The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-12-06
THE
BY JEANETTE q. wALwoRTH.

as WdLNon4as
"Frettin' don't do no good, so
whar's the use of frettin'
Under softer conditic1ssshe might
have developed into an uhcoRmonIy
pretty girl. The first time Bradley
Martin saw her her face was as the
face of q guardian angel to him. Their
introduction was o strange one.
She, Smelling corn for her poultry,
fitted her Head 70 econsa1t hsNehad0ws.
The fawilias 1apdsGspesmsstSsttdiaea
precise stage of obscurity before she
called the wanderers home for the
night. :,'-
From the stile that crassedthe rude
yard fence the mountain dootpath
dropped precipitately doRnward. This
neutrality-suspicious. possible
without any warning view Beforehand.
lStsnding 3onSthis stile, holding hls; hat
lin one{band, while awithSthe other he
Idashed great beadsof sweat from his
forehead, Sue saw b man &
She leYelsd her c~lesrsSbrown eyes
Lon
stranger, and strangers were not com.
mon at Lumley's Pass. She stood up,
with the corners of her check apron
Yathered together mechafically'w with
thrifty thougbs1 for her sshelled corn.
Shasgainea W. sdignitya bs-ahangas6f
posture. She was tall, and just now
she was standing on the defensive.
.-stWho, be you?. And What he you
sapdin1 tochstilnn.ohfstleRR
she asked, in a slow, gentle drawl that
gave no indication of her perturbed
| state.
pigeons note. Her eyes were clear,
steadfast, fearless. In spite of her
coarse cotton gown, sthere was'a eesr
tain ait III comnanaa aAbctdttths tm6dH!
tain girl which imposed upon the
stranger. But it was q face to be
trusted, and the man on the stile stood
in sore need Of q friend. ~
He was by her (sidejn p few swift
strides. She Scor4d see his broad breast
heave with the breath that came in
st6ou are alone9ash asked! osS.
She ttTepblea at,the ;eagsS excite.
ment Of his voice and manner, but
her fright did not appear in her
dFs sEyssai an ~sssH i4baSc olA1
"Hidsma and kenny saaset. z IA
"What for shall I hide you? Who
be you, and what you been up to?
hf e. &C. sbSSst b hSv sassftedis s' vvis5S
eyes that looked like a hunted ami
mails.
eff You don't want to have murder
~irtu
trouble. down in Davis's. Dell a man
was killed., Gireumstances point TO
me. A.posse Is odtloakihs for<tns.
I've been running and hiding for two
dsys. I'm about spentHthey get
me I'll swing. For Heavens sake, girl,
hide me quick!"
"Quick" was a word seldom heardi in
tahat losal;ty,rn seldom actadrapsn.
she releassdthe corners Of her .apgen
| and let the shelled corn gtfesmiinto q
woodeaabo#lat.sher
once took her eyes off the travel
stained garb and the haggard face of
| the man before her. She carefully
Edusted theSloose; branstrom her work
fFougheneds hands before speaking
10y ~
"And be:you bloodgniltg9" ~
Z 81 am not. - IA %I S.
"You don't talk. like Lumley Pass
folks. You be from townsaomeghere
II reckin. How can I tell whether You
|be lynn to me or not? e
II swear before Heaven am lano:
cent"
She darted away from him, but was
tb16g~ before he had time to conjecture.
She held a tsttered, backless book in
her hand. :
"ghis we're mammy's Bible. Can you
swear on that?"
The stranger laid his right hand
solemnly on the book: 20
by your mothers Bible !" #
"Come HSlong' then. Pop and the
boys-wfl be>home soon." y
She wrapped the book in her apron.
She turned swiftly and led the way to
an Old, stable, many degrees more de.
lapidated than the dwelling.house-
which is condemhing it totally. Slip.
pingthroughs crevice by;preference
to wrestling with the huge, unmanage.
able doors, she pointed upward to a
tioft~raggealy flied "with~hay:- fife
man was close behind her.
sClimn- d-hurrow.undar~t the
hay. Quick-I hear a mighty tramp.
lin of hoofs! But don't you be
scared, I'll manage .em, You can tFas'
me. r. - y-r~.
It tookthetfugitipe but q seeond-to
vault upon the ramshackle feeed-trough
and from that into the hay-loft. She,
standing on the edge of the though,
scattered hay. oyer him literally. She
was singing Justify, somewhat diseord-
sntly, entirelyby home.mads methods,
while she was aboutit
The tramping of feet had succeeded
to that of hoofs. Filling her arms
with hay, still singing at the top OF
her voice, Sue left the barn just in
ti9eot TO confront her father, brothers
and half a dozen other m%ountsineers.
She leaned against the barn door and
Oh Rn6 nv h nrN 800 \ 49,