Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-12-29

TO his face N was drawing a bead OF
q stout man in cooked hat and plain
r~egimentals whose horse was curVeting
and siding in the nearer shadows; no
less a figure, in truth. than my Lord
CORVALLIS himself, cheering his men
on to the attack.
We had scarce made out the old
hunters target when the rifle spat fire,
the curveting charger reared in it's
death plunge, and the British com
mander-in-chief, unhurt. as IL seemed.
was dragged from the ENHANCEMENT OF
his stirrups by his aides.
The old marksman sprang up in a
fury of wrath. dad blast We for a
pair OF aim-sp'ilin'-'
a roar of musketry cut the rebuke In
half, and a storm OF bullets smote
through the branches overhead. A fall
ing bough knocked my hat off, and i
stopped 10 recover II. When / rose,
Dick was clipping the old man tightly
in his arms. Yeates' belt was cut, and
a little oozing well-spring of red was
slowly soaking the fringe OF his hunt
ing shirt.
Ease me down, Cap'n Dick; ease me
down. The old mans done for, this
time, ez ! allow-spang In the innards.
Ease me down and get off for yerselves,
If so be We can, im-me-jit-
The wagging jaw dropped and the
keen old eyes went dim and signifies.
Dicks oath was more a sob than an
i"mprecation; and now il was / who
said: Come on-the living before the
dead" and so we made the well-nigh
hopeless dash for the horses.
How we rode free out of that hurly-
burly at the ford head you must figure
for yourselves, If you can. The men
OF the British vanguard were all about
us when we got to the scrub thicket
and mounted, but no n Of them
raised a hand to stay is. / have
thought since that mayhap they took
us for a pair of their own Tory allies
who were not above wearing the stolen
uniforms of the dead. Be that as it
may, we rode away unhindered, Dick
in all the bravery of his captains
slashings, and l in lighthouse buff and
blue, taking the road toward the man
or house because that was the only
one open to us, and ambling leisurely
till we were beyond the sight and oun
of the victors at the ford.
But once at large we put spurs to our
horses in true ritter fashion; and we
had galloped half way to Appleby
house before Dick said:
Now we are we'll out of that, what
next? We can not &c to Margery with
the whole British army at u heels"
Nay, but we shall, IL only for a
short half-hour," / asserted. Then. as
nee before, | gave him my best bow.
For the last time, II may be, let me
play the lord Of the manor. You are
very welcome to my fathers demesne,
Richard, and to all Of it's holdings"
"All?' said he, giving me a quick
eye shot as we pressed on side by
side.
Yes. ALL" said /; and / meant 1t in
good faith. He should have the lady,
too; that precious holding Of the old
manse without whom my fathers acres
would be but a bauble to be lost or won
indifferently.
Then you do not love Madge more?"
he queried, his eye kindling.
Nay, | did not say that. But l did
say the other; that you should have
the house and all its holdings"
We were cantering UP the old oak
sentried avenue to that door which Gill
bert Stair had once sought to keep
against us with his bell-mouthed blum
derbuss. There was no sign OF any
living thing about the place; and when
we had no answer to u ~sword-hilt
~knockings on the door, the lad turned
upon me with a flash of anger in his
eyes and his lip a-curl.
you knew full well what your were
promising, John Ireton!" he said. she
is not here"