccrned that a
stately Gothic doorway had been fill
ed in to tit mean little painted door
and that q portion Of what had once
been a handsome pile Of monastic
buildings had been roughly rooted In
for modern occupation. To the left
Of the door a window had been insert
ed into the solid masonry. and through
this window feeble light glimmcred
so family that it threw no patch OF
warning light on the snow outside.
At the corner of the building a large
snowdrift had already collected. and
this was gradually extending, rs the
snow still fell and the wind still blew,
In the direction Of the window.
The farmer. after long pause, an
swered MasSon's request ungraciOuSly
enough. His manner was short, sharp
surly. But il was less offensive than
defensive. Mason thought, bctrayins
as it did q mind i'll at ease
Back to Trecoed. What made you
leave Trecoed on such Il day as this?
he said gruftly, while his quick eyes
looked searchingly not at Reginald, but
down into the valley from which he
had just climbed. You must have
been out Of your senses, man. to try
And across the hills too"
He seemed less pitiful for the Stran
gers distress than Scornful OF hi:
folly.
Yes. it was rash thing to do.
was to have had n guide. but started
without him."
The other man laughed mrthlesSly
contclnptuously.
"Oh. aye; the guide knew bettel
what he was about than you did"
"You won't refuse me a nights Shel
ter:'
The man shook his head.
"We've no shelter to give" he sale
shortly.
Il can pay for it well"
The unwilling host looked At hin