Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1904-11-01
Harry taking his fowlinS piece
from the peg

bul us lIstssGu VIZ uP
looked Mary. and her beautiful face
flashed out of peace into sunlight of
love and enthusiasm.
"Oh,' she cried out, "oh, was there
ever any one like my sweetheart Cath
crime? To think what she hath done
for me--to think, to think. And she.
dear heart. loving the king. But bet
ter she loves her little sister and Will
stand 10y her in her disloyalty for the
love of her. Was there ever any one
like her, Master Wingfield?"
l know not what | said. Truly not
much, for the mockery of it all was
past my power of dealing with and
keeping my respect of self.
| got my fowling piece from the peg
on the wall and was forth and rang
ing the wooded shores, with my eyes
intent on the whirring flight Of the
birds and my mind OH that problem OF
the times which always hath and
doth and always will encounter a
man who lives with any understand
ing of what is about him, but not al
ways as sorely as in my case, who
faced, as it were, an army OF diff
culties bound hand and foot. But after
awhile the sport, in which l was fairly
skilled, and that sense Of power which
cometh to one from the proving of his
superiority over the life and death OF
some weaker creation, and the salt air
In my nostrils, gave me, us it were, a
glimpse Of farther horizon than the
present one Of Virginia in 1852 and
mine own little place in it. Then verify
could seem to see and scent like some
keen hound smoothness which should
later come from the tangled web OF
circumstances and greatness which
should encompass mine own smallness
of perplexity.
When I was vending my way back
to Drake Hill, with my gun over shoul-
der and some fine birds in hand. met
Sir Humphrey Hyde.
We were near Laurel Creek, and the
great house stood still and white in the
sunlight, and there was no life around
II except for the distant crawl of toll
over the green of the broad tobacco
fields and the great hum Of the bees
in the Towering honey locusts. Sir
Humphrey was coming from the direc'
ton of the house, riding slowly, stoop-
ing in the saddle as If with thought
and guessed that lie had been to see
to the safety Of cOntraband goods
When he saw me he halted and shouted
In his hearty, boyish way, "Halloo, hal
loo, Harry, and what luck?" as If all
there was of moment in the whole
world, and Virginia in particular, was
the shooting of birds on a May morn
ing. Harry, Harry" he said In a
whisper, though there was no life near
er than the bees and they no bearers
of secrets, except those Of the flowers,
IL pray thee, come back to the hall
with me and let US consult together"
I followed him back to the house,
and he sprang from his saddle, had a
shutter unhasped in twinkling, know
ing evidently the secret Of 1t, and we
were inside, standing among the litter
of casks and cases in the great silent
desertion of the hall Of Laurel Creek.
Then he grasped me hard by both
hands and cried out: Harry, Harry
Wingfeld, come to thee l must, Tor,
convict though thou be, thou art man
with q head packed with wit, and
Ralph Drake is half the time in his
cups, and Parson Downs riding his
own will at such hard gallop that
twill surprise me not IL he leave his
head behind, and as for Dick and Nick
Barry and Captain Dickson and-and
Major Robert Beverly and all the 9TH
ers, what is it to them about this one
matter which is more to me than the
whole broth?"
"You mean?" I said and pointed to
the litter on the hall floor.
"Yes," and then, with a great show
Df passion, my God, Harry Wingfeld,
vhy-why did we gentlemen and cava-
.iers of Virginia allow a woman to be
mixed in this matter? If-if these
goods be traced to her.
"And, faith, and I see no reason why
they should not be, with. a whole COL
INV I'm the secret of It," I said coldly.