The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-10-20
THE MASTER OF APPLEBY|
1=-= BY Francis Lyndo =----
BY Francis Lynde. -


to Tom snmter's camp at Flint Hill
all to little purpose, l fear. Poor Tom
is still desperately sick of his Fishing
Creek wounds. and Colonel Lacey was
the only officer fit to go after Shelby
anu the ounta men to set them
straight. l should ave gon myself,
but"
Stay. my good friend aid 1; you
go too fast for me. If Ferguson is still
out of communication with the main at
Charlotte, we may halt him yet"
The old man made a gesture of i'm
patience.
TITS d thing done because it is as
good as done. The major will break
camp and march tomorrow morning,
and he can reach Charlotte at ease in
two days. What with their losing of
his trail, the mountain men are those
same W days behind him."
None the less, we shall hit him."
said l. Have you ever an inkhorn
and a quill IN you cabin?"
Both; at your service, sir. But 1
cannot understand
We may call it the little maids
judgment on those who have made her
| should have come unprepared into the
camp of the enemy. I am the bearer
of a letter from Lord CORVALLIS to
this same Major Ferguson"
"You?-a bearer of Lord CORVALLIS
Dispatcher" The old man put a
blades length between US and held the
little one aloft as If he feared I
might do her a mischief. l laughed
and bnde him be comforted.
TITS a long story. and l may not
take the time to tell it now. But a word
will suffice. Like yourself, 1 made my
submission-and for the same
My lord accepted it and made me his
dispatch-bearer because he thought 1
knew the way to Ferguson when no one
else knew it. But enough of this; time
presses. Let me have n and the
quill"
The old man led the way into the cab
in and put his writing tools at my dis
posal. Left to myself, l should have
broken the seal Of the packet; but my
wise old ally, cool and collected now,
showed himself a man of parts.
fore us on the rude slab table, the let
ter proved to be the b~riefest Of military
commands, a peremptory order to Fer
guson to reioin the main body at once,
proceeding by forced marches ii need
ful, and on no account to risk engage
ment with the over-mountain men.
How to chang such an order to re-
verse it in effect, l knew no more than
Il yokel; but here again my ancient ally
shaowed himself q mar of parts.
Dressing the pen to make it the fellow
of that used by my Lord CORVALLIS, he
canned the handwriting Of the letter
closely. made n few practice pothooks
to get the initiative hang of it, and
wrote this postscriptum at the bottom
of the sheet:
A:tnce writing the foregoing I have
your courier and his dispatches. Lieu
tenant Colonel Tarleton, With 400 of
the legion will take the road for you to-
night. If the battle is forced upon you,
| make a stand and hold the enemy in
check till reinforcements come.
"Cornwallis."
The old man sanded the wet pen
strokes INC bad me say if it would
My lords grabbed handwriting was
copied to a nicely, and of the two sig
natures I doubt il the earl himself
could have told which was his own;
twas the SAINT circle &C. the same
printing ~ the same heavy precision
throughout.
"Capital.' said L. Now, if the light
ming would but strike those p~ursuers
OF mine, we would nave the Scotsman
at bay in a hands turn"
'How 2" said the PATRIARCH; ARE you
followed?"
l told him I was; told him of my
lords plot within a plot-that three
l1Snl-norSe flueTS. one OF t1eln a lleu-
tenant bearing duplicate dispatches,
had been hard upon my heels all the
way from Charlotte.
At his the old warhorse-l learned
afterward that he had fought through
the French and Indian wars-wagged
his beard n his eye flashed.
we must stop them he, said.
Three of them, do you say?"
Three white men and an Indian
trailer"
Hal! If it We're rot for the little
maid. Let me Think
He fell to pacing UP and dow before
the fire on the hearth. and l took the
small one on my knee to let her chat
ter to me. Twas five full minutes be-
his cogitations, but when he did speak
it was much to the purpose.
These inarplot rear-guards of yours
will spoil it all If they come to Fer
guson's camp either before or after
you. Do they know the majors pres
eEt whereabouts?'
mo more than l did an hour ago. AS
l take it. they are depending on me to
show them the way
But, my good friend, 0 forget
there are four of them and only two of
us! We should stand little chance with
them in a fair fight
Again the old mans eyes snapped
and glowed as if pent-fires We're be-
hind them.
Was it, a fair fight when :Tarleton's
men rode in upon Tom Sumter's res.
camp at Fishing Greek and cut down
the little maids father whilst he was
naked n bathing in the stream? Wa
it a fair fight when King Georges In
dian devils came down in the dead of
night upon our defenseless house at
Northby? Never talk to me of fairness,
sir, whilst all this bloody tyranny is
%afoot!''
1 thought upon i. for a little space.
Twas none so easy to decide. On one
hand, stern loyalty to the cause l had
espoused passed instant, sentence on
these -four men whose lives stood in the
way: on the other common humanity
cried out and called it murder.
Never smile, my dears, and hint that
l had found me a new heart of mercy
since that ambush-killing of the three
Cherokee peace-men in the lone valley
of the western mountains. We did but
give the savages a dole out of their own
store of cruel cunning and ferocity. But
as for these my crackers, three OF
them, at least, We're soldiers and men
of my own race. l could not do it.
mo" said I firmly. These follow
ers of mine must be stopped, as you
say, else there is no need Of my goins
on. Bnt there must be no butchers
work"
The patriarch frowned and wagged
his beard again.
"a true patriot should hold himself
ready to give his own life or AXE an.