The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-08-10
CHAPTER XIII.
venture of the Hearse.

that our prisoner, lue oi"Sooh, q"
contriyed to slip his bonds and steal
off in the night.
And then Della, seeing me return
with the sad tools on my shoulder
spoke for the first time:
First, if there be a we'll near, fetch
me two buckets Of water and leave US
for an hour"
Her voice vas weary and chill. But
a dozen PAGES from the spot where
Joan's father lay, I dug a grave and
strewed it with bracken and heather
and gorse petals.
lifted her softly and bore her down
the slope to the grave; and there l
buried her, while Della knelt and
prayed, and Molly browsed, lifting now
and then her head to look.
When all was done, we turned away.
dry-eyed, and walked together to the
cottage. The bay horse was feedlnG
on the moor below; and finding him
still too lame to carry Della, 1 shifted
the saddles, and. mending the broken
rein, set her on Molly.
"Delia, have you nothing to say!
For a while she seemed to consider;
then, with her eyes fixed on the hills
ahead, answered:
Much, if I could speak; but all this
has changed me somehow-'tis, per-
haps, that I have grown q woman, nav
ing been a girl-and need to get used
to it, and think"
She spoke not angrily, as I looked
for, but with a painful slowness that
was less hopeful.
But" said /, "over and over you
have shown that I am naught to you.
Surely
Surely I am jealous? IT'S posi-
ble-yes, Jack, I am but a woman,
and so tits certain"
why, to be jealous, you must love
me-"
She looked at me straight, and an
swered very deliberate:
"Now, that is what I am far from
sure Of"
But, dear Della, when your anger
has cooled
my anger was brief; I am dlsap-
pointed, rather. With her last breath,
almost, Joan said you were weaker
than she; she loved you better than
/, and read you clearer. You are weak,
Jack'-she drew in Molly, and let her
hand fall on my shoulder very kindly
I'VE have been comrades for many a
long mile, and I hope are honest, good
friends; wherefore I loathe to say q
harsh or %ungrateful seeming word. But
you could not understand that brave
girl, and you cannot understand me;
for as yet you do not even know
yourself. The knowledge comes slow
~ to a man, I think; to a woman at
one rush. When it comes, I believe,
you may be strong. Now leave me to
think, for my head is full Of q tangie."
x 4
Our pace was so slow (by reason OF
the lame horse), that a great part OF
the afternoon was spent before we
came in sight Of the House of Gleys.
And truly the yellow sunshine had
flung some warmth about the naked
walls and turrets, so that Delia's home
coming seemed not altogether cheer
less. But what gave US more happi-
ness was to spy, on the blue water be-
yond, the bright canvas Of the God
send, and to hear the cries and stir
Of Billy Pottery's marines as they
hauled down the sails.
And Billy himself was on the look
out with his spyglass. For hardly
were we come to the beach when our
signal-the waving of a white kerchief
was answered by another on board;
and within half an hour a boat puts
off, wherein, as she drew nearer, I
counted eight fellows.
After many warm greetings, the boat
was made fast, and we climbed up
along the peninsula together, in close
order, like a little army.
All this time there was no sign or
sound about the House Of Gleys to
show that any one marked us or noted
our movements. The gate was closed,
the windows stood shattered, as on
my former visit; even the chimneys
were Smokeless. Such effect had this
desolation on our spirits that, drawing
near, we fell to speaking in whispers,
and said Ned Masters:
Now q man would think us come
to bury somebody"
HE might make a worse guess" I
answered.
Marching up to the gate, I rang a
loud peal on the bell; and to my as
constituent, before the echoes had time
to die away, the grating was pushed
back, and the key turned in the lock.
"Step yc in-step ye in, good folks!
"A sorry day of sobs an tears an af-
ficted blowings of the ~nose-when the
grasshopper is q burden an the mourn
ers go about seeking whom they may
devour the funeral meats. Y are well
come, gentlemen"
Twas the voice Of my one-eyed
friend. as he undid the bolts; and now
he stood in the gateway with a pro-
digious black sash across his canary
livery, so long that the end of it swept
the fagstones.
as Master Tingcomb within" 1
helped Della to dismount. and gave
our two horses to a stable boy that
stood shutting some PAGES off.
ALAS" the old man heaved a deep
sigh, AID with that began to hobble
across the yard. We trooped after.
wondering. At the house door he
turned:
"Sirs, there is cold roasted capons,
an q ham. an radishes in choice pro-
fusion, an cordial wines-alack the