Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-09-22
The MASTER OF APPLEBY|
BY Francis Lynde. --

dusk.
This route promised all the perils OF
a gantlet-running, since by IL we must
take the risk Of meeting the fleeing
fugitives from the convoy camp, If the
explosion had spared any fit 10 lift
and carry the vengeance cry. But here
again there was no alternative, n we
set us in order for the descent. with
Yeates and the Catawba ahead. the
women and Dick in the midst, and her
Apostolic Majesty's late captain OF nus
ssrs, incorporating as a British troop
err, to bring on the rear.
Once in motion beneath the blue
black shadows of the pines, | quickly
lost all sense OF direction. After we
had ridden In wordless silence a short
half hour or less, and l supposed we
should be nearing the head OF our de-
ascending raYine, our little caValcade
was halted suddenly in a thlckset
grove OF the pines, and Ephraim Yeates
appeared at my stirrup to say:
Hist We off your nag, Cap'n John,
and let's take a far'well squinch at the
inimy whilst we can"
Where? what enemy?" / would ask,
slipping from the saddle at his word.
Why. the h~oss-captain's varmints,
to be sure; or what-all the aTnobination
o. desolation has left of 'em. We amt
more than a cats jump from the edge
o. the big rock where we first sot eyes
on 'em this morning"
/ saw not what was to be gained by
any such ~long-range espial in the dark
ness. None the less, / followed the old
man TO the cliffs edge. He was wiser
in his forecastings than | was In mine.
There was a thing to look at, n light
enough to see it by. One Of the missile
stones, Ii seems, mad crashed into the
great fire, scattering the brands in all
directions. The pine-bough troop shell
ters were ablaZe, and creeping serpents
OF fire were worming their way hither
and yon over the year-old leaf beds in
the zoe Ever and anon some pine
sapling in the path of these fiery SER
penis would go up in a torch-light
flare; and so, as | say, there was light
enough.
What we looked down upon was not
inaptly pictured out by Ephraim
Yeates's Scripture phrase, the abom-
nation of desolation. Every YeStige OF
the camp save the glowing skeletons
OF the troop shelters had disappeared,
and the swarded savanna was become
a blackened chaos-blot on the fair
woodland cen / nave sal that the
powder-sheltering boulder was a cliff
for size; the mighty upheaval OF the
explosion had toppled it in ruins into
the stream, and huge fragments the
bigneSs of a Wine-butt had been hurled
with the storm of lighter debris broad
cast upon the camp.
At first we saw no sign of life in all
the firelit space. But a moment Ia
ter, when three or -four OF the sapling
torches blazed up together, we made
out some half dozen figures of human
beings-whether red or white we could
Enot tell-stumbling and Keeling about
among the rocks like blind men
drunken.
At sight OF these the old hunter
DOTTED his hat and fell upon his knees
with hands uplifted to pour our his
z~ealots soul In the awful sentences of
the Psalmist's i~mprecation.
"Let God rise, and let His inimies
be scattered; let them also that hate
Him fee before Kim. Like as the
smoke vanishet'r, so shalt thou drive
them away; and like as the wax melt
eth at the fire. so let the ungodly per-
ish at the presence of God.
XXI.
LIN WHICH WE MAKE A FORCED
MARCH.
1t could have been but little short OF
midnight when we came Town into the
Great Trace nea the ambush ground
where we a set our trap for the
peace men.
The night had cleared most beau
tifully, and overhead the stars were
burning like points of white fire in the
black dome of the heavens. AS often
happens after a shower, the night
shrillings OF the forest were In fullest
tide; and a whip wilPs-widow, dis
turbed by our approach, fiuttered tc q
higher perch and set up his plaintive
protest.
AT our turning eastward or the trace
the old hunter massed u little com
pany as compactly as the path allowed,
and giving us the word TO follow eau
tiously, tossed his bride rein to the
Catawba and went on to feel out the
way.
This arrangement set me to ride
abreast with Margery; and for the first
time since that fateful night in the
upper room at Appleby Hundred we
were together n measurably alone,
Since death might be lying
In wait for US at any
turn Ia the winding bridie-path, | mad
no mind to break the strained silence.
But, womanlike. she would not miss
the chance TO thrust at me.
Are you not afire with shame, Cap
tain Ireton?" she said. bitterly; and
then. How you must despise mel"
l knew not what she meant; but be-
Ing most anxious for her safety, ]
begged her not to talk, putting it all
upon the risk we ran In passing the
4 OuliCl III AK 0oAAhCh NoAtNJa G1
you have long since learned, my tongue
was but a skilless servant; and
though I sought to make the command
the gentlest plea. she took instant UNI
bragg and struck back smartly.
You need not make the danger an
excuse. / will be still; and when /
speak to you again. you will be willing
enough to hear me, | promise you!"
Nay, then. dear lady; you must not
take 1t sol" l protested. Ills my mis-
fortune TO be ever laundering"
But 10 this she gave me no answer at
all: and barring a word or two of
heartening for her serving woman, she
never opened her lips again throughout
the passage perilous.
BY good hap we came to the crossing
OF the cavern stream without meeting
any foeman; and on the farther side
of the shallow ford we found the old
borderer awaiting us.
"Ez | allow, we've smelt the bait In
the trap and come of with whole bones.
like Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-
nego." he said. mixing metaphor, scrip
ture phrase and frontier idiom as was
his wont. Then he put a leg over his
horse and gave the stirrup-word:
Nimshi, is the hoss-whipper we've got
TO beat. Get We behind. Cap'n John
and give the boss that lags a half inch
n so OF our sword-p'int."
Then and there began a night flight
long TO be remembered. Down the
valley OF the swift river TO the ford
where Yeates and I had crossed after
the mock rescue OF Margery the night
lhnFrra we lat fhn horuas ~;~l- +Aa xx.ay