The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-04-14

9 OF Applehy Hundred there was no roo
10 shelter the SON OF the outiawet
Roger lreton saw that of this poor
. huntipg lodge il the mighty forest OF
: the Catawba. overlooked. Wlti; the few
runaway blacks inhabiting il, in this
e mtaktng of an estate so large that
think no even my father kneW all This
metes and pounds of it.
!, | shall not soon forget the interview
5 With the lawyer in which | WAS told
the inhospitablc truth. Nor shalt l
forget his t%ruculent lccr when h.
limited that l had best be sone out of
these parts, since it was not Yet too
late to bring down the sentence of out
lawry from the father 20 the son
1t was We'll for him that | knew NOT
at he time that he was Gilbert Stairs
factor. For 1 was mad enough to have
throtjled him where he sat at his writ
ing table, matching hi. long fingers
and smirkins at mo With his evil
smile. But of this man more in his
!Nirne and place. His lame was Owen
F~ngarvin. L would have you remen-
Der it.
For a week and a day l fingered on
at Queensboroush. for what | knew
not, save that all the world seemed
suddenly to have grown stale and prof
itless, and my life a thing of small ac-
go back to me old field marshal and
the keeping of the Turkish border:
the next L would ride over some part
Of my stolen heritage n swear ii
great oath to bide till l should come to
my own again. And OH these alternat-
ing days the storm of black rage filed
my horizon. and l became Il derelict to
drive on any rock or shoal i'll this UNI
charted sea of wrath.
On n of these gallops farthest
afield l CHANGED upon the bride path
that lea 20 u old hunting lodge in the
forest depths. Tracing the path to its
end among the naples I found the cab
mere sight of it carried me swiftly
back to those happy days when my ia
Their and I had stalked the white-tailed
deer in the hill glades beyond, with this
log-built cabin for a rest camp. L
spurred up under the low-hanging
trees. The door stood wide open, n
a thin wreath of blue smoke curled up
ware from the mouth of the wattled
chimney.
Then and there 1 had my first well
come home. Old black Darius-old
when 1 had last seen him at Appleby
ancients .low-was one OF the
runaways who made the for
est lodge a refuge. He had been my
fathers body-servant, and, notwith-
standing all the years that lay between,
he knew me at once.
InCrcupOT, as you WOULD guess, L
came Immediately into some portion Of
my kingdom. Though Darius was the
patriarch, the other blacks were also
fugitives from Appleby Hundred: and
for the son of Roger Ireton there was
instant vassalage and loyal service.
But best of all. on my first evening be-
fore the handful of fire in the great
Fireplace. Darius brought me a pack
age swathed in many ~wIappingS of In
dian-tanned deerskin. 1t contained my
fathers sword, and, more precious than
this, a message from the dead. My
fathers farewell was written upon Il
leaf torn from his journal. and was but
a hasty scrawl. l here transcribe it.
My Som:
II know not IL this will ever come
into your hands, but it and my sword
shall be left in trust with the faithful
Darius. We nave made our illtimed
cast for liberty and it has failed, and
tomorrow 1 and five others are to die at
the ropes end. 1 bequeath YOU my
sword-'tis all the tyrant hath left me
to devise-and my blessing to go with
it when you. or another Ireton. shall
once more bare the true old blade in
the .acred cause of liberty. Thy father,
Roger lection
You may be sure I conned these few
brave words till L had them we'll by
heart; and later. when my voice was
surer and my eyes less dim. I
ed Darius and babe him tell me all he
knew. And it was thus I learned what
l ave here set down of my fathers
end.
The next day. all indecision gone. /
rode to Qun%ensborough to ascertain. if
so l might. how best to throw the
weight of the good old Andrea into the
patriot scale. meaning TO push on
thence to Charlotte when | had got the
\ I,n, vi prc cf III, ~ ,.Ay{ ~, t,;Dt c..s
Twas none so easy to learn wha
needed to know: though, now i sought
for information. a curious thing or two
developed. One was that this light
horse outpost in u hamlet was far
in advance of the army of invasion-so
far that ii was dangerously isolated.
and beyond support Another was the
ing, upmasked, down the high road, not
light or light.
Why his little handful of British
regulars hould stick and hang so far
from ord CORVALLIS main, which was
then we'll down upon the Watree. I
could not guess. But for the secrecy
and vigilance there We're good reasons
and sufficient. The patriot militia had
been called out, and was ~embodying
under General Rutherford but a few
miles distant near Charlotte.
l had this Information in guarded
Whispers from mine most of the tavern,
and was but a moment free of thu tap
rocna, when l first saw Margery Stair
and Sc drank OF the u OF trembling
With madness in it's lees. She was rid
ing. unmasked. down thehigh road, not
on a pillion as NEST women rode in that
day. but upon her own mount with A
black groom two lengths in the rear. /
can picture iter for YOU no better than
| could for Richard Jennifer; but this |
know, that Ven this first sight of her
moved mo strangely. though the WITCH
ing beauty Of her face and the proud
hess of it We're more a challenge thar
a reckoning.
y blades length at my right where
WAS standing in front of The tavern,
three redcoat officers 'ounged at ease;
and TO one of them my lady tossed a
nod of recognition. half laughing. halt
defiant. ] turned quickly to look at the
favored one. He stood With his back
to me: n man of about my own big
ness. heavy-built and we'll muscled. He
wore Il bcb wig. as did many of the
troop ~officsrs. but his uniform was
tailor fine. ana the m with which he
was resetlins his hat was bejeweled
-overmuch ~bejewctcd, to my taste.
Something ha:f familiar in the figure
of him !:laGsr re ook again. In the act
Y 1N~ ,r, -1 -r-.1 r --.- -