Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1899-01-21
CHAPTER TX.

II Will BC ItllIClllbtI1tl tllIb JIIt
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 appreciable. There was
scarcely cloud i'll the sky, so that it
was easy to distinguish objects at a dis
tance of ID OF 20 yards.
The gentle wind was crisp and pleas
ant, and 1 breathed deep drafts after my
long confinement in the stuffy 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 | was star.
tied by the unmistakable sound of a
football behind me. My first thought
was that Archie Hunter had joined his
parent III the search and was trying to
steal upon me from the rear. wheeled,
revolver in hand, and faced the new dan
ger.
| was looking over an undulating
meadow which sloped away in the
gloom beyond sight. Neither on the
right nor left could its boundary be de-
tected. 1t was at the rear of the inn,
and therefore led away from the main
road which dared not travel, since the
indignant citizens, determined not to
be 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 stealthy foot
fall, l could not see anything to explain
it. So far as l was able to judge, no
man was III sight and yet it was in
credible that my ears should have de-
ceived me.
Scanning my surroundings, observed
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 it's feet
with the question:
"Hello, de yo', Marse Hank?"
1t was short, stocky negro who
ping to explain his blunder as to my
identity l demanded
"Who are you?"
"Huh, doan' yo' know Eastus
Brown, Colonel Mansley's nigger?"
"What are you doing here?"
The question seemed to strike the AT
rican as excessively funny, for he hump
ed his shoulders and chuckled.
"Who yo' s'pose sent me"'
81 haven't any idea"
"Hain't, ell? Yah, yah! Why. Miss
Esther done sent me. "
"What for?''
ovid her complerments and de
special obquest dat yo'll run like de
debbiI."
"Did she say that"
"Doan' member de words obzactly,
but dat what she meant. say, Marse
Hank, yo' glib 'em de slip mighty slick,
didn't yo'?'
GLOW do you know did?"
"Seed yo' dot"
"You saw me! Where were you at
the time | came out the window"
"Standin back and bOssin de job"
"What brought you here at this late
hour of the night?"
81 come wild Miss Esther. She warn't
afeard, but l fought I'd better look
after her cause she am younger dan
me, yo' know"
"And what made Miss Esther leave
her home at so late an hour?"
"Yo' see, de colonel coined home last
night wild de news dat de folks had yo'
locked up fur hoss stealth and dat dey
was gwtne to hung yo' fur takin his
pet animal De colonel was awful
ramparageous and swore he hoped dey
would hang yo' if it was yo' dat stole
de chestnut hoss fur de colonel doan'
seem to hab much love fur hoss t'ief. "
"What did Miss Esther say?"
"She didn't say muffin, but cried kind
OBJ quietliko after de colonel had gone
out OBJ de parlor. Den she tole me when
he warn I round dat l was to scorch her
dat night from her home to sartin
place dat she didn't name. So we come
down, and when she found out whar dey
was fattenin yo' up so dat yo' would
he tit to kill in de mawnin she made
me stand back out oh dc way while she
slipped up and rose de winder and den
slipped off ag'in jes' afore yo' fell out
on de ground.
The meaning of all this was appaI-