The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1905-06-01
HER FATHERS SON.


crouched Ia q tLiekel Of bszsl.. Peggy WA
iiteep, lorg and light aud timber, tombo,
given 10 wool-rsnglrg aud the climbing o.
trees 10 a degree that psined her mother
quite sespdal'zsd her young lady sister
and made old Black Nanny say this daily
prediction, Dat dsr Peggy was des b1un
ter die er old maid. No gentmuns 10 dl'
worr ws'n't gwiue had 10 gal wild sech Ell
boy walk and boy ways"
But Peggy only laughed. For her father
who had 10 boy but his tomboy, thorough
ly approved Of her. He would approve OF
OF her now, .he was sure--ii Only she dared
let him know what she was doing. That
she did not dare was part Of the war.time's
cruelty.
She parted the hi eel stems and iquinted
at a big tree fifty Yards away. 1t had
guarded trunk, which divided ten feet above
earth into four fsir-sized boles. One bole
had a snug hollow come little wav above
| the crotch.
There was big grape vine climbing up
at one side. But nobody would ever think
Of looklng-she broke ofi, to crouch closer
than ever, and listen with llher ears to the
approsch OF Ave horsemtn coming up from
the creek.
She knew they meant trouble even before
she heard Jscky Soper's voice. Jscky was
the most tIflrg Of the Soper breed, which
had grown up In log cabin by the creek
side. It had surprised nobody to have him
turn out a guerrilla. The surprise was that
there were guerrillss who would let Jacky
be their captain.
AL the five we're young fellows, motley
40 to garments, but we'll mounted and hesv-
lily armed. Peggy shook her fist at them
behind the hazel ambush. All her life she
had hated Jacky Soper, not because he was
poor and ignorant, but for bis cruelty to
all things weaker ard smaller than himself.
Indeed, 1t WAS pretty well understood that
h. stocd In awe Of just two crestures-his
mother and Peggy Allison.
The riders halted little way OF, talking
eagerly. Jtcky rode In the middle. The
man upon ti, light was saying. "we better
be right sure the moneys thar before we
go fer 1t. Remember, 'taint but seven
m lies to the fort. II we make fash-in-
the-pan of It, 'twon't be no time before
them Yanks Is after us like a duck after
June-a-bug
"S1ut up, Rlcks, Go back home to yo'
nanny II you're so mighty fraid!" Soper
returned, pushing out his harrow chest He
WAS shamblipg and mesger, like his father,
with beetle brows and no chin to speak of.
~ know the moneys thar all right. Didn't
Pete, my fool brother, tell us how he crope
on de roof o. the pitzzer last night, and
seen ole Cap'n and Mis- Allison countin'
over them greenbacks--and how he heard
EN- say thar wss seven thousand dollars. Z"
"Think ye can find 1t, eb'' Kicks asked,
sourly.
Soper slapped his shoulder. ~ know
that place inside al out, II 1t was as dark
as a stack o. black cate" he said. "Ain't
| been s.gt la up thar ever since WAS knee
high to goslln'?'
''But tha. Aib't neither here nor thar.
What want to know is, will you stand up
like mani II you dare give back Jest be-
cause II happens you know these folks"
You don't know me J" Soper CALCULATED,
again throwing out bis chest. "Jest let
any { EN- try to COW me an III show
'em ~
With the last word he spurred bis horse
hard ard galoped on, the rest streaming
after. They kept straight across the woods,
that meant they would strike the plantation
back gate.
Peggy hardly waited for them to get out
Of sight before she was up, and running as
hard a. .he could, but not toward htme
Every day almost had had Ito fresh tale OF
guerrilla outiages, Outside the fortified
post under Federal control the outlaws
were tupr me. There were only old men,
young lads, and women ard children on the
plantations. Moreover, 10 the stress OF
Civil War, NO plantation dared openly show
any sort Of Hrearm,. Thus the rir.f. the
men spewed out Of both armies, banding
together for outlawry. did pretty much AZ
they pleased.
Jacky soper was a Confederate deserter.
Peggy recalled how her father, who had
lost an arm 10 Mexica, hsd tqaipped the
lad, and sent him ou. to hyht. She won-
dered II the two men who wore blue jackets
and had faces wholly strange were no, like
sise desertsfs-bui from the other side
Ricks Was Q ps,ive.b,rn, more ofa tcspe.
grace even than Jscky soper. Hodges The
bad seen bu, opcs or twice, when he had
come TO the plantation, prs,ending 70 AK
Tor 10 OF barn.buildlng.
while she ran or, the guerfillss came Up.
on the Allison house, dosing peacefully 10
the suushIne. II was big and dimly white,
With green shutters to iis many windows,
Ard broad plsfsas back and front. Captain
Allison and bis wife sss on the back pis,fl.
A. they ,aw The Ave msn ding open the
yard gate, Iide through II, and lprsad ors
around ,he house, both rose, bot made no
A,,enp, to close the wide bali door.
Hand in bar d, the csp.aln slightly sup.
porting biz trembling wife, they faced The
s,per AID one of the blue coats
,.pped in iron, Of than, and soper said
"we'ye come TO ave VOC troubls, esp's
he troubie o. kespln' whole passel o.
mopev. You been A.hsyih' Il all yer life.
poa,l you ,llak lls sortef our tim,