The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1903-07-22

tiiiilN II hbSh tFOhN 'OhSNt
sGSSg5j would quickly enough guess
lgSSGGJ the truth when he heard that
the princess was missing, and would
have Il party in pursuit. liz run
Always, however, would have at least
twenty-four hours the start, and a ship
leaves no tracks. When Mary left me,
she was perhaps two-thirds OK II league
from the rendezvous, and night was
rapidly falling. AS her road lay through
Il dense forest all the way she would
have a dark. lonely ride of Il few
minutes, and l was somewhat uneasy
for that part Of the journey. 1t had
been agreed that If everything was all
right at the rendezvous Mary should
turn loose her horse, which had al
ways been stabbed at Berkeley castle
and would quickly trot home. To
further emphasize her safety a thread
would be tied In his forclock. The
horse took his time i'll returning and
did not arrive until the second morning
after the flight, but when he came /
found the thread and, ~unobservcd, re-
moved 1t. i quickly took it to Jane,
who has it yet and chcrishcs 1t for the
mute message of comfOrt 1t brought
her. In case the horse should not re-
turn l was to find Il token in n hollow
tree near the place of meeting, but the
thread In the forclock told us our
friends had found each other.
When we left the castle, Mary wore
under her riding habit n suit of mans
attire, and as we rode along she would
shrug her shoulders and laugh as If 1T
were Il huge joke and by the most COM
ical little pantomimc call my attention
to her unusual bulk. SO when she
found Brandon the only change ncccs-
sary to make Il man of her was to
throw off the riding habit and pull on
the jack boots and SLOUGH hat, both of
which Brandon had with Kim.
They wasted no time, you may be
sure, and were soon under way. In a
few minutes they picked up the two
Bristol men who We're to accompany
them, and when night had fairly fallen
left the bypaths and took to the main
road leading from London to Bath and
Bristol. Tho road was n fair onc-that
Is, it was well defined and there was
no danger of losing IT.; In fact, there
was more danger of losing ones self in
It's fathomlcss mudholcs and quag-
mircs. Brandon had recently passed
over it twice and had made mental
note of the worst places, so he hoped to
avoid them.
Soon the rain began to fall iii n soak
ing drizzle; then the lamps Of twilight
went out, and even the shadows OF the
night were lost among themselves In
binding darkness. 1t was II of those
black nights fit for witch travelling,
and no doubt every witch In England
was out brewing mischief. The horses
hoofs sucked and splashed In the mud
with a sound that Mary thought might
be heard at Lands End, and the root
of an OWL, now and then disturbed by Il
witch, would strike upon her ear with
n volume Of sound infinitely dispropor-
tomato to the size of any owl she had
ever seen or dreamed of before.
Brandon wore u cushion, the great
cloak, ard had provided n like one of
suitable proportions for the princess.
This came in good play, as her fine gem
tlcman's attire would be out poor stuff
to urn the water. The wind, which
had arisen with just enough force to
set up Il dismal wall, gave the rain Il
horizontal slant and drove it in mt every
opening. The flaps of the comfortable
great cloak blew back from NIary's
knees, and she felt many a chilling
drop through her fin new silk trunks
that made her wish for buckram in
their place. Soon the water began to
trickle down her legs and find lodg-
mcnt in the jack boots, and as the rain
and wind came in tremulous little
whirs she felt wretched e~nough-she
who had always been so well sheltered
from every blast. Now and then mud
and water would fly up into her face
striking usually in the eyes or mouth
and then again her horse would stun
bic and almost throw her over his head
as he sank, knee deep, into some mex
pccted hole.
All Of this, with the thousand and
one noises that broke The still worse
silence of tic inky night, soon began to
work upon her nerves II make her
fearful. The road was full of dangers
aside from stumbling horses and bro
ken ncc%s, for many were the stories
of murder and robbery committed
along the route they were travelling. 1t
is true they had two stout men, and all
were armed, yet they might easily
con upon IL party too strong for them.
and no one could tell what might hap
pen, thought the princess. There was
dat pitchy darkness through which
she could hardly SEQ her horses head
q thing Of itself tliat seemed to nave In.
finite powers for mischief and which
no amount Of argument eyer induced
any normally constituted woman to be-
licvc was the mere negative absence Of
light and not IL terrible entity potent
for all sorts of mischief. Then that
wailing howl that rose and fell be-
times. No wind ever made such Il noise
she felt sure. There were those shin
ing white CLEANS which came from the
little pools Of water OH the road, look
ing like dead mems faces W turned and
pale. Perhaps they were water and
perhaps they were not. Mary had all
confidence In Brandon, but that very
fact operated against her. Having that
confidence and trust in him. she felt
no need to waste her own energy In be.
ing brave. So she relaxed completely
and had the feminine satisfaction of
allowing herself to be thoroughly
frightened.
Is 1t any wonder Mary's gallant but
womanly spirit sank low In the face
OF all those horrors2 She held out
bravely, however, and an occasional
clasp from Brandon's hand under cover
of the darkness comfortcd her. When