The San Francisco call., 1903-12-13

mel Washington's command. hurrying his
troop southwark to whip on the British
withdrawal
Here was my chance to drown heart
burnings in an Onsweeping tide of ac-
tion. and then and there / became gem
tlenan volunteer in Dicks company.
asking nothing Of my dear lad save that
I might ride at his stirrup and snare his
hazards.
Touching the hazards there were
plenty OF them in the seven weeks pre-
ceding and the month or more fOllowiu z
our new generals coming 70 take the
field, as you may know in detail IL You
care to follow the gallOpings OF Colonel
WashingtOn's lighthouse troop through
the pages of the histories. But these
have little or naught to do with my tale
and / pass them by with the word you
will anticipate; that in ali the dashes and
forays and brushes with the enemy's for
aging parties and OutpOsts, no British or
Tory bullet could find it's billet in tie
man who was enamOred Of death.
AS for my most miserable entanela-
ment the lapse of time made il neither
better nor worse. nor greatly different.
and there was little in all the skirmisb-
ings and gallOpinss to beat OF the ban
dog of conscience, or that other and still
mercer wild beast of starved love- that
gnaWed at me day and night.
Though the hope for some easement
would now and then lift its head. I vrss
reminded daily that hope itself was
hopeless; and when the days lengthened
into weeks and the weeks into months
bringing no salving for the double burI
1 knew that time could only make me
love Margery the more; that there be
wounds that heal. and others that open
afresh at each remembrance Of the hsn6
that gave them.
One grain Of comfort ] had in all these
dreary weeks. was while we were
qUartering in Charlotte, and I had
CHANGED to fail upon the half-blood
Scipio who had been left BY Gilberf
Stair to be the caretaker OF the deserted
town house.
AS you will remember. twas he who
had brought me the drugged tea. and the
word had from him made me hot with
shame for the cruel tmpUtatlon I had
put upon my dear lady. "Ias, sar: gfb
um sleep-drop to make buckra massa hoP
still tweu we could tote i'm froO de win
dow an roun' de house an Up de star
Soljah syards watch um mighty close
dat night; yes, sar." And thus this
nightmare thought Of mine was thrned
into another thorn to prick me on the
self-accuSIng side Twas her keen wO-
mans wit. and no cOld-blooded plan TO
cheat the gallows. that made her give me
the sleeping dTaught. Having the object
lesson OF my late surrender before her,
she had no mind TO let me mar the res
cue by waking TO forbid il. And when I
taxed her, twas natural pride that drove
her to let me so on thinking the uEWOr-
thy thought, if 50 l would.
did penance Tor my disloyalty as a
deSpairing lover might. and i do think IL
ing to me through all these tempestuOus
weeks was most nobly generous and for
giving L say forgiving because / was
often but the curSteSt Of companions as
you would guess For when i was not
bent upon finding that wicket gate of
death which would let me from the path
OF these two. / was in a wicked tertian
Of the mind, whose chill was OF despair.
and whose fever was q hot desire to look
once more into the eyes of my dear lady
before the wicket gate should open for
me.
Twas this desire that finally drew me
to her-the desire and another thing
which shall have mention I'm its place.
The new year was now come. and the
with the enemy, was cut into two wings
Of observation; one under General
Greene himself at Cheraw Hill. the other
and lesser in the knoll forests or the
Broad with Daniel Morgan for its chief;
both watching hawk-like the down-sit-
ting Of my Lord CORVALLIS, who seemed
TO have taken root at Winnsborough.
IS you Will know. WashingtOn'5 light
horse was with Morgan; and we ate,
drank and well-niSh slept in the saddle
But for all our scOutings and outridinss,
and all Dan MOrgan's hearty cursingS at
the i'll success OF them, we could come
by no sure inkling OF Lord CORVALLIS
designs. AS l have said. the British COM
mander seemed TO have taken root and
was now waiting to sprOut and grow.
1t was at this lack-knOwledge crisis
that 1 volunteered to go to the British
camp at WinnsbOrOugh in my old quality
of spy; did this and had my leave and or
ders before Dick learned Of 1t.
Left to my own devices. / fear / should
have slipped away without telling Jenni-
fer But. as 50 many times before fate
to drive me where L had not
meant TO go. On the morning set for my
departure I woke TO find a letter pinned
to the ground beside me with an Indian
scalping knife thrust through 1t.
Dick was sitting by the newly-lkindled
fire. nursing his knees and most palpably
waiting for me to wake and ind my mis-
sive.
what is it7" I asked. eying the oml-
nous thing distrustfully
'Tis a letter. you see CncanoOla
left It," Then most surlily: Tts from
Madge, and to you. There is your name
on the back OF it."
At this I must needs read the letter.
with the lad looking ON as IL he would
eat me. Twas dated at Winnsborough,
and was brief and to the point
Monsieur: When last we met you said
the church might undo what the church
had done 1 have spoken to the good
Pere Matthieu, and he has consented to
write to the Holy Father at Rome. But
II is necessary that he should have your
declaration Since the matter is OF your
own seeking, mayhap you can. devise a
way to communicate with Pere Matthew
who is at present with US under our bor-
rOwed roof here"
That was all. and it was signed only
with her initial. I read Il through twice
---A-
was waiting.
'''Tis a mere formal matter OF bust
ness" said I, when 1 could put him on
business" he queried the red light
Of suspicion coming and going in his
eye. What business can you have with
Mistress Madge Stair, prayT'
"'Tis abOut-it touches the title TO
Appleby Hundred" said /. equivocating
as clumsily as a schoolboy caught In a
fault "Of course you know that the
confiscation act of the North Carolina
Congress re-established my right and
title to the estate?"
mo" said he; you never told me-"
Then: She writes you about this?"
About a matter touching it. as I
say"
after which a silence came between US.
/ holding the open letter in my hand and
he staring glOmily at the back Of it.
When the silence grew pOrtentOuS I
told him Of my design to go a-spying.
He looked me in the eye and his smile
was not pleasant to see.
You are lying most clumsily. Jack:
or at best you are telling me but half
the truth. You are going to see Mistress
Margery."
That is altogether as it may happen,O'