The Grit-advocate., 1905-03-17

"But Why should Tie constable both.
or bIrp-' 1 asked y think insteaa
souerhing should be done 10 relieve
you-your husband put away IL IN
asylum"
In Bedlam. Ny God, No." ebe
cried. Have you ever seen thgs.
poor creatures huddIed together Ike
beasts. manaclef and chained 70 he
floor. shrieking and wringing thel,
hands? Neye- while live. Why ,ae
constable hounds US is because of n.
grudge he thinks he owes me Wien
| was pretty Alice Lynson' / knew
the mal-he wished himself my lover
he" her voice vIbrated with Bco-r.
ITO think ! would be dishonest 1ur
such as ne
i see said. rs there any Place
whore you can 60 and stay IN h.L-ug
for a time
Yes. sir" she answered 4 have
an aunt living in Shief. two shIres
from here; she Will take us in. 'Tls a
place where even the constable and
his men care not to come oftener than
necessary: the men are rough lot,
and viii protect a kin TO the death"
The mare being ready We placed the
iLsorted pair upon her broad back.
protecting them as well as We could
from the rain. The woman bowec he,
head and sobs convulsed her form.
Jock Swan and / watched the old
horSc amble out of sight. Gil vas
elsewhere employed. Pity and indig-
nation stirred me; pity for the poor
woman's plight, Indignation at the con-
stables persecution.
was undecided what to do with
the constable-he certainly merited
some punishment. / found that Gil
had settled the question for me. He
came out Of the inn carrying on his
back one of the fellows bound with
ropes.
What are you doing with them,
Gu?" 1 asked.
You'll find them down the road
bit, waIIering in the mud, trussed for
all the world like fowls ready tor
market" he answered with a grim
look. Il think they will hesitate be-
fore prosecuting poor woman again.
he added.
Good enough" laughed But may
not our host, good Jock Swan, suffer
from the constable's anger?"
The fat one will take to his bed,
I'm thinking, and perhaps it will teach
him that he's too old to be running
after women, the BEAST" he said. AS
for Jock he's no innocent; he will be
able to make them think that he had
naught to do with their plight. After
they have sobered up bit, which will
not be long l take it in this rain. he
can release them with fitting tale OF
our being highwaymen, and anything
else that comes to his lips
Jock having an equal confidence in
his ability TO convince the men of his
innocence, satisfied me that he was
glad OF this opportunity to pay off old
scores. Some OF that ribaldry which
had fallen from the mans indecent
tongue was not to be overlooked bg I
Jock.
Our horses saddled, we bade him
goodbye, and went on our way satis-
fed that we were leaving them in such |
judicial hands, and that he was cap |
able of playing his part to our liking. .
We cautioned him above all things I
10 put the constable and his men off I
the track Of the escaped prisoner.
And Gil added this: Send them af .
ter US, if they're able to travel; we'll /
take care of them
We decided to ride steadily through. /
out the night, as the horses were fresh 1
and We desirous Of reaching London; |
also hopeful of overtaking the coach |
containing the redheaded maid OF Mis- |
tress Rosemary Allyn. There was |
branch where the TWO roads, the river |
and the main road merged into one,
and over this she IGust pass to reach .
London.
We rode along at a jog trot for a .
time, being sparing OF our horses, !
when presently the weather changed |
The sun peeped out now and again |
IRON behind fleecy clouds like pretty |
woman coquet,ing.
Ito be continued.)